Monday, March 31, 2008
Away....
I am not too particularly surprised that the Brunei International Airport is not one of the transit airports of choice by many passengers. The main terminal building was built in early 1970’s and it really shows. The layout looks outdated, the amenities are embarrassingly pitiful and the facilities are scarce.
Moving into the main satellite building, where one would wait for his/her flight to depart, I could not feel any more embarrassed. The duty free shops are at its minimal, selling the odd chocolate, perfumes and cigarettes. The newsagent is mediocre; it still stocks some publications published many months ago (I remember that many western magazines would have display by dates). There is an internet café, where the person looking after it was playing songs a bit too loud.
The toilet was something else. The toilets are located one floor down from the main plaza, so it is an inconvenience to go down to the toilets, especially if you travel alone and you have a trolley bag as a hand-carry baggage. Some of the lights in the toilet were not working; especially those on top of the cubicles, so one would have to do his business in the dark. There was no proper paper towel to dry hands with; instead the cleaner left a few rolls of toilet paper on top of the paper towel dispenser. There was even no soap to clean hands with.
Why can’t the airport authority look to the other airports around the region for inspiration? We do not have to do the whole lot, but at least try to provide recreation areas, eye-catching and always updated displays, properly working facilities and duty-free shops that sell more than just cigarettes, chocolate and perfumes. The airport authority should take the advantage of the profitable Kangaroo (UK-Australia) route. Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore now top the list of transit airports of choice and there should be no reason why our airport cannot be in the list too. Be patient; there is a plan for its expansion is in the pipeline (see here), but don't hold your breath as apparently it is planned to be completed by 2036!
On a slightly different note, there was a group of Gurkhas going for the same flight. I was caught among them while going through the security checks. Most of the Gurkhas had at least a hand-carry bag with them for some reason some of them have pliers and knives in their bag. When it was my turn to go through the security checks, the police on duty mistook me for one of the Gurkhas as I put my laptop bag on the conveyor belt. She told her colleagues in Malay that I should better not have anything prohibited in the bag or else she would not let me take the flight at all. So I greeted her in Malay and she turned red in embarrassment! Do I really look like a Gurkha?
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Sing the theeemm tune....
She was then invited to sing a version with 'slightly better' English...
I don't think it was much better!
Have a good weekend! Safe drively and drink responsibly.
Friday, March 28, 2008
A milestone!
Just realised that with this post and almost a year on from the first post, I reach a century of posts! (I was not really counting and watching the post counter, but hey, it's something to celebrate, right?) When I first started the blog, I was not too sure if the blog would actually continue to see its 100th post. The blog started off to a slow start, and somehow since the new year (well, my new year resolution was to post more regularly), the pace has picked up and a flurry of posts came almost daily.
The blog was started to record all the silly things that the Lunch Gang talked about or did. It was also meant to record all the 'apparently' stories that Bulgemeister managed to uncover and share with the whole gang. Everyone in the Lunch Gang was invited to write a post or two. A few contributed (thanks Jester and Kakarrot, and Jester has now started his own blog) but over time, the interest started to wane off. When I was posted to B-town for a 7-month work stint, I used the blog to update the Lunch Gang on the on-goings and stories from B-town. Slowly, the blog became a personal blog and it continues in the current form since then. I don't really call myself a serious blogger, but I try to post whenever something catches my eyes.
I hope that you continue to visit the blog and I thank you for your support. If I offended anyone in any of my 100 posts so far, please accept my apologies. Above all things, comments are always welcome (but no spams!).
Here's for another 100 posts!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Crispy Cucur: The Truth?
Remember this post a while ago about crispy cucur?
I came across this article from Singapore's the Sunday Times which was published on 23 March 2008.
Told you it was a hoax!
P.s. Many apologies for the bad quality of images. You might have to squint your eyes a bit to be able to read properly.
I am the Unagi......
Be afraid of the unagi!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Life's Most Foolish Frights
These are some of Life's most foolish frights:
Ignorance
The best way to appear smart when you feel dumb is to ask intelligent questions. Cluelessness is only a temporary condition.
Mirrors
Enjoy the man you are instead of lamenting the one you aren't.
Positivity
Cynicism is easy, because it requires no effort. People who keep trying, who push, who block for others will beat cynicism every time.
Loss
A few simple truths: Friends and relatives die. Opponents win. Beloved teams (such as Liverpool and Arsenal, he he!) fail. We profit from these losses by remembering that if your bet is in your pocket, you are not playing the game.
Strong-willed women
Opinions and stiletto heels are not mutually exclusive.
Jealousy
It's natural for those you pass on your way to the top to perceive you as shallow, greedy and selfish. It's either that or confess to themselves that they're lazy, shiftless and stupid.
Failure
A failure is a man who gave it his best and was still beaten down and stripped of his material goods. The fight's not over, though. If he's smart, he'll realise he's left with his most valuable possession - his brain.
Visit Men's Health website here.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Crispy cucur anyone?
The idea was that the molten plastic bottle would be mixed with the hot oil and when the hawkers were making the banana fritters, the molten plastic would coat the banana fritters, giving them their crispy texture. Not sure if this is true.
A friend apparently read in the paper a while ago that a team of reporters tried doing what the hawkers were alleged to have done. They put a mineral water plastic bottle into a pot of hot oil. Sure enough the plastic bottle melted, but rather than getting completely mixed with the hot oil, the molten plastic actually formed clumps on the surface of the oil. If that did not put you off from trying to fry banana fritters in the clumpy plastic-hot oil combo, the smell from the melting plastic would probably do.
This team of researchers also experimented on using different types of flour and they actually found that the crispiness of the banana fritters was determined by the type of flour used.
So this plastic in hot oil story is probably just another urban legend. It is probably a tale told by a less successful banana fritter hawker, envious of his/her more successful competitor.
Friday, March 21, 2008
HLP Mar '08
The participants of the Mini Fun Sport & Games were divided into three teams, consisting of staff from the different departments under the Technical function (teambuilding & networking: check!).
As with any other sports , we started with a warming-up session. The interesting bit was when each of the organising committee members took turn to count from 1 to 8 for each warm-up 'thingy'. It clearly showed that everyone in organising committee played an equal role in the team.
The HLP event was superbly organised. Everyone had fun and some even went a bit too competitive (yeah, I am talking about Kicks and RunningDiva!). The big boss even commented that this event should be organised more. Kudos to the organising committee for this memorable day. The other HLP event organisers would have a hard time trying to emulate the success of this event!
Here our own tai chi master showed how stretching should be done.
Shot-putt, but with coconuts!
Our tai chi master trying to put the shuttlecock into the box. Use your inner chi, Master!
He was not that excited; it was just a water-filled baloon.
The organising committee members deep in discussion.
The final score.
The winner was... the Blue team!
Second place went to the well-behaving, but slightly competitive Yellow team.
The last place winner (still in Top Three!) was the Red team.
The gang members from the Lab.
So how long was 'it' Nul?
Are we racist?
I remember reading an blog entry on this well-known Brunei blog on the segregation of toilets in a school here in Bandar. The school put up such signs that basically allowed only certain race to use a particular toilet. This is bordering apartheid, don't you think so? If this school 'openly' practices racism, I cannot imagine the sort of things that the students learn just from the simple act of labelling the toilets for use by certain race only.
How many times can you remember saying a particular race smells just because they use a lot of onions in their cooking? How many times can you remember mocking a particular race's accent, complete with shaking head? How many times can you remember saying a particular race's hand writing looks like bean sprouts? How many times can you remember saying degratory remarks about a certain race just because they are in the minority here? How many times can you remember labelling a certain race with a degratory word just because of the colour of their skin? How many times can you remember associating a certain job to a certain race just because they want to do it to feed their families at home, while we choose to remain unemployed?
We now live in a modern world, where we need each other to progress and develop. The United States of America did not make so much progress in the past century by not abolishing the segregation of races. Dr. Martin Luther King did not say he had a dream, only for the dream to remain a dream.
Lets wake up from our own dreams and kick racism out from our country!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Clouds above Kuala Belait
This cloud formation was observed this morning above the Municipal Field in Kuala Belait, where thousands of people were gathering to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
The clouds formed the arabic letters of 'alif, lam, lam and ha'; in all formed the arabic spelling of the name of Allah the Almighty.
Masya Allah!
You pay!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Maulidur Rasul
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Did I really do it?
Pre-read warning: Let me apologise in advance if there are spelling and grammar mistakes, and bad English generally in this post as I was still angry with what happened to me last weekend. I just wanted to vent my anger and get it out of my system, so what are some mistakes here and there, huh?
I was driving along Jalan Tutong when I realised that the police was carrying out an operation to catch traffic offenders. I was pretty sure I was not breaking any traffic rules, but I was quite shocked when I was asked to stop. The policeman asked to see my driving license and my ID, but did not say anything much. I found it odd that the policeman was not telling me what my traffic offence was. After a while, I broke the silence and asked him what I did wrong. He proceeded to tell me that I had run through a red light. So I thought, “Hang on a minute, I know the dangers of running through red light and I would not do such thing!” He explained that some policemen were stationed at the junction of Telanai Link Road-Jalan Tutong to see if anyone broke any traffic rules and they caught me running through the red light. I argued that as I was passing the junction the traffic light was yellow and I was not technically breaking any rule. He went on to explain that the traffic light turned red while my car was on the yellow box. I found it a bit absurd that they adjudged someone have broken rule when the yellow light turned when they were moving.
The policemen asked me to acknowledge the compund notice, which said that ‘tidak berhenti semasa lampu merah menyala (did not stop when the traffic light turned red)’. I refused to sign off the notice and contested the alleged offence as I believed that I had not done what the notice said. The policeman said that I could contest the allegation in court but I told him that the court would actually follow what the notice said, regardless how much I would protest the allegation. I told him too that I would lose the case right away because of what he wrote on the notice. We argued for a good 10 minutes and I was trembling while doing so. The policeman told me that they caught me doing the offense on camera. I got bitter and started to point to drivers of cars passing by who did not wear safety belts or talked on the mobile phone without any handsfree device.
Eventually, a fellow driver took me aside and advised me to sign the notice off, as I was creating quite a scene and ‘it did not look too nice’. I told him in principle I was not going to sign it. Because it thought it would useless to argue much more, I signed off the notice and was told to either pay the fine of BND50 within a fortnight or I could contest the allegation in court. It turned out that I should not have done so, because as I signed the compound notice, I was considered to have acknowledged and admitted the allegation. I asked a lawyer friend for advice and he told me that the police might have a case against me.
I am still bitter and feel aggrieved that I got fined for this alleged traffic offense, which I did not believe I did. How come you can still see many cars driven at excessive speed, heavily modified cars are still driven around, drivers not wearing seat belts, drivers chatting away or sms’ing while driving, children not being strapped up in seat belts and even worse sitting on the drivers’ laps, cars which can be considered as unroadworthy on the road and cars with obvious violation of road traffic rules, but did not get stopped? Where is the fairness in that?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Comments.....
For the second post running, an irresponsible person left a comment, containing a link to a website which may be harmful.
As much as I welcome readers (old and new) to this blog and encourage them to leave comments, I cannot tolerate the irresponsible act of leaving comments with links to unsolicited websites. I have the interest of my readers close to my heart, hence any comments containing such links will be deleted. We have enough troubles getting rid of spams through emails that we do not need spams via this blog.
You've been warned!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Harry Potter and the Money-making Movies
How many Harry Potter films in total then? Seven?
Wrong!
It was reported that the final Harry Potter book 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' will be adapted into two movies, the first part due out in Nov 2010 and the second in May 2011.
More news here.
Friday, March 14, 2008
What's your OCD?
I listened to the radio this afternoon and the deejay asked the listeners to tell her what their OCD habits are.
I do not know if this is really an OCD thing, but I tend to check a few times if I had locked the door or not. It's probably not OCD; I'm probably making sure that things are done properly.
So what's your OCD then?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Dreams can come true?
During one of the weekly shows, one particular deejay, who was very chatty, energetic and a bit hyper-active, would invite this lady who interpretes dreams and talk about star signs. The guest would be told by the listeners about their dreams and she would tell them what the dreams meant. Since the radio channel is run by the government radio station and this being an Islamic country, I would think that this particular method of dream interpretation and star sign would be frown upon.
I extracted the following from http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?pg=qa&ref=6537&ln=eng.
1. The most truthful of dreams are those that are seen at the time of suhoor [just before dawn], for this is the time when Allaah descends and when mercy and forgiveness are close. It is also the time when the devils are quiet, unlike the time of darkness just after sunset, when the devils and devilish souls spread out. (See Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/50-52)
2. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said: All dreams are either of two types: true dreams. These are the dreams of the Prophets and of the righteous people who follow them. They may also happen to other people, but this is very rare. True dreams are those which come true in real life as they were seen in the dream. Mixed up false dreams, which warn of something. These are of different types: games of the Shaytaan to make a person distressed.
3. Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you sees a dream that he likes, this is from Allaah, so let him praise Allaah for it and talk about it to others. If he sees other than that, a dream that he dislikes, this is from the Shaytaan, so let him seek refuge with Allaah from its evil and not mention it to anyone, for it will not harm him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6584, and Muslim, 5862).
It was reported from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you sees a dream that he dislikes, let him spit to his left three times, and seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan three times, and turn over from the side on which he was sleeping.” (Narrated by Muslim, 5864)
4. Ibn Hajar said: to sum up what has been said about good dreams, we may say three things:
A person should praise Allaah for the good dream
He should feel happy about it
He should talk about it to those whom he loves but not to those whom he dislikes.
To sum up what has been said about bad dreams, we may say four things:
He should seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of the dream
He should seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of the Shaytaan
He should spit to his left three times when he wakes up
He should not mention it to anyone at all.
In al-Bukhaari, Baab al-Qayd fi’l-Manaam, a fifth thing was narrated from Abu Hurayrah, which is to pray. The wording of the report is: whoever sees something he dislikes (in a dream) should not tell anyone about it; rather he should get up and pray. This was reported as a Mawsool report by Imaam Muslim in his Saheeh.
Muslim added a sixth thing, which is to turn over from the side on which one was lying.
Waallahu a'lam.....
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Multiracial Brunei?
One of my friends actually brought up quite an interesting fact. The fact that he noticed most, if not all, National Day banners that got erected around Bandar Seri Begawan did not bear any non-Malay face. We had the day's Borneo Bulletin and it contained National Day congratulatory messages. We went through every page and realised that my friend was right. As we drove around Bandar and we observed the same with the National Day banners.
Was it just a coincidence or was it a deliberate thing? Are non-Malay not considered Bruneians? Is Brunei really a multi-racial country as claimed by many travel guides and publications?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
How rude!
As we were playing, I thought it was quite disrespectful and rude that our opponents were chatting away while playing, with the occasional laughs here and there. There were some moments when one of them would be watching the other games in play. The behaviour totally killed my mood to play. Ok, so we were beatable, but hey, please show some respect. If you thought that we were that easy to beat, you should have played with someone else.
I played with a few much better players than these two guys, but I never had anyone that disrespectful. They would play and work hard for every point.
Just thought I wanted to let it out of the system. D**kheads!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Fun Donuts - Review
Queue was still seen at the outlet. When we arrived, there were about 15 people in the queue, so we thought it would not be too long before we could finally reach the donuts. We told ourselves that if we didnt reach the front in 20 minutes, we would quit the queue. Twenty minutes later, we were not quite at the front; there were about 5 people in front of us. So we thought 5 people would not take too long. How wrong we were, as all the donuts were gone at that particular moment. Another 10 minutes passed and the queue was barely moving. The 15-people queue actually translated to a 40-minute wait. But the lure of the donuts actually kept us in the line.
When we got the front line, there was a further wait as donuts would come trickling one type at a time. I would think at this moment, you would not have much choice of donuts. If you want a particularly highly-demanded variety, you would have to wait longer. Since it was our first time there and we did not have any particular favourite, we got the ones readily available. We got the classic, berry plunge, apple something, banana split, vanillla and something that I forgot varieties.
So the verdict? Well, we thought the donuts were soft, supple and quite tasty. The fillings were generous. For some reason, the donuts did not feel too filling. We all liked the donuts, but we would wait until the time when we do not have to queue to get them.
So compared to Kripsy Kreme? Well, I do not know; I am not really a big fan of donuts, so I cannot fairly say which one is better. But Fun Donuts donuts are currently the best in Brunei.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Fire Prevention and Safety Tips
1. US Fire Administration Home Fire Prevention
2. Fire Kills: A British Campaign on Fire Prevention
After reading these two websites, I believe the level of awareness among Bruneians in regards to home fire safety is alarmingly low. Very few houses have fire detection system, such as smoke alarms. Very few houses are also equipped with fire fighting equipment.
There was a time at work when I was dealing with LPG sale and I became aware of the safety tips when using LPG bottles. I have seen many houses where the LPG bottles were stored indoors with no ventilation and some houses used un-approved gas regulators and hoses. For more info on LPG bottles safety, click here.
One of the most common causes of house fire is electrical wiring faults. Click here to learn more.
Remember, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Somehow a somber post....
We talked about how difficult it was to cope with the loss of loved ones. And how more difficult it was when you were not there when they died. My mum passed away in Nov 2006 when I was on the flight from Sydney to Singapore after attending a course; and Cookiedough was in the United Sates when her dad passed away in Brunei early last week. However, it was harder for her as she could not fly back for the funeral, whereas I flew back home as soon as I was told of my mum's passing.
This reminded me of an entry that I posted on another blog. I thought I might re-post it here.
" ..... Was on the flight from Sydney to Singapore when my mum died. I was met on arrival by an RBA ground staff in Singapore and was asked to catch the next flight back to Brunei (I was initially supposed to go back the next day). She initially refused to tell me why I had to fly but I told her that I would not fly unless she told me why I had to fly home right away. Many thanks to various friends who helped arrange my flight back home that evening.
I went through denial, anger and sadness all in one go. I was bawling my eyes out in the middle of the airport terminal and I did not care what other passengers might think. The 2 hours flight back to Brunei felt longer.
Tho I was not by her side when she died and only managed to talk to her once while I was in Sydney, I felt fortunate that I was able to get back for her funeral. Many friends and colleagues came to offer their condolences and I thank you all for that.
It is almost 40 days since she died (which is the customary mourning period in Brunei). I still think of her and her memories. I regret of not spending more time than I had. Looking back, I wished I could do more for her. I just realised that I never had a picture taken with her alone. Now I promise myself I'd do those things with Dad.
Finally, Mum, I miss you..... Rest in peace.... Dan moga rohmu dicucuri rahmat.... Al-Fatihah...."
Mega Hit 3: Links
1. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
http://www.mediafire.com/?lhfxgt301yg
2. Rush Rush - Paula Abdul
http://www.mediafire.com/?3twjyqgqzxn
3. Joyride - Roxette
http://www.mediafire.com/?y0yzzri2vme
4. More Than Words Can Say - Alias
http://www.mediafire.com/?vy2shwrgfm2
5. The One And Only - Chesney Hawkes
http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=5128796213fa56ba81b9e808fcf1bb24
6. Let Me Change Your Mind Tonight - Johnny Hates Jazz
http://www.mediafire.com/?9zmkec2dsxj
7. Sadness Part 1 - Enigma
http://www.mediafire.com/?t3dzyiytrfw
8. You're In Love - Wilson Phillips
http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=8eb68b18db10518cdb9f3e563f81a80b
9. Unbelievable - EMF
http://www.mediafire.com/?yzde5zkwetd
10. Nothing But The Radio On - Dave Koz
http://www.mediafire.com/?ex4fjuygbgm
11. This House - Tracie Spencer
http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=71ac59af791605432f435708fd203021
12. I've Been Waiting For You - Guys Next Door
http://www.mediafire.com/?0eincmmemx5
I'll delete the files by the end of the month. Enjoy them.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
38.5deg C
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
DoNuts.....
So are they really that good? Something to rival Krispy Kreme? If you have gone there and managed to grab a piece or two, please give us your thoughts on the donuts. Thanks!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Found it!
Anyway, here are the songs in Mega Hit Volume 3:
1. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
2. Rush Rush - Paula Abdul
3. Joyride - Roxette
4. More Than Words Can Say - Alias
5. The One And Only - Chesney Hawkes
6. Let Me Change Your Mind Tonight - Johnny Hates Jazz
7. Sadness Part 1 - Enigma
8. You're In Love - Wilson Phillips
9. Unbelievable - EMF
10. Nothing But The Radio On - Dave Koz
11. This House - Tracie Spencer
12. I've Been Waiting For You - Guys Next Door
I used to think that Sadness Part 1 by Enigma quite a scary song and I skipped this song a lot.
You're In Love was my favourite song in this album; I like it so much that I went on to buy Wilson Phillips' album that contained this song.
I'm going to rip the songs from the three volumes of Mega Hit and store them in a virtual storage. If you'd like the link to the storage, drop me a message.