Chronicles of Bintulu, Sarawak - Part 1 Arrival

This is the story, all about how, my life got twisted upside down. I'd like to take a moment, just sit right there, I'm going to tell you all about my life in Bintulu (sing to the tune of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)

As the plane landed at Bintulu Airport, the first thing that I noticed was the lack of buildings. There were no houses or shops, let alone a tall building!! Mel (my colleague and now, travel partner) just looked at each other and grimace. This was going to be a long week...

First stop after getting off the plane was not to collect our luggage. No....we first had to go through immigration!!! Can you believe it? It is so ironic that, despite being a 'Malaysian' and having a valid identity card, the moment you cross the South China Sea into East Malaysia, you're considered a foreigner!!

You have to produce your IC and you'll be given a pass, 'allowing' you to stay in Sarawak for 90 days only!! I felt so weird and amused that with all the illegals entering and roaming around, the actual citizens are being so strictly guarded!!

Anyway, after securing the right to stay in Sarawak and collecting our baggage, we were on our way.

My first eating experience came next. Since we arrived at around 3.45pm, we naturally missed lunch. So we stopped for "lunch" at a coffee shop and I ordered what we Penangites call 'Wantan Mee'. But, instead of receiving noodles with black soya sauce, what I got was colourless, salty noodles, served with a tasteless soup, wantan and chilli paste. The result? Combine EVERYTHING and surprise, surprise....it was a tasty meal!! But of course, I only realised this after eating about half the meal!! By the way, it's called Mee Kolok.

On the way to the hotel, Bintulu reminded me a bit of Taiping. In that, it's a small town and there was hardly any traffic. Great for learner drivers and those with the 'P'. The houses I saw were huge and beautiful, although I knew that this was just the "first impression". I had yet to see the other side of Bintulu.

After checking in at the hotel, we went straight to work. Though we were all tired after all the travelling and the bad flight(!!), like in all PAN AP events, we had to work past dinner. Luckily, Bella and Mel were with me and we all got to return to our rooms by 10pm.

....to be continued