Tiring But Fun Day Out - Part III - Temburong - Belalong

My final trip for this project has finally ended!

The last trip was heading to Temburong, Belalong UBD Study Field Centre. We left around 8.30am to catch the boat (Flying Coffin) from BSB Jetty. The weather was so bad! It was raining so heavy and the sky is totally dark! I was so worried that I might have to cancel the trip. The journey took about 30-35 mins to reach Temburong jetty and was so relieve that the rain stopped!

We were greet by the contractor's driver. It took another 20 mins drive from the jetty to the meeting point at Batang Duri. The boat were ready when we arrive at Batang Duri and was greeted Janting (local guy there). I think he is Iban. He have been transporting us to Belalong eversince the project started. So he is no stranger to us. His wife will normally join us for the trip.

Boat ride to Belalong take another 30mins. Good thing the weather is cloudy or else we will be roasted by the sun! There is no roof on this long boat (temuai). The water is kinda rough as it has been raining. It will be fun for rafting though..hehe..

As we reach Belalong, we went up to the station. Have a quick check and walk back to the boat. The total trip took about 2 hours and the inspection only last for 3 mins! What a life! We snap few more pictures on the way back to Bangar. Had our lunch at one of our favourite restaurant. Bear in mind, there are no big malls or shopping complex here! Just a few stretch row of shops! That's it.

FYI, Temburong is popular for it's virgin jungle, clear river (when there's no heavy rainfall), canopy walk and few more attractive places. Goto http://visitbrunei.blogspot.com/

Hope to post more of my journey around Brunei and let's get to know Brunei more. Brunei may be a quiet country but there are lots of places where we have not been to...and that's why Brunei is called "Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures"

Tiring But Fun Day Out - Part II - Ulu Belait

Let me ask you this question...How many of you have been to Ulu Belait like Melilas, Sukang and Apak Apak? How many of you have seen crocodile in front of your eyes? I don't mean from the Zoo! How many of you have been in the "Temuai" aka long boat and see the beautiful nature, virgin jungle and so on...

I was at all these 3 locations yesterday and boy we enjoy the trip! The weather was just on our side...it's just cool and cloudy! Perfect for a day out!

It has been raining for the past few days and the water level have risen and eventually flooded some of the houses near to the river. This is very common for the local and that's why they have stilt houses. From the last time I was there, the river have risen about 2 meter! Kinda scary to know how deep the river can be!

Our first trip was to Sekolah Rendah Melilas. It took us about 2 hours to get there. There isn't any soul there as it is school holiday at the moment. For your info, there are less than 20 students in this school. Nothing much over here, just a school and long house.

Next, we went to Sekolah Rendah Sukang. There isn't any student here as well. We do hear voices but not sure where it is from. Hmmmmm....ah well... The school is flooded!

Our last destination was Kg. Apak Apak. There isn't anything here. There used to be people staying here but everyone have move to the city life.

It was quite tiring after being on the boat for a total of 4 hours. It's worth the travel though. My next destination is Temburong. This time I will be going to Belalong UBD Study Field Centre.

Tiring But Fun Day Out - Bukit Teraja

It's been awhile since I hike at Bukit Teraja! The last time I was there was last year. Tell you the truth, I almost turn back and give up on hiking..it was so steep and lots of mosquitoes! hehe

Today, I went with 5 others whom are my clients. The purpose of us climbing Bukit Teraja is to do an inspection on the Rainfall Station that was built under my project.

We were at the foot of Bukit Teraja around 10.30am and start moving at 11:00pm. The weather was fine. Not too hot and cloudy. I feel more relax hiking this time..I think it's because of my regular climb at Tasek Lama's hill. On the way up, we saw many nice stuffs and it's usually good to climb with someone who knows about the jungle. One of my client showed me a tree where the original "Kemayan" came from. It look like ordinary tree but once you burn the clear dried liquid, it does smell of kemayan.

Then about 30mins of climbing, my other clients showed me a toad in between the tree bark! I was so amazed about it as the colour of the frog is almost like the tree bark! Camouflage! Can't stop helping myself taking pictures of it but then was told it's a poisonous toad....then i just move myself away immediately..hehe

We reach to the top of the hill about 1.5 hours later. Wander around and took some pictures as well...nice scenery.

To those who love adventurous climb, please do try Bukit Teraja. Took about 30-40 mins drive in from the main road of Sungai Liang.

Good Bye Old Tyre

It's the time of the car life where your car need some pampering with new tyres! Lately my steering wheel starts to wobbles when i drive...so I suspect either the tyres are not balance or something else. When I check my tyres, the front left tyre is bald!!The tyre thread is 90% gone! And I didn't even realise that! Gosh..how dangerous can that be!

So I went to Sin Hup Huat at Lambak to get it changed. I have to changed both my front tyres. $200+ each! So..have it changed and fill with Nitrogen gas. Went for tyre alignment and the mechanic came to me and told me that it need to camber my tyre and that's the reason why the it wear my left tyre! That cost me $$$ again! In the end, I have to pay $570. There's goes for my saving for a new mobile phone..hehe..

Ah well..better get it done than sorry.

Rainbow at Istana Nurul Iman

As usual, I was doing evening run at Damuan Park. Recently more and more people are doing their exercise at this park! It's good to see Bruneian are conscious about their health.

Anyway, while i was running i saw this rainbow curving from the palace. Too bad I didn't bring my digital camera to take a proper picture of it. Was using my mobile phone instead.

Pelangi On Stage @ Jubilee Park

I was out to the Jubilee Park last night to watch Pelangi On-Stage Concert in conjunction of the Royal Wedding between Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah and YAM Pengiran Anak Khairul Khalil bin Pengiran Syed Haji Jaafari.

It's the only time like this where you can see people of Brunei are out and about Brunei town, bringing their children, boyfriends and girlfriends, teens with their weird hairdo..basically we can see all sort of people (including tourists) but the most important thing is that we enjoy the festivity!

Weather wasn't that good last night but we still manage to watch the concert. It was an entertaining concert. Lots of singing, quizes, comedy and lots more...I manage to snap few pics during the show but was so irritated with these two girls. I was so happy to have found a small open area where I can take pictures without any distraction when they suddenly stand right in front of me ignoring whether I have my camera or not! For goodness sake, I have my camera on my tripod!! Are they blind or what?! Later, I shifted to another location...and guess what!! These two girls followed and AGAIN stand in front of me! I felt like hitting their dumb head using my camera! It was so annoying!!

Anyway, I manage to take few pictures! Not a good one, but good enough to see what was happening last night :) We didn’t stay till the end of the show cos the ladies that were with me can't stand up for too long! Why am I not surprise! Getting out of the stage area is damn difficult! It's like queuing to enter the amusement park! So I got off the walkway and walk on the muddy ground. At least I am away from smelling sweaty bodies and all those alienated smells!! Urrrggghhhhhh...

We enjoy the night and Congrates to Pelangi FM for successfully running another Pelangi On-Stage Concert.

To view more of the pictures taken, you can either here or click RCKP's Activites Photos on my favourite link

Puppy with blue eyes

Had a lovely weekend with my parents. It's nice to be back home at my parents. We had advanced Father's Day celebration cos I will be away next week and dad have to attend a wedding reception. So decide to do it yesterday. The food was not good! The fish is overcooked, the fried chicken is overly dry and hard and it's overly priced! Anyway, it's not a big deal. As long as we enjoy the gathering, chit chatting,...it make the lunch worth while.

After lunch we went to my younger bro's place to taste his bread pudding which he make the day before! And he say it doesn't taste good and expect us to finish it off for him...hehehe...

Have u ever see puppy with blue eyes? Well, my bro do have one and it's my first time to see such a beautiful puppy! The puppy's eyes are blue and have a golden brown fur. So cute...

Too bad my sis don't allow me to keep pet in the house, otherwise i would have snatch one from my bro..hehe

I'm Seeing Yellow....

2 more days before the weekend starts. See the yellow mark on my calendar?? That's my weekend off! So looking forward to that! Need my rest and spend lovely time with my family.

Sometime it's good to get away from City life! Look who's talking! hahaha.. I used to live in a quiet, boring place in Lumut. Eversince I move to the city and started my current job 3 years and 2 months ago, I love and enjoy the city life at first...but now it's getting boring and wanted to be in a quiet environment back in Lumut!

That's life eh..you just never satisfied with what you have!

Certification ISO 9001:2000

After few years working with my current company, we manage to get our ISO 9001:2000. It's not an easy job to get it certified! We have to change lots of our working system, filing and also drawing numbering. But all this hard work pays off after we received our CERTIFICATE!

It's time to party!! Hehehe…

Wet Tuesday Lunch

The weather in Brunei is getting funny! It will be hot and sunny int he morning and after a few hours later, you can see all the dark clouds covering the sky! Little do you know, it will rain and rain!

It was cloudy before I leave for lunch and half way driving to my lunch destination...the roads are wet! And you can see that one side of the road is dry and the other side is wet! Funny eh! That's what they say, it's the act of GOD!

Normally if i'm having lunch alone, I will either go to Ayamku, Jolibee or Ideal. Damn! These places make my tummy grumble! Finally I decide to have my lunch at Jolibee! Seriously, Jolibee's food are getting better! I love the fries! It's crispy and hot! Unlike some fast food restaurant, they serve you left over fries or cold fries!! Idiot!

I ordered Crispy Chicken Burger value meal. Friendly service. That's what we want in Brunei! Friendly cashier, shop assistant and waiter!

Met a friend there which I have not seen for over 5 years now! The last time I met him was in 2001, when i was still in Liverpool! Unbelievable that time pass us by so fast! And his body size also double up from the last time I saw him..hehe...

I enjoyed my lunch and feel sleepy right now after that nice meal.

Royal Wedding Festivity

Went out last nite with few friends to the capital to enjoy the activities, night market and lots of stuffs happening in the capital in conjunction of the Royal Wedding on 10 June 2007.

We actually bought the ticket to watch Pirates of the Carribean. Since it's still early, we went to de Royalle Cafe (our favourite cafe) to have our dinner before the show start at 10.15pm.

While sitting down, we saw people passing by. Some kids running around. Kids crying wanted to buy toys but the parents refuse to get it. That's typical of kids! Unlike my time...i hardly get any toys! All I have is gravel and marbles! Not forgetting rubber band ^_^ ...You can do lots of things with rubber band ^_^.

You can only see lots of people around the capital at night when there is festivity like Sultan's Birthday. This is the only time the Capital become lively!

The movie is over 2.5 hours! It's a good movie but it's not good for sleepy heads...like some of my friends who snores in the middle of the movie!! When they woke up, they will ask, eh...what happen to Will!! What hapen to jack! How come Elizabeth become the Captain..bla bla bla... Can be annoying though...hehehe..Overall rating for the movie 8/10.

It's AMAZING

An interesting day out. It's quite amazing what can happen in the sky without you knowing it! Was out with friends and one of the them was excited to see what appear to be rainbow which is circling around the sun! Don't know what it call but IT's AMAZING!

Gloomy Day At Work

It has been a very boring few weeks in the office. I have nothing to do! There isn't any project at the moment...welll..there is but it has not been awarded yet.

I have been spending my time surfing on the net and do a bit of work just to kill the time! Not forgetting my caffeine too to keep me sane and awake.

Weather today is not good. It has been cloudy since this morning and now it's pouring cats and dogs! Thundery too!!

My Pet Turtle

Bugs Bugs Bugs

I think there are bugs flying, running, spreading around the country right now! Everyone seems to be sick. Cold, Fever, Cough and sore throat! It's probably the inconsistent of Brunei's weather.

In the office, everyone seems to be sick. Most of them with running nose. I just hate getting cold! I will feel really lousy when I catch it! The worst thing is I get very hungry when i get the cold! Damn cold!!

The weather today is a bit gloomy. Nothing much to do in the office. Getting bored sitting in the office and do nothing!

Jaclyn Victor 'TRIPPED'

After seeing a short video of Jaclyn Victor tripped from the stair while she was on stage, it urge me to get the full length of it...hehe.. It's one of those mistake or accident that artist did. This is a LIVE show! I bet it is really embarassing but she cover it up really professionally and continue with the show!

Jaclyn Victor is a marvellous singer and really adore her!

Lazy Weekend

Nothing much happen for the past few days. It's a slow and boring week. Over the weekend, I didn't do much. My parents stay over at my place last thursday and went back to KB on Sunday.

Watched AF5 final and was so glad that MILA won the show and she is the FIRST FEMALE WINNER since AF started in 2003! She was amazing!

I bought a wireless security camera on Saturday! Well, my sis is getting a housemaid soon and we never trust the housemaid when they are still new! So decide to get the camera and video recorded her moves when we are not at home for work! For trial, I put the camera in the kitchen. My sis didnt know that i have install the camera and i caught her eating again(after having breakfast at her in-law's house) and walking around the kitchen cleaning the sink and so on..hehe..

It will be fun to see what the new housemaid will do when she work with us!!

$$$ New Spectacles $$$

Since my conjunctivitis, I decide to wear less of contact lens and more on glasses. I wore my old spectacles and it's kinda blurry and gave me a crap day yesterday! I have headache and blurry vision the whole day.

Just after work, I went to the Optician (Vision Express) to get my eyes check. As usual I will look through all the spectacles frame and I must say...there are few nice ones! Then this nice beautiful filipino staff came to assists me. She told me that they have special offers! OOooooo..I just hate the words OFFER when you know you will have to spend quite alot for a spectacles! I can get a 2nd pair of spectacles FREE if I spend B$200 on the first one!

Damn Offers! It really tempt me! So I was sitting in the shop thinking, shall i get a new spectacles as my old is not in a good shape...hehe....That's what I think though..hehe..

Finally I decide to have a new one done and chose the frames that I want :). I have the expensive frame for my everyday wear and the other one as my sunglasses. Went for the eye test and GOD!! my eyesight is getting worst! My left eye is increase by 25 and right eye increase by 50! In total I paid $260 for both my spectacles. There goes my $$$$!!

It only take them an hour to complete both my spectacles. Fast eh! It's kinda weird to see myself with this new spectacles..but after awhile, it looks fine and as my friends say "WHY U LOOK SO CHINESE OH!!" It does make me look chinese with this new frame :) SO here is how I look now...

Camping at Belaban (Ulu Tutong)

After few days of ordeal from my sore eye, I manage to get out of the house and went camping. I went there with the same group of friends, John, Minah, Jospeh & Fanny (Newcomer).

John picked me up from home at 10.15am. We are meeting Joseph at one of the restaurant in Lamunin at 11am. When we arrive at Lamunin, Joseph called and say he will be late and will arrive by 11.30am. So we decide to have lunch while waiting for him. Joseph arrived a bit ealier and he bring a bird with him!! When I say bird, doesn't mean a real bird. To make it simple, Joseph brought a girl with him. He introduce Fanny to us and admit that she is his sister, which later we found out she isn't! She is too pretty to be Joseph's sister...hehe

We got to the camping site at 12.30pm. It was really hot that day! We have to carry our stuffs and walk for about 5 mins to the camping site! We set up the camp...bla bla bla..the usual things and then rest for a while. Suddenly we heard noises of moving object. Got a bit excited to see what it was and to our disappointment, there were 2 goats and a cow wandering around our camping site. We were expecting for some wild animals! Ah well.....Anyway, there is one of the goats that wasn't afraid of human at all. She will just come in and munch the grass and even try to steal our food!

We then went fishing..well me and Jospeh. The rest went to the river and cool themselves up. We didn't have a proper spot for fishing so we went into one of the local's boat (temuai) and do our fishing. No luck at all...there isn't any fish that eat our baits!! Good thing Joseph brought his Thai Net with him and manage to catch 6 small fishes..hehe..better than nothing!

During the night, we start up our camp fire. We had lamb chop BBQ and also sausages for dinner. We chit chatted all through the night and John had too much to drink! Good thing he didnt do any unwanted show since his trousers keep falling down on him..hehe...

We do not allow any conversation regarding work! It's meant for us to enjoy and getting out of the city and basically relax our mind and get drunk! We went to bed quite early as the rain start pouring heavily!

The night was quite cool and woke up at 3am to have my No.1. I can see all the bright stars in the sky which you can hardly see it when you are in the city! It was so beautiful.

Woke up around 6am and Minah is still asleep! Minah is John's amah. She suppose to do breakfast for us and she overslept. Minah is a lovely amah and have a very good sense of humour. How can we continue our camping without Minah..hehe.

Guess who appear while we have our breakfast! The goat!! She just came in start stuffing her face with grasses. We actually ignore her and without us knowing, she ate our food! We were a bit pissed off but laugh in the end as we look at the goat eating without bothering what's around her!

We left the camping site around 1 and then stop by few places to do some site seeing.