Post boat tour, found a seat by the waterfront and was rewarded by this:
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| A rainbow at dusk |
The waterfront area in BSB has some really expensive restaurants - one was Italian, the other Japanese. As I was feeling a bit peckish, decided to stop for some coffee and watch the world go by.
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| Fancy restaurant complex overlooking Kampung Ayer |
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| My not so 'atas' cafe |
Walked about for a bit after that, till I got hungry again. Note that not many Bruneians come out to the city after dark. Maybe they go to the suburbs like Jerudong or Gadong. Contemplated going there, as recommended by the Lonely Planet but public transport stops at 6pm and taxis are almost non-existent and expensive (come to think of it, never saw a single taxi my 24 hours there!). Most Malaysians who come here, drive in or rent a car.
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| Monument to commemorate the Sultan's 60th Had some mesmerising fibre optic lighting |
Finally ended up at Kompleks Bangunan Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Brunei's largest shopping mall. No retail therapy for me there as everything was expensive, thanks to the exchange rate. Decided to do dinner at the food court as none of the eateries around the area looked enticing enough.
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| Their version of 'kolok mee' More liao! |
Next day, I was to take the bus back to Miri. Got up pretty early and had breakfast in the hotel. Was surprised they had milk fish and garlic rice, a Pinoy staple. Brunei depends largely on a migrant labour force. Most of the workers in the hotel as well as F&B industry are from the Phillipines whereas the construction line depends on Indonesian, Bangladeshi and Chinese (semi-pro) labour.
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| My Pinoy breakfast |
Since I had only a couple of hours to spare, decided to seek out BSB's green lung and was not disappointed. About 2kms from the city is the Tasek Lama Recreational Park. This well kept park has some pleasant trails around the waterfall or the reservoir. As I was pressed for time, decided to do the shorter waterfall trail.
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| Trail routes |
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| Tasek Lama waterfall |
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| View from top of the trail |
Must say its quite a nice place to bring the family for a stroll. The trails are well marked and all around the park are jogging tracks. Even the kids will have a ball at the various playgrounds.
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| No getting lost here |
It was time to leave Brunei so made my way to the bus station. Discovered that the bus was only leaving 1 hour later as it was Friday prayer time. So I decided to wile my time away at Brunei's largest market - Tamu Kiaggeh. Unfortunately for me, this was closed as well.
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| No business done at this hour |
All businesses shut down on Friday afternoons regardless of who the proprietor might be. You stand a fine if you fail to comply.
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| All shut down |
As I had nothing left to do, just waited around the bus station till the bus arrived.
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| Waterways in the city |
I have plans to be back as I heard the diving here is pretty good. Fodder for my next post perhaps?
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