Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
276
involved. A few adventuresome souls travel solo into these ar eas, but I r ecommend that
you stick with an operator. I don't care much for visitors who pop in unexpectedly , and
I can't imagine why folks in one of these villages wouldn 't feel the same way.
Every visitor to Sarawak starts out from
Kuching,
the capital city. With a population
of some 400,000 people, it 's small but oddly cosmopolitan. I n addition to local tribes
that gave up forest living, the city has large populations of Malays, Chinese, Indians, and
Europeans, most of whom migrated in the last 2 centuries. The city sits on the Kuching
River, which will be one of the arteries for trips inland. Before you head off for the river,
though, check out the many delights of this mysterious colonial kingdom.The riverfront
area is Malaysia's best open public space.
Sarawak was introduced to the Western world by James Brooke, an English adventurer
who in 1839 came to S outheast Asia to follow in the footsteps of his idol, S ir Stamford
Raffles, who settled S ingapore. His wanderings br ought him to Borneo, wher e he was
introduced to the Sultan of Brunei. The sultan was deeply troubled by warring tribes to
the south of his kingdom, who w ere in constant revolt, sometimes to the point of pirat-
ing ships to B runei's por t. B rooke pr ovided the solution, initiating a campaign to
befriend some of the warring tribes, uniting them to conquer the others. Soon the tribes
were calmed. The sultan, delighted by Brooke, ceded Kuching to him for a small annual
fee. In 1841, J ames Brooke became
raja
and set about claiming the land that is no
w
Sarawak.
Raja Sir James Brooke became a colonial legend. Kno wn as “the White Raja of S ara-
wak,” he and his family ruled the territory and its people with a firm but compassionate
hand. Tribal leaders were appointed to leadership and administrative positions within his
government and militia, and as a result, the Brookes were highly respected by the popu-
lations they led. H owever, Brooke was a bit of a r enegade, turning his nose up at Lon-
don's attempts to include Sarawak under the crown. He took no money from the British
and closed the doors to British commercial interests in Sarawak. Instead, he dealt in local
trade and trade with S ingapore. Still, Kuching was understood to be a B ritish holding,
though the city never flourished as did other B ritish ports in Southeast Asia.
After his death in 1868, Raja J ames Brooke was succeeded b y his nephe w, Charles
Brooke. In 1917, Charles's son, Vyner Brooke, became the last ruling Raja, a position he
held until World War II, when the territor y was conquered by invading Japanese. After
the war, Raja Vyner Brooke returned briefly, but soon after, the territory was declared a
crown colony . E ventually, M alaya was granted independence b y B ritain, pr ompting
Prime M inister Tunku A bdul Rahman to form M alaysia in 1963, uniting peninsular
Malaya with Singapore, Sarawak, and Sabah. Singapore departed from the union 2 years
later, but Sarawak and Sabah happily remained.
KUCHING
The perfect introduction to S arawak begins in its capital. K uching's museums, cultural
exhibits, and historical attractions will help you form an overview of the history, people,
and natural wonders of the state. I n K uching, y our intr oduction to S arawak will be
comfortable and fun; culture by day and good food and fun by night. Kuching, meaning
“cat” in Malay, also has a wonder ful sense of humor, featuring monuments and exhibits
to its feline mascot on almost ev ery corner.
The
Rainforest World M usic F estival
(www .rainforestmusic-borneo.com) is held
every second w eekend of J uly at the S arawak C ultural Village (see belo w), featuring
music workshops, ethno-musical lectur es, jamming sessions, and ev ening performances
from the genre's most renowned figures. Highly recommended.
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