Today, I drove all the way to Seria, at the far west of Bandar Seri Begawan, to visit the town and also a Malaysia friend, Vincent who has been working and staying there since 3 years ago. He graduated from MMU too and got to know him from my gf’s sis.
It took me about an hour before I reached Seria at about 2.30pm, due to heavy rain half-way. I parked the car at a market in the town before Vincent reached 15 minutes later. We hopped into his brand new Toyota Vios, which according to him, only worth B$21K. Cheap and affordable, isn’t it?
Seria is a small and peaceful oil town. According to him, Seria was being leased to Shell and almost 80% of the town is occupied by Shell properties, including staff accomodations. Only if you’re a Brunei-an, then only you’ll stand a chance to be recruited by Shell. Once you’re part of Shell, the basic salary is in the range of B$3,500 to B$4,000 (for a fresh starter). Then, you’re going to have a very decent life, with the least spending way, really.
The first scene that attracted me is the so-called “nodding-donkey oild well” which are still functioning, distributed everywhere. Then, we came to crude oil processing plants and refinery plants. That’s where His Majesty the Sultan’s wealth lies. Anyhow, it’s too bad that the Oil and Gas Discovery Centre (OGDC) was close to public. :-(
Then, we proceeded to Kuala Belait town, which is larger in term of size and population compared to Seria. It’s the last town of Brunei before we go over to Miri, Sarawak. DVD shops and goldsmiths are popular here. We had our so-called Konloo Mee in an old coffee shop and I had two. Too hungry? Too delicious? I’m not sure, either one, maybe.
Probably locals here have nowhere to spend, there is a so-called Disneyland style residential area. All-pervasive of bungalows with extravagant designs can be found here. It’s like Beverly Hills, name it and see it, eyes-opening experience. But, bear in mind that, not everyone Brunei-an are rich. A walking distance from Vincent’s office, there is a village in a very poor condition. Such a contradiction …
We left Kuala Belait at around 5pm when the sky was getting dark. Half-way back, it rainned again. Argghh, that stopped me from visiting Jerudong, where Jerudong Park is situated. No worry, there must be chance sometimes in coming trips.
Next mission? Miri, most probably.
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