A slow day in Miri

Day 16 – Thursday 12 Jan 2012 – Miri.

Firstly, thanks for the emails, Facebook messages and comments and likes on the blog, I love them, so please keep them coming 🙂 Though replies maybe slow over the next few days.

Final day in Miri !  Lizzie and Dave thought their flight to Bario was tomorrow, but they found out this morning they were wrong and then had to make a quick dash to the airport. I enjoyed their company and wish them well for the rest of their travels. If we manage to catch up in Myanmar it would be great. Lizzie left half a bar of chocolate in the fridge, it didn’t make it through the night…

This morning the hostel had the pleasure of greeting a dozen or so Australian school girls and their guardians who arrived for the night as part of a month long cultural trip. When I wasn’t out I pretty much stayed in my room as they, and their guardians,  will drive me insane ! (I have music playing (Jakob), the door closed and I can still hear them.)

I had a good chat with Aiden and mum on the phone before heading out, good to hear their voices, and hopefully chatting with family will be a regular thing (Meliesha, Dom – you can message me you know !)

I went for a walk through town again with the vague idea of doing some shopping and maybe picking up a t-shirt and a small souvenir. I stopped for a very nice ais kacang (shaved ice, red beans and coconut milk in this case) and got talking to a charming English anthropology Phd student, Rachael. She has spent a year living with the Penan people in the Kelabit Highlands and has another six months to go. It was a fascinating conversation and I learnt a lot over the two or so hours we chatted.

Me and my ais kacang, starting to look tanned.

That pretty much used all my available time so I went back to the hostel with a couple of cans of Carlsberg and mooched for a couple of hours before packing for Mulu and an early night.  I know drinking beer on your own is not a good sign, is drinking beer alone in bed worse ?, but I was writing this:)

I leave here at 7.00 Am in a taxi to the airport with the two Swiss guys from the other night. I am catching a thirty minute flight with MASwings to Mulu National Park, which I am really looking forward to, the park, not the flight !

I have four days in Mulu, there is limited internet access so I may be off line for a few days before I return for a final night at the Dillenia and then on to Brunei. I have had a good time in this hostel – till the big group arrived anyway! It comes recommended to other travellers.  I have taken the brave step of booking a dorm when I return as well !

I have been keeping a lost and tossed list, so after just over two weeks…

Lost

• Power plug adapter, left in first hotel.
• Sunglasses bag, somewhere in Miri

Tossed

• Mirror, smashed on the flight to Singapore.
• Camping washing line with pegs, hopeless ! got some string from Alex.
• Portable water bottle (sorry sis), water comes in bottles !
• Book I bought in Auckland airport with all the NZ coins I had – left in hostel library today.
• New razor blades I bought in Kuching, by mistake in Kapit about $30NZ worth.
• Old NZ razor as I could not get blades for it here, bought a new one and the above blades.

My bag is lighter already !

I amazed at the amount of reflexology clinics there are in town, those oil rig workers must spend an awful amount of time on their feet. Like this one in the downtown bar area. It must pay very well as a Hilux like this would cost upward of of $50kNZD here.

Laughed at this sign yesterday..