Bintulu

I can never forget this town. This is a peaceful old town in the state of Sarawak, East Malaysia. I was there the last few days for a site meeting. Though the outcome of the meeting depresses me - and the depression was made worse by my coming back home - I was happy to have lived a few days of slow paced life, walking around with no real aims or purpse (well, I do have some work that needs to be done).

The old Bintulu town (the area Hotel Royal was located) - as the name suggests - was the former city centre of the place. The former Bintulu airport runway is situated no more than 300m from my hotel, and was in the Guinness for being the only airport situated in the heart of a town. Every time I passed the air strip, I was taken over by the rustic charm it exuded.

Life was slowed, not physically, but really, on the whole. Order a meal at a cafe and the eatery will take their time. One morning, I ordered a chicken porridge for breakfast and it never came until after 15 minutes - slow by Singapore standards. But within the 15 minutes, I switched between lazy gazes at the morning traffic (2 meters away from my seat) and the culinary act of the stalkeeper, who attentively watch the fire to my porridge and pinching in the right amount of salt into it. She then scooped a sample of the porridge and tasted it and was satisfied that it was ready to be served, and I was.

The next time I had to visit this place again, I do not know whether this kind of lifestyle will still be an available option to me. But this trip has been a real different experience for me.