Saturday, September 22, 2007

10. Where home is...













We always took things for granted when we have them. So, when I left my home place, what was there to miss? Bintulu is just a small town; what is it compared with KL? There are no hypermarkets or anything to see. But as months pass by, I began to realised that I rather be at home than any place in the world. This week, I am going to write about transport and tourism. So, I want to compare and contrast the differences between my home place with Kuala Lumpur, near where I am studying now, at Uniten.
Firstly, I will talk about the traffic. In Bintulu there are cars and traffic jams usually at peak hours or during weekends(look at the picture of the tamu/market)but it is nothing compared to Kuala Lumpur! Although I got my driving licence, there is no way I am driving on my own in Kuala Lumpur. Heck, I don't even know which road goes where. So, I rather take the bus or taxi if I am in Kuala Lumpur. At night, in Bintulu, the traffic is gone and it would be very quiet. KL, in contrast is still bustling with activities at night.
Secondly, about tourism, there aren't many interesting places in Bintulu. However, I may be wrong because I live there all my life, so everything is the same, nothing unusual. There are a lot of shops in Bintulu, not the gigantic shopping complexes like in KL but more like small grocery shops and many coffee shops. There are supermarkets like Farley, Sing Kwang, MDS and the new Walmart or something(not sure, just opened so I have not got the chance to explore it yet) and City Point, where teenagers usually hang out apart from cyber cafes. If Kl, people have KLCC, then n Bintulu, we have an old clock tower which has been there since time immemorial(honestly, I forgot when it was built). There are two beaches in Bintulu, the Tanjung Batu Beach(inset) and the more famous Similajau beach in the north. The Similajau National Park is an interesting place to visit or you can just go to Taman Tumbina(yup, it comes from Tumbuhan@plants and Binatang@animals) if you aren't into jungle trekking and that sort of stuff. There is a orchid farm, bird and butterfly garden inside. Or if you like ships, machines and pollution, then go to Bintulu's industrial site in Kidurong(just joking). The Bintulu Developement Authority is still in the progress of rebuilding the waterfront from the Bintulu port till Tanjung Batu Beach, so that is something you can look foward to.
To sum up, I prefer living in Bintulu than KL(no hard feelings, KL lovers) . Although Bintulu is often overshadowed by its neighbours, Miri and Sibu, it is developing very quickly. Although I am happy on the progress Bintulu has made, I hope it will not lose the peacefulness and tranquility it has on its residents.

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