Miri, Sarawak

from Bintulu to Miri takes about 200km. for going, we are using the Coastal Highway (Similajau/Batu Niah Route) passing by Bintulu Compressor Station and Bekenu (my Miri friend - Fiqa's hometown). we took 2 hours and half to reach the Miri Town. the Coastal Highway is in a good condition and the roadside filled with the palm-tree, but a little lamp-post, lots of big lorries, and we heard about the illegal 'road block'. scaryyy and not suitable for a night driving.

after 2 hours sitting in the car, i can see the beach already... "you are arriving at the destination" kata cik GPS. as well as big and luxurious houses, and the new and bigger road, more buildings... now i realized that Miri is having a massive development. it's been 2 years, since the first time i've been to Miri last 2012.

we went to Saberkas night market area. i've been here last time with Fiqa too. we dine at a restaurant (i forgot the restaurant's name), for the famous Mee Kolok - a local food. it looks like a Maggi noodle with 'Daging Masak Kicap' on the top; but the taste is somehow different and definitely delicious.

Kolok Noodle

actually this is not a well-planned trip, no advance hotel reservation.. nope! nothing! therefore we need to get rooms to overnight. of course! we looked for any available hotel - is it a peak season in Sarawak? cause most hotels are fully occupied. including Pacific Orient, Somerset Hotel, Palace Inn, Grand Palace Hotel, Dynasty Hotel etc. finally and luckily *Alhamdulillah* we managed to get 2 rooms at Kingsley Hotel at RM169/room/night. such a big & cozy rooms. love it! this is the 1st time in my life i stay in the hotel's room which provides a CCTV (not to mention to view guests' room) which we can view the hotel's entrance and parking area.

 

hotel is providing served breakfast for 2 person per room, so we do have 4 breakfast vouchers in total. it's not a buffet breakfast, and we are given options to choose 4 items from the list. i ordered a bowl of 'Laksa Sarawak' and Nasi Lemak with Chicken while my friend has decided to have a Western breakfast set (sandwich, beef bacon, kidney beans etc) and Fried Kuey Teow.

Laksa Sarawak

free and easy till check-out at 12noon. then, we don't know where else to go. *clueless* it's Sunday! most attractions are closed on Sunday except for shopping malls. no wonder tons of cars waiting for their turn to enter the mall's parking. we went and parked our car at the Imperial Mall - now there's a new Permaisuri Imperial City Mall built next to Imperial Mall - can accessed by using the bridge on the 2nd floor (i think).

Imperial Mall & Permaisuri Imperial City Mall

we dine at the Permaisuri's foodcourt. i'm craving for the local delicacies, so i pick 'Nasi Lalapan' and some 'Umai Obor-Obor' (jellyfish); another 'Shrimp Umai' and Sambal Petai. the Nasi Lalapan is not as pleasant as the one i tried at Muara. and as for 'Umai', now i know that Umai is made from vinegar, a lots of vinegar. the smell and the taste of vinegar is too strong, but the jellyfish is somehow crunchy. i can't eat much cause i'm not advisable to consume vinegar. ada buasir

Nasi Lalapan & Jellyfish Umai

walked down the street after lunch to Bintang Megamall, passing by a Taman Bunga, Kingsley Hotel and Meritz Hotel. we drove up to the Grand Old Lady, as my previous visit was during night time, nothing much i could see. it's the 1st Oil Well in M'sia - Drilled by Cable Tool Method. it's already 3pm, we don't have extra time to enter the Petroleum Museum.... cause we need to drive back to Bintulu before the road getting dark. but we do enjoy the atmosphere, and the view of whole city from that highest point in Miri

Bintang MegaMall

for the journey back to Bintulu, we are not using the coastal highway,  instead we try the other route - a bit winding, bumpy and hills (only few big lorries are using this road). along the highway, we go through the 'jungle' area, a lot of National Parks, longhouse traditional and modern houses or 'Rumah Panjang' (Rh) and a junction to Bakun Dam (another 4 hours drive to the dam). different route, different view. they said there's no toll in Sarawak except in Sibu. safely arrived in Bintulu at 6pm

gambar2 lain masuk buku hutang 555 dlu macam biase yek, taukeh

Bintulu vs Miri
my point of view... food in Miri is cheaper, especially the Kek Lapis Sarawak - more variety, more flavor... and the taste of the food way nicer. in term of price wise (in general), Miri is cheaper even those Brunei people came and shopping in Miri. yet, somehow the price value in Bintulu is higher. is it because of Oil & Gas people are richer than Brunei people??? big question marks. in Miri, we can walk from one place to another, but in Bintulu we need to take a cab or rent a car. in other words, Miri is convenience & accessible.... and safe