Wednesday 30 December 2009

Sarawak Trip

Finally can be blogging again. I'm back in uni so I can finally go online. Anyway, now it's finally time to blog about my Sarawak trip. I have many photos and I dont think I can upload 300 over photos, so I decided to make it as a video which I've yet to do. Overall, the trip was fantastic. I went to Kuching then to Sibu then to Miri. I was in each city for 2 days. Each city has their own mascot.

Kuching
In Kuching we visited a lot of places. From museums to hotels. From shopping centres to street markets. We tried local food there like golok mee and laksa Sarawak. To me, golok mee looks like char siew mee and laksa sarawak is exactly like curry mee but the lemak type. They use meehoon in the laksa but it's the thick type. Not like in Semenanjung the thin thin meehoon. We also visited Fort Magherita (I think that's how you spell it). It's a nice building but too bad we can't enter it so we only took pictures outside the gate. We also went to people's park at night. It's a park to symbolise the friendship between China and Malaysia. It has a big statue of Laksamana Cheng Ho but it was too dark to take picture for we went at night. We also went to visit the cultural village. This is my second time there and I still enjoy it. You really get to experience the different cultures of Sarawak. It is also the venue of the famous event Rainforest Music Festival. Here's a tip, do bring along your student card if you are going to visit the cultural village. Your fare will be only RM15 if not you have to pay RM6o. At night, you can stroll along the river bank. You can snap a thousand over pictures with all the cat statues around the city. The mascot of Kuching is of course the cat.


View at river bank (night) Fort Magherita Cultural Village


People's Park View at river bank (day)

Sibu

In order to get to Sibu from Kuching, we took a bus. It was the cheapest mode of transport but the longest. The bus was an 8 hour journey and it was a bumpy ride. You can't even sleep in the bus for you will be bouncing up and down most of the time. The bus ticketing price is also very funny. It follows like airplane ticket. Meaning at one time it will cost RM10 and in just ten minutes later it can go up to RM20. The earlier you buy the cheaper it is. The back seats are also cheaper but the most bumpy. When we got to Sibu we went to visit the night life of the city that was the pasar malam and a place known as the Gateway. Sibu is a nice little town just like Ipoh. There's nothing much to do but eat and eat and eat. So the whole time there, we tried different food like snails, kampua mee and many exotic food. Seafood here is fresh. Kampua mee is like golok mee in Kuching. The laksa here is sweeter. I also tried mee suah. It's like noodles in wine. People in Sibu likes to do gardening. All houses are filled with their own vegetable and herbs patch. I guess Sibu people have green fingers. For Sibu, the swan is their symbol.



The streets in Sibu is decorated with Christmas trees 9-Storey Temples


The Gateway Rajang river

Miri
Again another grueling 8 hours bus ride, we finally reached Miri. Miri is to me is like a cleaner and bigger version of Penang. Again the food here tastes different and the seafood is the best and freshest. we visited a crocodile farm. I got to feed a horse and goats. Got to see procupines, mynahs, emu and of course crocodiles. All the crocodiles are so huge and all sleeping only until it was feeding session. Then we visited the beach and also Marina Bay whereby we saw the sun set. We also visited the petroleum museum. There was nothing much and it looks like PetroScience in KLCC but a smaller version. In Miri, we played cards till late night and also learn how to play Mahjong. We left from Miri airport to LCCT. Our plane was delayed for an hour and we stayed over in LCCT Coffee Bean until the next morning. In Miri, the mascot will be seahorse.



Crocodile farm View from Petroleum Museum


Sunset at Marina Bay Lighthouse


All in all the trip was enjoyable but tiring. I recommend to sit planes from one place to another. It's a bit more pricy but it saves a lot of time. There's sure a lot of things to eat so prepare a big appetite. Also bring a lot of cash to spend on souvenirs and many more. Remember to bring your student card too. You never know when you might get discounts.


P.S I'll post the video of pictures soon I think. Let me find the time to do so. For now I'll upload some of the pictures only.