Experience the best of Kuching

Kuching stretches along the Sarawak River in the north-west of Borneo, with a waterfront promenade between old colonial buildings. The Brooke family, the White Rajahs, ruled Sarawak from here for a century, and their legacy survives in Fort Margherita, the Astana across the river and the Old Courthouse. The shophouses of the old Chinese quarter and the Tua Pek Kong temple show the other side of the city's heritage.

Semenggoh Nature Reserve, a short drive south, shelters semi-wild orangutans. Bako National Park, reached by boat from a fishing village, has proboscis monkeys, mangroves and sea stacks, and the Sarawak Cultural Village at the foot of Mount Santubong shows the traditional houses of the state's peoples. Bidayuh longhouses at Annah Rais are within day-trip reach.

Sarawak laksa, rice noodles in a spiced prawn broth, kolo mee, springy noodles with pork, and midin, a wild jungle fern stir-fried with garlic, are local favourites, along with manok pansuh, chicken cooked in bamboo. The weather is hot and humid all year, wetter from November to February. The Rainforest World Music Festival fills the cultural village in summer.