Visit Malaysia Year 2014 - Sarawak Museum, Kuching

To support Visit Malaysia Year 2014, I will be writing on various tourist attractions in the country. Let us work together to bring in tourists to our lovely Malaysia.

***

I still remembered my maiden trip to Kuching, Sarawak, back in 2011. My sister was about to start her university years in Universiti Sarawak Malaysia and the whole family flew to the Land of the Hornbills for the first time to send her off. While the trip itself was nothing memorable, Sarawak Museum left a good impression on me.

Sarawak Museum

Often considered among the best museum in Southeast Asia and the oldest in Borneo, the exhibition in the museum is rather extensive. Focus mostly on the natural history of Sarawak, the ground floor of the Old Building houses natural history collection and floras and faunas found in the state. 

Some of the animals found in Sarawak

Meanwhile, the first floor is where the collections of various ethnicity of the peoples of Sarawak is at. There are models of longhouses being exhibited here for the public to have a closer understanding of their ways of lives. Musical instruments, tribal masks, handicrafts, animal traps, and so on are some of the items being displayed.

Traditional musical instruments

Inside a longhouse

The interior of a typical longhouse

While the Old Building is all about the natural history, the extension of the museum, Dewan Tun Abdul Razak, is about the modern development. This building is across the road and you can use the overhead bridge which connects the two buildings. In here, you will learn about each and every districts of Sarawak and the many development works done to improve the living of the peoples.

The museum certainly lives up to its reputation as being one of the best in this region.

Info Box

Sarawak Museum,
Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, 93566 Kuching, Sarawak.
Open every Mondays to Fridays from 9.00 a.m. to 4.45 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. The museum closes on first day of main public holidays, Yang DiPertuan Agong's birthday, Labour Day and Malaysia Day.
Admission is free.
For more information, you can visit their website here.