Eiffel Tower Revisited

I did a little familiarising with Paris on the Kelana Convoy tour prior to bringing my mum and sister there. Since I have been up before, I stuck around while I waited for them to finish their tour.

Looking up at the tower of steel and it is still looking good for so many decades now. This trip happened in the year 2004.

Residences in Brunei

Houses in Brunei are generally big as it is common to live together with extended families. However, with modernisation, I find more people moving out to start their own family. There is a small growing number of working youths who have decided to live on their own.

In Brunei, many houses are built under housing schemes which are handled by the Ministry of Development's Housing Development Department. The department deals with three housing schemes; National Housing Schemes (Rancangan Perumahan Negara), Indigenous Landless Schemes and Resettlement Schemes (Rancangan Perpindahan).

Initially, the department started off with the management of the resettlement schemes to shift residents from the water village inland. However, the nature and objective of the department has been revised in the 1980s to include the providing of houses to landless citizens when the Sultan decreed that all his subjects should be provided proper and affordable housing facilities. The land plots or houses are given at a subsidised rate.

Hundreds and thousands of houses are expected to be completed in the years to come under these schemes as announced here, here and here.

Please note that these photos are taken by a friend.

It is part of town planning that the housing area comes with a school (building with the green football field) and a mosque. It is also common in Brunei to be living amongst the forests. Many houses are located next to a patch of forest.


There are different types of houses and land plots given out to the citizens depending on the pre-required conditions.


Another housing area with a white mosque (bottom right)


A cocktail of houses either from the housing scheme or otherwise.






Some people in Brunei still prefers to live in the Water Village (Kampong Ayer) and this one here is a fishing village.

Some Industrial Places in Brunei

I am not sure what sort of industrial place this is but from the looks of the ponds, they are definitely not natural ponds, aquaculture maybe?

Oil industry in Brunei

Photos taken by a friend who wished not to be named.

Along the coastlines of Brunei

Brunei has some beautiful blue waters as well as mysterious-looking brownish ones.

The Jerudong Polo Club is located next to this circular sea barrier


Private beaches and man-made spits near the Jerudong Park Medical Centre


The luxurious Empire Hotel and Country Club


The Menteri Golf Club just at the Brunei Bay and at the mouth of the Brunei River


Islands in the Brunei Bay


The Tutong Spit which separates the South China Sea from the Tutong River

Photos taken by a friend who wished not to be named.

Some Famous Landmarks of Brunei

I've decided to categorise the collection of pictures which my friend took from her helicopter ride into forests, landmarks, coasts, residential area and industrial area. I'm still amazed by how much greenery we are surrounded by even in the busiest of places such as Bandar Seri Begawan and Gadong. The trees around may not have been as noticeable as I wander around for parking spaces during my shopping trips but in these pictures, they are a stark contrast to the buildings.

There is immaculately white Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque right in the middle. The water village has houses lined along the river side of the great Brunei River. The hills on the far left was where Kota Batu was once a strong fortress to guard against foreign invasion. There are two white specks which are boats on the river at the bottom right of the photo and the building on the right bank is the Brunei Supreme Court.


A more zoomed-in picture, there is the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque again with its lagoon. The Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Shopping Complex is just right behind the mosque. On the right of the picture, the building with the dome is the Brunei Royal Regalia, one of the most popular tourist attractions here, and next to it, the cream-coloured building with the big parking lot is the Brunei Syariah Court. Pulau Cermin is the island in the middle of Brunei Bay.


The Jame’ Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque, the building with gold domes, is the biggest mosque in Brunei. The Gadong Mall and Centrepoint buildings are at the bottom of the picture.


No place in Brunei can get as busy at the Gadong Area where the Gadong Mall (glass building with blue roof on the left) is located. Both the Gadong Mall and Centrepoint are owned by Abdul Razak Holdings.


The Brunei Legislative Council Building (building in blue) is located along Jalan Mabohai before the T- junction which gets you to Jalan Menteri Besar where the other ministerial buildings such as the Immigration Department, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Religious Affairs , Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources Ministry of Communications are located.


The Ministry of Finance is an interesting and most modern-looking (in my opinion) building that towers to the skies as it sits on a hill.


This is the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium which is located right next to the National Swimming Pool. Further behind is the International Convention Centre (ICC) - building with red roof and National Indoor Stadium (building on the left).


The white building at the bottom of the picture is the Indoor Stadium and is located between the National Tennis Court on the right and National Hockey Field on the left. This is a better picture to see the ICC.


This is the Brunei International Airport and a Royal Brunei Airline plane is preparing for take off.


A view of the air port runway beside the Royal Brunei Airlines Golf Club

Photos taken by a friend who wished not to be named.