Blogs from Brunei, Asia - page 10

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Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan March 6th 2010

We always look forward to visiting Singapore as it is rapidly becoming one of our favorite ports of call. It is especially nice to arrive in the oasis of calm after visiting all of the megacities in Asia. Every time we come to Singapore we discover a new and interesting neighborhood or market or person. This trip we went with Jeanne in her private car on a tour of the city. We had lunch in a restaurant in a former convent school which was built in the 1800s. CHIJMES (Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus…) is a group of beautiful old buildings with high ceilings and grand staircases where former classrooms have been turned into chic arts and crafts shops and the girls’ cafeteria is now a lovely Chinese restaurant. After lunch we made the obligatory ... read more
Welcome to Singapore!
Jeanne & Guide Lee
Raffles Long Bar

Asia » Brunei February 28th 2010

Squeezed between the Malaysian state of Sarawak and the South China Sea, on the vast island of Borneo, the tiny sultanate of Brunei Darussalam is unlike any other Southeast Asian nation. Ruled by the same family since the 14th century, it became a British protectorate in 1888 and made a living from trade before oil was discovered in 1929. Today, the oil is still flowing, and for its size, Brunei is one of the richest countries in the world, and its people are benefiting with free public education and health care. Over 80% of Brunei is mountainous rainforest, with hundreds of thousands of acres still classed as virgin territory. Brunei’s 29th Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, has ruled since 1967. A fascinating character, the Sultan was once listed as the wealthiest man in the world, with a fortune ... read more
More Greeters
Hey, Mister Tamborine Men!
A Local Market

Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan December 10th 2009

Early morning, in Miri, I got up and called for a taxi to the bus station. It was going to be a long day, because according to the lonely planet, I was going to have to change buses 3 or 4 times before I would get to Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB), Brunei's capital and my next port of call. Miri is only 25km from the border with Brunei, and when the taxi driver offered me a good deal to go straight to the border, I said GO: that's at least one change of transport less... After dropping me at the border, I checked out of Malaysia and I had to walk to the Brunei side. A guy from Malaysia, his name is Keith, drove by and asked if I wanted a ride. OK, I said! Border ... read more
Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque
Doing what all Asians do!
Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan November 22nd 2009

We made the round trip back to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah from the Philippines because of the 21 day visa limit. Of course you can extend the visa but we'd planned to do this when we returned and flying in and out of the country was a cheaper alternative to extending it twice so it was a bit of tooing and froing but this is the way things worked best for us. Rather than just fly in and straight out again we decided to stay a week and make the short trip across to Brunei.. it just seemed rude not to go when it's only a few hours away! There are a few ways to get to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, but we chose to get the bus from KK to Menumbok (RM15), ... read more
Omar Saifuddin Mosque in BSB
Omar Saifuddin Mosque in BSB
Shield & Sword in the Royal Regalia Museum

Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan October 27th 2009

Feeling bored in (tiny) Singapore and having withdrawal symptoms from my "travel-addiction", I decided to take a short trip to Brunei and collect another stamp in my passport. Since direct flights between Singapore and BSB (Bandar Seri Begawan) were ridiculously expensive, I chose to fly on AirAsia and transit at Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival at BSB airport, it was already 8pm and there were no more buses. (Buses stop running after 7pm.) So I had no choice but to take a B$25 cab to my hotel. Along the way, I had a sense of deja-vu. The streets of BSB looked like and felt like the streets of Singapore. Road signs in BSB use white fonts in green background, just like Singapore. And the streets of BSB are clean and spotless, just like Singapore. Even the driving ... read more
A Royal Brunei plane in BSB airport
BSB airport
A market opposite my hotel

Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan October 17th 2009

Touch down. Language that I can not understand. Even English is not English. It is Indian-Malaya-Chinese-Hot Lunch time penne with cheese hybrid. From the plane to the airport terminal exit. Shall I take a cab? Shall take a walk? These and other strange questions I have been asking myself before I have decided to discuss a proper fare for a cab to get my lazy ass to downtown. Discussion was very educational for me. Quick dialog with the taxi driver: -Hi! Nice day huh? So how much to the city downtown? -25$; he replied. -25$ ? Lets make 19, the lady in the reception at the passport checkpoint told me that you guys taxi drivers are charging 19 dollars. (I have prepared myself earlier for this discussion) - 25$ sir. It is fixed rate. - Fixed? ... read more
Brunei Water Village
Brunei Water Village
Brunei Water Village

Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan October 14th 2009

Derniers jours au Sabah Mon ultime halte avant de quitter le Sabah s'appelle Kota Kinabalu, la capitale de l'État, dont les blocs, tantôt modernes et rutilants, tantôt vieux et décrépis, bordent la Mer de Chine du sud. Trois petits jours tranquilles passés à se reposer, à organiser la suite du voyage et à sécher mes grolles. Un séjour des plus sociables, dans un backpacker du centre ville. J'ai eu le privilège d'y faire des rencontres extrêmement variées et intéressantes, comme cette Japonaise avec laquelle j'ai pu parler des rues bondées de Shibuya, où elle vit, cet universitaire malais, que j'ai surpris en dortoir dans sa tenue de cérémonie pour la remise des diplômes, cette voyageuse allemande d'à peine 20 ans, qui avait pourtant dans le regard la détermination d'une baroudeuse ayant sillonné tous les continents, cette ... read more
La Mosquée du Sultan et ses domes en or 24 carats
Minaresque
Brunei - Marché de nuit

Asia » Brunei August 14th 2009

You’ve got to feel a bit sorry for the tourism department of Brunei. The country has a reputation for being very expensive and most tourists only use it for a logistically-required stop-over of a day or two when travelling overland between Sarawak and Sabah. I wasn’t any different with three days, the first and last being days for arriving and departing, so just one proper day in the country. Brunei has masses of forest left, because its so rich from oil it doesn’t need to chop it all down and convert to plantations, but a lot of the reserves are quite difficult and/or expensive to access. I did like Brunei though so I’m going to return there for a few more days on my way back down from Sabah to Sarawak. Its very easy to get ... read more
view from the top of Bukit Patoi
the rock wall in the Peradayan Forest Reserve
the rock wall in close-up

Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan July 24th 2009

The story goes a little something like this......... Tired of working & the cold miserable winter, looking for a break from the monotonous routine. The plan was that Saurabh was going to come and visit at the end of July. So I had booked my leave at work. Leave booked from 27th July - 10th Aug. Last week of work and Saurabh still procrastinating, no plans of coming, no visas applied for - nothing! Two options left for me really - either cancel my leave and continue working waiting for Christmas or book a ticket and go see him. If Mohammed wont come to the Mountain must go to Mohammed. So booked my ticket on the Thursday to fly out on the Friday. Have no idea where UAE is - somewhere in the Arab world, oh ... read more
Some Fine Architecture
Full Mosque Name
Mosque

Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan July 7th 2009

Brunei 7th July 2009 Hey everyone :) Me and Hayden are doing well and are on our last leg of the travel journey! We went through Dubai yesterday... LUSH AIRPORT! Flight was 6 hours so not too long. Food is nice on the plane... will upload pictures when we arrive in Auckland! We are now in Brunei... Took 8hours 30mins to get here from Dubai! Flight seemed much longer because we were tired and found it difficult to sleep due to LOUD kids! We arrived in Brunei 10:10 (local time - 7 hours ahead) and we leave at 20:10 (local time) so we are just trying to waste some time doing things before we get back on the plane. We just went on a free city tour which was good, i have some interesting facts!!! 1, ... read more




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