A Walk Down the Memory Lane: Kuching Waterfront & Sarawak River Cruise

Going back to Kuching, the state capital of Sarawak on the Malaysian part of Borneo has always been on my mind ever since I first went there some 10 years ago. It was my first taste of a very multi-cultural society (even by Malaysian standard) and I also totally fell in love with the city’s riverfront, a feature that not many Malaysian cities have. So naturally I was excited to go and explore Kuching Waterfront again when I found out that Tourism Selangor was organising a #TSDayOut Special Edition Selangor Meets Sarawak programme with Sarawak Tourism Board a few weeks back.

After checking in into our room at the hotel, we hopped back on the bus to get to the city centre. Earlier, we had arrived in Kuching from Kuala Lumpur a bit later than planned due to some unforeseen circumstances but that didn’t dampen my excitement to check out what has changed in the past 10 years. Time was a bit limited though as we were supposed to go on a sunset cruise tour along Sarawak River at 5.30 p.m., leaving us with just about 30 minutes to explore the Waterfront and areas thereabout.

Kuching Waterfront and Surrounding Areas

Wasting no time, I quickly headed to one end of the Waterfront to capture an interesting building that is Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building from across the river. The architecture is based on some tribal design of the Melanau, a local tribe in Sarawak, although some might say that it resembles or rather was inspired by a big orange juicer, heh! :)

Whatever it is based on, I just love the architecture!

From there, I moved across the road to the Main Bazaar where I once bought 4 pieces of Sarawak mats (tikar Sarawak) and some wooden armour shields carved with beautiful tribal motifs. As it was a Sunday, most shops however were closed so (thankfully) there wasn’t much browsing and/or shopping to be done this time around. Otherwise I might have missed the cruise because I just love browsing & checking out all the traditional and tribal stuff that they have there in the shops along the Main Bazaar. The bazaar really is a heaven for shoppers if you like that kind of stuff, like I do. The nearby Little India was pretty much closed too, unfortunately, due to some ongoing construction work in the area.

Apart from some improvements here and there, the areas around the Waterfront have remained much as they were, as I remember it. So personally, it was much like a walk down the memory lane, with some tweaks here and there. One rather new interesting feature is that there are now a few street arts dotting the walls of some of the buildings in the area, most notably the nicely done orang-utans ones by Ernest Zacharevic, who also has put Penang on the world map of street art. 

I would have loved to explore the area further but it was time for me to get back to the Waterfront for something new (for me, at least), the 5.30 p.m. sunset cruise.

Now, Borneo boasts some of the most beautiful sunsets around the region. Many travel bloggers (including and especially those from outside Malaysia) have boldly claimed that sunsets in Sarawak and Sabah are probably the best they have ever seen so I was eager to see and experience it myself. So what better way to enjoy sunset than on a cruise where the sights keep on changing every few minutes? 

Sarawak River Cruise

The sky was a bit overcast, and there were plenty of clouds around. The ferry is quite big for a river cruise. The lower deck is fully air-conditioned while the upper deck is fully open-air, giving everyone who sits up there a 360-degree panoramic view of the city. There was never any doubt which floor is the more popular one among the passengers. Everyone went to the upper deck and most settled down at the back where there are plenty of chairs and small tables and a snack bar that serves the famed Sarawak layer cakes (Kek Lapis Sarawak) and orange juice.

Tips: If you’d like to sit on the upper deck, do get on board early at around 5.10-5.15 p.m. Don’t forget the complimentary kek lapis and juice too, by the way!

After finishing my plate of kek lapis and gulping down orange juice at the back, I moved to the front part of the upper deck and settled myself down on the floor to just enjoy the view, and take some photos. There’s a live commentary on the cruise, which covers almost 30 hidden gems of Kuching but sitting at the front of the upper deck, I hardly heard it. Not that I’m complaining about it, as I was more than happy to just sit down, enjoy the view and get occupied by my own thoughts (or as Malays would call it, “layan perasaan”, ha ha!) But then again, who wouldn’t be if the views are like these?

So engrossed I was with the view from the front of the cruise ferry, I also had almost missed a cultural performance that showcases traditional dances and dressings of the local tribes, which they did at the back of the upper deck towards the end of the cruise on the way back to the Waterfront. If you’re not going to Sarawak Cultural Village (which, by the way, I believe you totally should!), this is probably the only time when you can have a photo opportunity with the locals in their traditional dress, so yes, don’t miss it! 

We ended the night with dinner at TopSpot, a popular food court that’s located on the rooftop of a carpark building not far from the Waterfront, trying out some local dishes not usually found elsewhere, like stir-fried midin and deep fried oyster pancake. 

That was just the perfect way to end the day of walking down the memory lane for me, as I had also had dinner with friends once here, the last time I was in town.

The whole of first day in Kuching reminds me of why I fell in love with it some 10 years ago, and why I still do. It just made me look forward to what's in store on Day 2.

---

Read More:

Previous Entry on #TSDayOut Special Edition  |  Next Entry on #TSDayOut Special Edition

---

Further Information

Sarawak River Cruise is a sunset cruise along Sarawak River. It departs daily at 5.30 p.m. and lasts for about 1.5 hours. Tickets can be bought at Kuching Waterfront. For more information, check out their Facebook page.

Are you on Pinterest? Use these photos to bookmark and/or share this blog post ;)

A Thank You and Disclosure Note

I would like to thank the organiser of #TSDayOut Special Edition Selangor Meets Sarawak, Tourism Selangor, for the opportunity to be part of the programme. A big thank you also goes to other official sponsors, which include Sarawak Tourism Board, AirAsia and Empire Hotel Subang.

#TSDayOut is a Tourism Selangor programme that introduces and promotes interesting places as a day out/day trip destinations in the state of Selangor in Malaysia. The programme is opened to bloggers, media practitioners, and social media influencers. #TSDayOut Special Edition programme combines a trip in Selangor and a visit to another destination outside of the state. For this second #TSDayOut Special Edition, the destination is Kuching, Sarawak. For more information about #TSDayOut, check their website here.

For other blog entries on #TSDayOut Special Edition, click here. Going to Kuching, Sarawak? Do check out these hotels for your accommodation requirements there. For other blog entries on Malaysia, click here.