Miri, Miri

With Chinese New Year looming Sue and I decided to make a quick getaway to the Marriot in Miri.  This is a resort hotel in the north of Sarawak, next door to oil-rich Brunei.  Miri itself is an oil town so there is money here, which in turn attracts expats and sleaze.

We flew here from Sibu at dusk in a turbo-prop which took off in heavy rain and thrummed and bumped its way to Miri in and out of thick cloud with the odd flash of lightning.  One of the main reasons for coming was that we can apparently stay using the "government rate", which gives a 50% discount for public servants.  This proved harder to wrestle from the smiling but wary staff at Reception than I expected, though I think we finally succeeded.  A number of Sue's colleagues had the same idea and it's been good to catch-up with people around the pool and over dinner.

Because the hotel is out of town we've been insulated from the Chinese New Year celebrations, apart from being woken up by a barrage of fireworks on Saturday night.  Sue has spent most of her time working on an essay for the Open University, while I've been working out in the gym, watching TV and chatting.

Today I noticed that the red carpet had been rolled out at the hotel entrance.  It seems the First Minister of Sarawak is coming to stay.  Our second encounter in a week.  A few days ago the Saratok running track was turned into a parking lot for several helicopters as the Minister dropped in to press flesh.  National elections are looming and largesse is being spread around like there is no tomorrow.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!  I hope it's auspicious that Malaysia's elections are taking place in the Year of the Snake.