By Callum Taylor
Two days in Brunei had emptied our wallets so the sooner we returned to Malaysia the sooner our bank accounts could breathe again. The longest stretch of travel across northern Borneo was now upon us as our next destination was Kuching, 900km away by road.
Coming from Australia, 900km through mostly country roads sounds like a long but doable full days drive. Unfortunately its never that easy in this part of the world. From what we found online, this journey would require two buses and a minimum of 22 hours. Throw in another border crossing and we had a draining day ahead of us.
Our next leg of travel. Don’t believe Google Maps’ time estimate. Photo: Google Maps
The first bus we needed to take left from Bandar Seri Begawan bound for Miri in Malaysia. To our delight it left at 1pm, meaning we could wake up unreasonably late for once. It would take 4-5 hours in total which I think is the shortest bus of the trip since Bali. Don’t underestimate Marta’s ability to get a good nap in though.
After embracing the opportunity to sleep in we headed into the city to book ourselves a spot on the bus. The grand total of two other passengers meant this was probably unnecessary but my insistence on organisation meant we had no choice. Departure wasn’t for another hour or so though so we decided to kill time at a local cafe. After waiting for what felt like 726 days for them to bring out our bagels we only just made it back in time to leave.
Miri
We left on time for probably the first time of the entire trip and after a few hours we made it to the border back into Malaysia. Crossing was simple and soon enough we had arrived in Miri. Next order of business was meant to be finding an onward bus to Kuching, but first we were hungry and Google Maps said that there was a KFC nearby. My love of fast food overcame Marta’s disgust of fried chicken so soon enough we were essentially bathing in delicious Kentucky fried grease.
After recovering from multiple mid-meal heart attacks we headed back to the station to find a bus. The smaller companies seemed to be shutting down by now so there were less touts trying to butter us up with offers. A bit of research online said that at 8pm there was a VIP bus leaving which was at no extra cost, so of course we chose that option.
When the VIP bus finally showed up it was easy to see why this bus was designated as VIP. This was the fanciest bus I had ever seen. It was a huge double decker coach complete with big and wide leather reclining seats, personal TV screens with preloaded movies for every passenger and plenty of legroom. Like flying business class, or what I imagine it to be like.
Living like royalty.
The only problem with this leg of the journey was that it would take 18 hours to reach Kuching. Brunei to Miri might have been one of our shorter bus rides but this was easily the longest of the trip. At first it was comfortable but after a few hours the realisation sank in that Marta and I along with every other passenger would die of old age before reaching Kuching.
No amount of twisties made the ride easier and my attempt at getting some sleep wasn’t successful. Marta slept like a baby and fortunately for her had a great time. Miraculously, we survived the journey and we arrived in the early afternoon to the capital of Sarawak.
Kuching
Immediately it was apparent that Kuching was very different to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. While Kota Kinabalu nearly felt like a western city in its centre with the big buildings and shopping malls, Kuching appeared to have a strong multicultural identity with influences from all over Asia and the west. A taxi brought us to our hostel and finally we had a bed again.
Now starving for lunch, Marta and I found a Filipino restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed our first meal since our Brunei bagel. A walk through town and along the waterfront followed, before we found a local pizza place for dinner which was incredibly good. We returned to our room afterwards in pouring rain ready to sleep after a long and uncomfortable 36 hours.
Bit of midnight monsoon grocery shopping. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola
The next day was our only day to get out and properly explore Kuching. Like the other cities of Malaysian Borneo, Kuching seemed to be low on sights but big on having a nice atmosphere and vibe. We started off by having a better look around the waterfront of the river that divided the city.
On one side of the river was a big, architecturally interesting building that resembled a large umbrella shaped tent. On our side were many closed food and market stalls waiting for the evening when this area was meant to spring to life. Across the river was a newly constructed bridge and all of this together made for an impressive bit of city scenery, take that Elizabeth Quay. We crossed over the bridge and for the next couple of hours we simply walked through the suburbs of Kuching.
The big umbrella tent. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola
For the first time in a while many of the locals looked at us with curiosity while the children burst out laughing after mustering the courage to say hello to us. A brief shower meant we had to take refuge undercover at one of the houses where the owner seemed quite pleased to have us sitting right on his doorstep. Eventually we were able to continue.
Bit of outer suburb scenery. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola
Lunch time came around and we decided to embrace the Chinese influence here and try one of their specialties. Originally we were looking for some steamed buns, but ended up buying a few baked pastries which were so good we went for seconds. Who knows what we actually ate but you don’t ask questions in Asia.
Heading back to our hostel we passed by a giant pink mosque and many market stalls. A little India mall followed and it was like stepping into a different culture every 100 metres. Kuching actually prides itself on its multiculturalism and it definitely shows.
Hot pink is the new black in Islam. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola
We arrived back at the hostel and relaxed for a while until the evening when we would revisit the waterfront. Marta had to work on her photos and I had to catch up on my doing-absolutely-nothing time. Productivity is definitely something Marta is better at.
The sun was beginning to set so we walked back down to the river for the final time. The market stalls were opening up and the place was now buzzing with people. Kids chased bubbles in the square, families and couples were dining by the water, wannabe instafamous Chinese tourists took awful photos from every angle of themselves, it was a big change from the daytime. The newly built bridge was even a hit with the local population given it had been only open for a month.
Nothing is more exciting than a bubble. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola
We sat down for dinner at one of the cafe stalls and enjoyed some local cuisine. It was a very nice place to be as the last rays of light disappeared and the lamps switched on. The umbrella-tent building across the river was now lit up along with the bridge and it left a great impression of Kuching. Unfortunately for us we had to depart very early the next morning so we called it a night and headed back to the hostel.
Not a bad light show. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola
On the way back I had Marta pose with a giant cat sculpture which some locals thought was hilarious. Kuching is actually named after cats for some reason, so we thought it was appropriate to photograph the Catalan in cat city.
Marta in her element. Photo: Callum Taylor
We arrived home and packed our bags for the next day. We planned to cross another border as we needed to re-enter Indonesia for a few days. Pontianak was the destination and the bus would take a solid 8-10 hours to get there. Unfortunately for us it was highly unlikely there would be another VIP bus. Back to economy class.
At 5:30am we groggily got out of bed and made our way through the darkness to find breakfast and then a Grab to the bus station. The bus turned out to be alright, not as bad as the 500 year old wheeled boxes we had been on earlier. We weren’t so enthusiastic about going back to Indonesia here, but it would only be for a few days and then Singapore was ahead of us. We said goodbye to Kuching and Malaysian Borneo and off we went.
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