Revisiting Brunei

Brunei Darussalam is located in Southeast Asia, on the north coast of Borneo. It used to be a powerful sultanate until it fell into the hands of the British in 1888. A century after, it regained its full independence and discovered crude oil in its very own land becoming one of the wealthiest countries in Asia.

I first visited Brunei 14 years ago after our exchange program in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. I still remember being mesmerized by the gold plated lamp posts, patterned tiled sidewalks, and the glistening palaces which I thought only existed in fairy tales. And of course, who could forget Jerudong Park, Brunei's own version of the Disneyland at that time, only even better because there was no entrance fees and the rides were for free (sadly, the park has not been maintained for so many years that most of the rides have already worn out or are already for sale)!

A lot of things have changed in Brunei but one thing still remains the same, it is still a very rich country with resources other than crude oil to help sustain it's population for the next years to come.

Here are some interesting things to note about the place:

1) No tinted cars windows are allowed except for the Royalties. And that when the Sultan's convoy passes by, everyone is expected not to slowdown, but to stop, as a sign of respect.
2) Gasoline is so cheap that it costs only 50 cents per liter (1 Brunei Dollar = 1 Singapore Dollar).
3) There are almost no cabs, buses or any form of public transportation. Almost, if not, everyone has cars. I was told that the government even gives vouchers for car purchases!
4) Government subsides for housing that residents can only pay as low as 500 dollars (some even lower) for a 3/4-bedroom flat. And all other household costs are not that expensive either.
5) Kampong Ayer, the older part of Bendar Seri Bengawan, is still an active community with houses still on stilts but with high-end cars parked on the shore (easily accessible through speedboats).

If you are going to Brunei for a visit, note that the places of interest are not very accessible to tourists as there are no means of going around except if you have friends/relatives over there, take the guided tours offered by the Brunei Tourism (they have booths at the airport) or arrange your trips with your hotel. Luckily for us, we have good family friends there which took us around.

Here are some photos from that recent trip. Just a note, Brunei is more than just the golden mosques and palaces. It also has rainforests/jungles, beaches and other natural attractions that we were not anymore able to explore given that we were only there for 2 days.

inside the Royal Regalia

a tribute to Brunei's first billion

Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque

Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

Learn more about Brunei

Melaka: Visiting the Land of the Forefathers

I have been wanting to travel to Melaka (Malacca) and La Familia's visit was a good excuse to set foot on what my father jokingly claims to be the land of our forefathers :) Melaka, once an important port in Asia, is dubbed as Malaysia's historical state with both the Dutch and Portuguese influence evident in it's culture, food and architecture. It is located on the southwestern coast of the Malay peninsula and just 4 hour bus ride away from Singapore (either via Delima or Singapore-Malacca Express).

one of the bus options to Melaka: Malacca-Singapore Express

We took the Delima Express at 830AM from Lavander/Bugis Junction in Singapore and arrived at Melaka Sentral at around 1PM. One way bus fare costs 20.80SGD and albeit the bus being a 40-seater coach, it was actually quite roomy and comfortable. No food was served but there was a 30 minute stop in Johor Bahru to allow the passengers to lunch on Malay dishes (food price ranges from 4RM-7RM) and to freshen up before continuing with the trip.

with La Familia at the entrance of the Historic Town

Once in Melaka Sentral, we took a cab (actually two cabs as there were five of us and they only allow four persons per cab) to Hotel Puri. Taxi fare in Melaka is not metered but is fixed at 15RM/cab from the central terminal to the historic town and 20RM/cab on return (as per hotel staff, fare to the central terminal from the historic center is more expensive due to the longer route the cabs follow on the way back).

Hotel Puri, Melaka

Hotel Puri is a quaint boutique hotel along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, right at the very heart of the historic town. It is walking distance to the famous landmarks such as the Christ Church, Jonker Street, Stadhuys, St Paul's, etc. I liked the interior of the hotel and it's old world charm despite it not having lifts (it is after all an old building which dates back to the Dutch and Portuguese rule).

inside Hotel Puri

I booked for a family room for 355++RM (310RM for the room with 2 queen size beds and 45RM for the extra bed) for the five of us. The room was a bit overrated given the photos at their website but it is clean and big. However, due to some unforeseen technical problems at the hotel (electricity and water supply went off with NO generator and ETA on when the problem would get fixed), we had no choice but to transfer to the other boutique hotel just across the street. I did not want us to spend countless hours waiting for them to fix the problem when we were only staying there for a night.

The other hotel, The Baba House, is newer compared to Hotel Puri. It doesn't have the old world charm that makes Hotel Puri so picture-perfect but it has lifts and generator and cheaper rooms rates! The manager of Hotel Puri kindly arranged two Superior rooms for us which was charged to their hotel (after all it wasn't our fault that they were having technical problems) and just charged us 188RM for the booking at Hotel Puri. Not bad considering that we got to save over 100RM!

cuddling outside the Baba House while waiting for our hired cab

Melaka is such a small town that you could tour it on foot (assuming you don't mind walking). Armed with a map from the hotel, we went off to check out The Baba and Nyonya Heritage House (entrance fee + tour = 8RM), Stadhuys, Christ Church, St Paul's Church, Jonker Walk, St Francis Xavier Church and various souvenir/antique shops. The town reminds me of Europe but with a distinct Asian twist. The canals and the string of old house along them is similar to that of Venice (minus the gondoliers and perhaps the stench of stagnant water). We were supposed to take an hour tour via their colorfully decorated rickshaws (20RM per rickshaw for 1 hour with driver cum tour guide included) but this was cut short due to heavy rains.

Christ Church, Melaka

colorful rickshaws

Venice of Asia

the houses along the canals

Just a note if you're traveling to Melaka: go there over the weekend (Friday included) as the small town comes alive at that time (with the night markets and the bustle of tourists). We went there on a weekday and there were a few tourists making going around the place easier and hassle-free but the thing is, most restaurants were closed and the town turned activity-free at the night that there was nothing much to do but to welcome slumber land.

Jonker Street on a Thursday morning

The next day, we headed back to Melaka Sentral to take the Transnasional Bus (28RM for a one way trip) to KLCCT for our flight to Brunei. I will post another entry for Brunei Darussalam after this. In the meantime, here are useful links/info should you wish to visit the land of my forefathers one of these days:

Hotel Puri Website
The Baba House Website
Melaka Trip Photos from Multiply
Hired Taxi (to go around Melaka Town):
Ismail : 013-3848214 or 0176577406

Enjoy!