Brunei - So Rich Yet So Quiet & Lonely

As my friend and I arrived at Miri Airport, Sarawak from our trip to Gunung Mulu National Park, we decided to go Brunei Darussalam for a short exploration before heading back to Kuala Lumpur. After all, it wouldn't take too much time to get there. Looking at my friend's digitized wrist watch, it showed half past two in the afternoon of November 3, 2003.
The land renowned to be rich for its oil (oil is its main source of income), Brunei is located on the northern shore of the Island of Borneo, between longitudes 114'04" and 114'23" East and latitudes 4'00" and 5'05" North. Although the country occupies less than 1% of Borneo's land area (approximately 5,765 sq. km.), it has become the only sovereign country on the island, which it shares with the Indonesian provinces of West, East, South and Central Kalimantan and the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. Since gaining independence from the British in 1984, Brunei has adopted the national philosophy of the Malay Islamic Monarchy (Melayu Islam Beraja). This is a system that encompasses the followings:

• strong Malay cultural influences
• stressing the importance of Islam in daily life and governance
• and respect for the monarchy as represented by His Maj esty The Sultan.

We rented a car and headed straight to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital city of Brunei. As we constantly lost our way, we reached Brunei's gate at 1830 hrs and the sun had already sunken down. Finally we 'successfully' arrived Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital city of Brunei at 2015hrs. Roaming around the city centre, I snapped few photos of the exquisite Omar Ali Saiffuddien Mosque. We stopped at the entrance and savor ourselves in the supernatural splendour of the luminous pearl white mosque. The lights that surrounded the building somehow enhanced its beautiful exterior making it look more like a palace instead.

As we rolled along the road to find a place to dine, I started to feel the pain in my stomach due to lack of nutrition (we hadn't taken a single meal because it was the fasting month for the Moslems) and it was extremely excrutiating. I could here it drumming inside but the loud music coming from the radio saved me from the embarrasment. I was hoping to find some lighted shops but none could be seen and I felt more and more terrible. I almost screamed when my friend who was behind the wheel slowly said,"We're running our of gas." Great! Restraining the anger that was burning inside me, I told my friend softly,"Ok, dinner can wait. Let's fill up the tank first". So we went searching for a petrol station. At 9.00pm, the city was already dead and empty. Unlike Kuala Lumpur, most of the shops operated til 8.30pm including the petrol stations. Keeping our fingers crossed and sending few numbers of prayers to God, we tried our luck to search in secluded areas. At this point, gas was running real low. As God might have answered our prayers, we found one which was about to close down (eventhough its a country that prospers for its oil products, the price of petrol per liter is not much different from the price in Malaysia). After enduring the 'agony' for so long, we managed to find a pizza restaurant that operated til 10.00pm. I ate like a pig! I looked out the window only to discover the emptiness and silence of the city. No sound of humans talking or walking by the street. Finishing up our last slices of pizzas, we paid quickly and searched for a good place we could spend the night. I fell into a stupor as soon as my head touched the soft pillow in my cheap hotel room. 

We took a tour that started from down south and headed on straight to northern part of Brunei. Most southern part of Brunei were residential and light industrial areas. In a rich country such as this one, people were still living in moderate terrace houses and apartments. No lavishness and luxury in their way of living. But still I did not see a single person live in a state of destitution either. My opinion was that people here lived a simple and moderate life. I flipped upon knowing that Brunei did not have kareoke centers, discotheques and pubs. They're strictly prohibited.

And so our trip went on smoothly with the help of a map we bought from a bookstore along the way. Back in city center we visited some places such as the Brunei History Center, Brunei Royal Regalia Building, Galeri Bumbongan Dua Belas, Kompleks Yayasan, Brunei Crafts Centre (where I bought plenty of souvenirs), Kampung Ayer and the notable Jerudong Theme Park. We also visited the distinguished palaces, the Nurul Izzah Palace and the Nurul Iman Palace and another amazing mosque, the Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. Then we continued our journey to northern part of Brunei. Muara Beach was about 2km more to go. I started to envision myself on a warm, sandy beach, with a light tropical breeze grazing my body. Upon reaching the beach, what I had expected came true. Getting out of the car, my eyes wandered around to the cotton white sandy beach. So beautiful it was it seemed like a fluffy carpet that had been laid infront of me waiting for me to roll my body over it. I felt so blessed. Far away across the South China Sea, I saw quite a few offshore oil rigs.

Few hours later we were back to Bandar Seri Begawan, stopped for some food and drove straight to Miri. We arrived Miri Airport just in time to catch the last flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Caving Craving

Mount Mulu, being one of Nature's most spectacular achievements and the largest national park in the world, covering 52,865 hectares of primary rainforest, is dominated by three mountains - Mount Mulu (2,376 m), Mount Api (1,750 m) and Mount Benarat (1,585 m). Mulu's greatest attractions lie deep below the surface. Hidden underneath the forested slopes of these mountains is one of the largest limestone cave systems in the world making Mulu the 'Jewel in the Crown' of Sarawak's expanding network of national parks. 

Aerial view of Mulu from the Twin Otter

On 1st of November 2003, flying on a 19 seater Twin Otter I could see the enchanting Mulu from above the rainbow. The flight trip took approximately 45 minutes from Miri International Airport. Flipping through the pages of my little black organiser, I realised I had not gone travelling for quite some time. Later then I wondered how boring my life had been.

As we reached Gunung Mulu National Park, we were greeted by the Penan, a community in the forest who believe that the rainforest and its bounty were given to them by the Creator, the God Balei Nge Butun. However, the continuous large scale logging in Malaysia since the early 1960's has destroyed the Penan's source of food, medicine, building materials, and all other requirements for life. As Penan are the only true nomadic people in Sarawak, in order to survive as a culture they must keep moving, but they have almost nowhere left to go. With a slight trace of symphaty on my face, I acknowledged them with a wave.

At the reservation counter, we were told that the trekkers must be accompanied by offical park guides. Pulling few red notes out from our pockets, an arrangement for the cave tour was then made. The next morning at 0800 hrs, equipped with torchlights and the park guide guiding us the way, we took a 45min walk to Lang Cave. Feeling rather exhausted, we stopped at Bat Observatory Theater to take a sip of chilled water we brought along. From there we could see bats hovering everywhere at the mouth of Lang Cave. Before entering the cave, the park guide strictly advised us not to touch anything we saw in there. This was mainly to protect the cave formations, such as the stalagtites and stalagmites from being ruined and damaged by clumsy hands. Besides, touching blindly in the pitched dark cave would only harm the 'life-forms' that crept around. Forms of stalagtite and stalagmite decorating the inner part of the cave were extra-ordinarily impressive. It was like being taken a tour to another world. Before I could regain back my 'sanity', we were already exiting to the other side of the cave. 

A wind passage at the roof of Deer Cave

Exploration of the day did not end there. Few yards ahead, the Deer Cave, looking like a giant whale was waiting to swallow us into its big belly. It was quite a gruelling journey inside; bat droppings could be seen everywhere on the cave's floor making it a bit slippery for us to walk. Deer Cave being the World's Largest and Longest Cave Passage, has its own unique alluring charm. Cold water cascading down from the cave's roof forming two waterfalls, Adam's Shower and Eve's Shower and at the corner of the cave was an entrance to a mystified garden, known as Garden of Eden.

Having through with the exploration, we walked back to our rooms and surrendered ourselves to the comfort of our beds. Dinner was served at 2000hrs. Accompanied only by the enchanting sound of the forest that surrounded us, we ate our dinner with full of enjoyment.

Melinau River

First sunlight that broke into through the glass window woke me up and urged me to get off the bed and get ready for the last-half of the cave-tour. Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave were a boat ride away along Melinau River. The two caves lied at the very end of the river. We had to climb 200 steps to get to the entrance of the Clearwater Cave and in there, we could see a small stream passing through. I took a short dip into the cave water before hailing a sampan (small boat) for a ride back to the National Park.

As the hands of time striked 1600hrs, we boarded the plane back to Miri. Thanking God for endowing us such priceless gift, I took one last glimpse of Mulu from the sky. Simply amazing!

Just Horsing Around

Simply fabulous!

Half way up the hill, I stopped for a while to inhale the fresh unpolluted air. Far beyond the horizon was a bewitching view of sky-scrapers and buildings that decorated the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur. As I was marvelling the scenery, I heard hoof-beats coming fast towards me. That must be the other riders. My horse, Prinz, started prancing softly, feeling excited at the company that will be arriving soon. I kind of agreed with Prinz. It definitely was quiet and lonely up here. As the other riders gathered around me, we continued our ride up to the top of the hill. On the way up, as I was stealing a look at Prinz, I felt a jolt of sensation in me. The sweat that glistened his well-built body, the cool breeze blowing his mane, his steady speed that brought an adrenaline rush to me. Simply marvellous! We cantered and jumped over every obstacle. It definitely was the best ride ever in my lifetime. Some riders were already few meters ahead of me and some were left far behind. It was like in a "cowboy scene". I knew Prinz loved this kind of excitement so much that I thought I saw a smile on his face.

As I was about to reach the top of the hill, I urged my horse to a slower pace and we trotted all the way to the spot where the riders who reached there first were. As we waited for the remaining riders to arrive, we wondered at the brilliant sight of the city. The sun was about to set and soon it would be dark but the city was already gleaming and sparkling with beautiful colorful lights. The remaining riders finally arrived and I got off my horse to check on his hooves. Grateful that Prinz did not hurt himself when he was in the middle of an 'excitement' few moments ago, I patted his shoulder and he responded with a neigh. Looking up I saw all riders were lost in their own thoughts. Prinz neighed again, breaking the rather dramatic silence.

We took our time to descend the hill. Most of the time we trotted and stopped only at FRIM Botanical Garden for a short rest. We reached the ranch around 1900hrs and quickly unsaddled the horses. After I bathed Prinz, I led him to his stable where his food and drink had already been prepared. I squatted down watching him savour the fresh grain. I could never describe how proud I was to have him. Powerful that he was but yet so gentle on the other side. I found myself so much more in love with him. Day by day it grew stronger. Until one day Prinz had fallen terribly sick. We had no choice but put him to sleep.

It's true then - Good Things Never Last.