Born(eo) to be Wild!! Kuching the capital city of Sarawak, Borneo

What’s it like in Borneo you might ask? First, let me say if you are planning a trip to Sarawak in Borneo do yourself a favor and plan ahead. And do it in good time. Why you might ask. Sarawak is huge and does not have a functioning infrastructure. It is almost impossible to get from A to B without having it organized by a private tour company. Getting about is challenging because of the rainforest, the oldest in the world, not to mention impenetrable mountains and vast rivers. In the south, in Kalimantan, there are no roads through the interior and the scenery is filled with mountains and rivers.

Kubah National Park

Here are so many treasures but they are literally impossible to get to. You can get a grab or uber from Kuching to most places close by, but getting home from where you are can be a dreadful and unmanageable task. If it isn’t the most tourist places there will be no transport. So… plan ahead.

Traveling to a place like Sarawak, with so little tourism and so difficult for being a tourist is both liberating and just a bit unsettling. It is amazing because everything isn’t shared with thousands and thousands of other people and on the other hand you might not be able to see it because you can simply not get there.

Bako National Park

Kuching:

The way into Sarawak if you are arriving by flight is through Kuching, the capital city and famous for cats and cake, and Cats you will see. The Malay word for cat is Kuching so the name of the capital here is the City of cats. You will not spend much time here before seeing why. The citizens of Kuching love cats. There is a tall cat obelisk on the main street surrounded by cats. The roundabouts in the city are decorated with cats, and China town is crawling with statues of cats in every pose and size. Roaming through the city are thousands of cats, most of them friendly and playful. Pet a cat in a public park or watch them play on the river bank, there is no escaping them.

Kuching

Taking you through the city it has an almost small-town vibe with the wonderful river, the Sarawak, threading its way through the center of town. Most of the city tourism things are located along the banks of the river.  It’s wonderful to sit on the riverbank for hours and watch life and people passing by. You do not see many tourists but the hostels, homestays, and hotels are located here in these beautiful settings. While sitting here it becomes evident that not much happens here.

So what can you do besides watching cats and locals? Well, try the delicacy here, the Kek Lapis, a specialty of Sarawak. It is a layered dry cake and you can buy it everywhere and with different tastes.

 

Kuching

Kek Lapis is very colorful. Each layer contains a different color and taste. The ladies selling them give out free samples so you can try quite a few different ones before deciding on your favorite. Do buy one though.  The ladies baking them tell takes about 6 hours to bake them and they do it home in their own small kitchens. It is a bit touristy “attraction” and exported all over Malaysia. 

Another thing I fell in love with in Kuching, besides cats, cakes, and people, was their street art. It was so beautiful and delicate. It can be found in many alleyways and some are political and some are just plain beautiful.

Kuching

Surrounding area – 

This can be reached by uber & Grab, but remember to arrange transportation home. All the places below require a lot of walking and an urge to want to have a bit of an active vacation to be enjoyed. NB: Bring a lot of water because you will need more than you think.

Santubong; Damai, Sarawak

If you enjoy using your body and your muscles as well as your willpower you can climb the highest mountain in Sarawak. Head to Damai and spend a day or two on a beautiful beach. Get up early preferably around 6 and head out to climb Mount Santubong. It is free, all you have to do is sign in and out at the entry of the mountain. The climb takes around 7-8 hours depending on your fitness level and how fast you are comfortable walking/climbing the surface. It is a hard yet a gorgeous climb and you can climb it fairly privately. 

Climbing Mt. Santubong

If you choose to spend a few days in Damai there are a few different treks around Mt. Santubong that don’t involve climbing the actual mountain if you do not want to. They are very remote and you are lucky if you meet anything but nature and animals here. Enjoy the solitude, but remember to sign in at the headquarters for safety.

The view from our hotel

Bako National Park

A short grab ride and a little boat trip away from Kuching you find Bako National park. This park is yet another location with beautiful scenery where you get a chance to stretch your legs. You sign in and decide on a trek you want to take. Just remember to make sure you make it back to headquarters for the last boat. Otherwise, you are stranded on the island.

Getting of the boat at Bako

Walking around the national park you become one with nature. You can hear monkeys roar, birds sing and spot the occasional giant lizard enjoying the sun. The landscape is spectacular. Feel comfortable with nature if you choose some of the less popular routes because the treks are not well maintained and very overgrown. If you are scared of animals this will be scary for you. I would personally say worth every step of the way.

Bako National Park

Kubah National Park

Last recommendation for trekking around Kuching is Kubah National Park. A few days here can easily be spent in this piece of the rainforest and depending on the trail you pick you can spend them alone. There is an option for camping out here if you arrange it with the park.

When you are here you get a chance to really experience the rainforest and smell the age of it. You can feel the age of the trees with every step, feel your feet sink into the meters of fallen leaves that cover your tracks. Everything here is old and unspoiled.

 So if you want a trip with very few to no other tourists Sarawak is a good place to go

   

 *all photos are private and taken by me