Pitstop at Sebangkoi Country Park, Sarikei

This is our 23rd trip back Bintulu. On the wheels is fospa and his co-navigator is fosma. Fospa has decided to go to Bintulu for many reasons. Firstly, there are ripe oil palm fruits that need to be harvested. Secondly, fosis will be arriving Bintulu from KL soon to join us for the Ramadan in Bintulu. Finally, fospa needed to check on many projects in Bintulu. Meow, meow ,meow..there's so much to do, so little time.

We left Kuching around 7.00 am and arrived Bintulu at 5.30 pm. Here are pictures about the journey.

Mama sitting steady while passing the bridge at Serian. From Serian it's another nine and a half hours ride to Bintulu.

Mama Daisy on the lookout for the traffic junction. Straight is Sri Aman town and to the right is Sarikei. Go right OK fospa!

SEBANGKOI COUNTRY PARK
SARIKEI

A shady area where fospa left us while he was busy clicking around for some pictures at the Sebangkoi Country Park. Sebangkoi - Inul was here!

The small stream in the park where picnickers refresh and had a good time under green jungle canopy .

A pavilion built over the lily pond for visitors to rest and enjoy the serene beauty of the park.

On this trip fospa decided to have a pit stop at Sibu. Of late Sibu was the talk of the nation when the opposition party headed by Wong Ho Leng won in its by-election. Then came in the yearly floods that are never stoppable here. This is because Sibu was founded on a settlement close to the mighty Rejang River. The early fathers of Sibu weren't smart enough in the choice of location and since then floods have been an annual nightmare. Again some quarters in Sibu said the name must be changed because it bodes bad luck. Why? In Chinese the word Sibu when pronounced meant " witch"- a sure sign of bad luck. Anyway it was not the Chinese who gave the name Sibu. The Ibans and Malays here call Sibu as "Sibau". It has always been the clumsy British tongue that pronounced it as Sibu. Another good example of the clumsy British tongue is the word "Pulau Pinang" referring of the island of "Penang". How did Pulau Pinang become Penang? Blame it on the Britons.

SIBU

Tall buildings in Sibu

The Sanyan building is on the right and the RH Hotel to the left. From where the above picture is taken is the open car park where food stalls are set up during the month of Ramadan for shoppers to buy a vast selection of food for opening of fast.

Looking back, the journey was safe but longer than expected. This must be due to the Puasa Month ( fasting month of Ramadan) when both fospa and fosma took to fast. Ramadan teaches one to be patient and calls for fight against anger and uncontrolled appetite. Follow the middle path , the sure way, the correct way and like we do are able to arrive our destination in conditions of safety, healthy , in good time and a pleasurable journey.

Note: Record achieved on this trip = 26,400 km
Date achieved : 30th August, 2010

21st trip back Kuching ( 24,600 km achieved!)

Inul at Selangau pit stop

When we started to leave our home at 8.30 am on the 16th of April, the weather was fine. After Sibu however we faced a short 3 hours of rain out of a total of ten hours-long journey back to Kuching. This would be our 21st trip back Kuching and on arrival there would add another 600 km to our record.

I was behaving well on this trip and occasionally would hear fospa and fosma saying "Inul is accustomed to travelling long distance now". "Hmmm....not bad for a small town girl", I thought. Mama as usual loves travelling long distances for the main reason that it afforded her time to sleep, sleep and sleep. She would at times ask for a frontal view of the highway and loved to see big buses and lorries go flashing by. ( See inset: Mama at the front seat )

One lorry, two lorries , three lorries ..endless lorries go by

Rain along the way - for 3 hours of the journey after Sibu

Short afternoon tea break at highway junction outside Sarikei town. Here fospa and fosma had fried mee and they said was excellent.

Refuelling at Betong Highway petrol kiosk - after about 6 hours journey from Bintulu. Total amount spent on fuel from Bintulu to Kuching is now at RM 100 per 10 hours journey.

Me from inside the pick-up watching the re-fuelling in progress.

Mama's favourite hobby!!

We arrived Kuching by late afternoon i.e. at 6.30 pm.

Total distance achieved on this 21st trip back Kuching = 24,600 km