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Published: October 6th 2007
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Cat Museum The town of Kuching derives its name from the Malay word for cat and early investigations of its streets, after our ferry ride from Sibu, revealed cat motifs aplenty ranging from discreet logos on manhole covers to rather alarming giant cat statues on roundabouts. The peak of this cat mania was reached at the Kuching Cat Museum, housed in the Town Hall that itself resembled a spaceship. The museum's collection was comprehensive, with exhibits about cats in various civilizations, stages in a cat's life, common ailments, wild members of the cat family, catfish, and a mock-up of a catwalk with 3 models wearing cat-themed outfits. Umpteen cat sculptures and paintings included a good selection of maneki neko or "beckoning cats" (the ones with raised paws that you often see in Chinese and Japanese restaurants and are intended to bring in wealth and business). Cats in popular cultures included Hello Kitty, Garfield, and Beatrix Potter's Simpkin, but strangely no Bagpuss. Interesting tales included one about a 4 month old kitten that had followed a group of climbers to the summit of the Matterhorn, and Dickens' cat apparently used to snuff out his candle with a paw when it wanted his attention. All
of this was to a background of "The lion sleeps tonight", "What's new, pussycat?", and "Eye of the tiger". Actually that last bit's a lie, but it would've been totally in line with the all-encompassing nature of the place. Instead, we got cheesy techno.
Unfortunately the feline population of Kuching shared a characteristic of most cats I've encountered in Southeast Asia, namely being extremely wary of humans. The repertoire of noises and gestures I use at home in order to entice cats over for a tickle is completely ineffective in this part of the world. Dogs, preferably ones that bark at anything that moves, seem to be the most popular pets, with cats rarely the recipients of much attention. In fact we found one cat looking rather unhappy by the entrance to a 24 hour store - the following day it was in exactly the same place, lying down and breathing slowly, but by the time we'd fetched a box in order to take it to a local vet it was already dead.
Being back in a larger town had the advantages that Milanos, Bourbons, and DC were all available. This helped make up for some of the
weirdness we encountered in local restaurants, e.g. a fruit salad that was served with a dousing of mayonnaise and Thousand Island dressing.
I also was forced to give up my search for a Bornean laundry doing same-day service. Unlike everywhere else in Southeast Asia, it takes a full 2 days to get clean clothes on the island.
Our final night in Kuching coincided with the Merdeka celebrations, i.e. the 50th anniversary of Malaysian independence. There had been much discussion about this in the local press, with a list being compiled of 50 things that Malaysians thought were representative of their country. The famous Malaysians section of this list contained only 1 name I would've recognised before reading the RG's potted history of the country (and I'm probably not the only person who didn't realise Michelle Yeoh was Malaysian), and I was surprised to see Kuala Lumpur International Airport included in the overall list, as I'd never heard anyone say it was particularly noteworthy. Government officials were all keen to make pronouncements on the unity of the country's different racial components, but most of the press seemed to be aimed at creating an identity rather than celebrating one that
people were already aware of.
I guess that's not too surprising in a country only 50 years old, and it was certainly reflected in the muted celebrations in Kuching. We'd been told there would be fireworks by the river at midnight but there was nothing bar a few bangers and small rockets. There were certainly crowds of locals out and about, some carrying Malaysian flags, but the overall atmosphere was of people wanting to celebrate something but unsure how to go about doing it. Maybe it was a Borneo thing, as Sarawak and Sabah didn't join Malaysia until 6 years after independence in 1963. Whatever the reason, the most passion we saw during the evening was when some kids knocked over a row of rubbish bins outside our hotel.
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