When I returned to the Miri marina from provisioning with a friend, there was an entirely new class of transportation lined up in front of the well-used sailboats and Malaysian Marine ships. One metallic blue machine edged out onto the wooden platform over the water, wooden boards creaking loudly underneath. OK, it didn’t actually go off the dock, but I’m sure I’m not the only person to hold my breath and visualize it happening when they cracked just a little. Even the driver of the most pedestrian Proton sedan knows better than to leave the sandy scrub of the parking lot, but they aren’t usually after a photo op.
Enter the Miri Fancypants Car Club, members of which were apparently bored on a Saturday and decided to hang out at the marina taking selfies with their cars (seriously) while a pro buzzed around grabbing shots for a magazine. Actually, they had a more proper name for themselves, with windshield stickers and everything, but I forget what it was. The collection of high end cars- Ferraris, Maseratis, an Aston Martin, a Lamborghini, and other vehicles I simply don’t have the right genetic makeup to identify- was just not what expected to see coming back from a jaunt for groceries.
We got around Miri on more prosaic transportation.
Bicycles, rented for 10 ringgit per week (about $3.30). Remember how a bike gave you wings as a child? That’s how our kids have been this week, flying around on their own wheels. They are happy to be sent with errands (baguettes from the bakery, so we catch them in the brief window after delivery and before they’re sold out) or just tool around the nearly street winding out to the marina.
Would we put bikes on the boat? With five of us, we just don't have the room. But we're big walkers, and so far, it's only been the occasional place where we really wish we had bikes. Miri was one of them, and it worked out just fine.
