Kuching is the capital and largest city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak and the district of Kuching, as well as the largest city on the island of Borneo. Once the capital of the White Rajahs of Sarawak, now with a population of some 600,000, Kuching is small enough to walk around but interesting enough to keep you there for several days, and a good base for exploring Sarawak. It's safe and relatively clean. The name of the city, Kuching, is thought to derive from the Malay word kucing, meaning cat. Many of the locals refer to Kuching as the "Cat City" but it more likely comes from the Chinese word for port coupled with the Malay name mata kucing (cat's-eye) for the longan fruit, a popular trade item. The people of Kuching take pride in being the cleanest city in Malaysia and their diverse cultures, so be prepared for a totally different experience from that of West Malaysia. Sarawak was a part of the Sultanate of Brunei 200 years ago but as a reward for help in putting down a rebellion, it was ceded to the British adventurer James Brooke who ruled it as his personal kingdom. Kuching was made his capital and headquarters. The Brooke Administration was given the status of Protectorate under Charles Brooke's rule. The Brooke family ruled Sarawak until the Japanese occupation in 1941. Kuching was surrendered to the Japanese forces on 24 December 1941, and Sarawak was part of the Japanese Empire for three years and eight months After the end of World War II Charles Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946. The British gave Sarawak independence in 1963 and together with North Borneo, Sabah and Singapore, helped form Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Singapore became an independent nation in 1965. QUESTIONS? We would like to hear from you! If you have any comments or questions about this destination or just need some general travel advice, feel free to leave a comment below! ABOUT VideoVoyage.TV is a travel channel specializing in informative videos about various travel destinations around the world. We are publishing a short video every day starting with places around Southeast Asia, but planning to extend our coverage to Europe and the Caribbean in the upcoming months. SUBSCRIBE http://www.youtube.com/videovoyagetv?sub_confirmation=1 CONNECT Website: http://videovoyage.tv Facebook: http://facebook.com/videovoyagetv Twitter: http://twitter.com/videovoyagetv Instagram: http://instagram.com/videovoyagetv YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/videovoyagetv Google+: http://google.com/+videovoyagetv

• published: 11 Dec 2013
• views: 2