Text and photos by Prime Sarmiento
I can’t believe that I woke up 6 am just for this. I can’t believe that after a looong night editing and closing pages, coming home by 2 am, and spending the next two hours watching YouTube videos, I still managed to shower and drag myself to a day tour with gal pals Melissa, Becks and Jah to Pulau Selirong by 7 am.
Now, I’m not one of those adventurous gals who are into jungle trekking, mountain climbing and scuba diving. Despite my eco-advocacy, I can’t imagine leaving the comforts of the city. Travel for me has always been about yoga and hipster cafes and art galleries and shopping.
But I’ve been living in Brunei for the last six months and this Sultanate might not be the most happening place (no bars here people, and you can only drink alcohol in the privacy of your own home) but Brunei is located right at the heart of the island of Borneo. And anyone who is into outdoors adventure trips will love Borneo if only because it’s home to tropical rainforests, wildlife, diving spots and nature parks.
So yes, despite being a city gal, I have learned to appreciate what Brunei has to offer. And part of the acceptance is to jump at any opportunity that will allow me to discover new places here.
Which is why I spent my day off in a speedboat, alternately chatting with the gals, snapping photos and napping, as the speedboat whizz through Brunei bay towards Pulau Selirong.
Brunei bay is more known as the gateway to the renown water village – Kampong Ayer which offers a glimpse of traditional Malay culture. But as the speedboat buzzed through the bay, I discovered another side of Brunei that I haven’t seen, confined as I was in my condo in Bandar.
It was here that I’ve seen that small scale fishermen continue to make a living using traditional fishing methods such as a cone-shaped fish trap made of bamboo sticks used to catch fish and prawns. They will later sell their produce at the wet market and will probably go through the same process for the rest of their lives, a cycle that starts and ends at the bay.
And then there’s the fact that the bay is actually the only way to go to the isolated Temburong district of Brunei. It’s part of Brunei, but it’s physically separated from the rest of the country by the Malaysian Sarawak State surrounding it. Temburong is significant if only because it’s home to one of the world’s well-preserved rainforests. I haven’t been to the rainforest though, but if Pulau Selirong is of any indication, then there’s something positive to be said of the government’s forest protection policy.
Pulau Selirong is a mangrove forest park. So yes, when we went there we literally had to walk through a wooden footbridge surrounded by well, mangroves. Not exactly exciting nor give you a sense of accomplishment (like climbing a mountain, perhaps). And after looking at one mangrove, you basically saw all of them (of course ecologists might disagree with me on this as there are different species of mangroves. But I’m just an observer). In fact, the only thing that probably excited us was when we see something different – a cluster of mushrooms, a monitor lizard and the vague idea that there must be a crocodile somewhere (we didn’t see one).
Never mind the lack of excitement. What I did appreciate is the fact that I learn to appreciate the value of mangroves more (and its role in protecting the coastal ecosystem) and that efforts must be done to preserve them.
But more than that, I cherished those times that I can get away from the office and have some time with new friends and colleagues that I met here in Brunei – proving to me once again that travel will always be worthwhile.
