The Kuching Waterfront is a delightful and serene place to take a walk and unwind after a hectic day of touring the city and its surrounding attractions. This is a sliver of landscaped garden beside the Sarawak River running the whole length of Gambier Street and Main Bazaar, about a kilometre in length.
The Waterfront looking towards the east
In the olden days of the Brooke and colonial era of Kuching, this place used to bustle with commercial and economic activities where sampans, fishing boats, tongkangs and steamships berthed; and coolies, porters, fishermen,traders and passengers went about in their respective chores amidst the din of motor boats, cranes, lorries and the likes. This was after all, the heart of Kuching’s old “central business district”.
With the advent of modern transport, and the subsequent shifting of the port to Pending, this wharf front slowly declined in importance and in fact, with the many decrepit godowns and worn-down jetties among the muddy river banks, it was an eyesore for the burgeoning city. By late 1980s, the government decided it was time for a total makeover, and what a makeover it was! The renovation work took over three years and raised many eyebrows with its multi-million price tag. Finally in 1993, it was opened to the public with great fanfare and since then, has been a hugely popular place for locals and tourists alike, and along the way vindicated the government for the “scandalous” amount of money spent.
Under the auspices of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation, the esplanade was developed with conserving most of its prominent old buildings and features, among them the former Chinese Chamber of Commerce building (now houses the Chinese History Museum), the Sarawak Steamship Company building (now a bazaar for souvenir stalls and a restaurant) and the unique whitewashed Square Tower, a relic of the Brooke era dating back to 1879, remains exactly at the spot where it is now standing.
Chinese History Museum at the Waterfront
Guard tower, prison, store in the Broooke era, now this Square Tower is an art gallery
The former Sarawak Steamship Co. building now converted into a bazaar.
Along the landscaped ground of the Waterfront are numerous eating stalls, the Khatulistiwa Restaurant with its unique Bidayuh inspired architecture, and an eatery called James Brooke’s Bistros. There are also park benches, open air stage and canopied stalls selling trinkets. The serenity of the shades of trees and hedges easily blocks the background roar of the traffic along Main Bazaar.
The floor of the Waterfront are inlaid with interesting mosaic of native designs.
The tambangs are moored along the many jetties waiting for passengers.
Among the attractions of the Waterfront is the lovable water taxi or tambang, a covered canoe with motor powered engines, which for generations served as the only mode of crossing the river for the Malay kampung folks living across the river. There are many floating pontoons and landing points on both sides of the river, each serving different locations, so it is necessary to choose the right jetty before boarding the boat. The tambang’s fare for one way is 50 sen and it takes only a few minutes to cross the river. Nowadays besides ferrying passengers, the tambangs operators gladly accept tourists and visitors for joyrides.
The "water taxi" or tambang of the Kuching Waterfront
At night the Waterfront is lit up and is a popular place for people to relax.
The Kuching Waterfront always prides itself as “The People’s Place” or the “The Happening Place” as this the venue for many activities and festivals. The godown amphitheatre can host shows and musicals, while the Waterfront Square is a large open space for tai chi excercise, mass aerobics, and dances. The wide promenade allows scores of festive tents to be set up for sales of trinkets and souvenirs on big occasions, most famous of which is the Sarawak Regatta where every inch of the esplanade will be crammed with visitors. A musical fountain and modern art form of a steel hornbill are among the other attractions.
View of the Waterfront from the pontoon across the river
The Waterfront is also the place for the daily sunset cruise on the Sarawak River. Boarding the MV Equatorial, a decommissioned steamship at the jetty, visitors are taken on a cruise sailing up the river at the exact time when the sunset is most spectacular. On the open deck, a sweeping panorama of Kuching’s old quarter and the unique Malay kampong (villages) file pass visitors’ view.
The popular Sarawak River Cruise vessel is berthed right at the Waterfront's jetty.
The best time to visit the Waterfront is early in the morning when the air is still cool, and dusk when the place lights up like a fairyland. Watch out for the sunset from the railings of this park while the river cruise ship sails pass in its every-evening run, this is a most spectacular sight.
