Not far from the heart of Kuching City, about 20 minutes by car, is the highest Sky Bridge in Kuching, known also as the Sky Window.
The ten storey structure sits proudly in the centre of what is best known as Kuching Riverbank Park, soon to be one of Malaysia’s biggest freshwater wetland park.
If you drive along the Batu Kawah – Lundu road, or pass by the Batu Kawah bridge, the tall big fancy structure is hard to miss as it glows proudly regardless of day or night.
Nonetheless, getting to the this partially complete park will require a little help from Google Maps as signage to the tallest Sky Bridge in Kuching doesn’t seem to be priority just yet.
Regardless, I arrived at the parking area just in front of the sky bridge on a hot sunny weather and was excited to check out Batu Kawah’s latest attraction.
Climbing the highest Sky Bridge in Kuching
As I walked to the foot of the sky bridge, I noticed there was a good number of people already there.
These ‘tourist’ were happily snapping photos, likely with with the towering structure in the background.
I went straight to the bottom of the bridge, and looked directly up onto the tall structure, amazed by how the 100-foot Skydeck looked from below.
I bet it took a lot of precision and effort just to get it fixed in place, and I also wondered how it would feel to be standing on the decks of the ‘bridge’.
I then turned my attention to getting to the top floor, which was the eight floor of the structure.
One could choose to go up by lift or stairs, but I was feeling adventurous, so I decided to use the stairs.
As I marched up the structure, I slowly learned to regret my decision because despite my love for scenery, I am also not a huge fan of heights.
I could board the lift which had an entrance at almost every level, but I soldiered.
The stairs itself weren’t steep, but looking down did give me anxiety, so if you are afraid of heights, I won’t recommend the stairs.
Nonetheless, I soon reached the top and was now standing on the 30-tonne Skydeck of the highest sky bridge in Kuching.
I moved to the centre of the bridge and was feasted to a breath-taking view of Batu Kawah, and Kuching, in general.
Unlike the stairs which had a clear view of its surroundings, the Sky bridge had safety grills to prevent untoward incidents.
The safety grills nonetheless didn’t damage the amazing view and somewhat calmed my anxiety of being so high up.
Looking outward I could see the nearby temple, the Sarawak river, the Batu Kawah River, shoplots, a cemetery and houses.
Batu Kawah doesn’t have many tall structures, so being able to see the whole area from this height was nothing short of breath-taking.
An information card in the centre of the bridge explained that the Sky Bridge structure is decorated with something called ‘Seven Gateway to Heaven’.
The card said that ‘The decorative gateway was intended to deter people from running across in a straight path causing vibration to the Sky Bridge. The decorative gateways are themed in the design as seven thresholds of Heaven.” Interesting.
Decorations aside, the wind on top of the Sky Bridge was equally strong and it was really good to feel that windy breeze with the sun roaring its heat.
Checking out the Riverbank park
I descended the Sky Bridge and walked outwards to the other end of the Sky Bridge. Unlike the front end of the Sky Bridge structure, this one was above the Sarawak river.
Here, an information card said that the Sky Bridge is also called ‘Sky Walk Observatory’ and from this distance, the whole structure is a ‘Sky Window’.
True enough, the view from this end matches that Sky Window description as you can see below.
It was an interesting to see how dynamic the whole structure can be interpreted as, depending on how you see it; From above, it was just a bridge linking two pillars, but from afar, it was like a window.
I continued my tour to the nearby park area which was leading to a nearby temple. The other end which links the Sky Bridge to Rantau Panjang is still under construction. This end was the completed end.
Along the way, I honestly couldn’t understand why the lower side of the pathways were left untidy and under-developed, but that question was soon cleared when I read an information card that explained that the park was also dedicated to freshwater wetland preservation.
A Seven Fairies art piece was also installed along the pathway.
According to the information card, the art piece depicts the attire of the seven fairies in a Chinese fairy tale which is 2,600 years.
The Galaxy Bridge is located just after the Seven Fairies art piece.
According to the information card, this bridge signifies the union of love because it was used to bridge the love between one of the fairies (who fell in love with a mortal boy) to her husband.
The story itself seems to be very dramatic, so I’ll let you read the description below.
I’m not so familiar with the Chinese fairy tale, but I am curious since it was featured in this Batu Kawah Riverbank Park.
Anyway, walking through the Galaxy Bridge brought me to the nearby temple in which gave me an amazing view of the whole Riverbank Park.
Getting home and conclusion
I didn’t go further than the entrance of the temple because I had to hurry home to avoid the rush hour traffic.
I walked by all the structures I described before, and enjoyed the beautiful park along the way.
Since the park is new, the trees planted are still small. However, as they grow, i can imagine what nice shed they will provide to the park and its visitors.
As I slowly made my way to my car, I thought to myself how this park has so much potential once it’s completed.
While climbing the highest Sky Bridge in Kuching was my initial reason to check out the Batu Kawah Riverbank Park, I felt compelled to learn more about the story of the Seven Fairies which was nicely incorporated into the park’s architecture.
I promised myself I’ll return soon, and hopefully the full park will be completed by then.
That said, if you need to learn more about the park, do read about the Batu Kawah Riverbank Park.
