Blogs from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Asia - page 10

Let me set a scene for you - there are three of us on this trip and for these two nights we have shared a room with three beds. So far so good! Last ight I slept like a log after travelling for 24 hours with very little sleep, so tonight I assumed I would do the same again. Not a bit of it!! We came in after our meal at the local fast food street market, I chose noodles and sadly some chicken, which turned out to be chickens tails or the Parson's Nose and not being at all fond of them I left them, but really enjoyed the coconut milk which was served in a hacked out coconut. It was clear though, not milky like my previous experiences of the natural drink. Perhaps because ... read more

Yesterday I had to go to work. Today I don't have to. This is what retirement is. Welcome to my Travel Blog! During the last month I've piled in sixteen entries to show a little of Brunei Darussalam, where I've been living for the last five years (deep at the bottom of the pile), and the major holiday trips I've made to different Asian countries. You may have seen some of the material elsewhere. Now I go live! Tomorrow I set out on an erratic journey which will finish in Sydney during October. It will take me first to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo. My goal then is to travel between Thailand and Hong Kong by train and by boat, via Cambodia, Vietnam and Southern China (but only if they agree to give me ... read more

Creatures in Brunei don't seem as menacing as creatures in NSW. The leaf insect in the first two pictures was outside my supermarket. The lizard was up a tree in the forest. I photographed all ll the bugs and moths inside my flat.... read more

In my first post I included a video of being in Kampung Ayer in a water taxi. "Kampung Ayer" is Malay for Water Village. Traditionally the Malay people lived in stilt houses close to, or over, the water in rivers and estuaries. When Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigated the world in 1521, his ships visited Brunei. Antonio Pigafetta, employed to chronicle his voyage and its discoveries, described the splendour of the Sultan of Brunei's court and dubbed this village The Venice of the East. It was a bustling and extensive capital city then. Today the walls and many walkways are made of wood but the palm leaf thatch is replaced with corrugated iron and most of the piles are poured from concrete. In the second half of the twentieth century, buildings - especially those of the government and ... read more

I have been working in Brunei Darussalam for five years. Before I pack up and go back to NSW, Australia, I want to record some journeys I've made during this time. I'll start with visuals and post some of my favourite pictures of BSB (Bandar Seri Begawan). ... Gotta find out how this TravelBlog works!... read more