1000KM ROAD TRIP ACROSS SARAWAK
DAY 1 – Touched down at Sibu Airport around 1:30PM. After a lunch of pian-pian hu (Sibu speciality rice pasta soup) and quick shower it was off to Bintulu. The road journey of 213km took about 3 hours. The winding trunk road with pot holes at long stretches was a challenging drive even during the day. The eyes have to be glued to the road at all time if you don’t want to wreck the car’s suspension or rupture a tire. Driving at night would truly be a nightmare unless you have perfect night vision. Thankfully we arrived at about 6:30PM which was already dark as the sun sets at around 6:00PM in East Malaysia.
The Park City hotel is located at the estuary of the Bintulu River and next to the Water Front Park. Like most river in Sarawak, the river water is a dirty yellowish brown – quite similar to Miri’s popular teh-xi special. With rough sea and muddy river banks there is no idyllic beach to talk about.
DAY 2 - Travelling along the new coastal road, the 200 odd km journey from Bintulu to Miri takes about 2-2.5 hours. The road being newly surfaced is smooth. With light traffic on the road, the drive is a breeze compared to the previous day.
Marriott Hotel is also by the water front. The Chalet room that we stayed in was spacious, clean and beautifully furnished. The attached balcony opens out to the lush landscaped garden below and the sea beyond. The hotel also has a huge swimming pool. However, being right by the sea and yet without a beach was indeed a big disappointment. A concrete retaining wall reinforced with a belt of wave-breaking huge boulders marks the edge of the sea. As such, it is impossible to even dip a toe into the sea not to mention going for a walk along the non-existence beach. If you want to hang out and laze around on the beach or work on a tan, Miri is definitely not the picnic place of choice.
DAY 3 - With nothing much to do, we made a flying visit across the border to Brunei. The journey to the border town of Kuala Belait including 2 immigration checks takes only an hour by car. After buying 2 packet of keropok and 2 bars of imported chocolate we were on our way back to Miri. To commemorate the visit we stopped at the roundabout with a giant tea pot in the centre to take some photos. Not much of an impression but houses and buildings in Brunei looks just like another town in Malaysia.
DAY 4 - It was a long drive back from Miri to Sibu. Surprisingly there is hardly any small town, rest and recreation area or even a petrol station along the way. Starting off at about noon with a slight detour into Bintulu town for lunch, we arrived back in Sibu at 6:30PM amidst a light drizzle and growing darkness.
Together with the previous Sibu-Kuching road journey, we have practically drive across the whole of Sarawak. The only places yet to visit in Sarawak are up river to Kapit and the Mulu Caves.
The Park City hotel is located at the estuary of the Bintulu River and next to the Water Front Park. Like most river in Sarawak, the river water is a dirty yellowish brown – quite similar to Miri’s popular teh-xi special. With rough sea and muddy river banks there is no idyllic beach to talk about.
DAY 2 - Travelling along the new coastal road, the 200 odd km journey from Bintulu to Miri takes about 2-2.5 hours. The road being newly surfaced is smooth. With light traffic on the road, the drive is a breeze compared to the previous day.
Marriott Hotel is also by the water front. The Chalet room that we stayed in was spacious, clean and beautifully furnished. The attached balcony opens out to the lush landscaped garden below and the sea beyond. The hotel also has a huge swimming pool. However, being right by the sea and yet without a beach was indeed a big disappointment. A concrete retaining wall reinforced with a belt of wave-breaking huge boulders marks the edge of the sea. As such, it is impossible to even dip a toe into the sea not to mention going for a walk along the non-existence beach. If you want to hang out and laze around on the beach or work on a tan, Miri is definitely not the picnic place of choice.
DAY 3 - With nothing much to do, we made a flying visit across the border to Brunei. The journey to the border town of Kuala Belait including 2 immigration checks takes only an hour by car. After buying 2 packet of keropok and 2 bars of imported chocolate we were on our way back to Miri. To commemorate the visit we stopped at the roundabout with a giant tea pot in the centre to take some photos. Not much of an impression but houses and buildings in Brunei looks just like another town in Malaysia.
DAY 4 - It was a long drive back from Miri to Sibu. Surprisingly there is hardly any small town, rest and recreation area or even a petrol station along the way. Starting off at about noon with a slight detour into Bintulu town for lunch, we arrived back in Sibu at 6:30PM amidst a light drizzle and growing darkness.
Together with the previous Sibu-Kuching road journey, we have practically drive across the whole of Sarawak. The only places yet to visit in Sarawak are up river to Kapit and the Mulu Caves.
28 December 2007
(P.S. - Travelling together during the holidays is an ideal opportunity for family bonding as we are practically spending 24 hours a day together. With a growing child in the group, the trip was anything but quiet and peaceful. From this trip I noticed another facet of my daughter’s developing character. Oh boy can she talk. The amazing chatter box practically talked all the way from Sibu to Miri and back. The only down times were when she took short naps in between.)
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