Malaysia

Malaysia — Kuching — India Street and surrounding area, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Nick Morris

Nick Morris

— 4 min read

Exploring India Street and the surrounding area

June 2015

India Street is an excellent part of Kuching to visit and explore. On this visit, the middle of the road was closed for repairs, but all the shops were still open, and I had a great time looking around and taking some photographs.

Photo by Author — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

No space in the shops is wasted. Every shop is full to overflowing.

Photo by Author — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Fantastically colourful silks and cloth.

Photo by Author — colourful silks and cloth — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — colourful silks and cloth — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — newspaper seller — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — newspaper seller — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Spices and herbs. I love this type of shop. The smell is intoxicating — wonderful. And the colours of the goods are striking.

Photo by Author — spices and herbs — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — spices and herbs — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — dried goods — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — dried goods — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — a seller — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — a seller — India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Just around the corner from India Street, Kuching is a great series of little shops selling food and spices, and it is a great place to explore. The smells coming from the different spices were fantastic, and their colour was stunning.

From across the road, the shops don’t look like much. But they are astonishing once you get past the blinds at the front.

Photo by Author — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia — you just need to get past the blinds
Photo by Author — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia — you just need to get past the blinds

I loved the way the goods were presents.

Photo by Author — dates and dried fruits — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — dates and dried fruits — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

The colours and the smells were a real treat for the senses.

Photo by Author — dried fruit and spices — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — dried fruit and spices — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Just stunning. You can get the colours from the photos. I wish I could capture the incredible smells.

Photo by Author — spices — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — spices — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Every bit of space in every shop was used to the maximum.

Photo by Author — a shop near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — a shop near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — fruit and veg — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — fruit and veg — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

I must admit that the butter/margarine/spreads in the tins were a little odd.

Photo by Author — fats in a tin — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — fats in a tin — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

I love the photo I took of the cinnamon sticks: the colours and the textures.

Photo by Author — cinnamon sticks — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — cinnamon sticks — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

How do they ever find anything in the shops?

Photo by Author — how do they find anything — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — how do they find anything — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — great organisation — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — great organisation — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — look at that colour — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — look at that colour — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

The sorting of the tiny dried fish — these fish are used in many Malaysian dishes, and here the shop owner was ‘panning’ (sorting) through the dried fish to remove contaminants and bits of broken fish.

Photo by Author — panning for fish — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Photo by Author — panning for fish — shops near India Street, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon I spent exploring India Street and the surrounding shops.

If you are in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, the shops on and around India Street are undoubtedly worth a look.

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