Wild about Kuching
Ducking out of the rain into a tiny Chinatown alcove, we follow the heady scent of incense up a staircase and discover, by sheer chance, Hin Ho Bio—Temple of the Queen of the Heaven—high on a rooftop, ablaze in candlelight.
Chinese lanterns colour the red-and-gold ceiling and the hopes of early morning worshippers linger in bunches of fresh lotus flowers and joss sticks burning by the altar. We light joss sticks of our own and pray for safe travels then sit afterwards taking in a surprising view, high above Kuching’s irresistibly unhurried riverfront.
If there is any place that’s the antithesis of a frenetic southeast Asian city, it’s Kuching: Malaysia’s most beautiful riverside town with a remarkable wilderness right on its doorstep. Wandering around this hassle-free city, tourists crisscross the Sarawak River on tambangs to see Fort Margherita at sunset, slurp fiery Sarawak laksa at lunchtime and daytrip to unearth the world’s biggest flowers, watch orangutans feed and hike past rare proboscis monkeys to a secluded pool above Tajor waterfall.
Kuching’s best escapes demand
