I booked a return air ticket from Sibu to KL just now and mis-clicked on the departure date. I didn't really notice the erratum until I checked the itinerary in my email. I went back and made amendments to the chronological discrepancy and was charged RM 150 for the "Change fee" (blue arrow).
It came up to a total of RM 165 for the clicking malfunction (green arrow) which is fair enough, considering Air Asia's status as a no-frills airline and it was my mistake anyway.
However, it would be great if AirAsia allows for changes to the arrival/departure date and time for a certain period of time after the initial booking - a grace period, if you will. I suggest allowing changes 15-30 minutes after the initial booking gratis before the "Change fee" is levied.
This will allow genuine mistakes to be resolved without the fiscal penalty while avoiding last minute changes from indecisive travelers due to the short grace period for changes.
Anyway, that's my two cents on the matter. I'll be going to KL to attend my sister's wedding reception in PJ. She's already married - the ceremony was held yesterday at Auckland, New Zealand and she's coming back with her husband and my parents for the KL reception before heading home to Sibu for the reception over here.
It's the long Merdeka Day weekend and it was decided that a road trip is due to bring Autumn to check out the legendary Big Prawn Assam Noodles in Sarikei. She hasn't tried it before and it's a public holiday so down we went. We got some much needed rations for the one hour drive down - this is Autumn's favorite vegetable crackers.
She was tempting me during the drive down...
...with various different crackers
...from a repertoire of herbivore food
...like carrots
...and long beans. It's really hard to drive with someone feeding me random bits of vegetables. The long beans threw me off a little due to the phallic shape too. ;)
We stopped at the intersection before Sarikei to have some food since it was already past lunchtime. This is mixed oat congee (from a can) which tastes better than it sounds. We've been eating this for lunch for quite a while now.
It's really good, comes with a folded plastic disposable spoon and is full of constipation solutions (otherwise known as "fiber").
I'm not a big fan of Healthy Stuff (TM) but I have been having a host of health issues lately (not just ED, but constipation to boot :p) so I'm trying to get more fiber into my diet.
Anyway, after the brunch inside my car, we weren't really that hungry anymore so we walked around Sarikei town and did a bit of the tourist camwhoring thing. There's not much to do in Sarikei except walk around the (only) supermarket - Ngiu Kee.
After an hour or two of this, the QAG 4114 arrived at Glory Cafe and parked in its usual spot - right in front of a yellow fire hydrant. ;) Oh, this is becoming something of a recurring joke.
Autumn was a bit apprehensive about the Big Prawn Assam Tom Yam Noodles, but after a sampling of the rich broth, she was sold.
It turns out that Autumn is really good at peeling the antenna of the big prawns as well. She claims it's a trick she learned from eating prawns during her youth. I can't do it myself...
...but she was kind enough to peel the antenna for me. Thanks Autumn! :)
I've never met anyone who didn't like the great noodles over here. It's really worth the drive down if there's a long weekend or holiday and you haven't got anything better to do. Cheers!
I arrived in KL last Monday to do some stuff related to my impending sister's wedding. I was supposed to meet up with Grace at 6 pm after she gets off work coz I was crashing at her place at Bangsar Heights for two nights, so I had an entire afternoon to kill.
I arrived at around 12 pm and met up with Julian Hopkins, who is doing a blog research project. He's doing his doctorate in cultural anthropology about bloggers and wanted an interview with me. Read more about this research program about bloggers here.
Julian wanted to bring me to this famous duck rice stall but it was closed so we ended up eating at the equally renowned Soo Kee Ipoh Chicken Kueh Tiaw soup.
I expected the kueh tiaw to be like the Sarawak type of kueh tiaw (which is thicker) but the ones served here are much thinner and it's really good.
The broth was absolutely infused with chicken soup and it's very tasteful and not too filling as to induce post lunch coma.
I love this stuff, I haven't had it before since I'm not a big fan of soup dishes...until now. The Soo Kee Ipoh Chicken Kueh Tiaw soup really is that good. Anyway, Julian brought me to Monash University after that for a taped interview, which took up most of the afternoon. He kindly sent me back to KL Sentral so I could meet up with Grace. Julian is a really nice person so help out with his research program okay? :)
Grace took me back to her apartment in Bangsar Heights where I stayed for the next two nights. I wasn't really comfortable with the idea of sleeping with my future in laws since I smoke and all that and Grace's room is a smoke-free room (as in you can smoke for free ;)).
I had to get something done in Kuching during the weekend and took a bus after work on Saturday (RM 40) and arrived late evening. The bus ticket costs RM 40 and it takes about 7 hours for the journey. Irene picked me up and we did the photo shoot in about an hour or so before heading for dinner.
I stayed at Transit Point, the latest competitor to the Singgahsana Lodge and it only cost RM 35 nett for a room with WiFi (!) and a queen sized bed. The Singgahsana Lodge on the other hand costs RM 30 nett for dormitory style accommodations sleeping 10 people in a room.
Irene called me at around 11 pm and it was decided that we were to do some clubbing and meet up with some old friends since I was already here. I was a little dubious since I have to wake up at 6 am in the morning to take the 8:30 am express boat back to Sibu but I figured I haven't gone clubbing in a while so I went for it.
I also drink Heineken draft during my regular sessions, not just for advertorials, okay. :p
I was sitting at the bar with Irene and I suddenly had an ethanol inspired idea to pass my blogger name card to random people. Pimp my blog and all that. ;)
I walked over to two girls beside to our left and passed out my name card to them, and one of them recognized my name. Michelle (pictured above) has read my blog before and was introduced to it by...
...Wendy! Thanks for reading! :)
We stayed until 2 am and went over to Azza Burger to eat the famous Azza Burger with everything inside (my favorite post drinking session meal when I was in Kuching). We also partook in the famous Chinese amber fluid (Tsingtao in cans) and I ended up sleeping at 4 am, which is a really bad idea when you have to wake up 2 hours later.
Snooze Alarms is an anagram for Alas! No more Z's !
I was supposed to wake up at 6 am but I overslept and woke up at 7:40 am, rushed to pack my bags and called a taxi to bring me to the wharf in Pending where the express boat departs at 8:30 am (RM 45). The express boat takes about 5 hours, which is a little faster than taking a bus. I made it in time and after a bit of expense tabulation:
Sibu - Kuching bus: RM 40 Accommodation: RM 35 Kuching - Sibu express boat: RM 45 Total: RM 120 (Price not inclusive of dinner and drinking session)
It is possible to travel on a budget if you don't mind the long journeys by non-aviation means of transportation. You can always sleep on the bus/express boat and I arrived in Sibu at around 2 pm on Sunday. :)
Kingwood Resort Mukah is a beach resort located in Mukah. It has 99 rooms sprawled across a huge compound that borders the beach and the facilities and buildings are all very new, having only been completed a couple of years ago. It's perfect for a short weekend retreat.
The palm trees that greets you with it's swaying fronds and the cool sea breeze coming in from the beach makes for a very nice and relaxing environment. The horizon is visible from the...er, horizon and covers the entire...well, horizon. ;)
The main hotel building is a 3 story structure in the middle the resort compound. Kingwood Resort Mukah has facilities ranging from swimming pools to tennis courts. It's very well maintained and looks clean and new despite being constantly exposed to salt water.
The lobby of the resort is decked out with rattan chairs and has free WiFi coverage.
Hail to the King, baby! ;)
The decor is very antiseptic, which may not be a good thing for a beach resort, but it gets brownie points for being clean and brand spanking new.
The rooms start from RM 322 nett but we got a special deal from Henry so we only paid RM 160 nett for a Premier Room with a sea view with a published rate of RM 368 nett. He was also kind enough to throw in lunch and breakfast for two. Cheers!
The Premier Room is equipped with two queen sized beds, which I always took to mean as one designated for activities which leaves wet spots on the sheets and the other for sleeping in. ;)
There is also a writing desk, a couch, TV with Astro, complimentary tea and coffee making facilities and wardrobes.
There is a modern shower unit made of transparent glass and an adjacent toilet. I reminded Clare to shout "Fire in the hole" should she flush the toilet while I'm in the shower coz that makes the water go scalding hot. It's proper travel etiquette when sharing rooms. ;)
The toiletries provided are pretty standard so you don't have to bring your own toothbrush or shaver.
The best part about the Premier Room is the balcony outside the window. It allows the cool sea breeze to come in and commands a great view of the beach. It also serves well as the designated smoking zone.
The view from the Premier Room also covers the swimming pool at the resort and the gazebos scattered throughout the beach front.
Video of Kingwood Resort Mukah from the balcony
Henry was kind enough to prepare a complimentary lunch for us, so we went down to the Palm Beach Cafe. The Palm Beach Cafe is the only dining establishment in the entire resort, so unless you're bringing your own food, that's where you'll be eating during your entire stay. :)
Palm Beach Cafe has been decorated with Melanau elements and the cultural aspects of Mukah. The huge fishing net featured on the wall reflects the fishing industry Mukah is so well known for.
There are al fresco seating arrangements with a water feature right by the poolside.
Henry had prepared two servings of the Melanau Fried Rice that is one of the signature dishes.
Our waitress was a pleasant girl from Bintulu that somehow wound up working in Mukah for reasons we didn't delve into.
She served us fresh orange juice and warm water while the lunch was being prepared.
The Melanau Fried Rice comes with generous amounts of seafood in the fried rice and is served with an egg and a huge fish cracker.
The portions at Palm Beach Cafe is huge, with me barely managing to finish the dish, which usually costs RM 12 ++ while Clare ate about 3/4 of the food.
There is a unique water feature surrounding the Palm Beach Cafe with ripples of water shimmering in the afternoon sun.
The resort area is also a nice place to take a leisurely stroll with gazebos and concrete chairs for sitting down should the need arise.
Video of view from the beach front
I figured we would go for a swim after the lunch despite having forgotten my sunscreen and we went down to the poolside.
There are pool chairs and a small kiddy pool in addition to the main pool.
It was fun to soak in the water and swim a little.
It's a very nice feeling to relax at a beach resort after a working week.
We swam in the pool until it was evening then went back to the hotel and took a shower together, er...I meant took turns showering before heading down for dinner.
We ate again at the Palm Beach Cafe for dinner, it being the only restaurant there and what not. It was decided that we're going to check out the western dishes for dinner.
There were a group of people having a function there so the food came out a little bit slow but that's alright since it's a vacation and all, so there are no fires in dire need to be put out. ;)
I had the Kingwood Macaroni (RM 11 ++) which is stir fried macaroni with prawn, minced chicken, mixed vegetables and beef bacon. It doesn't taste as good as Clare's order.
Clare has the Fettuccine Carbonara (RM 14 ++) which, as it's name suggests is loaded with carbs. ;) It's stir fried fettuccine with beef bacon, onion, garlic, black olive, mushroom and cream. The sauce is very creamy and it tastes much better than the stir fried macaroni.
We went for a walk on the beach after dinner...
...and adjourned back to the hotel room to drink some wine. I had brought a bottle of wine and several bottles of liquor for some liquid entertainment at night.
Clare also brought her Anything and Whatever drinks which works as a good mixer for the cheap Joker liquor that I got. It's very relaxing to kick back once in a while and get some drinks in and just smoke at the balcony while talking the night away.
The morning view when you wake up in the morning and open the balcony to breath in the sea breeze is amazing.
The hotel provides a free buffet breakfast so we woke up at 8:30 am the next morning to eat breakfast before we headed down to Palm Beach Cafe.
I noticed that the Palm Beach Cafe logo is actually made out of wooden spatulas!
The buffet breakfast has a wide range of options ranging from fruits, cereal and pastries...
...to hot food like fried noodles, curry chicken and fried eggs.
I loaded up my plate for a huge breakfast in anticipation of all the walking that was in store for us in Mukah.
The hotel was kind enough to concede us a late checkout time of 3 PM so we still had time to go for a swim after the trip to Mukah town.
We packed our bags and took the 3:30 PM bus back to Sibu. You don't actually have to travel down to Mukah to catch the bus, the bus route takes it through the resort so you can actually flag it down as it passes by. I got the driver to drop us off at the resort instead of bringing us to Mukah town when we arrived the previous day too.
It was fun to take a trip down to Kingwood Resort Mukah. The resort is very well maintained and clean and the beach front locality provides a very relaxing weekend getaway.
Mukah is a pretty small town but that doesn't mean it doesn't have anything to offer besides the infamous sago worms and umai. I stayed at the Kingwood Resort Mukah with Clare, which is about a 14 km distance away from the town. We woke up at around 9 am in the morning, and I read the papers while having my nicotine fix at the balcony before deciding to head down to Mukah.
Unfortunately, the hotel shuttle is currently in transit and the reception informed us that all the taxi drivers are on assignment so I told Clare we'll just stand by the highway and hitch a ride. I had this idea of using a RM 5 bill (RM 10 if that fails) to flag passing cars to Mukah down. We looked like tourists so I reckon people would be inclined to pick us up. The first car didn't stop and it started to seem like a bad idea when an SUV saw us and pulled up.
These fine folks were on assignment from HICOM for a Mukah project and was all too happy to drop us off at Mukah. They wouldn't even accept payment but I insisted, noticing the cigarette packs on the dashboard, to buy them some smokes. It was very kind of them to do that, most people wouldn't stop but I have faith in The System (TM). :)
They dropped us off at Mukah Old Town where the pasar tamu is. This is the central market where you can get umai, sago grubs, tebaloi, and other authentic Melanau produce. The official mascot of Mukah is a fish - Mukah is known for their fresh fish from the sea and fish is their primary export.
I've been told that the best method of ensuring that a fish is fresh is to look at the color of the gills.
It may also be necessary to bite off a chunk of fin to verify the freshness of the fish.
I have been learning the arcane arts of camwhoring to limited success too. ;)
The pasar tamu has a lot of stalls selling local produce such as tebaloi, belacan, fish crackers and sago pearls. The kind ladies at the stall were nice enough to show us how sago products are actually made.
Sago comes in a paste form which can be used for cooking various dishes or processed to make other sago products.
Sago pearls are made from sago paste after a baking process. There are different grades and sizes of sago pearls, some of which is eaten with umai and some for cooking.
The famous tebaloi (sago crackers) is a sweet biscuit made of sago flour that has been exported to markets as far as the US and Australia.
Our next stop is to the famous fresh fish market, where the catch of the day is sold straight from the fishing vessels the very same morning.
The stalls were doing brisk business selling everything from barracudas...
...to stingrays.
We met this friendly old man selling stingrays who saw us taking photos and quickly pointed us to the opposite stall where a huge stingray has just being caught and was in the process of being chopped into more manageable portions.
The gigantic stingray was easily the size of a car tire and the man handled the dissection with the ease of one with years of experience, pulling out the innards and chopping the parts into smaller sizes.
We also saw a catch of baby sharks. They look really cute in that size, but I imagine the cuteness factor will disappear when one of them bites your toes off. ;)
Fishing seems to be the favorite pastime of the people of Mukah. It's done on a large industrial scale with fishing vessels and also on a smaller scale with recreational anglers at the pier.
This is the obligatory "I was here" photo with the Welcome to Mukah sign. Crucified and all I got was this lousy T-shirt. ;)
Mukah is also home to a famous Chinese temple built by the early Chinese settlers in 1879.
I found the statue of a lion with a fatherly paw over it's cub very adorable. :)
The main historical attraction in Mukah is the 20 meter tall chimney from the first sago factory in Mukah. We nearly missed it due to its unassuming facade.
Mukah is a very laid back and relaxed town that is about to be developed into a huge administrative capital from the SCORE project. The town is a little bit far from the resort, but it's definitely worth the trip, if only to experience the culture and heritage of the Melanau people.
Umai is a raw fish dish prepared by the Melanau tribe in Mukah. It's a must try dish if you ever go to Mukah. It's the Malaysian version of the sashimi and is traditionally the working lunch for Melanau fishermen.
The primary attraction of Mukah is the pristine beach that surrounds the town. The cool breeze coming in from the beach is refreshing with a hint of saltiness and it called to us like moths to a light.
It was evening when we arrived in Kingwood Resort Mukah and I went down on, oops, I mean, with Clare to check out the beach and assumed my signature Ah Beng pose before going into the sea.
It was fun to just lie in the sea and let the waves wash over your body. Very therapeutic. I'm having a (beached) whale of a time. ;)
Mud masks are available in the local Mukah beach for next to free. Scoop mud and slather it all over your face.
It makes for a good sunscreen as well but I got sunburnt anyway.
Clare: The new definition of extreme laziness - sex on the beach by sitting in the sea, waiting for the waves to do the rest.
I just had to do the obligatory Pimp My Blog thing on the beach. Unfortunately, my sobriety level was not at it's optimal peak and I wrote "SIXTS..." before Clare corrected me and I used the stick to undo the typo.
I then proceeded to make another typo - this time spelling it as "SIXTHT..." before she corrected me again. OMG! What is wrong with me? I can't even spell my own blog URL. ;)
However, with a bit of concentration, I finally got it right. :)
sixthseal.com
I was so proud of the creation coz it took me so long to do it...
...and Clare just proceeded to trample on it. :(
Mukah beach is fun but be forewarned - there be monsters. I got bitten by something with pincers and so did Clare (twice). Clare also managed to get sand into her panties. I'm not sure why she was wearing panties under her swim wear in the first place, but apparently sand in the linings of lingerie is almost impossible to wash off. Abandon all hope, all ye who enters here! =D
...and no, I did not take off my Speedos this time. ;)
Sago worms are eaten raw in Mukah, where it is considered a delicacy of sorts. Sago worms looks a lot like huge, fat maggots with spiny fangs.
The worms will actually bite you if you touch it's head, which is why it's advisable to tear the head off before consuming it raw.
Sago worms are sold live, in packets of RM 5 and you can still see the worms wriggling around in the packet.
The native habitat of sago worms is inside the trunk of a sago palm tree. The worms are kept in the sago flour and picked out and packaged into manageable sizes. The sixthseal.com Guide to Eating Live Sago Worms
Step 1: Pick a big, fat and juicy worm. Care should be taken to not touch the sago worm's head since it has pincers that will bite you. The pincers are used to burrow into the sago palm trunk so it's quite sharp.
Step 2: Look the sago worm in it's eyes. You're about to pull it's head off and eat it so it's only polite to smile at it before doing so. Worms have feelings too.
Step 3: After the niceties has been done away with, it is time for heads to roll. Grip the squirming worm firmly with one hand and use the forefinger and thumb of your other hand to grasp the sago worm's head and rip it off.
Step 4: Insert the still wriggling worm into your mouth.
Step 5: Chew. Take the time to savor the taste of live sago worms. There is a burst of flavor when you first bite into the wriggling worm from the innards spilling out onto your palate. Delicious!
Caution:
Care should be taken when plucking the head off the sago worm. The innards can cause a bit of Splash Damage (TM) as can be seen with Clare's spaghetti strap top.
Thanks to the friendly people at the sago worm stall in Mukah for showing us the proper way to consume a live sago worm.
Sago worms are delicious! It's a little bit like Pringles, once you start, you can't stop. I ate a lot of the worms with Clare. She overcame the Fear Factor bit and ate a couple of the worms too.
Here's another video guide to eating live sago worms. I took three videos of the process just to get it right. Heh!
I went down to Mukah for a night's stay at Kingwood Resort, Mukah during the weekend. Mukah is the nearest beach to Sibu and is about 144 km away. The journey takes approximately 4 hours despite the relatively near proximity due to the road conditions - there are potholes galore and parts of the road is made of gravel.
I didn't want to drive down to the resort since it would cost me more to change the suspension of the car and all that after the ordeal it's been though in Mukah. ;) I figured taking the bus would be cheaper so I headed down after work on Saturday with my travel companion Clare. It's RM 18.70 for the Sibu - Mukah ticket and we took the 2:30 PM bus down.
I had gotten a really good deal for the Kingwood Resort in Mukah thanks to Henry. It cost me RM 160 nett for a Premier Room - Sea View with breakfast for two and lunch thrown in to boot. The published rate for that room is RM 368 nett during weekends and peak season. Cheers for that!
The rooms comes with two queen sized beds which is a Good Thing (TM) since Clare claims she snores in her sleep. Heh!
I had gotten supplies the previous night (namely alcohol) and we found this drink called Joker. I figured having some liquid entertainment would help with the tedious journey to Mukah. ;)
It's a really crappy locally produced liquor but I can't help but get two bottles of it just coz of the "Why so serious?" quote from The Dark Knight.
The journey took 4 hours and the road was so bumpy that I couldn't even take a proper shot. See all the photos all blurry one. It's also senget a bit due to the potholes and all that. I'm really glad I didn't drive my car down - it would wreck havoc on it.
The view is scenic though if you're into paddy fields and all that. I managed to get some sleep and you can tell the bus driver to drop you off at the Kingwood Resort in Mukah (which is about 14 km away from Mukah town).
The fresh breeze from the sea and the beach made it all worth it though. :)
