Historic! Today was the soft opening of Jambatan Marudi. No more ferries from now on, and the bridge that stretches across Sungai Baram will reduce traveling time from Miri to Marudi, to only 30mins!
I have a soft spot for this place. This pic is of me at a long house somewhere in Marudi circa 1996. At that time, the magistrates in Miri (there were 2 of us) were also required to sit at circuit courts, including Marudi, once a month.
There were no roads from Miri to Marudi, so we either had to take the boat (2 1/2 hr journey ), or the MAS twin otter plane. The town itself was so small that you could walk the entire place in 10 mins.
The national papers came 1 1/2 days later and there were only two good hotels around. Which became a problem for me on one occasion.
I can't remember what the case was, but I sentenced this one accused to imprisonment for a period of time. I then went back to the hotel after proceedings as usual. In the afternoon, I received a call from the hotel reception. I was told that the father of the accused was downstairs and wanted to see me. They guessed right as to where I was staying 😑
Of course I had to tell the reception that I'm not allowed to see anyone outside of court and chided them a little for revealing I was staying there. I think I didn't leave the hotel until I had to go back to Miri, and just ordered food to the room!
After my brief posting in Kuching, Sarawak in 1996, I was relocated to Miri as a magistrate. It was done rather quickly, so I never really had the time to make accommodation arrangements etc. But when I arrived in Miri, I was told by the senior magistrate that I could stay with him. Apparently, he was given permission to stay at the Judge's Mansion along with a clerk and his wife, cos for some reason, the judge didn't want to stay there.
So during lunch time, he drove me from the courthouse in town to the place somewhere in Tanjung Lobang (picture). It was a beautiful drive as it was along the coast. Then we turned into the area which had a small one lane road, and I could see all these huge government quarters there as well.
Our place was almost to the end on top of the cliff, and you could actually hear the sound of the waves of the South China Sea from there. It was actually a big half wooden, half brick house with a "kolong" underneath. I was impressed, although it had not been kept well by the current occupants : /
At that time, I really thought: "Damn, I've made it. Never thought I'd be living in a place like this with the sea nearby and everything."
But when night came, it suddenly felt very "different". The surrounding area was really dark, and the only lights came from the other houses nearby. Immediately I thought: "Oh man, I sure wouldn't want to stay here alone."
To cut a long story short, after a few days, I knew there was something really wrong with the place. And although the senior magistrate and clerk avoided my questions in the beginning, they finally admitted that the house was actually... haunted.
They've bumped into creatures before (especially in the kitchen) and once, they even fired mercun at a pontianak "hanging around" by this very big tree behind the house. But they said that most of the time, they just made "donno" lah.
Of course I immediately made plans to move out to my own place. BUT before I could, the long Gawai holiday came and everyone balik kampung, leaving me alone in the house.
On the first night, I told myself I'll just make donno and chill out. I remember sitting on the sofa watching TV and I felt like someone was standing behind me, watching ME. I read whatever surah I could, but it just got creepier.
THEN... (I swear I'm not making this up), a storm came, complete with the obligatory thunder and lightning. That was my cue to get the hell out of the house.
I changed my clothes, grabbed the senior magistrate's car keys (he left it for me to use), and went down to the car. We also had cats, and they were running helter skelter as the storm became fiercer.
I got into the car and turned the key, but (and I swear I'm not making this up too)... the car COULD NOT START. By this time, I felt a presence near me. My hands menggigil and all, I opened the hood of the old (yellow) Toyota Corrolla, and jiggled a few wires, and ran back into the car.
I closed my eyes, said Bismillah, and turned the key again. This time the car started. I reversed it, and drove out as fast as I could.
I spent the night driving around town and eventually slept in the car. The next day I checked in to a motel and only returned when the holidays were over.
A few weeks later, I moved out after finding a place at Taman Bumiko, and the senior magistrate followed me as well. So that was that. But every Gawai holiday, that dark and stormy night would be the first thing I think about...
Ambuyat for dinner tonight! Alhamdulillah. Ambuyat, or also known as linut, is the Brunei national dish and can also be found in parts of Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan. Drove all the way up to Lutong for this place Selihah Catering, located in a very quiet neighbourhood. The fam never had ambuyat before but they... LOVED IT. 😍😍 The last time I ate it was about a decade ago in Bandar Seri Begawan, the night before the Brunei Half Marathon along with the ntv7 team. I still struggle with the assisted chopsticks though. Hahahaha.
Ah yes, finally my wish of taking the fam to Miri, Sarawak came true this past March school holidays. Incidentally, almost 365 days ago we were in Kuching, so it's twice in a couple of years now that we're in East Malaysia. Sibu next year, perhaps? : )
Anyway, if you know me at all, you'd know that I used to live and work in Miri for period of time, after I joined the judiciary in the mid-90s. So, the Oil Town (as it was known then), does have a special place in my heart. And the last time I was back there was a dozen years ago for Karnival Jom Heboh. Oh man, what a trip that was. Gua.com.my was still new, and we used the Jom Heboh platform to promote the brand. It was a runaway success, as people flocked to our booth non-stop for those couple of days! Good times.
Of course this time it's so much more special as I got to bring the fam and show them around. After doing some research, I found this car rental service online, and booked a Myvi to be picked up at the airport. So upon arrival, we piled into the car, and I was driving again in Miri like it's 1996!
I noticed immediately a couple of new buildings near the airport, but everything else looked very much the same. Which is not a bad thing! For accommodation, I chose Mega Hotel purely for nostalgic purposes. But it's also right smack in the middle of everything. And the rooms have also been refurbished. So it's a still a recommended place to stay.
The first place to makan? Well, I did want to try this Melanau cuisine place that serves Ambuyat (I'm the only one who've tried this before), but it was closed! So instead, we went to MADLI'S, my regular makan spot back then. The fam ordered mee kolok while I had the nasi lalapan, which was not on the menu before, but has become a popular dish here in Miri.
The verdict? Sedap. I wanted to order the satay which they're famous for, but apparently it's only available now in the evening.
After filling up our tummies, I wanted to take the fam to my favourite beach in Miri. Problem was, I could vaguely recall how to get there. All I knew was that it's in Lutong. So I wazed "Lutong", but it took us to the old market. But from there, I just drove towards the coast, and suddenly the scenery became familiar. And lo and behold, we were at Lutong Beach!
Oh man, it's still as spectacular as I remembered it to be. The first time I stumbled upon this beach all those years ago, I was just mesmerised by its beauty with its view of the South China Sea. No, it doesn't have crystal clear blue water, but it's therapeutic in its own way.
From there, I drove to Kg Pulau Melayu where I was also mesmerised by the bungalows that were built here for the Petronas and Shell bigwigs. But the houses are now dilapidated condition, filled with semak samun. The nearby golf club though is still doing great business.
Then it was off to a new part of Miri that I was eager to explore; the Marina Parkcity. When I left Miri some 20 year ago, this place was non-existent. So for the past couple of years, I've been fascinated by posts about this area built from scratch, especially the famous tourist attraction of Coco Cabana.
As we turned right into the area, I was surprised to see so many people around the vicinity. Then it became clear that there's a recreational park that people were heading towards. It turned out to be what's called Central Park, and it was a hive of activities. It was simply awesome to see families and senior citizens out and about, enjoying the scenes and facilities.
Then Waze took us to Coco Cabana, and from a distance we could see that the place was rather crowded and lively. We checked out the area where everyone was just buying snacks and sitting and waiting for the sunset, before walking to the commercial area with a boardwalk, bars, restaurants, a mini theme park and a great view of the Marina.
And yes, there's also this big a** seahorse, which has become a symbol of sorts for the city and can be seen all over the town in many different sizes.
Yup, definitely a cool place to hangout if you're ever here in Miri. But we were a bit tired and left at slightly after 6pm and missed the famous sunset.
For dinner, we headed to Imperial Mall and tried out Sajian Warisan. We tried a variety of things including the nasi ulaman, umai and roti arab(!) and they were pretty good.
After that, we headed to the Marina Square at Marina Parkcity to check out the scene and dropped by at Cafeine Port for coffee and just to chill. It was just so cool and relaxing, and we could even hear live music being played at a music club nearby. Seriously Miri, you have done well : )
The next day, I brought the fam to somewhere different. But before that, our trip wouldn't be complete without a dose of laksa Sarawak! Googled to find the best on offer and decided on Laksa Lolita in Piasau. Oh yes, the laksa hit the right spot for us. Although the mee jawa was a bit to sweet for our liking.
Then it was off to Lambir Hills National Park! Yup, we were all pumped up to sweat it out for at least half a day. The drive there was rather bumpy, but we made it safely there and headed up to the 2nd waterfall (which was as high as we were willing to go, hehe).
Then it was time to head back to the city, and this time I decided to introduce Tia to local fast food chain, Sugar Bun at Bintang Megamall! We ordered the chicken, and everyone enjoyed it. I also ordered the fish and chips with rice and acar, and although it looked weird on paper, it was strangely delicious : )
Bintang Megamall was pretty packed with people. I mean, it opened (under a different name) before I left Miri, and I wasn't optimistic that it'd last long, but they've proven me wrong! I gather the 2 most popular malls were this one and Imperial Mall. The mall next to Mega Hotel used to have pretty good stores, but now it's dead. Not sure about that other place next to Grand Palace Hotel though.
We also managed to drop by the Miri Handicraft Centre for some souvenirs before resting at the hotel.
In the evening, we headed to Tanjung Lobang for the sunset. We barely made it, but the payoff was simply priceless! Check out these pics!
Finally for dinner that night, we headed to Yi Hah Hai, located opposite the new Pullman, along the waterfront. Feast your eyes on these...
And we only paid RM124 for everything. SCORE!
For dessert, we dropped by Cafeine Port at Marina Square. Yup, has got to be one of our favourite lepak spots in all of Sarawak : )
Day 3 began with mee kolok for breakfast (what else?) and Mat Kolok. Yes, highly recommended!
Then it was time for some history and a breathtaking view of the City. Yup, it was time to head up to Canada Hill and visit the Grand Old Lady, Malaysia's first ever oil well.
I didn't want to leave Miri without visiting the Tamu, though. So we dropped by here for a bit of shopping. We bought Beras Bario, but I made the mistake of asking wifey to buy just 1kg. As it turned out, they SIMPLY LOVE the Bario rice, and I've been scolded for only suggesting we buy 1kg. Sad!
Then it was time head to the airport, but what a lovely time we had. IMHO, Miri has successfully re-branded itself from an Oil Town to Borneo's Resort City. Overall, it's also pretty clean (even the beaches), and while I felt like there's more people now, traffic remains manageable, from what I've seen. There are more things to see and do, and the laid back vibe is simply wonderful.
