Top 8 things to do in Miri, Sarawak

By Chloe 9:38 PM

It has been 2 years plus since i've last travelled! Missing all the wanderlust adventures!

My first post-COVID flight's destination is to Miri, Sarawak! :D Haven't been there before and I'm so excited to share more with you!

Here's the top 8 things to do in Miri, Sarawak!

1. Explore the Canada Hill and The Grand Old Lady: Malaysia's First Oil Well

Explore the Canada Hill to check out the panoramic view over the city and spot the South China Sea in the distance. It will also be an awesome spot to take in the sunrise and sunset views at Canada Hill (Bukit Minyak in Bahasa).

Right beside the viewing point at Canada Hill, check out The Grand Old Lady: Malayasia's First Oil Well!

It marks the spot where Shell first drilled oil back in 1910. The oil discovered at this spot fueled the nation's development and now it is a popular tourist photo spot. It was really windy and sunny when we were there. We also met many hikers who hike up Canada Hill and took photos there too!

2. Visit San Ching Tian Temple- one of Southeast Asia's largest Taoist temple

The San Ching Tian temple is one of Southeast Asia's largest Taoist temple and has an elegant grand entrance as well as a two-tiered orange roof. The intricate dragons decorate the exterior while bronze religious statutes of deities filled up the interior of the temple.

We took a walk around the temple and managed to capture the details of the temple's architecture. Also, I made a little prayer and offering too. (it's optional, depending on your religion). Do remember to remove your shoes before entering the interior of the temple.

3. Visit the oldest Buddhist Temple in Miri - Tua Pek Kong Temple

Another place not to be missed will be the oldest Buddhist Temple in Miri, the Tua Pek Kong Temple. This Tua Pek Kong temple was built back in 1913 where they dedicated it to their deity who protects all overseas Chinese.

I'm in awe of the colourful architecture adorned with dragons. Do remember to remove your shoes before entering the interior of the temple.

4. Enjoy 3 magical nights at the Borneo Jazz Festival

The Borneo Jazz Festival spans across 3 nights where we get to enjoy awesome music lineup by the talented community of musicians- Jazz artists, rappers and Djs from Malaysia, USA, Germany, Italy Switzerland, France, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, China and Singapore.

The Borneo Jazz Festival 2022 was held at Coco Cabana, hoping to build on the music tourism ecosystem in Miri. During the festival, there's also a lot of fringe activities such as the Eco Art Project, Wellness programme to unwind and relax, Borneo Boat Lute Exhibition as a part of Eco Drum Workshop & Jam too. I personally really enjoyed shopping at the Artsy Fartsy Market too! Got to see lots of local artists and their beautiful handicraft works which are up for purchase too.

To kickstart, the first night's performance features Afro Asia (Founded by Steve Thornton) as well as featuring John Thomas for the Ethno Jazz Fusion.

Next up, featuring the performance by Helga Violin with her custom made electric violin.

5. Cafe Hopping at Times Square Miri

Miri Times Square is filled with many new cafes and restaurants!

Really loved cafe hopping around the various cafes in Times Square. There's so much to see, eat and explore!

Here's two of my favourite cafes that you got to check out:

A) The Nest Cafe Lounge

The Nest is a well established European American fusion restaurant. The European American decor of the place is really very gorgeous coupled with the high ceiling and loft concept. They constantly add in new elements or decor to the place. Love that there's different photo spots at the different areas of the cafe.

It was full house when we were at the cafe during the weekends. You will probably need to see your luck or make a reservation in advance to get your preferred seat :D Sadly, we waited for really long but I didn't get the seat I wanted. Had to settle for second best, oh wells.

We ordered their pasta and dessert for lunch and it was really yummy! Hope to be back to try other food too!

Address: No A-G18, Miri Times Square, Marina Parkcity, 98000, 98000 Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia

B) Sugirl Please Studio Cafe

Love the attention to details the friendly owner put in to the cafe. She is so talented and artistic! There's numerous photo spots within her cafe! :D

Indulge in a cup of coffee or tea and a handcrafted sweet treat while capturing wonderful memories too!

Opens Wed to Sun 12pm to 5pm
Address: No A-1-53a, 1st floor (not Ground level) above llao llao TimesSquare, Miri, Sarawak

6. Catch the awesome sunset view at Coco Cabana

Bonus points for the impromptu bubbles too! Hehe! I had so much fun playing with the bubbles! It was such a magical sunset view!

Don't forget to check out this photo spot with the swing and get your perfect golden hour shot for memories keepsake!

7. Explore local food haunts for affordable and delicious food!

It was really easy to book a Grab ride to the various local food haunts!

We went to a famous Dim Sum place in Miri called Lao Yang Dim Sum and really enjoyed the sumptuous breakfast we had there! My favourite has got to be their custard bun and It's really affordable and frequented by lots of local residents.

Especially love local finds like this spot. It tends to get really crowded during weekends as a lot of families go to Lao Yang Dim Sum and Yum Cha hehe! So, hop over early to get a seat.

Address: Address: 2450-2452, Jalan Dato Permaisuri, 98000 Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia

Wished we had more time to explore more local food haunts!

8. Visit Taman Awam Miri for the rainbow stairs and suspension bridge

Another cute Instagram worthy spot not to be missed is Taman Awam Miri.

There's no entrance fees and you get to visit the flight of rainbow steps as well as the cute pastel suspension bridge.
Do note to bring along mosquito repellant as the mosquitoes are commando trained haha!

Where to stay?

Book your Miri stay at Pullman Miri Waterfront

Loved the location of our hotel, the food, service level as well as how spacious and clean the room was! My room came coupled with a huge bathtub and a view of the river :D

You can also catch the view at the infinity pool of the hotel! The central location of the hotel made it really easy for us to walk over to Miri Times Square for coffee, and minutes drive to malls, food haunts as well as Coco Cabana.

I've thoroughly enjoyed myself while exploring Miri and Sarawak's beautiful culture, adventure, nature, scrumptious food and festivals! Can't wait to explore the other parts of Sarawak and create new wonderful memories! Hope that the above helps you to plan your next getaway to Miri, Sarawak :D

Till the next wanderlust adventures! XOXO!

SG BusLeh App - The iOS app developed in Singapore!

By Chloe 1:28 PM

Have you tried out the SG BusLeh app? :) It's one of my must have iOS app developed in Singapore! It's developed by the local mobile app development consultancy Originally US. They specialize in designing and developing amazing apps that look and feels great!

Launched in 2015, I have been an avid user of this bus app after my friends recommended to me! It's one of the most comprehensive bus app that is super informative!

Some of my favourite functions of the app are as follows:

1. It's the first bus app to also provide SMRT train timing! Love transport apps that gives you all in one information!

2. It's the first bus app to introduce 3rd arrival timing. Usually other bus apps in Singapore only offers up to 2 bus arrival timing per bus. This is really useful especially for Kiasu people like me >.<

3. The first bus iOS app to introduce bus locator. You get to 'stalk' and see the actual current physical location of upcoming buses!

This is my ultimate favourite because i'm a control freak hahaha..

4. It is also the first bus app to inform commuters whether upcoming buses are double deckers, bendy or single decks and predict how full each bus will be when it arrives.

Very useful when you want to gauge if there's sufficient space to board /sufficient empty seats or you might just have some extra time to get a cup of drink while waiting for the next bus :)

5. It's also the first bus app to feature Singlish! HAHHAA..

You understand how we can't find some locations because we are so used to it being named in Singlish right? ;)

5. Did you know that this is also the first bus app where you get to check your EZ-link card balance using your phone (on supported devices)? Super cool right! I always wanted a way to check my card balance and this is perfect!

6. Last but not least, this is super useful for people who are afraid of missing their stops! The app lets you know roughly how many stops you have and you will not miss the stop anymore! Super awesome!!