Borneo Break: All's Well that Ends Well

Driving up a narrow and steep road up Bukit Telaga Minyak (Oil Well Hill) in Miri would reward one with not just a picturesque view of Miri but up that little hill, one would get to see the Grand Old Lady and visit the Miri Petroleum Science Museum. I suppose the Grand Old Lady refers to the first oil well drilled by Shell Company in 1910. Bukit Telaga Minyak used to be called Canada Hill as there was once a Canadian residing there. The Canadian recruited foreign and local workers to work in oil fields in the vicinity and it was here that Oil Well No. 1 was located. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh on my last day in Miri. I would probably cry when I received an SMS from AirAsia informing me that my flight to Kuala Lumpur was delayed since it would mean that I would miss my connecting flight to Penang. But then the extra time I had in Miri had Mau Wei driving Amber and me around town to the wet market and to Bukit Telaga Minyak where we could catch a glimpse of the local products and the Grand Old Lady herself. I laughed when AirAsia rescheduled my flight ticket to Penang to a more convenient time...Thanks AirAsia and thanks Mau Wei, for a memorable Borneo Break. And nice meeting you, Amber, Gendil, Miss Saw, Cing Cing and family...May our paths meet yet!

Some products in the Miri Wet Market...

A view from Bukit Telaga Minyak...

The Grand Old Lady...

Coming Soon: Java Jamboree!

Borneo Break: Some Memorable Moments

It was in the early evening when we left Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The sky was still bright and Mau Wei had driven into a petrol kiosk to fill up the car's tank but unfortunately, Malaysians were allowed to buy petrol only from designated petrol kiosks near the Malaysia-Brunei border. So, we made off for the border. Mau Wei made a wrong turning at first but after making some enquiries, managed to take the right road home. Besides this, I guess other memorable moments was Mau Wei receiving an SMS from Yen Yen's sister in Peninsular Malaysia informing her about the impending nationwide petrol price increase. It was almost eight when we reached Miri and there, at all the petrol kiosks we came across, there were long rows of vehicles trying to get some petrol before the price increase the next day. It was a phenomenon not only in Miri but all over Malaysia. Then of course, in Miri, visiting Poh Lee was memorable too. She treated us to a dim sum breakfast at Restaurant 2020 besides taking us for a tour to her school, SMK Chung Hua. I heard her school had an excellent brass band which reportedly jammed with T'Inventielke, a walkabout band from Holland at the 2008 Miri International Jazz Festival. Even then, when we were touring the school during the holidays when most of the teachers and students were away for the holidays, the members of the brass band were busy practising a special performance which I think they were going to perform oversea...

Poh Lee's school...


Students practising....

Traveling Tip: Visit the local school!

Borneo Break: Visiting Bandar Seri Begawan

We did not make straight back for Miri after lunch. Mau Wei suggested that we go to Bandar Seri Begawan and why not? She was driving the car and controlling the steering. The weather was beautiful and the road to the capital of Brunei was good and there was not much traffic on the road too. This trip to Bandar Seri Begawan was actually my second and the last time I was here, I had visited a few interesting spots like Kampung Air or the water village where one gets to see houses on stilts standing out of the brownish water of Brunei River, the famous Sultan Omar ali Saifuddin Mosque which features a golden dome and an interior of Italian marble walls and the dissapointing Jerubong Park, a theme park where I heard Michael Jackson had sang once during the Sultan's birthday. This time round, we just window shopped at a shopping mall and had durian ais kacang, a sweet savoury dessert made from durian...

Bandar Seri Begawan...

MacDonald in Bandar Seri Begawan...

A Food Court in a shopping mall...

Durian Ais Kacang....

Leaving Bandar Seri Begawan...

Traveling Tip: Go window shopping!

Borneo Break: Japanese Food in Brunei!

Seeing the crocodiles in Miri Crocodile Farm cum Mini Zoo was a delightful experience and a safe one too! While in Sarawak, The Borneo Post reported the first croc attack in Sungai Seruai's 200-year history. A 22 year old man, Rudy Sermion Ng, was reported being dragged struggling and screaming by a huge crocodile into the river. Crocodile attack seems like a common occurence in Borneo and someone told me that the indigenous people there would throw a stone into the river to test if there were any crocodile before jumping in for a swim. Of course, I didn't see it being done.Earlier, our planned swim in the river in Julau didn't materialise due to the rain and never mind - I was actually glad that it didn't especially after the news of the croc attack nearBatang Saribas hit the news. Enough about crocs then - after the visit to the crocodile farm in Miri, Mau Wei came out with a great idea. We were off to Seria, Brunei to have some Japanese food

Brunei!

Japanese food!

Traveling Tip: Bring along your passport!

Borneo Break: At Miri Crocodile Farm

If you are taking a car along the Miri-Kuala Baram coastal road, it will take you about twenty minutes to Miri Crocodile Farm. In Miri, I got to visit a crocodile farm again after a very long break. I had visited one in Bangkok, Thailand many, many years ago and this one in Miri though touted to be the first and largest in Northern Sarawak, is still small and pale in comparison. But if you are in Miri and if you haven't seen a crocodile before, you'd not mind visiting the twenty two acre Miri Crocodile Farm. There were over 1,000 Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus Porosus) and Malayan Gharial (Tomistoma Schlegelii) here and since most or in fact all of these crocodiles would be lying motionless in the sun, you'd probably be more attracted to the beautiful sceneries around the area, or perhaps to some of the animals exhibits available here. This afterall is a crocodile farm cum mini zoo and holds some surprises...


Crocodiles in Miri Crocodile Farm...

Animals exhibits...

Beautiful Sceneries...

Travel Tip: Learn about the local fauna!

Borneo Break: A Chinese Temple in Miri

After the trip to Niah Cave, Amber and I made back to Miri by bus. We had to hire a car to take us to a big food court by the main road where buses to Miri and elsewhere were easily available. It was drizzling when we started our journey but by the time we reached Miri, the rain had stopped. The sky had already turned dark too and I telephoned Mau Wei to pick us up. She had taken her medicine and had had a good rest and was now her usual healthy self. The next day, while Amber went out to see a physician for a personal problem, Mau Wei and I went round town. In the Old Town section of Miri, at the junction where China Street met Jalan Bendahara, we burned incense at the oldest Chinese temple in Miri, the Tua Pek Kong Temple which was built in 1913 by Chinese migrants. That was one of the highlights in my trip to Miri...

Tua Pek Kong Temple in Miri...

A statue of the Goddess of Mercy or Kuan Yin...

Murals on the walls...

Traveling Tip: Say a prayer when traveling!

Borneo Break: A Magical Moment

At Niah Cave, there is a large chamber just after the Great Cave which would bring delights to many photographers. Shafts of sunlight stream down here at Lubang Padang where there are holes in the cave roof. Timing should be right though. The first time we passed through this place, Amber and I did not see anything spectacular but when we were on our way back from the Painted Cave, we were awed to see the magical shafts of sunlight illuminating the bizarre rock formations there. For one magical moment, I felt like Harrison Ford aka Indiana Jones about to discover the Ark of the Covenant but then of course, this was not a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. This was Niah Cave. Amber clambered to get her camera out from her sling bag to capture the magical moment but she was a bit too late. Dark clouds must have rolled across the sky and suddenly the shaft of lights dissapeared. I managed to get a shot though with my handphone camera but frankly speaking, I was not the only lucky one that day. Both Amber and I were lucky! We got to see that magical moment.

Borneo Break: Dissapointment in Niah Cave

Niah Cave should be a hive of activity in August. Amber asked someone about bird nest collection in the Big Cave and she was told that natives would climb up the cave ceiling somewhere around that time. There were signs of human activities up the ceiling like a rope dangling from the roof high above us and it gave the chills just to imagine people dangling up there to earn a living. There had been fatal accidents of people falling before and eerie tales of their souls wandering in the caves gave the creeps but there was no stopping us from exploring further into the Painted Cave. To reach the Painted Cave, one just have to climb up and down steep stairs to the back of the Great Cave where there is a large chamber known as Lubang Padang. You may not realise passing through Burnt Cave or Lubang Angus but you will definitely not miss the Moon Cave or Gan Kira. The latter was a long, dark and damp passage and you will have to switch on your torchlight here. Then when you were beginning to think the dark passage didn't seem to end, you would see daylight again, walk on a plank walkway and come to the much anticipated cave of all, the Painted Cave or Kain Hitam which was the site of the famous Niah Cave paintings and the place where death-ships had been found. The paintings portraying spread-eagled human figures, animals and long boats carrying souls of deceased were said to be in red hematite and covered about 30 m strip at the back of the cave wall but don't expect too much. The paintings were really difficult to see. The brochures say you have to become accustomed to the light to see the paintings but I thought that was all bullshit. The paintings were just not well preserved and since I couldn't make up what was on the wall, I concluded that the paintings were not there anymore...

Moving on to painted cave...

Traveling Tip: Be dissapointed sometimes!

Borrneo Break: The Great Cave of Niah

The Great Cave of Niah, as has been said, is about3.5 km from the Park Headquarters. Walking along the wooden walkway, one is supposed to pass giant Tapang trees with enormous buttress, Padanus plants twice the size of a person and exquisitely formed orchids and fungi. The brochures also said that if you take your time and walk quietly, you'll get to see some of the Park's wildlife too like colourful birds, squirrels, monkeys,lizards, butterflies and other unusual invertebrates and insects. I didn't see all those things of course and I would like to think that was because I had rushed my way there. The Big Cave has seemed so far away and it was almost lunch time when we made our way from across the river. I thought we should have started off very early in the morning. Occasionaly, when we met people who were on their way out, I would inadvertently asked in Malay, Masih jauh ke gua? which means, Is it still far from the cave and of course, each time, I was assured that the cave was near, much to my relief. It was therefore a great welcome when we reached Trader's Cave. A few minutes from there, one would get to the West Mouth of the Great Cave which at 60 m high and 250m wide makes it one of the world's most spectaccular cave entrances. The West Mouth opens into an even greater chamber and forget for once the unique and jagged stalatites and the overhangs and dangling creepers of the cave -you could see stalatites, overhangs and creepers in every other caves elsewhere but here in the Great Cave of Niah, there is a traditional Malay house inside but then of course, you may be more interested in the left of the cave mouth where there remained signs of past archaeological excavation...












At the Great Cave...

Traveling Tip: Start Early!