Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Mir, Sarawak

When people heard I was going to Miri they gave me such a look as if to suggest the sun had got to me. Their reactions ranged from "Why go to such an ulu place?" "What's there to see there?" to "Haha, they're headhunters, right?"

These pictures will dispel such notions. You may not be aware but Air Asia now flies to Miri from Singapore (haha, no, Air Asia is not giving me free seats for this publicity)

Is this ulu? Broad streets and pavements.
Imperial Mall and Hotel. Ulu?

The seahorse: mascot of Miri

Miri also has its smaller version of "kampung ayer" (water village)



A bus stop: Good bus services connect even remote villages and towns. For long distance travel e.g. to Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching go to Pujut bus terminal outside town.



8 comments:

  1. I'm not surprised. Even your mentor minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew paid a visit to Kelantan state that is governed by Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). He wanted to see whether hudud law was enforce there. He found his answer :)

    Proposals to institute punishments such as amputation of limbs for thievery and execution for blasphemy (collectively known as Hudud Law), however, have been blocked by the national government on constitutional grounds.

    Roger, there is a saying from Samuel Johnson:

    "The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.”

    Cheers!
    mylo

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  2. True, and S Johnson couldn't have put it better. Perception is one thing, and reality another. It's better to see things for oneself. Miri was granted city status ahead of Penang much to the annoyance of the people there. That speaks volumes about Miri isn't it?

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  3. Even a Malaysian like me have never set foot on Miri. Very surprise to see such broad roads and muti-storey buildings.

    Thank you for showing the pictures of Miri to a "katak di bawah tempurung" person like me.

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  4. Haha, Teoh jangan bergurau lah. You're a well-travelled man yourself. Whereabout in KL you dudok?

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  5. To give credit where credit is due, frankly Miri is as clean as Singapore. Very well laid out. One of the surprises is that motorists don't toot their horn at you. Some even stopped their cars to give me the chance to take photos.

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  6. I live in Bandar Sri Damansara, Petaling Jaya. It is at the north-eastern part of KL.

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  7. Ok, Teoh, if I go to KL kita minum at your favourite sarabat stall.

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