From PER to Brunei and across the border to Malaysia and back

[Flashback]

Well, this all started approx. 1.5 weeks ago when things had started to go quiet at work so I decided I'd go catch up with some friends from University that live in Brunei so off it was the Expedia to book a flight on Royal Brunei to BWN.

Being a rather last minute purchase I was put into K class, so while not as cheap as it could have been booking earlier the cost was still a reasonable amount.

Having been at work since 7am, I decided to leave early at 2pm to make my way home and finish the rest of my ironing and pack my bag for a 7.20pm flight to BWN.

Having arrived at the airport approx. 1.5 hours before the flight, check in was easy due to not much of a line. I fronted up to the counter with a nice big smile on my face, and inquired about an exit row aisle seat. Well, today was my lucky day! I managed to snag 43C (which is really only about 10 rows back) and also an empty seat next to me. Excellent!

Being somewhat of an oddity to me, the flight was on time (I wasn't flying with QF, after all ) and it was time to board. Our aircraft today would be an Airbus A320, Rego: V8-R8T.

After a gruesome trip down the winding stairs it was onto the plane and into my seat. A cold moistened towel was brought around to freshen up, and once collected it was time to push back and be on our way.

It's interesting to note, that being a Muslim airline, before the safety announcement was carried out there was a few minutes worth of prayer which were showed on the overheard monitors. I took this chance to do an infamous QF009 photo shot, to show my nice comfy exit row seat off.

Takeoff was a little bumpy, but soon enough we were in the air and on our way tracking to the right over the WACA (cricket ground) and then with another right turn back around to head out to sea and make our way north passing over DPS also cruising at 32,000 ft. Captain Peter Sissle would be flying us today and I missed the name of the First Officer, it's rather hard to understand as English is a second language for most of the crew; but nonetheless we got by OK.

First pass through the cabin was some cracker peanuts which were very tasty with a choice of juices, I had to Tomato juice. Shortly after a dinner service was offered with the options being Chicken w/ rice, Lamb g/ mash or Lasagne. I chose the Lasagne, and this turned out to be a very nice choice.

Brunei, being a dry country due to relgious beliefs also meant that the flight was dry, so it was no sipping on bubbly for me tonight. I did notice however that people were digging into their duty free, including scotch and vodka; not just wine. So it appears that if I was thirsty, I would have been OK to sample my Maker's Mark... not to bother, the lack of alcohol probably did me the world of good!

The new Mummy movie was offered as IFE, followed by an episode of King of Queens, and some comedy show but as I had season 3 of Dexter to continue watching, it was time to get the laptop out and pickup from where I left off.

A rather uneventful flight, although quite bumpy; but eventually we landed in BWN and it was time to battle through Customs & Immigration. Not knowing exactly what to expect, this was always going to be an interesting battle.

Knowing that I had to obtain a Visa on Arrival, I was looking around to try and find a money changer or ATM to withdraw the $30 BND I would require to pay for a multi entry Visa (as I am planning to goto Miri in Malaysia). Making my way through the winding corridors I was unable to find one, so still being a little confused I made my way to the Foreign Passports line and waited for a few minutes, as the line was short. Upon arriving at the counter, I was told that the Visa on Arrival counter was down the other end (counter 1), so off I went.

It appeared a lot of people seemed to do the same thing, so I didn't feel so silly after all!

Security seemed very relaxed as upon getting to the counter, I mentioned I had no BND... well, that was OK; there's a money changer just past Immigration, and before you go through Customs.. so in a very trusting manner, I'm told to pass through, get the money, and then come back. All good, nice and easy. By the time all this had been done, I finally got through to find my bag had already been taking off the baggage carousel and placed on the ground. I guess I had taken longer than I though, although it didn't seem long!

It was then off to fill out a Liquor License form, as I had 1L of spirits with me and then off to Customs, which was painless and quick as they didn't even want to see my bags. Score!

Next Stop: Sheraton Utama, Brunei.

 

[Skoogle]

Brunei, being a dry country due to relgious beliefs also meant that the flight was dry, so it was no sipping on bubbly for me tonight.

So you were forced to survive on personality alone...

 

[JohnK]

Nice start to the trip report. Looking forward to the rest.

Not sure I would want to be on a flight that is dry. Unless I fill up my empty miniature bottles of spirits and drink them on the flight.

 

[Flashback]

More to follow later today.. have been flat out at work since I've arrived back from holidays.

 

[Flashback]

Ok, so today has been a verrrrrrry long day, and somehow the date has changed to March; but so be it! On with the TR!

My host who was to show me around both Brunei and Sarawak picked me up in the airport, and due to the shenanigans I ran into getting through customs and immigration I ended up being the last person out; but sure enough she was standing there waiting for me. The bags got put into the boot, and it was off to the Sheraton Utama which is where I was to stay for the next few nights.

It was only a short trip into town, could have been no more than 10 minutes but it took slightly longer as we did a quick drive-tour of town; mainly pointing out a lot of the government buildings, and where she works.

Check-in was a breeze, however the only fault I'd mention is that I was not told about the arrangements for my breakfast that was included so I just inquired where to go etc. when I went down the next morning.

Being an SPG member (albeit with no status at all!) I had been given a room on the SPG floor, in a nice corner room. No upgrades unfortunately, but that was to be expected.

The room was quite dated, but was a decent size and would be perfect for my few nights in Brunei. I was originally going to stay at the Empire Resort, which is located on the South China Sea (the only seaside 'hotel/resort' in Brunei), but there was a messup with the reservation and I ended up losing out on that one, oh well not to bother.

I chatted with my host for an hour or so, and by that time it was around 1am so I decided I should probably get some rest as the next day was going to be quite busy.

 

[Flashback]

Brunei is a reasonably small place, and to drive from one side to the other takes between 1.5-2 hours, so luckily for me even though I only had a few days I was still able to fit pretty much everything I wanted to in.

I started off the day with a fantastic 2 hour massage, which was $50 AUD. Due to me being a westerner it was suggested I have the swedish rather than the chinese as it's a little softer on the body. Given that I normally whimper during these I thought it to be a good choice and took her up on her offer!

Next thing I knew it was lunchtime and being my first day I thought I should sample the local cuisine. I had some very tasty dishes of which I can't recall exactly what they were now, but included a prawn salad, a soup of some kind (which was v. spicy, so I loved it!), and some other dish with an Ox tail. Prawns were very big in this local establishment we went to.

We had about 5 courses all up, and I was quite chuffed by the end of it. Total cost, $15 for 2. You certainly can't complain about that!

It was starting to warm up by now, although it wasn't too bad; just a little humid but not overbearing like it is in Bali for example. Back to the car and on to the next destination, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque.

My, what an amazing piece or achitecture. It really has to be seen to be believed! I spent the next hour or so having a look around the grounds and even went inside. Prayer time had just finished, so we were free to have a look around but had to stick to certain areas. No photos were allowed inside either, so in respect to their religion I upheld the ban and kept an image in my mind instead.

This would have to be the most well known monument in Brunei, and you can certainly understand why. It's absolutely amazing, and certainly shows the wealth that the Sultan has.

 

[oz_mark]

More to follow later today.. have been flat out at work since I've arrived back from holidays.

That was indeed a very long day

 

[Flashback]

Next stop was Kampong Ayer, located in the Brunei River. This really does have to be seen to be believed.

After negotiating a tour price ($30 BND/person seems to be the accepted norm here, it's quite pricey but it does go for around 2 hours so not too bad value, and you do get to see things in a very unique way) it was onto our speedboat ready to make our way up and down the river. Of course, I had to take the obligatory QF009'esque feet shot.

Our route saw us track past the Sultan's residence, which is absolutely huge! Arguably this is the largest residential palace in the world, and possibly even the largest residence of any type. Beneath the golden domes and sculpted ceilings are reputedly some 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, 5 swimming pools, a 1,500 person mosque, 564 chandeliers, 51,000 light bulbs, 44 stairwells, 18 elevators. Absolutely insane. Unfortunately, this is about as close as you'll get to it.

We continued to track down the river, observing some of the wildlife in the jungles surrounding. Monkeys, huge lizards, who were all very good at camouflaging into their surroundings and thus making them very difficult to spot! Once I knew what to look for though, it was simple.

On our way back to the dock, we stopped in at Kampong Ayer. This village situated in the middle of the Brunei river was reported to have up to 50,000 people living there at any one time. However a huge fire had ripped through and damaged parts of the village and it doesn't look like much rebuilding has been done. As a result, the population is now down to around 30,000 but as you can see still a very thriving village.

We alighted from the boat and had a walk around, with the tour guide showing us through his home. It is very amazing to see they live, and quite fascinating to imagine how they lived before technology was around. These days they have satellite dishes for TV, Internet, phone lines connected to the village, etc. but back in the day it wouldn't have been so easy. Getting to and from the village if you live there is done by 1 of 2 ways; 1 is to own your own boat, the 2nd is to use a water taxi (same style of boat) which costs $1 each way. For many of the people in this village either operating a taxi or operating tours for tourists seems to be a popular option.

Quite a few of the people who live here do own cars also, and work in the city, etc. so their cars are located back on the land side. Almost 2 hours had passed and it was back to dry land.

Dinner tonight was a very simple meal of satay sticks, but for $10; to get around 50 satay sticks was awesome! I munched away and felt very satisfied.

Tonight was New Year's Eve, so we did a little more sightseeing and found another Mosque, which just like the first is absolutely stunning. Here I have included for you a nighttime picture as words simply cannot describe it.

Around 11pm we made our way back to my hotel, and luckily the Sheraton had a bit of a function up in the Executive Louge; so armed with my bottle of Maker's Mark Bourbon (thanks Duty Free!!) it was off to party the night away and eventually stumble back to my room for a solid night's sleep. Happy New Year! Wow, my first time spending New Year's overseas. Very cool.

 

[Flashback]

That was indeed a very long day

Yes, yes it was! Gee, I feel tired now

More to follow soon.......

 

[Flashback]

So onto the New Year, and what a way to start with hardly any hangover at all! Not bad considering the 1L of Maker's Mark consumed!

Not all that much was achieved, however I did do a little more sightseeing around the place.

This is where the Sultan will commonly address the people of Brunei, and marching displays and such are often done here by the military.

The rest of the day saw my host drive me around some of the other districts of Brunei, including Jerudong which has some semi-decent beaches. They're nothing compared to what we have back home though, and it really goes to show just how lucky we are. We dropped in at the National Museum of Brunei on the way back also, which proved to be quite an interesting stop.

On the way back to the hotel my host took me for a drive through the suburbs.

It's interesting to note that the houses look very similar. The government supports housing for the people of Brunei, and provides them with a interest-free home loan once the house has been built for them. The wealthier people around, instead are given land and will build their own house on it, but the same deal applies. I found this to be very interesting, and it's quite a site to just see houses of the same design go on for miles and miles.

This took up most of the day, and by the end was quite tired as I had a late night the previous day; so it was some nice easy western food for me, back to the hotel and an early night.

Today I was going to be doing my own thing for most of the day, as my host had to head into work. I wandered around not far from the hotel which didn't end up being too bad as the Sheraton is actually in a very good location for seeing the main tourist sites. Of interest was the Royal Regalia Building, located in here was the full story behind Brunei breaking away from the British Empire, and all the documents that were created. There were also replicas (and some originals) of gifts that have been given to the Sultan in days gone by, and also the traditional clothes worn by the military during processions that have happened through the streets. The Royal Chariot that the Sultan rode during the Royal Procession is in there too, and is laid out with dummies dressed up with clothing and weaponry just as it would have been when it happened.

No cameras were allowed which is a pity, but it kept me occupied for a good 3 hours or so.

By now my host had finished work, so I went over to the agreed pickup point and jumped into the car; it was now time to make our way to Miri, Sarawak!

This was to be my first ever border crossing that had not been done by air, for we would be driving through; so I was quite excited. The border was reasonably quiet and it was a nice quick stop through the checkpoint to leave Brunei, and then to the next checkpoint to enter Malaysia.

From here it was about a half hour drive into the centre of Miri, and on the way we went past the Curtin University campus located in Miri that I had heard so much about, as I am a Curtin student (for another 3 months!).

We stopped in at one of the major shopping centres, settled for a quick easy western meal again and made our way to the Marriott Resort. Checkin was quick and easy and it was off to my room armed with a 6-pack of Heineken for a good night's sleep. Beer is very expensive here, with a carton costing around $90, but I managed to find a little road side restaurant where I picked up 6 cans for $18, so I was pretty happy with that.