The design of this fortress was based on the late English Renaissance fortresses and castles.

The intention of erecting the fort in this form was as
a defensive edifice of outstanding attraction and something to enhance the beauty of the town.

The position of the fort had been carefully chosen to command the ling straight stretch of river approaching the town, this being the most advantageous point from which to defend the town from possible attack.

It was later used as a prisoners' cell until a nes one was established at an executive yard, near the rifle range, about a mile away.

Right up to the Second World War, there was a look-out and the sentry who used to pace the ramparts all day and night used to call out "All's well" on the stroke of every hour from 8 p.m. to
5 a.m.

This call used to be taken up by the sentry at the Istana, Then the sentry at the Old Clock of Government Offices across the river and finally by the sentry at the Treasury. It used to carry a long way in the stillness of the night.

There was a good reason for these calls of course to make sure that the sentries were not asleep.

Fort Margherita has flown four different flags under four different administrations. First, the Brookes' Sarawak Flag, then the Rising Sun under the Japanese, then the Union Jack under the British, and now  Sarawak Flag following the country's attainment of independence.

It is now converted into the Police Museum.

DAMAI AND SANTUBONG RESORT AREA

Once accessible only by river, Damai, on the Santubong Peninsula, is now just a 40 minutes drive from Kuching.

And the drive is well worth it.

Damai boasts three international-class resort hotels - the Holiday Inn Resort Damai Beach, Damai Lagoon Resort and Santubong Kuching Resort. Each has its own secluded beach, landscaped, free form swimming pool and offers jet skiing, water-skiing, windsurfing, mountain biking, tennis, squash and fitness centers.

You could spend a whole holiday without leaving the resort, but nearby are the Arnold Palmer-designed Damai Golf Course, the Sarawak Cultural Villaqe and the sleepy fishing villages of Santubong and Buntal with their excellent seafood restaurants'.

For the more adventurous there is the climb through the rainforest to the summit of Mount Santubong. It's a five to six-hour trek and your hotel will provide a guide and a packed lunch.

If luxury living is not your style or you want to get closer to nature, try Damai Rainforest Resort at the foot of Mount Santubong. With air-conditioned tree houses or family log cabins, the camp offers "a total rainforest experience.

The emphasis is on adventure with abseiling, sea canoeing and trekking and there are instructors on hand to guide you.

Whether it’s all out adventure, water sports, golfing or just relaxing on the beach, Damai has something for everyone.

Explore Sarawak in half a day
 The Sarawak Cultural Village was conceived out of the State Government's desire to portray "live" the State's rich cultural diversity in one single place for the benefit of visitors and tourists.

The Village, built on a 17-acre site, is a sprawling expanse on the beachfront with 7 representative ethnic houses - the Bidayuh longhouse, the Iban longhouse, the Penan hut, the Orang Ulu longhouse, the Melanau Rumah Tinggi, the Malay House and the Chinese Farmhouse - standing around a man-made lake at the centre. The lake is symbolic of the people's dependence on rivers as a means of communication and livelihood.

Tuku Kame
A band formed by the musicians of the Sarawak Cultural Village, combines traditional Sarawakian and Malay instruments with modern western styles to create an infectious and exciting sound. Their debut CD is available from the Handicraft shop, or you can buy it online

VISIT THE PEOPLE OF SARAWAK

IBAN

"OooHAH! Nama berita?" What's the news? You're swept into the joyous atmosphere of the Iban Longhouse - drums and gongs, Pua weaving, kuih jala, tuak (their rice wine), hanging skulls carrying tales of days gone by.

The Iban race, once known as “Sea Dayaks”, built their longhouses to last fifteen to twenty years, or, until the farm land in the surrounding area was exhausted. Then they packed up their goods and chattels and moved inland, upriver, along the coast, wherever fresh farm lands looked promising. About one-third of all Sarawakians are Iban; while some of them live in towns or individual houses, a large number still prefer longhouses.

A traditional longhouse is built of axe-hewn timber, tied with creeper fibre, roofed with leaf thatch. It is nearly always built by the bank of a navigable river, and the visitor approaches it from the boat jetty. He climbs up a notched log that serves as a staircase and finds himself on the open verandah face to face with a scene of community and domestic activity.

Several doorways lead from the outer to the inner verandah under the roof. This is the village street of the longhouse; the individual family rooms or “doors” front the common walkway. A casual visitor is invited to sit down on a mat here for a chat with the longhouse elder; family members enter through their relatives' doors and make themselves at home.

BIDAYUH

BIDAYUH

 Let the gongs and war drums welcome you to the Barok - the round head-house. Get caught up in the rhythm of rural activity...sugar cane crushing, paddy pounding, winnowing rice ... Have Fun!!!

The Bidayuh race, accounting for 8.4% of Sarawak’s population live mainly within the catchment of the Sarawak and Sadong rivers. Early European travelers gave them the name “Land Dayaks” because they lived in the steep limestone mountains, near the watershed area of West Sarawak, in what was then Dutch Borneo.

 Many Borneo natives live in longhouses, in effect, a row of dwellings and a village street under one roof. The Bidayuhs, a group comprising the Jagoi, Biatah, Bukar-Sadong, Selakau and Lara peoples of West Sarawak, built their houses in mountain fastnesses, tacked to a steep hillside like a gigantic staircase. This was partly for protection against marauding enemies, partly for access to pure, fresh water.

 The terrain occupied by the Bidayuhs inspired them to construct ingenious systems of gravity-fed water supply. A little river is dammed at a distance above the longhouse, and the water carried to the dwelling in bamboo conduits.

PENAN

The shy nomadic people of the jungle, the Penans, live in the dense virgin jungles of Central Borneo, among some of the State’s most valuable timber resources. Some are 'coming out' and learning to farm the land, others still prefer their roaming life-style.

Penan shelters are quickly constructed to last for a few weeks or months. They are sited near a good stand of wild sago trees, the Penan’s staple food; after this has been used up, the family moves on.

Another Penan specialty is the manufacturing and accurate use of blowpipes. A wood beam of adequate length is fixed in a drilling platform, and then bored through patient manual labour. The pipe is trimmed by axe and knife, and finally polished. The bore is smoothed and ground by pulling lengths of rattan through it.

Blowpipe ammunition is a softwood plug tipped with a hardwood dart. Blowpipe poison, carefully dosed to suit the prey, is made from the sap of the upas tree (Antiaris toxicaria)

ORANG ULU

The Kayan, the Kenyah, the Kelabit, the Lun Bawang and the other minor tribes...these are the Orang Ulu, gentle and graceful people - as reflected in their songs, music and dances.

Sit on the verandah of the Orang Ulu Longhouse nest with the friendly craft-ladies as they do their intricate beadwork whilst in the background, floats the melodiously haunting tune of the sape, their stringed musical instrument. Other sights of interest are the art of body tattooing, parang ilang, their fighting sword, klirieng, their burial pole (totem pole).

Orang Ulu, “up-river dwellers”, is a useful if vague term to describe the central Borneo people living in Sarawak. Accounting for 5.5% of the total population, the orang Ulu comprises the Penan, the Kayan and Kenyah, living in the middle and upper reaches of Sarawak’s longest rivers, the Kelabit and Lun Bawang groups in the highlands proper.

In the past, the orang Ulu were famous throughout the region as sword-smiths. They extracted iron from the ore found in their area, they forged it into excellent blades which they tempered in the cold mountain streams.

Traditionally, an orang Ulu longhouse was built to last. Many of these people practise settled agriculture, and have developed rice field irrigation to a fine art. This makes the search for new farmlands unnecessary. The solid ironwood houses are designed to last for many generations.

MELANAU

Be entertained by tall tales of spirits and demons at the Melanau Tall House. Try our tall swing, too; the tibau swing is used as a fertility rite during the Pesta Kaul. Watch the step-by-step processing of sago and taste the finished products: sago pearls and biscuits.

The Melanau people making up 5.8% of Sarawak’s population, now mostly living in the central coastal region, were once more widely scattered. They traditionally lived near the sea within reach of pirates. As a means of protecting themselves, the Melanaus built massive houses forty feet above the ground.

The Melanaus differ from most other Borneo people in one important aspect: they eat sago in preference to rice. Sago palms originally grew wild in the coastal swamps, and the Melanaus took it upon themselves to cultivate these plants. The ten-metre high palm trunk accumulates starch. It swells just before flowering indicating the right time for harvesting by felling.

The pith is grated to a fine mash. This is soaked in a long wooden trough, then trodden through a mat to leach out the sago starch. The off-white sediment settles at the bottom of the trough it is spread on mats to dry into lumps. These are broken up and finally ground into flour.

RIVER SAFARI - SKRANG AND LEMANAK