There are not that many hotels you can choose from in Kuching, Malaysia. After just a few clicks on the phone, i decided on Pullman Hotel on the spot — my easiest, quickest decision by far. Mainly because of its location and it’s new. I have this strange inclination towards new hotels and the number of stars it has notwithstanding.

Just 2 steps into the hotel and i was greeted by the scent, the everythingandanything new scent.

Lovely.

I loved how spacious the bathroom was and it came with a yoga mat no less.

Even though Kuching is nothing like how big cities are, it is still charming in its own way – friendly and very nice locals, peaceful and quiet and great hawker food! I tried filling up our time there with activities and it wasn’t that difficult actually. Before you know it, it’s time to head to the airport.

Hmph!

Things You Can Do In Kuching

1. Chinatown

For food mainly.

And to snap a few pictures here and there. This easy walk can be wrapped up under an hour, minus eating time.

2. River Promenade or Waterfront

Stroll along the Waterfront in the evening. There are some food stalls along the way, together with souvenir stalls too. But ermm, if you ask me, i rather swing across the road and check out the many quirky shops situated just 20 steps away if you are planning to get any souvenir.

Otherwise, a stroll here is rather lovely. :)

3. River Cruise

Trust me, you wouldn’t want to spend RM 60 per person for an hour cruise on the cruise ship in the picture.

Why?

Because it’s not worth it.

What we did was to hop onto some smaller boats available which cost just RM10 per person, taking the very same route sans the glamour and drinks. Anywaaayyy, there’s really nothing much to see along the river really. What you are able to see on the boat, you can see 90% of it from the river promenade should you have taken the stroll (refer to list number 2).

The other 10%?

See this!

However, make sure you don’t take the ultra tiny sampan / boats though.. Those are freaky!

4. Tua Pek Kong Temple

Situated prominently near the Waterfront, you cannot miss this oldest Chinese temple in Kuching.

What we did was to pop in for 5 minutes, look see look see, offered some incense as respect and popped right out after. ;)

5. Cat Museum

Located at the suburb, we dropped in at this museum because most of us are cat lovers and also, because of the boys. Kuching / kucing means cat in Malay language.

To get there, we took a cab from hotel and the taxi driver sorta struck a deal with me. In total, i paid RM 50 for 3 hours trip which included Cat Museum, Sarawak Museum and a trip to Kak Dayang’s Kek Lapis. The taxi driver would wait at an agreed spot for us for each location.

Don’t expect much from this museum seriously. Go there with an open heart and you will leave with a smile on your face. After all, the entrance is free. And oh, don’t forget to descend to the park near the museum. It’s really quite a nice spot to snap some pictures, sit down and just chill out. :)

6. Sarawak Museum

You will need at least 2 hours to explore this place. Sarawak Museum is actually part of a cluster of museums which included Art Gallery. If you are keen to go, i’d say go in the afternoon because by the time you finish, the weather will be just nice to walk around in the well-tended park next to it.

Because we didn’t wanna let the taxi driver wait too long, we sorta bullet train our time spent there and restricted ourselves to just Sarawak Museum.

If you ask me, i’d say, a must go .. especially if you are travelling with children. It’s rather educational and we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.

7. Semenggoh Wildlife Centre

Many say that this orang utan wildlife rehabilitation centre is better than the one at Sabah.

How true that is.. i don’t know for i’ve not been to the one at Sabah. But if that is really the case, i don’t think i will ever bother going to the Sabah’s wildlife centre.

Personally, methinks there’s nothing much to see. I reckon it’s because i see orang utan all the time at Singapore Zoo. Hence, spotting 1 or 2 orang utan on the trees does nothing to me. Proboscis monkeys, macaques, orang utans etc … these primates don’t fascinate me that much because i see them almost on the weekly basis. But, gorilla… is another story altogether – Rwanda, i must visit you soon!

8. Visit Kak Dayang

Why?

Because you simply can’t leave Sarawak without trying their famous kek lapis!

Forget about those cakes you see in the souvenir shops, road stalls etc. This is the place where you must go to get the cakes, not anywhere else. Nope, i’m not getting paid for this alrighty? :)

The cakes are decent and quite enjoyable – too many flavours, too many types and waaayy too many to pick from. Simply brilliant. Free samples are available. In fact, you can practically have your lunch here, and they won’t care — their business is too good to be bothered by your presence. Don’t wanna buy after sampling? No problemo. No one will notice too. But i doubt anyone would do that.

Cake prices range from RM 10 – 20. Excellent as souvenir. ;)

9. Eat Kolo Mee

You cannot possibly leave Kuching without eating this noodle. Simply cannot!

Check out this post for my review!

10. Day trip to Bako National Park

A post will be dedicated to Bako National Park soon.

DO NOT DO LIST

1. Annah Rais Longhouse

The longhouse is so modernised that you feel like you are just walking into another house in a village. Period.

Even the tour guide called the ‘wronghouse‘, not longhouse. He thinks that the Sarawak Cultural Village has more to offer to tourists than this place.

The most exciting part for the whole of our 30 minutes tour?

The skeletons.