A Bit About Bruneian Buses (17. Jan.)

Before going somewhere, one should have an idea of how one will get around during their stay.
I, fortunately, had a very generous and gracious hostess who gave me rides to (and picked me up from) town (Bandar Seri Begawan). Bandar is walkable, but if you need to leave the city, I hope you rent a car--or use Dart, Brunei's "Uber."

Before I go on, I should make a disclaimer that I've been living in Korea for (a total of) 4.5 years. Korea's public transportation is excellent. The States only has public transport in major cities (or so it feels). I can honestly say, Korea has spoiled me concerning reliable, cheap, and efficient public transportation.

Brunei has public transportation--buses, taxis, and Dart. Most people drive their own cars--and with fuel being about BND 0.50/liter (that's the lowest I've ever remembered seeing outside the States), it's no wonder.

I've used all three modes. Taxis are not so expensive (compared to Korea), but they are costly for the locals. Dart is more manageable than taxis. I've used the app twice, both times were very positive. Now, on to buses...

Bruneian Buses

There is a bus system, and it works--just not too well for me. 

There are 6 bus lines, and each is color-coded: Circle (light blue), Central Business (brown), Northern (green), Eastern (blue), Southern (gray), and Western (purple). A ride on any bus is always BDN 1.

One of many buses.

However, punctuality and regularity are not their strengths. They may leave the terminal on time, but along the route, the drivers may take a break, chat with others, drop an elderly person off at the door of their home (entirely out of the way), and so on. 

How often do the buses come round? If you're lucky, every 20 or 30 minutes. Some routes are every hour. I've heard of a route being serviced every 4 hours.

If you want to go to a particular stop, you'll need to ask the driver if he's going there. If he thinks no one is going to a specific stop, he will skip it (trust me, I know).

An average bus stop.

All in all, I wouldn't say Brunei's bus system is terrible. However, it definitely needs some work. It served to remind me that not everywhere will have Korea's (and other countries') amazing public transport system. I was also reminded that I was in a country where time moves slower, and the people are more relaxed. It's good to be humbled (or challenged) every once in a while (gotta look at the positive, right?). This is part of what makes traveling such a useful method of reflection and development.

Drive-by palace (in a bus) clip

Inside a bus, sure that no one was behind me.
I'm not upset! I'm just concentrating on the selfie. The ride was a tad bumpy.

Ulu Temburong (16. Jan. 2019)

Ulu Temburong is a national (rainforest) park in the Temburong district of Brunei.
If you want to visit it, you basically have to go with a tour group. Brunei's government is doing all it can to protect the Temburong district.
There is only 1 resort, and the best way to get there (and back) is via longboat.

I had done a lot of research before this trip, asking for prices and such. To make a long story short, I ended up booking a tour at the check-in desk of The Brunei Hotel. If I had gone alone, I would've paid about BND 195 (this is the solo-traveler, having a tour all to oneself price tag). Since I joined a group, I paid BND 150 (you can click here for my favorite online currency converter).
Much better, don't you agree?

A miracle of miracles,
I DO have my pictures from this day!
YAY!

Let's go to them.

The day started very early. I had to meet a guy from the tour company (AZ Back 2 Nature) at The Brunei Hotel at 7am. We both arrived earlier, so we set off earlier. He took me to the main Jetti to get a boat to Temburong.
 Oh wait, I took a picture of my best BND 1 breakfast I've had in Brunei there. That picture was lost. Blast.
I do have the following picture, though!

Sungai Kebun Bridge inaugurated back in Oct. 2017.

My boat to Temburong. Imagine 45 minutes in this.
I found it better than I expected.

A lady picked me up and took me out to breakfast (my 2nd) as we waited for the other 3 people I was going to join. I found out her entire family was working in this tour venture. She was our driver. Her first son was our guide along the trek. His grandfather was the longboat "driver." Her husband helped set up our lunch (which she cooked). Their younger son (our guide's younger brother) assisted in setting and cleaning up the lunch site. So nice to know our money was going to supporting this family.

Just off the Jetti in Temburong.

A map for better visualization.

Let's drive down to where we got on the longboat.

Traditional longhouse. Up to 15 families (all related) would live in one.

Made it to the longboat. Everyone got in one at a time. Before we realized what was going on, we were off, whizzing on the river's surface, off to the start of "the trek."

First clip of the long boat ride.

This was too cool.

Second clip of longboat ride

We had to register here before we could continue on to our trek.

Near the entrance to the trek.

See the stairs? That's where our 747-step trek starts!

Walk up . . . 

. . . and up . . .

. . . and up some more . . .

Then up to the canopy walk.

Just remember these, and you'll be fine.

What you climb up

Oh, about to step on the first bridge (of 5)!

Whoa!

Walk along the canopy.

Look at that view!

How can you not enjoy this? Oh, if you're afraid of heights, well...

This was the highlight of my Bruneian trip.

Heights-lover in heaven (... whoa, no pun intended)

An almost 360-degree panorama from where I stood.
Nah, you gotta be here to really get it.

Looking down at the previous bridges.

"Look at this view!"

"I mean, just look at this view!!"

"Almighty, Eternal, Loving FATHER GOD, Thank YOU!!!"

Time to go back down. Same as going up.
Wait, you can't see the bottom, can you...

In case you were wondering how many steps it took.

If you noticed, there were no other people in my pictures. I think we spotted about 2 or 3 different (small) tour groups and 3 men who help maintain the place. Our guide said the torrential downpour from the night before could've deterred many people from venturing out there that day. He said many tourists were roaming through the area the day before. Perhaps this can be a tip: if you want to avoid the crowds, try to go on the day after it rains. Don't quote me on that, though. I will not be responsible if it backfires on you!

Once we got back down to the longboat, it started to rain. Talk about timing! There were parts in the trek that were a little slippery without the rain. We were all so grateful.

We rode on the longboat back to the resort. Water below us, water above. I don't think I've ever had a more natural shower in my life. Except for getting my glasses wet (which I don't really like), that was one of the best boat rides I've ever been on.
Back at the resort, there's a small waterfall. At the foot of said waterfall, there are small fish--doctor fish. You take your shoes and socks off, step in (the deeper, the better), and wait for the fish to start nibbling your feet.
It. Was. Weird.
It felt like pins stabbing my feet all over--but only surface-deep, not any deeper.
All four of us agreed that it was an "interesting" experience. I'll leave the definition of "interesting" up to you.

The waterfall where you can have your own Dr. Fish experience.

From here, whoever wanted to go tubing down the river had the chance to go. The rest of us would meet the "tubers" at the campsite where our lunch was getting prepared.

The campsite's sign.

Our view of the river during lunch.

We ate our lunch in the top part.

After a delectable lunch (chicken curry, spicy fish curry, veggies with fried eggs (and regularly steamed vegetables for someone who was vegan), basmati rice, coffee or tea, and fresh Rambutan for dessert), we had to say goodbye and make our way back to Temburong. From there, we'd catch a boat back to Bandar and on to our respective paths.
Ulu Temburong was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit Brunei. I was not disappointed.

Part of the ride back.


**BONUS**

Taking a bus back to my hostess's place, I took a quick snapshot of the entrance to the Sultan's palace. From what I've heard/read about his insane mansion, this gate is only the tip of the iceberg's tip. Click on the name for more info about the largest residence in the world of any country's leader: Istana Nurul Iman.

Just the gate. This is nothing compared to what's inside.

Recovered Images from Monday & Tuesday, 14.-15. Jan. 2019

For these two days, I lost all (yes, 100%) of my photos. I could only salvage 5 videos from these two days. 

Then, a wonderful friend reminded me that I sent him 5 pictures on WhatsApp. Hooray! Five photos recovered! All the images were of the Jame Asr Hassanil Mosque just outside of Bandar (Seri Begawan). Seriously, this is one of the most beautiful mosques/buildings I have ever seen in my entire life.

The hall between the men's & women's prayer rooms.

You need to walk through this hall.

Inside the Jame Asr Hassanil Mosque

I was told it was ok to take my phone/camera. I don't know why, but I wasn't going to ask.

The name in Jawi and Latin script.

The northern entrance

I understand the escalator is exclusively for the sultan?

A Call to Prayer. I recorded this just outside the mosque, yet still on its property.

Monkeys near Kianngeh Market

Wandering through the city, I got to Kianggeh Market. Nearby, I saw a few monkeys.
This video is the evidence of what I saw.

Monkeys caught on camera. Can you see all 3 monkeys?

Kampong Ayer

Back on Sunday, January 13, I had a short tour of Kampong Ayer. I saw the schools, clinics, mosques, police stations, and fire station in this village. I took pictures of them. However, all that remains is the video below.

Clip of my tour through Kampong Ayer


On Tuesday, January 15, I decided to go back and try to walk around a bit in Kampong Ayer.

 A short walkthrough in Kampong Ayer.

At the last home to the right, I bought a huge thing of rice with a spicy chicken drumstick. That chicken was just at my spiciness-limit. Maybe a little over, but not by much.
It only cost $2 (Bruneian), and that filled me up. It was enormous.

A water taxi ride from Kampong Ayer back to the city.

So much else I did, but no footage to share here.

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien (SOAS) Mosque and Jubli Park (13. Jan. 2019)

After looking through the Royal Regalia Museum, I went to Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas park (this park is right behind the mosque). With my carryon in tow, I walked to the street behind the Royal Regalia Museum, which took me straight to the mosque.

Department of Syariah Affairs

On my way to the mosque, I came across this interesting-looking building. Thanks to Google, I now know it is the department in charge of propagating Islam and of supporting it as the state religion (which it is).

In case you were wondering, Shariah Law is enforced here. That being said, except for the stares from different men on a few occasions, I've never felt threatened. I genuinely felt pretty safe and secure as a solo female traveler in Brunei.

Back to the mosque!

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien (SOAS) Mosque

The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien (SOAS) Mosque 

There she is. Isn't she a beauty?

Wow

I was impressed.

On the bridge between the mosque and the Jubli park

A 360-degree panorama from the same bridge in the previous photo.

Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas park

Crossing the bridge in the previous picture, I entered Jubli Park. There was a sort of bridge. If you know me, you know how much I love bridges. Allow me to share a few views from a not-so-great-quality camera.

Up at a bridge on the other side of Jubli park, giving another 360-degree view.

SOAS Mosque (and most of the city) from the park.

Kampong Ayer (Brunei's water village) just a little distance away. 

A boat race I happened to stumble upon.

Here's some of (the end of) the boat race.

A bridge to Kampong Ayer.

Crescent moon on Jubli Park's hinter bridge.

Where do you want to go?

back to SOAS mosque

How about we go back to the mosque?

The boat with its own special ramp. 

A view of the central dome through the columns.

Can Non-Muslims go inside? Yes, we can, as long as we cover up.

Don't worry, they've got what you need (black robes for both genders, and headscarves for ladies).

See, they've got you covered (no pun intended).

Inside the mosque (I was told it was ok to take pictures).

Just look at that ceiling. 

My headscarf folding skills are everyone's envy, I know.
That scarf is mine, by the way. Bought it in South Africa.

Unfortunate realization

As I was going through my pictures for this blog, I realized something. I don't have all my photos from Brunei. There are 2 days where all I have are about 5 videos in total. I must've taken over 50 pictures each day--and they are all gone. I don't have all my photos from this day--or any day, for that matter. I wanted to scream.

Since I have an Android phone and a Google account, my photos from my camera (somehow) are saved in my Google Photos page. However, I cannot find many of my photographs in my Google Photos page--and I deleted most from my phone to be able to take more photos and videos.

I feel stupid.

Am I the only idiot this kind of thing happens to?

If it's any consolation, at least I have a ton more photos and videos that did make it (and that Google Photos mysteriously decided to save?). Let me share what I do have.

Families were chillin' at this large plaza by Yayasan Shopping Complex.

The call to prayer from SOAS Mosque, as families continue to play and ride around.

Lovely evening, with SOAS in the background.

My photos from my night market experience (what I saw and ate) are gone. So are the ones of Jubli Park at night, full of families and friends relaxing, playing, racing, and having a great wholesome time. So are the signs of the French & German embassies that are in Yayasan shopping mall. I took a boat tour around and through the water village, but you'll have to take my word for it, since my photos vanished, although one video did make it. I'm sure there's more, but I cannot remember them now.