Gold and Jewels: From the Pearl of the Orient to the Abode of Peace

- May 16-20, 2013, Thursday almost-midnight to Monday early morning.

- For several months now, I had been excited to go to Brunei Darussalam (Brunei the Abode of Peace) with some Filipino friends from the ASEAN-India student exchange program I had last December. Even better, our Bruneian friends offered to take us around their country.

- Brunei is a small country located in the island of Borneo, just below the Philippines. Borneo is home to Malaysia's Sabah and Sarawak, and Indonesia's Kalimantan. Brunei is roughly as big as Singapore, or around 5 Metro Manilas. Brunei is a dry country, meaning no alcohol is sold in the entire country, due to Islamic laws. I think this partially explains why many people claim that Brunei is a "boring" country. However, I think most people have only seen the "tourist hub" of Brunei, such as Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB,) or maybe Temburong, which I know are just a few of the other places of interest in Brunei. Brunei is also one of the richest countries in the world, due to its booming petrol industry, so much so that many things are subsidized by the government, such as education or land. (Most places of interest also did not require entrance fees.) Brunei is also a country with a lot of cars, and most people go around the country by private cars; weird enough, traffic is rare. There is not much public transportation, so that might be a bit problematic for those who dislike travelling on foot, or for people who'd like to travel to places that are quite far. Despite having too many cars, air in Brunei seems fresh because the lush green trees balance out the cars' carbon emission.

- I met my other 7 companions in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last Thursday evening for our awfully-scheduled Cebu Pacific night flight (11:40pm-1:40am.) My companions, except for me an Ann, were surprised to see Jayson in the airport. Nobody knew he was coming, except for Ann and me. (I had to know he was coming since I was coordinating with the Bruneians regarding accommodations and other concerns.)

Reunited with 7 other co-delegates.

- We all arrived in Brunei on time (or maybe slightly earlier.) After the long queue in the immigration, we were finally welcomed to the Abode of Peace by our friends Farhan, Suzie, Nublun, Mamduh, and Fathin. Farhan's friend Mo'amar also assisted us. The warm hellos and hugs were accompanied by some welcome treats, including a big paper bag of Bruneian snacks. We soon left the airport for Pusat Belia, and get some shut eye. It was around 3am of the 17th of May.

Hello friends from Brunei!!

- Pusat Belia is a centrally-located youth hostel in Bandar Seri Begawan. Each night costs 10 Bruneian Dollars per person, and each room can hold up to 4 people. Men and women have to sleep in different wards, and the restroom was common. There is some difficulty in finding the receptionist, as most reviews claim, but I think Pusat Belia was exactly what we needed in Brunei - a cozy, not expensive, and accessible place to sleep in. I shared a room with Joseph and Jayson, then Mhel, Gino, and Reymund in another, and Ann and Rachel had each other in the women's quarter. It is located behind the Lapau and Dewan Majlis, the royal reception hall.

- We all woke up later that morning, prepared to see Brunei. We were first taken to the money changer, and then to Tamu Kianggeh, a wet-and-dry marketplace. Aside from the expected goods, I saw Bruneian mangoes that were as large as small papayas.

Saw Masjid Jame from the car.

Mangoes as big as papayas.

Hello everyone!!

- We had an early lunch before heading towards the Dang Ayang Tombstone (Makam Raja Ayang.) Rajah Ayang was said to be of royal blood, who was punished due to an unlawful relationship with her brother. Legend has it that she was left to live underground until her death. The creepy thing, according to my Bruneian friends, was that in the recent years, there was a time when smoke came out of the chimney, which may have meant that someone was cooking in Dang Ayang's underground quarter.

TC (Teh C) Ping.

With buddy Ann.

Everyone.

I fixed Rachel and Ann's hijabs.

Center of Brunei.

- I took a photo with the clock that marked the center of Brunei, before we all headed to Pusat Belia for a short afternoon rest. Time stops in Brunei during the Friday prayer (Jumaat prayer,) and Farhan and Mamduh needed to pray as well.

Lapau.

Muslim man and women.

View of Lapau from Pusat Belia.

- Our late afternoon began with a visit to the Malay Technological Museum, where different halls showed replicas of traditional houses, tools, weapons, clothing, and jewelry. We later visited the tombs of Sultan Sharif Ali (third sultan,) and Sultan Bolkiah (fifth sultan.)

Creepy head.

Why is the Philippine lag here?!?! Haha.

With everyone once more, minus Jayson and Mhel.

Hijab girls.

Canons from China.

Sultan Sharif Ali's tomb.

Sultan Bolkiah's tomb.

A troll behind me.

- We later visited the Istana Darussalam, the former palace, and the Masjid Sultan Omar Ali Saiffudin (SOAS) after having our afternoon snack, so we could see how it looks like during sunset. SOAS is perhaps the most iconic structure of Brunei, especially the royal barge located right in front of the mosque. It is also walking distance from our hostel, and is located beside the Yayasan Complex, an upscale mall in BSB.

Saw Brunei's radio station on the way to the Istana Darussalam.

Colorful former palace.

SOAS!!

The royal barge.

With Jayson.

Trying to be dramatic and sentimental.

Rainbow!!

The first giant rainbow I've seen in my life.

RAchel in a turban.

SOAS seen from Yayasan.

- My favorite thing of the first day would have to be our pre-dinner shopping at the Nazmi Textile Mall. It sold all kinds of cloth, ready-to-wear formal/Islamic wear, buttons, cuff links, and other religious items like Muslim prayer beads (tasbeeh.) Although I was not able to buy lots, the owner, Mr. Nazmi, arrived, and was kind enough to give us bigger discounts. We also took some time to look at the newer buildings of BSB, like the convention hall that used to be a royal residency (??.) All the tiring shopping and last-minute sightseeing was also great in conditioning us for dinner in Tamu Selera, a hawker-style food court, similar to Manila's "Dampa." Our friend Auji was also fresh from his Thailand trip, and was able to join us for our late dinner. We arrived at the youth hostel around midnight, and made a short visit to a coffee shop to use the internet.

Mr. Nazmi.

New convention hall.

Dinner.

SOAS at midnight.

- We all woke up bright and early to go to the boat docks to look at Kampung Ayer (Water Village, a.k.a. "The Venice of the East") from the other side of the river. The current sultan's 60th commemorative monument was also located within the vicinity.

Good morning Lapau, from Pusat Belia.

Sultan's 60th Commemorative Monument.

With the guys.

- I wore my "sultan outfit" for the rest of the day, since we would be visiting many "royal" landmarks that day.   Needless to say, I took the opportunity to have my photoshoot around BSB.

- After breakfast, we visited SOAS once more, and this time, we were able to go inside. No pictures though. SOAS was made by European architects, so the ambience, and stained-glass windows, were all reminiscent of European churches.

The clouds in Brunei look fluffy, or cottony.

Hijab girls.

With the imam.

Reymund at the back.

The "sultan" and SOAS. Haha.

-Another mosque/masjid we visited that morning was the Masjid Asr Hassanil Bolkiah (a.k.a. "Masjid Jame.") Masjid Jame reminded me of the castles and mosques in Disney's Aladdin. This mosque is bigger and more colorful than SOAS. Photography was also not allowed inside the prayer hall, which was a pity; Jame's halls were too pretty not to be photographed.

At Jame's stairs.

Sneak-pic in Jame prayer hall.

Colorful.

- We visited the front gate of the Istana Nurul Iman, but could not see the palace itself, for security purposes. After a short photo-op with the gate, we all visited Suzie in the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD,) and she guided us through an art exhibit hosted by UBD's senior art students. We all had lunch after passing through UBD's other buildings, and the nearby Institut Teknologi Brunei (Brunei Institute of Technology, a.k.a. ITB.) . We had a nasi katok lunch. Nasi katok is a dish with fried chicken, rice, and sambal (sometimes accompanied also with a fried egg.)

With roommates.

In front of the gate of Istana Nurul Iman.

With Gino the Brunei-lover.

Possibly a royal person inside the car.

Lego person in a baju melayu!!

With Suzie in her baju kurong.

Mhel.

I'm a rebel!!

Flag of Brunei.

Auji!!

- As the afternoon started to drizzle, we were able to get ourselves indoors - in the Royal Regalia Museum. Almost similar with the concept of Thailand's Throne Hall in Bangkok, this hall contains artwork and gifts, given to the sultan by local and international artists, politicians, national leaders, etc. It also houses golden chariots, and prominent clothing items used by the royal family, or by people who take part in these royal events. No photography is allowed beyond the main atrium at the lobby. Fortunately, the main atrium itself has a lot of interesting things to photograph, such as one of the two golden chariots used during the coronation.

Royal Regalia.

Coronation chariot.

Tired Bruneian friends.

Outside in photo (Couldn't take photos inside the halls, so I had to do it from the outside.)

- We all rested at Pusat Belia before we shopped around a mall named The Mall. The Bruneians were surprised that I didn't buy anything, since they knew how much of a big shopper I (not always) am. We all proceeded to Pasar Malam, BSB's night market, to have a pre-dinner snack. It was fun looking at, and buying Brunei's cheap street food. All the Bruneians recommended the barbecue chicken butt. Too greasy and fatty, but it was delicious. We wanted to buy more food, but our "real" dinner would be held in Suzie's house.

Pasar Malam!!

Eating lekor.

Group photo with chicken butts on sticks.

- Suzie's mother welcomed us, and also introduced to us their Filipina house helper. There are way too many Filipinos working and living in Brunei, so much so that I didn't quite miss the Philippines when I was away. Even Jollibee can be seen all across Brunei.

- We all had a feast in Suzie's house, and due to public demand, I had an impromptu cultural presentation after eating. At least I maximized my costume, didn't I? I think that short dance also burned a small fraction of the great food I gobbled up.

Giving them Philippine souvenirs.

At Suzie's House.

- We went back to Pusat Belia at almost midnight once more, and tried to have an early sleep for our last day's early morning trek at Tasek Lama. Tasek Lama is a trekking park within BSB that tries to replicate the forests of Temburong. They said this was the closest they could get us to experience Temburong at the moment; Gino's number 1 on his "must-sees in Brunei" is the Ulu Ulu Temburong Park. Due to the park being too far (Temburong is an exclave, with Malaysia owning the land between mainland Brunei and Temburong,) and too expensive, we were not able to go to Temburong. All tourists must secure a guided tour through whichever travel agency, since the park serves also as both research center and wildlife-reserve area. Despite this, Gino was too amazed with Brunei, and may have thought about staying in Brunei. We kept on teasing him that we'll leave him in Brunei, or give him as a gift to our Bruneian friends.

Map of Tasek Lema.

Stairway to the jungle top.

Tada!!

Power Rangers.

- Tasek Lema has a beautiful waterfall that serves as one of the highlights of the place. While I was busy taking self-shots me-in-a-costume and the waterfalls, the others started to join a free qigong/chigong class. The kind teacher was also a Chinese, and was a good teacher. I wanted to join the class too, but when I was done with my photos, they were all more than halfway through, and chigong, like Taichi, do not recommend joining in the middle of a certain routine. (The Chinese say that not doing the whole series of actions from start to end disrupts the flow of movement, breath, and energy.)

Falls in Tasek Lama.

Selfieeeee.

Photoshoot.

Summoning the sun with qigong.

- We had breakfast at Chop Jing Chew, one of the oldest Chinese-owned restaurants in Brunei. Suzie said that it's always packed, and is always visited by people all over Brunei, including the big-shot and popular people.

-  The rest of the morning was spent riding a boat around Kampung Ayer, and trying our best to spot the proboscis monkeys. These were monkeys that had a long nose (like Spongebob Squarepants' Squidward Tentacles,) and were difficult to photograph. There were many legends that surround Kampung Ayer, like a mother cursing his son, and whatnot. A boat ride in Kampung Ayer is also the best way to see the Istana Nurul Iman, the current residence of the sultan.

SOAS from Yayasan.

To Kampung Ayer we go!!

Houses on water.

Istana Nurul Iman.

Legend of the cursed ship wreck. It kinda looks like a sunken ship, right? 

Too much sun.

- We stopped near the Kampung Ayer Cultural and Tourism Gallery, and afterwards, we ran through one of Kampung Ayer's kampung chief, Awang Haji Ahmad Bin Haji Bujang. He invited us to his house. The first thing that welcomed us were two golden thrones used for weddings. The kampung chief wanted me to "choose a bride" for the photo, and so I chose Fathin to be my "Bruneian wife." The kampung chief was a very chatty man, although I was annoyed when he kept joking/telling me that I was an Abu Sayyaf because of my not-very-Abu-Sayyaf Muslim attire, and the fact that I was a Filipino. (Of course I jokingly replied that I was not.)

At the kampung leader's house.

With Fathin.

Hide and seek?? 

With Suzie.

The kampung chief was a peculiar and chatty man.

- Kampung Ayer has changed so much through the years. Some old wooden houses can still be seen in one of the many kampungs of Kampung Ayer, as well as newer more upscale, and sturdier houses like the kampung chief's house and the other houses of that particular kampung. Mamduh told me that he likes Kampung Ayer because it is located within reach of the city, but the city cannot be "felt" in Kampung Ayer.

- We had take-away Jollibee for lunch, just to see how similar or different Brunei's Jollibee was from the one's here in the Philippines. Aside from the items that only Brunei has, the staple ones like the Chicken Joy were more or less similar. We ate our lunch in the hostel, right before we packed our things, and got ready to check out.

- As the others were still too tired from the morning exercise and the smooth boat ride, most of my companions preferred to sleep. It was also too hot in the afternoon, and some had barely packed their things. I on the other hand chose to spend our 2-3 hour rest time to explore the places near our hostel. I visited the Chinese Taoist Temple, and walked all the way to SOAS to take postcard-worthy photos of the mosque and the barge. I also went to Yayasan to buy some stuff.

BSB's Taoist Temple.

SOAS!! (No photoshop.)

SOAS from afar.

- I passed by a small grocery store on the way back to Pusat Belia, and had an encounter with a Bangla woman who ran the store. I had a short chat with her, and was able to use my Hindi with her. She was surprised that I was able to guess that she was a Bangla (from Bangladesh,) and even more so that I was able to converse in Hindi. It was also an amusing encounter for me, because I was able to pick up some info about the lives of migrant South Asians in Brunei.

- I went back to Pusat Belia with more than enough time to rest and finalize my packing. We checked out, and had a short trip to the mall, and chased the sunset at the Empire Hotel, Brunei's 6-star hotel. We took some photos inside the hotel as well, before having our ambuyat dinner in Aminah Arif Jerudong. Ambuyat is a sticky sago-based dish that is used to substitute rice. It is eaten with Bruneian joint chopsticks, and is accompanied by other viands like beef jerky, fried fish, veggies, etc.

Farhan/

Auji.

4 Bruneians.

It was a really nice hotel.

Rachel.

Mandatory photoshoot.

My favorite sign.

Like an indie film.

With Nublun and Fathin.

Making ambuyat.

Rachel was too amused.

- Our last agenda for the night, or so we thought, was a trip to Jerudong Park. It's Brunei's amusement park, and according to my Bruneian friends, Jerudong Park used to be a whole lot grander, more than a decade ago. It used to have more rides, but due to the financial crises some years ago, Jerudong Park started to charge people. Less people came, and most of the rides had to be sold. One of them even told me that "Jerudong Park [was] dead." Despite this, we saw some people hanging around Jerudong Park, now a big park/playground with some rides remaining, even if the park was about to close. We all had a bumper car game; we all targeted Jayson because of this weird screech he was doing when being chased. Haha. We walked around the park after playing bumper cars, and our Bruneian friends started to reminisce all the rides that once were, and the things they liked about the park. They found bits and pieces of their childhood in that park, and they managed to laugh about the things they did as kids, like hiding from their parents in the bubble tunnel. Whatever Jerudong Park is right now, I think that the spirit of Jerudong Park is very much alive in the hearts and memories of the children who grew up with Jerudong Park.

Jerudong Park's Crystal Arch.

Bumper carssss!!

- Our real last agenda was hanging out in Suzie's house again, just before going to the airport. We had some ice cream and some more Bruneian snacks, before we were finally surprised with Bruneian-souvenir goodie bags from all of our friends. I was very touched because they made each bag personalized.

- We had teary-eyed goodbyes in the airport, although we did invite them to visit us here in the Philippines some time in the future. Despite this, we were thankful for the hospitality our Bruneian friends have shown us, trying to accommodate all the things they thought we'd like (and we ended up enjoying everything a whole lot more than what they thought.) Our flight schedule back home was a whole lot worse than our flight to Brunei.; 2:25-4:25am. We were able to rest a bit in the airplane, but the schedule was still awful nonetheless. Still, our flight schedules were nothing compared to all the fun and memories we all shared in Brunei. I hope that some day, we'll share more memories together. We also hope to be able to reunite with the other 3 Bruneian friends whom we were not able to be with.