What a Wonderful World: MIRI, SRWK

Jalan2 Carik _______________________? (fill in the blank)

Jalan2 Carik Makan boleyyy. Jalan2 Carik Pasal pon boleyyy

Jalan2 Carik Jantan...?? yg ni x boleyy. no no no no

sy kat SARAWAK!!!

i bought a flight ticket to Miri last August. that time i managed to get RM 158 for return on Air Asia. murah, kaannn? cause actually flight to Miri mmg super-duper mahal... sometimes it can be up to RM 500 - 600. duk dlm flight tu ada la dlm 2 jam. and this is my first time going to Sarawak, so i am super-excited!!! Sabah? honeymoon nanti ye. nak panjat Kinabalu.. huhuhu penangan Dejavu Di Kinabalu, okeh!

why Miri? sbb... (jeng3) sbb aku de kwn kat sana. her name is fiQa, dlu dia pnah practical kat company aku nih. that was 2008/2009.. x sgka gak ktrg still keep-in-touch. so, ni kire Jalan2 Carik Kawan Lama la ye.. (huh! padahal fiQa tu sthun berkali2 dtg KL)

since aku da biase travel, so aku x worried too much. alah, klu negara org aku leh pegi, x kan la Sarawak ni ssh sgt kot (ayat berlagak x hengat). tp... aku study gak la sket2 pls Miri. siap print-out map lagi. yela, this is a Free&Easy trip; no tour guide, no pre-arrangement, nothing! yg aku da settle kan before travel is just the hotel accommodation.

i've booked 2 nights stay at Mega Hotel. huhuhu pkai harga contract rate my travel agency, aku dpt RM 168.20 / superior room / night with breakfast. walk-in rate is RM 320.00++ / room / night - awat la mahaiii sgt? at the 1st place, aku plan nk duk kat bajet hotel ja. since end of this month aku nk blnja family aku fly to Langkawi. so aku taleh nk boros sgt. aku dpt

RM 100 / room / night at Kingwood Inn. tp bile pikiaq2 balik, nanti aku dah la duk sorg2.. semacam bahaya jek duk hotel bajet tuh.. hmmm cancel la. confirm balik duk kat Mega Hotel. other choices are Imperial Hotel @ RM 185.60 / standard room / night with breakfast. klu nk saving, x nk de breakfast, less RM 23 camtuh. ada lg 1 hotel yg harga lebih kurang, Park City Everly.. this hotel mmg best la view dia - sea view - tapi jaohhh sket dr town. ssh nk jalan2 carik makan. rate per room per night is RM 186.80 with breakfast - Deluxe Hill or Seaview.

kwn aku, si fiQa tu kerja kat Imperial Palace Hotel (not Imperial hotel). aku xde rate hotel ni and aku rase confirm rate hotel ni sgt2 mahalll. furthermore, klu aku check-in kat hotel ni pon, fiQa x leh msok bilik aku. in case ada kecurian etc, she'll be d first suspect... hohoho if you have more budget, you can stay at Grand Palace Hotel (next to Imperial Palace) or Meritz Hotel @ RM 229.68 / superior room / night with breakfast. klu bajet rendah lak, selain Kingwood; you guys leh stay kat Dynasty Hotel, Somerset, Palace Inn Miri - ketiga2 ni location dia dekat2 jek.

i went to Miri not for shopping, for sure. barang2 kat sana lg mahal compared in KL and of course here in KL we got better choice. rase2 nye sbb shipping cost and location yg dekat an Brunei.. even si fiQa tu pon order brg soh aku belikan kat KL.. tp kan, even brg mahal, kat sana ada byk shopping mall - namely Imperial Mall, same building with Imperial hotel; Bintang Megamall, nearby Meritz hotel; Survey Mall, nearby Imperial Palace and Grand Palace hotels. and Merdeka Mall - this one quite far from the town. i saw this mall on my way to the town from the airport. but if you want to watch any movies, here got a cinema - the one and only cinema in Miri.

the main mission i came to Sarawak is --> to try the local cuisine. but the mission is 'half-way accomplished'! i managed to try the Nasi Lalapan at Muara Restaurant (aku try Daging - salai or something. also have fish, chicken etc), Mee Kolok, Laksa Sarawak, local Nasi Lemak and Teh C-Peng (3-layer tea with the Pandan sugar) - interesting!. Failed to find Umai and Umbut even though some people said the taste is weird. next time, i'll get myself to try Mendoan and Pepesan Ikan - i've no idea what the hell are they.

luckily, its fruits season!! hit the road heading to fiQa's village at Bekenu, i'd try the local Durian... very tiny, dried and shocking yellow durian. also, the Pulasan, the Rambutans and the Dabai... ??? its something in dark color and as big as 'dates'. so, we need to peel the hard skin a bit, soak in a hot water for half an hour or less, then its ready...!! ermmm pelik sket rase dia tp lemak2 gitu. my fren said the best it serves with rice. ok, maybe some other time.

for the 'food souvenir', i bought 'some' colorful Kek Lapis Sarawak. rate range from RM 5 to RM 18.. some Tebaloi, Bird Nest sweets and some kuih cincin - Srwk version -

ok, part Jalan2 Cuci Mata lak....

smpai je Miri Airport.. wahh quite nice gak la airport nih. after custom clearance (better bawak passport- ada verification and stamp. in case x bwk passport, IC will do. tp leceh kena jaga slip yg pihak imigresen bg. ilang... tinggal sane jela jwb nyer). a small airport with a domestic small flight like MASwings to the isolated area such as Marudi, Lawas, Bario, Mukah, Limbang, Long Akah, Long Lellang, Loh Seridah, Long Banga... my staff told me Long means Ulu. you also you can MASwings to Mulu Cave.
i took a cab to the town, which cost me RM 20 for 15 - 20 mins.

along the way, i saw the Kuda Laut Putih statue (white seahorse) some article in the internet stated that the seahorse is the symbol of Miri.. why? there's no explaination.

after check-in, i waited for fiQa to pick me up and we went straight to her village at Bekenu. the journey only takes less than an hour on the jalan tar. which i expected kwsn kampung di Sbh/Srwk masih pkai jalan tanah merah. oh ya, i can see the Gua Niah from the road. another 2 hours to get to Niah's Cave from fiQa's village. next time, i'm sure will bring along the hiking attire. next time, set! even fiQa's houses are built in a modern design, but i still can find the old traditional houses there. most of the old houses in Srwk were built with the high pillars, afraid the house will get sink by the flood. hmmm...

Entulang Long House, located at the other area - which is in Lambir. im not so sure where Lambir is. but they said Lambir is not far away from the town. 30mins to 1hour journey to this Lambir Rainforest. fiQa told me kalau nak masok, nak mandi kat dlm tu RM60/pax/entry. yeah, next time.... (berangan jela dlu ye)
Apart from it, there are 3 places i dont manage to visit which are Marina Bay, Tamu Muhibbah and Kampung Ayer Mangrove (in between Miri and Brunei). However, Miri City Fan Park is a nice place to go. 5mins away from Mega Hotel via At-Taqwa Mosque. they have a Miri Library but closed on the day i came. such a big park but since nothing much i can do except photo-taking, i only spent half-an hour there. Leisure walk at the town, i stopped at Miri Heritage Centre for handicraft such as traditional heavy earring (dlu kan ada org telinga pjg), Talun Vest (made from tree bark), local dresses, local cuisine etc. it is nearby Pacific Orient and Miri Hotel. after finished working, fiQa took me to the Grand Old Lady at Canada Hills. during day, i'm unable to get to this place cause it it located at the hill area and no public transport can take me there. it is a 1st oil well in Malaysia. unfortunately, the Petroleum Museum only opens by day. and another bad luck, it was too dark, i barely can see the view of Miri Town from the peak. *sigh*