SMARTguide - Sarawak

TRANSPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE
Taxi boat
approaching the
new Golden Bridge
with State Assembly
in background
Despite the completion of
the spectacular Golden
Bridge, the new highlight
of Kuching’s riverfront in
2017, Sarawak’s “perahu
tambang” or river taxis,
remain very much the icon
of the Sarawak River; a relic
of the past; still very much
part of the city’s daily life.
Over two centuries, since the first
White Rajah, Sir James Brooke, set
up an early settlement combining
two populated Malay Kampungs —
Boyan and Surabaya — on the left
bank of the river as his administrative
centre, this part of the river figured
prominently in the life of the city,
contributing to the birth of downtown
Kuching.
Today, the new 335m S-shaped
bridge is a key tourist attraction,
connecting the south bank’s highly
popular waterfront walkway (main
bazaar and golden triangle) to
the north bank, where the State
Legislative Assembly building, the
historic Fort Margherita, and Astana
residence are to be found.
The Sarawak River -
life blood of Kuching
“Perahu tambang” still the icons
of the picturesque waterway
Sungai Bedil Besar, it is still much
quicker to take a boat - only two to
three minutes, while pedestrians
wishing to use the bridge will have
to walk for 15-20 minutes. Some
boatmen eat and sleep on their
boats during the week… so don’t be
surprised to see a blanket or two
rucked under the stern. According
to Jeman, most boat men work one
week on and three weeks off – in
rotation with others – while they
work in on farms the remainder of
the month.
To fully tap the river’s tourist potential,
the Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB)
recently endorsed a masterplan to
further develop river transport along
a 24km zone between Batu Kawa
and the Borneo Convention Centre
Kuching (BCCK).
A river cruise on
the MV Equatorial
CRUISING
THE RIVER
For those wishing to visit Kuching at a
leisurely pace – viewed from the river,
cruising aboard the “Sarawak River
Cruise” on the MV Equatorial gives a
different perspective of the historic city.
The cruise takes visitors past historical
landmarks such as the Kuching
Waterfront, Square Tower (formerly a
prison), a multi-purpose market, the old
State Mosque with five onion-shaped
domes, a Malay house on stilts and
the Satok Suspension Bridge before
heading the other side of the river to
see the Astana (former palace of the
White Rajahs), Fort Margherita (now a
police museum) and a fishing village
“My job still keeps me busy”, said Pak
cik Jeman (Jeman the boatman),
who prefers to row his passengers
across the river than to use the
motor. Generally running a boat from
the jetty at Jalan Gambir to Kampung
www.sarawaktourism.com
SMART GUIDE 21