MIRI, SARAVAK, MALAYSIA - A City Unknown to Many Thais!

Miri, located in the state of Sarawak within the Malaysian federation, is on the island of Borneo. Sarawak is one of the four states in Malaysia without a Sultan as the head of state and is nearly as large as the entire East Malaysian region. It is the largest state in Malaysia but has a population of only 2.8 million people. To the north, it borders Brunei and the state of Sabah, and to the west, it borders Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sarawak was once part of Brunei, but James Brooke, a white man, was given the state of Sarawak as a reward for suppressing a rebellion and pirates. This made him the first white ruler of the state. After the British became involved in the Malay Peninsula, the Brooke family handed over Sarawak to the British to administer, and it was included as one of the 13 states in the formation of Malaysia. Miri is the city where the first oil well was discovered and drilled by Royal Dutch Shell (Shell), leading to the establishment of Shell's offices in the city. This state has been able to generate significant revenue for the federal government. However, the state still lacks a good public transportation system, such as trains (none) or city buses in Miri (none). Note: Sarawak has its own immigration system, which means travelers from the mainland must have their passports stamped again to enter this state. I wrote all of this because I read about it, forgot some details, and had to look up additional information. 555555 (Thai laughter) ------- The people of this city are very kind. Everyone I asked about their country of origin, and when they found out I was Thai, greeted me with 'Sawasdee krub' or 'Sawasdee ka'. They seemed surprised that we came from Thailand, as there are usually not many Thai tourists here. 🙏 Before coming to this city, the officers asked many questions before the flight, such as the reason for visiting Sarawak, how many days the stay would be, the next destination, and whether any accommodations were booked. Although I had all the necessary documents, it took a while to talk and wait for the Sarawak immigration to approve all the information before traveling, which took almost 30 minutes. 🤔