Kuching plays host to the Borneo Cultures Museum, an impressive facility that we visited several times last year.

But there's also the old museum, the one that's pictured here.

It closed its doors in 2017, and has been undergoing renovation. We're still three/four years off having a working museum with artefacts and signage, but in the meantime, free walk-in tours are available twice a day just by registering at the counter of the new museum. Their focus is the building itself, which dates back to 1891, but has been modified several times since then.


Initially it showcased Sarawak's unique fauna, as advocated by Alfred Wallace; later it also incorporated elements of the state's indigenous cultures.

This is the building I must have visited when I first came to Kuching in January 2006... But I guess I focused primarily on the artefacts, because I'd completely forgotten how beautiful the structure and its murals are:

















Excellent way to spend an hour of your morning... And you can follow up with a good Sarawakian lunch at Indah.