Kuching Gay Travel Guide

Seby and I were quite taken aback when a random dude approached and asked us if we wanted to see “the junk.” Turn out, he didn’t mean his d!©k. He was talking about The Junk – a multi-room venue consisting of a bar, a restaurant, a lounge area known as The Red Room, a club nicknamed Backstage, and a garden. We popped in for a bite to eat in the restaurant, munching on delicious Malaysian cuisine, before heading over to the Red Room for some karaoke and a dance. Saturday nights are the best time to get down for a boogie!

Just like the chemical, Zinc Bar gave us quite the explosive experience! Mainly due to its high-energy wait staff, and a food menu that marries Chinese with French cuisine – who knew such polarizing palates would work so well? Our highlight was the home-brewed cocktails made by an expert mixologist. They were super tasty, whilst remaining inexpensive. The atmosphere was quite boisterous, with spirited patrons who were happy to chat with total strangers and some fun music playing in the background. 

One word: DESSERT! We skipped right over the main courses and drinks in this joint when we saw the array of sweets on display – including a multi-colored cake. We don’t think it was intended to be Pride-themed (given Malaysia’s track record on LGBTQ rights!), but we coined it the gay cake anyway. This café/bar has a living room vibe to its design, so visitors feel at home when they arrive. Easily our favorite place to hang out for drinks, snacks or meals and, of course, cake!

One word to describe this place? Magical! From the twinkling lanterns that hung over our heads, to the wicker fences that wrapped around the restaurant walls, dining in Lepau felt like a romantic night in a farmhouse beneath the stars. Their cook, Madame Roselyn, is renowned in Kuching for her authentic Orang Ulu and Dayak food – serving up dishes like pansuh chicken, pineapple curry, and dried chilli calamari. Absolutely delish!

A rather unique dining experience, the Granary is in a warehouse (connected to The Marian boutique hotel from above), with long tables and high ceilings. It’s easy to see why this place is so popular with weddings and parties – there's fabulous food, cheery wait staff, and occasionally, a live band will play. The menu is bursting with a variety of items to suit any type of eater – the Aglio Olio pasta was a particular favorite of ours. The highlight is that everything is made fresh on the same day. 

The name may be bla bla bla, but their food is YAS YAS YAS! Taking design inspiration from the jungle, the décor uses a combo of dark woods, wicker chairs, mesh mosquito nets, and tropical tree plants, all of which creates a true “lost in the wilderness” vibe. The menu is a mix of Asian cuisine and seafood, with plenty of veggie and vegan options. Our favorite dish was the cashew nut prawns – sooo good! 

For us, the Rainforest World Music Festival is THE highlight of Kuching! Taking place every summer, the RWMF is a 3-day event that takes place every summer featuring both local indigenous artists and international…oh and did we mention it’s set in the middle of the jungle? Held to honor Borneo culture, you can expect to find afternoon workshops, musical lectures, and mini concerts by day. By night, extravagant performances by some of the world’s most famous musicians. It takes place at the Sarawak Cultural Village, which is around 45-minutes outside Kuching. 

Yep, we think you’d love this museum, which is dedicated to the 2019 musical movie… ‘Cats’. Kidding! It’s not about the film, of course. We’ll stop pu$$yfooting around and get to the point! This museum is about everyone’s favorite furry felines. Much like Egypt, cats are revered in Kuching… did you know the word “kuching” even means cat in Malay? At the Cat Museum you’ll learn all about the cultural significance of the creature, with plenty of adorable cat paintings and sculptures. 

It’s not far from the Cat Museum, so why not make a day of it and also swing by the Sarawak Orchid Garden? It’s free admission and offers the chance to see a collection of over 75,000 beautiful plants. Walk through the stunning landscaped gardens, spotting over 80 different flower varieties, including the green and black flowered orchid, and the famous stinking Bulbophyllum Beccarii! We loved it because it makes for the perfect backdrop for a few Insta pics too…

Did we mention we like to eat? We use any excuse to stuff our faces, so we couldn’t believe our perfect timing upon discovering the annual Food Festival coincided with our trip (especially with the Rainforest World Music Festival also taking place). Floating around dozens of food stalls, we were bowled over by the array of colors, scents, and sounds of food being prepared and displayed. There are also cooking demonstrations that take place, so you can pick up a trick or two on how to perfect your own kuching skills… (see what we did there?)!

Everyone told us how this was the place to go to see the “hilarious” proboscis monkeys. But we particularly fell in love with the flying lemurs as they swung from tree to tree. Truth be told, while the monkeys are great, this park has so much more to see, including lizards, squirrels, hundreds of bird species, and dazzling cliff-side views of the Bako coastline. Bako is located on an island – a day trip from Kuching, which you reach via a car ride and boat transfer. 

There is no better place to go orangutan spotting. The Semenggoh Wildlife Centre is a fantastic organization that provides sanctuary for injured or abandoned orang-utans. It’s also used as a research center, where scientists can conduct studies on the creature’s behavior. Sadly, orangutans are classified as an endangered animal, with just 104,700 of the Bornean species left in the world. We highly recommend taking a day trip out of Kuching to see them.

This Park is so isolated from the rest of the world that you can only reach it via a short 80-minute flight. It is WELL worth the journey though. The Mulu National Park is considered one of the most important natural sites in South Asia. It is easily one of the most stunning places we’ve ever witnessed. Cascading waterfalls, wondrous caves, and trails through dense forests – be prepared for an adventure of a lifetime!