So, we went again... 2 - 3 March 2024, to Mukah this time. As usual, I don't have much time to write, I'll just post a bit for now.
4 of us again. I'll be sad when Noel won't be around to join us. |
Have you ever feel like you always have to walk cautiously? Like... when things are well and rosy, you think that you need to be careful, because you don't know when the next thing will happen, because in your head, the next thing WILL be bad.
Well, sometimes I feel like that. I feel like when a relationship / friendship is going on so well, that we spend a lot of time together, that I'm just waiting for it to fail, for it to crumble, for my friends not to like me anymore that they exclude me from every thing. I'm afraid of that, afraid of being hurt, being left. Sometimes I ask if I'm genuinely liked, if my "friends" talk about me behind my back.
And thus, I build a fortress.
This was our tentative itinerary and budget. For this trip, we opened up a tabung, each putting in RM200. |
After the disappointing Mee Satay, we went off to Sarikei. |
And then to Song. Where we were caught in heavy rain. |
And then, it was KAPIT! WOOTS. |
Took this pix to send to my mom. |
No proper lunch, so we were famished by the time we got to Kapit. We immediately sat for dinner at 66 Cafe before checking in at the Loft Pals Urbanstay. Good place to stay. |
And at night, we went for a drive around, and walked at the Lily Pond, had drinks at the bistro there. |
Next morning was Roti Canai Goreng. |
Before we went to the market. Lots of loootttttssss! Fun market. |
And a walkabout |
The famous empurau! |
And then we checked out, had lunch and took photo at this iconic bridge. "family" photo using noel's camera. |
All through the journey we took 0.5 photos. Did you know that meant NOT selfie, but back camera? No, I didn't know. |
Off home! |
And this was our total spent. |
Here's our latest HindukBerganjuh list! |
During Trip #1, there was an overflow of durian, but because it was a long journey to Sibu and when we returned, it was already very late in the evening and there wasn't anymore durian by the road side, we planned to go again, but only to Lachau to get some durian. The week after! Haha. So on 21 Jan 2024, at 10am, we took off for a day of durian hunting!
With no proper planning this time, more of a free and easy trip because it was only up to Lachau, we started the journey at 10am. We did however discussed that we'd want to go to Mount Hosanna, if it was still early as Sri Aman is not that far. So we dubbed this the "holy trip" especially because it was on a Sunday.
9.30am - picked Mike. 10 am picked Marilyn. And off we went. We stopped at the first stop we say that had many durian after Serian. I found out later that the name of the place is Rasau (Serian) area. We then packed the durian into container as I feasted. I was the only one feasting because I wasn't planning on drinking (alcohol) and the other two were. After about an hour or so, we left to Lachau. We arrived Lachau at about 12.15 and of course we had to have our mee goreng and its accompaniments.
We arrived the church at 4.45. The opening hours states till 5pm, but understandably, the "gates of heaven" were already closed by then. Alas. This calls for another trip no? 😉
So we left the church after quick photos, and right after those two started drinking. They made a dent of 13 cans in 2 hours (I packed 18 cans). We got to Marilyn's house at around 7pm, her mom asked us to drop by for dinner and then we left at about 8.30pm, with me reaching home about 9.30pm after dropping Mike off.
On the way home, at about 6.30pm while driving in the car, we came up with itinerary for our next trip. And where shall we go next? Well, there's a whole lot more places in Sarawak to cover, that's for sure!
"Bekalan" for our journey. 24 cans of be-ar. |
And of course, idamanku selalu... my chao chai hu ngang. Thoroughly enjoyed this, mostly aku makan sorang jer. |
After that we drove straight to Sibu, and checked in to our chosen hotel - Starlink Hotel. This is quite new, opened in 2022. When I go for trips alone or with Noel, I would stay in Kingwood, but this time when I searched for hotel room for 3, this came up and decided to give it a try. It's a bit far from town, but with a car, not really an issue. We were greatly impressed with the hotel tho! All the things were individually wrapped, which we happily song-lap away when we left. The room costs us RM130.00 for 3. |
When we went out from the hotel, there was a cute shop selling China goodies, keropok, snacks etc. We walked around and say this "slimming" mirror. Introducing Marilyn and Mike. Hehe. I have no idea how they came into my life at work, so perhaps another story for another day. |
We went for dinner at Lot 10 Cafe, not far from McD Sibu, opposite Wisma Sanyan. Ayam penyet. The sambal, the soup, the veg is to die for. I've missed this. Thank God it's still nice. That's the bad part about introducing people to the food we like isnt' it? That it might no longer be nice. |
The place had satay too. From my many visits, the satay has always been popular, but since I was always alone, I never ordered. So tonight, we ordered 10 sticks of chicken and 10 of beef. The sticks were HUGE. and yummy and juicy. The peanut sauce was great too. We only managed to eat 4, and tapau-ed the rest. |
At 9am, I picked the 2 up and we went for breakfast. Of course at my fav kampua place. Get the drift? it's all about MY favorite place. Haha. After breakfast we went to buy our kompia, at Sheng Kee and Fatt Bakery. I devoured at least 5 of the freshly baked plain buns. Then we went to Pasar Besar (Central Market) Sibu, It was Dabai overflowing season and there were sooooo many. Oversupplied. We bought some and got a basket for Choo, another colleague who is our makan and drink buddy. Then we went back to the hotel to check out, went back to the China shop to get some junks and snacks as souvenirs.
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And then lunch! The day before I gave them the option of what they wanted to eat for dinner. It was too late when they decided to have chicken rice coz when I called New Capitol, they ran out. So I booked for lunch the day after. The taukeinio actually forgot to book, but the servers were kind and took some out for us. The mango pamelo sago is to die. We shared this between the 3 of us. |
And so it's time to leave Sibu. We went to Bintangor for the Limau Bintangor Orange Juice. Just a quick tapau pit stop. We wanted to go to Sarikei for the Roti Kawin, but when we called, they said they only opened till 12 on a Sunday. So we drove straight to Jakar Shumai to tapau frozen Shu Mai and to refuel. |
2013, 2015, 2017 – Attended Murud Prayer Conference.
2019 – I
struggled and went against the Lord’s calling to go to Murud. I told God, nope, I didn’t want to scale up
and down the mountain just to meet Him anymore!
2021 –
Covid. No Murud Prayer Conference on the
Mountain. My heart broke a little. I missed being in His presence on the
mountain. Thank God for technology, we
had it online instead.
You know you are missing Murud when you're craving luncheon meat! Such a luxury. |
The first time translating for Ps. Julison in TMC due to unforeseen circumstances. |
March 2023 – Team from Ba Kelalan came to minister in TMC. The main speaker fell ill and the accompanying Pastor took over to share for all the sessions. He spoke in BM. Guess who had to be translator? Me! Fear and trembling experience for both speaker and translator. But God is good. He was our strength and wisdom. Little did we know that was only a sneak-peak of what is yet to come.
Translating for Ps Julison again in TMC. This sealed the deal for Murud.
May 2023 –
The committee of Murud Prayer Conference approached me to be one of the
translators for the sessions. After much
prayer and struggling with the Lord, I accepted the task with fear and
trembling.
As the
dates for the conference drew near, my heart was filled with excitement and apprehension. Excitement to be back on the mountain,
despite knowing how tough the hike would be.
Apprehension, because after attending for many years, I knew that the
entrusted task of translation was not to be taken lightly.
July 2023 –
The month. Nerve-wracking, both
spiritually and physically. Heard from
relatives in Ba’Kelalan that there was telephone / internet line on the
mountain, unlike previous years, as they had set up a tower in Bario and were
receiving signals. I sighed. I sighed because I didn’t want to have a
connection with the outside world whilst I was there, but at the same time, I sighed
of relief. Bittersweet. Thank God I thought. At least I can Google for words that I didn’t
know when I was doing my translation.
16 July 2023 – No speaker notes or slides have been received. I WhatsApped a dear friend, “I don’t want to go Murud tomorrow, I’m scared”. But of course, no turning back, no turning back.
A smiley translator doesn't mean a less-than-nervous translator!
17 July
2023. Here we go! Like it or not, we
were on our way to the Mountain. As we
took the flight arriving on the morning, we were able to hike up to the Church
Camp on the same day. However, we
started late and only managed to reach the church camp at 8pm. Stories for another day. Buzz me up, come let’s have coffee and I’ll
share those stories with you.
18 July
2023 – T-1 before Conference start. No
sign of any text from Speakers. Dying
inside from anxiety, and yet knowing that my God who is full of wisdom and
knowledge will be my help in the works He had entrusted me with.
Session 1 with Pastor Bina. The most memorable was him saying Jesus enter Jerusalem on kuda and I was like "on a horse???" Thanking God for Pr. Dave in the background who kept the AV running. |
19 July 2023 – Session 1. I finally got my notes. A mere hours before the first session that I
was supposed to translate. I couldn’t
settle down that afternoon and went to the church early. I tried as much as I could to translate the
materials and prepare for the night session.
I almost broke down in tears as in that stress of limited time, there
were words that I couldn’t figure out.
In my desperation, I turned on my mobile phone, which I didn’t want to
and tried to Google for words. Yes,
there was line. But the signal was weak
from where I was sitting. I prayed to
God, seeking His mercy and His help. In
His gentle, soft voice He asked me, “My child, Goo-gle or God-gle? Will you surrender all and depend on me
fully?”. I broke down and repented,
turned off my mobile, and continued on the slide depending fully and only on
Him.
Was it
tough to translate?
It was, challenging. We are so used to modern conveniences that we
can just reach out to help us. To only
depend on God-gle, now that’s something as scary as day!
It was, most
of all, humbling. We are so used to be
in control, able to figure almost everything on our own, being the tough one, not
asking for anyone’s help. At times when I was loss for a word on the pulpit, it
was all the brothers and sisters in the congregation who helped by throwing in
the right word. When I was flustered in
my own world, preparing for the sessions in the church alone, God sent so many
people, strangers, who would just walk over and lay a hand and say a prayer
over me, even at in the darkness of 5am. Sometimes, one would pray, and before
I knew it, the voices around me grew more and by the time I opened my eyes,
there were too many to count. I’m sure
they can see how terrified this translator must have been! For all these prayers, seen or unseen, I am
truly grateful for, because I know, God had surely answered their prayers. When I was nervous, God had placed familiar
faces of brothers and sisters in the midst of 700 pax to know that I am never
alone.
My
take-away from Murud 2023? God-gle. Depend on God in everything. Not only in translating. In every.single.thing. It doesn’t matter if you have 2G, 3G, 4G or
5G. The most important connection you
should have is with the one and only G.
God.
9.45am. 1st stop. Of course, mee goreng Lachau. I thoroughly enjoyed this plate and because I wanted to catch up on the time I quickly left without a trip to look around at the market. I was so sleepy on the way from Lachau to Sarikei. A couple of days before the trip, I downloaded 3 Shah Rukh Khan movies so I put on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to watch as I drive. Of course I ended up with swollen eyes la! |
I continued the journey to Sarikei. I'd normally stop at Jakar for the sio bee, but this time, I didn't feel like eating that. I had been craving for my Chao Chai Hung Ngang in Glory Cafe Sarikei for the longest time. So I drove straight to Sarikei. Alas, the cafe was closed. So I went to the next "must-eat" in Sarikei. 1pm. Roti Bakar Aik Seng. |
A few days before the trip, I read about this place in the blog of a famous Sibu blogger. I was not hungry, but looking at the food, I decided to makan here along with what I had originally came here for. The food? Good, but pedas mau matiiiiiiiiii. 2.45pm. |
And this is what I had come for... pumpkin pie... astaga..... SEDAP mau MAMPOSSSSSS. |
A trip to Sibu is incomplete without a trip to my fav gelato place. I don't normally eat gelato because it's so expensive, but I indulge here in Sibu. I tapau-ed and had the ice cream in the car. 3.20pm |
Again, a few days before the trip, I stumbled across an article about cafes in Sibu. This cafe looked good on the list, so I decided to dropby before checking in to the hotel. The cute coffee teddy was worth the stop. 4pm. |
In April this year, I took a roadtrip to Sibu with Noel, Adel and Noel's friend Beckham. We stayed at Kingwood as usual. During that trip, the pool had recently open and they served beer at the pool. There's a great view of the Rajang river from the pool and I was actually looking forward to having a cool beer at the poolside. Unfortunately, they did not serve beer or other drinks anymore at the pool. So I quickly went down to the riverbank and as always, Sibu has never failed to give me a beautiful sunset. |
For my birthday dinner, I was contemplating on either Ayam Penyet from Lot 10 in Sibu (oh the sambal!) or Chicken Rice from New Capitol (oh the fluffy, fragrant rice and the tender, juicy, succulent chicken!). But again, reading the famous Sibu blog, I decided to come here instead. 6.45pm. |
For this. I don't know when I started to love fish and chips. I'm always on a look out for good ones, but at the same time, always unwilling to try most places because I'm afraid of disappointment. But after reading his post on this outlet's fish and chips, and that they use fresh fish daily, I was sold. It was full house inside that night, but being alone, they managed to squeeze me in, in between 2 large group of people. Despite the stares, I enjoy my birthday dinner tremendously. |
When I left the hotel that night, the parking was so packed as there was a function in house. So the guard advised me to come back after 9.30pm to ensure I have a parking. With time in my hands, I decided to go to Ta Kiong to walk around and I found this wine; which I had thoroughly enjoyed with another friend earlier in November. So I decided to grab a bottle, whether or not I could finish it, it doesn't really matter. And by 10pm, I was already in bed, and had a really good night sleep. |
Early the next day, by 7am I left the hotel and went to Sunday service in this church. Their service starts at 7.30am. |
After the 1 hour service, of course no trip to Sibu would be complete without a kampua fix. As always, my fav is Soon Hock. 9am. |
When I'm in Sibu, I normally like to be early to grab some kompia, but because I woke up late today, I only managed to go after breakfast. Of course I regretted it as I couldn't find any parking and had to walk quite far to the kompia place, which of course had to be sold out. IMHO, Sheng Kee 63 has the best kompia kosong whilst Fatt Bakery has the best butter kompia. but I had to wait for 30mins for Sheng Kee's that morning, I decided to just grab what I can from Fatt because I was rushing to go back to the hotel... to sleep! I got back to the hotel at 10.30am, quick shower and slept! Woke up at 11.40, called front desk to see if the room was available for extension. It was, but decided not to extend, because I didn't want to waste my annual leave. So checked out at 12, and left for Sarikei. Praying hard that my Glory Cafe would still be open then! |
Yesterday on the way from Lachau, I called Glory Cafe to book their coconut pudding. Because they picked up and took in my booking, I thought they were open yesterday too. But I'm so glad that they were open today, and they indeed did keep my coconut for me. I found a table to share with another lady, placed my order and waited patiently. I arrived about 1.15pm and at 1.40pm this beauty came to the table. |
And this. Ah. My heart. Now I can die peacefully. I've dreamt (and salivate) about this noodles since forever! Thank you God for giving me a chance to makan this for my birthday. |
A week before this trip, KFC had promotion of 3 snack plates for RM33. I've not eaten KFC for the longest time because it was "pricey" and because they do not have coleslaw. It was the same this time when we bought the promo set. I've read that KFC in Sri Aman had the coleslaw, so I put this on my list of to-eat on this trip eventhough the drive in to town from the junction would take about 15 - 20 mins one way. |
I bought a big tub + had a small tub that came with the snack plate set as well. Took this photo to prove that I was in Sri Aman for KFC's coleslaw! I DEVOURED both tubs. |
How do you eat your coleslaw? Mine? With their cili sauce! It was getting late, and I knew I didn't want to be on the road when it was dark, so I tapau-ed my KFC and had it on the way. 5pm. |
Arrived Kuching at 7.30pm. Was supposed to meet up with Marilyn to watch the World Cup Finals at 8pm. So I decided to try my luck getting this Signature Mango Crepe cake at Kohi, Farley. I enjoyed this earlier in Dec when Juwita was in town, and though I'm not normally a fan of crepe cake, this is an absolute beauty and I was soooooo happy to see it available in the cake display. |