Bekenu
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Bekenu is a small fishing town near Miri, approximately 46 kilometres away from Miri city center. The town has a few very historical rows of wooden shophouses dating back to the 1930s, and a fish market with the usual food centers. The wooden shophouses are set to be demolished in February 2017.
There are also newer two-story concrete buildings that were completed in the 1970s. The fish and vegetables in the market are cheap and fresh, and many people go to Bekenu specifically for the fish and produce. Restaurants there serve exotic meat and dishes. Being a coastal town, Bungai beach near Bekenu is a beautiful place for a family outing or picnic. Bungai beach is adjacent to Tusan beach.
Bekenu originated when the Brooke Government established a small administrative district office on top of a hill overlooking the Bekenu rivermouth to collect some customs and excise and to maintain order.
Bekenu had a serious flood situation in 1962 when flood water levels completely inundated the town.
In the 1990s, Bekenu saw the palm oil industry gaining ground, and land transforming into oil palm plantations. The lingua franca in Bekenu is a mixture of Iban and Bahasa Sarawak, although other languages such as Malay, English and Chinese may be understood.
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A place of interest, Tusan Beach is a beautiful beach area near Tusan about an hour's travel time from the city. Along the smooth sandy beach, coral reefs, a waterfall, several cliffsides and a defining feature; a large cliff with a arch eroded through it dubbed the "Drinking Horse".
In the 1920s, these were the years when the Miri field began to decline. Exploration was carried out further and further afield. In 1926 an exploratory team had gone as far as Padang Barawa between the Sungai Seria and Sungai Barawa. Not much attention was paid to their findings then, but now with the Miri field declining the old maps and charts were taken out and studied again.
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