Miri Ride Report Day 3...

Day 3. 

Local Drink.

   Rest day for us. No more roasting riding today. Woke up from another round of knocking by Manta. Ouch...  Staying up till 4 am to drink with CT and CH is turning out to be a huge mistake now. With the head held between both hands, I crawled to the toilet searching for some relief. Peeing didn't help. Brushing my teeth didn't help either. Decided to take a crap. Nope. None of this works for hangover. I am screwed...
Today is supposed to be a city drive and long house visit later in the evening. And i look like a crashed out hippy.
   Took a cold shower and hope for the best. Somehow managed to vaguely crawl along behind Manta and King Kenny towards the cafe for breakfast. More laksa. Alberto, Judy and CH showed up and joined us. The rest was somewhere it seems.

Feeding time again.

   Had our share of food and headed back towards the hotel to wait for Dennis. The rest of the herd somehow found their way back to the hotel. Dennis as usual arrived with a smile. Boarded and found CT missing. Waited 5 minutes and CT came wiping his wet hands.

   " Sorry ah. Had to go again..." says CT.

   Off we went to search for dim sum. Arrived at the restaurant and found it packed to the brim. Decided it was probably smarter to just head to the nearby food court for food instead. Food court turned out to be an excellent choice. Wonderful tasty and cheap food. More lovely Mirian girls to ogle at.
   Dotty went on her third day of rampage. I tracked along behind her. Had to stop her at the third stall. Dragged her back and reminded her that the food will still be there if her 3 bowls did not fill her up. Dotty whimpered. Gave her a little slap. And pointed at Hanz looking on.
   The food arrived in droves. Spoons and chopsticks went flying. Somebody farted. Krankster burped. CT went to the loo again. In no time, all done and dusted. Dennis cringed and shooked his head. Gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. He knows now...
   City tour begins. First visit. Chinese temple. Without a doubt. The saying goes,   Thee commit sin. Thee prays for redemption in excess. 

Praying for forgiveness.

   Then it was towards the city and up towards Canada Hill for the obligatory visit to the Grand Old Lady of Miri before proceeding to drive around the marina and take in the view of all the palaces owned by the tycoons in town.

Grand Old Lady of Miri.

   Lunch at COCO Dive where DotM was waiting as usual. More chatter. CT returned and proudly declared the toilet is clean and free. From his third visit today. Dennis looked at CT in utter amazement. No choice but to tell Dennis.

   " Dennis, this is our most accomplished shitter. He shits a minimum of 10 times in a day. He introduces himself as CT. In real fact, we call him Raja Taik. Please excuse him. "

Pre Longhouse visit.

   As a polite Mirian, Dennis merely nods and pats me on the shoulder. Sigh. He knows now our suffering.
   Lunch done. The excitement builds up. It's the long house visit now!!! Kenny could barely contain himself. Finally , the Iban princess is finally within his reach and grasp. Kenny was hopping like a puppy on heat. Hanz grabbed the soya sauce. I held Hanz back. Dotty burped and grabbed the last piece of curry chicken.

Long long house.

   Into the van we went. The long house we will be visiting is called Entualang LongHouse. Located about 45 minutes away. PeteW took out his whisky. He had to have it to calm his nerves. Kenny sweated. CH melted. Jesse blinked. CT wanted to go again, PeteW offered his whisky. CT held it back. For now, all is calm.
   Lotsa rubber necking along the way. Passed by beautiful mountain ranges and forest. Finally arrived at Entualang.


   When they call it long house. They were not joking. It really is long..... Almost 200 feet in length. We were all in awe. And there was 3 longhouses back to back! I was literally speechless. That is a long long house...
 Into the longhouse we went. First house was the obligatory visit to the headman's house. The headman was not home. The daughter in law came out instead.

   Manta's heart dropped.
   Alberto's dentures almost flew out.
   Kenny engaged his big chain ring.
   CT asked permisssion to visit the toilet.
   Alberto picked up his dentures.

Manta holding on to his heart for dear life.

   This is what we have been missing in the West. We have been shortchanged all these while. The Iban girls are a sight to behold. Beautiful people they are. Cameras came out flying. Plenty photos taken. The headman's daughter in law must feel like a Korean Rock Star. I was lost for words. Thank god for the tuak. The tuak was a blessing really. It helped the Manta calm his heart. Alberto obviously needed something to drink. Tuak came fast and furious. Lovely drink this tuak. Each household has their own distinct signature. Some tuak taste like sake while others actually is pandan flavoured. There was even one that tasted like warm toddy.
   Our host, Amy took us on the longhouse walk. She brought us to the next longhouse where her friend stays. Long walk. You have to actually do it to understand the magnitude and length of one longhouse. And we had 3 longhouses to walk today. Hooraayy... And walk we did.
   We arrived at Amy's friend place. Knocked on the door and the entire herd gingerly walked in. Her 2 daughters came out from their room to see what the noise and commotion was.

Dowry discussion with Judy.

  
   Manta's heart dropped again.
   Alberto's dentures flew out.
   Kenny cramped up.
   CT asked permisssion to visit the toilet again.
   Alberto picked up his dentures again.
   Jesse fainted.

   This longhouse visit is turning out to be a real eye opener. Tuak is lovely. I really enjoyed having it. If you had not tried it. Try it. Trust me. It's not that scary. The taste is very calm and aromatic. Having pretty Iban girls to serve you makes the experience heavenly.
   The Iban girls. Wow... Words fail me. Sociable, pretty, sweet and the most polite you can imagine. It's no wonder first time visitor's gets blown away. Tuak and the Iban girls are a very potent combination. Especially after the 6th glass. And do not think the girls only force the tuak upon you. They actually take on the tuak themself and you are obliged to keep up. Kenny had his first drink in 54 years. Can't quite blame him really. His hands was shaking when the Iban girl served him. Big chain ring engaged tight and truly. Grind away. Race mode on!!!

   Our 3 hours visit was up. We had to say our good byes and leave for Miri town.

   The deafening silence during the ride back was heart wrenching. Kenny got teary eyed. CT had cold sweat. CH was grinning to himself. Dotty's tummy growled. Manta was still holding on to his heart.

   "Having to leave so soon felt almost like a caveman tooth extraction..." says Alberto. Poor man was in agony.

   Dinner at Apollo's. The restaurant in town if you ever visit Miri. DotM was as usual, present and made sure arrangement was ready for our arrival. Food and beer ordered. The usual chit chat. More beer. The herd was slowly being fed food and beer to help forget their longhouse heart break. Most everyone had their share of crab, prawn and ferns. Excellent food and company helped ease the pain. Alberto chewed in silence. Kenny was still stuck in big ring. CT took another dump. Dotty grabbed the last prawn.

   Dinner done. It was off to Ming Cafe for drinks. The local watering hole. The place to be seen. Service is excellent. Drinks came very quickly. Lady boss friendly and nice. Lotsa laughter and finger pointing. CT did his usual inspection of the toilet. Return pleased with himself. Kenny tried his best to disengage.
   The night came and ended early. Before you realize. It was time to head back to the hotel and prepare for departure the next morning.
   The herd trooped back in silence....
 
   Dark night is upon us.