Kuching
Kuching is the capital of the
East Malaysian State of
Sarawak. Kuching is the 4th largest city in Malaysia . Much of Kuching used to be green, with tall overarching trees offering shade at the sides of the roads.
The administration of Kuching is divided into two administrative groups and even has two mayors. The northern section of Kuching is run by Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara or Kuching North City Hall while the southern section is administrated by Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan or Kuching South City Council. There are those who believe that the divisions in power for the Northern (Primary malay and bumi residents) and Southern (Primary chinese residents) districts came about due to ethnic reasons in the 1980s. There are also those who believe the administration is divided due to geographical reasons, as the Northern and Southern districts are linked by only two bridges spanning the Sarawak River.
Kuching North City Hall area
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Petra Jaya*
Satok*
Kuching City centre (West)
Kuching South City Council area
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Kuching City centre (East)
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Padungan*
Stampin |
Sir James Brooke |
Sarawak was a part of the Sultanate of
Brunei 200 years ago but as a reward for its help in putting down a rebellion, it was ceded to an English adventurer called
James Brooke who ruled it as his personal kingdom. Kuching was made his capital and headquarters. The Brooke family ruled Sarawak until the end of the
Second World War when the third and last
Rajah, Sir
Charles Vyner Brooke in turn ceded it to the British Crown in 1946. Sarawak and the British
Commonwealth fought an "Undeclared War" with
Indonesia to keep Sarawak from being absorbed into
Sukarno's
Indonesia. The British gave Sarawak independence in 1963 and together with North Borneo (
Sabah) and
Singapore, helped form
Malaysia. (Singapore became independent soon after).
The origins of its name have never been clear. "Kuching" does translate into "
cat" (although the official Malay spelling today in Malaysia and Sarawak for "cat" is "kucing"), in specific reference to the domesticated cat, but it may actually be a variation of the Indian name for "port" - "Cochin". Kuching was first settled by Indian traders who set up base at Santubong. Artefacts of Hindu origin can today be seen at the State Museum. The city has never been remembered for having a significantly larger population of cats when compared to others. In fact, the many cat statues, the
Kuching Cat Museum and other association with cats have been part of a modern effort of tourism; many travel brochures refer to Kuching as "Cat City" or the "City of Cats". Otherwise, they hold no real meaning for the residents and are not considered by locals as romantic.
There are other theories which attribute the name to a fruit called "mata kucing" or "cat's eye"; it would seem that trees bearing this fruit used to grow in abundance by the river banks - where the city proper lies today. There was a hill in the heart of the old city called Bukit Mata Kuching which could have been as responsible.
Kuching is situated at the banks of the
Sarawak River on the North-Western part of the island of
Borneo. The
longitude and
latitude of Kuching is 01°33' N, 110°25' E.
The climate in Kuching is
tropical, moderately hot and receives substantial rainfall. The average annual rainfall is approximately 4,000 mm or 160 inches. The wettest times are during the North-East
Monsoon months of November to February. The average temperature is around 23°C in the early hours of the morning and rises to around 32°C in the mid afternoon. This temperature stays constant throughout the year.
The population of about 1 million is made up of a mixture of
Malays,
Dayaks,
Chinese and some
Indians and other ethnic groups. The
Chinese are made up of
Fujianese (Hokkien) in the city areas and
Hakka in the suburbs mainly. Other Chinese consist of Foochow (
Fuzhou),
Teochew,
Hainanese,
Cantonese,
Henghua and others.
Kuching is home to the international campus of
Swinburne University of Technology. The campus, known as
Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, is the only university in Kuching city. (Technically, the campuses of
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and UiTM are in
Samarahan Division).
Green Road Secondary School is a
school located in the city.Other school such as,
Kuching High Secondary School,
St Thomas Secondary School,
St Mary Secondary School,
St Terresa Secondary School and
St Joseph Secondary School are also located in the heart of the Kuching city.
Private education in the city comes in the form of various private colleges as well as training institutes. Notable examples include Inti College, SeGI College as well as Stamford College to name a few.
Roads within the town are of a reasonable standard, though traffic congestion often leads to long tailbacks during rush hour. Roads leading outside of Kuching to the interior are of a slightly more dubious quality, although the main resort roads (e.g. leading to
Damai) are also reasonable. Transport by taxi is reasonable and in popular tourist spots there always seems to be an abundance of taxi drivers eager to pounce on their unsuspecting prey. Beware the unmetered taxi though. Public transport by antiquated, smoky, non-airconditioned buses is strictly for the intrepid back-packer only. Air transport is served by nearby
Kuching International Airport, currently the subject of several expansion projects.
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The old Sarawak Museum was built by Rajah Charles Brooke in 1891 and modelled on a town hall in Normandy |
Within the town, there are several museums such as the well-known
Sarawak Museum, Chinese Museum, Cat Museum, etc, which are definitely not to be missed when visiting Kuching. Interesting landmarks and sites are the Astana (the Rajah's former palace), Fort Margherita, Tua Pek Kong temple and Main Bazaar. The Kuching waterfront, which is really a riverside esplanade, is situated right next to the main hotels and commercial heartland of the city, and offers a pleasant walk in the evening. When you are tired of strolling, the old shops on the opposite side of the waterfront will gladly sell you all manner of 'antiques' and tradecraft.
Some other interesting areas near the centre of town include Padungan Street, which is the main Chinatown area of the city. Shops here appear virtually unchanged from 20 years ago, and offer fascinating insights into life as it was then. Meanwhile, Carpenter Street and India Street still maintain their olde world charm, though the relentless process of globalisation is slowly encroaching. The old Courthouse building forms the link between Carpenter Street and India Street, and is well worth a quick stroll as you re-live the faded colonial splendour (now restored and modernised). The many well-manicured parks dotted around the city are also great to visit.
Kuching '
kolo mee' or 'koh-loh mein' (egg noodles, flash-boiled and then served with sliced barbeque pork also known as "char siew"),
Sarawak Laksa (a spicy coconut prawn paste-based soup served with rice vermicelli, eggs, prawns, chicken, deep fried tofu and occasionally clams) and Tomato Sauce Mee (crispy noodles served with tomato sauce, vegetables, and meat) or Tomato Sauce Kuay Teow (flat rice noodles) are the most well-known hawker dishes served.
Other dishes also include the famous Ah Mui Beef Noodles which can only be found at two locations, a stall at the Electra House open-air foodcourt as well as another stall at the hawker stalls at the Sg Maong market area. And then there is also the famous Hap Chien Han
Satay.
Most hawker stalls serve a variety of these three dishes, but locals often
debate vigorously as to where to find the best variety. In the meantime, the usual suspects (McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf) lurk in the prime commercial complexes. A local fast food chain "Sugarbun" serves a variety of Malaysian food in a more Western (plastic trays, brightly-lit menus, uniformed staff) style.
Image:Admiral_zheng_ho_catscity_dot_com_dot_my.jpg|Malaysia-China Friendship GardenImage:Garden park.jpg|Chinese Gateway - (Malaysia-China Friendship Garden)Image:Kennysiadotcom - Hilton.jpg|Kuching WaterfrontImage:Fort_Margherita,_Kuching.jpg|Fort Margherita, KuchingImage:Church_stc.jpg|St. Thomas Cathedral, KuchingImage:Tua_Pek_Kong,_Kuching.jpg|The Tua Pek Kong, KuchingImage:Masjid_Negara,_Kuching.jpg|Masjid Bahagian, KuchingImage:Pavillion_Kuching.jpeg|Pavillion Building (19th C.) and textile museumImage:Brooke_Memorial_Kuching.jpeg|Brooke Memorial near old CourthouseImage:Warrior_Memorial_Kuching.jpeg|Memorial to the Freedom Fighters of SarawakImage:Padang_Merdeka_Kuching.jpeg|Historic tree at Padang Merdeka (Independence Field)Image:Kuching_Waterfront_India_Street.jpg|View of the Kuching waterfront across Sarawak River towards India Street and the old Indian MosqueImage:Kuching_Courthouse_Complex.jpg|Colonial Heritage: the Courthouse, Round Tower and Pavillion built during the time of the White RajahsImage:Plaza Walk.jpg|Plaza Walk outside Sarawak PlazaImage:DSC02626.JPG|Sarawak Cultural VillageImage:DBKU1.jpg|View from Bukit Siol Kuching*
Kuching North City Hall*
Kuching South City Council*
Kuching City and Regional Map*
Pictures of Kuching
