Kuching is cool for cats

Cat city

Cats everywhere. This city is full of them. On street corners. In the gardens, At restaurant doors. Plaster, stone, wood and china cats. Furry ones wander the streets. There is even a museum about cats here.

Young Rohan loves cats. So he points out every cat he sees. He never tires of them. He chases cats down alleyways. He runs away from cats that growl at him. But he comes back for more!

I'm not a cat person. Nor a dog lover. Nor an elephant boy. I would like to get a pet hermit crab.

Along the river

The Sarawak River flows through the middle of the city. We see many boats making the short trip across the water. There are also thousands thousands of cars driving across a four-lane bridge. The waterfront area has lots of food stalls and cafes. We find a favourite cafe named after the city's founding father, James Brooke. He was given this whole area as a gift after he helped to deal with restless natives. And he began developing a city and state. Kuching is now the biggest city in Borneo.

The view across the water is dominated by a cup-shaped golden building. It looks a bit like a mosque. But it is actually a very expensive government office block.

Stuffed with animals

The Sarawak Museum has an old building full of stuffed animals. It's a good way to get to know the local wildlife, jungle birds and sea creatures. Young Rohan was terrified of the killer whale skeleton. So many teeth!

Over in the new wing, we were all delighted to find a photographic exhibition. Again, this was stuffed with animal photos. But there were also great pictures of villagers, sunsets and islands. Rohan's favourite picture was a baby orangutan milking from its mother.

Working with wood

There is plenty of timber in Borneo. It's wood carvings are well-known. The Sarawak style is "animal fusion". The woodworkers carve one beast's body, add legs from another, add a different creature's head then tack on a tail. Softwood carvings look quite different from hardwoods such as ironwood. It's fun to work out which part is from which animal. And it seems to fit Malaysia's theme of many different parts working in harmony.

Local eating

Sarawak is famous for its food. Laksa is made from fresh ingredients such as local herbs, vegies and seafood. Cakes are made layer-by-layer. Each layer is added separately to build up a colourful pattern.

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Part of trip: Malaysia on the move

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