The 2 most famous mosques in Brunei :
In the city center.....
In Gadong, the biggest mosque in the country, Masjid Sultan Hassanah Bolkiah .....(Hope I'm right on the name!)
We had stayed in Brunei for 3+ years. When I first moved over to join K, we made our home in a hotel apartment for a month. It's like a junior suite, with a kitchenette and dining hall. Not a very luxurious hotel apartment, but comfy enough for just 3 of us then. In that time, there wasn't much to do during the day, nowhere to go as I did not have a car. But K went off for work at about 9am, came home for lunch everyday and would be back from work at about 5pm. That was superb, else I would have more hours to kill doing nothing.
Basically, I took care of J, fed, played, and slept with him most of the time. Then when K is home, we would just drive around, going on our groceries round, or take J for a swim at a hotel, and watch TV at night.
Speaking of TV, there's nothing to watch on Brunei channels. It's bad with the RTM1 in Malaysia, just imagine the programs in Brunei channels are even worse than RTM1. So, we installed and watched Astro in Brunei. In fact, you can see almost 90% homes in Brunei are installed with Astro dish.
Other than Astro, we have many choices of watching DVDs. One of the shops of pirated DVDs occupy about 2-3 shoplots, with 2 storeys some more(!), all selling pirated DVDs. You can find all sorts of movies and series in there. It's arranged in clear categories for you to find what you want much easier. You can find Cantonese movies, Chinese, Korean series, Indonesian, children, songs, hollywood's, new releases, and what else there are. Really spoilt for choice!
Anyway, we soon moved to a service apartment in a more "happening" area called Gadong. The apartment comes with 2 rooms and more space to move around. That area has more shops and a 4 star hotel. Now, for shopping, you won't be seeing malls like you have in KL. If Bruneians want to do real shopping, they really have to spend the money to fly to elsewhere like Spore or KL to shop. It only has departmental stores and many "$1.99" shops. Very, very boring. Only now they boasts having one bigger mall, but even then, I find it not very interesting as the shops are the same as the ones around Brunei city.
So, as again, life was pretty routine and boring for a housewife with a toddler. The typical housewife tasks of cooking, laundry, washing and cleaning, babysitting.. you know. Nothing much to talk about. But it was very relaxing and stress free. I spent the free time surfing the net, chatting online and emailing via 3G connection. I was the only one there who used 3G at that time, as it was in "testing" stage from K's company.
Life is not only slow for us, but for most people who stays there. We are pampered with no submission of tax returns, no need to pay for parking, and also no avenues for us to spend money. You can't find any discos, pubs or karaokes. Alcohol can't be sold in the open, but you are allowed to bring in alcohol from overseas to be consumed at home. People spend the leisure time planting trees, do gardening work or beautifying their houses.
The restaurants all sell almost the same thing. You go in to one, and you can figure out roughly how the menu is like. Unless for those "speciality"like nasi mamih (something like nasi lemak, except sweeter), chicken rice or more complicated Chinese dishes.
The cinemas are like the ones we had when we were young. Not like those modern looking GSC cinemas that we have here. It made me nostalgic when I saw the tickets with crayon marking at the back of it stating our seats, just like the old days. I was only once in the cinema for Star Wars. Basically it wasn't fun going for movie with a child, he cries to go to toilet every 20 mins or so. The sad thing about living overseas is that we had to bring our child along everywhere we go, as we do not have anyone to take care of them for us to take a break. Thus, freedom was totally out.
Weekend activity was about going to the fish market to buy fresh fishes, prawns, crabs etc. One thing good about it is their sea products are really fresh and cheap. Then again, I have to cook lunch and dinner daily, I sometimes find it difficult to buy stuffs to cook, as I really had to scratch my head to decide what to cook.
Some of the time, we would make weekend trip to Miri which is about one and a half hour drive from Brunei city center, or to Limbang, the other nearest Malaysia town to Brunei. Limbang is just a small town situated in Sarawak.
Taking a weekend break in Parkcity Miri Hotel.
Visit the Crocodile Farm in Miri...
The other towns of Malaysia, near to Brunei are Labuan, a duty free zone island, and KK. KK is furthest away, driving there takes about 8 hours. And weirdest thing is you have to cross 8 immigration counters to get there. We never did try to drive over though. I don't like the long hours traveling, especially with a child. He can really create a fuss when stuck in a "confined space" for too long.
I got pregnant with A soon, and I came back for his delivery in about the 7th month or so. The antenatal checkups were all free of charge, I would say the medical benefits is just fantastic. Even for non-citizens like us are entitled to it. But don't trust too much on their doctors and specialists though. I heard of stories where they do operations that wasn't needed in the first place.
A was born about the time of CNY, so K came home, took a month long break from work and we stayed in hometown during that time. He went back to Brunei to prepare for our return again after that. As we had already given up the apartment while K stayed somewhere else during the 4 months, we looked around and decided to stay in a terrace house, for more space.
The residential area is not like what we have in KL or Malaysia. It's here and there everywhere. As the plot of land belongs to different people, the developer would just get that plot of land and build as many houses as they can, and they either give some to the owner of that land or buy over the land from them. Some plot of land is just enough for one bungalow, so the owner of the land would just build one big bungalow for his family. There's one big mansion of 4 storeys high, heard to be belonging to a chain departmental store owner in Brunei, which looks like a big museum from the outside. We heard rumors that there's a lift in the house.
So, the place I stayed in was even further away from the city and the "happening" area. But the distance I am talking about is only another additional 10 mins drive away from where we stayed before. Speaking of "happening", what I mean by happening is there were more shops, a hotel and a Coffee Bean there. How awful pathetic. Singles are warned seriously not to take any job offer in Brunei, he/she would be dead of boredom there.
So, I was more confined to home with the move to the terrace house. It was a comfortable house though, a 2 and a half storey house. The other 2 rooms were not occupied other than when we had guests over for visits. There aren't any amenities or shops or even a playground from walking distance.
The neighbours were not like the kampong style folks though, they were most of the time either working or locked in their houses, so most of them we seldom see. But come 5pm almost every evening, most of the children in that area would come out from their houses and play with each other, cycling, playing badminton, walking around.. there are about 10 of them of different ages. So, I would let my boys to go out and mingle with them as well, while taking a walk around with them. But they are the youngest there, so they didn't mix so much.
As I've mentioned about their hobbies of planting trees, over there, the folks planted all sorts of fruit trees just everywhere. Papayas, bananas, ciku, even grapes!
K by this time would come home about 7pm, latest by 7.30 or very seldom 8pm. So, we would have dinner, some of the time, go out to buy things which I need, as I wouldn't be able to get during the daytime. Going around these places are just nearby, about 5 mins drive.
I have a part time Filipino maid working for me at that time, coming in to wash and clean for me 3 times a week. This maid is so "in", everytime she was about to go off, she would spray her cologne like splashing water on her.. the trail of her cologne would still be lingering for sometime even after she left.
There was once A was so sick that he was hospitalized for 4 days. We sent him to the GH, service was ok but I was pretty worried. I had to stay with him in the hospital for the nights, while K looked after J at home. In the morning, he sent J to his kindy, pick him up in the afternoon, come over to the hospital while I go back home with J to rest, and evening time, change places with K again. A was so pale and tired that I just kept on praying he would be fine again. Only after the 3rd or 4th day when he was back to his bubbly self again, I could only feel relief. The doctors and nurses were very kind though, and when we were to take him home, there wasn't any charge at all. Medical attention is free for children in Brunei, even for non-citizens.
Very soon, and it came as such a surprise, I was pregnant again. This time, I delivered C in Brunei. The antenatal checkups were free, as I have mentioned earlier, and for the labor charges, I think it was B$150 and another B$150 for the private room. Btw, B$ is pegged to S$. You can use B$ in Spore and S$ in Brunei. Pretty cheap for labor fees, don't you think?
Compared to RM1k+ for normal delivery in private hospitals in Malaysia, I think medical benefits in Brunei is really nothing close to home.
What impressed me more after the labor is that, the nurses came for home visits until the baby's "clip" on the navel dropped off. If you are a first time mother, they would teach you how to care for the baby and bathe them. Then they would check my wound to make sure everything is alright.
C had jaundice, and for the 3rd time, I have to stay in Brunei hospital. But being the 3rd experience with a jaundiced baby, you can say, I was well prepared and very experience on how to handle and manage already. Also, my mom and 2 of K's cousins were around to help me with the confinement period, so I was spared from worrying about anything at all.
Many have asked me how about her citizenship. Basically, she's not a Bruneian or PR at all, but she holds Brunei birth cert. She has a Borang W which states that she holds Malaysian citizenship, following her father. We had made her the Malaysia passport when she was 1 month old to accommodate her travels to and fro from KL.
So, that was about all the 3 years in Brunei. We were really looking forward to return as life was really too boring there, other than spending good quality family time together since there were nowhere else to spend our time in.
Hiking at Shahbandar forest some of the weekends...
Other than that, we would go to its theme park playground once in awhile, rumors had it that the sultan of Brunei had built it for his crown prince to play in when he was born. Entrance fee was so cheap, B$1 for the playground only, or B$15 for unlimited rides. Years before, entrance and rides were FOC. Even so, there weren't many people around there. Somehow, it's just not as fun and merry when it seems too "quiet".
Another jewel Brunei has is its 5 star hotel called Empire Hotel. We heard that the 4th brother of the sultan had built that hotel at a very high cost. Rumors had it that one piece of screw costs B$1. Just imagine how many pieces of screws and knobs to make the whole majestic building. The hotel is very luxurious indeed, there was once I read from the papers that Bill Clinton was there with his family. We always say that we would stay for a night before leaving the country for good, but too bad, we didn't make it materialize. But we went to their restaurant for its buffet for numerous times, it was the only pamper we go for during celebrations or when we have guests over for visits.
OH, another big yearly event in a muslim country is of course during Hari Raya. Every year, the sultan would hold open house on the first 3 days of Raya. And during the fasting month, we heard that the sultan gives 5 bucks to each person who come over and pray with him. So, there was a story going round that some families would take one whole month leave during the fasting month to take the whole family to the mosque at the istana to pray with the royal family to earn the incentive. Of course, we did not have the means to confirm if the story was true.
During open house, everyone and anyone is allowed to come and shake hands with the royal family. The food served is quite good too. K went in the first year, and wasn't allowed to queue in to see the king as he wasn't wearing collared shirt. There's a dressing rule to observe. No yellows allowed, as this color is meant for the royal family. NO skimpy, sexy clothes, women need to wear long pants or skirts below their knees. Those 3 quarters pants are a no-no. I don't need to mention sleeveless is definitely out.
So, the usual practice is visitors are to enter and go to the lounge area for the food first. Then, they would Q up to go inside the big hall in 2 different rows. One is for the males and the other for females. If you are male, then you would see the king and shake (or rather, touch or brush
slightly) his hand and the women would do the same for the queen only.
Before the Q, the guards would "filter" those who dress properly to allow them to join the Q, else those who do not observe the dressing rule would just be shown the exit door and given the pack of "door gift".
I never did make it to the Q, not because I didn't dress right, but because the Q was always too long and too crowded. A very big turn off for me if I need to Q for 1 hour plus and have to smell the sweat in the crowd just to see the queen and get a B$5 angpow from her. Nah.. But K went in few times, once taking some of our family members along (guests from Malaysia and
J too) and I heard it wasn't a very pleasant experience from them. They said there was much pushing and shovelling around from the people.
Some of the guests who visited during the years there...
Berakas beach...
The river infront of Kampung Air with JM and her friends.
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