Miri to be developed as state’s second gateway

MIRI: The Ministry of Tourism and Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) will develop Miri as a second gateway into the state by leveraging on tourist arrivals from Brunei.

Ministry of Tourism permanent secretary Datuk Ik Pahon Joyik said both the ministry and the board wish to establish greater connectivity under the spirit of Asean and the Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga).

“The arrival of people from the United Kingdom is around 14,000 through Bandar Seri Begawan last year. This figure is for tourists from the UK (United Kingdom) only and does not include tourists from other European countries such as Germany and France, including United States and Australia.

“This means that they must be flying using Royal Brunei Airlines and then from Brunei they drive down to Miri and beyond,” he said during a media dinner on Tuesday.

He said the ministry and board are looking into the possibility of packaging Sarawak, particularly the northern region, on Royal Brunei flights to London, Shanghai and Melbourne from Bandar Seri Begawan.

As both Brunei and Malaysia are Commonwealth member countries, tourists and visitors from Europe and Australia will not be subject to multiple entry visas and can just drive down to Miri from Brunei.

“The only group we are looking at now is tourists from China. Last year alone, the United Nation’s Tourism Report revealed over 100 million Chinese going outbound where 70 per cent went out to Korea, Japan and Macau,” he said.

“The other 30 per cent go out to Southeast Asia. Just imagine if we can get one per cent from 100 million. For Malaysia, last year’s data was below 300,000 in the arrivals of tourists from China and around 35,000 arrivals into Sarawak.”

On hotel occupancy rates, Ik said Miri leads with 68 per cent followed by Kuching at 52 per cent.

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19 Green turtles found dead on Pulau Tiga

KOTA KINABALU: Mystery surrounds the discovery of 19 dead turtles on an island within the proposed Tun Mustapha Marine Park in Kudat.

Acting on public information, officers from the State Wildlife department together with rangers from Sabah Parks, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine police recovered the carcasses on Pulau Tiga on March 5.

Post mortem will be carried out by the State wildlife department here to determine how the endangered Green turtles ended up dead on the island which is located about three hours by speed boat from Kudat town.

West Coast wildlife Officer, Roland Nuin said the discovery indicate that there could be a huge market for parts from the turtle species.

“I highly suspect that they are meant to be smuggled out alive to foreign countries but failed because of the heavy presence of MMEA and Marine police vessels patrolling the sea,” he added.

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Danum Valley – Borneo

I returned to Borneo: a place I visited during my last adventure around Asia three years ago.

And why? Well, firstly; I discovered that when one flies from the Philippines to Nepal, it actually works out cheaper to go via Kota Kinabalu.

There were a few places I wanted to see last time but sadly missed, due to not having enough time.

But the main reason, really, is that I fricking love Borneo, and the five weeks I spent there back in 2012 were some of the most memorable and exciting from that entire trip.

So, on the morning of 25th of February, James, Chloe and I boarded a plane from Manila. Pedro, who had been our travelling companion for the last four weeks, was flying back home to Taiwan, so it was now just three of us. James and Chloe (the lucky bastards) were going to be spending six weeks in Borneo, in all, but I was just going to be accompanying them for the first few days.

The plane touched down upon Kota Kinabalu in the morning and, after booking tickets for a sleeper bus heading south that evening, we went for a little wander around town. I spent most of that day experiencing flashbacks and feeling fondly nostalgic: walking past a bar and remembering it was where me and a friend drank beer a couple of times, popping into a restaurant to examine the menu and realising that I had eaten there before.

Remembering some of the things that I love about Borneo. Such as the crazy equatorial weather: the constant flux between dark clouds and blazing sunlight with blue skies; that damp scent of a storm about to happen, frequently in the air; the occasional rumble of thunder in the distance.

In the evening we boarded the sleeper bus. It was fairly comfortable but unfortunately we had to get off at 3am because it rolled into Lahad Datu early. Luckily there was a 24-hour café open so we took refuge there, eating mie goreng and roti canai while we waited for the Danum Valley Field Centre office to open.

Danum Valley Day 1

By lunchtime everything was organised and we were upon a 4WD for a bumpy two-hour journey to the Danum Valley Field Centre. We were all very tired by then, so our heads were slumping and our eyes kept rolling back. At one point I was sputtered back into a state of consciousness by James yelling my name. I opened my eyes and, as my vision switched from blurry to focussed, I saw that he was pointing to something outside the window and scrambled for my camera.

A group of bornean pygmy elephants; our first sighting.

A while later we rocked up at the dormitory, where we claimed our beds, and then James and I rustled up a vegetable curry in the communal kitchen. As we were cooking, a middle-aged German guy turned up with his parents and, as soon as I saw his face, I knew that I recognised him from somewhere.

“Errm, this might sound a bit weird…” I said. “But… did I meet you three years ago, when I was last in Borneo?”

“That depends,” he said. “Did you do any diving in Semporna?”

It turned out that he owned the outfit which I had done a few days of scuba diving with – the very same outfit which James and Chloe had booked to do their PADI Open Water courses with next week.

It was one of those ‘Small World’ moments.

We chatted for a while, as he cooked dinner for his parents. And after he left a group of Malaysian students came into communal area to make their dinners’ too.

Danum Valley Field Centre is primarily a research station for scientists – tourists are accepted, if there is room, but they are a minority – so it is not like a hotel or resort: the lodgings are very basic, and specifically designed so that people can do things independently. The Malay students were all from a university in Kota Kinabalu, studying subjects which ranged from the bio-diversity of ferns to renewable energy. They were all quite friendly and talkative, when they weren’t busy tapping away upon their computers.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Danum Valley – Borneo

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Sarawak hopes to see more Arab tourists with new restaurant

KUCHING: Sarawak wants to woo Arab tourists to its shores, and one criterion was fulfilled on Saturday with the opening of Al-Yemen Restaurant.

The restaurant is owned by Yemeni Shaikh Helmi Shaikh Ali Al-Arashi, who promised that his outlet at Riveredge Commercial Centre, in Petra Jaya, served authentic Arab, especially Yemeni, food.

Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, who declared open the restaurant, said his ministry aimed to turn the state into a darling among Arabs, and, as such, it was

important to have Arab restaurants.

“Most Arab tourists who come to Malaysia prefer to visit Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi, and the reason is simple – both these places have Arab restaurants,” he told reporters covering the restaurant’s opening.

Abang Johari added that the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) office had also told him that in order to see an increase of Arab tourists, it was vital for the state to have at least one Arab restaurant.

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Kuching Wetlands an eco-legacy for tourists too

KUCHING: The Kuching Wetlands National Park (KWNP) is gaining popularity especially among tourists, with an estimated four to five tourist boats visiting the area daily.

According to Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, the 6,610-ha sanctuary located 15 km from the city centre is host to a variety of inhabitants such as crocodiles, Irrawaddy dolphins and proboscis monkeys which have been recorded in KWNP.

“The uniqueness of KWNP is an important tool as a marketing point to promote KWNP to the outside world,” said Dr Abdul Rahman.

He was speaking at the state-level World Wetlands Day at KWNP yesterday.

“Apart from being the habitat to various species, the wetlands also act as a natural sponge that traps and slowly release surface water, preventing floods,” he said.

Dr Abdul Rahman said the new generation, particularly youths, must be well informed on the importance of wetlands.

Continue reading at: Kuching Wetlands an eco-legacy for tourists too

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