Brunei

Once again, I slumped into a period of inctivity for this blog. Ha, I admit that this is largely my fault, since I really have no idea what in my life should I blog on (yes, my life is boring). Well, to be fair, I did go to the jungles of Sarawak (Mulu caves) just last week, and I had a great time playing and resting in Brunei. Usually, I would have just typed my travelogue here, but since my fellow travelmate, Jinyang, is happily blogging on it, I shall leave the honours to him. To have an idea of my adventure in Sarawak, feel free to pop by http://freeeze.blogspot.com.

I suppose maybe I ought to do some personal commentary on Brunei, since it is a place which we Singaporeans have lots of urban legends about. Ha, to give an anecdote, when I was crossing the customs in Changi Airport, the officer asked me whether I was going to Brunei for training or work purposes. I told him that I was going to Brunei for a holiday, and he gave me a really shocked look (and a really shocked response too!). Only when I told him that I'm entering Sarawak as well too that he sounded convinced that I'm really going for a holiday in Brunei. Haha.

Anyway, I must say that Brunei is fun, and a really good place for a good chill out sesson. It is true that in terms of tourist attractons, there's nothing there except for Ms & Ms (Mosques and Museums) (actually, there's lots of nature, wildlife, jungles and a lake there, but I guess for any NSF, these will be the last things he want to visit in his life), and the biggest shopping centre there (the Mall) wasn't exactly very big (maybe like the size of City Plaza?), but people have obviously missed out on the Empire - a 6-star resort and country club. I suppose most of my friends do not know of its existence, since it is a 15 min drive away from Bandar, but oh my god, it is HUGE. To put in perspective, I think it is more than half the size of Sentosa island (actually, with the golf course which I didn't go, it could jolly well be bigger). For you to move around the resort, there are buggies available. There's also a whole hell-lot of activities to do there, such as para-sailing, jetskiing, banana-boats, etc.

The best bit about the resort is that the rooms are relatively cheap for a 6-star hotel, since it costs just $200 a night. It is actually a really good place to go for a weekend getaway, or to have a class chalet (assuming that everyone has enough frequent flyer miles to redeem a free round trip to Brunei). According to my friend, the resort also has villas for rent (think 1-2k a night?), and the villas have like 3 bedrooms, 1 living room, kitchen, and a private swimming pool... And I must say the rooms were really big, and they have nice comfortable beds with comfortable pillows (the resort spoilt me so much that I'm now going to get Goose down pillows when I go back to Cambridge).

So yes, Brunei isn't that boring. And I must say the food there isn't too bad too! In fact, the Quarry Kor Lo Mee was amazing. Sheesh, I think I ate enough food in Brunei to replenish all the energy I lost when climbing in Mulu.

I guess I will definitely pop back Brunei again next time (partly for Temburong, but largely for the Empire). It is indeed a good place to just chill out and enjoy life.

Oh yes, after all the caving and climbing, I'm starting to think that I actually do like climbing and all the heights elements. Maybe I should actually pick it up seriously...