In Limbang...

The new airport in Limbang.... its runaway looks longer than the one we have in BRunei!

The Limbang Museum - 1897 - do this house is roughly 110 years old and still looking good... The oldest building in Brunei is probably Bumbungan Dua Belas, the former British REsident home, which overlooks Kampong Ayer in Bandar SEri Begawan.

An interesting read on how BRunei lost the Lawas District to the Brooke family, 1905

Towards Limbang...

The only time Brunei and Malaysian flag can stand together? at their international waters... at Kg Ujung Jalan, Puni, Temburong.
Before you leave Limbang, dont forget to get your passport chopped at the Immigration post here before going to Kuala Lurah.... Technically, your passport will be chopped for at least 8 times on the way to KK and back again - so 16 chops... I'm getting my passport renewed...
Scene of Limbang Town
Limbang Tamu (market)

Brunei Labu Immigration/Customs Checkpoint

Supposedly "Temporary" but the Malaysian on the other side of the road is in the process of building a new CIQ building, possibly smaller than the one they are building at Kuala Lurah border....

I guess the "temporary" would be permanent boarder....

RM10 ferry

Above the hill will be Brunei's border

Hey, we reach Brunei in 3 hours from KK (with stops at Beaufort for pee), hehehe

Sabah/Sarawak Border

Clean toilet at the Sindumin Immigration Checkpoint.
The bridge crossing over Batang Lawas - or sungai Lawas
Look rock pebbels!

Site and Scene of the Journey from KK to Sindumin

The bridge on the right is important to drivers to KK as that would be the indication to turn left once he/she reach the town of Beaufort, Sabah, inorder to go to KK.
Welcome to Sipitang
Reminds me of old Muara where the shophouses are just infront of the sea - here in Sipitang, its literally facing the South China Sea
The view of the mountain range, knowing that you will reach the Sabah and Lawas, Limbang boarder of Sarawak.

Site and Scene of KK City

Taking some pictures of Kota Kinabalu City.... Its growing and even the new University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is HUGE!!!.. The new administrative city of Sabah, which is near UMS, is also new and huge - reminds me of Puterajaya in Kuala Lumpur.

KK Tamu - its mango from the Philippines

Every city got Chinatown and KK has it as well!

(Reminds me of NBT Chinese new year decoration - heheh)

A Dangerous Trip to Kinabalu

The locals have no worries when it comes to overtaking cars in this narrow, one lane path to the Kinabalu Park. We have many near misses when big trucks to small mini cars just overtake, even at bends (selekoh)... Even the exit, to go out of Kinabalu Park was quite dangerous because there's no indication that would stop oncoming cars from possible cars coming out of the junction.

See that truck!

Mind you, on the left is the side of the mountain, just imagine how SCARY it was to drive all the way up the mountain! Its a road bend and yet that small car dared to overtake, taking chances that there wouldnt be any car in the front from the opposite direction.

Kinabalu Park

When we asked the hotel tour - they told us that it would cost about RM180 per person to go to Kinabalu Mountain. Since there were 5 of us, we thought that was very very steep.

Undeterred, since this is my 5th trip and wanted to see Kinabalu closeup, all of us agreed to just follow the signboard and off we to Kinabalu Park location (Kaundasang)... it was a hair-raising experience going to the mountain indeed!

Costs RM15 for foreign registered car to enter the Park... Mind you, in the Park, we basically drive through and see forests found at 2000 or 3000m above sea level! Not my kind of Park...

A trip to Mount Kinabalu

" Half" way to the Kinabalu Park, shaken with the reckeless driving by the local people in the narrow road to Kinabalu Park (above 2,000 to 4,000 km above sea level), we took a break and stop by the road to have a look of the Kinabalu mountain.

Unfortunately, the mountain summit was covered by clouds in the afternoon. The local people told us, the best view of the mountain will be in the early morning, where will be less cloud and wouldnt cover the summit.

Pathway to the toilet...

And this is the toilet... boleh lah - clean jua...

A trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Many people who go to KK for holiday, firstly think of the cheap and great seafood that they will have once they reach the city. For our trip this time, its no different.... but 2 days in a row to eat seafood is really terrible - how much sea shells can one eat? Fish is no problem, but no more shells.... (ps. shells are not good if consumed too much, may cause damage to the liver - since the food consumed by these shells are sea dirt anyway).... hehehh

Oyster (RM18/kg)

Lobster (RM27/100g)

(Note: Its very expensive to eat at any of the portview restaurants in KK, better go to the middle of the city where there's a seafood restaurant with several stalls operating, and the prices of the seafood are negotiable - from RM15/100g to RM18/100g)

Brunei and Solar Energy

"Brunei can be entirely independent from oil for its electricity supply under an ambitious plan to use environment-friendly solar technology to power up 100 per cent of the sultanate by 2015".

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Very good news... but can it be done?

All Brunei can be link by broadband internet connection in ____, yet in 2007, the infrastructure is still bad.

E-government will make business with government easy and faster, more accountable and transparent, yet 3 years on (?), the success of the project is still in doubt.

Brunei as the hub of transport and tourism by 2003, yet by 2007, we are still not a hub of anything yet....

Sorry, but it takes more will than mere words to make things happen...

Chinese Wedding Invitation and Engagement, Brunei (2)

Sometimes couples who feel that the invitation card given by the Restaurant is not "pretty" or they have their own design, they would fork out the $$ to make their own card design at a printing shop...

The card below and above were issed by couples who had their reception at Centrepoint ballroom, Gadong (long before the Hua Ho Mall opens)

Below is a sample of an engagement announcement, on the left which was designed and printed by the couple, while on the right is a standard engagement card, given together with cakes or pasteries to relatives and friends.

Chinese Wedding Invitation in Brunei....

Constituting over 15% of Brunei's total population, the Chinese community in Brunei is indeed living peacefully in the Abode of Peace, Brunei. Many Chinese locals and foreigners have contributed significantly in the country's economic development and many of them work in the country's private sector.

Chinese New Year, which was recently celebrated is one of the country's public holiday and when it comes to wedding, its celebrated together with relatives and friends, regardless of their religion. Nowadays, wedding banquets are held in "halal" restaurants, where Muslim friends and relatives can join in the celebration. Here are some of the wedding invitations which maybe given by the restaurants once it is booked for a wedding reception.

Wedding invitation (top and bottom) from RBC - either Dynasty Restaurant, Emperor's Court or Gadong Centrepoint ballroom

Wedding invitation card issued by ORchid Garden Hotel, Berakas

Wedding invitation card from Seri Kamayan Restaurant, Utama Bowling Centre

Hokkien Chinese New Year, 9th day

I didnt know that Hokkien has another new year celebrated in every Chinese New Year and after a brief browse in the internet, i found information on this....

Legend has it that in days of yore, a foreign army invaded the Hokkien heartland. All the Hokkien soldiers fled into the fields and immediately a whole forest of sugar cane sprung up to hide the army and protect it from the enemy. This saved the Hokkien race and since then the Hokkiens have celebrated the ninth day of the Lunar New Year by placing stalks of sugar cane on either side of the front door. This is also the birthday of the Heavenly Jade Emperor.

On the 9th day of the New Year is the Hokkien Chinese (Fujianese) custom to "Bai Tian Gong «ô¤Ñ¤½ " or praying to the Heavenly God. On this day all businessmen regardless of their ethnic origin, also pray to Tian Gong) and wish that their businesses will be prosperous in the coming year.

The Hokkien Chinese offer the Tian Gong with sugar canes, roast pigs and fruit but no cooked ducks or chickens. Legend had it that that during the Song Dynasty 960AD to 1279AD), when the Mongolians conquered Fujian province, many Fujianese hid themselves in the sugarcane groves. For many days they stayed in the groves without food, but chewing sugar canes to sustain their lives. After the hordes of Mongols left they returned to their homes. They were very grateful to the sugar canes for saving their lives. The day they came out of the sugarcane groves was the 9th day of the New Year. From then on, in every year on that day, in order to commemorate their lucky escape, the Fujianese (Hokkiens) used sugar canes to pray to the Heavenly God.

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I read a comment in our famous HYS website about why the 7 Malay races of Brunei, such as Malay Brunei, Tutong, Belait, Kedayan, Murut, Bisaya and Dusun are not given the privilages of having their new year as a national holiday. AFterall, according to the comment, the Chinese are given their holiday during their new year, but how about the Dusun, who celebrate their new year on the 1st of May....

Its an interesting comment and worth thinking about. When i mentioned to my colleague about it, he dismissed the idea of the other distinct races and lump them together as Malays, hence they must only celebrate Islamic new year.... One must remember that not all Dusun, (whose heritage are roumoured to be a mixture of Malay and Chinese ancestory over centuries ago) are Muslims hence what is brought up is quite sensible...

Penghulu and Ketua Kampong

KELAYAKAN CALON KETUA KAMPUNG:
(Village Head Eligibility)

1. Setiap calon Ketua kampung hendaklah:-

a) Seorang lelaki yang terdiri daripada rakyat Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam.
(Must be Brunei Citizen)

b) Sekurang-kurangnya mempunyai kelulusan Pelajaran di peringkat Tingkat III atau kelulusan yang sebandingnya;
(Have Form 3 education)

c) Bermastautin di kampung yang akan diketuainya tidak kurang dua (2) tahun sebelum atau pada tarikh pencalonannya. Bermastautin adalah bermaksud bahawa calon Ketua Kampung hendaklah benar-benar tinggal di kampung yang berkenaan dalam tempoh yang dikehendaki di mana calon itu mempunyai tempat kediaman dan mendiami tempat tersebut.
(Stayed in the village for over 2 years)

d) Berumur tidak kurang 30 tahun dan tidak lebih 60 tahun sebelum atau pada tarikh pencalonannya.
(Over 30 years of age, but not over 60 years at the time of his candidature)

e) Tidak menjadi ahli atau tidak terlibat sama ada secara langsung atau tidak di dalam sebarang pertubuhan siasah yang difikirkan boleh menjejaskan kepentingan atau keselamatan Negara.
(Not involve in any _____ activities which can affect the national interest and security of the country)

f) Mempunyai pengetahuan yang baik dalam agama Islam, kemasyarakatan dan adat resam setempat yang lazimnya diamalkan oleh masyarakat kampung berkenaan.
(Good knowledge of Islamic religion, community and the culture of the village)

g) Mempunyai perwatakan, ketokohan dan sifat-sifat kepim-pinan yang baik dan bersesuaian sebagai seorang pemimpin mengikut amalan kehidupan orang-orang Brunei serta pemedulian dan;
(Have the leadership quality which is inline with the culture of Bruneians and caring)

h) Tidak pernah diisytiharkan muflis di bawah undang-undang yang dikuatkuasakan di negara ini dalam tempoh dua (2) tahun sebelum pencalonannya, termasuk pada tarikh pencalonan melainkan sebelum itu pengisytiharan muflis telah dibatalkan oleh mahkamah.
(Never charged with bankruptcy in the last 2 years of his candidature)

2. Calon yang terdiri daripada Pegawai Kerajaan akan dipersarakan jika dilantik sebagai Ketua Kampung dan akan menikmati faedah dari jawatannya seperti yang ditetapkan dalam Akta Pencen.
(Candidates working in the public sector will be relieved of their occupation if appointed as Village Head and will be given the benefits as specified in the Pension Act)

3. Calon yang terdiri daripada ahli perniagaan atau pengusaha apabila dilantik menjadi Ketua kampong boleh menguruskan perniagaan atau perusahaannya menurut syarat-syarat yang ditentukan oleh Menteri Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri.
(Candidates from the business sector when appoined as Village Head can continue their business in accordance with the Ministry of Home Affairs regulations)

4. Seorang pencadang dan dua (2) orang penyokong yang mencalonkan Ketua kampong hendaklah terdiri daripada warga negara atau penduduk tetap Negara Brunei Darussalam dan tinggal bermastautin di kampong berkenaan. Calon, pencadang dan penyokong-penyokong hendaklah menandatangani borang pencalonan. Borang pencalonan hendaklah dilengkapkan sepenuhnya sebelum dihadapkan

5. Bagi pegawai-pegawai kerajaan yang sedang berkhidmat di Jabatan masing-masing atau pun dari pihak-pihak swasta hendaklah terlebih dahulu mendapatkan kebenaran bertulis dari Ketua Jabatan dan majikan masing-masing dan menghadapkan surat kebenaran itu semasa menghadapkan bersama borang pencalonan.

6. Lain-lain syarat adalah tertakluk kepada Skim Perkhidmatan Penghulu Mukim dan Ketua Kampung Negara Brunei Darussalam 1998 (Syarat-syarat Lantikan dan Perkhidmatan Ketua kampung.

PERINGATAN :
Pemohon-pemohon yang pernah memohon jawatan Ketua Kampung dan permohonannya ditolak atas sebab tidak memenuhi syarat adalah tidak dibenarkan lagi untuk memohon.

SALARY:
C1. EB2 IAITU $ 1,280.00 HINGGA $ 1,930.00 SEBULAN

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IT is also the job of the Village Head to distribute pensions to the elderly poeple in the village and in the act of giving the pension, their job is to ask about the welfare of the poeple in the village.

Then again, how many village head actually do this, despite having quite a "high salary"?

Lion Dance in Brunei

Chinese New Year is not complete without a dragon dance as it is believed to exorcise evil spirits and summon luck and fortune. This year, the "lion" didnt go all the way to my mum's house as it did last year, hence we know we are missing something.... :-)

Anyway, my friends who live in Chempaka at Jalan Tutong and Belait District reported many lion dances were preformed during the chinese new year. My friend in Belait had to pay $488 then they would come and perform at her house and i thought that was a tad expensive.

Yesterday, HSBC Bandar inform customers in the morning that they were going to have a lion dance in the Bank's permise at 2pm. My friend drag me to watch the dance because he hasnt watched a lion dance for many years, so I tag along.

Its was quite dissapointing to see the way the Lion Dance was perform at the HSBC Bandar premises because the whole even just lasted about 5-7 minutes!!! I dont think the Bank's boss was amused by the tactics of the lion dance troupe! And myself who havent really watch a lot of lion dance was also shocked that the whole dance only lasted for a short time.

Next time, HSBC better asked the Limbang troupe, I heard they are very good and its a money well spent.

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There are a number of Chinese lion dance styles; the two most popular are the northern and southern.

Northern dance was used as entertainment for the imperial court. The northern lion is usually red, orange, and yellow (sometimes with green fur for the female lion), shaggy in appearance, with a golden head. The northern dance is acrobatic and is mainly performed as entertainment.

Southern dance is more symbolic. It is usually performed as a ceremony to exorcise evil spirits and to summon luck and fortune. The southern lion exhibits a wide variety of colour and has a distinctive head with large eyes, a mirror on the forehead, and a single horn at center of the head.

The Lion dance is often confused with the Chinese Dragon Dance, which features a team of around ten or more dancers. The Lion Dance usually consists of two people. (Wikipaedia)

Chinese New Year 2007, Year of the Pig, 4704

This Chinese New Year is the Year of the Pig (Chinese Year 4704)and its suppose to be a good year for people who wants babies.

Superstitions during the New Year period
The following is a list of beliefs that vary according to dialect groups / individuals.

Good Luck

Opening windows and/or doors is considered to 'bring in' the good luck of the new year.

Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.

Candy is eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.

It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (however, as explained below, cleaning the house after New Year's Day is frowned upon)

Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Asians will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.

Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.

Bad Luck

Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The word "shoes" is a homophone for the word for "rough" in Cantonese.

Buying a pair of pants is considered bad luck. The word "pants" is a homophone for the word for "bitter" in Cantonese. (Although some perceive it to be positive, as the word 'pants' in Cantonese is also a homophone for the word for "wealth".)

A hair-cut is considered bad luck. The word "hair" is a homophone for the word for "prosperity". Thus "cutting hair" could be perceived as "cutting away your prosperity" in Cantonese.

Washing of your hair is also considered to be washing away one's own luck (although mostly hygenic concerns take precedence over this tradition)

Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.

Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious as well.

Buying books is bad luck because the word for "book" is a homonym to the word "lose".

Some Red Package (Ang Pow) issued by some private organizations in Brunei;

The Standard Chartered "red" packet is the best because the design is the best this year together with Great Eastern insurance red package

The worst and such a dissapointment is HSBC with its plain and normal design...


In 2008 the Chinese New Year will fall on February 7th 2008 and this will be the year of the Rat, Chinese Year of 4705.

Hug your wives for prosperity

By ONG YEE TING, The Star, 6th February 2007

PENANG: Married men, take note. Your wife is your “Prosperity God” and the more you hug her, the more prosperous you will get.

Taiwanese feng shui master Yu Yang has this tip for those who wish to usher in good fortune during the Year of the Pig. But for it to work, wives have to cooperate.

“Men, hug your wives more; and women, do not turn down the loving hugs,” Yu advised during her feng shui talk show at Queensbay Mall here.

Brought in by Astro AEC, Yu also gave some simple advice to improve the feng shui of a house.

She advised against carrying out renovations, even minor ones like nailing the wall, at three areas – the northwest, southeast and centre of the house.

“The centre of the house is where the chi is and the place should not be cluttered with things, for they will block one’s fortune and cause disharmony,” she explained.

She suggested some warm lighting – not too bright or too dim – for this area to create a cosy and comfortable ambience.

“Also be nice to everyone and always say good things as these will help improve luck,” she advised.

For those born under the different Chinese zodiac signs, Yu suggested the following tips to enhance feng shui at home:

Tiger/Rabbit: Place anything that has to do with wood (including greens) at the eastern side of the house and increase wealth by adding some crystal pebbles.

Snake/Horse: Red coloured decorative items to be put at the south of the house.

Monkey/Rooster: Golden or yellow colour items to be placed in the west direction.

Rat/Pig: Place water decorative items such as an aquarium/fish bowl, spinning water decorations, glass/crystal vases with plants in the north.

Dog/Goat/Ox/Dragon: The so-called four heavenly kings for this year can expect a smooth and prosperous year ahead. To enhance luck and fortune, the southwest of the house can be decorated with items made from soil such as vases, ceramic pots and china decorations.

The New RTB building

Well, after more than one year of building this new and modern station, the new Radio Television Brunei building is expected to be completed by this year...

Problem is, how are the staff going to stand the pugent smell which will be emitted from the 30 years old rubbish dump just next to the building???

Site and Scene of Gadong, February 2nd

Its been 5 days since bonous was out and the jam is still terrible in Gadong... and at the same time banners are up to mark Brunei's 23rd National Day Celebration which will fall on the 23rd February 2007.

New cafe?

I havent been hanging out at night lately until last night... Bonous is out for Brunei's public servants and man, the jam after 5pm to the shopping complexs are sooo terrible. One couldnt go anywhere without feeling frusturation (even in Yayasan it was packed!). Then again, you dont really see this kind of environment (jams, huge number of people in shopping malls) in BRunei often... hehe...

Anyway, a few days ago we past by the Gadong Scouts Hq and we saw to its corner, "yam cha" area and we told ourselves to stop by there and check out the place one of these days and yesterday was the time.

Well, the place is called Traders Cafe (supposedly part of Traders Inn?), but after entering the place, we realize that the place could be owned by the same person who owns Sin You Mei. Traders Cafe is different since it do not serve pork hence muslims can technically, eat there.

Prices of the food are ok... but some like sweet and sour chicken rice can costs $6.00 (add 50 cents for fried rice) where normally you can get it from $4.50 for each plate. If eating in a group of 3 or 4, you can order dishes and prices starts at $8.00 per plate. We ordered the sizziling tofu, the small one which costs $6.00 and the portion is good.

Overall the food is not bad but next time, i prefer to sit outside where the smell of the cooking isnt so unpleasent (oily bah...)

Rainy Brunei

The rain in the month of December 2006 and January 2007 could probably be one of Brunei's highest... I dont remember us having much rain in January let alone February, and if it is, I worry about those who lives in Kampong Ayer. Has anyone seen how close the waters of the water village to the houses' floor? (and by the way, is it is so dark in the places where the boats are suppose to pick passangers up from the land? im guessing that Municipal Board should have fixed that light problem).

I remembered back in August or thereabout, the weather was so so hot.... and now its cold and cozy... i like it better if it wasnt raining but just retain the cold and cozy environment... when the time comes, we all should be really really worried....