Sri Simanggang Hotel, Sri Aman, Sarawak

If you are looking for a two-day and one-night trip, why not visit Sri Aman? It's just a two-hour drive from Kuching. Start your journey in the morning, and you'll reach there by afternoon.

My hotel of choice was Sri Simanggang. It's still considered a new hotel, on the date that this blog was written.

At present, it's the tallest building in Sri Aman: 9-storey majestic looking building, located at the centre of Sri Aman.

Sri Simanggang Hotel

Well, since it's new, you can expect that everything was in good condition and order. Let's explore the room shall we?

This is the hallway to your room. I liked it because it's brightly lit, clean and also a non-smoking level. Do not worry about safety, because, there's a cctv on the hallway.

I chose twin bedroom because there were three other occupants with me, but the breakfast coupons remained 2. 

Near the windows, there were two comfy seats for you to sit and chat with your roommate while enjoying the complimentary coffee which can be placed on the round coffee table. You also get a nice dressing table for make up. 

You'll find two drinking water bottles, a box of tissue paper, two tea cups and a water heater, a feedback form, etc placed neatly on the dressing table.

This closet was definitely useful for someone who didn't like his/her clothes folded. You can hang your clothes inside as it has a few hangers. 

The washroom was magnificent. Clean but it would be nicer if it was brighter. More light bulbs or downlights please....

The toiletry is sufficient for a simple traveller like me. They gave me a soap, two bottles of shampoos and a pair of toothbrushes with toothpastes. 

There's a single sink and a large mirror in the washroom.

And finally, the TV. It's nice to discover that,  when I turned on the TV, I could watch TV shows in the hotel room. I'm saying this because in some hotels or Inns, you couldn't watch any TV  shows in their rooms. But not Sri Simanggang. 

Well done to Sri Simanggang. I enjoyed my stay there. This hotel is fully recommended for travellers. 

Trip to Susung Waterfall, Bengoh

Although I am not active in hiking as before, the hobby is still deeply rooted in me. All I need is the right people and the right time to make it happen. Coincidentally, my brother had planned a hike to Susung Waterfall, Bengoh in April 2018. So, I quickly signed up for it.

Of course, I asked my brother a few questions before going there since I'm not fit as I used to be. Some of my questions were "How far is it?", "Do we have to climb?", "Is the trek easy?" and "Is the waterfall worth visiting?". With a smile on his face, he told me that I could easily beat all the obstacles and I'm going to be fine. 

Safety briefing by my brother.

Happy Faces!

At first, not many signed up for the trip, but after a month promoting it, we finally had 34 participants. To reach Susung waterfall, we used boats and the boat ride was super fun especially looking at the beautiful view of Bengoh dam and touching the cold fresh water. However, I didn't see any fish in it. 

That's my brother in grey t-shirt.

The journey by boat took about 30 minutes (one way). But the walking towards the waterfall was less fun because the terrain was quite rough and hilly. I stopped a few times to catch my breath and a friend of mine, who was a nurse, said "Your cardio is weak". Hehe...

Posing for photograph in front of the registration/ticket counter.

Oh I forgot to mention that, going there wasn't free. Each one of us had to pay RM10.00 (return ticket) for the boat ride and another RM10.00 for the guide. 

I had to admit that Susung Waterfall was worth visiting even though the trek was a bit challenging. However the challenging part could be overcome by anyone, even by someone who wasn't fit. It offered cold and tall waterfall. If you don't swim here, I would say it's your lost. 

My colleagues taking photograph

Me, with my tired look.

We spent a few hour swimming and eating there. The two man-made shelters there helped us to relax and keep our bags but please, if you go there, do not look for proper washrooms because there isn't. 

Finally, when it's time for us to head home, we took a group photo in remembrance of this trip. Given a chance in future, I would come to this place again. Till then...bye bye!

Logging off

12.00 PM

Sunday

Are you up to the challenge?

I think comparing jobs is not fair because every job is important and has its own challenges. I once wished I could be a gardener because I thought their job was easier than mine and had less things to worry about. 

But one day, I sat with one of our school gardeners and exchanged thoughts. She proved me wrong. All that wonderful thoughts I had about being a gardener wasn't true. She had her own worries and mostly related to financial difficulties. According to her, it's hard to send her children to further studies or buy a car because banks won't let her borrow money. And when it comes to healthcare, she couldn't afford to pay private doctors for instant treatments. She's also worried about her contract which was coming to an end...and the list went on and on and on...

But again, even though teachers are paid better than the gardeners, their problems doubled. They  have to fix their own problems and the students'. The two places in this world that require extra care and attention are The School (entry) and The Hospital (exit). Children are educated and brought up in the school for 12 years before they can enter the real world.

Teachers do not have the benefit of choosing who they want to teach. They accept students as who they are and this pose a big challenge to them. They could be dealing with 101 different personalities and attitudes at a time in a class. Without patient and wisdom, a teacher may breakdown due to mental challenge. 

The multitasking is wider than the ocean till some work had to be done at home thus affecting quality time with families. Burdening teaching hours, implementing extra academic and non-academic programmes in schools, completing paper work, doing presentation, entertaining audits, and meeting deadlines are all the tasks that make working from 8 to 5 pm impossible. 

Teachers need to meet the society's expectations where failures are unacceptable and deemed incompetent. Every time a student fail, grades dropping, dropouts increasing and disciplinary issues arising, teachers do not only report but have to assess and solve the problems. With limited knowledge and authority, some problems remained unresolved. 

I would conclude that in teaching profession, one needs to be strong, patient and adaptive to any situation. Without these three important elements, it's better not to jump into this profession yet but consider building your characters first. 

Logging off

8.45 PM

Wednesday

Ranchan Pool Gets Rebranded and Facelifted

Ranchan Pool is not alien to the locals and almost everyone in town has been there. I started going there since form 1, for many reasons of course! dating, sports training, class retreat, camping and hanging out with friends casually. Back then, it was seen as the best place to unwind myself from the stressful life as a student. 

Ranchan before 2018 (photo credit to Mandarin Orange Blog)

I remembered the time after I quit my job in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan in 2000, Ranchan pool was one of the spots I didn't miss visiting in my homecoming list. Even until today, I still go there for a short ride and drink. 

Let me see...oh yeah.....my last visit to Ranchan Pool was in May 2018, a day after Pakatan Harapan won the 14th General Election and took over Malaysia's leadership. I quickly texted my best ridding buddies, inviting them to join me for a short ride.

The best Kolo Mee in Baki Old town. 

On our way to Ranchan Pool, we had a stop to treat ourselves with the best Kolo Mee in Old Baki Bazaar. We had a good chat about the 14th General Election and just like many other Malaysians, the historical moment overwhelmed us because the election results were unexpected. Then, after an hour, we headed towards Ranchan Pool on our bikes.

When I reached there, I was truly amazed by its new look. Modern but with a bit of Chinese touch there. Now they name it as Ranchan Point. In case you are wondering, the renovation was only done at the entrance and the old restaurant was demolished to receive a totally new look. But as in June 2018, the restaurant was still closed. Please take note yeah?

The new restaurant

I believe that these changes are good for business because everyone looks forward to progress. People do not like old and lame spots for a retreat right? Furthermore, it has the potential to be a tourist popular stop by spot before they to any other tourist destinations. So why wait folks? There's no entrance fee. Haha!

Logging off

6.50 PM

Tuesday

Anchor Food Professionals Brings a Piece of Global Food Trend to Kuching, Sarawak

Pizzas and burgers are meals that I would go for when I have the craving for Western Food. I am glad that these two menu are available with different brands and outlets in Kuching. The best thing about them is that they keep on improving from time to time to meet our demand for tasty food. Thanks to entrepreneurs because they are the ones who always have new ideas to sell. 

The recent campaign I attended was by Anchor Food Professionals and they call it as PizzArt. I thought I was going to be served with a bottle of beer with a Pizza, but I was wrong (Thank goodness). This group has nothing to do with beer but rather in the food and dairy product industry. Check out their website if you want to know more at https://www.anchorfoodprofessionals.com . 

Food prepared at Osome Wood Fired Pizza is cooked using wood

At the campaign, they proudly announced the Ultimeat Pizza and the PizzBurger that are selling at RM18.99 each. Don't complain about the price yeah? They both can be eaten by two persons and considering the ingredients, dressing and the presentation which are the state of the art. Another merit point to be considered as priceless would be the culinary skills of Anchor Food Professionals Hot Cooking Chefs who came out with these two new dishes. 

The Outer part of Pizza Roll

The inner part of Pizza Roll

For your information, the Pizza Roll oozes cheesiness with every bite as it's stuffed with Anchor Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, Anchor Shredded Parmesan Cheese and Anchor Colby and Cheddar Cheese, Masala meat and spinach. 

The Pizz Burger

And the Pizz Burger is Malaysian favourite. It features a succulent grilled minced meat patty stuffed with Anchor Mozzarella Shredded Cheese, Anchor Colby and Cheddar Cheese and baked in light crust with Anchor Butter.

Ultimeat Pizza (Chicken)

Ultimeat Pizza (Meat)

Meanwhile, the wholesome Ultimeat Pizza ambitiously features a pizza base made entirely out of ground meat deep fried to crusty perfection before being baked with Anchor mixed cheese on top, great for sharing with loved ones. 

An Inspiring momento by Anchor's Director, Ms Linda Tan said that "her team is always ready to take up challenge of drawing inspiration from worldwide trends and adapting them locally to help their partners ahead of the culinary curve using the best dairy by Ancbor". Wow! This is a total commitment by Anchor! 

So where do they sell these 2 new dishes? Not Pizza Hut or Bella Italia? Hahaha! You can purchase them from Osome Wood Fired Pizza in Kuching, Chillax Cafe' and Bistro in Miri and Bistecca & Bistro in Sibu, U Pizzeria in Subang, Pizza House in Bandar Utama Selangor, Pizza 185 in Bandar Puchong Jaya, The Butcher's Table in Petaling Jaya, US Pizza in Bayan Lepas & Georgetown, Penang and Bukit Mertajam, Mustard Sandwich House and Food & Desire in Ipoh, Perak, HungryBear at Bukit Beruang, Melaka, The Chubs Grill and Mad Ben Cafe in Kota Kinabalu Sabah.

A skillful Chef from Osome Wood Fired Pizza preparing meals for us. 

The Sarawak Bloggers Society Members taking photo with the staff from Anchor Food Professionals and the owner of Osome Wood Fired Pizza, Kuching.

Oh by the way, during the campaign, I enjoyed laughing at the 5 customers who participated in the fastest burger eating challenge. They surely had big appetite. But, I wasn't sure who won actually, because I didn't ask. Hahaha!

So, what do I think about the whole thing? 

My answer is