Sarawak Tourism Board (STB)

THIS Friday and Saturday (May 11 and 12), oil town Miri will host the Miri International Jazz Festival. Now, while you move and groove to upbeat jazz music played by groups from the United States, Europe, Australasia, Caribbean and Asia, don’t miss the chance to visit places of interest in Sarawak’s first ‘oil town’.
Besides paying your respects to the “Grand Old Lady” of Miri – the first oil well, spudded in 1912 – take time off to visit the Miri Petroleum Museum which shares the same lookout point with the “Grand Old Lady” perched atop Canada Hill.
Here are three other places you may like to check out:

Miri Tourist Walk
It’s generally called the “tourist walk” or the “tourist mile”, though an amazing number of locals walk up and down Yu Seng Road too.
Well, why shouldn’t they? It’s where food shops and restaurants crowd each other, and a number of handicrafts and souvenir shops interest the Miri townsfolk quite as much as the bona fide tourist.
But yes, admit it, there are a lot of visitors to be seen. The area of South Yu Seng Road is studded with accommodation, from the majestic Mega Hotel surrounded by a shopping mall to semi-star and budget places like the Million Inn, the Cosy Inn, the deCentral Inn, the Apollo Hotel, the Genial Inn or the Muhibah Inn and many others.
“The real advantage of dosing down here,” as one young Australian couple told us over a meal of drunken prawns, “is that we never need to board a taxi. Food, shopping everything is right here…”
They had discovered the Miri Heritage Centre that afternoon, just round the corner from Yu Seng Road in Jalan Brooke. This isn’t just a craft market showcasing the material culture of Borneo; it’s also the workshop where many of the things are made.
Bead-workers ply their trade here alongside basket weavers and mat plaiters, a batik artist or two, sometimes a wood carver or mask-maker.
The thing to do is to drop in frequently and see what’s up. The International Beads Exhibition, to be held in October this year, usually draws the crowds from well beyond Miri.

Miri Esplanade (Luak Bay)
No need to look for mangroves and mud flats off Miri’s waterfront – this town is situated straight on the South China Sea.
For a long time, this was seen as a handicap. During the monsoon storms, the town sometimes ran out of supplies because no ship could make its way into the shallow Miri River. Roads have taken care of this little problem. Today, the sea is one of the assets that cement Miri’s claims as a Resort City.
No part of Miri is far from the sea. The quaintly named Brighton Beach with its foodstalls, playgrounds and long clean beach, has long been the evening rendezvous of choice. And once night falls, it’s a good place for tucking into some honest-to-goodness Miri fare.
A little further off (no more than 15 minutes’ drive from downtown Miri), Luak Bay, now better known as the esplanade, is the best venue for a day on the beach. Foodstalls cater to picnickers who forget to cut sandwiches. There are barbecue pits and fresh-water showers.
The Esplanade is not only a beach playground. Come evening, the lights come on in a couple of eateries, among them Ocean Seafood which prides itself in a sophisticated ambience as well as fine food.

Miri Taman Awam
Such a simple name for such a splendid park – Public Garden! Taman Awam lies about 3km from the town centre. It extends over gentle hills to catch the breeze, and a few valleys which form the main excuse for building a few spine-tingling suspension bridges.
The bridges are a great attraction for youngsters. They are well constructed and netted in, but even so there’s the thrill of looking down from a great height, the buzz of walking on a gently swaying path, and then the little sigh of relief when the skywalkers have reached solid ground again.
There’s a botanical garden in Taman Awam, a sprinkling of attractive sculptures and water features, a jogging track, a canteen and a souvenir shop. But the young ones know very well why they want mum to take them to the park on a hot afternoon (on the average, 365 afternoons a year in Miri) — the splashing pool!
This pool is just right for cooling off and it’s shallow enough to be quite safe. It’s basically a water-borne playground – imagine the super-smooth glide down a slide in a wet swimsuit!
After dusk, the Taman Awam is given over decorous strollers and families come to enjoy a snack and a drink in the cool evening air. Sporty citizens make use of the sports facilities or take a turn on the jogging track.

SHORTBREAK: Grooving in Miri