Starting off Day 3, we went to the Brunei History Centre, where we learnt about the history of Brunei and how it became what it is today. This is also where all the important manuscripts and newspaper clippings were kept. Did you know that a private collector from Singapore had actually purchased all these manuscripts and clippings? That was why we weren’t allowed to snap shots of this private collection.
Thereafter, we took a short walk to some of the markets nearby which were similar to our wet markets in Singapore. This was where we also experienced the friendliness of the Bruneian people, who never hesitated to welcome us and even snap photos with us.
On the way to our next destination, we had a quick pit stop at the Istana Nurul Iman, the residence of the Sultan of Brunei. It was an eye opener, seeing how huge the Istana was; it was definitely much bigger than our Istana in Singapore. No wonder, it holds the title as the “world’s largest residential palace” in the Guiness World Records.
Having some time to kill before the catching the sunset, we headed to the Rimba Garden Central, which was similar to our Singapore Botanical Gardens, where there were many different species of plants and flowers to feast our eyes on. As a nature lover, I enjoyed this portion very much as it was a really beautiful place to be at.
With dusk approaching, we were visited the beach at Empire Hotel, where we were able to enjoy watching the sunset together. We also found some coconuts at the beach and to our own surprise, were able to crack them open against some sharp rocks to drink the refreshing coconut water after another long day in the sun.
With this, we decided to wrap up the day, heading back to The Core early, as we needed to do our packing and get a good rest for the next morning when we would finally be heading off to Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre (KBFSC). So, stay tuned for that!
