"Kura kura dalam perahu, pura pura tidak tahu" SangAji's Profile

"In fact, to eat durions, is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience" - Alfred Russell Wallace

Durian (thorny / spiky fruit) is the undisputed King of Fruits...

experience it.....
and you will experience heaven!

My pix shows durian kura-kura, a native of Brunei, and is borrowed from http://www.bruneiresources.blogspot.com/

Please visit my album for more pix of durian .... also my travel page Kampung Tanjung Durian!

Orang Utan = Jungle Man
aka mawas or mayas
... is the undisputed Lover of Durian ...

his love affair with durian led to him being almost history ...

follow HIS story and the Theory of Devolution in my Sepilok pages!

Also Confessions of a Natural HIStorian .....

Heard of Orang Belanda?

aka si-Amang ....

his story to follow!!!

and the REAL Orang Utan ... really!

folklores to follow!

Joey iN mum

Welcome to Australia Zoo aka Steve Irwin's mangerie ....

Joey is warm and comfy in mum's pouch ... ouch.... ouch... if you try to touch .. that's for being couch

Please visit my album for more pix...

Flying Fishes - see my kg serasa travelogue

Creepers .... soon!!!!

Footnote :

i've just got onto VT ...
and most pages are under various stages of construction...

you can help me design my pages ...
by letting me know what you like to see and know....

eg : some VTers are also fruit lovers ...
so i have added pixs of fruits ...
some unique to brunei and borneo ..
and in time more info on the fruits ..
and given the fruits 'homes' ...
in my travel pages ...
eg : kg tanjung durian for durians ..

Thank you for visiting ....

and my sincere apologies if you find my pages rather lacking ....

entrance to padang besar with soas mosque in backg

and tranquility ..

and serenity ...

with lots of possibilities ...

for the virtual tourist to see ...

visit www.infofoto.org.bn for more pixs

ambuyat session

if you haven't seen any promo on ambuyat ...

that's because locals like it this way

you see .. the rumbia tree takes 10 years to mature ... and they are in short supply ....

bruneians family life will never be the same without fridays ambuyat sessions ..

kg ayer and brunei river

brunei's oil history started in the capital at ayer berkunci ...

brunei museum has an oil & gas exhibit for vters to see ....

brunei lng tankers ship gas across the south china sea ....

one can be TOTALly engrossed by the wealth one see ....

and tempted to pick-up the SHELLs by the sea ...

alas .. jr ewing is no more for us to see ....

dallas texas is so far away from the sea ....

you see ... the oil & gas is mainly in the sea ....

museum at kota batu

not much is known of Brunei's history before the current sultanate

.. Awang Alak Betatar and Awang Semaun were the chieftains then ..

... and Lawas was the capital ...

... later moved to Puni in Temburong ...

... followed by Kota Batu ...

.. being abundant, wood were the main construction materials ..

.. recent archeological discovery at kg limau manis has revealed life during the 10th to 13th century

.. dna testing hopefully will reveal the origins of early Bruneians

.. visit the museum for exhibit on early Brunei - Brunei Tua

sultan sharif ali's tombstone

Tombstones with Islamic inscriptions has been dated as far back as the 10th century ..

Brunei's 3rd Sultan actually hailed from Taif, Saudi Arabia ...

... and his ancestry has been traced to Prophet Muhammad (saw) ..

.. his tomb is at Kota Batu = Stone-Fortified City ... Brunei's old capital ...

... next to the museum ..

... and next to the tomb of the 5th ruler - Sultan Bolkiah ...

.... aka Nakhoda Ragam = Singing Captain ....

.... who 'spice-up' his travels around pulau 'separacha' = handkerchief island = 3 months sailing = borneo? or sumatra? with a gantang = a measure [ 2 litres? ] of peppers ....

.... a pepper at each stop ...

.... as a measure of the extend of his domain ...

... accompanied by sigantar alam ...

... his trusted cannon ....

.... and met his consort Laila Menchanai around java sea ...

... and another archeological site which is yet to be determined as...

... another ruler's tomb? or fortifications?.... or ...

You see ... King Castille's men did not help by letting loose with their cannons ...

low tide at kg ayer .. the river is THE street

kg = kampong = village

The Spaniards were well on their way to circumnavigate the globe via the Pacific ocean ...

... when they came face-to-face with king lapu-lapu in present day cebu ... and Magellan met his ....

... and they encountered "moros" = moroccans = muslims in luzon ..

... Sultan Saiful Rijal was the governor .. and the Spaniards found out about Brunei ...

... and decided to pay a visit .. and even managed to set-up a settlement in kg ayer ....

... until today known as kg lorong sikuna ...

No prizes for guessing the origin of the name kg lorong sikuna ...

... and then there was Perang Kastila = Castille War ...

... Spaniards' cannons met Brunei's cannons ....

... and swords met keris ...

... and there were turncoats aka traitors in the midst ...

... and Bendahara Sakam ...

... Brunei's hero ...

... and the spaniards had to contend themselves with seludang = luzon aka philippines for 350 years ...

... with the dutch in batavia ...

... and portugese in malacca ...

... and then there was Nakhoda Manis = 'Sweet' Captain ...

aka malim kundang in ...
aka si tanggang in ...

.. who left Brunei and his mother to seek his fortunes ...

.. and having made his fortune ..

.. disowned his mother ..

.. and his mother in turn asked for ..

.. and a storm sank his ship ..

.. and his ship became jong batu ..

.. to this day located next to kg burong pingai .. your water taxi will take you there for b$10 ... or more if you are a tourist .. view of the palace included ...