Sarawak is a Malaysian state in northwestern Borneo with around 2.6 million inhabitants. Sarawak borders Sabah to the north, Indonesian Borneo to the east and south and completely surrounds the Sultanate of Brunei. The local population is almost equally made up of 40% Christians and Muslims, as well as around 15% Buddhists.

The largest cities in Sarawak include Kuching, Miri, Bintulu, Sibu, Sri Aman, Limbang, Kapit, Belaga and Lawas.

Sarawak's land area consists mainly of tropical rainforest. This rainforest is the habitat of some endangered species, such as the Sumatran rhinoceros, the Sumatran orangutan, the proboscis monkey and the Bornean pygmy elephant.

The state of Sarawak has significant reserves of oil and natural gas, which are of great importance for the economy. Other export goods include bauxite, palm oil, fishery products, tropical wood, pepper and rubber.

Another important economic sector is tourism. The most important attractions in Sarawak include the Bako National Park, the Semenggoh Nature Reserve, Mount Santubong, the Local History Museum, the Kubah National Park, the Fairy Caves, the Sarawak Cultural Village, the Orchid Garden, the Kuching Esplanade, the Orang Utan Nature Reserve, Chinese Museum, Textile Museum, Tua Pek Kong Temple, Kuching Mosque, Sarawak Museum, Old Court House, Parliament Building, Cat Statue, Cat Museum, Margherita Fort, Crocodile Farm, Chingsan Yan Temple, the Square Tower, the Islamic Museum and the Darul Hana Bridge.

The capital of Sarawak is Kuching with around 720,000 inhabitants. Kuching is also the largest city on the entire island of Borneo and is located on the Sarawak River.

In May 2018 I traveled to Kuching with Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur. Despite its large population, Kuching is a very clean and quiet city. From my central hotel, located right on the Sarawak River, it was super easy to explore the city on foot. The Esplanade is the heart and tourist attraction of Kuching. The city offers a lot of photo opportunities and is really very inviting and pleasant. However, much to my surprise, Kuching was also quite boring in the evening. All the restaurants on the promenade were deserted and, in contrast to the afternoon, tourists were almost in short supply. It was really very difficult to find a bar with alcoholic drinks in the Muslim-dominated city center. After I finally found a hotel bar with beer for $15 a bottle, I knew why there was no one there. In terms of tourism, Sarawak is no comparison to the internationally popular Sabah, which I would definitely prefer.