BRUNEI TRIP 2008
PROLOGUE
Weeks ago, my mom saw this advertisement in the newspaper. Royal Brunei Airlines is offering package tour to Brunei for a reasonable price. I was asked to call them to inquire for further details. My mom wasn't seem convinced enough to pursue this travel.It so happened that my aunt just came from her trip to Boracay and she wants to find another place to travel. Just 2 days prior to departure, my mom told me to book the whole travel package. It feels so surreal that Saturday everning when we were about to leave. I did my last minute packing of my stuff, had a quick dinner and headed for the airport to catch my flight.
BRUNEI TRAVEL
ON PLACES
What made me wanna go there is that idea of entering a mosque without any fear of getting kidnapped or whatnot. There are lots of them! I just learned that they should take off their shoes before entering their sacred place, without worrying that their shoes might be stolen by somebody else.
Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
Jame 'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque
Who would expect to find waterfalls walking distance from the city center? Tasek Waterfalls is about 20 minutes away from our hotel on foot. We walked under the heat of the sun, but it's worth seeing.
The palace is only open during Hari Raya with free buffet meal for everyone and 5 Brunei dollars for all kids 12 years old and below. Unfortunately, it's not Hari Raya when we were there. We only reached the gates, which the street in front of it is lighted up because it's the sultan's birthday.
We were supposed to go to an amusement park but it's closed during daytime. To save all efforts for that trip, the cab driver took us to this place that we never imagined we can enter....Empire Hotel is a palace converted to a 6-star hotel & resort. They usually accommodate only checked-in guests, but the cab driver somehow managed to talk to the guards to let us in. At lease we don't have to pay 3000 Brunei Dollars to get in.
Brunei is not a place to shop. They don't have much of their local products, except for oil. One time, we asked a Filipina what she usually takes home as pasalubong. She said, "Minsan chocolate, minsan Palmolive (bar soap) kasi mura, 1 dollar yung tatlo."
We found a difficult time disposing our Brunei dollars, coz there is nothing to buy. Here is the image of their biggest mall, called The Mall.
We also visited 2 other museums, but I'm not a big fan of museums.... too lazy to include them in my blog.
ON FOOD
Most of the stuff I had there are part of the package tour. It's great to have a daily buffet breakfast at the hotel. I can have my daily dose of laksa and roti prata with cheese, among others.
Any meal is not complete without sweets. Their sperical-shaped doughnut + cream puff in one beats my fav Krispy Kreme.
The hotel also offers the Brunei version of Hainanese Chicken Rice. They call it simply Chicken Rice. They have big servings, that no one in our group was able to finish the set meal.
They also have their version of the Cold Rock Ice Cream which they call Teppanyaki Ice Cream. This photo is courtesy of Rodan, the cemara-shy Pinoy food attendant in the hotel performing this mixing of ice cream & other stuff.
Lunch in the hotel has nothing special to offer, except for their generous selections of desserts.
When we detoured into this 6-star hotel, we have no choice but to stay there for lunch. Their Nasi Goreng is nothing great for the price. Nevertheless, the I never regretted ending up there coz of the specacular view and the priviledge of entering a former palace.
Who would think of eating shabu-shabu in a fine-dining Italian restau? Our dinner included in the packege tour was in an Italian Restaurant serving Steam Boat (Shabu-shabu). Weird? Yes, it's weird, but it's yummy! It's a huge serving of seafood and a lighter version of tom-yum soup.
The next day, we want to try a Chinese restaurant recommended by our cab driver, who just pointed at the building where the restaurant is. We went up the building and found ourselves in a maze. A friendly Indian guy with a big black turban showed us the hidden way to get there. Yeah, another weird thing... an Indian guy showing us the Chinese restaurant...How did he know that there's a hidden way to get up there?
Any trip is incomplete without a dose of their street food.
After eating in the "hidden" Chinese restaurant, I felt that I just had a partial meal due to absence of sweets. While walking home, I suddenly saw this familiar thing... a waffle maker!!! If HK only has waffle + peanut butter, Brunei offers waffle + peanut butter and waffle + kaya. I got my fav peanut butter and had my dessert with coffee in my cozy hotel room.
I know my trip involves lots of food. Can't help it. Now let's move on.
ON ARCHITECTURE
One thing I like about their architecture is the way they design based on function. They are influenced by other cultures, but they stick to what is suitable to them.
Most people have cars. The ground floor of residential buildings are normally used as parking, whcih means cars are not clutters on streets. It's also common to install bris soleil (sunbreakers) in their buildings suitable for the hot climate.
This is a relatively new development with lots of overhangs. Other portions of this site has lots of trees.
Any relatively new office building in Manila would mean a mimick of the western high rise buildings with neat glass curtain walls all over depending highly on mechanical systems for cooling, and a parking space that is never enough for the demand. They look nice from the outside, but in function, they're not. When I saw this office building, I stared at it for a while wondering if it's really and office building. It has spacious balconies, planted, and has a huge parking space (not in the picture).
In general, houses there are huge, especially the living area, coz they usually have family gatherings and events within their own property. (Unlike here wherein people block the streets for their personal interest.)
clockwise from top left: 1 & 2. Houses in Kampong Ayer (Water Village) 3. A typical set up in a house for weddings 4. Tea and biscuits are usually served to guests 5. Interior of a house in Kampong Ayer.
ON PEOPLE
Brunei people consists of their locals, Chinese, Indians, Indonesians, and lots and lots of Filipinos. I've met a lot of locals who can already speak Tagalog because of the influence of their Filipino friends.
The people of Brunei seem to have a happy disposition in general. They are very very friendly and hospitable, incomparable to the people of all other countries I've been to. I wonder if it's because they have a worry-free life courtesy of their Sultan. Imagine a place where there is no such thing as income tax and other salary-related deductions, and where the high-end gasoline costs about 17Php/liter!
EPILOGUE
Brunei is a small country where people seem to have a perfect world. Watching their local news is boring. They splurge a long segment showing their sultan's leisure activity for the day, coz nothing interesting is happening. They're just well-off and that's it.
I am used to living in a place where everyday is a challenge for everyone, where there headlines are always big news, and where tomorrow is not always the same as today.
After exploring Brunei,I still cannot imagine myself migrating to a place like that. I realized that if my world is perfect, it would drive me crazy.
Weeks ago, my mom saw this advertisement in the newspaper. Royal Brunei Airlines is offering package tour to Brunei for a reasonable price. I was asked to call them to inquire for further details. My mom wasn't seem convinced enough to pursue this travel.It so happened that my aunt just came from her trip to Boracay and she wants to find another place to travel. Just 2 days prior to departure, my mom told me to book the whole travel package. It feels so surreal that Saturday everning when we were about to leave. I did my last minute packing of my stuff, had a quick dinner and headed for the airport to catch my flight.
BRUNEI TRAVEL
ON PLACES
What made me wanna go there is that idea of entering a mosque without any fear of getting kidnapped or whatnot. There are lots of them! I just learned that they should take off their shoes before entering their sacred place, without worrying that their shoes might be stolen by somebody else.
Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
Jame 'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque
Who would expect to find waterfalls walking distance from the city center? Tasek Waterfalls is about 20 minutes away from our hotel on foot. We walked under the heat of the sun, but it's worth seeing.
The palace is only open during Hari Raya with free buffet meal for everyone and 5 Brunei dollars for all kids 12 years old and below. Unfortunately, it's not Hari Raya when we were there. We only reached the gates, which the street in front of it is lighted up because it's the sultan's birthday.
We were supposed to go to an amusement park but it's closed during daytime. To save all efforts for that trip, the cab driver took us to this place that we never imagined we can enter....Empire Hotel is a palace converted to a 6-star hotel & resort. They usually accommodate only checked-in guests, but the cab driver somehow managed to talk to the guards to let us in. At lease we don't have to pay 3000 Brunei Dollars to get in.
Brunei is not a place to shop. They don't have much of their local products, except for oil. One time, we asked a Filipina what she usually takes home as pasalubong. She said, "Minsan chocolate, minsan Palmolive (bar soap) kasi mura, 1 dollar yung tatlo."
We found a difficult time disposing our Brunei dollars, coz there is nothing to buy. Here is the image of their biggest mall, called The Mall.
We also visited 2 other museums, but I'm not a big fan of museums.... too lazy to include them in my blog.
ON FOOD
Most of the stuff I had there are part of the package tour. It's great to have a daily buffet breakfast at the hotel. I can have my daily dose of laksa and roti prata with cheese, among others.
Any meal is not complete without sweets. Their sperical-shaped doughnut + cream puff in one beats my fav Krispy Kreme.
The hotel also offers the Brunei version of Hainanese Chicken Rice. They call it simply Chicken Rice. They have big servings, that no one in our group was able to finish the set meal.
They also have their version of the Cold Rock Ice Cream which they call Teppanyaki Ice Cream. This photo is courtesy of Rodan, the cemara-shy Pinoy food attendant in the hotel performing this mixing of ice cream & other stuff.
Lunch in the hotel has nothing special to offer, except for their generous selections of desserts.
When we detoured into this 6-star hotel, we have no choice but to stay there for lunch. Their Nasi Goreng is nothing great for the price. Nevertheless, the I never regretted ending up there coz of the specacular view and the priviledge of entering a former palace.
Who would think of eating shabu-shabu in a fine-dining Italian restau? Our dinner included in the packege tour was in an Italian Restaurant serving Steam Boat (Shabu-shabu). Weird? Yes, it's weird, but it's yummy! It's a huge serving of seafood and a lighter version of tom-yum soup.
The next day, we want to try a Chinese restaurant recommended by our cab driver, who just pointed at the building where the restaurant is. We went up the building and found ourselves in a maze. A friendly Indian guy with a big black turban showed us the hidden way to get there. Yeah, another weird thing... an Indian guy showing us the Chinese restaurant...How did he know that there's a hidden way to get up there?
Any trip is incomplete without a dose of their street food.
After eating in the "hidden" Chinese restaurant, I felt that I just had a partial meal due to absence of sweets. While walking home, I suddenly saw this familiar thing... a waffle maker!!! If HK only has waffle + peanut butter, Brunei offers waffle + peanut butter and waffle + kaya. I got my fav peanut butter and had my dessert with coffee in my cozy hotel room.
I know my trip involves lots of food. Can't help it. Now let's move on.
ON ARCHITECTURE
One thing I like about their architecture is the way they design based on function. They are influenced by other cultures, but they stick to what is suitable to them.
Most people have cars. The ground floor of residential buildings are normally used as parking, whcih means cars are not clutters on streets. It's also common to install bris soleil (sunbreakers) in their buildings suitable for the hot climate.
This is a relatively new development with lots of overhangs. Other portions of this site has lots of trees.
Any relatively new office building in Manila would mean a mimick of the western high rise buildings with neat glass curtain walls all over depending highly on mechanical systems for cooling, and a parking space that is never enough for the demand. They look nice from the outside, but in function, they're not. When I saw this office building, I stared at it for a while wondering if it's really and office building. It has spacious balconies, planted, and has a huge parking space (not in the picture).
In general, houses there are huge, especially the living area, coz they usually have family gatherings and events within their own property. (Unlike here wherein people block the streets for their personal interest.)
clockwise from top left: 1 & 2. Houses in Kampong Ayer (Water Village) 3. A typical set up in a house for weddings 4. Tea and biscuits are usually served to guests 5. Interior of a house in Kampong Ayer.
ON PEOPLE
Brunei people consists of their locals, Chinese, Indians, Indonesians, and lots and lots of Filipinos. I've met a lot of locals who can already speak Tagalog because of the influence of their Filipino friends.
The people of Brunei seem to have a happy disposition in general. They are very very friendly and hospitable, incomparable to the people of all other countries I've been to. I wonder if it's because they have a worry-free life courtesy of their Sultan. Imagine a place where there is no such thing as income tax and other salary-related deductions, and where the high-end gasoline costs about 17Php/liter!
EPILOGUE
Brunei is a small country where people seem to have a perfect world. Watching their local news is boring. They splurge a long segment showing their sultan's leisure activity for the day, coz nothing interesting is happening. They're just well-off and that's it.
I am used to living in a place where everyday is a challenge for everyone, where there headlines are always big news, and where tomorrow is not always the same as today.
After exploring Brunei,I still cannot imagine myself migrating to a place like that. I realized that if my world is perfect, it would drive me crazy.
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