Philippine Travel Notes

Masjid S ultan O mar A li S aifuddien III or Masjid SOAS . That's how most locals refer to it, while visitors and tourists like you and me would know it like I wrote in the title of this blog entry. Quite a long name! Hmm, maybe SOAS Mosque would be a shorter way to refer to it, at least for us non-Malay-speakers. I do know though, that "masjid" is "mosque". Now that you know it too, let's just stick with Masjid SOAS! I kept saying Omar Ali Saifuddien " Ai Ai Ai " Mosque, instead of the usual " the third " that had my guide laughing. At least, I made him laugh! Ah, I don't remember, but I guess I picked that from some private joke at home, school or office. Like we'd say Queen Elizabeth 'Ai Ai' instead of 'the second' or "QE two" ! Mr. Guide thought I was saying "ayayay"! But, still giggly (ewan ko nga ba ba't tuwang-tuwa sya) he did suggest I stop saying that in front of the Brunei...

This article's title should have been " The Perpuspaan Main Gate 1968 And The Lost Kampung Sultan Lama ". But it is too long, so I settled with what you see above! The first I saw on my land-side joyride. "Joyride" was the appropriate thing to call this 'remainder of my afternoon tour'. I told the driver/guide that there was no worry if we were unable to visit all sites listed in his itinerary (that I paid for), since I ruined it in the first place, by overstaying at Kampong Ayer, childishly watching boats "fly on the river"! He knew, since I also told him, that I was already contented with what I have seen and experienced at Kampong Ayer. He further knew, as I also made it clear, that I've already seen (2 decades ago) almost everything in the itinerary. I just wanted a glimpse at them, even from a moving car (nostalgia tour ba)! Actually, my aim was just to see, if I may spot 'significant changes' from what I've seen two...

Listen up children, so this won't happen to you! I messed my afternoon tour itinerary, because I stayed too long at Kampong Ayer , and I wasn't even able to see half of what my guide planned for me to visit! Why? Because I talked too much with the owners of the house we visited, and I spent even more time watching water taxis. I don't know if it's just me, but watching the boats felt like witnessing a F1 race! Lesson: know what your heart desires, then manage your tour time according to them. Or, since most of the time you won't know yet, how amazing things are going to be, learn to stop. Awat na, kumbaga! Anyway... From my position in that last picture of the previous story, I just turned around and saw this... Yes, I was still standing at the Yayasan Boat Jetty, and that's the central area of the Yayasan Complex. What is that? It's a mixed use commercial complex that has banks, boutique shops, clinics, foodcourt, restaurants, cafes, civil offic...

Let's continue my afternoon tour around Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. Driving onwards, just probably a kilometer more, we reached this nice-looking place by the riverside. The name is clear, it says Kaizen Sushi Restaurant . Since my driver/guide was maneuvering to park in the vicinity, I cautiously said I already just had lunch back at the Radisson Hotel before he fetched me. He smilingly said we were just parking the car somewhere here, as we were going to ride a boat. Da! My view from the Yayasan Boat Jetty , where tours to Kampong Ayer (Water Village) take off from. So okay, first tour destination - Kampong Ayer (Water Village) of Bandar Seri Begawan. Let's go! Note, as I did not expect this: I was alone on the boat with just my driver/guide. In the usual tours, you will be riding as a group, all in one boat. Sabihin nalang natin special ako this time. Special child hehe! But I learned that in DIY cases, you ride any of those (fast) commuter boats, as if sumakay...

I was in Brunei not mainly to tour around. But could I help it? No way, right? So I found time in between meetings, to see places, since most of everything to see is nearby anyway! One lunchtime, I passed by the hotel's concierge and casually asked if they could fit a quick tour after lunch, as I was already free. Voila, there was! At exactly 1:30PM a tour guide driving his own car came to fetch me. So, here I went! I thought I was joining the usual tour group, but I realized I was the only member in the group hahaha! I didn't even ask as to where we might be going on this guided tour. A solo tour, pero sige na lang. Go! There are just times like this, when I'm so excited to be out and on the move, I don't anymore check or care to check where a guide is taking me to! Masamang ugali yan, hindi dapat tularan. But it happens! I did have some 'back-of-mind-source-of-confidence' (FYI lang), and that was: this tour was booked by the hotel for me, in fact, I pa...

Continuing my previous story .., so I arrived at my final destination, Bandar Seri Begawan ! Nostalgia nostalgia.., after more than two decades, I was back in this tiny but rich country, that is just a little wider than Iloilo Province, yet, with a total population that's even less than that of Iloilo City. Da! But even as we landed, I noticed many things have changed - mainly mas madami nang bahay hehe! Oist eto, scoop! I knew I just landed on Brunei, but when we passed by some hangars, I saw these: I blurred that photo a little, baka pagalitan tayo hehe! But those two (I think) Chinook Helicopters bear the flag of Singapore! I glanced at nearby aircraft, aba ganun din! I really whispered: syet nasaan ako?! Nag-duda sa location hahaha! Where's the flag? Midway from front to back, at the lower portion of the fuselage. If you are familiar with Singapore's flag, it should be easy to spot on that polopokter in front! I think lahat sila ganun ang watawat! I counted at le...

Tiring but exciting. That's how I would title this sojourn, that took me from Borongan in Eastern Samar to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei , passing by two other countries - Singapore and Malaysia . Let's go! Why did I 'emanate' from Borongan City of all places? What else, ano pa nga ba, werk as in work as in raket as in kumikitang kabuhayan! I did have time to grab clean wearables at the Tacloban apartment prior to my afternoon flight (yes afternoon flight uli, nawili dun sa experience last week ). But in Cebu, I only had 130 minutes of transit time per booking. Rush hour pa sa Mactan Bridge! So no going home! My four-flight itinerary for this trip was TAC ✈ CEB ✈ SIN ✈ KUL ✈ BWN. It looked something like this: If it might look tedious a route, let me tell you.., yes it was hahaha! But that was the best I could come up with in consideration of my time, needs, wants and resources. Including sights or things to tell you! First up, if I enjoyed the sunset in l a...