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Late aboard. I always seem to be in catchup mode these days... 
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A Date With a Sultanate
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More of Temburong.
At the end of the long boat ride you have to scramble about 200 metres up some steps, rocky paths and duckboard planks to get to the start of the real climb to the Rainforest Canopy Lookout.
Please excuse the bit of fogging on the lense.
From the real start point there are about 780 steps zigzagging straight up the side of the hill and we gained several hundred metres elevation. They are in reasonable condition, but the treads and step height were a little small for me so it was somewhat uncomfortable. Occasionally the handrails had rotted away and were replaced by rope.
Being virgin rainforest jungle the heat and humidity made it hard to get good deep breathes. I am convinced that our poor guide thought I was going to die on her watch and she would have too carry me back down. I kept assuring her that as long as I was left to walk at my own pace and rest when I wanted then I could do the climb. And I was right. I am like the ox, plodding but able to keep moving - plus also being pretty dumb.
The lookout - 43 metres high
As you can see it is basically constructed out of scaffolding pipes. In Australia you would probably need to have safety gear to use it. Only 5 people are allowed on the walkway at a time and there were Park Rangers controlling access. I was always doubtful that I would climb it but one look at the actual structure convinced me that I was not going anywhere near it.
The guide showed my wife some nutmeg on the ground. The red surrounds of the seed are used to make Mace (the spice version) and the seed itself produces the Nutmeg.
To be honest knowing what I know now I would not have done this climb. There are no views to speak of unless you go up the platform which does involve another two hundred steps up a flimsy ladder like staircase. So unless you are determined to climb it, stay at the river level. The boat trip itself is well worth the day out anyway.
After we had climbed down - in about a quarter of the time we had taken to climb up. We were taken a short way downstream and put ashore at a little waterfall. In the pool at the base of the fall are those little fish that people pay to have nibble their feet in various spas. You could feel the little nibbles, not painful but a little disconcerting. I wouldn't pay to have it done at a spa.
Our guide having her feet cleaned. She says she often does the full trip seven days a week. Her calves must be made of steel.
Nice clean feet.
After the boat trip down we had lunch at the park building. It was cooked by women from the local kampong. There was Chicken Curry, Rendang , Sweet and Sour Fish, Rice, Potato Salad & Cabbage. It was all fine basic fare. The green vegetable is a jungle leaf called Cangkuk.
At the end of the long boat ride you have to scramble about 200 metres up some steps, rocky paths and duckboard planks to get to the start of the real climb to the Rainforest Canopy Lookout.
Please excuse the bit of fogging on the lense.
From the real start point there are about 780 steps zigzagging straight up the side of the hill and we gained several hundred metres elevation. They are in reasonable condition, but the treads and step height were a little small for me so it was somewhat uncomfortable. Occasionally the handrails had rotted away and were replaced by rope.
Being virgin rainforest jungle the heat and humidity made it hard to get good deep breathes. I am convinced that our poor guide thought I was going to die on her watch and she would have too carry me back down. I kept assuring her that as long as I was left to walk at my own pace and rest when I wanted then I could do the climb. And I was right. I am like the ox, plodding but able to keep moving - plus also being pretty dumb.
The lookout - 43 metres high
As you can see it is basically constructed out of scaffolding pipes. In Australia you would probably need to have safety gear to use it. Only 5 people are allowed on the walkway at a time and there were Park Rangers controlling access. I was always doubtful that I would climb it but one look at the actual structure convinced me that I was not going anywhere near it.
The guide showed my wife some nutmeg on the ground. The red surrounds of the seed are used to make Mace (the spice version) and the seed itself produces the Nutmeg.
To be honest knowing what I know now I would not have done this climb. There are no views to speak of unless you go up the platform which does involve another two hundred steps up a flimsy ladder like staircase. So unless you are determined to climb it, stay at the river level. The boat trip itself is well worth the day out anyway.
After we had climbed down - in about a quarter of the time we had taken to climb up. We were taken a short way downstream and put ashore at a little waterfall. In the pool at the base of the fall are those little fish that people pay to have nibble their feet in various spas. You could feel the little nibbles, not painful but a little disconcerting. I wouldn't pay to have it done at a spa.
Our guide having her feet cleaned. She says she often does the full trip seven days a week. Her calves must be made of steel.
Nice clean feet.
After the boat trip down we had lunch at the park building. It was cooked by women from the local kampong. There was Chicken Curry, Rendang , Sweet and Sour Fish, Rice, Potato Salad & Cabbage. It was all fine basic fare. The green vegetable is a jungle leaf called Cangkuk.
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We went to the Pasar Gadong night market. It is housed in a pretty new building. There were mostly food stalls there. We asked permission of the stall holders to take photos and in most cases they wanted to be in them as well.
There are plenty of extraction hoods built in but the barbecue smoke still drifts through the market.
First off were some meat puffs. They lacked curry but were still tasty.
Then off to the Kueh stall.
We boought two types of Pandan Kueh - cost B$2 for 9 pieces.
Then off to try some of the barbecued chicken. Both of the stall holders were delighted to be in our photos.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a Raw Coconut Dessert Shop. My wife had a coconut ice cream milk shake. But I had a Chendol with three scoops of coconut ice cream, served in half a coconut. It was amazingly good and very refreshing. Fairly expensive for Brunei at $5.80 but worth every cent.
There are plenty of extraction hoods built in but the barbecue smoke still drifts through the market.
First off were some meat puffs. They lacked curry but were still tasty.
Then off to the Kueh stall.
We boought two types of Pandan Kueh - cost B$2 for 9 pieces.
Then off to try some of the barbecued chicken. Both of the stall holders were delighted to be in our photos.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a Raw Coconut Dessert Shop. My wife had a coconut ice cream milk shake. But I had a Chendol with three scoops of coconut ice cream, served in half a coconut. It was amazingly good and very refreshing. Fairly expensive for Brunei at $5.80 but worth every cent.
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Wow! As someone who worked in boating safety, there is no way I would put that type of lifejacket on in this situation.
What do the airlines tell you during a safety briefing? Don't inflate your lifejacket until outside the plane!
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What is the style of cooking there OzDuck? It looks a fascinating blend of cuisines.
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Yes it was pretty surprising, but they were very eager for you to wear them. As my wife pointed out all they would do is slow you down so the crocs can catch you more easily. I suppose the problem is a lot of people can't swim because it is most certainly not a good idea to swim in the rivers.
As regards the crocs, I finally got a photo of one. It was the smallest we saw and mostly submerged but at least is a croc. It was swimming about 500 metres from the centre of the city.
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It is mostly Malay/Indonesian in style with lots of noodles or rice. But they have a lot of local favourites we haven't seen elsewhere. Sate is very uncommon - we only saw one stall selling it. One of the local dishes is Buttermilk Chicken which is deep fried chicken served in a butter based sauce - not a curry flavour.
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That’s interesting. It looks like they use some kind of tandoor to char the chicken but I guess that’s a BBQ anyway. I’d have thought curry was a staple too! And sates.
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Here is a recipe for the buttermilk chicken Wahi Cooking: Buttermilk Chicken Brunei Style I have certainly never had this dish anywhere else.
Curry seems to be mainly seen in the few Indian Restaurants. The night market had lots of stalls selling kebabs but without any sate sauce. Roti John and some variants also seem to be very popular. The couple of Chinese meals we had with the locals were very similar to the Chinese we get in Oz. The meal we got on our trip upriver was more like a "tourist" meal. The guide said it was cooked by locals but it was basically what you got at a foodhall anywhere around the world with no particular Brunei bias except for the jungle fern.
Various styles of fried noodles are everywhere. We never ran across an Ice kachang stall but chendol is a favourite.
Nasi Lemak is very popular & Nasi Katok, which seems to be a version of Nasi Lemak without the peanuts, anchovies etc was at every eating place. It was very cheap, only about $1.
The snacks were very local and seem different than what we are used to having in Singapore and Malaysia. The banana fritters also seemed to be slightly different and were usually not called pisang goreng but pisang kukus.
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No way I'd be climbing that tower. And while we're about it I don't think I'd be doing to walk to get to it. Stairs (or uphill) and I don't go well together. Given the safety of the ferry, that would probably be off for me as well.
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Late to the party but would love to jump onboard. Having been to Brunei about 18 months ago I’m interested to see if other people enjoyed it as much as we did. Very few tourists and a breeze to wander around. The Royal Regalia museum is quite fascinating if you get the chance.
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We really did enjoy it, probably more than expected. Yes the Royal Regalia museum was an interesting experience. There are definitely very few tourists and the locals loved to have a chat to us about our visit etc. We were also overwhelmed by the efforts of my wife's relatives to catch up with us as well.
Currently we are in Singapore for an overnight stop on the way back to Perth. I will keep posting more photos as soon as I have the time - and energy.
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As we have we been talking a bit about food, I will post some other meals that I haven't put on this thread previously.
Cakes. The closer one is Pandan and Ondeh Ondeh. The one in the background is Pandan and Kaya
View attachment 155018
The breakfast menu. It changed every day
Part of the hotel buffet breakfast
Our shared selection from the sweet side of the buffet
Kueh
Wajid Temburong. Another local delicacy. Brown sticky rice and Gulah Malaka
Kueh in the window of a shop around the corner from our hotel
Rojak sotong (Squid)
Cakes. The closer one is Pandan and Ondeh Ondeh. The one in the background is Pandan and Kaya
View attachment 155018
The breakfast menu. It changed every day
Part of the hotel buffet breakfast
Our shared selection from the sweet side of the buffet
Kueh
Wajid Temburong. Another local delicacy. Brown sticky rice and Gulah Malaka
Kueh in the window of a shop around the corner from our hotel
Rojak sotong (Squid)
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OZDUCK
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We are back in Perth now and I will attempt to finish off this TR as soon as possible.
However for now just a few thoughts after our first International flights with QF in about 15 years.The flights, takeoffs and landings were actually very smooth and we arrived safely and a little bit early.
- On the way there my chair was only partly operable and my sash seat belt failed.
- On the way back the chair etc was fine, even though I felt the footwell a little cramped when reclined but it wasn't too bad. However, my monitor was playing up and froze a number of times and had to be restarted once. My wife's monitor failed completely and she ended up with a tablet from economy.
- The food was ok but nothing special - and one main meal - a Ciabatta roll seemed like it was a $6 roll from a food-hall.
On the way back to Perth there were a number of odd happenings.
- For a start we landed at night with cabin lights undimmed, the first time I have ever experienced this on an Australian airline. (They were dimmed for takeoff from Singapore when it was actually still fairly bright outside.) To make up for this the cabin lights were accidentally turned off for about a minute while were waiting, a long time and obviously not QF's fault, for the airbridge to be connected in Perth,
The flight deck made only three announcements - "Cabin crew prepare for takeoff", "Cabin crew prepare for landing" and "All crew and passengers should now be seated with their seatbelts fastened". There was no announcement about routing, weather at destination etc. The descent began with no warning.
I do not want tour guide patter from a pilot but some information is nice. It was not even announced that we were arriving early until a FA made an arrival announcement on the ground. It seemed that even the cabin crew were caught a bit by surprise by the early arrival as our pre-arrival snack was not served - maybe I am being kind to the FA's.
When we were disembarking no attempt was made to let J pax depart first. Even though I was only about three seats from the door I was beaten out by Y pax.
In summary the trip confirmed my feelings that I would only fly QF if, as in this instance, there was a significant fare saving. I would rate them below Finnair for long distance J flights. Obviously the Finnair EuroBusiness experience is a different matter.
They weren't anywhere within sight of our experiences with QATAR - except for the seats on the LATAM leased a/c.
However for now just a few thoughts after our first International flights with QF in about 15 years.The flights, takeoffs and landings were actually very smooth and we arrived safely and a little bit early.
- On the way there my chair was only partly operable and my sash seat belt failed.
- On the way back the chair etc was fine, even though I felt the footwell a little cramped when reclined but it wasn't too bad. However, my monitor was playing up and froze a number of times and had to be restarted once. My wife's monitor failed completely and she ended up with a tablet from economy.
- The food was ok but nothing special - and one main meal - a Ciabatta roll seemed like it was a $6 roll from a food-hall.
On the way back to Perth there were a number of odd happenings.
- For a start we landed at night with cabin lights undimmed, the first time I have ever experienced this on an Australian airline. (They were dimmed for takeoff from Singapore when it was actually still fairly bright outside.) To make up for this the cabin lights were accidentally turned off for about a minute while were waiting, a long time and obviously not QF's fault, for the airbridge to be connected in Perth,
The flight deck made only three announcements - "Cabin crew prepare for takeoff", "Cabin crew prepare for landing" and "All crew and passengers should now be seated with their seatbelts fastened". There was no announcement about routing, weather at destination etc. The descent began with no warning.
I do not want tour guide patter from a pilot but some information is nice. It was not even announced that we were arriving early until a FA made an arrival announcement on the ground. It seemed that even the cabin crew were caught a bit by surprise by the early arrival as our pre-arrival snack was not served - maybe I am being kind to the FA's.
When we were disembarking no attempt was made to let J pax depart first. Even though I was only about three seats from the door I was beaten out by Y pax.
In summary the trip confirmed my feelings that I would only fly QF if, as in this instance, there was a significant fare saving. I would rate them below Finnair for long distance J flights. Obviously the Finnair EuroBusiness experience is a different matter.
They weren't anywhere within sight of our experiences with QATAR - except for the seats on the LATAM leased a/c.
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Ok - back to the photos.
On the way back from Temburong we stopped at a market for a quick walk-around. All of a sudden there was the sound of sirens and up roared a couple of police on m/cycles. They stopped all traffic and then a convoy of expensive cars swept through the village. It was the Crown Prince who had been out inspecting the works on the bridge pictured below. This is the way the royal family normally travel - we an across another convoy in town later on.
The figure in the photo is our Iban guide. She became excited when he went past and virtually stood at attention. As I said before, the royal family seems to be respected by all creeds in Brunei.
On the way to/from Temburong you can see the new bridge they are building to connect the two halves of Brunei. Completion is due by the end of this year. Once complete you will be able to travel without crossing into Malaysian territory. It will be 30 km long and runs across Brunei Bay. These photos were taken on full extension of the telephoto lens from the ferry and we were about 6 or 7 km away.
Photo of the GPS mapping on the phone. You can see how the ferry passes into and out of Malaysia on a number of occasions. We we were mostly running through mangrove creeks, at times they were about 15 metres wide.
We were supposed to supply our passport or ID Card number before getting on the ferry - I couldn't remember my Passport No. so my Drivers Licence number sufficed.
Roaring through the mangroves at about 25 - 30 knots. This was in a wide part.
This frame from a video gives an idea how narrow parts of the route were.
A few more frames from our long-boat trip videos. It is much easier to do this on our home PC.
On the way back from Temburong we stopped at a market for a quick walk-around. All of a sudden there was the sound of sirens and up roared a couple of police on m/cycles. They stopped all traffic and then a convoy of expensive cars swept through the village. It was the Crown Prince who had been out inspecting the works on the bridge pictured below. This is the way the royal family normally travel - we an across another convoy in town later on.
The figure in the photo is our Iban guide. She became excited when he went past and virtually stood at attention. As I said before, the royal family seems to be respected by all creeds in Brunei.
On the way to/from Temburong you can see the new bridge they are building to connect the two halves of Brunei. Completion is due by the end of this year. Once complete you will be able to travel without crossing into Malaysian territory. It will be 30 km long and runs across Brunei Bay. These photos were taken on full extension of the telephoto lens from the ferry and we were about 6 or 7 km away.
Photo of the GPS mapping on the phone. You can see how the ferry passes into and out of Malaysia on a number of occasions. We we were mostly running through mangrove creeks, at times they were about 15 metres wide.
We were supposed to supply our passport or ID Card number before getting on the ferry - I couldn't remember my Passport No. so my Drivers Licence number sufficed.
Roaring through the mangroves at about 25 - 30 knots. This was in a wide part.
This frame from a video gives an idea how narrow parts of the route were.
A few more frames from our long-boat trip videos. It is much easier to do this on our home PC.
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Late aboard. I always seem to be in catchup mode these days...
Makes two us us @JohnM !!
Now boarded, seated and sipping on a G&T ready to rip in
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Wow! As someone who worked in boating safety, there is no way I would put that type of lifejacket on in this situation.
What do the airlines tell you during a safety briefing? Don't inflate your lifejacket until outside the plane!
And the chap up front on right having a kip !!
OZDUCK
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Half the passengers were asleep after a while.
OZDUCK
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Some more photos around Bandar Seri Bagawan. It is a pleasant enough city but without architectural highlights except for the two large mosques.
Just to prove that I am not making up the presence of crocodiles around the city.
Not a crocodile but a healthy water monitor commonly seen around S.E. Asia
Being an aviation site I couldn't resist this. A mural on the ceiling of the only large mall in town.
The Venice of the Equator?
A troupe of macaques were having fun on a wall
And practising jumping
The city was crowded with schoolchildren doing rehearsals for a parade for Brunei National Day - 23/2.
Jame' Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque
The Royal Palace from the air. The Crown Prince's bungalow is in the foreground.
Just to prove that I am not making up the presence of crocodiles around the city.
Not a crocodile but a healthy water monitor commonly seen around S.E. Asia
Being an aviation site I couldn't resist this. A mural on the ceiling of the only large mall in town.
The Venice of the Equator?
A troupe of macaques were having fun on a wall
And practising jumping
The city was crowded with schoolchildren doing rehearsals for a parade for Brunei National Day - 23/2.
Jame' Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque
The Royal Palace from the air. The Crown Prince's bungalow is in the foreground.
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