Hello Thursday, so long Mukah

I just got off the twin otter flight back from Mukah, and since I wasn't doing anything, thought I'd write about Mukah and all the three trips I've had. Actually, the time that I actually arrived at the Kuching Airport, still not used to calling it KIA, why do I even bother...

Have I ever mentioned that I loved flying. Until recently I was excited over flying in an ATR 72, Malaysia Airlines' latest addition to their domestic fleet for Sarawak. I was in for a surprise when I boarded the DHC6 Twin Otter which happens to be a 19-seater (I think, got this from Google), hmm I think in, the last time I boarded one of these was when I was about 6 or 7 to Marudi. So it has been, 25 years since I last boarded a Twin Otter. And oh-coincidentally, my friend had buzzed me over GTalk and had mentioned that to fly in a Twin Otter is in fact a blessing in disguise, as it is supposedly (as claimed by him, and others) is the safest plane for anybody to be flying in (or with). "If any of the engine fails (or both), the pilot can just glide the plane to safety", he says or somewhere along that line. The more reason for me to like the Twin Otter. I just love bumpy rides and for those who thinks that I may have had it meant the "other" way when I mentioned bumpy. Sorry to dissapoint you but it just literally means what it reads, b u m p y.

Back to the reason why I wanted to write this post: Mukah town. Let me just state a few interesting facts about Mukah.

• The Mukah airport is just 10 minutes away from the town itself
• The Mukah town itself basically comprises of the new township and the old market or 'lau pasat' (I don't know how to say old market in any other local dialects or languages)
• The tallest building in Mukah town is the Menara Pehin Seri Setiaraja (I have a funny thought with regards to the compound security which leads to this building, which is also agreed by a Land & Survey staff-friend of mine)
• The distance between the old market and Menara Pehin Seri is well measured in minutes on foot, and it's 20 minutes. How do I know? I talked the talk, and walked it myself.
  
• The distance between the new township and Menara Pehin Seri is it's a 10 minutes walk.
• The new township is right smack in the middle of your way if you're headed to Menara Pehin Seri.
• Driving around the Mukah town, well will just take you minutes for you to go around.
• The Mukah town is a laid-back likeable place.
• Finding halal food is easy, even when you're at a chinese coffee shop. There's only a handful of chinese coffee shop which are offlimits to Muslim food-goers.
• There are two type of Umai (or Umei, or you can pronounce it as 'Oooh-may'), the dipping type and the already mixed type.
• Is a haven for any sago related by-products, and of course Umai.
  
• The best way to go to Mukah is by flight, unless you prefer the 4-hours safari ride by bus from Sibu.
• If you happen to hear a conversation that sounds like Malay (not trying to offend any locals or anybody that speaks that particular widely used local dialect), and .. and .. when you notice yourself trying to strain your ears trying to understand just what the heck they are saying, then you're definitely hearing a conversation in Melanau. Don't bother yourself.

Tadaa.. more will come, as I prepare to get up from this toilet seat.