Well, let me bring you to this quiet little Bintangor town of Borneo Sarawak (30 minutes drive from Sibu town) to witness part of the largest crop fields in the state.

Plowed land ready for planting.

This will be used for corn plantations.

Farm Boy: “Hello, do you have any work for me? I can help plow your land.”

Corn crops testing area.

Farm tractor.

Farm machineries.

This is use for land plowing.

More farm tractors.

Elephant brand water sprayer.

The Rain Maker.

Irrigation system, ensuring sufficient water flows through all the plantations.

Farm supervisor and his dogs. Hunting for something there.

Catch of the day: Iguana.

Got it by its tail, almost bit his *toot* though…

The pineapple trail.

Baby pineapple.

Sweet potato plantations.

Water bamboo shoots

Barley seeds. The Borneo indigenous variety of barley is much more tasty than those Western barleys, and it has a scent of herbal fragrance as well.

Baby barley plantations.

Barley crops.

Corn seeds originating from Thailand.

This is not at the farm anymore, but on the way back from Bintangor to Sibu, you can find many of these stalls selling local fruits usually grown at their own backyard.

Dragon fruits.

Chinese Mandarin.

Pomelo.

Corns.

Banana.

Durian.

Alright now, go back to Facebook and steal some more fruits.

The world certainly needed that extra ‘Rawrrrrr’ after all the economy crises and countless disasters in 2009!

That aside, let me bring you the view of this year’s Chinese New Year fireworks from my balcony.

P/s: I was hit on the back by quite a huge chunk of the pyrotechnics’ remnants, as you can see the camera swaying heavily towards the end of the video. Well, Good luck does fall from the sky!

No, I’m not asking you to worship the Gods, but right beside the temple, there’s a block of revamped building that houses Sibu’s finest lounge and cafe. The lounge is located at Jalan Chew Geok Lin. The once antique building looks great now after major refurbishment works.

The building is owned by Wah Tat Holdings. The lounge is closed in the morning, nothing’s happening there during daytime…but when the sun goes down…

Welcome to the Queen Lounge and Cafe!

Cafe Cafe, a fusion restaurant right beside the Lounge. Next to Cafe cafe, there’s Mari Mari interior decor and furniture shop. All of these businesses share the same owners – Peter and Ah Tung.

If you want a cozy, air-conditioned environment, you can take a seat in the Lounge.

This is the open air area, so if you opt to smoke, or you just want to smell the river breeze (or haze as of now – Aug, 2009) you can sit on the outside instead.

The stage where singers perform. The lounge have a group of very talented singers and I reckon they’re qualified for an album contract! So, talent scouts, this is your spot if you want local talents!

I like the mixture of modern cum antique decorations in the lounge. There’s a medieval sense surrounding the place.

They even have a long table with chairs and glasses from the Imperialism age, and the corner lamp that light up the floral wallpapers. First impression, this is where a Mafia gang holds their meeting.

The menu for the Queen.

The reception area with two chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Vintage!

Candle in the glass.

Dim light.

More decors.

Beers on displays in the cabinet chiller.

Beers anyone?

Nothing beats a beer at the Queen after a hectic day of work. Cheers everyone!

“Come in, and tell us why you love Miri City”

A lot of expatriates came and left their footprints and legacy on the land of the Seahorse. They came to work for the company that shapes the city that it is today – Shell Oil Company. The booming oil and gas industry had brought tremendous wealth and fortune to the city. Infrastructures and the living conditions were upgraded.

The Grand Old Lady, while it’s still in operation in the old days.

For a handful of expatriates, they settled down here in Borneo. But for some, they left with a heavy heart. Knowing that they’ll be back here again someday. To seek the nostalgia that once were.

Marriott Resorts and Spa caters their holidays hospitality when they’re back here again.

Miri City is heavenly relaxing, and a beautiful city for life after retirement. Lay down and enjoy the sunshine.

For all the wonderful things in Miri City, we have I Love Miri City Social Network to share and bring together the best of Miri, all under one network of fellow Mirians and expatriates, from anywhere around the world.

What’s great about this place is its very vintage and originally Sibu’s design and decor. You can find lots of old photos of Sibu town as the wallpaper and wall photos.

When you look at the mascot. What comes into your mind?

Set lunch of the day: Salad Pork Rib rice + ABC Soup + Ice Lemon Tea/Kiwi Juice.

Uncle Dom Cafe’s outdoor dining area.

“The Place to be…” I wonder if the boss were working in KFC 10 years ago? Not only the mascot/logo looked like a complete clone of the KFC Colonel’s head, but the slogan sounded like them too! Remember the line, “That’s where I want to be?”.

Upon entering the premise, this is how it looks.

Ample space for diners. What I like about this cafe is it’s spacious dining area, and the really detailed decor they have. This is 100% not Sibu-style! In Sibu, typical kopitiam won’t even have any aircond to boot!

Look at the large landscape photo in the middle of the photo. The perspective of the photo gives a false illusion that there’s more space into the shop. Really good play with photographs as the wallpaper there!

Ipoh-style kopitiam breakfast. A couple of half-boiled eggs with a cup of Ipoh white coffee.

Another depth and space creator. A HUGE mirror!

The reception counter.

The entrance.

Vintage photos. Most of them are taken during the British colonization era. I still could recognize some of the location, some were taken at the Cathay cinema, some at the old airport.

Bottles of Pickled fruits and veges, with descriptions of the benefits of every bottle.

A vintage cash register.

They tasted somewhat special, and not some ordinary Ice lemon tea.

We ordered the daily set lunch.

Salad Pork Rib rice.

ABC soup, comes in a traditional ceramic soup container. I like the vintage feeling of this shop!

The soup contains white carrot, and red carrot, boiled with pork bones. I just loved this kinda soup! Easy and tasty!

Chicken chop with mushroom sauce

And the bill comes to…RM22.70. Of which, RM1.08 were accounted as 5% service charges.

Don’t you just love the old and vintage photos wallpaper? All of them are taken in Sibu decades ago. Truly Sibu.

I declare that Uncle Dom Cafe, is the place to be…I would certainly come again.

Although I would say they still have rooms to improve on the service aspect. They really need to thoroughly train their waitresses and waiters to be more knowledgeable in the cafe’s menu, apart from their passiveness in taking orders.

Business Location:
Lorong Chew Siik Hiong 1A, Fortune Commercial Centre.
(The block behind Mitsu Tea House and opposite of Sushi Tie)

Business Hours:
Opens from 8:30am – 10:30pm weekdays.
7:30am – 10:30pm on weekends and public holidays.

Those handful of users might had gone to the temple, or a fortune teller, or had a wet dream the other night.

Lottery betting is one of the biggest and most profitable business in Malaysia, as it is the ONLY form of legal betting apart from going up the hills to Genting Casino. Any other forms of betting activities will get you prosecuted.

Have you ever been to Kuala Lumpur? The Berjaya Times Square? Ya, the place where you shop for fashion clothes, and go for a IMAX 3D movie? The place where people countdown during the new year’s eve? Yeah, that place lorrr…

Well, you have to thank yourself for being one of the contributors to the funds of the building, because of your daily deposits to the Berjaya Group’s Sports Toto. They’re one of the largest and most profitable companies in Malaysia dealing with resorts, real estate, retailing, 7-Elevens, Cosway, education, and basically whatever you can think of…

They are the peoples waiting for fortune to happen, while the “bank” thanks them for all the fortune.

They’re also the ONLY bank in town that tells everyone how much money the users had deposited into the bank. Thanks to their jackpot system.

Now that you’ve read this post, go and bank in RM1.10 tomorrow for ‘9555′. I wish you good luck!

Many took the boat to visit the Fort Margherita opposite the river, now there’s the new Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Parliament Assembly hall) to add to the hot spots.

Mary and I took the boat ride but we didn’t go to the Fort nor the DUN, we’ve stayed on the boat and discovered something else – The life of the boatmen.

Hello Boatmen!

Cruisin’ on the Kuching river.

Overlooking the new DUN and the Kuching City riverside skyline.

Reaching the opposite river bank for dispatch of human cargo.

Curiosity kills the cat.

Muslim prayers. Offering some real sense of security for the boatmen on the river.

The source of life – Water.

The thermo flask to store hot water for his daily meals.

A biscuit tin.

A couple of kerosene lamp to light up the small boat throughout the night.

A brand new motor to power the boat.

Now that’s the kind of life you’ll come to expect if you’re a boatmen on the Kuching river.

How is your life?

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