Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

Kuching is on the banks of the Sarawak River on the island of Borneo. It's got an interesting history. Sarawak was a part of the Sultanate of Brunei 200 years ago but as a reward for help in putting down a rebellion, it was ceded to the British adventurer James Brooke, who ruled it as his personal kingdom. Kuching was made his capital and headquarters. The Brooke Administration was given the status of Protectorate under Rajah Charles Brooke's rule and was placed behind the Indian Rajs and Princes. The Brooke family ruled Sarawak until the Japanese occupation in1941& Sarawak was part of the Japanese Imperial Empire for over three years. At the end of WWII the last rajah, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to the British Crown, which gave Sarawak independence in 1963 and it became part of Malaysia later that year.

Kuching is the 4th largest city in Malaysia with a population made up largely of Chinese, Malays, Ibans & Indians. It's supposed to be one of the world's healthiest cities! It was certainly very clean & very pleasant. We stayed in a lovely little"art" hotel where we bagged the honeymoon suite! (The only difference to any of the other rooms seemed to be that it had a 4 poster bed, but still ........) We ate delicious Chinese food, wandered by the banks of the river & visited the charming museum to learn a little about the native culture, ahead of our stay with the Iban people. The Iban were among the former head-hunting tribes of the region, but we were relieved to have it confirmed that such practices died out in the early years of the 20th C. There was also an interesting section of the museum sponsored by Shell which started its oil drilling & refining activities in Borneo in 1898 under the direction of Marcus Samuel, a subsequent Lord Mayor of London. Shell obviously holds sway in Borneo still, from what we could see.