🏮 Chinese Heritage Museum, Kuching: A Backpacker’s Guide to Borneo’s Chinatown Treasures!

#kuchingitinerary Why This Museum is a HIDDEN GEM: ✅ Housed in a 1912 school – Original chalkboards still intact 🏫 ✅ FREE entry – Rare for such a well-curated spot ✅ Cool escape – Thick walls beat Kuching’s heat ❄️ ✅ Living history – Smell incense from the adjacent temple My Pro Tips (From a Chinatown Local): 🕙 Mornings (9-11AM) – Quietest with soft light for photos 📜 Read the diaries – Heartbreaking stories of early migrants 📸 Best angles: Calligraphy wall – Stroke-order animations Opium trade display – Eerie artifacts 🚶 Combine with: Nearby Tua Pek Kong Temple Must-See Exhibits: 1️⃣ Journey to Borneo – 3D junk boat replica 🚢 2️⃣ Gold Rush Room – Touch real Sarawak gold flakes 3️⃣ Traditional Pharmacy – Weird dried remedies 🦎 4️⃣ Wedding Sedan Chair – Heavy enough to feel the struggle How to Get There: 📍 Location: Main Bazaar (next to textile shops) 🚶 From Waterfront: 3-min walk past the Square Tower 🚗 Grab: ~RM8 from anywhere downtown Entry Fee: FREE (donation box) Time Needed: 45-60 mins Perfect For: Culture lovers & history nerds Pro Tip: The hidden back room has 1930s gambling machines – ask the guard! 🎰 #chinatownvibes – Tag your most nostalgic finds! 📸 P.S. Time your visit with temple prayer hours (6AM/6PM) for extra atmosphere! 🔔