fish head

on Thursday, August 16, 2007


i will tell you where is this fish head is from later.

What happen from Monday till Wednesday was at best I can say a tornado ride. The evaluation that was suppose to held in Sibu was cancelled at the last moment and transferred to Miri which is about 7 hours ride by bus. So it was a mad dash or me to get a bus to Miri considering that there is limited number of buses that actually goes there.

So begins my journey to another place that is unknown. I have never been to Miri and this will be my first time going there. It will also be my first time going north up north of Sarawak by bus too. My bus was scheduled to leave from the Sibu Bus Terminal at 3.30 pm. But as usual it was delayed and the bus only left at 4.30pm. I knew that this delay will be damaging because the ETA of the bus to reach Miri was 11.30pm and with the delay it has push the ETA to 12.30 if nothing happens along the way. Thank god nothing happen along the way except for 2 or 3 times the bus encountered with really slow moving vehicles that I suspect that are not road worthy or the driver doesn’t have a license not to mention the overloaded lorries that are carrying logs from the logging area
that are abundant in Sarawak.

The bus that I was riding was full of Indonesian that I think were from Tebedu and were heading for Bintulu and Miri. I suspected them to be working in the various factories and sawmills in the Bintulu and Miri area. Most of the time in the bus, was looking at the scenery as the bus speed along. There was nothing interesting that caught my eyes. Just the normal Sarawak landscape. Small towns and longhouses doted the route to Bintulu. The bus stopped at a small service area. I was hungry but I didn’t buy anything there for I was skeptical of the hygiene. Dogs were running here and there between the various stalls. I then say and Iban women selling “mata kucing”. It is a local fruit the size of marbles with brown skin and white flesh with a maroon-ish seed. It is quite sweet and tasty. It is easy eat. One just have to squeeze the fruit until the skin breaks and then just bite into the white flesh. Perfect for eating in the bus.

The bus continued on after 30 minutes of break. The sun has set and I cannot see anything out side the bus so I looked up to the skies and watch the sky turn from crimson red to orange then to the black of night. I had my mp3 player with me and I was listening to a selection of songs ranging from bands like Therion to some keroncong songs.

I fell asleep somewhere around Stapang and woke up when the bus brake suddenly. It was near the Tatau bridge. From Tatau to Bintulu the bus stopped several times to drop of the Indonesian that wanted to get off. I was right when I suspected them to be working in sawmills because I can see various sawmills and worker’s hostel near the road. The continues it’s journey with me in it as a helpless passenger being toss about as the road conditions gets worse. Uneven resurfacing, potholes, the odd bumps and undulation all help make my back feels like I’m 70 years old.

The bus eventually reaches Medan Jaya in Bintulu where I had a chance to get some bread and water from a supermarket. It was around 8.15 pm. The bus left the station at 8.30pm and the journey continues to Miri. Again I fell asleep and when I woke up, I saw the bus was pulling into what I thought that I have reached Miri but it was actually another service area near Batu Niah. I finally had the chance to get something to eat for this service area is much more cleaner. I ordered “mee goreng basah” and to my surprise when it arrive the mee goreng basah actually had soup all over it. It was different then the one that I used to have in my home town or in Sibu. After 30 minutes of break we continued on with the journey. It was 10.30 pm

Feeling sleepy from my dinner I fell asleep again. I woke up when the bus reach the Miri bus terminal at 12.30am. I was pick up by a friend. I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon my head touches the pillow. I will continue what happen in the morning soon.

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