MOUNT SANTUBONG AND MOUNT SEJINJANG

THE LAGEND OF MOUNT SANTUBONG AND MOUNT SEJINJANG

A legend often associated with the mountain is of two beautiful princesses of heaven, Santubong and Sejinjang. Santubong was an expert weaver while Sejinjang was an excellent rice tresher. When war broke out between two villages, Kampung Pasir Puteh and Kampung Pasir Kuning, the King of Heaven sent the princesses to keep peace in both villages. The villagers saw both beautiful princesses and stopped the war. After the war, both princesses taught the villagers their expertise and both villager began to trade and become prosperous. Many princes heard of them and came from the whole island to marry them, but all was denied by them. One day, a handsome prince came, and the princesses had a quarrel and exchanged blows because both of them fell in love with the prince. Sejinjang swung her tresher which hit Santubong's cheek. Santubong threw her weaver at Sejinjang, hitting her in the head. Putting and end to the quarrel, the King oh Heaven cursed both of them into mountains. Santubong turned into Mount Santubong while Sejinjang was turned into Mount Sejinjang. It is said that both Mountains resembles women lying on their back and a crack on Mount Santubong.

KUCHING WATERFRONT

The Kuching Waterfront is the local point of the town and features a graceful, European-style esplande with viewa across to the astana (the place) and Fort Margherita. Formerly this 1 km stretch was home to many warehouses, which were closely associated with the mercantile trade of this city. The design of the waterfront has incorporated traditional Iban cultural motifs, evident in the mosaic tiles on the pavements.

The waterfront has of course undergone several transformation since the 19th century - from a small settlement with a few atop buildings, to a busy port with warehouses and wharves, to the landscaped riverside walk it is today. The waterfront is now also home to modern sculpture, an open-air theater and a musical fountain.

There are also numerous rotunda rest point along the way. Mid-way down the stretch sits the Hornbill fountains, a modern steel sculpture, depicting Sarawak's national bird, the hornbill. Its play of light is rather arresting at night. Just further down, on the left hand side is a building, which houses the Chinese Museum. Members of the chinese community built this building in 1912. The waterfront also features an open-air eatery and a theater. The theater is housed in the former Sarawak steamship company warehouse. The tourist information office is also situated here. Cultural activities are held here especially during Gawai (the native harvest festival) in June each year and Cat City Featival, held annually in August. For another perspective on the town, hire a boat and float down the river either by day or night - the sunset is fantastic.

KUBAH NATIONAL PARK

Kubah is one of Sarawak's most accessible national parks. It is only 20 kilometres from Kuching.Kubah is the recent addition to Sarawak's network of protected forest area, Which was gazetted in 1988 and was only open to public in 1995. An overnight stay is highly recommended if you want to get the best of this handy and compact site.

The sandstone plateau includes three mountains, Gunung Serapi, Gunung Selang and Gunung Sendok. Which can be sen clearly from Kuching. Within the park's 2,230 hectares you can find rare ferns and orchids. These were one of the reason kubah was gazetted as a national park in 1989. Popular with local people are the waterfalls and clear jungle streams where you can cool off after trekking through the jungle on well-marked paths.

The dipterocarpforest, interspersed with patches of scrub and unusually rich area of kerangs, is home to bearded pigs, black hornbills, squirrels, mouse deer and many species of rep tiles and amphibians .

BAKO NATIONAL PARK

Occupying a jagged peninsula jutting into the South China Sea, Sarawak’s oldest national park is just 37km northeast of downtown Kuching but feels like worlds and eons away. It’s one of the best places in Sarawak to see rainforest animals in their native habitats.

The coast of the 27-sq-km peninsula consists of lovely pocket beaches tucked into secret bays interspersed with wind-sculpted cliffs, forested bluffs and stretches of brilliant mangrove swamp. The interior of the park is home to streams, waterfalls and a range of distinct ecosystems, including classic lowland rainforest (mixed dipterocarp forest) and kerangas (heath forest). Hiking trails cross the sandstone plateau that forms the peninsula’s backbone and connect with some of the main beaches, all of which can be reached by boat from park HQ.

Bako is notable for its incredible biodiversity, which includes almost every vegetation type in Borneo and encompasses everything from terrestrial orchids and pitcher plants to long-tailed macaques and bearded pigs. The stars of the show are the proboscis monkeys – this is one of the best places in Borneo to observe these endemics up close.

Bako is an easy day trip from Kuching, but it would be a shame to rush it – we recommend staying a night or two to really enjoy the wild beauty of the place. Getting to Bako by public transport is easy.