I was on leave on Thursday as my flight to the oil-dependant sultanate of Brunei had been retimed to 1.10 pm. Left home just before 10 am and waited ages for the blinking bus to show up. Decided to pop up to the clinic first (I was feeling feverish, having a flu and coughing from Tuesday but was unable to take the time to even visit the clinic) and when I left the clinic, it was past 11 am. I needed to take the bus to the airport by 1125 latest to reach the airport by 1225 or I would risk not being able to check in and miss the flight altogether. Both buses’ schedules were for 1130 but sensing one was filling up I boarded that instead, praying all the way that I would reach the airport in time. Thankfully the bus left as soon as it was full at 1120 instead of waiting until 1130. I reached the airport nine minutes before the check-in desk was due to close and left the counter with a minute to spare. Phew.
Landed at Brunei International Airport at 3.33 pm and settled down to wait for Delia. Her flight from KK landed at 5 pm and after meeting up, we waited for a while for a bus back to the city, Bandar Seri Begawan (Bandar for short). Bus fares start from BND1. BND trades at the same rate as the SGD (the former’s currency is managed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore) and I found this out years ago when my colleagues had to go to Brunei for official trips.
We changed buses at the bus station for our hotel near Jalan Tutong. I had earlier arranged for a room at Traders Inn via a chap based in Bandar whom I met at the MATTA Fair last September – this room would have cost us BND60/night/room. Subsequently, we also wanted to book a bed each at the Youth Centre right in the heart of the city (a bunk bed costs BND10) but all rooms have been fully booked for their Independence Day celebrations on 23 February. Our hotel was small and cosy and decorated tastefully. We enjoyed a promo rate of BND48 nett per room instead of BND58 as advertised on its website. After checking in, we went to the hotel’s restaurant, Charcoal, for our welcome drink before venturing off to find dinner.
On Friday, we left after breakfast (I slept poorly) and took the bus to the city. It so happened we caught the Circle Line bus which passed Gadong on its route to the city so it was a kind of a free tour for us. We passed the Jame ‘Asr Hussani Bolkiah Mosque and The Mall, a sprawling shopping complex in Gadong. At Bandar, we walked first to Tamu Kianggeh before braving the mid-morning sun and walking to the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. It’s a magnificently beautiful mosque and we spent an hour inside (yes, in the cool comfort of the air-cond mosque) admiring the decorations. The marble was all imported from Italy while the crystal chandeliers from England.
We walked around the mosque compound and soon found ourselves near the Water Village so we explored the fringes of the village before making our way to the nearby Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (also a shopping complex but nowhere as large as The Mall). We still managed to spend though (!). Lunch was had at the Yayasan food court.
After resting, we braved the fierce afternoon sun and walked back to the bus station. We then took a bus to the massive Empire Hotel in Jerudong. The bus ride took us 30 minutes (still cost BND1 though). We spent close to two hours at the hotel, checking out the gardens, admiring the view and gazing out to the South China Sea, and waiting for the bus back to the city. Dinner was had at a vegetarian restaurant near our hotel. I think I can perhaps be a vegetarian.
Brunei celebrated Maulidur Rasul on Saturday so we decided against going to the city in the morning to avoid the jam. Instead we took the bus to Istana Nurul Iman. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go any further than the gates of course so we didn’t stay long. I bought some scarves and a set of baju Melayu material (complete with the samping and buttons!) for Abah at a store near our hotel. After that, we headed back to the hotel to rest.
We left at 1230 and took the bus to the city, changing for another to the airport. I went to get my boarding pass but was told to check in my bag as it was close to 9 kg. I paid BND12 for the departure tax at the check-in counter too.
Delia and I parted ways at 2.20 – her flight back to KK was at 5.20 pm. I landed at KLIA at 5.10 pm and rushed to collect my bag – good thing it was one of the first ones out – and made it in time for the 5.30 pm bus back to KL Sentral.
A few people told me they found Brunei Darussalam (Abode of Peace) boring so I didn’t expect too much. And maybe because I lowered my expectations, I found that I enjoyed my trip there (despite the persistent coughing and running nose) and couldn’t understand what had bored the others. To me, it’s what you make of the trip. It was a peaceful country. I like the fact that they still use Jawi extensively, I like the fact that they are still religious, I like that they end weather forecasts with ‘Wallahualam’ and I like that they start their annual Maulidur Rasul celebration twelve days earlier by reciting prayers until the day arrives.
And I’m glad to say that I have now, in addition to visiting all states in Malaysia (I’d gone to all states in the Peninsular before I turned 12), visited all ASEAN countries and capital cities. Thank you, God, for the opportunities.
~~~~~~~~
Well, after a mid-week defeat to former gaffer’s Internazionale, Chelshit suffered a surprise defeat to Man Sh*tty with two, yes two (!), players sent off (including Herr Bollocks). The Gunners knew they could close the gap but Stoke have never been an easy team to beat at home. And for the first few minutes, it looked like we would struggle. Then Bendtner nodded in a kick from man-of-the-match Cesc to level. We were denied a few penalties, including one involving Ramsey.
Unfortunately, tragedy happened. Ramsey suffered a horrific injury – I saw him fell and didn’t understand why he didn’t, couldn’t get up. I didn’t know what happened or the gravity of the situation because there was no replay. I saw the Gunners looked very upset and shaken especially Cesc and TV5. I set the volume low (well, it was after 3 am) and finally I heard the commentators mentioned ‘Eduardo’ and my heart sank. Oh my God, poor Rambo. He has so much potential, he’s shown so much promise and worked so hard. The Potters were reduced to ten men but it took a while before we could score (and a Cesc penalty at that; he missed one against Stoke earlier in the season, remember) before TV5 wrapped up the result. The gaffer and skipper both spoke their mind about the incident.
We know what happened two years ago when Dudú suffered a similar horrific injury and that was the beginning of the end of our title race. It looked like that incident would perhaps repeat itself but credit to the team, they fought on, led by Cesc. Cesc even appeared to dedicate his goal for Ramsey by tapping his ankle three times. At the end of the match, Cesc urged the team to huddle and they did that, knowing they’d shown what they were made of and that they’ve learnt the lessons of Birmingham. I’m just so proud of the Arsenal, of the character, of the skipper... we were definitely not spineless ;’) Credit to the lads for coming back from a goal down, credit too for staying calm and composed after the incident to win the match. I mean, I’m still traumatised (I had difficulty falling asleep after the match, thinking of Ramsey). It was a win that we couldn’t enjoy though. Time will tell if it was a pyrrhic victory or the Day We Won The Title.
And yes, some may argue that Shawcross didn’t intend it, that he isn’t malicious, that he isn’t that type of player. Well, someone who was speeding down the road and then hit a little boy didn’t intend to do that either but he did hit the boy and is responsible. That’s how I see it. This was no accident. And it’s unacceptable that we’ve suffered such horrific career-threatening injuries: Diaby (1 May 2006), Dudú (23 February 2008) and now Ramsey (27 February 2010). Is it any wonder that Wenger cries foul?
Get well soon, Rambo. Our prayers and thoughts are with you. We will win the rest of our matches for you. Stay strong, Rambo ;’( Your manager and team-mates will visit you this week following your op.
Landed at Brunei International Airport at 3.33 pm and settled down to wait for Delia. Her flight from KK landed at 5 pm and after meeting up, we waited for a while for a bus back to the city, Bandar Seri Begawan (Bandar for short). Bus fares start from BND1. BND trades at the same rate as the SGD (the former’s currency is managed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore) and I found this out years ago when my colleagues had to go to Brunei for official trips.
We changed buses at the bus station for our hotel near Jalan Tutong. I had earlier arranged for a room at Traders Inn via a chap based in Bandar whom I met at the MATTA Fair last September – this room would have cost us BND60/night/room. Subsequently, we also wanted to book a bed each at the Youth Centre right in the heart of the city (a bunk bed costs BND10) but all rooms have been fully booked for their Independence Day celebrations on 23 February. Our hotel was small and cosy and decorated tastefully. We enjoyed a promo rate of BND48 nett per room instead of BND58 as advertised on its website. After checking in, we went to the hotel’s restaurant, Charcoal, for our welcome drink before venturing off to find dinner.
On Friday, we left after breakfast (I slept poorly) and took the bus to the city. It so happened we caught the Circle Line bus which passed Gadong on its route to the city so it was a kind of a free tour for us. We passed the Jame ‘Asr Hussani Bolkiah Mosque and The Mall, a sprawling shopping complex in Gadong. At Bandar, we walked first to Tamu Kianggeh before braving the mid-morning sun and walking to the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. It’s a magnificently beautiful mosque and we spent an hour inside (yes, in the cool comfort of the air-cond mosque) admiring the decorations. The marble was all imported from Italy while the crystal chandeliers from England.
We walked around the mosque compound and soon found ourselves near the Water Village so we explored the fringes of the village before making our way to the nearby Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (also a shopping complex but nowhere as large as The Mall). We still managed to spend though (!). Lunch was had at the Yayasan food court.
After resting, we braved the fierce afternoon sun and walked back to the bus station. We then took a bus to the massive Empire Hotel in Jerudong. The bus ride took us 30 minutes (still cost BND1 though). We spent close to two hours at the hotel, checking out the gardens, admiring the view and gazing out to the South China Sea, and waiting for the bus back to the city. Dinner was had at a vegetarian restaurant near our hotel. I think I can perhaps be a vegetarian.
Brunei celebrated Maulidur Rasul on Saturday so we decided against going to the city in the morning to avoid the jam. Instead we took the bus to Istana Nurul Iman. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go any further than the gates of course so we didn’t stay long. I bought some scarves and a set of baju Melayu material (complete with the samping and buttons!) for Abah at a store near our hotel. After that, we headed back to the hotel to rest.
We left at 1230 and took the bus to the city, changing for another to the airport. I went to get my boarding pass but was told to check in my bag as it was close to 9 kg. I paid BND12 for the departure tax at the check-in counter too.
Delia and I parted ways at 2.20 – her flight back to KK was at 5.20 pm. I landed at KLIA at 5.10 pm and rushed to collect my bag – good thing it was one of the first ones out – and made it in time for the 5.30 pm bus back to KL Sentral.
A few people told me they found Brunei Darussalam (Abode of Peace) boring so I didn’t expect too much. And maybe because I lowered my expectations, I found that I enjoyed my trip there (despite the persistent coughing and running nose) and couldn’t understand what had bored the others. To me, it’s what you make of the trip. It was a peaceful country. I like the fact that they still use Jawi extensively, I like the fact that they are still religious, I like that they end weather forecasts with ‘Wallahualam’ and I like that they start their annual Maulidur Rasul celebration twelve days earlier by reciting prayers until the day arrives.
And I’m glad to say that I have now, in addition to visiting all states in Malaysia (I’d gone to all states in the Peninsular before I turned 12), visited all ASEAN countries and capital cities. Thank you, God, for the opportunities.
~~~~~~~~
Well, after a mid-week defeat to former gaffer’s Internazionale, Chelshit suffered a surprise defeat to Man Sh*tty with two, yes two (!), players sent off (including Herr Bollocks). The Gunners knew they could close the gap but Stoke have never been an easy team to beat at home. And for the first few minutes, it looked like we would struggle. Then Bendtner nodded in a kick from man-of-the-match Cesc to level. We were denied a few penalties, including one involving Ramsey.
Unfortunately, tragedy happened. Ramsey suffered a horrific injury – I saw him fell and didn’t understand why he didn’t, couldn’t get up. I didn’t know what happened or the gravity of the situation because there was no replay. I saw the Gunners looked very upset and shaken especially Cesc and TV5. I set the volume low (well, it was after 3 am) and finally I heard the commentators mentioned ‘Eduardo’ and my heart sank. Oh my God, poor Rambo. He has so much potential, he’s shown so much promise and worked so hard. The Potters were reduced to ten men but it took a while before we could score (and a Cesc penalty at that; he missed one against Stoke earlier in the season, remember) before TV5 wrapped up the result. The gaffer and skipper both spoke their mind about the incident.
We know what happened two years ago when Dudú suffered a similar horrific injury and that was the beginning of the end of our title race. It looked like that incident would perhaps repeat itself but credit to the team, they fought on, led by Cesc. Cesc even appeared to dedicate his goal for Ramsey by tapping his ankle three times. At the end of the match, Cesc urged the team to huddle and they did that, knowing they’d shown what they were made of and that they’ve learnt the lessons of Birmingham. I’m just so proud of the Arsenal, of the character, of the skipper... we were definitely not spineless ;’) Credit to the lads for coming back from a goal down, credit too for staying calm and composed after the incident to win the match. I mean, I’m still traumatised (I had difficulty falling asleep after the match, thinking of Ramsey). It was a win that we couldn’t enjoy though. Time will tell if it was a pyrrhic victory or the Day We Won The Title.
And yes, some may argue that Shawcross didn’t intend it, that he isn’t malicious, that he isn’t that type of player. Well, someone who was speeding down the road and then hit a little boy didn’t intend to do that either but he did hit the boy and is responsible. That’s how I see it. This was no accident. And it’s unacceptable that we’ve suffered such horrific career-threatening injuries: Diaby (1 May 2006), Dudú (23 February 2008) and now Ramsey (27 February 2010). Is it any wonder that Wenger cries foul?
Get well soon, Rambo. Our prayers and thoughts are with you. We will win the rest of our matches for you. Stay strong, Rambo ;’( Your manager and team-mates will visit you this week following your op.
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