Visit Sarawak 2017 |
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Bintulu and Miri lie on the northwest coast of Sarawak and are towns that mushroomed with energy and oil industry. Bintulu is an increasingly modern town with luxurious hotels, restaurant and bars which cater to the new-found wealth of the town’s inhabitants.
On Canada Hill overlooking Miri is Sarawak’s first oil well. Constructed by the Shell Oil Company in 1910, the well was the forerunner of a further 623 oil wells drilled in the area known as the Miri Land Field. It also survived longer than most of the other 623. After over 6 decades of an estimated extraction of 600,000 barrel, its productivity and that of the wells around is ceased in the early 1970s. Oil drilling has now moved southwards to Bintulu where oil industry is still producing a steady output.
From Miri, several exciting and adventurous trips can be made inland up the rivers. Longhouses are scattered from the coast all the way into the Kelabit district and into Kalimantan. By road you can get as far as Kuala Baram, from where boats depart down the Baram River for Marudi. You can also enter the sultanate of Brunei from that point. Marudi is the starting point for the long river trips that take you down the large and then increasingly smaller rivers. From here, you can also take off by plane for the vast Gunung Mulu National Park or for Bareo, in the cooler Kelabit Highland.
On Canada Hill overlooking Miri is Sarawak’s first oil well. Constructed by the Shell Oil Company in 1910, the well was the forerunner of a further 623 oil wells drilled in the area known as the Miri Land Field. It also survived longer than most of the other 623. After over 6 decades of an estimated extraction of 600,000 barrel, its productivity and that of the wells around is ceased in the early 1970s. Oil drilling has now moved southwards to Bintulu where oil industry is still producing a steady output.
From Miri, several exciting and adventurous trips can be made inland up the rivers. Longhouses are scattered from the coast all the way into the Kelabit district and into Kalimantan. By road you can get as far as Kuala Baram, from where boats depart down the Baram River for Marudi. You can also enter the sultanate of Brunei from that point. Marudi is the starting point for the long river trips that take you down the large and then increasingly smaller rivers. From here, you can also take off by plane for the vast Gunung Mulu National Park or for Bareo, in the cooler Kelabit Highland.
Bario is the “capital” of Kelabit country. You can travel here by 4-wheel-drive vehicle from Lawas (either a muddy or very dusty ride) or fly there from Marudi, Miri and Long Lallang in one of Malaysian Airlines’ Twin Otters.
The Kelabit community is split in two by the border between Sarawak and Kalimantan, but such formalities seem not to trouble the Kelabit people who travel over it frequently without ever seeing an immigration point. Unfortunately for visitors, it is not nearly so easy to do this trip, as one must first hunt around for someone as stamp his passport on the Malaysian end, and then do the same thing all over again in Kalimantan.
From Bareo, and with the help of Punan guides, it is possible to climb Gunung Murud. At 2,423 meters, this is the highest peak in Sarawak and you need five clear days you ascend and descend the mountain – a memorable experience. Punan guides and porters will also take you on a six-day walk back to Long Lallang, form where you can fly back to civilization. For those who are adventurous and fit, one of these expeditions is definitely worth experiencing.
The Kelabit community is split in two by the border between Sarawak and Kalimantan, but such formalities seem not to trouble the Kelabit people who travel over it frequently without ever seeing an immigration point. Unfortunately for visitors, it is not nearly so easy to do this trip, as one must first hunt around for someone as stamp his passport on the Malaysian end, and then do the same thing all over again in Kalimantan.
From Bareo, and with the help of Punan guides, it is possible to climb Gunung Murud. At 2,423 meters, this is the highest peak in Sarawak and you need five clear days you ascend and descend the mountain – a memorable experience. Punan guides and porters will also take you on a six-day walk back to Long Lallang, form where you can fly back to civilization. For those who are adventurous and fit, one of these expeditions is definitely worth experiencing.
