Just looking…

I have a maternal cousin living in Miri and his missus met us at the airport upon arrival in the city and later she took us around sightseeing before sending my girl to the venue of the course she had to attend. Another maternal cousin and her hubby from Bintulu were in town too so they came along with us as well.

This is the view of another section of the city…

…from the hotel where I was staying and that’s the first shopping  complex in Miri but I suppose it has long been overshadowed by all the new ones, all a whole lot bigger and very much more impressive.

First stop, Canada Hill…

I vaguely remember going all the way up to see the Grand Old Lady, the first oil rig in Miri, once but that was so many years ago, probably somewhere in the 80’s. From the top, you can see the bird’s eye view of the city centre…

Yes, it was a hot afternoon. I thought Kuching was hotter than Sibu but I found Miri to be even hotter than Kuching. They say that has got something to do with it being right by the sea.

We drove to Luak Bay and stopped by the beach there…

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…and as it was so hot, we quickly snapped a few photographs and dashed right back into the car. Along the way, we saw some incredibly gigantic mansions – ummm…no, I don’t think they should be called mansions and for want of a better word, let’s just call them palaces. You’ll just have to see the grossly ostentatious display of opulence to believe.

Then, it was time to send my girl to the “golf and country club resort”…

…which was to be the venue of her course for the next few days…

It  certainly looks very nice, doesn’t it?

My cousin’s wife had to go and pick the son so she dropped us there to settle everything and she would come back later. We tried to register and check in but the hotel staff told us we had to go to the Mahogany Hall to do that, adding that it was very far from the resort’s lobby and she gave us a map to tell us the way. My Bintulu cousin quickly phoned my cousin’s wife and she had to make a u-turn to come to the rescue.

We got to the hall (which was mis-spelt as “Mahongany Hall” on the sign there) but there was not a living soul around. The participants were told  to report between 2.30-4.30 p,m, and it was well past 4 by then. The hall was ready, tea was ready…just that there wasn’t anybody around. In the past when I had to go for things like this, there would be the urusetia (secretariat) on standby to see to everything. Well, since there was tea and  there wasn’t anybody, we helped ourselves and waited. Eventually, some ladies appeared and they told us that they had checked in at the lobby where we were earlier and they were given their rooms…and no, there was no sign of anybody from the ministry, the organisers.

Luckily, my cousin’s wife had come back by then and we took her car back to where we started. My girl was given her room this time around and while she was going through the process, I saw the ministry people dressed up to the nines, overcoats and all…and also the facilitators. They had just arrived! Once my girl had got the key, we went to look for her place of stay in that sprawling resort…

Good grief! It certainly looked shabby inside and badly needed a lot of sprucing up and it was so very dim – I wonder how anyone could do any work in the chalet if they wished to do so. The air conditioner was not cold at all and while I was outside, I saw some of the outdoor units behind some of the other chalets. They were rusty and one was covered with some green moss-like coating. Good grief!!! I wonder when the last time was when they cleaned and serviced their air-conditioners. Actually, I saw their room promotion – only RM90++ for a standard double and I was thinking of staying there…but they were full. Thank God for small mercies!!!

While I was outside, I spotted the ministry people and the rest coming in the hotel coaster to look at the hall/function room. I asked one of them about the reporting and registration but she said there wouldn’t be any – the participants would just have  to show up that night at 8.30 p.m. for the first session. Now, that was not what they said in the calling letter. I was involved in a lot of such official things prior to my retirement and though at times, things might  not have been all that satisfactory, it was never as terribly messy as this. With the likes of these up there, no wonder everything is in such shambles these days.

I also heard that the food they were served was not good and one of the facilitators was overheard passing a remark that they would never want to come to Sarawak again…and I must say that I am not in the least surprised! Tsk! Tsk!