The flight was on a Monday 9.05am, SilkAir via Changi Airport T2. But first of all, had to meet my boss at the office to prepare some stuffs and carry those to the airport. I had a duffel bag for my clothes and whatever necessities, a laptop and a small sling bag that contained important documents, camera and wallet. On top of that, had to take a 6.4kg box to our client site.
Check-in was a breeze, and we boarded our plane about 10 minutes before take off.
|
first time on SilkAir! |
|
Airbus A320 |
Very soon onto our flight, we were served our meal. Can choose between Hainanese chicken rice or prawn pasta. I chose the latter.
|
prawn pasta |
It was quite yummy. The prawns were fresh and just barely cooked. Nice. The plane ride was smooth and the sky was clear and nice. Was sitting at aisle seat, so didn't get to take pictures of the clouds.
The plane landed in Brunei on time. The landing was alright, but the plane seemed to be 'braking hard' (or what we call in dialect "jiam brake") after touchdown. But thankfully, everything was fine.
The weather in Brunei was hot! Probably about 33-34 degrees celcius.
|
cars at the airport |
We're staying at Hotel Centrepoint (hahaha, Centrepoint Orchard?), right at Bandar Seri Begawan. Here's the address of the hotel:
Abdul Razak Complex, Gadong BE3519
Bandar Seri Begawan, Negara Brunei Darussalam
|
some scenaries along the way to our hotel |
|
our hotel facade |
|
hotel lobby |
|
hotel staircase |
We wasted no time in checking out the hotel room.
|
twin beds 'coz sharing room with a colleague |
|
view from our hotel window (right view) |
|
left view |
|
all the available channels |
|
can lounge here to watch tv |
|
my bed! |
|
green toilet bowl |
|
bathroom |
|
toiletries |
Overall, the room was quite comfy. But unfortunately, it doesn't have free wifi. Wireless internet connection here is chargeable and the rate is about $40 per day (if I remember correctly).
|
my cup of coffee @ 5.10am in the morning |
|
DND will turn on the "Privacy Please" sign door panel so that people don't click on doorbell |
|
must put the keycard opposite |
|
walkway to our room |
|
at the lift |
|
take the lift to Level 2 for breakfast! |
After settling in to the hotel, it was time for a quick lunch before we proceed to our customer site. Didn't have to go far, as there's a restaurant called Fratini's just next to the hotel. Very convenient indeed.
|
stuffed (tiny) mushrooms |
|
seafood pizza |
|
mediterranean pizza |
The food was nice, and until 17th July 2011 there is a 40% discount promo on pizza if you pay by cash. But best of all, this place has wifi!
After lunch, we headed to our customer site. It's about a 10-15 minutes drive from our hotel. Brunei seemed to be spacious and with green lungs everywhere. Think I did not see a single high rise except government buildings...
|
trees and signboard |
|
HM Sultan of Brunei's 65th Birthday |
Brunei is celebrating His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei's 65th birthday (15th July) and the celebration lasts for about 2 weeks.
Our car passed by some important looking buildings and those turned out to be embassies, high comms and ministries.
|
Cambodia Embassy |
|
Ministry of Culture and Sports |
We spent a few hours at our customer site, and then we headed back to our hotel.
|
lots of trees lining up the roads |
|
residential units |
|
someone's house |
|
entering town area |
|
office space for rent |
According to our source in Brunei, a Mitsubishi Lancer costs just $24000. So it is not uncommon for one household to have many cars.
We rested abit at the hotel, and went out to source for dinner when night falls. Walked to a shopping mall nearby called "The Mall". It's about 5 minutes walk from our hotel.
|
The Mall |
|
nice ceiling |
The Mall houses a cineplex and it is just 3 storeys high. Seems like you may bargain for the price at the stalls on the ground floor. We settled for Secret Recipe because, it has wifi! Hahahaa.
|
caribbean fish |
|
Connie's grilled fish in lobster sauce |
|
dessert for sharing |
|
Mrs Das looking happy with her ice-cream |
The restaurants that we have been to thus far (Fratini's and Secret Recipe) seemed quite desserted when we visited. Maybe Bruneians don't usually eat out at these places? Not sure. The service staff are generally very nice. Service was good. We asked for a small glass so that we can share the ice-cream, and they brought out a cute small glass with whipped cream and some nuts. So that when we scooped the ice-cream onto this smaller glass, it looked like a replica of the bigger version. Hehehe.
|
mini ice-cream |
After dinner, we strolled back to our hotel. Was quite surprised to see a car parked at a parking lot with its windows wound down and unlocked, with no one inside the car. Wow!
Then we had to cross a zebra crossing before we can get back to our hotel side. There was a pizza or mac delivery staff on his motorbike that literally waited for us to cross the zebra crossing (I think he waited for about a 30 seconds or more). So courteous and patient. Impressed.
That practically summed up the first day in Brunei. It was midnight when I finally settled into bed.
0 comments:
Post a Comment