Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Indian Mosque Lane; 6am-8.30pm except during prayers)
Turn off Jln India (between
Nos 37 and 39A) or waterfront Jln Gambier (between Nos 24 and 25A) onto tiny Indian
Mosque Lane (Lg Sempit) and you enter another world. At the Jln Gambier end, shops
sell spices in bulk (orange-yellow turmeric, greenish-yellow coriander, reddish-orange
chilli powder) - the aromas are overwhelming and exhilarating! Further along, hole-in-
the-wall hat shops sell the white crocheted caps (RM10) worn by men who have per-
formed the hajj to Mecca;
songkok
(RM25), the black velvet hats worn by Malay men on
formal occasions; and colourful headscarves for Muslim women.
About midway between the two thoroughfares, entirely surrounded by houses and
shops, stands Kuching's oldest mosque, a modest structure built of
belian
(ironwood) in
1863 by Muslim traders from Tamil Nadu. Painted turquoise and notable for its simplicity,
it is an island of peace and cooling shade in the middle of Kuching's commercial hullaba-
loo.
Jalan India
(Jln India)
Once Kuching's main shopping area for imported textiles, brassware and
household goods, pedestrianised Jln India - essentially the western continuation of Jln
Carpenter - remains an exuberant commercial thoroughfare. The shops along the eastern
section are mostly Chinese-owned; those to the west are run by Indian Muslims with roots
in Tamil Nadu. This is
the
place in Kuching to come for cheap textiles.
STREET
Sarawak Museum
(
www.museum.sarawak.gov.my
;
Jln Tun Abang Haji Openg; 9am-4.45pm Mon-Fri,
10am-4pm Sat, Sun & holidays)
Established in 1891, this excellent museum has a first-
rate collection of cultural artefacts and is a must-visit for anyone interested in Borneo's
peoples, cultures and habitats.
MUSEUM
Ethnology Museum
( 9am-4.45pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat, Sun & holidays)
At the top of the hill, on the
western side of Jln Tun Abang Haji Openg, the Ethnology Museum (the Old Building) -
guarded by two colonial cannons - spotlights Borneo's incredibly rich indigenous cul-
tures. Upstairs, it has superb exhibits on indigenous crafts, including masks, spears, bas-
MUSEUM
