Kuching: Most Instagrammable Street Art in the City of Cats
Read this if:
- You love Street Art;
- You’re visiting Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia; and
- Are looking for a local’s travel guide & tips to finding all the incredible Kuching street art worth of that Instagram shot.
BONUS:
You get a proper itinerary on exactly how to find all of the recommended Kuching street art in sequence alongside plenty of fun local tips to make your stay in the City of Cats a truly memorable one!
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Why Instagrammable Street Arts?
Instagrammable street arts are in trend.
Everywhere I turn, I see some form of mural art being painted across windows and down the sides of three storey buildings. Singapore with its colourful depictions of local life, Iceland with dramatic animal forms running along Laugavegur Street and finally, Malaysia.
When you talk about Malaysia and street art, talk tends to turn towards Malaysia’s northern island of Penang. But have you heard of Kuching, the City of Cats?
Kuching street art is rejuvenating derelict walls while immortalising the history of the places that it is being painted upon, and I am so excited to show them to you!
This Kuching street art phenomenon is relatively new but its influence is spreading.
My first introduction to the Kuching street art world was not so very long ago – sometime in early 2019 – and you can read about my encounter and the history behind the burgeoning Kuching mural art scene in an article I published with Buro 24/7 Malaysia on “Through the Eyes of a Local: How Mural Art is Transforming the City of Cats”.
Kuching, the City of Cats
Kuching is the capital city of Sarawak, located in Borneo.
An interesting fact that many might not know is that the land mass of Sarawak is greater than the whole of West Malaysia combined! The culture, history, people and even language of Sarawak is very different from West Malaysia. However, that is a tale for another time. For now, let me show you how to some of the most instagrammable street art in Kuching, Malaysia.
Bearing in mind that there are lots of mural art available, if you follow this route, you will be able to hit some of my favourite Kuching street art while experiencing a lot of the history of the City of Cats.
My proposed route will take us from one end of the Kuching Riverside beginning at Singgahsana Lodge to the other end where the old Court House stands. You will then walk the same way back albeit facing the Sarawak River because there is just so much to see! And the mural art at the end will be worth it, I promise.
When You Should Start
I recommend beginning your self-guided mural art walking tour as early as possible in the day. The Kuching sun is strong and it gets VERY hot during the day.
You will be out under the sun, and while there is some shelter along the way, the afternoon sun will feel like it’s burning through your skin. Not fun and definitely not something you want to embark on without layers of sunblock & an umbrella (even then, not really. It’s really that bad.).
Transportation in Kuching, Malaysia
Kuching may be the capital city of Sarawak, but it is easy to go from one point to another. At most, the city jam might take you 40 minutes (assuming peak hour is at its worse) but it generally takes you around 15 – 20 minutes to go from Point A to Point B at any time.
Your options for transportation include the local taxi or Grab. Grab is the most convenient as you can get the car to come straight to where you are and bring you to where you intend to be.
Furthermore, we Kuchingites are very friendly and it’s a great chance to get some insider tips! When I was in town with friends, one of the uncle taxi drivers (we call everyone older than us “uncle” or “aunty”, regardless of blood relations) was even so kind as to say, “I don’t recommend this place for Sarawak Laksa. I’ll bring you to a better one!”
The Ultimate Instagram Street Art Hunt
Singgahsana Lodge
To begin your self-guided tour, look for Singgahsana Lodge.
All three sides of Singgahsana Lodge have been covered in mural art, and you can catch a glimpse of it from Temple Road:
To be honest, this wall was where I first became aware of the existence of mural art in my own hometown!
The baby orang utan intrigued me so I got off the car to gain a closer look at the baby orang utan peering down at me.
Isn’t this an incredible sight?
This mural art was commissioned by the “What About Kuching” Festival in 2017, which is an annual month-long celebration of arts and culture. It was painted by a local Kuchingite, Leonard Siaw, who spent 30 days working on this wall using over 100 liters of weatherbond paint! The baby orang utan is so adorable and was specially requested by the owners of the Singgahsana Lodge.
As for the big guy beside the baby, at 14 meters in height and 38 meters in total length, it is the largest anamorphic street art in Borneo! He is Aman, and can be found in Kuching’s Semenggoh Wildlife Center.
Other Parts of Singgahsana Lodge
After your fill of orang utans, make sure you walk around the length of the building. Behind Singgahsana Lodge, you will find these lovely birds.
On the other side of Singgahsana Lodge, you will find some lovely cat graffiti.
#Tanahairku 1: “Children” mural art on Wayang Street, Kuching
That is not all, however!
If you follow the little back alley leading away from Singgahsana Lodge, you will happen upon another road facing an old red Hong San Si Taoist Temple. At the road junction to your left, you will find this amazing “Children” mural.
This mural art was one of three mural art known collectively as the #tanahairku murals (which means “my homeland” in Malay).
These #tanahairku murals were executed by Mohd Afiruddin (Dean R) and Armey Sheikh Ali – members of the 9Lives. This group of contemporary artists are based in Kuching and were commissioned by Petronas in 2015 to celebrate Malaysia Day from 8 – 14 September 2014. The hashtag is a reference to a Tanah Air poem by a famous local poet, Usman Awang. It depicts children of different ethnic races living harmoniously together.
One of Malaysia’s main newspapers, The Star, even reported on the #tanahairku street art installation occurring across Malaysia.
#Tanahairku 2: Hornbill
The second of the #tanahairku mural street art series can be found at the corner of Jalan Main Bazaar & Lebuh Wayang. It faces the famous Kuching Waterfront and is situated at the start of Kuching’s Chinatown – one of the oldest and most atmospheric of places to be found.
Once you find this hornbill, walk along the shops facing the waterfront as they are full of really interesting ethnic and local arts and crafts. Most of them really cheap & unique! Try negotiating with the storekeepers, but bear in mind that some of them do not allow photography.
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Tinsmiths in China Street
In my humble opinion, I think this is one of the most Instagrammable street art walls you will find in Kuching.
You will come across this side street as you are walking along the Main Bazaar of the Kuching Riverfront. My first glimpse of this wall was at night as I was passing by.
My advice: Come in the early morning to find the three tinsmiths painted on the wall – Mr Liew, Mr Lo and Mr Ho.
Mr Liew
Mr Liew works at the shop right beside the mural art wall.
He informed me that a young person had come to take his photo before painting his likeness on the wall beside his shop. This young artist being none other than Leonard Siaw, whose mural artwork we shall be seeing a lot of later in this article!
Mr Lo
The second person in the mural art is Mr Lo (above).
Mr Lo works in the shop directly across from the mural art wall, which you can see below.
Mr Lo works together with his older brother in the shop even to this day.
His older brother, whom you can see in the photo above, told us that he was initially approached to have his likeness drawn on the wall but he refused. In the end, his younger brother ended up being the face on the wall!
Mr Ho
Mr Ho’s shop is located along Bishop Gate Street, which is the road running parallel to China Street. It is a tin smithing shop that has been running since 1849.
Every morning at 8am, Mr Ho will begin his trade by sitting on his little seat by the corner of the shop.
We spoke to his son and son’s wife, who told us that Mr Ho is now something of a minor local celebrity at the young age of 84 years old.
Sometimes he will have huge gaggles of visitors crowding around him to take his photo. When he is in a good mood, he will let them take his photo. When his mood isn’t that great, he will give a “black face” or even hide in the back! I felt sorry for the Mr Ho; he probably had no idea of the power of social media!
It is also a good idea to visit this place in the morning as Mr Ho doesn’t tend to work in the afternoon. We visited twice, but he turned out to be taking a nap (or hiding from us, one can never be too sure & I won’t blame him!). Even so, his relatives were so lovely to chat with and kept explaining the various things being sold in their shop, including this fun fact:
“Mr Ho is a third generation tin smither. He loves his meat and hates his veggies. People always say you will die if you don’t eat your vegetables but look at Mr Ho! He never eats his veggie and is still alive. No problem. Healthy, strong, and not diabetic. We even grew fat!”
Don’t you just love it when people tell it straight as it is?!
Here, you can see Mr Ho’s son hard at work:
As for some of the unique things you can find (and purchase!), they include:
Really old school oil lamps. Mr Ho’s shop often receives customers from China who will buy these in the hundreds to bring home!
These are traditional containers used to contain that wafers that are used at Chinese temples. They will offer one to you, which you insert into my mouth and allow to melt. They continue to be used in temples!
Alternatively, you can purchase these and put your own little trinkets in them.
Traditional Red Letter Boxes
To be honest, I’m not quite sure what they do.
Possibly an oil storage container? A lot of the metal items being made were related to oil storage or as an oil pump of sorts.
For a little bit of history, we were told that the Ho family has been in this line for the past three generations but that the current generation no longer has an interest in continuing this line of work.
Despite working in this shop lot for the past three generations, the Ho family continues to rent the place.
When queried as to why they hadn’t gone around to purchasing the place, the Ho family explained that back in the 1960s, despite the purchase price being less than RM 100 (USD 25 / £ 20), the fact was that they simply couldn’t afford it. Not when a bowl of noodles was 50 cents (USD 0.1 / £ 0.98), which even then was considered expensive.
In fact, the idea of each person having one bowl of noodles was unimaginable; they were always shared. And having chicken was a grand, once a year, event that the entire family looked forward to.
Truly, we live in different generations! It made me realise how often I take things for granted, not understanding that everything I have is a privilege that one generation ago, would have considered to have been the height of luxury.
#Tanahairku 3: Leaping Feline
At the junction between Carpenter Street and Bishop Gate Street, you will find this lovely street mural and the third installation of the #tanahairku series. This mural was completed by local artists, Sonia Luhong (a founder of 9Lives) and Amy Amin.
The Leaping Feline depicts a domestic cat with the hind of a clouded leopard (a Borneo feline that is at the cusp of extinction), signifying its strong Sarawkian roots. A traditional Iban headgear graces its head to represent the Ibans, the Chinese clouds represent the Chinese race that strongly dominates Kuching, and the Malay “pucuk rebung” and Indian “mandala” are also included. These four elements ensure that all four dominant races in Kuching are represented.
LOCAL INSIGHT The Leaping Feline mural art sits atop Ethnic Tribal Cafe, but this restaurant wasn’t always there. When I was young, I would come to this place every Sunday for the noodle shop that used to be situated here. It was hot, stuffy, and boiling cooking water would splash straight into the longkangs (sewers) right where we stood waiting. If you looked down, chances were that you would see gigantic rats scurrying around. However, we all came and waited. If there were no seats available, we would stand around and wait for around 1 to 2 hours. 45 minutes was considered a miracle, but we waited religiously because the noodles were so worth it. They are unlike any noodles you will ever taste ANYWHERE, including the famous Sarawakian kolo mee and Foochow kampua. That noodle shop, called Noodle Descendants (麵家湯), has now moved No. 188 Jalan Padungan. It is a MUCH nicer place with proper fan and a clean and open setup – a place I patronise every time I return home. The same family members run it, and the noodles and soup taste just as they always have. Oh, and the waiting time is no longer that long (we sometimes only wait up to 45 minutes!). |
Across from Ethnic Tribal Cafe, Bishop Gate Street
Before we move on, don’t forget to cross the street from the Leaping Feline mural art into the lovely open space between two building blocks to find this!
Kuching’s Chinatown
Since you are already in the area, I would advise looking for the Leaping Feline mural art and tinsmiths at your leisure.
The entire place is very atmospheric and the shops look almost exactly as they did when I used to visit them 20 years ago!
Stop by, talk to the locals, maybe even buy a trinket or two. It is a lovely place and the people are lovelier, I promise 🙂
You also get extra brownie points if you can speak Chinese, which is what most of the locals converse in! But English does the job too, to a certain extent.
“The Early Mercers” in Little India
Having had your fill of Kuching’s Chinatown street, head towards the Old Court House at the end of Carpenter Road.
We are here for these two textile sellers.
This is another mural art by Leonard Siaw entitled “The Early Mercers”. The two men were pioneer textile traders in Kuching’s India Street: Wee Aik Oh and Sayed Ahmad. Back in the olden days, textile trading was one of the most prominent commercial activities around. Many Indians and Chinese got into the trade in the 1930s.
FUN FACT:
This is the first augmented reality mural art in the whole of Malaysia.
Accessing this feature is simple. Go to your iOS app store and download the Art Xense app. Open that app and point it towards the mural art. Let it load, and you will see the mural art come to live as scenes appear in your phone along with a voiceover telling you about the history of the place.
Download the ARx Xense app HERE (iOS devices only)
You might no longer see these old uncles plying their trade on the streets like the tin smiths, but this wall is just as alive in the best of technological ways!
Once you’ve recharged, step out of the cafe and over to the covered walkway of India Street because I am about to introduce to my MOST favourite art mural of all.
Kai Joo Street
Kai Joo Street is easy to find.
With the Old Courthouse behind you, keep walking until a small alleyway opens up to your left. And if you haven’t already guessed, this wall was also painted by Leonard Siaw.
This wall is long and features three main figures: vendors selling chargrilled cuttlefish, chicken porridge & soya bean curd.
This project was initiated by Kuching North City Hall (DBKU) in collaboration with For Art (F’Art), a non-profit organisation from Perth, with the ultimate aim of engaging and instilling a sense of belonging for Kuching among the locals.
Each of vendors on the wall were chosen after hours of interviews and careful determination. An artistic endeavour meant to capture the history of the place.
This is a man selling chargrilled cuttlefish (sotong ketuk in Malay), which is a trade that has been around for the past 50 to 60 years. Rumours have it that he sold the best sotong ketuk in the area.
Next, we have a man selling chicken porridge. Another prominent stall back in the olden days.
Finally, we have a vendor selling soya bean curd (or taufufa) – a local favourite and absolutely not to be missed if you are ever in town!
It is a sweet dessert and comes either chilled or hot. Back in the olden days, they were served in tiny octagonal bowls for RM0.10 each (do you even want to bother converting this amount?).
For the full view of the entire wall, look here:
Power Street
If you are done with Kai Joo Lane, head back into the main road for India Street and continue walking towards the end. Along the way, check out the local food stalls and even buy one of the classic local drinks that came in a plastic bag tied with string (you will see why later)!
Power Street contains one of THE most prolific and busy of street art in Kuching. There is something for everyone here. First off, let’s meet the orang utans again!
These little ones were drawn by Ernest Zacharevic, the famous mural artist most known for the Penang street art that the island is now so famous for.
These orang utans were sponsored by Spago Property Sdn Bhd in an attempt to “add colours to the city’s historical site” and were reportedly completed within 5 hours!
Ernest was not the only one who contributed to this wall.
In late April 2017, 20 Arts and Designs students from the UiTM Kota Samarahan campus decorated this wall by depicting an olden day version of a bustling Kuching town complete with a girl running and feeding pigeons.
Tapping into the local Sarawakian heritage, you will find an Iban dressed in his traditional costume, a proboscis monkey gazing down, little cats, buskers, a cobbler, a traditional blue public bus, rainforest inhabitants and even a vendor selling his drinks and lok-lok (a roadside food stall that sells skewers for eating. Steamboat on the roadside).
The Kuching Riverfront
What is Kuching without its cats?
If you leave the orang utan murals behind and head towards the river, you will see these cat statue installations.
Now I would advise walking along the Kuching Riverfront because it is gorgeous.
If you came down using Carpenter Street, now is the time to walk along the Main Bazaar. Stop by all the local shops to look for something unique to bring home.
Look out for this tiny rattan bag!
It sells for RM 39 (USD 9.50 / £8). My schoolmates and I used to carry this to school in our kindergarten years (ages 4 to 6 years old).
After 20 years, the little rattan bag looks exactly the same as the day it was purchased. Definitely a nice gift for you to bring home! Something unique, cheap, well-made and durable. And don’t forget, you will be supporting the local community!
Keep walking the length of the way back until you see the #tanahairku Hornbill mural. You will need to keep walking until you reach the Riverside Majestic Hotel. If in doubt, ask a local or use Google Maps.
Riverside Majestic Hotel Kuching, Malaysia
In front of the Riverside Majestic Hotel facing the Sarawak River, you will find this:
In case you were wondering, this is in fact another mural artwork done by Leonard. We caught him at work again!
This mural artwork was done in conjunction with the Kuching Waterfront Jazz Festival 2019.
Gosh isn’t it hot? I can’t imagine working under the sun for so long. Leonard is so used to it now, he says that he no longer feels the heat. I, on the other hand, was burning up. It was like the heat was reaching into my bones!
Conclusion
And there you have it! A highlight of what, to me, are some of the best and most instagrammable streets for mural art to be found in Kuching, Malaysia. If you’ve made it this far, well done! It was a long one.
I’ve planned the route such that you can go through the Main Bazaar twice. The experience of walking along Carpenter Street amidst the old school Chinese shops & the Main Bazaar facing the Sarawak River are TOTALLY different and worth doing.
If you lack the time, consider starting off where the cat statue / Power Street is and make your way down towards the Riverside Majestic Hotel.
This journey will take you around 2 – 3 hours, depending on how long you spend at each location and whether you opt to do a little shopping at the Kuching Riverside Main Bazaar.
Any questions?
Feedback on the proposed itinerary?
Leave a comment below and fire away.
And if you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to read my Buro 24/7 Malaysia article on “Through the Eyes of a Local: How Mural Art is Transforming the City of Cats”!
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36 Comments
Sara Kendall
I love Street Art. Your very detailed post is the perfect guide when visiting the City of the Cats! Bookmarked it for future reference. Thanks!
Iuliya
Thanks!! Hope you get to visit and follow my guide. There will be LOTS more to discover then 🙂
Peachy
Amazing pictures. Thanks for this post, we were planning a trip to Malaysia next year and this will be added to our itinerary because of your post, thanks.
Iuliya
Ooh I’m so glad to hear that!! I’ll definitely be posting a lot more things on Malaysia & Kuching. 🙂 If you’re in West Malaysia and are the adventurous type, don’t forget to check out Gua Tempurung (I have another post on it)!!! It’s my top recommended activity whenever someone comes to visit 🙂
Becki
Wow! I love these murals. I’m a massive street art fan, and this is a new destination to add to my radar. I had no idea Borneo had this type of street art. The references to the orangutan are super cute too. Looks like I’ll be putting this on my bucket list for 2020 😀
Iuliya
Love that you love mural art too!! Hope you get to visit Kuching in 2020. There are SO MANY other amazing street art depictions I haven’t had a chance to see myself!
Kelly
SO much to see! It would take forever to see it all. So much talent. It’s difficult to say what my favorite would be, but I love the orang utan
Iuliya
I loved the orang utan too!! It was the first one I saw and sooo realistic!
Patrice
Love the art and photos in this post! Had no idea all this existed in Kuching.
Iuliya
YES! Some of these are rather new hence this post, to spread awareness!!
Heather @ US Japan Fam
LOL! Instagrammable street art – you speak my language! This place looks SO COOL!!! Thanks for sharing!
Iuliya
Hahaha glad I speak your language!!! And Kuching IS cool. Hope you get to visit!
Patricia Martin
These murals are beautiful, the artists that have painted them are so talented. I wish I can visit Malaysia one day.
Iuliya
Please do visit Malaysia, and don’t forget Kuching!! 🙂
Nomads RTW
Such an amazing collection of street art! We used to go shooting around London looking for the best ones. Love it!
Iuliya
London has some really gorgeous ones, I agree. Did you see the ones in Brick Lane?
Alexandra Cook
Those were a really stunning street art. It would be more beautiful if I could see them all personally.
Iuliya
Yes they would! Kuching is a great place to visit in itself too!! 🙂
David Elliott
There is so much wild street art there. I know we have a few places out here in LA with it but nothing as wild and interesting as this. It would be some great places to shoot and put up on Instagram for sure.
Iuliya
Glad you enjoyed it! Do you have recommendations on where to find great mural art in LA?!
Emma
This artwork is so beautiful. Finding street art is one of my favorite activities when I travel, but this pace seems to have so much more than a lot of places. I love that there’s even art on uneven surfaces like buildings with balconies and windows jutting out. Sip much effort went into all of this
Iuliya
YES! I was amazed by how the street art has transformed the city!
Nicky
These are so beautiful!! They must’ve taken so long to paint, but it’s so worth it! And anywhere that’s called the City Of Cats sounds good to me! 😀
Iuliya
The irony is that we don’t actually have that many cats! More dogs than cats!!
Rachel
I love this! Now, I want to see if anyone has wrote something like this for Cincinnati, so I know where to take some photos for Instagram. If not, I guess that’s another blog post idea for me! Haha.
Iuliya
😉
Elizabeth
It’s so fun to see street art in different cities. I love the paintings of the people who actually live and work in the city.
Iuliya
Same! I loved how it reflected the culture and history of my own city. 🙂
Aditi Sharma
Malaysia is on our bucket list and we enjoy seeing incredible street art such as the one you’ve described so beautifully in this post. Thanks for the tip regarding heading out for this self-guided walk around Kuching to discover its street art early in the day. Singgahsana Lodge looks incredible!
Iuliya
You are welcome! And yes, Kuching is a LOT hotter than Peninsula Malaysia (which is already pretty hot & humid), so wandering around when the sun is out isn’t recommended. We locals tend to hide indoors during these times too!
Reina E Conboy
The artwork here is just absolutely unreal! I’m sure it’ll spice up anyone’s Instagram feed! Thanks for sharing!
Iuliya
You’re welcome!!
Rudy @ Backpack & Snorkel
I love street art! I think I took more than a hundred photos of beautiful murals during our trips to Holbox (Mexico) and Valparaiso (Chile). Good to know that Malaysia has wonderful street are too. Something for me to visit!
Iuliya
Wow! I’ll keep an eye out for the street art if I’m ever in the area!
Anna
I love street art! Such a great way to explore a new city! Also thank you for putting this comprehensive guide together, usually, I spend hours trying to find all the street art in a place and work out which places to see. Bookmarking this for the future!
Iuliya
You’re welcome! Glad you found it helpful 🙂