The Cat City of Borneo — the White Rajah's Astana palace overlooks the Sarawak River, semi-wild orangutans come to the feeding station at dawn, and Sarawak laksa is the dish the locals say must be eaten before you die
Kuching (pop. 750,000), the capital of Sarawak state on Malaysian Borneo, is one of the most liveable cities in Southeast Asia — small enough to walk, historically layered, and within day-trip distance of some of the world's greatest nature (the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre where semi-wild Borneo orangutans can be seen feeding, the Bako National Park on a peninsula of primary jungle, and the Matang Wildlife Centre with sun bears and hornbills). The city's name means 'cat' in Malay (there are multiple cat statues and a dedicated Cat Museum), and its history as the capital of the White Rajah's Kin…
Kuching's modern history begins in 1841 with the cession of Sarawak to the British adventurer James Brooke (the first White Rajah) by the Sultan of Brunei, in exchange for Brooke suppressing a rebellion against Brunei authority. Brooke and his two successors (Charles and Charles Vyner Brooke) ruled Sarawak as a personal kingdom for 105 years — the only Southeast Asian territory to be governed by a private individual rather than a colonial company or national government. The White Rajahs built the Astana, Fort Margherita, the Courthouse, and the Sarawak Museum (one of the finest ethnographic m…