Originally Posted by nov11

Depends what you want to do. Both are nice cities but different. Kuching is a much smaller city compared to Penang but most of Kuching's attractions are outdoors - national parks, orang utan sanctuary, hiking. Penang is about the world heritage colonial centre (Kuching has colonial architecture although on a much smaller scale), temples, OK beach. You can hike up Penang Hill (signs aren't that clearly marked but Google Maps work fine).