Jalan-jalan (bermalasan) Kuching

When : 16 – 18 April 2010


love this bag! and suit Iman well!!

Just because of craving for oyster omelets, Chenta decided his 2010 bday trip will be at Kuching!. Phew, at least not Penang again. Since flight to Kch will be early in the morning, we opt for staying at Tun* LCCT the night before. Biasalah, RM0.00 for the room. After check in around 9.00++ we went to LCCT terminal and lepak @ McD!. The said free shuttle from hotel to terminal is actually cost us RM1/person. Kid is free. Boo for that!


@ Tun* sepang, rooms are fullu booked, many had to sleep at the lobby area.

At Kch airport we were greeted by huge posters of MASam 2010. It was coincident that PnB are having their saham week on the same weekend. I ask my colleague from Kch branch to book a hotel (nak gov rate punya pasal hehe) not knowing that most of the MASam committee members staying at the very same hotel too!. You know it’s kind of a rule that Chenta will not be working on his birthday, he will not be anywhere near office let alone his colleagues! . He did act cool saying ‘my wife is working here’. Boo for that! hahahah


giant poster @ airport

Anyway, after a short nap, we strolled along Kch waterfront and hop on the boat penambang to Kampung Boyan. Misi mencari kedai kek lapis DS. It’s only +-100m from the jetty, turn right, walk till you see the signboard on your left. Iman had a real kek-lapis-time eating the samples. I even made it to the kitchen where the layering is done. We didn’t buy anything.. hahahha, will be back again tomorrow. Kenyang makan kek lapis, we went back to the hotel and straight to swimming pool!!. I love seeing Iman in his cute little speedo but he already started to feel embarrassed of being sexy like that.. ‘Mummy saya tak mau mandi pakai spender la… ‘ heheheheh. The pool just so-so but we had fun splashing till nak maghrib!.
Dinner just few meters away, top spot, mana lagi. Chenta got his omelets and Iman got his prawns and I got emmm my coke! Yes, seafood and coke really goes well ladies!.


Poor baby, he must been really tired!

Chenta had to carry him back to the hotel! Patah pinggang you!. Party hanyalah dengan 2 slice of cheesecake from *buck and orange juice marigold. Hehehe

Day2
Hotel bf was so so jugak. This hotel really need makeover la!. Then meet my colleague to pick our rented car at the office. Ya, office juga dekat saja. Kak Zam belanja makan the best original kolok in town! I’ve been trying kolok in many parts of Sarawak and I must say this is the best of all. I goreng you not, the soup just delicious, the meat so tender even Iman was asking for more!


the menu

This restaurant is located just opposite Pasar Satok. We reached there around 9++ and some of the dish in the menu already finished! She then showed us the REAL kek lapis at Wani, Satok. Here, kek lapis is 100% made of butter. The taste is waaaayyy much sedap from DS, but of course it cost you more.

Checkin Tun* dan acara Jalan-jalan naik kereta, pusing-pusing kota. 1st stop, textile museum!. I just don’t understand why Chenta nak sangat pergi sini. Tapi best jugak tau apa yg ada di dalam.


model museum?


Singgah ke tapak MASam juga. It was huge. Tapi signboard tidak boleh dibaca, boooo...hehe

Singgah lagi ke pasar satok for terubuk (ada telur) bakar. Petang, river cruise menikmati sunset. RM60/person. I thought the price is inclusive dinner but only juice and kuih were served. It was awesome nonetheless.




gambar pon awesome,thanks Iman.

We drove to Kampung Boyan for dinner. Buka bekal terubuk bakar, siap minta kicap dan cili padi. Yummeh!!!

Day 3
Kolok special for breakfast again! Siap tapau 5 bungkus nak bwak balik kl. Another round pasar satok beli giant midin, terubuk masin, rambai dayak. DS again kek utk sournevir. From Tun* naik van ke airport. RM12/person.

Ciao Kuching.. we had fun. It feels good just to be somewhere else and doing pretty much nothing. Happy birthday Chenta, thank you for this relaxing trip. You never fail to make us happy on your birthday, bukankah kami yang patut buat Abah gembira? emmm kompius la... anyway,where’s next? Hahahha.

*me usually will make extra effort to make sure pis will not be the same in the fb but in this case, until the original folder is found, tataplah gambar ulangan ini .maaf.

Jalan-jalan Bali

When : 31Jan2010 – 03Feb2010

Ah, Bali. Satu perkataan ikhlas dari hati saya : Asyik!.

Well, one thing you should know, Chenta is very skeptical about our ‘jiran’ especially on safety and hostility. Setelah sekian kali memujuk, akhirnya dia setuju. So I grabbed AA promo which only cost RM326.00 return tickets (tax, fee,luggage, advance seat, foods and goinsure) for 3 of us. Now everybody can really fly! Actually I got few commentaries from colleagues saying something like ‘wah.. asyik Jalan sana sini’ dengan nada penuh sindiran. Apakah maksudnya itu? Gajimu > gajiku?. Ladies, there’s always a way to jimat, of couse with extra efforts like log on to AA website at 4am to get RM0.00 offer and sorts and mind you the tickets was bought on May13,2009!. Awak rajin? Hehehehe ok back to the trip, Chenta did help with the accommodations. He managed to snap 2 nights stay at TunEHotel Kuta, jimat lagi… ya, kami ni budget travelers! and another night at Nusa Dua (harga promo juga). Enough said, I was so looking forward to this trip!.

Day 1 :
It was Sunday, flight petang, we have ample of time, so Chenta came out with this strange idea. We took cab from our house to Kajang Komuter Station, train to Nilai, then feeder bus to LCCT. Cumanya instead to LCCT the bus went to KLIA and we had to take another bus to LCCT. Fuhhhh… tak berapa jauh perjalanan tapi luas betul pandangan!!

Sampai Ngurah Rai dah pukul 8++mlm so we took an airport taxi to Kuta which cost us Rp45000. The counter is pretty easy to find. Just turn right after the exit door from the International Arrival Building. Check-in, then we went out for dinner at Warong Made, Seminyak. Jalan kaki sahaja dr hotel. Been reading reviews from Malay forumers saying Halal and sedap. Tengok menu ada Bab*Guling!. Maka malam-malam itu kami order pancake and fruit juices!.

Day 2 :
Oh TunEHotel Kuta is located at the heart of Kuta area. Walking distance to the beach, extensive of branded shops, eateries and entertainments. Highly recommended!.

Pak Agong yang berjanji tetapi Pak Putu yang datang. Pak Agong menghadiri jemputan majlis cremation. Oh saya mendapat contact from En Hisyam Rahman a.k.a. Cok Dang. Terima kasih. Rp500000/day no time limit. Premium service. Unser. After quick recap from emails sent and suggestions from Pak Putu himself, off we go!
1. Ulun Danu Bratan – a temple by the lake. Santekk sangat pemandangan.


Iman and Mummy at Ulun danu and Chandi Kuning

2. Chandi Kuning - I bought a huge bowl made of wood and cinnamon for only Rp40000. Kasihan bila adik peniaga bilang sudah 3 hari tiada jualan!. Juga vanilla, about 42 sticks for Rp100000.

3. Lunch di Pacung – if you know where to get halal food around this area, you might want to skip this. It’s a buffet lunch mainly for tourist. The foods are pretty simple. Nasi goreng, lauk2, satay ikan, soup, salad fruits. It cost us Rp75000/person. Iman get to eat free. But you get a nice view of padi terrace and super duper clean and nice toilet.


what a view! and what's the ice for guy?

4. Alas Kedaton (Monkey Forest) – upon entering, a guide will be assigned to assist you around the area. I got this soft spoken kakak, very informative and all, at the end of the tour she invited us to her gerai (many there). Emm I didn’t plan to buy anything but Iman is engrossed with the small gendang! After much tawar menawar I got it at only Rp10000!. Nada mengalah, she said ‘untuk pelaris Buk’. Chenta said ‘ye la workmanship tak elok tapi tak kan la RM4 hengget je benda ni, awak ni pun..’ I was like what?



cool pic at Alas Kedaton

5. Uluwatu – Kecak & Fire Dance by the cliff – Wow!. The best itinerary! You can forget your stroller if you bring one. Its steps and steps all the way! Monkeys are super naughty here. I was attack 2 times! One of them tried to grab my brooch and the other one tarik jacket Iman yg I ikat kat beg. Maka kedengaranlah jeritan akak di Uluwatu. Heheheh. The kecak dance was super fun. I love the open, round theatre arena which located by the cliff. The wind, the sea, the energetic chanting 'choir' performances, the sunset, u got it all!




can you see his eyes?

6. Dinner at Jimbaran – of course there many seafood rest there. Pak Putu drops us at the one with dancers and waiters in nice uniforms (tourist spot). We specifically said we want Alia. Tidak secantik rest mahal but equally nice and filled with seasonal tourists esp mat salleh! The price is way much cheaper. Chenta bangga sebab dia yg duk buat research. I bet it looks gorjes during sunset. Kami sampai dah gelap!


We chose Rp180000 package/ Our dinner and Iman tak mo bangun sebab tak dapat bola HR!

7. HRC Bali – Jalan-jalan cari souvenirs. Even at sale, the price nak sama harga yg mcm kat London!. Dapat juga la sorang satu…. Eh, abah dapat dua? How come?

Day 3 :
The initial plan was lepak di hotel sahaja. But since we didn’t manage to visit Tanah Lot yet and can’t squeeze in tomorrow’s plan (different jalur), we opt for ½ day tour by tun* hotel.

1. Batuan/Ubud – Petruk Painter and few other galleries


We bought something similar like this but smaller in size and of coz cheaper price.

Along the way we saw many warong with signboard saying bab* guling here. One of them grilling the bab* outside the warong. Wow, they look gorgeous! Seriously! Ketika kami ternganga-nganga melihat bab* itu, the driver ask us ‘Mau cuba Bapak?’ hah! Apakah maksudnya itu??.

2. Taman Ayun – quoted from Pak Putu ‘sama saja, temple’. But I found it to be unique. Lush garden and the watch tower is a must.



he just cant wait to climb the watch tower! tak de pagar!!

3. Tanah Lot – it’s a mistake to be here at tengahari. We can’t get to the pura sbb air pasang, ombak besar and cuaca sangat panas!. Iman and me lepak at one of the many gazebo and Chenta proceed exploring the huge area with his camera. Then tapau nasi padang from halal gerai and headed to Nusa Dua.. woot!


Tanah Lot/There is another pura on the other side of the beach.

4. Nusa Dua – Many advised us not to go to Nusa Dua and they described it as ‘beach tak cantik, tak happening and all’. We found it dubious. Nusa Dua itself feels like Beverly Hills, sprawling luxurious hotels and a distinct lack of anything locals!. We (the whole van) were check thoroughly using something like bomb detector machine 2 times! That was upon entering Nusa Dua area and the hotel entrance. And at the hotel loby they have this scanning machine similar to yang kat airport tu! Wow... security is top notch! We stayed at Laguna Resort & Spa for USD118 (online promo). At first I tought it was a good deal for a Deluxe Lagoon View room, but it became much much better when they upgraded us to a Studio room! Yippee! And oh, we had a 24hour butler service! It was like, eh haus… nak teh tak? tinggg…. Butler datang…hahahahhahah, ya ampun: jakun!.


*gorgeous hotel beach and lagoon pools

After maghrib, we went to Bali Collection with a free shuttle bus service that runs from resorts. Everything here is spotlessly clean, unlike Kuta or Seminyak. On the downside, the place feels rather sterile, as locals don’t come here. It’s like an outdoor mall complete with small restaurants with outdoor dining, palm trees and a tranquil vibe. Perghhh… memang best, price tag also shown in USD.


*total relaxing /cool outdoor dining

Day 4 :
1. Barongan Dance – I think it was at Pusri Saren, Ubud. We ask for Batubulan but just can’t make it on time sebab jauh dari Nusa Dua. At first Iman was terrified by the barongan, lama2 boleh gelak. And during exit, 2 minah Salleh politely ask me to take Iman’s pic. Comel katanya. And he was happily posing for them. Anak…. anak.
2. Ubud – silver smith. Me done with jewelries (can’t find brooch yg comel) so tegnok-tengok saja.
3. Pasar Seni Sukawati – you can find almost everything you see around Bali here, with cheaper price tag! Bargain to the max. I found batik Bali are beautiful. Oh jet Iman itu hanya Rp10000 ya!. Beg cop Bali hanya Rp10000 sahaja. Beli banyak dpt discount lagi.. oh call me stingy but ada akak kesah? hahahaha



4. Tagallalang – Beautiful padi terrace. got a restaurant facing the terrace, duduk bersila di small decorated gazebo. Iman was crying out loud begging us to eat there. Ya ampun anak, mmg cantik tapi tidak halal!!!
5. Kintanami – spectacular view. Iman kelaparan, buffet makan fish fillet and nasi saja with fruits.





6. Tirta Empul – Pak Putu told me that each pancuran is for different prayer. On top of the pancuran, the pray was carved in Bahasa Bali. Salah satunya doa utk buat new building agar kukuh dan suksess. I was like what?? Pancuran untuk doa bonus besar ada Pak Putu?

7. Bebek Bengil Ubud – bebek bengil is as famous as bab* guling here. We purposely ask Pak Putu to singgah. Restoran ini gah di Ubud. Under construction. We ask the cashier on duty and she said yes, Halal Pak. I went to the kitchen hoping to see rows of hanged roasting ducks, but all I got were piles of semi roasted duck in a huge basin. They were prepared somewhere else, then cook as ordered in a whole. Sekor-sekor, tidak dipotong!. Ada goreng tepung, original, sambal etc. served with urab(kerabu) daun ubi and few sambals.
Payment


Iman nak mandi juga / peace to bebek bengil.

ilmu dari sembang-sembang bersapa pak pilot:

1. Balinese sungguh polite.
2. Nama depan atau nama Khas orang Bali selain dari memberi makna Hindu (kerana mereka beragama Hindu) menandakan urutan kelahiran misalnya:Anak pertama, kelima dan seterusnya : Putu, Wayan, Gede,Anak kedua, keenam dan seterusnya: Made, KadekAnak ketiga,ketujuh dan seterusnya :Nyoman, Komang,Anak keempat, kelapan dan seterusnya:Ketut dan seterusnya.
3. Nama depan ini boleh dipilih cth jika yang Pertama sudah menggunakan Putu, yang Kelima mungkin menggunakan Wayan. Ada yang mengekalkan nama khas ini walaupun sudah tidak beragama Hindu. So, jika diperkenalkan dgn orang Bali yang katanya bernama Putu, tanyalah nama penuhnya.
4. Dari nama juga boleh menentukan jenis kelaminnya, lelaki selalunya diakhiri dengan A dan perempuan dengan Ni. Cth : Lelaki: Putu Wardana, Perempuan: Putu Wardini
5. Nama juga boleh menentukan kasta. Cth Agung: ini setara dengan keturunan tengku-tengku.
6. Jika kamu berhajat untuk menjadi kontraktor lift, batalkan, business mungkin tidak maju kerana Bali tidak membenarkan bangunan dibina lebih dari 4 tingkat. Lift of course ada: di hotel.
7. Outside every Hindu’s house there is a family temple, facing the east. Temple ini berbentuk kubah-kubah kecil yang cantik. Di sini ancestor mereka. Selalunya ada pintu dan pagar berukir cantik untuk temple ini. Jika kamu suka hiasan taman ala Bali, pastikan hiasannya bukan seperti temple ini. Kebanyakkan hiasan Bali semuanya untuk tujuan keagamaan. Even the painting pon kena teliti sbb ada objek2 penyembahan.
8. Majlis cremation bagi golongan berada dilakukan terus setelah meninggal. Tetapi, bagi golongan kurang berada, dikebumikan dulu. Dlm masa 5-10yrs akan datang baru digali dan dibuat majlis, berkongsi dengan keluarga lain yang ada kematian dlm jangka masa itu. Majlis ini modalnya besar kerana akan menjamu makan sekampung dan ada acara offering lain. Ashes simati akan di arak dan dihanyutkan ke laut.
9. Nyepi: once a year based on Bali’s calender– everybody goes quiet staying at home, no electricity and all business are stopped, if there’s any emergency, they got special line to call so that let say if you need ambulance, police will escort the ambulance to your house. You just cant simply drive on your own. Even tourists are requested to stay at their room and oh, airport will be closed too! So jika hendak ke Bali, janganlah waktu Nyepi.
10. Agama Hindu Bali ini diajar sebagai salah satu matapelajaran di sekolah.
11. Bagaimana Bali mengekalkan pelukis, pengukir, penari (artis) zaman berzaman? Cth : Balik dari sekolah, anak pelukis akan diasuh melukis dari lakaran hinggalah bermain dengan color mengikut usianya. Juga banyak institusi kemahiran yang khas mengajar anak-anak Bali yang berbakat. Yang tidak ‘berseni’ selalunya jika tidak menjadi peniaga/petani mungkin juga jadi tourist guide. Hehehe ini ayat Pak Putu ya.
12. Pak Pilot usually get tips from the restaurant mahal when they take you there. Hence it's a biased recommendation. Tips are in a form of family meal packages. They can come back later with the family or they sell the package back to restaurant for the next tourist brought. Usually they settle for cash lah. Pak Putu explained this upon answering Chenta’s question “apa bapak diberi tips jika bawa kami ke restoran mahal”. Ya, kami minta maaf pada Pak Putu sebab specifically minta di bawa ke Alia semasa di Jimbaran. Budget ciput Pak…
13. Oh jika mahu explore Bali sepuasnya, perlu dalam 4 hari penuh kerana jalurnya berbeza. Kamu mungkin bertuah dapat 2 sunset: di Uluwatu dan Jimbaran. Planning is crucial. Know where and when you want to go.

MIT cafe - 2008

Right now, I’m craving for this bagel. Sungguh mengada tapi ada akak kesah? Hahahahha

Last few years (wah, few years gitu), colleagues lepak very very close to my cubicle and I can’t help but listening to them. Oh how they miss u.s so much (apparently both studied there), the winter, the marts, coke, travelling and foods. Foods lead to pizzas, doughnuts and bagel. Yes bagel!. Bagel this, bagel that. Bagel what??. Frankly, I was STRESS. I can’t join the conversation because everybody knows I’m a product of a local uni. I never taste that stopid bagel in my life, and sadly at that year I’ve never been to u.s yet. I felt so small and at that very moment suddenly I lost the taste of seafood kola perghlis, joe cendol pulut, laksa psm changlun and moi d9. Lost it. Plain. Nothing.

Hmmpphh. What that makes me? Lupa diri? I don’t know. It’s heartbreaking when you try to look back your life and admit your mistakes, letting go the opportunity you have. But we must bersyukur don’t we? I promise myself, I will have whatever they had, in my own way. I might not be studying in u.s but that won’t stops me to taste my very first bagel in u.s, at the famous MIT some more. In that special morning, I took tube from Boston business district to MIT, straight to the café, get in line among students carrying backpack, notebook, ipod and felt equal. Sungguh bongkak. Indeed, it was delicious. Read: satisfied.

Well, I forgive those lucky oversea graduates (OG) who made my life miserable last time. Perasaan yg miserable. After all perasaan itu motivates me a lot. If I can feel equal among those MIT students, I felt nothing among them (OG). Hah! Bongkak lagi.

Till then, have a wonderful weekend ya'all! Keluarga En Anwar will off to Kuching 2moro. Another obligatory bday trip.. hah!

BFF

How much you value your good friends? How do you value them?

Do we need BF? Siapa tak perlu, sila angkat tangan. Ok la, sila tinggal komen. We, women need good friends as much as men need sport channel. No? Well I do! BF keep me sane when life seems too crappy. They listen and care, in many ways.

Dulu pernah di UUM, I walk all the way from Kolej Petro to Mas just to say hello to my good friend, only to be treated coldly for reasons I couldn’t understand. I walk crying all the way back to kolej, and then still sobbing, called my other best friend. I can’t even say a word, I know he didn’t understand what on earth was I crying over but without asking, he came and comfort me.
Recently, I got a message in FB from the cold one saying hi and all bla.. bla..bla. It took me few days to reply because frankly, I didn’t know what say. I just didn’t understand how she value me.

I’m a simple person. I do not need birthday wishes, birthday present, pujian melambung or frequent gathering or sentiasa berbalasan emails. Of course kalau dapat semua tu is a big bonus but I’m trying to be realistic here. Minus the technologies, we work far from each other and we even stay far from each other. All I need is, let put it like this : even if we didn’t have chance to meet for a very very long time, when we got to say hello to each other it’s a sincere one. Yup, that’s it!

Ok, let me ask you, how many times you were late to appointment causing others waiting or even worst, didn’t show up without even bother to call? Do you have special group of BF that you share certain stories only? Do you keep secrets from your BF? Ok la people have secrets, but do you have to lie to your BF?

Jika dulu, may be I will cry sedih sedih sayu sayu if it happens to me, but I think I’m too old for this crappy BF thingy. Hah! Ayat sombong melangit kaedahnya. No lah. I LOVE my friends. And if they like me enough to LOVE me back, the way I do, they are my BF. Come, love me.

What with all this bebelan? Blame the PMS or the cuaca panas (kan Zila kan..). Or saya geram mereka bercerita pasal BFF ni la di sini… ish… tgh fenin nak prepare for UAT esok ni!!!

My Dream Photo Shoot

Oh, saya adalah peminat Iman, bukan Iman Ghazi, dia anak saya sudah tentu nombor satu dalam hati. Iman Umairah, betul.. saya jujur. Saya kagum anak kecil itu. Walaupun hanya kenal dari cerita dan gambar sahaja, saya dapat membayangkan kecerdikannya. Oh tentu kamu ingat saya mahu kipas. Saya ikhlas, saya mungkin tidak pandai ber’madah berhelah’ (walaupun saya pandai dan suka nyanyi lagu ini) tapi saya cuba menyampaikan isi hati saya. Eh, tiba-tiba emosi pula.

Mengapa Iman, oh agar tidak keliru saya panggil princess itu Iman U, anak saya Iman G. Mengapa Iman U yang disebut? Saya sebenarnya mahu Iman G berkenalan dengan Iman U. *malu*. Eh… ada yang senyum? Bukan untuk dijodohkan! Bukan! Ini kan zaman facebook dan twitter, tidak perlu. Saya rasa mereka sesuai digandingkan dalam sesi fotografi ini. Macam Mila dan Akim, macam Lisa Surihani dan Farid Kamil, macam Jacob dan Bella (maaf, saya team Jacob yek, hehe). Kan?. Psstt... sebenarnya saya mahu Chenta lihat (PDM, Chenta adalah hubby saya) kepentingan pendidikan awal yang bagus dari Iman U. Dia sering mengatakan saya tidak sabar, Iman G masih kecil sudah mahu disekolahkan, duh!. Saya kira sesi fotografi ini juga akan menjadi sesi perbincangan pendidikan awal anak-anak. Saya mahu timba ilmu!.

Saya tidak kisah saya tidak digambarin (padahal membuak-buak perasaan nak posing). Saya mahu lihat Iman G dan Iman U gembira. Saya seperti dapat bayangkan suasana dihari kejadian. Pasti tak menang tangan PDM. Dan pasti terjerit-jerit dia. Hahahahhaha, kan saya kata saya dapat bayangkan. Betul tak?. Kiranya hadiah ini saya kongsi semula dengan PDM la.. heheh kipas.. kipas… eh boleh tak saya cubit pipi Iman Jr itu? Tiba-tiba tergeram. Maaf.

Saya mahu menaip lebih panjang lagi tetapi saya faham kesibukan PDM (padahal tidak mahir menyusun ayat molek-molek, tidak pandai merayu-rayu). Saya berdoa agar saya menang peraduan ini. Kawan-kawan doakan sama yek. Mana tahu, dengan kebenaran PDM saya boleh ajak anak-anak kalian juga. Wah.. seronoknya!!. Oh, oh, atau, kamu boleh masuk juga peraduan ini dan kalau menang, ajaklah Iman G sekali yek!!.

Okey untuk mula memasang impian saya sediakan contoh ini.

Emmm.. comel.. comel…. kan saya dah kata!!

Us, Year 6

Alhamdulillah..

Phuket 2004 / Boston 2008
Despite the obvious body size changes, the pose is still the same.




Aiza's Abode early 2005 / Hafidz's wedding early 2006
Despite the mess we did, the laugh is still hysterical.




Raya 2006 / Raya 2009
Despite color divergence, raya still merry.




Bandung 2005 / Bali 2010
Despite little we have, we cope.





Iman Ghazi 2009
Despite the disappointments (to get me pregnant & be pregnant) we had Iman.


Despite all, I Lap U **blushing**

**click to see how (big) cute we were

Jalan-jalan (kerja) Sarawak

When : 19-26 Nov 2009
Where : Sibu, Sarikei, Kapit, Bintulu, Miri
Purpose : Kerijak

Have u been to Kapit? (the same question ask)
Not so recently, I’ve the opportunity to explore this remote town which took me 126km deeper to central Borneo from Sibu. Well, obviously to get to Kapit we must reach Sibu firstlah. The best part, Kapit is accessible only by fast riverboats (locally called express boats) plying between Sibu, Song and Kapit.

So, as early as 7.15am we already had our first class boat ticket in hand and ready to board the flight! Yes, they call it ‘flight’ and we were simply being generous that day buying first class konon.

Little that we know, the first class will be damn cold due to not so much passengers on board, I mean on business and first class. Locals opt for cheaper fare of course.

I wander upstairs and found the small driver room was wide open. I ask permission to join (there was another man sitting beside the driver). He laughed at me saying “sejuk ke?”. The witty driver end up told me everything. His bos is on holiday and visiting family in China. The boats are from Singapore, so as their parts and all. He got trained at Labuan while his friends in Singapore. How to maneuver the boats, he don’t mind banging huge logs but smaller ranting or plastic bags or fishing net are most troublesome (to the fan) when hit. Well the other man (he is actually a teacher) just don’t sat there quietly. He told me how he pity those teachers from Semenanjung yg kena posting dlm ceruk2 Sibu. Life is not easy. When tengkujuh, the river are so rough and dangerous that even the locals can’t guarantee will survive if they fall down in. The disturbing fact is, most of the teachers can’t swim!!. And when kemarau, small rivers become dry and boat’s fan can’t go through, they have to walk or together with the boatmen, manually push the boat by stick.

our boat on the far right.

We arrived Kapit around 10.15am. Boats were park close to each other and passengers had to jump from one boat to another to get to the jetty.

My oh my, Kapit is way far from what I imagine! I was standing in front of the jetty, browsing the town by turning my head from left to the right and my heart ached to admit that this town is without doubt much bigger then Senggarang (minus mini markets la). It was Sunday and Kapit town swarmed with locals from as far as Belaga shopping/selling their goods.

We spotted a group of mat and minah Salleh tua being lead by a tour guide and cepat2 membuntuti mereka. Ye la, obviously we look different, might as well act like tourist with tour guide. Heheheh. Our colleague from Sibu branch reminded us to ‘just be careful’ and please behave di tmpt orang. And oh, he also shared this heartbreaking story.
After fenat fusing-fusing Kapit (actually more to fenat cari sumpit tapi tak dapat, and fenat tgk telinga dan muncung oink-oink selonggok belakang kedai makan) we had luch at Sugar Bun!! Wah, jauh-jauh datang layan Sugar Bun! Heheheheh.

the body guards yang sungguh lama nak mengorder!

Emm.. food was so so saja. We then put our tired feet up and lepak at so called esplanade. Eating rambutan Kapit and people/boat watching was fun. Then bought our return ticket and zoom boarding the flight heading straight to VIP room!

we paid RM40 for this!. ye angin kuat, tudung tak terkawal!, ntah bila body guard snap akak pong tak perasan... depa tu pakai iphone dek non... akak tgh layan rejang!!

We reached Sibu Express Boat Terminal around 2++ and zassss amek keta sapu to the hotel. Tak sampai hati nak kacau abg driver. Fenat sehhhhh.

Yeah, cerita Kapit sahaja! Oh, 1hour++ trip with 4WD to Sarikei was fun too. And I love the boat penambang at Sibu! Crossing Rejang river was like wooawww… Bintulu and Miri were fairly fun tetapi hati sudah rindu Iman. hehehe


menuggu bot penambang.. Sibu


memborong beras bario and famous souvenir shop di Miri


abaikan jari peniaga itu. Durian kampung Miri, 2nd round layan durian after Sarekei.

overall, love the places, the gang.. the food... and great escape from boring opis..heheheh