Jungle, modern life blend in Sarawak

Jungle, modern life blend in Sarawak

By Andreas Heimann

KUCHING, Malaysia (DPA): The jungle city of Kuching in northwestern Borneo is kind to visitors. It has long adapted to modern life and tourists here do not have to forego any of the usual comforts in life. Nevertheless this city, capital of the Malaysian federal state of Sarawak, remains true to its east- Asian character.

Kuching is situated in the tropics, and daytime temperatures usually reach 30 degrees. Even at midnight it is not really cool, but the evenings are comfortable. At that time of day the lights of the city reflect on the water on the one-kilometer promenade along the Sarawak River, and visitors can watch fishing boats heading out to the South China Sea. The evenings are much calmer than the daytime hustle and bustle in this city of 450,000 inhabitants.

Only a minority of the two million inhabitants of Sarawak are Malayan. "While Malaysia as a whole is Moslem, more than half of the people in Sarawak are Christian," said Angela Lin Sam of the Sarawak Tourist Board, herself a Catholic from the Iban tribe.

Visitors should not miss a visit to the Chinese quarter of Kuching, where there are endless rows of shops all jumbled together: bakeries alongside bicycle shops, chemists and ironmongers. The Chinese History Museum in the center of the city is dedicated to their culture.

The museum is directly opposite the Tua Pek Kong Temple, the oldest house of worship in Sarawak. A table with a large candle on it stands behind the open door - and directly at the front is a plate with a sacrifice on it - usually a duck's foot and parts of a chicken.

A short distance to the south towers the Civic Center, a futuristic skyscraper on stilts with an elevator on the outside wall which offers a marvelous view of the city.

Probably the best way to sample the Asian section of the city is a visit to the Sunday market. Women with shopping baskets push their way past stands displaying prawns and muscles while live fish swim in plastic bowls. They are weighed and sold in transparent plastic bags. You can even buy a live chicken to take away in a polythene bag.

In the Bako National Park, a short excursion from Kuching, you can spot apes. Also recommended is a trip to the Sarawak Cultural Village, an open air museum on the Santu Bong peninsula, which exhibits the cultures and lifestyles of the different Sarawak tribes. Many of the groups were adversaries well into 20th century. Warriors in tribal wars would behead their opponents, which is why they were known as headhunters.

Sarawak today is best known for its rain forest. "Around 70 per cent of Sarawak is still forested," said Mohammed Tuah Jais, manager of the Sarawak Tourist Board. "The aim is to maintain as much of it as possible." It remains a matter of dispute whether tourism can contribute to this.

Tours of the jungle, that can be booked from tour operators in Kuching, include an overnight stay in a longhouse, in which the original inhabitants of Sarawak live. Longhouses belonging to the Ibans can usually only be reached along the jungle waterways, such as the Batang Ai reservoir.

Longhouse safaris offer a breath of adventure: the means of transport is a wobbly five-metre long boat. It carries you from the reservoir into the maze-like river system, and past the lush green vegetation of the rain forest.

Spending the night in a longhouse is quite adventurous too. Most communities have built a separate guest house especially for tourists. But the program includes an evening visit to your hosts next door. The appearance of the shaman, or witch doctor, decorated with feathers and shells on his legs, is only for show - but the dance he performs accompanied by gong and drum, is a genuine part of Iban tribal tradition. Guests also meet the tribal chief. But the evening really gets into swing when tuak, a rice wine, is served.

In the morning, it is a very strange feeling to be waken by the unfamiliar noises of the jungle. Small pigs grunt in front of the longhouse, butterflies are already out in the forest. Guided jungle walks then offer at least a fleeting glimpse of the rain forest.

While Sarawak has a reputation for its rich and varied animal kingdom, you would be very unlikely to spot the horned bird that is the heraldic symbol of the state. Neither will you likely come across a snake, even though more species inhabit Borneo than virtually anywhere else in the world. But with luck, you might come across an ape - even if it is only swinging in a distant tree.