Miri International Marina
Quite a name, and one day I am sure it will be as glamorous as the name implies. Part of a massive reclamation project the owner Troy Yaw, part a Chinese Malay family who dominate Miri's business scene, has a passion for sailing and puts his money were his mouth is. I first heard of Miri Marina from Jo and Noah off Cetacean, who left their boat here. The marina has been built for two years but there has been no progress on the on-shore facilities, so at this stage the marina is still free. This was a great enticement to sail Reflections 1200 miles to this coast and leave her here for us to return for the July/Aug holidays. It was a good move as it really attached me (Colin) back to Reflections and I feel that we are still getting value from her, although she isn't our home for now.
While Courtney seemed to hit it off with Cato, Anna became good friends with Laura, with the two of them spending hours out on the wave ski paddling round the marina and chatting. One of the truly pleasing things of this trip has been to see how well the girls can converse with adults and children alike.
Niah Caves
One of the main attractions near Miri is Mulu caves, but the budget had been knocked about after our stay in Kuching so we passed on Mulu, but hired a car and drove 100kms down the coast to Niah Caves. This is a huge cave that is one of the largest in the world. A long boardwalk brought us to the caves and it was neat, but a little eyrie, waking through the caves often in complete darkness. in the middle of the largest cave the sunlight giving a breathtaking sight.
Brunei
So after a few weeks in Miri we realised we needed to move on. On the day we checked out, Laura asked if she could come with us to Brunei. She seemed easy going so we said yes. We spent three very relaxing days making our way from Miri to the main harbour of Brunei. Easy 30 mile hops each day with a stop in the Kuala Belait the first night, a huge breakwater surrounded harbour built by the sultan's brother the second night and then into Muara to anchor off the Brunei Yacht club at Serasa on the third day. We even caught a nice Spanish mackerel on the first day. It felt so good to be cruising with the family again. And because we had a visitor, we behaved impeccably.
Brunei is a different place to visit. First up, there seems to be a different set of immigration rules for every country. US citizens (Laura) get a three months stay visa for free. Australians get a maximum of thirty days and pay roughly a dollar for each day you stay. Every other country gets a different deal, and it seems to be the whim the sultan. The sultan of Brunei is the supreme ruler of the country. No democracy here. But the people appear happy with the situation as the oil money flows in, all citizens get free school, health and public servants get a very impressive pension. It seems that all work is done by Indonesian or Filipino guest workers. It was an enjoyable place to see but a place I don't think I'd ever really 'love'. The yacht club was 'the' ex-pat hangout, as it is the only place in Brunei where you can drink in public. They don't sell alcohol, but you turn up in the evening with your bottle of gin, and the staff cheerfully sell you your tonic, lime and ice. Over a really nice meal you can reflect on the day as the sun goes down. Most ex-pats teach English in Brunei state schools, or work in the oil industry.
The capital of Bandar Sri Bandawan is dominated by two large mosques, commissioned by the present sultan and his father. A huge water village occupies the other side of the river the city sits on. It was the sultans 60th birthday a few weeks before we arrived so the city was still adorned with huge posters of his royal 'richness'. But possibly the posters are up there all time anyway.
We waited in Brunei for some mail to arrive. We went to visit the amusement park in Jerungdong, which is huge and full of great rides that sadly don't work any more. We knew this beforehand, but it seemed like a reasonable evening out and it was. Pretty sad really when people spend so much money to build such a good park and then just let it go.
Labuan and Kota Kinabulu
From Brunei we sailed across to Labuan. An island straight off Brunei but part of Malaysia, and duty free. So time to stock up on alcohol and chocolates! This Mosque in Labauan was described in the guide book as Darth Vader's summer house. When we left Labuan the weather forecast was not great with storm cells about. An hour or two out and a nasty squall got us unprepared. Unfortunately the wind came up very hard before we could roll the headsail up and I had to winch it in while it flogged madly and opened up lots of seams. A repair job was done in Kota Kinabulu and all the seams were reinforced with an extra row of stitching. The sailcloth on the outer edge is too far gone and either we do another repair or get a new sail soon. The original intention was to stop at Tiga island on the way but the rotten weather kept up for the next two days as we headed to Sutera Harbour in Kota Kinabulu, Malaysia.
The marina in Sutera Harbour was really nice. It is a no discharge marina so valves are shut or holding tanks used so the marina has the clearest water I've ever seen in a marina pond. We enjoyed the last few days of the family holiday here before Liz and the girls flew back to Phuket to start the new school year and for Anna, the start of High School. I stayed on for two weeks at Sutera, doing uni work, before heading back down for the start of the yacht race.
