A Tale of Two Cities

I noted last time some differences in Medan in Indonesia and Kuching in Malaysian Borneo. After spending a couple more days in Kuching, the differences became even more obvious than just traffic patterns. The main difference is a between a frenetic way of life and a more sedate one. First of all, because Medan doesn’t have any high rises, the tallest building we saw was four stories and in Langsa they were only two, that means that the city spreads out in a lateral, horizontal plane, whereas Kuching has a plethora of high rises reaching 30 to 40 stories high. Office buildings, apartment complexes and hotels all dominate the skyline and that give it a vertical appearance. That means that with one fourth the population, Kuching is much more organized and less frantic. The multi-level malls with an eclectic mix of eastern and western shops with L’Occitgane, Esprit, Levi’s and others taking their place alongside Asian shops more indigenous to the area. Rugby goal posts and playing fields give credence to the holdover of the Brits in the area, but today the city is a balance between ethnic Chinese and Malays who now are a larger percentage of the population than the Chinese. Throw in a few percentage points for local tribal people like the Sarawaks and you have a mixture that blends well in this city. In fact, the city has two mayors – one for the Chinese side of town and one for the Malay quarter, and heavens to Mergatroid, they actually cooperate and get along blending policies that benefit the whole…..now what’s that all about?

Secondly, Kuching seems to be a business center, a place of commerce for north Borneo while Medan is just neighborhood lapsing over into other neighborhoods without any distinctive flavor to any of them. Architecture in Medan is basically simple and utilitarian. Concrete block buildings abut against others of the same mold. Only the color changes. In Kuching, there is stylish and modern architecture and it gives the place a far more sophisticated feel. Everything just seems to move at a slower place in Kuching…green spaces and parks give it a tranquil feel and people just seem not to be in such a big hurry in all that they do. As the sun lowers in the sky men sit in the sidewalk cafes and drink their tea and coffee, lovers walk hand in hand down the street and women walk the street holding a multitude of shopping bags from the upscale stores and malls. It just feels good… if the sun didn’t bear down and beat you into submission it would really be a neat place. Our hotel filled our needs, free wi-fi and AC…for once, the AC was more important than the wi-fi. We’ve noticed in some of our hotels a arrow on the ceiling in the corner of the room. Carol finally figured out that it was pointing to Mecca for a proper prayer setting in the rooms for Muslim guests. The history of this whole area is one of colonial exploitation by the Brits and the Dutch, an effort to control the rubbe trade and petroleum industries. It didn’t pass to Malaysian control until 1962 when independence was gained as the Brits slowly began to unwind the empire upon which “The sun never sets.” Japanese occupation of the area was, as usual, vicious and deadly. Several WWII POW camps were established here, and the most famous one was Sandakan where only 6 of the 2,500 POW’s survived the war. On the flip side, the Brits bombed Kota Kinabalu, our next destination, and at the end of the war only three buildings were left standing. The whole area reeks with the stench of war and its inhumanity and it consequences. The island is the 3rd largest in the world after Greenland and New Guinea and is now split into three countries. Malaysia occupies the top quarter with Brunei, an oil rich sultanate enclave splitting, the different provinces of Malaysia, and the bottom ¾’s belonging to Indonesia who call their portion of Borneo, Kalimantan. However, we came to see the Orangutans. In Kuching our options were for a wildlife refuge where the primates are re-introduced back to the wild. They come to the refuge as orphans whose mothers have been shot or captured, or as adults who have been captured for domestic zoos. It was great to see them totally wild in Sumatra and there is lots of criticism of the “feeding Stations” where the animals are slowly re-introduced back to nature, but the fact is that if they were not there, the shrinking orangutan population would shrink even more drastically. They have a fine track record of success and keep a board of the status of the animals from quarantine, rehabilitation, to semi-wild, to totally wild. There is never any guarantee that you will see them at the feeding stations which put out food twice a day. In fact, since this is the season where fruits are in abundance in the jungle, it is actually a good sign when you don’t see them because it shows that they are finding sustenance on their own.

We were fortunate on our visit because there was a big male who came to the call of the attendant and then a mother with a baby clinging tightly to her side. Babies stay with their mothers for up to five years and this one was a three year old. She ventured out of her mother’s embrace as they scaled the long ropes that went from the various trees to the feeding platform where the ranger distributed food….The big male wanted more than his share and got into a pulling match with the ranger who wisely let go and let him have his way. Another difference that became quite obvious to us when we arrived at the wildlife center was the number of western and other tourists. In Bukit Lawang, there were a few pasty-faced visitors scattered out along the narrow walkway on which dozens of hotels and guest houses faced, but here in Kuching’s wild life center we saw just how many more there were here. Sumatra is not one of the top destinations within Indonesia, but here in Malaysian Borneo we are right in the middle of crossroads which makes for easy access to all destinations and cheaply so, since Air Asia has over 263 flights per week to all the destinations in the area, and they are just one of the many discount, low-cost airlines servicing the area. The other excursion that we wanted to see was a Sarawak cultural village. Established to promote the indigenous population, it is a well done replica of a village of the past. The students who work and study there are learning traditional arts and crafts. These places can be very hokey and have a phony feel to them, but this didn’t seem that way. The young kids were warm, friendly, informative and seemed truly appreciative of the visitation.

Borneo always seemed like such an exotic destination. So far away, so alien in culture, and full of lore about head hunting and lost expeditions. In fact, it is all of these, but it is also a place where in the modern world, conveniences in travel and the blessed and life-saving air conditioning make it a place that allows the traveler to enjoy the practicality of the place while still being fascinated by the exotic nature of the island. The rain forests are unique and are some of the oldest in the world. The huge island still has areas which are unexplored for any practical purposes, and I can only hope that it stays that way.