LOAGAN BUNUT NATIONAL PARK
The Loagan Bunut National Park is located within the city of Miri in Sarawak. It stands on a large 10,736 hectare land which was gazette on January 1990 and was operational to the public one year later. Situated near the upper spreads of Bunut River, this is where you can discover the largest natural lake in Sarawak. The most unique feature of this lake called ‘Logan Bunut’ by the Berawan people here is that the level of its water is totally dependent on that of Bunut River, Tinjar River and Baram Rivers correspondingly. When the water levels of these three rivers rise, the same will happen to the water level at Logan Bunut. The water levels are at its lowest during the months of February, May or June.
Here is where one could be able to visit the nature and enjoy it at its best as you can eventually walk around the dry mud areas here while capturing the scenic and natural landscape regardless of the water levels of the river nor the lake. If you are a fan of traditional fishing procedure, you can experience what the local called ‘Selambau’ where fishes are retained by the ‘Berawan’ people especially when the water level are at its lowest level. During these low water seasons, it is easier for them to capture the fishes while enjoying the beauty of their floras and faunas here. There are hundreds of bird species as well as animals such as the argus pheasant, the black barded langur and more.
BINTULU PROMENADE
The Bintulu Promenade is now one of the latest tourist attraction endorsed in the Bintulu town of Sarawak. This would be the longest waterfront in Sarawak which is built on a 120 acre land and very much similar to the Kuching Promenade. Basically, it is a commercial and recreational park that offers a wide range of facilities and attractions for both business and leisure traveler. Whether you are here for either holiday or on business, a walk along the waterfront will be as relaxing and healing as it can be.
The Promenade is perhaps the best place to watch the beautiful sunset moment while enjoying the soft sea breeze here. Developed by Sarawak’s own Sarawak Land (Kemena Park) Sdn Bhd, the Bintulu Promenade is located around the river mouth of Kemena River. Here you may be able to enjoy and use the public facilities and amenities like its jogging track, the cycling trails and many more. As the Bintulu Promenade is still very new, more amenities are still under development which will later see a retail complex, a hotel and residential units to be added in due time. Apart from that, you might be able to experience a unique sighting where swans are spotted flying across the Kemena River.
KELABIT HIGHLANDS
The Kelabit Highlands is home to the Kelabit people, one of the native people of Sarawak. It is naturally a massive highland plateau situated within the inner of the state. Located over 1,000 meters above sea level, this is where you could visit in order to enjoy the natural offerings of Sarawak at its very best. Here you may get a chance to experience cool weather of the highlands which turn out to be chilly during the nights. The people here are known as the Kelabits where most of them are Christians. However, there are also few other communities here like the Penang, Lun Bawang where together they are all recognized as ‘Orang Ulu’.
The highland’s main town is Bario which is where you’ll fly in to from Miri. Flying in would be the best way to come here through MASWings Twin-Otter planes which comes in to Bario or Ba Kelalan air strips. There are often 2 daily flights to and from Miri except on Mondays where only 1 flight can operate at RM70 one way. There few homestays available if you decide to spend a night here while enjoying the natural and local lifestyle of the community. However there is a shortage of electricity over here so most of them depend on generators during the night. Jungle trekking is one of the common favorites here while there are also occasional performances and events held by the people here.
BELAGA
The town of Belaga is located along the Rejang River in Sarawak. Here is where one would be able to explore the many longhouses which are common among the native groups of the state. To experience actual local lifestyle and practices of the people here, there are countless tour guides around the town of Belaga who can offer you with an all-inclusive option. However in order to get into Belaga you would need to have a permit from Kapit. Luckily this is easily available which you must obtain prior to getting here.
However, if you happen to head in from Bintulu on the road, there is no need for the use of permit. From Kapit, you can get here by boat which leaves exactly on 9am every day. The trip will take around 5 hours and will cost RM30. Your natural experience will start right after you go through some very scenic locations. From Bintulu, 4×4 services are available for you to get here but it would be long and grueling journey. In Belaga, you can pretty much see the whole town in half an hour but as mentioned, you must engage the local guides to see the longhouses where you will be able to experience all the local practices like their culture and practices.
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JALAN SATOK SUNDAY MARKET
If you want to learn and know about the local produce of certain places, you have to pay a visit to the local market. Hence if you are in Sarawak, you must go to the Jalan Satok Sunday Market where there are a lot of wide ranges of local products on sale. While most people will assume that Sunday markets are in the mornings, the Jalan Satok one takes place in the afternoon and this is when you will find a lot of local traders from outside Kuching to assemble here in order to sell their products.
As pretty much as the trends here go, you will need some bargaining and haggling skills in order to fancy the best price options here. However you might need to speak a bit of the local slangs or language or otherwise it might be difficult. Here is where you might find squirming grubs, wild ferns, sieet and much other stuff which are found in the natural jungles of the state. As it only takes place on Sundays, this is the only chance to see all of Sarawak’s best in one place. There are food, vegetables, clothes and even handicrafts on sale here. Located along the junction of Jalan Satok and Jalan Palm, you can come here either by using the taxi or by foot. Just look for Miramar Cinema and the market will be just opposite this building.
LAMBIR HILLS NATIONAL PARK
Located along the Miri-Bintulu road, the Lambir Hills National Park was gazetted in 1975 and can be easily reached from Miri town which is just half an hour’s drive away. In this park, you will discover almost more than 1,000 species of trees where it 286 genera and 81 tree families here making the park one of the most diversified forests in the country. There are plenty to see here apart from trees where you might also spot wild animals if you venture deeper into the park.
If you are extremely lucky, you might spot the sun bear, pangolins, bats while monkeys are already a common sight here. The best time to come to the park is normally in the morning as it will give you quite enough time to see as much as you can. The waterfalls here are among one of the most beautiful ones where if you trek for about 15 to 20 minutes you will reach Latak waterfalls. However, most people take a while longer as there is so much for your eyes to feast on along the way. You will need to register with the Park Office before entering the park where you will be advised to leave before 5pm. Other popular waterfalls sighting here include the Pantu and Nibong waterfalls but you will have to trek further in order to get there.
MATANG WILDLIFE CENTRE
Located about just half an hour’s drive from Kuching, the state capital of Sarawak is the Matang Wildlife Center. This is basically a bounded area of rainforest situated at the Kubah National Park where it is the home to some of the endangered species here. Here is where you will be able to catch a glimpse of how Orang Utans are trained and taught. It is basically an Orang Utan sanctuary which also a place to breed the endangered species that are either rescued from captivity or orphaned. Once they turned mature and are able to survive themselves out in the wild, they will be released back into the jungles.
Feeding times are the best times to come here as this is when one gets to see how the Orang Utans learn and when they actually come out to get their food. Apart from the Orang Utans, there are also other animals here like the Sambar Deer, the Civet Cats as well as the Sun Bears. On top of that, you could also see the Sea Eagles, Hornbills and other bird species in the 3 aviaries here. If you like, you can also go for one of the 4 jungle trails here namely the Pitcher, Sungai Rayu, Sungai Senduk and Sungai Buluh trails respectively. Your safe bet to get here is by taxi because there is no bus service taking you here from Kuching.
THE GRAND OLD LADY
Miri has always been regarded by all as an ‘oil town’. In fact, it is known to be the premier places in Sarawak where oil was found that brought about the gas companies and establish their operations here. Hence one of the most important historical monuments in Sarawak is known as the Grand Old Lady. Located on top of a hill in the heart of Miri town, the Grand Old Lady was marked as the first oil well which was ever built when oil was found here on 22 December 1910.
It got its name as the ‘mother’ who turned the poor country into a prosperous and rich nation. The tower is about 30 meters high and sits majestically on Canada Hill where one can job up to the hill to enjoy a view of Miri town or just to be reminded of the richness of the state. Miri before it became an ‘oil town’ was just a fishing village and the Grand Old Lady was used in oil production for the following 62 years. To get here, you will have to get a taxi or drive up yourself as there are no public buses up to Canada Hill. Here is where you can also visit the Petroleum Museum to find out more about the history and development of oil and gas in Miri and in Malaysia.
