Sarawak

Sarawak is one of the two Malaysian states located on the island of Borneo. Sarawak is quite different from Peninsular Malaysia. The ethnic and religious make up in Sarawak is much different from that found on the peninsula. Over 40 different ethnic groups, each with their own language or dialects, are found there. There are many indigenous tribes that make up a sizeable portion of the population (unlike the Orang Asli who make up only a very small portion of the population in penisular Malaysia). Sarawak has the highest proportion of Christians found in Malaysia.

Sarawak has a fascinating history. An Englishman, James Brookes, was appointed as Raja by the Sultan of Brunei in 1842. The Brookes family, including the "White Raja" Charles Brookes, ruled over Sarawak for almost 100 years until the Japanese occupation in WW2. Following the war the Brookes family ceeded Sarawak to the British government and Sarawak became part of Malaysia in 1963.

To learn more about the people, culture, history, and environment of Sarawak check out-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawak

Kuching

A one hour and forty five minute flight took me from KL to Kuching, the largest city in Sarawak. I spent most of my time in Kuching eating, shopping for handicrafts, and walking along the waterfront.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuching

Along the waterfront.






There were lots of women on the street selling these colorful and tasty cakes.


Tune Hotel

If you are planning to travel in South East Asia then you might want to look into staying in a Tune Hotel. Tune Hotels are owned by Air Asia, Malaysia's low cost airline (like Malaysia's Southwest Airlines). Tune Hotel is the first attempt to develop a low cost, basic hotel chain in the region. They claim to provide a 5 star bed for a 1 star price and I thought that the room provided a good night's sleep for a good value.



http://www.tunehotels.com/

Don't worry that Tune doesn't seem very good at directions.