45th trip to Bintulu - 26 August'13 (52,600 km)

Fospa resting his arm on Mama's back....fantastic therapy

 It has been about two weeks that we spent the holidays in Kuching.  Now that the Hari Raya celebrations are over, fospa decided that we should go back to Bintulu on Monday, 26th of August.  On this 45th trip to Bintulu we had an additional passenger on board.  Fospa and fosma agreed to give him a free ride to Bintulu.  We started the journey around 9.30 am in fine weather. 

Mama Daisy and Inul having a last look at the house..

 Underneath the leaves cover is hidden our special passenger.  The leaves were taken from the garden to be used as shield against the hot sun.  The special passenger is a tomcat belonging to fospa's niece.

 First pit stop was at Serian.  At the Serian fish market there were many foreign tourists who took pictures and having fun time talking to the fish mongers about the different types of fishes for sale.

Sibu traffic junction..

 

 Inul saw many buses and lorries stopping at Selangau.  Selangau is the last pit stop before we drove straight to Bintulu.  From Selangau it took us 1 hour 30 minutes to reach Bintulu.

Canteen at Selangau....

 We left Selangau at 7.30 pm ....and arrived Bintulu at around 9.00 pm.

Blackie...the special passenger

With this trip we achieved a cumulative distance of 52,600 km.

44th trip to Kuching - 12 August'13 (52,000 km)

Inul and Mama Daisy

Inul on fosma's lap

 On this 44th trip to Kuching we were accompanied by fosis and her hubby but they drove in a separate car.  Inul is getting better now, less of a fuss.  Inul loves also to rest on fosma's lap (see inset).  We left Bintulu at 11.00 am and is rather late than usual.  Thus we expected to reach Kuching around 10 pm.  The journey was a bit slowed down because of some traffic snarl and jam on certain stretches due to the narrowness of the two-lane single carriageway Sarawak trunk road and the extra vehicles on the road due to the Hari Raya festive season.  

Typical Sarawak trunk road - narrow and two-lane single carriageway  of about 600 km length from Kuching in the south to Miri in the north.

Sebangkoi water lily pond

 We stopped for a short while at Selangau and Sibu to cool down the engines and a little rest.  Most of the resting was reserved for our mid-stop at Selangau.  At Selangau there is a convenient rest area that is just besides the highway.  The car parking area is well shaded and provided with basic amenities like toilet and washroom ans a small park with a lovely water lily pond. (see inset at right)

Durio grandiflorus (Durian munyit)

 At Sebangkoi rest area, fospa was extremely excited to have noticed a species of the Durian or 'King of the Fruits' (Durio grandiflorus or locally called 'Durian munyit') bearing white flowers in abundance on its branches and some fallen on the water lilies and water below

White flowers of the Durio grandiflorus (Durian munyit)

Durian flowers on water lilies at Sebangkoi

Driving into the sunset , between Sri Aman and Serian stretch...

The rest of the journey from Sebangkoi was at  nice cruising speed of around 90 -100 kph drive.  Our final pit stop was at Temudok rest area, just outside the town of Sri Aman.  After we left Sri Aman it was a beautiful drive into the sunset.  We arrived Kuching at 10 pm and experienced no rain the whole journey. With this trip our cumulative traveling record stands at 52,000 km.  Looking forward to spending the rest of the Hari Raya celebrations in Kuching with friends and relatives in the city.....