borneo weekend getaway p2

It was decided that we'd make a day trip to Brunei on Saturday and we'd drive there. After all, Miri is just a couple of hours from the oil rich kingdom. Being native East Malaysians, the rest passed through as Brunei was a neighbouring state, but I had to show my passport and the little slip I was given at the airport that said I was from the Peninsular. =.="

waiting at the customs

The queue at the customs was long from the opposite side, must be the Bruneians out to play. First stop, fill up the gas tank. I just had to take a picture of the petrol station, apparently price of petrol has not gone up in years here!

we're an oil-producing country too, but look at the price!

Although obviously very wealthy, it doesn't show; it seemed like we had stepped into a city smaller than Miri. Vast expanses of land dotted with simple-looking houses greeted us. I was half-expecting streets of gold lined with chandeliers for lamp posts, gilded pavements and manicured lawns.

houses for oil & gas workers

After breakfast we drove to Jerudong to visit the King's stables >.<

Just a little detour before admiring the very opulent 6-star Empire Hotel & Country Club which is rated as one of the world's most luxurious.

I liked the fact that it was surrounded by lotsa greens in an almost natural setting unlike some hotels which look too pretty to be real. The high ceilings, ample space and a lobby which overlooks the South China Sea made it all very grand.

theme of white & gold

Tall columns and furniture accented in gold and polished marble floor were balanced with windows which shower the interior with plenty of sunlight.

I think that's a refreshing touch because sometimes too much bling can be overly stuffy.

they keep you plenty occupied here

Apparently Bruneians get discounts for rooms here. How nice, on top of already cheap petrol.

Nevermind the fine touches that went into making this a majestic hotel worthy of its name, I would have been very much contented just lazing at the poolside admiring the sea. But of course if I were to stay here, I'd be out at the beach instead!

had to refrain from jumping into the pool~

Seeing so much gold, I almost forgot that I have yet to visit the 2 tourist attractions mentioned in Lonely Planet.

But first, some lunch - Kolo Mee. Tasted somewhat like our Wan Tan Mee, but served with chicken wings & boiled egg in sauce and tofu soup. This can only be tasted in a quaint little shop in a block of flats, only locals will know!

I've heard a lot about Kampung Ayer and thought a village on water would make good photography fodder, until I saw these speedboats at the pier waiting with anticipation. According to our Bruneian friend, they charge cutthroat prices for a ride to the village.

sky seems clearer, clouds puffier

Since they said it wasn't worth it, we decided to walk over to the Omar, Ali & Saifuddien Mosque which is said to be one of the most spectacular in Asia Pacific. Its main dome is covered in pure gold.

the mosque that sits on an artificial lagoon

Just as we were ready to go back, we made a brief stop at this Billionth Barrel Monument that commemerated, what else, the 1 billionth barrel of crude oil that was pumped from the Seria field in 1991. It was here that led to the successful drilling which made Brunei what it is today.

Of course those are not the only things we did in Brunei. As you can see, it's not true there's "nothing in Brunei". It's just that, a day trip is just about nice :)

passing by one of the many oil rigs

borneo weekend getaway p1

I got the job offer pretty fast after the wrapping interview with the partner. They even wanted me to start in a few weeks' time. Knowing how the fiscal year was about to end, I guess he wanted to include me into the year's headcount.

All the leaves that I had saved for a year-end holiday had to be used. If I was not in the midst of a project with weekly deliverables, I would have used up my 5 days' of leaves and take the whole week off before starting at the new company.

our flight & bus tickets

But because I was holding 2 portfolios with no replacement in sight, I had to stagger my leaves over the remaining weeks. I have yet to do any overseas trip this year, and the only country in my ASEAN list still unchecked which was just nice for a weekend trip would be Brunei.

Junior Jet Club plane, not ours tho

In spite of everyone's "there's nothing to do in Brunei!" responses, I decided, if there really is nothing, then I won't be making a 2nd trip. Besides, this was a new country and I have never stepped foot into Borneo before (a previous transit in KK doesn't count!).

arriving at Miri Airport

My colleague and I based ourselves in Miri because she used to live there before, and still had friends in town. We reached Friday evening and were whisked into an electric blue Nissan Skyline. That itself gave a sneak preview of how happening Miri can be, especially when night falls!

now I know why these cars make so much noise!

Though seemingly small and boring, it is home to timber tycoons, expats working in the oil & gas industry and those involved in palm plantations.

huge bungalows like these are a common sight

I was really surprised to see huge mansions, revving sports cars and people partying away at the few night clubs in the city. Apparently their hottest night spot was even better than KL's Zouk. So much so Bruneians hop over to party.

where else can you get tequilla sunrise for RM15?

Sarawak's 2nd largest city is also where the first oil well was drilled. Thanks to this black gold, Miri has grown to be a business, commercial, and educational centre which attracts foreigners of all skin colour.

the Grand Old Lady

I met an Australian who's lived here for more than a decade working with an oil giant; and was pleasantly surprised to find that he enjoyed the idyllic lifestyle that Miri had to offer. Maybe the perks offset the mundaneness of the offshore job. My colleague's friend comes back for a few weeks after working on the rig for months, and parties almost every night with his buddies.

first oil drill

For me, I was more interested in the natural beauty that Borneo had to offer. We had only a brief evening to take a short walk along the beach, and I wished we had spent more time there instead.

sunset at miri beach

But of course, since I was being hosted I couldn't make such demands so I guess I will have to keep the beaches for another trip!

避け所

ペナン山で取った花

しかし私にとっては、
神の近くに居ることが、幸せなのです。
私は神なる主を私の避け所とし、
あなたの全てのみわざを語り告げましょう。

詩篇７３：２８

sweets

I'm kinda proud of the fact that the centre we set up for our client is now growing as a result of the plans and processes that we have put in place. The original plan was to have us roll off in March, but they kept extending our contract.

We have had dozens of new people join the centre so far, and to see the place transform from almost nothing except our core team of 6 to one that spans the whole floor is what I akin to giving birth. I have been involved in almost every piece of the process that brings people in and to help them in their transition in the new place.

I know every person by name, which division they belong to, which line manager they report to, and almost even memorised their birthdays personal details because I had to double triple check their on-boarding forms.

Maxim's de Paris

Almost as soon as they start in their new positions, they have to fly off overseas for work. With that came lotsa goodies from all over the world. We've had Macadamia nuts from Melbourne, mini bars of Mars and Snickers from America, and various confectionery and sweets from Europe. 

Sometimes I do envy these people. They get to travel business class, get allowance to spend on shopping, and bring back toiletry sets from airplanes and hotels. Plus extra stamps on their passport.

Sweets from Qatar Airways

But they tell me it's no fun travelling for work. I've never travelled on company expense, and can only imagine how it must be to stress out for a meeting with people you've never met before, adjusting to time differences while still having to deliver, and having little time for leisure.

So I'll just savour the candies they bring back!

the dark side

After a weekend of partying in Borneo, a delayed late night flight and less than 3 hours of sleep, I had to be at the new place for a week of intensive training.

Must remind my body I'm no longer 18 >.<

On a positive note, it's refreshing to be working with the creme of the crop and have the full support of professionals who are as eager to give their best and are as enthusiastic in learning too.

But of course, this is only my first week, I have yet to see what lies ahead. My former colleagues have warned me not to cross over to the dark side.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bunch of tools to download and a podcast to listen to in preparation for tomorrow's session.  @.@

pearl of the orient p4

this little light of mine, i'm gonna let it shine

pearl of the orient p3

Since we didn't manage to catch the World Cup finals, we had a really good sleep. The hotel's power shower and sturdy beds, not to mention a long day out, helped!

While some of the gang decided to chill out in the room, the rest of us went to explore the famous Le Maison Bleue. Striking in indigo blue, the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion is a testament to the wealth of its owner, who established his reputation all over the world through sheer hard work and perseverance.

This is another fine example of how influences from various culture come together to create a masterpiece of sorts. While the floorplan is essentially Chinese, the overall effect is electic and typical of 19th Century Straits Settlement architecture. Gothic louvered windows, Chiense cut-&-paste porcelain work, Stoke-on-Tent floor tiles, Scottish cast iron works and Art Nouveau stained glass are among the features to be found in this inspired work of art.*

To us, however, the highlight of the tour was not the fusion of architecture, but more so the tour guide whom we suspect is a former history teacher. Walking with an air of authority, she made sure we paid attention to her stories of how feng shui elements were incorporated into the house, ensuring continuous flow of wealth for Cheong Fatt Tze and his household.

Though she encouraged participation from her visitors, she was quick to reprimand an eager young lad who wanted to show that he knew what certain numbers meant to the Chinese. Needless to say, not many dared to raise a question after that.

As for me, I was only more curious to explore the exterior of the house since we were forbidden to take photographs of the inner courts. I got myself stained as a result - now I'm wondering what cheap paint did they use?! Certainly this is not befitting their status as winner of "Most Excellent Project" UNESCO Heritage Conservation Award 2000!

Lunch with the rest of the gang was at Hot Wok, also another recommended restaurant. I'm beginning to feel more touristy than ever, having tasted all these foods for the first time in my life!

Joining us for the scrumptious lunch was Michelle whom we have not met since graduation! At first we thought we had overestimated our ability to eat, but the walks help built an appetite for the Nyonya food. Go visit for a rather authentic feel of a traditional home with many antiques within its nooks and crannies.

Since it has been pretty hot & humid, the next item on the itinerary sounded like what we needed - Penang Hill. We took the 4WD up as the funicular trains were not in service anymore :/

I'm not really been a fan of heights, but there's just something about being up there looking down and enjoying the cool air away from the city. Even though we didn't attempt to hike up, we were pleasantly delighted to find a lovely garden after a short stroll at David Brown's Restaurant, whose concept is similar to The Smokehouse in Cameron.

Beautiful weather, so everyone who came opted to sit outside in the tents. We saw lots of Middle Eastern families who seemed to be enjoying the outdoors too. There were so many non-tropical flowers around that I went trigger-happy, leaving the rest to indulge in good ol' English scones served with butter, strawberry jam and fresh cream.

Alas, but all good things have to come to an end. Just as we were finishing up the bread pudding and Alaska bomb, we had to force ourselves off the seats so that we could get downhill to catch our flight. Too little time to indulge in Colonial hospitality.

As if our dessert was not enough, we stopped by a famous porridge place just before the airport for a serving of Teochew congee so that we wouldn't starve on the plane! Plus a plate of salted chicken for good measure.

No one can accuse of Sook Ping of being a bad host-cum-tour guide, having stuffed us silly with all sorts of delicious Penang food and bringing us around to see the other aspects of the island. She can be contacted for personalised tours ;)


* excerpt from brochure

pearl of the orient p2

I did mention that I was going for a grrlie trip with the 7D4 babes to the Pearl of the Orient last month, and finally with the day off's I've downloaded the pics from the memory card, resized them for storage, uploaded to Facebook and as motivation to eat dinner, I might as well finish up the job by sharing some stories!

Told you, I was hesitant in even getting a DSLR because there's just too much work after the pictures are taken >.< And I have yet to put them up on an online site, can't choose between Flickr and Picasa.

First off, what's Penang stories without tales of food? Too bad I was recovering from my cough and cold then, which meant I had to refrain from almost everything that Penang had to offer - prawn mee, char kuey teow, assam laksa, cendol, Nyonya food. You can imagine how torturous that was for me!

We booked into G Hotel, which has recently been nominated for the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2010, having won the Best Hotel Construction & Design Malaysia. I've only stepped into it last year but didn't know how classy it would be until we stayed there.

Their simplistic zen ambience had me thinking that budget hotel could be achieved using a minimalistic concept, but seeing Aigner toiletries in the room got me thinking they're on to something brilliantly marketable here - uncluttered hipness focused on luxurious comfort.

We decided to be tourists by visiting historical sites like the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. In my 1 year of living there, obviously I was oblivious to these kinda places, but since they recently achieved heritage status, we should do the patriotic thing by learning more about our history. (Admission Fee : RM10, free for children below 6)

Depicting the typical home of a rich Baba of more than a century ago, this stately mansion of electic design and architecture incorporates Chinese carved-wood panels with English floor tiles and Scottish iron-works. Built at the end of 19th century by one of local history's famous personalities, the "Hai Kee Chan" or Sea Remembrance Store had once served as the residence and office of Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee.*

Next stop was the Khoo Kongsi, one of the more famous clanhouses which is still carefully preserved till today. No doubt our friend Geng Ying was delighted to find her clansmen had done well by building a association building, traditional theatre and rowhouses, leaving a legacy behind.

Unfortunately, amongst the row of name plaques that were hung in the clanhouse immortalising Khoo's with the names of their degrees and universities from where they've graduated from, her name was not included.

Our dinner that evening was at the hip Bagan Bar & Restaurant, a former colonial bungalow turned into an intimate venue for dining and partying. I've always loved the fact that Penang has always retained its identity by preserving architectural gems like these, and how instead of chopping down trees they build roads and buildings around centuries-old raintrees, making it really shady and idyllic.

After so many months, we were finally celebrating the birthdays of Sze Ying, Lai Ying and myself. The fairylights above us and candlelights on the table gave it a magical setting, just perfect for toasting to friendships and catching up without being rushed.

We ended the night at G Spot, the hotel's jazz bar and lounge. I must say the inhouse band fared pretty well, even to the point of "celebrating" our birthdays in a most memorable manner ever! ;p


*excerpt from brochure