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If you've ever walked along McDougall Road in Kuching, you've probably noticed this striking white building. St Joseph's Cathedral isn't some massive ornate cathedral, but there's something about it — a quiet sense of peace the moment you stand in front of it. [image: 1781921130365-st_joseph_1-resized.jpg] Source: stjosephkuching.org Most people just snap a photo of the exterior and move on. But step inside — the stained glass windows are genuinely stunning. Imported from Tyrol, Austria, they depict St. Joseph, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Francis Xavier. [image: 1781921135527-st_joseph_2.jpg] Source: Wikipedia Commons ️ A Bit of History The original St. Joseph's Church was completed in 1882, built with belian (ironwood) and red brick, with floor tiles imported from the Netherlands! The original design was Neo-Gothic with twin spires standing 80ft tall. The Mill Hill Missionaries arrived in Kuching in 1881. Charles Brooke (the second White Rajah) granted them 10 acres of land. By 1882, they opened Sarawak's first Catholic school — St. Joseph's School — which started with just 20 boys in an attap hut The current building was completed in 1969 with a strikingly different "big tent" modernist design — a complete departure from the Gothic original. [image: 1781921136163-st_joseph_3.jpg] Source: The Borneo Architecture Journal What People Say 4.5 on Google Maps. Some quotes: "I come here every time I visit Kuching. It's such a peaceful place." "It's not just a church — it's also a place to learn about Kuching's history." "The morning light through the stained glass is beautiful." "It looks small from outside but the interior feels spacious." One visitor shared that they happened to attend Sunday mass — the choir's voice echoing through the cathedral was an experience they couldn't put into words. Practical Info Address: Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuching (near Padungan) Opening hours: Open daily (check website for mass times) Entry: Free Note: Keep quiet and respect worship activities Nearby: Just a short walk to Carpenter Street and Main Bazaar Is It Worth Visiting? If you're into history, architecture, or just need a quiet moment — yes. No need to make a special trip (it's right in the city centre), just drop by when you're in the area. Some might say it's just another church. But if you know the story behind it, every brick tells a chapter of Sarawak's Catholic history. Have you been here? What did you think?

You know that UFO-looking building in Kuching? 🛸 Yes, the Kuching Civic Centre (Dewan Suarah Kuching) on Jalan Taman Budaya. I'll be honest — every time I drive past, I can't help but look up at that umbrella-shaped observation tower. As a kid, it felt straight out of a sci-fi movie. [image: 1781834773579-civic1-resized.jpg] Source: Wikipedia From Landmark to "White Elephant" The Civic Centre officially opened on 1 August 1988, right after Kuching was granted city status. Its 74-metre observation tower offers a 360-degree panoramic view — on a clear day, you can see Mount Serapi, Mount Santubong, and even the mountains of Kalimantan. Unfortunately… the tower has been closed to the public for over a decade. There used to be a restaurant and pub at the top — weekend nights with a drink and city views was a whole vibe. Now? All shut down. [image: 1781834782157-civic2.jpg] Source: TripAdvisor What's Still Open? Things that are still running: Planetarium Sultan Iskandar PetroSains Playmart (great for kids) The carpark was converted into a skate park — quite popular with the youngsters The rest? Mostly closed. The Borneo Post has reported on this several times, and even the Tourist Guides Association called for the tower's restoration back in 2025. [image: 1781834782383-civic3.jpg] Source: KuchingBorneo What People Are Saying "Actually Civic centre is a very nice place. But now neglected didn't do much improvement or maintenance." — TripAdvisor user "During its glory days there was a restaurant on top. Nice structure but it's a pity that it's not well maintained." — Google review "The surrounding park is worth to go for a walk if you're in the area." — Another visitor Overall rating on TripAdvisor is just 2.8/5 — not because it's ugly, but because it's been neglected for years. The good news though: the government has a refurbishment plan underway in 2025-2026. The roof has been spotted undergoing renovation! [image: 1781834782621-civic4.jpg] Source: Borneo Post Practical Info Address: Jalan Taman Budaya, Kuching Opening: Outdoor area is freely accessible Planetarium / PetroSains have their own hours (check ahead) Observation tower: CLOSED (waiting for renovation) Getting there: ~20 min walk from city centre, or a quick Grab ride Nearby: Walking distance to Sarawak Museum & Waterfront Anyone here old enough to remember the restaurant at the top? What was it like? Drop your memories below!

If you've only been to Bako and skipped Kubah, you're missing out on something special. Kubah National Park is just 20km from Kuching city — about a 40-minute drive. But the vibe here is completely different from Bako. While Bako is all about coastal sandstone formations, Kubah is deep, wet, dense jungle that barely lets light through the canopy. I went there once around 7am, and the morning mist was still hanging in the air. The whole forest felt like a steam room. As I made my way to the Waterfall Trail, the first rays of sunlight broke through — honestly one of those moments where words don't do it justice. [image: 1779933787452-kubah_waterfall-resized.jpg] Source: Kelvin Toh / Wikimedia Commons What makes Kubah special? Palm trees. This park has one of the highest palm diversity in the world — 98 different species across 2,230 hectares. It was gazetted as a national park in 1989 mainly because of its palm richness. And the frogs here are something else. The Bornean narrow-mouthed frog is only found around Kubah. What people are saying: "Waterfall trail is pretty easy and the waterfall itself is gorgeous. Saw wild boars and a monitor lizard." — Muhammad A., Google Maps "You can easily spend 3-4 hours here on different trails. The palm collection is insane." — Sarah L., TripAdvisor "Best to come early, before 8am. Do Waterfall Trail first then Summit Trail, finish by noon. Bring enough water, there's nowhere to buy on the mountain." — Ah Hau, FB Kuching Hiking Group [image: 1779933795933-kubah_canopy-resized.jpg] Source: Angeline Ting / Wikimedia Commons The Trails: There are 7 colour-coded trails ranging from 255m (Palmetum) to 5km (Summit Trail). My pick: Waterfall Trail — moderate difficulty, about 1 hour to the waterfall. If the weather's good, continue on the Summit Trail up to Gunung Serapi viewpoint at 800m. Trails are well-maintained but can get slippery after rain. Definitely wear hiking shoes. [image: 1779933797308-kubah_trail2-resized.jpg] Source: Angeline Ting / Wikimedia Commons Wildlife spotting: Besides palms and frogs, keep an eye out for bearded pigs, hornbills, squirrels, and mouse deer. I was lucky enough to spot a large hornbill flying overhead. Right next door is Matang Wildlife Centre, which runs a orangutan rehabilitation program. [image: 1779933798775-kubah_trail3-resized.jpg] Source: Angeline Ting / Wikimedia Commons Practical Info: Location: Kubah National Park, Matang, Sarawak Open: 8:00AM - 5:00PM daily Entry: RM10 (Malaysian adult) / RM5 (child) Foreign tourists: RM20 Accommodation: Forest lodge available, book in advance Bring: Water (at least 1.5L), insect repellent, sunscreen, raincoat (weather is unpredictable) [image: 1779933800260-kubah_trail5-resized.jpg] Source: Angeline Ting / Wikimedia Commons Overall, Kubah is perfect for a half-day trip. Not too exhausting, plenty of trail options, and close to the city. If you love nature but don't want the scorching sun you'd get at Bako, this is your spot. Been to Kubah? Which trail is your favourite? Drop a comment below! [image: 1779933801221-kubah_hiking.jpg] Source: Ayu Farhana / Wikimedia Commons

If you only have one day in Kuching and want to get up close with nature, Bako National Park should be at the very top of your list. Established in 1957, it is Sarawak's oldest national park — and arguably one of the most accessible wild experiences in all of Borneo. Despite its compact size (just 27 km²), Bako packs in an incredible seven different ecosystem types: beach, cliff, mangrove swamp, peat swamp, kerangas forest, mixed dipterocarp forest, and grassland. It's like a condensed version of the entire Borneo landscape. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Photos from the park [image: 1779770950255-bako_rock.jpg] The iconic sea stack rock formations — Bako's most photographed sight Source: Borneo mobilegrapher (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA) [image: 1779770950586-bako_panorama.jpg] Teluk Assam beach — the first thing you see when you step off the boat Source: Borneo mobilegrapher (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA) [image: 1779770951024-bako_trail.jpg] Walking into the rainforest trail — lush greenery surrounds you Source: Orizan (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY) [image: 1779770951430-bako_mangrove.jpg] Mangrove ecosystem along the boardwalk — great for spotting wildlife Source: Wikimedia Commons ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ️ Practical Info Address: Bako National Park, Kuching, Sarawak (about 40km from Kuching — take a car to Kampung Bako jetty, then 20 min boat ride) Opening Hours: Park open daily 8:00AM - 5:00PM Best to arrive at the jetty by 9AM Fees: Malaysian: Adult RM10 / Child RM5 Foreign tourists: Adult RM20 / Child RM7 Boat round trip: ~RM40/person (RM30 for Malaysians) ️ Trails 16 colour-coded trails, from 30 min to several hours: Telok Tajor Trail (waterfall, ~1.5 hrs) 🟡 Paku Trail (easiest, family-friendly) Lintang Trail (full loop, ~5 hrs, all ecosystems) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ What people say Bako consistently rates 4-5 stars across platforms "One of the best national parks I've visited for wildlife! Saw proboscis monkeys feeding in the mangroves around 4pm, plus giant monitor lizards walking around fearlessly." — Singaporean traveler, TripAdvisor "Despite being Sarawak's smallest national park, the biodiversity is incredible. Saw pitcher plants, flying lizards along the trails!" — West Malaysian visitor, Google Reviews "Took my kids — our 4-year-old had no issues. Lots of monkeys that will snatch your food. Boat ride is about 20 min, can get exciting when waves are big." — Kuching local family "This level of rainforest and beach experience at these prices is incredible value. If you want to see proboscis monkeys but can't make it to Kinabatangan, Bako is your answer." — Backpacker ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Why go? Less than 1 hour from Kuching city (car + boat) Incredible wildlife: proboscis monkeys, silver leaf monkeys, macaques, monitor lizards 16 trails for all fitness levels Overnight accommodation available Exceptional value ️ Bring mosquito repellent! Last boat returns around 3-4PM — plan your timing. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Website: https://bakonationalpark.com Have you been to Bako? Share your experience below