Showing posts with label Miri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miri. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Airport Road Outcrop, Miri 3March2011


A geography book come to life.

The faults were located across the road from Taman Awam. We had to park by the roadside along a rather busy stretch of road.
The signboard was filled with information. Too much for me to digest under the blazing afternoon sun. If I had more time in Miri, I would make it a point to come again in the morning, to appeciate the geological faults better.

Fai examining the layers of sandstones and mudstones as he looked for fossils.
My hubby immediately spotted termite trails.

Miri Crocodile Farm 3March2011


On the way to the crocodile farm, we passed a few road side stalls selling piles of tiny, pink shrimps at about RM8/kg.
The shrimps, known as 'bubuk', are in season during the months of March to May and is eaten fresh with some assam, lime juice, shallots...sounded like preparing kerabu to me. The leftovers are used in preparing cincaluk and belacan. Nothing goes to waste. We were told that the shrimp can also be caught in Melaka.


Map of the crocodile farm

Lounging crocs.


Being a weekday, we had the place to ourselves and the caretaker told us we had his undivided attention. He asked us if we wanted to feed the crocodiles for RM10.
He came back after a while with a bucketful of chicken pieces. Hooked the chicken onto a hook and line and told my hubby to lower the rod into the pit filled with young crocodiles.
The moment the crocodiles caught a whiff of the raw chicken, they began leaping into the air and splashing water as they landed.
After feeding the whole bucket to the crocs, the caretaker asked if we wanted to feed the bigger crocs for RM10.
He came back after a few minutes with 4 frozen chicken carcasses.

He hooked one chicken onto a hook and reeled the chicken to the middle of the enclosure.

One of the big crocodiles leaping out of the water.
They missed most of the time and were exhausted after 3 or 4 jumps and had to rest a while before attempting another jump.
The kids shrieked at the sight of the ferocious power shown by the crocodiles.
Fai and Han studying animal behavior.
The boys were entertained by the antics of the pig tailed macaque.
There were 3 young macaques and each of them exhibited mannerisms that were similar to one of the boys.
The breastfeeding macaque was clingy and never left the mother's side,
the middle one was mischievious and tried to evoke one of the bigger ones to play with him and was the most active,
the biggest of the three was thoughtful and was trying out different tactics to excape the cage - first by trying to squeeze his toes out from under the cage then by biting at the wire netting.

We bought a bunch of bananas for RM1 to feed the animals.

Ean insisted the civet cats needed their bananas peeled. The civet cats looking on impatiently as the 2 year old carefully prepared its meal.

The Malayan flying fox, similar to the ones we saw at Zoo Negara, climbed down the wire mesh to feed on the bananas. The kids could have a good look at the bats' anatomy.

Timber Galore! Eastwood Valley GCC @Miri 3March2003


We had to find a place to bunk for the night in Miri and decided upon a resort that was nearest to the airport as we had an early morning flight to Mulu.
Well, second nearest, the budget inn that was a mere 5 minute walk away had spooky reviews and it didn't help that we were watching a thriller as I was doing the bookings.
There wasn't much reviews on Eastwood Valley but it was the cheapest and I was satisfied with the 2 double beds in the unit that could fit in my brood comfortably.
The taxi to the resort costs RM22.
Upon check in, we were driven on a golf buggy to our unit.
Everything was built using timber.
Timber walkways, railings, walls, floor boards...

Pergolas....

What caught our breathe was the immense halls with wooden flooring. The hall was so huge that we couldn't see the end of it.
Beyond the covered area was an open deck, also made entirely out of timber.

The swimming pool must have been at least a hundred metres in length.

The side view of the swimming pool. It stretches from the first pillar right to the very end.
I was amazed at the amount of timber used in the construction of this place.
Everything was enormous. If you need help in thinking BIG, give this place a visit.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Taman Awam, Miri 3March2011


Miri was supposed to be a non-descript stopover as we made our way to Mulu but we were pleasantly surprised by what it had in store for us. After checking in into our hotel (more about this place in my next post) we went in search for some food. As we headed towards Miri town, we passed Taman Awam, a public park. Although our stomachs needed to be filled, the sight of the suspension bridge persuaded us to check the place out.
We had the whole park to ourselves. The play area was built in a valley and by walking on the bridge we could see what the park had to offer.

View of the playground from the suspension bridge.

View of the splash pool. It had a tyre swing, pouring buckets, jets of water shooting out from the seahorse's mouth...


A viewing tower at the end of the suspension bridge. It gave us a good view of Miri.
The park was beautifully landscaped and worthy of another visit. Entrance is free.
In Fai's words "I want to stay here the rest of my life!"
and Han not wanting to be left out said "I want to stay here for a hundred hours....no, a hundred and eight hours!"
Miri...who would have known...