I was recently in Brunei to give a talk on ways we can move beyond recycling, and with the remaining time, I was given a tour around the country by a lovely young lady, Nazurah, a volunteer with non-profit environmental NGO, Green Brunei. Places I visited included two mosques, a mangrove, and a park with a waterfall. Brunei has so much greenery, and they intend to keep it that way.
Pictured above and below are the grounds of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, it’s very beautiful inside and out, and the property has a well kept garden. There’s also an incredible boat located beside the mosque.
Another mosque I visited which also has a well-manicured garden is the Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. Like the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, the architecture is outstanding and the design detail is incredible. I greatly enjoyed my visit to both mosques and its gardens.
What I was particularly excited about was taking a trip to the mangroves and watching proboscis monkeys! A boat ride to the mangroves and floating village costs around S$25 per person depending on which boat you use, and it is certainly worth the price.
That’s Nazurah in the picture below. I got a close up view of the floating villages, which have their own police station, fire station and schools, it’s pretty amazing. The newer homes are made of concrete, I was told.
The mangroves are so clean, and I didn’t see nor encounter any mosquitoes, so it was a very pleasant, peaceful journey. There were also some birds in the mangroves, I think the white ones below are egrets.
It was difficult to spot the proboscis monkeys are first, but the boat man pointed them out to us. The monkeys are so cute!
Just before heading to the airport, Nazurah took me to see the Tasek Lama Waterfall, which was around 10 minutes away from my hotel. Lots of people come here to jog, and it’s easy to see why. Even the national football team was there that morning to conduct their training.
Here are a couple of photos of the Simpor – Brunei’s national flower. There were some of these plants in the park.
Not bad for a two-day visit! When I return next, I would like to visit more of their green spaces. There is so much more to see!
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