A quick and convenient get-away

Wow, it’s been ages since I last blogged! Lots has happened since but I just haven’t had the commitment to come and blog about it! So to get back on the blogging straight and narrow this blog is a quick trip report of one of my favourite quick get-aways from Brunei. (This was partly inspired by being asked a couple of times lately what this trip is like).

Brunei is great; peaceful, fairly quiet and easy going. But sometimes it’ s nice to leave the place, usually to feel like you are away from the place you work.  As Brunei and the community is so small, it is easy for work to spill over into other parts of your life, whether meeting people when out and about or just ending up talking about work when you socialise seeing as most social circles include colleagues. So for a quick and convenient get away we enjoy a trip to Miri, more specifically to the Miri Marriott Resport and Spa.

The Miri Marriott Resort and Spa – a favourite getaway!

It’s luxurious, spacious, comfortable and not near work. It takes about 2 and a half hours drive to get there from home (including the boarder crossing) so it really feels like you have ‘gone away’. The food is excellent and it is easy to relax – helped by how welcoming, friendly and professional the staff are there.

Our stays are made more economical through membership with Club Marriott (which is separate from Marriott Rewards, but perhaps more on that later). For an annual membership fee a booklet of vouchers are provided for discounted rates on rooms – including free nights. Additionally, discounts on dining are available. If you stay there more than two stays a year it is certainly worth it – so a no brainer for us!

On this occasion we decided to just visit for one night. The advantage of doing this on a Saturday night on a regular weekend is that we can leave Brunei quite early and get there for lunch, making the most of the afternoon and then check out late the following day making the most of both days. There’s no problem heading down for two nights on a Friday, it just means you lose most of your Friday.

We arrived around mid-day and checked if our room was available yet (which it usually is as they are very good at having our room ready if they know when we are arriving). We dropped our bags off in our room then went straight to restaurant for lunch. Through one of my membership cards we are entitled to 50% off when two of us dine (the little one is already free of course which continues until she is 6, I think). The normal lunch buffet price is RM 68++, or around £16 per person. During our last few visits I have noticed a shift in the food on offer from large quantities to smaller ones but I think this has increased the quality. There is always a fine selection of salads, western main dishes, BBQ/Grilled meat and then also Asian dishes. Pictures below.

Chicken and beef satay – a great ‘local’ way to start the weekend!

After lunch we went back to our room as it was soon the little ones nap time (another reason we time our departure from Brunei to arrive around lunchtime. She sleeps in the car on the way down, is awake for a while, we have lunch before she is too sleepy then after a play she is ready for her nap again). This time, through a room upgrade we were in the main building. The hotel consists of the main building then about 8 or 10 blocks spread out in two wings from the main building. These rooms are very nice and are classed as Garden or Pool rooms depending on their location and all have balconies. The Garden rooms are the cheapest on offer, then pool rooms (which are the same price as main hotel rooms on the front of the building which do not have a balcony). The next category is rooms on the back of the main building over looking the pool that do have a balcony. The balcony is also a little bigger than the Garden and Pool rooms. It was one of these that we were staying in for this visit.

King rooms have a large double bed, a sofa, desk, chair and coffee table as well as a table and two chairs on the balcony. The bathroom was spacious and there was a big wardrobe to hang up clothes along with a safe for locking valuables. The room also has a fridge, stocked with a variety of drinks (including beer and wine) for purchase. All rooms have flat screen TV’s (not sure of the size, but more than big enough). The TV sits on a cabinet that has 3 large draws. The room is all carpeted, different from the Garden and Pool rooms which are either part carpet part tile (upstairs) or fully tiled (downstairs). I must admit, I prefer the fully carpeted room – it was also great for the little one as she was crawling around lots, so much kinder to her knees! The room is probably the same size as the Garden and Pool rooms, perhaps slightly bigger. The real winner is the balcony as it has a fantastic view over the resort pool and out to the South China Sea as well as being a little bigger.

Comfy king size bed and modern decor

Sofa & coffee table (comfy for lounging on while using the wifi).

Desk and chair if you require wired internet

Overview of the room towards the balcony

Safe, slippers and robe that are provided in each room

Tiled and clean bathroom

Towels and mirror

Shower and bath – perhaps one of the few aspects that could do with an upgrade

One of the best features of the room, an excellent balcony over looking the South China Sea

We spent the time relaxing in the pool, enjoying the fine food in the restaurant and watching the sun set from the balcony. A good way to refresh and make the most of a weekend!

Relax!

Golfing in Brunei

Today is Monday of the week long half term holiday at school here in Brunei. Well needed rest and relaxation is helped by the knowledge that a long summer holiday is just round the corner after a short stint of four weeks once we go back to work. The end of a long year is finally in sight. This holiday we have decided to stay in Brunei rather than going away like we normally do. We thought it would be nice to have a few BBQ’s and socialise with friends after a busy time at work as well as make use of the Yacht Club relaxing by the pool.

I have also pencilled in a few games of golf before my annual membership expires at the end of the month. Today was the first game – and what a great way to start the holidays. Rather than writing a long post about golf here in Brunei, I thought I would just write a short amount and then provide you with a number of pictures to give you a flavour of what it is like out on the course here.

I got to the course (Pantai Mentiri Golf Club) just after 8am and planned to play this first game on my own this morning to help me get back into the swing of things. I rented a buggy (B$10 or £5) as although you can carry your clubs here the heat really drains you over 18 holes even early in the morning and I hoped I would be able to nip round and be home soon after 11.

Sure enough, it was fairly quiet and those that I did catch up waved me through. On the occasions I did get held up before getting waved through I managed to snap the following pictures.

View of the clubhouse from the fairway on the 4th

About to head down the 6th

View onto Brunei Bay by the tee box on the 6th

The bunker and the bay by the green on the 7th

View down the 8th fairway

Parked in the shade while waiting for the pair in front to finish off their putts

Palm trees line the fairway on the 8th

View over the water from the 9th tee back towards the club house

It was an enjoyable morning on the golf course yet I was surprised at how quickly I made it round all 18 holes. I was even home by 10.30! What a lovely start to the holiday.

If you want to know more about golfing in Brunei and live here, read about the ISB Golf Society that I run.

The blog is not (quite) dead!

I begin to write this next blog post feeling like a naughty school boy standing in the headmasters office about to apologise. Why? Well, not having posted anything since 15 June. So I will just post about all we have been up to for the past couple of months.

The end of the school year finished in a flash with plenty of goodbyes, parties, meals out etc. The end of an academic year is an interesting experience full of mixed emotions; sadness from goodbyes, relief from a year’s hard work, excitement for upcoming travel and complete exhaustion from the many high pressure moments that a year of teaching brings. I often also feel the need to complete a few last tasks to round everything off but just can’t muster up the energy to complete them thinking ‘they can wait until August’. Of course, August is now here…!

We had the pleasure of a friend visiting us for two weeks as school broke up for the holidays. It was enjoyable to spend time with them along with visiting the various parts of Borneo in a ‘PlaneSimple Tour Opperator’ tour! On a weeks whistle-stop tour we flew over the Borneo rainforest in a turboprop plane, went snorkelling in Kota Kinabalu, shopped in the Filipino market in KK, enjoyed curries on the waterfront, said ‘hi’ to the Orangutans while they ate breakfast and swung through the jungle in Kuching, enjoyed a riverside walk in Kuching, stayed in a fancy hotel in Kuching and finally enjoyed a couple nights relaxation in the Marriott in Miri (that has an amazing swimming pool).

We then travelled to Kuala Lumpur before heading back to the UK for three weeks to shop, visit family and friends, eat forbidden foods, drink wine that tastes like it is worth the money you paid for it and enjoy some English and Scottish sunshine (!). We do enjoy travelling back ‘home’ in the summer time. It is exciting to catch up with friends and family having been away for the last year but it is tiring travelling around so much and living out of a suitcase. We travelled getting on for 2000 miles around the UK I think. We ate many great meals and enjoyed the fruit and veg that is hard to get in Brunei (Strawberries, Raspberries, Nectarines, a variety of fresh salad etc.).

We were fortunate enough to have my dad travel to SE Asia for meetings then on to Brunei with us for a few days R&R. This meant that we could bring back some extra luggage with us which was certainly needed!!

During the last few days I have tried to upload some HD videos that we have taken on our digital camera, now that we have a new laptop. I hope to upload some more via YouTube onto the blog (eventually, at some stage!) but for now, here are two videos (HD) that I have uploaded to YouTube from a couple of our recent holidays. Enjoy!

PlaneSimple

Passing through Phnom Penh

Once again, no blog post for ages! We recently did a bit of travelling in South East Asia during our December holiday so I plan to write a few posts on the various places we visited, over the coming weeks. First up, Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

We had a week in Cambodia lined up and due to the early morning arrival in Phnom Penh from Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia we thought we would travel straight up to Kratie, where the main tourist attraction is the Irrawady Dolphines. However, Air Asia had different ideas as they delayed our departure by about five hours! Fortunately we got the text at 4 am so could have the extra few hours in bed rather than in the terminal! It did mean though that our now lunchtime arrival in Phnom Penh was later than the last bus to Kratie. We changed our hotel booking and spent a couple nights in Phnom Penh before moving on.

So here’s our experience in Phnom Penh for you to read about or to use as a travel guide if you are planning on visiting.

We accepted the offer of a tuk tuk driver at the airport to take us to our hotel and then ended up using him regularly for the two days we were in town. Not a bad way to get round although easy to get ripped off I think. Be nice, but don’t be fooled is my advice.

The afternoon of our arrival day included a traditional Cambodian lunch by the riverside – I had Lok Lak, which was tasty. We then went up to Wat Phnom (temple) for a quick look round. It is easy to get templed out when in Cambodia – as you will see from upcoming blog posts – but it is worth looking at a few of them and they are all subtly different.

After Wat Phnom, Sam, our tuk tuk driver, took us to The Palace further down the riverside. If you have been to the palace in Bangkok, it is very similar. It is well worth the visit (check the opening times first) even if to just stroll round the gardens and admire some of the buildings.

We were staying in what would probably be classed as an ‘average’ hotel. It was pleasant enough and the coffee at breakfast was great. The only trouble we had was that as it was quite a new hotel, the tuk tuk drivers didn’t all know where it was. We finally learnt that the trick was to say it was near the popular night club ‘Heart of Darkness’, well, popular with the rich locals apparently – we never ventured there.

The next day we did the ‘must do’ for any (first time) visit to Phnom Penh – the killing fields. For those not familiar with the Khmer Rouge regime, you should read into it a little.

We started off by visiting the ‘prison camp’ S21, which is a former school building turned into the torture chambers of the Pol Pot regime. ‘Prisoners’ were brought here prior to being taken to the killing fields for execution.

Not all tourists pay this place a visit first, many choosing to go straight to the killing fields. I would recommend including it though as it certainly helps to give a better idea of the ‘story’. It is very hard to describe the atmosphere and even harder to try and comprehend what happened and why. Not only is it disturbing how recent the events occurred and how brutal they were but also that similar things must be happening in other parts of the world still today.

Following the visit to S21 our tuk-tuk driver Sam took us to the killing fields. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Near the entrance was a big monument that houses many many skulls along with some of their clothing. It really hits home just how many people were massacred when you see it. As you walk around the area even fragments of bone and teeth are visible on and to the side of the paths.

We did take a brief look in the attached museum after walking around – there is plenty to see and read about that helps make the history of it all a bit clearer. Worth a visit, even if only for 10 minutes before you travel back into Phnom Penh.

The remainder of our time in Phnom Penh was spent browsing the various shops, enjoying the numerous bars and cafes. The Russian market was quite good for all sorts of goods – especially factory seconds clothing. We visited quite a number of small cafes and restaurants of the “giving something back” variety. Some were linked with groups such as UNICEF etc. while others gave employment and training to the uneducated or homeless. I can’t remember the names of the ones we visited but take a look on various guide book websites to find out about some of them.

After a couple nights in Phnom Penh we were ready to make our onward journey. Due to the previously mentioned change in plans because of the late flight we decided we would visit Battambang on our way to Siem Reap. Details in the next blog…

All in all I would recommend Phnom Penh for a visit – as much to get away from the usual hustle and bustle of Asian capitals as to witness the scarred history of Cambodia which is really so recent.

Have you been to Phnom Penh? Let me hear your thoughts on it?

-PlaneSimple

Thoughts from Scotland

A quick post having been back in Scotland for a week. The time has gone fast and we have been busy with many mundane but necessary tasks.

Most of these tasks have involved filling out pages and pages of forms and ticking box after box (strictly speaking it’s not ticking though, it’s putting an ‘X’). The first day back we applied to renew our passports – so that they are ready for when we fly back. Given that the Post Office have a ‘check & send’ service, for £8, you would think they know what they are doing when they fill out a passport application. No. You’d be wrong. Despite me being the one paying £16 I was also the one who had to correct them 3 times as the form was being completed! Not a good start. Let’s just hope they are ready in time!

Then I was filling out a form for renewing a driving license photo (yes it has been nearly 10 years, surprisingly!). It took 20 minutes or so to queue just to get the form at the Post Office (common theme here). Once I got the form I carefully read through the enclosed leaflet about the form. It explained that it was the correct form for a number of different scenarios including renewing a photo. Great! That was all that was said about it in the leaflet though so I proceeded to fill out the form. Section 1 about who I am and my drivers license number etc. Section 2 about my address (becoming more of a sticking point now we don’t ‘ordinarily’ live here), right up until Section 7 where you sign and date. Then I turn over the page to the end of the form where it tells you how much to pay and where to send it. Oh wait, except one of the last lines on the form, yes right at the end, tells you to only fill out Sections 1 and 2 if you are renewing your photo! Why couldn’t they have said that in the information leaflet or at the beginning of the form?!

We have braved a few trips into the City Centre in Glasgow. It’s nice to see the new motorway coming a long nicely – I was surprised at how much progress they seemed to have made.

Now I admit that it is probably not as cold as what I feel when we’ve been out – not many others had three layers on when walking along Buchanan Street! But that is my next point – even if everyone else feels ‘relatively warm’ some of the clothes they are wearing suggest they should be in a private jacuzzi at home rather than walking down the main shopping street! Grumpy old man syndrome? Maybe.

I mean no offence by this next remark (isn’t the blog looking more professional now that I am including disclaimers?) it is just an observation. There is a high proportion of people out and about who seem on the overweight side. Has the global economic downturn in the past year or two really altered the Scottish diet that much? It is slightly worrying some of the excess baggage some people seem to be carrying about – esspecially given my comments above about suitable clothing!

We’re on to our next bit of the trip now, travelling around England a bit. We flew down from Glasgow yesterday. I find it much easier flying than taking the train. The only frustration was having to wait for 15 minutes at Heathrow once we had landed to park at the gate as there was “another British Airways aircraft at the gate about to depart”. Maybe I don’t understand the complexities of the logistics at Heathrow but I’d have thought they would have had time to arrange a free parking space for us given how long they had known we were coming!

We had feared we were following the bad weather but even thought it was a bit overcast it was much milder than up North. I am now looking forward to seeing more friends and family and hopefully the weather will remain dry at the least!

One last point to add in as I was able to watch the last 20 minutes of the British Grand Prix on Sunday. Congratulations to Mark Webber. I’m delighted for him give the struggles he had with his team over the weekend. Taking parts of his car and giving them to his ‘team mate’ becuase his team mate’s fell off due to his mechanics careless work? He’s a great honest guy and although Australian is really an adopted Brit! Well done Mark (follow him on twitter @AussieGrit).

Do you live in the UK? Have you been to the UK? What do you find annoying? What do you really enjoy in the summer time? Let me know what you think!

-PlaneSimple