Kuching and Sibu are pretty much instantly lovable. Miri is somewhat harder work.

It's a much less convenient place to walk in, for a start, because there's a marked lack of provision for pedestrians, and huge cars rule the roost. And there's somehow a lack of coherence.

Of course, it's not Miri's fault that pretty much anything that might have become old was obliterated during World War II, or that it is essentially an industrial city. Before 1910, when the first oil was pumped, Miri was a tiny village. It took off on the back of oil, and then the timber and palm oil industries kicked in during the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Tourism started in the 70s, too, though Miri served primarily as a hub for the four national parks that are within striking distance.

I guess our slightly flat mood (more on this tomorrow) is also filtering out some of the light. It's entirely possible I'm not yet doing Miri justice.

Any which way, we'll be staying here until we leave for Almaty (we're in one of those awkward interstices between journeys), so by the time we head off, we and Miri will have had a couple of weeks to get used to each other. Maybe all that's needed is time.


The bit of the city that's most conducive for walking is the area by the coast. (There's the Miri City Fan, of course, but it's not extensive enough to really rack up the paces.)

Out west, you can find not only the Miri Central Park (as Nigel has noted, Sarawak has redefined the word "central" to mean "peripheral"), but also a huge development comprising eating places and small businesses (pleasantly quiet during the day), and the sea in various guises. Over on this side of town, the gums, casuarinas, Norfolk Island pines, and barbie pits make you feel you've inadvertently slidden south to Australia.







As well as fresh salty air, Miri also boasts some worthy temples. Tua Pek Kong, which is right next to the fish market, dates back to 1913, and is one of the few buildings that made it through the destruction of World War II. (And if you've noticed that this is the third Tua Pek Kong Temple in these annals -- after the one in Kuching and the one in Sibu -- then you might be interested in Jack Chia's research on the origins of this "grand uncle" deity, who is unique to the Chinese community in Southeast Asia.)




There's also Hai Long Si. We got here by accident, thinking it was the San Ching Tian temple... All quite ironic, really. Our walking route contained some points of interest (the river bank was colourful, and lots of families were preparing for the Qing Ming festival by tidying up the graves in the Chinese cemetery and making offerings), but it was pretty much an "are-we-there-yet" kind of walk, along a busy road with only intermittent pavements (we took a Grab on the way back).


And after all that suffering, we end up at the wrong place... (We're not the first, I think. If you look on the internet, it seems there is terminal confusion over these temples. For future reference, the indefatigable Timothy Tye helpfully provides GPS coordinates for both.)

But it turns out that Hai Long Si is not lacking in photogenic qualities.








So -- arrive at the wrong place after many struggles, but gain good memories and a goal for the future.

I should so start writing for fortune cookies...