A Trip to Kuching

Malaysia, like Indonesia, is a country which loves cats. So much so, in fact, they named a city after them. The origin of the name is under dispute, but it’s a fact that Kuching is the Malaysian word for cat. Located on the island of Borneo, in the state of Sarawak, Kuching is a fun place to visit. We recently took a trip to Kuching from Penang, Malaysia, and it’s not just for cat lovers!

Kuching Background

Kuching is pronounced Koo – Ching. It is the capital of the state of Sarawak, but we didn’t find it very busy. We saw other tourists, but not many, and most places we visited were fairly quiet. The busiest place was Bako National Park outside of Kuching, where we saw monkeys and other native wildlife.

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Two Nights in Malacca

The more I travel, the more I enjoy exploring the “off the beaten path” places. Sometimes, the tourist hotspots are disappointing, like Bali and Bora Bora, and often too crowded. So when we visited Malacca, Malaysia, a place we knew next to nothing about, we were pleasantly surprised. We spent two nights in Malacca, admiring the historic buildings and eating excellent food.

Why Two Nights in Malacca

From Puteri Harbour, we made plans to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s modern capital inland city. Since the best way to travel was via bus or train, we decided to break up the trip with a stop in Malacca (also spelt Melaka) on the way. (Since I am writing this in English, I am using the English spelling. I have been told that either is correct and they are interchangeable.) We saw a lot but two nights in Malacca may not have been enough.

Chinatown in Malacca
Entrance to Malacca’s Chinatown

About Malacca

Malacca City is part of a World Heritage Site, combined with Penang to the north, and has a rich history as a maritime port. The charming city is intersected by the narrow Malacca river which is lined with pathways for use by cyclists and pedestrians.

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Puteri Harbour, Malaysia

Malaysia is its own unique country, and what we’ve seen so far we like. Our first stop after Indonesia was Puteri Harbour, Malaysia. A bay carved out of the mangrove jungle just across the narrow channel from Singapore, Puteri Harbour offers a marina, restaurants, and some good provisioning nearby.

Checking In to Malaysia

Checking in was so easy because of the proximity to the ferry terminal, which brings visitors from Batam, Indonesia daily. Once we docked, we sat on our boat until the Pine Tree marina team retrieved us in their golf cart for the short drive to the ferry terminal. At the terminal we had a very brief meeting with a government agent representing customs and immigration. We gave him our paperwork and he briskly stamped us into the country. Welcome to Malaysia in a few minutes. One of the easiest check-ins to a country ever!

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