Wonderful Trip to Brunei!

[travelgeek]

Dear Travellers

I want to share about my experences in Brunei, I've heard many rumours on how Brunei is a very boring country.... Well its not.

My wife and I checked into this grand 5+Star Hotel called Empire Hotel, which was amazing. Marble everywhere including the toilets. It was a resort with a cinema near by and a view of the beach, not to mention the sunset we saw from the balcony of our room.

During our 4-day trip, we took boat rides in "Kampung Air" (Water Village) which was pleasantly located at the market, where we bought fish crackers. Brunei is well known for their unfried fish crackers. "Kampung Air" was amazing, you could see houses built on stilts and even schools on water. These buildings were connected by a bridge paths made of wood, so that kids can go to school by walking on theses "bridges". Fantastic, a Kodak moment for us!

If you are planning to go Brunei, make sure you make arragements for transportation, coz there are virtually NO CABS around. As they are a rich country everybody seems tomhave their own car. Lucky them:rolleyes:

Remember to try their delicacy called "ambuyat" hope i spelled that correct. Its this guey mixture, nicknamed as "Glue", your suppose to dip it in sauce and swallow it whole while using a chopstick-like device. (Not my favorite part of the trip)

But Brunei has lots of wonderful places to eat, the best was at "Airport Buffet" its a buffet at the airport. Best buffet spread ever! All the food there are "Halal" by the way.

Anyways, I've tons of things to tell you guys but I don't wanna get carried away.

Cheers
TravelGeek

[Rik Brown]

Please do get carried away. Would love to hear more.... -- Rik

[travelgeek]

It was in mid-July, the weather was good, the sun was shining and a perfect day for a trip to Brunei Darussalam. My wife and I have decided to venture to the unknown regions of Brunei Darussalam, a country North of the Peninsula of Malaysia between Sarawak and Thailand.

We were told that Brunei was an unfavourable place to visit for a vacation, as it was dull and there was nothing much to do at night. With all the sceptics around us, we packed our bags and tried our luck of proving them wrong. We have planned for a 4-Day 3-Night trip and brought with us around SGD400 each.

We started our journey taking a bus from Singapore to Johor Bahru - cost SGD1.60 each

From Johor we took another bus to Senai Airport - cost RM8 each

Took approx 45 minutes to reach the airport, we have pre-booked a two return air tickets from Senai to Miri, Miri to Senai. - cost SGD199 for both.

We took an AirAsia Flight for the first time, took us about 4 hours to reach Miri, which is still in Malaysia but very close to Brunei. Please remember to pre-book the transportation to Brunei to as there are practically no cabs there, so be prepared. We arranged a pick-up from Miri Airport to Brunei - cost SGD35 each.

The first day was hectic so we crashed at a friends house for the night. The next day, my wife and I, checked into the Empire Hotel, a grand 5-Star Hotel, the most prestigious resort in Brunei Darussalam. Here is where my perseption slowly leaned toward a positive yet excited path.

The resort was gorgeous, we happened to be lucky to get a room with a beautiful view of the coastline - cost for 3Days - 2Nights was about SGD500. Well worth the money spent. Spent our time walking by the beach, and mingling in the lobby which was completely made of marble.

Anyways, after the pleasant surprise, we went out to the market to buy some crackers, which was said to one of Bruneis finest product. After the trip to the market, we got a boat ride- cost SGD8 for a tour of “Kampung Air” - water village. Saw houses and schools on stilts. It was breathtaking, you can actually see kids on boats and some running on makeshift bridges just to go to school. The tour lasted about 15 - 20 minutes, depending on how informative the boatman is.

After the exhilarating tour, we went for lunch, at a Japanese restaurant - basic Japanese food though nothing special. By that time it was time to make it back to the hotel. at about 6.30 - 7.00pm, we opened our blinds to capture, one of the best ever romantic things you can ever experience in your entire life. There infront of us, was the sunset, pure bliss. Beautiful!

That night, we have a friend to drive us around the city, everything was closed by then but there were a few cafes still open - we actually bought 2 sandwiches -cost SGD15. We took pictures of the mosques in the area. These mosques were so amazing that you might think that it was made in heaven - I am not kidding.

The next day, we decided to splash some cash in the shopping malls, we went to a place called “The Mall”, some normal stuff you can find in any other mall though, BUT ladyluck was by our side, there was an IT convention going on and hell yeah! we bought some electronics. HP printers were going for less than a 100bucks - and the inks cheap too.

For lunch, we went to a local restuarant, there they served the Bruneians’ delicacy called “Ambuyat”, a sticky, gooey and starchy substance. It’s nickname….. “Glue.” It was served with some gravy and other funny sauces, using a chopstick-like device we are suppose to twirl it round and dip it in the sauces BEFORE - get this- swallowing it whole without chewing. If you happen to chew your teeth will be stuck together - literally. Its a must have experience if you visit Brunei, but thats the last time I’m trying that dish again.

After the thrill seeking ”fear factor” style dish, we were on our way to Jerudong park -the only theme park in Brunei. Cost per entry SGD15. Fun rides everywhere, rollercoasters, huge swinging thingees the WORKS! To bad I hadn’t had the stomach to go on any of those rides. If you are a thrill seeker yourself, try the “Ambuyat ” first before your go for the rides.

It was night again, for dinner we went to this place called “Airport”, its an airport but it hosts one of the best buffet spreads in Brunei. When we got there, we strongly agreed. They were having ”Curry Specials” and the buffet was tantalizingly scrumptous. We ate and ate and ate and ate……oh and ate. Cost per person - SGD25. The best meal ever. I gained maybe 5kilos that night and I’m still thinking of the Tiramisu that was served that night. Thats what I call sweet dreams.

Alas, it was our final day in Brunei. In the resort itself, there is a cinema where you can watch the lastest movies on show. So if your a movie buff, thats should be good for you. I spent the last night in my bathtub, in the bathroom made out of marble. Felt like a king.

Its morning again. Time to pack our bags for home. Before that we had to go for breakfast in the hotel. Breakfast was a delight. Everything that you could think of was there. From croissants to bagels, blue cheese to cheese spreads, omeletes to scrambled eggs, yogurts to ice-cream and many, many, many more. Another 5kilos was added on that morning.

Time to head home. I had a splendid vacation there, and to all the sceptics out there! Brunei Darussalam is Asia’s Best Kept Secret! in my book, anytime anywhere. Enjoy!

Regards
TravelGeek

[travelgeek]

Originally Posted by travelgeek

. My wife and I have decided to venture to the unknown regions of Brunei Darussalam, a country East of the Peninsula of Malaysia between Sarawak and Sabah.

Oh.. If you want to plan a trip to Brunei, go in Mid-June to Mid July, thats when the Sultan is celebrating his birthday! So lots of things will be in store, like concerts, fairs and other bunch of goodies. The celebration will last a month, so have fun!

Cheers
Travel Geek