From a small fishing village on the Northern coast of Sarawak, to a city in 2005. It’s been a long time coming. The people had defied the hardship and odds by becoming the first ‘non-capital’ City in Malaysia. Something that Mirians took pride of.

“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.

Uncle Dom Cafe is the latest modern, franchise-style, Ipoh-kopitiam-themed outlet to be mushroomed in Sibu town. Of course, they don’t just serve Ipoh white coffee, they serve a fusion of Western and Eastern breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

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?

This is an e-mail I’ve received from AirAsia just a moment ago.

Dear Valued Guest,

AirAsia regrets to advise that our flight AK 6083, scheduled to depart from Kota Kinabalu(BKI) to Sibu (SBW) on 26thoctober09 unfortunately has been totaly CANCEL.

Should you require further assistance, or if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call center 03-217192222/03-217193333 or log on to our website at www.airasia.com. We appreciate your understanding of our position in this matter and hope your future flights with us will be pleasant and problem free.

Yours sincerely,
AirAsia Bhd

First of all, what a shame on their web notification department. Take a look at their e-mail.

“26thoctober09″ – What is that? Your keyboard’s space bar broken?
“totaly CANCEL.” – Spelling and grammatical error – Should be “totally canceled.”

So which Ah Beng or Ah Lian were hired to write this e-mail Mr. Tony Fernandez?

I mean, it should have been [b]ON[/b] schedule!!! NOT [b]canceled[/b]! What the heck is going on with AirAsia?

But, this Ah Beng-ish e-mail is the best thing that I could ever wished for, forget that dreaded miserable canceled flight. They actually gave me 3 months advance notice for me to arrange a different way to travel back. Such great service you have AirAsia!

We appreciate your understanding of our position in this matter and hope your future flights with us will be pleasant and problem free.

Yeah, hope is always no hope at all. Can’t really hope on you, AirAsia! They just tell me that it’s canceled without even giving me a possible alternative to that.

The itinerary includes a flight from KK to Manila, and from Manila back to KK, and on a connecting flight, I’m supposed to fly back to Sibu on the same day. If that’s so, am I entitled to cancel the whole flight schedule and get a full refund since it’s all under AirAsia?

There’s a “bank” in town that is open for business even on Sundays, and are the busiest on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, where most of the users are depositing small amount of money starting from RM1.10 to RM11, and a handful of them would bank in RM55, and up to RM110.

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!

Taking the Kuching riverside boat ride is one of the must-do things for tourists visiting the city.

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?

What do you do when you’ve lost control?

Just like this?

You take control from the other side.

Reshape it.

And shove it back on to regain control.

How many times have you actually used the CTRL key on the right hand side? I bet it’s less than 2 times a week? Why let the entire keyboard go to waste when I can switch the right CTRL key to the most frequently used left hand side?

This is my girlfriend’s old keyboard I’m exchanging with, she’s in possession of my Wireless Logitech keyboard now. I only ever uses Logitech keyboards for all my life, and this is the reason why – Durability and flexibility. I don’t know how she had lost the control key, but a moment of bright ideas came to the rescue. Time is hard nowadays, save every cent you can. Even the Americans are saving funds by not setting off flashy fireworks for their July 4th Independence Day celebration.