Miri Old Town

The bustling Old Town comprising High Street, China Street, Jalan Bendahara and Kingway Street are the heart of Miri. Shops selling Chinese drugs, kitchen utensils, clothing, groceries and all necessities of life, line the busy streets. Goods overflow the premises, right out into the five-foot way.

Brighton Beach

Located next to the city centre, Brighton Beach was Miri’s first recreational park; it is still very popular. Outdoor facilities include a children’s playground, and the open-air food centre ‘Taman Selera’ where evening diners enjoy first-class seafood, and a glorious sunset thrown in for free! A land filled pier extends out into the sea for a different view of Miri’s coastline.

Sibuti Beach

Sibuti Beach, about an hour’s drive from Miri, is a getaway spot for city dwellers who wish to commune with nature. Bekenu town with its seafood market is just 15 minutes’ drive away.

Taman Bulatan -Roundabout Park

Taman Bulatan is a favourite walking and jogging venue. It features a clock tower, fish fountain, man-made lake with little paddleboats, and a children’s playground.

Canada Hill

The original name of this hill is no longer remembered. In 1910, when a motley crew of petroleum workers from all parts of the world descended upon Miri, a team of Canadian engineers were drilling, pumping the black gold and making themselves noticed in other ways on the ridge behind the town. Locals started to call the location ‘Canada Hill’ and the name stucked.

The hilltop is still crowned by Miri’s and Malaysia’s first oil well, affectionately known as the ‘Grand Old Lady’. It is a fine lookout point over Miri and the offshore drilling sites. Today the old well shares her vantagepoint with the Petroleum Museum, a popular visitor’s attraction.

Soon Hup Farm

Located at Sungai Rait, Bakam, 30 minutes’ drive from Miri, lies a tropical fruit garden that doubles as a venue for outdoor activities such as mountain biking, cross-country trekking, swimming and fishing. This farm also provides accommodation and function facilities. Contact Tel: (6 085) 432432 (Mega Hotel, Miri) for information.

Kabuloh Agricultural Station

This centre conducts agricultural research on important crops, such as the exotic ‘Miracle’ Fruit, and provides aqua-cultural training for farmers from the northern region of Sarawak.

Gurdwara Sahib Miri

This is one of the few structures unscathed aerial bombings during World War II. Located about a kilometer from the city centre, in the shade of an 100-year-old Angsana tree, this temple was built in 1919 by the Sikh community.. Sikh Temple - Cr. Narmal Singh Tel: (6 085) 439557

Tua Pek Tong

According to local belief, Miri experienced a mysterious epidemic in 1913. The oil boom and its attendant population explosion, unmatched by improved sanitation, probably had something to do with this, but many locals believed that it was caused by evil spirits. A Buddhist monk was invited to perform a spiritpacifying ritual, and the epidemic subsided. The Tua Pek Kong’s shrine was built as a thank-offering; it underwent major renovations in 1972. Tua Pek Kong - Kapitan Khoo Choo Ken Tel: (6 085) 41212

Miri City Fan

The award-winning City Fan is a complex of theme gardens, an amphitheater, a public library with a state-of-the-art ‘Electronic library’, a public swimming pool and an indoor stadium.

Luak Bay Esplanade

Luak Bay Esplanade, about 15 minutes’ drive from city, is the perfect place for barbecues, seaside picnics and strolling on the sandy beach. It has plenty of parking space, and stalls selling cold drinks and coconut juice.

Taman Awam Miri

Taman Awam Miri lies three kilometer from the city centre. This landscaped park includes a botanical garden, a souvenir shop, canteen, observatory platform, children’s playground, exhibition rooms, stone carvings and sculptures, fountains, pavilions, jogging track and soft sport facilities.

Taman Bunga - Flower Garden

The flower garden is both ornamental and educational. Display cards list botanical names and characteristics of the plant material.

Miri Airport Road Outcrop

This one is strictly for geology buffs: three kilometres from the city centre is the ‘Miri Airport Road Outcrop’, visible evidence of how rock and soil layers were deposited, 10 to 15 million years ago. The outcrop presents clear testimony that the today’s land, Miri and all, was under the sea at that time.

Miri Crocodile Farm cum Mini Zoo

The 22-acre Crocodile Farm is about 20 minutes’ drive from Miri. Besides more than a thousand salt and fresh water crocodiles, there is also a Snake House, a small zoo, and fishponds where visitors are allowed to fish. For a real thrill, visitors are advised to drop in at feeding time. For information please call (6 085) 604108.

Mosques

The 20-year-old Al-Taqwa Mosque has meeting rooms, a religious library and burial preparation facilities. Other mosques in and around the city are the Masjid Jemak at Jalan Merbau, Masjid Darul Ehsan at Piasau Jaya, Masjid Nurul Iman at Kampung Masjid, Kuala Baram and Masjid Darul Khaira at Kampung Bakam. Masjid Al-Taqwa Miri Cr. Haji Radzali bin Hj. Alision Tel: (6 085) 412291

Chinese Temples

San Ching Tian: Opened in 2000, this is one of the largest Taoist temples in South East Asia, cared for by Buddhist monks. It draws many Taoist devotees to Miri. Located in Krokop, it is only a five minutes’ drive from the city centre.