Sarawak is becoming one of my favourite travel destinations because there is so much more to discover. I've been to Miri a few times since a decade ago, but everytime I return, it delights me with new discoveries 😁
It helps that travel between Singapore and Miri is very easy as there are affordable, direct flights daily 😁 For this trip, we took AirAsia. Everything went without a hitch in both directions.
Don't know how it happened, but the first thing I have after arriving in Miri is always rojak with gula apong. Miri rojak tastes well balanced savoury sweet nutty and not as sweet or salty as the peninsula and Singapore versions. There's plenty of crunchy, juicy jicama or yam bean, pineapple, cucumber as well as dried squid, fried tofu, etc. Nice!
The locals call this Marudi ice cream but it is actually ordinary milk ice cream with different flavours. It's called Marudi simply because the owner came from Marudi town which is about 30 minutes south by air from Miri. These were from the popular 86 Cold Drink shop in Taman Tunku - can drop by if you are near by.
For this Miri trip, we stayed in Imperial Palace. Four Star, good value (less than RM100 per night), amenities provided, clean linens, big rooms, well kept, comfortable furnishings, friendly efficient staff, convenient location. I won't mind using Imperial Palace again.
After dropping our bags, the first thing was to look for food around the hotel. There were dozens of street side food stalls, coffee shops, and restaurants, all within 10 minutes walking distance.
This was the popular fried chicken feet stall.
Wilson brought us to Ming Garden Restaurant for dinner.
We had poached chicken, coffee pork ribs, fried Soon Hock fish, fried tofu, curry lamb, sayur midin sambal and other delicious dishes. We also had our first taste of the famous sweet pineapple from Bario 😋 We were going to get a lot of pineapples during this trip 😁
After dinner, on to Hawaii Beach Miri to get some practise shooting Milky Way. This shot by our photography master and Sarawak travel host, Wilson Chiam.
The next morning, we had breakfast near our hotel Imperial Palace. There's all the usual suspects like kolo mee, fried hor fun and fried kway teow.
Then, we spent the day across the border in Brunei (Miri people pop into Brunei and vice versa, the same way Singaporeans flock to Johor Bahru for day trips). I will cover our Brunei excursion in a separate post.
Back from Brunei, Wilson took us to Cape 7 Kitchen, a zhi char place near our hotel.
We had ikan bakar (pari or stingray), asam pedas fish, har cheong gai, sayur manis, large cockles, sayur midin sambal, and satay. I love their asam pedas fish and satay the most.
Next morning, before we go board the plane to Bario, we went to Open Air Market in Miri (also known as Central Market) for breakfast. Seems like in Miri, it is eat, eat, eat all the time 😬
I realised that in Miri, the staple is fried kway teow instead of kolo mee. There are more fried kway teow stalls than kolo mee stalls. There were three or four fried kway teow stalls in Open Air Market alone.
Miri fried kway teow is different from those in Singapore and Peninsula Malaysia. There is no see hum (cockle) or prawn.
It's the same kway teow (flat rice noodle) stir fried in oil and savoury sauce till caramelised, then topped with savoury fried pork strips and a sunny side up with runny egg yolk. Used to be fried with lard but most stalls use palm oil nowadays.
After breakfast, our next stop was Bario which is 50 minutes south by air from Miri. Our check-in at Miri airport was smooth. The trick is to be early and ready with all our documents.
Our ride was the DeHavilland Twin Otter operated by MASwings.
It's a small plane, like a mini van inside. Takes only 9 passengers due to weight management, though it actually has more seats. The flight took 50 minutes and was comfortable. I enjoyed the ride and scenary between Miri and Bario. I have written more details about my flight here 👈
On arrival at Bario airport, our luggages were quickly transfered from the airplane to the pickup truck sent from Nancy Harriss Homestay, our host in Bario.
Nancy Harriss Homestay is 5 minutes drive (2 km) from the airport. It was very comfortable and clean. A nice place to stay. (Truth be told, when told before the trip that we will be staying in a homestay, I wasn't looking forward to it. But, Nancy Harriss Homestay changed my mind.)
Nancy is an excellent host who speaks Bahasa Malayu and English. She cooks delicious homestyle meals for us, which we all enjoyed.
Nancy Harriss Homestay is a tranquil base to explore the beautiful Bario town, villages and highlands.
The flaming sunset is also beautiful.
The aircraft wreck at Nancy Harriss Homestay makes a unique setting for shooting the Milky Way. It's a bit challenging though, as you have to step into the wet rice paddies to get the perfect shot. That makes it more fun!!
I have written up details about my stay with Nancy Harriss Homestay here 👈 click
Our main mode of transport in Bario were these 4 wheel drive trucks. That's how people rumble in the Bario Highlands.
From Nancy Harriss Homestay, we ride the 4 wheel drive pickup truck to explore the town, villages and highlands.
Where 4 wheel drives cannot go, we relied on our trusty two legs 🐾
In Bario, there are suspension bridge, natural salt spring, waterfall, and more which required some easy trekking to access. Just prepare insect and leech repellent, sun block, trekking shoes or kampung addidas, hat and water.
In Bario, you will see the highlands ringing around you.
Then, in the middle are paddy fields which are still worked by hand. I hardly saw any tractors or other heavy machinery.
When in Bario you will taste Bario rice and most visitors buy some to bring back home. Bario rice makes good porridge and cakes as it is starchy and dense but not too sweet.
Talking about porridge, Nancy made us traditional Kelabit porridge with wasp larvae, nymph, pupae and adult. It scared off the rest, so I ate most of it 🫢 It's quite nice lah, as the white parts tasted like creamy cheese 😁
The Kelabit people also grow pineapples.
For generations, the Kelabit people welcome their guests with pineapple, juice and wine. I had lots of pineapple during my stay in Bario, thanks to Kelabit hospitality 🙏❤️
Met this Kelabit Dayak lady while we explored the paddy fields in the misty morning. She was on her morning rounds, feeding her fish. She offered to cut some pineapples for us as gift. We were touched by her warmth and hospitality.
Almost all Kelabit people profess Christianity. Churches were dotted around the villages. This a Kelabit style "bell" found at Kelabit churches.
There is a town square but the shops only open on weekends and mornings only.
There are market stalls, sundry shops and little eateries selling simple, affordable rice and noodle dishes.
At the Bario weekend market, they have their own style of Sarawak laksa. Milder and less spices than the version found in Miri but everyone likes the fresh prawns here.
Nancy brought us to visit her family's long house. There are some unique features about this longhouse. Nancy's father-in-law Penghulu Lawai had a lifelong fascination with airplanes (and modernity in general) ever since he took a flight to Kuala Lumpur from Sarawak in 1963. His life and everything he did became related to aviation (and advancing the Kelabit community).
The longhouse Penghulu Lawai founded was built above Bario's first runway. When you are here, you will probably observe that the common verandah is enclosed and shaped like an airliner cabin.
Nancy's son, Penghulu Lawai's grandson is a pilot. Nancy's daughter is a cabin crew.
During its heyday, this longhouse had 26 families. Today, there are only two or three and most of the homes have been converted to homestays.
Good bye Bario. We headed back to Miri via the same MASwings Twin Otter flight.
Once we arrived in Miri, it's eating time again 😬
This time Wilson brought us to Sing Chiong Restaurant in Bekenu. We had their signature Soon Hock fish and large prawns as well as sayur manis, sayur midin sambal and deer meat. I have a detailed post on our lunch in Sing Chiong here 👈 click
Sarawakians say, you can't claim to have visited Sarawak without visiting Mulu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renown for its caves, rivers, waterfalls, rainforests, flora and fauna as well as other stunning natural wonders.
Mulu airport is 30 minutes by air from Miri airport. It is served by ATR 72 planes operated by MASwings.
It takes at least three days to appreciate the many natural wonders of Mulu such as the Garden of Eden, bat filled Deer Cave, Pinnacles of Gunung Api hill, and more.
For breakfast in Miri before catching our flight back to Singapore, we went to Lao Yang Cafe which is actually a small food court with about 20 stalls. We had pork organ soup, noodles, and curry rice. I was most fascinated by the curry rice and wrote a detailed blog post here 👈 click
Our ride back to Singapore. Smooth and comfortable. So many good memories of Sarawak.
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