In the past few weeks, I have been following vlogs by visitors to Kuching. What I noticed is that travel videos on Kuching invariably feature the Waterfront.
The kilometre-long esplanade by the Sarawak River in the heart of the city has now become synonymous with the Sarawak capital — as it was designed to be when conceived in the 1990s.
The late Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud initiated the project when he was chief minister and turned what used to be a rather rundown riverbank of nondescript godowns into "the people place".
International consultants designed it to be a world-class waterfront.
The project was criticised back then as an extravagance, but it has grown to become perhaps one of Taib's most enduring and visible legacies.
No self-respecting town, big or small, in Sarawak today is without its own waterfront, as most urban centres in the state are beside a river.
The Kuching Waterfront has since been extended but, unfortunately, this entailed tearing down the city's once bustling and picturesque markets, despite some public pressure to preserve and repurpose the buildings.
Today, the entire stretch of the Waterfront alongside three of the city's busiest streets, from the hotel precinct of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman to Main Bazaar — once Kuching's commercial hub but now its main tourist draw — and down Gambier Street to the Brooke Dockyard (which should soon reopen as a maritime museum) has become popular with strollers and joggers.
A new curved pedestrian bridge takes visitors across the river to the other side of Kuching.
The bridge is bracketed at the other end by the stately Brooke-era Astana on the left and the soaring curves of the new Sarawak State Assembly building on the right.
A bit further downriver from the legislative chamber is Dataran Ibu Pertiwi, where the Sarawak flag flies atop the region's tallest flagpole.
At night, crowds are drawn to the Kuching Waterfront's colourful light effects, especially when the musical fountain roars into action. Seen from the bridge, the night-time cityscape is a Disney-like kaleidoscope of lights and colours.
Two large ships take visitors on a 1½-hour cruise downriver late each afternoon, coming back upriver to the Waterfront just in time to catch the Kuching sunset over the distant Matang mountains.
Perhaps one day there will be dinner-time river cruises not unlike the highly popular cruises along the Chao Phraya in Bangkok.
The Kuching Waterfront used to be dotted with little eateries and stalls, some covered with ugly canvas canopies that mar the esplanade.
Wisely, I think, although not without some controversy, the authorities recently banished them all.
Overall, they seemed a blight on the Waterfront, not least because maintaining cleanliness had became an issue.
Let us keep the Waterfront wide open for the enjoyment of all who descend on this jewel of a public space.
There are several restaurants for those who wish to dine by the river.
Those looking for cheaper eating options should walk up to Main Bazaar or a little further beyond.
The Waterfront has become prime space and should be reserved for establishments willing to pay premiums to be there.
The Kuching Waterfront has matured over the years to become a magnet for locals and tourists alike. It has indeed become the city's icon.
* The writer views developments in the nation, region and wider world from his vantage point in Kuching