Please don't get me wrong...I love Miri to bits and pieces!!! I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world, but this article is just so funny!!!
Miri now a modern riverside city with high-class hotels and malls
Source: http://www.starproperty.my/PropertyScene/TheStarOnlineHighlightBox/11169/0/0MIRI: Just like Rome, Miri was not built in a day, but the pace of development of this oil town in Sarawak over the past 20 years has been nothing but phenomenal. Ok, this I have to agree with, Miri has definitely change a lot in the last 20 years, from having cows and goats at the side of the road feeding on grass to having none of that any more :). I even recall one particular calf, which me and my mom use to pass by every morning on my way to school, the calf was always places next to the one-way sign, and hence we name him 'One-Way'. Not sure what happen to him, hopefully he wasn't part of my meal....:( Can't even recall when he disappeared from that sight. Btw, why compare to Rome leh??? Curious.....
The once-sleepy fishing village with soggy black soil that emitted smelly gas is now a modern riverside city dotted with high-class hotels and huge shopping malls. Hmmmm...oklah...we have maybe one high class hotel name Marriot Resort and Spa, but I think that's about it. The others are pretty good but not so high class le. Maybe Imperial Hotel also not bad cause it has service apartments (so definitely good for people travelling with family). Grand Palace also not too bad especially for those people who likes the night life. Overall, better than 20 years ago lah...definitely!!!
Things have certainly changed from 20 years ago when a visit to a tamu or a big shop in a row of five lots was described as shopping. Yeah, I remember getting all excited when my mom said we are going to 'Sin Liang'..haha...best shopping place ever, when I was 8 years old!!! ;)
Multi-storey complexes such as the Bintang Megamall, Boulevard, Merdeka Mall and Imperial Mall, which offer international brands – which some locals cannot even pronounce – has brought a new meaning to shopping in this northern hub of Sarawak. Bintang Megamall with international brands, maybe lah. But how international is international le??? Let me think, we have Levis and.....and.....and....oh yah...maybe cosmetic products got a lot of international brands lah...but clothes wise...hmmm....not much le. Boulevard got international brands meh (besides cosmetics)??? Even G2000 also hilang from boulevard...what international brands got again le??? Can't say much about Merdeka Mall cause I haven't been there just yet. As for Imperial Mall, I think it's pretty much the same as Boulevard only bigger :P. Ahhhh...I just realise, we do have KFC and Mc Donalds as INTERNATIONAL BRANDS!!! ;) Btw, when is the hotel at Bintang Megamall going to be completed???
What you mean we locals cannot pronounce??? I can eh....hahaha...sounds as if we are so uneducated...oh well, life goes on :P Maybe some cannot pronounce lah...so oklah....that can be correct... :P
This has rendered the tamu, including the famous Tamu Muhibbah in the city’s centre, as a place for senior Miri folk and outsiders. I have to admit, I can't even recall the last time I went there :P. But I know for sure my MIL goes there some times....I usually get my groceries from Boulevard....muahahaha.....got air-con bah...I admit I super spoil already!!!
For the older locals and outsiders, especially those from neighbouring Brunei, Tamu Muhibbah is among the few places in Miri where they can get a supply of the precious Bario rice. Mmmmm....Bario rice....good stuff I must say!!! I married a Kelabit...soooo....Bario rice is a must in the house...:P Lucky me!!!
This rice is regarded by the Orang Ulu and natives as the finest from the highlands of Sarawak.It is grown in the cool and unpolluted environment at 1,200m above sea level.According to natives, this rice is eaten only by longhouse chiefs on special occasions.It has long been regarded as one of the finest rice in the world. It is famous for its soft texture, fine elongated grain, mild aroma and splendid taste.
The rice is a laboriously planted and harvested by hand with age-old methods and zero use of pesticides and chemical fertiliser and is thus perfect for health-conscious people.Bario rice is air-flown from Bario and the Ba’kelalan highlands.This coupled with its limited production, results in a kilo of the lowest grade costing RM13.The price is lowest in Miri compared to other parts of Sarawak as it is the closest city to Bario. Wah! Bario rice must be a hit with the person who wrote this, cause he/she sure did write a lot about it. Hahaha....can't blame him/her cause there is nothing much to write about Miri anyway :P Plus the fact that Bario Rice is defintiely one of the bestest (I know there is no such word as bestest but I just like using it, cannot kah??? :P) rice in the world :D
A trader at Tamu Muhibbah was unperturbed by the declining popularity of the market, saying there would always be regular customers as the young would eventually get old.Their turn would come once they grew older and start looking for jungle fruits and vegetables not found in the megamalls. Also, various seafood not sold at the megamalls was available only at places like the tamu, said the trader. Haha....yah, probably when I am the only one left to buy this things in my household, then I probably won't have a choice :P. Usually the jungle fruits (as the call it) can be found all over Miri at the side of the road...even next to Boulevard, so maybe I won't head to Tamu either for the frutis, since it is so accessible elsewhere :D. As for seafood..hmmm...maybe lah terpaksa go there :D. Btw, we only have one Megamall...and its not even Mega enough to be called Megamall...so there is NO MegamallSSSSSS...only A Megamall....just in case people keep thinking we have so many megamalls...just trying to keep things as truthful as possible, so as to make sure that people don't get over-excited to come to Miri, only to get disappointed....true or not???
Businessman Rebi Lampas, who specialises in rice, said business was not bad despite the mushrooming of big shopping complexes. Mushrooming of big shopping complexes??? Hmmm....fair enough since we are having the MYY Mall and the Permy Mall coming up....but not to sure when it will be completed.
“We don’t expect youngsters because they have better places to lepak" Like the malls....
“We have regular customers and a constant stream of outsiders who keep the tamu breathing,” she said. Good to know our Tamu is still alive and kicking :D
Revenue from the petroleum industry, which has been fuelling the development of Miri since the discovery of oil in the town in 1910, also saw the improvement of infrastructure such as roads. True kah??? I thought most of the revenue from our petroleum industry goes back to West Malaysia to develop KL??? Have you seen KL??? Its a never ending of mushrooming malls there compared to Miri!!! If we had more revenue come our way, then maybe we would have a much more improved infrastructure!!!
Super-smooth roads now snake around the city of 320,000 people.Four-lane roads connect the city to almost all outskirts such as Bandar Baru Permyjaya and Senadin.With almost zero potholes, the owners of old cars have no reason to upgrade. Super smooth??? Aiyo!!!! If you want to know what super smooth is, go to Brunei!!! Their roads are fantastic!!! And why??? Cause all the revenue they get from their petroleum industry goes directly to them!!! And four lane roads??? Where??? Am I missing some part of Miri that I have yet to come upon??? Zero potholes??? I got to take some pictures of potholes at Pujut area....later ah....
The large number of Brunei-registered Porsche, BMW, Ferrari and Skyline sports cars that zoom past is another indication of how smooth the roads are. Zoom past??? I think the Bruneians drive safer then us cause they are worried their cars would get damage on our roads. I think Kelisa's and Kancil's fly by faster...haha...:P Yes, am being sarcastic here....muahahaha....I once read somewhere where someone ask a Bruneian on how he will know when he has reached Miri (this was when they were on their way down to Miri). The reply was, "when you start feeling as if you are on a boat!!" And it is so TRUE!!! If you use the road to Brunei, it goes up and down and up and down, just like when the waves hits the boat!!! Try driving faster!!! Then it feels like you are on some kind of fun fair ride!!!! hahaha....and it's FREE some more :P Just don't blame if you can road sick and start puking at the side of the road :P
Despite the physical changes the town has seen since the discovery of the Grand Old Lady on Canada Hill 101 years ago, the politeness of the Miri folk remains unscatched. Ahhhh....finally something I TOTALLY AGREE ON!!! I think Miri people are such nice people, including me :P. Of course there are some out there who are not lah....can't expect everybody to be nice can you!!! If everybody was nice...scary leh....it could mean that we were probably brainwashed by some aliens or something like that. But nevertherless, in general, I have to say people in Miri are definitely nice!!! On occassion you will find super super nice people like my mom who smiles at everybody she meets and talks to anyone in general!!! ;)
Being the city that gave birth to Malaysia’s petroleum industry and hometown of international singer Zee Avi, Miri is still the best example of Sarawak’s dynamic, multi-racial and harmonious communities. Ok, agree!!! Btw, I wonder when was the last time Zee Avi came back to Miri??? Even in her 'Mee Kolok Sigek' song, she was talking about Kuching...no Miri mention leh??? Well, can't blame it if the Mee Kolok in Kuching is better :P Zee Avi, if you are reading this, how about writing a song on Miri??? What say you??? :P
Oklah...enough crap from me today!!! Ta for now!!! Over and Out!!!
Let's all try to be as civilised as we possibly can tomorrow :) After all, we are all Mirians wanting the best for our dearest Miri. Right??? :D 
