Royal Brunei Airlines

The latest buzzing news in town is regarding Royal Brunei Airlines’ route suspensions which have raised many questions as it undoubtedly came as a shock to almost everyone including myself. Many questions such as its efficiency, its financial state are now starting to surface.How will it effect our tourism industry?

On board Royal Brunei Airlines

Undoubtedly, the affected ones will mostly be those who wish to travel to Australia and vice versa especially those who wish to travel to Perth, Brisbane; Auckland of New Zealand; Kuching; and Ho Chi Minh.

I cant help but talk about this matter too as I can feel the frustration and perhaps confusion among Bruneians especially those who are currently studying and perhaps considering to study in Australia. This is because I once studied in Perth and having RBA back then was a luxury and brought much convenience. Although I had to wait for the next flight as there were only one or two flights per week to Bandar Seri Begawan from Perth, but it was comforting to know that RBA was there to serve us.

Royal Brunei Airlines

Although this is seen as a stabilisation plan, but I cant help feeling sad about the situation. Let’s hope that RBA will be able to bounce back and able to relaunch the routes in the very near future.

 

Social media

It is lonely here in the blogging world. I realised that most of the blogs I followed have either closed down or now only open for their subscribed readers. Has the blogging world come to an extinct?

With the rise in other forms of social media like Facebook and Twitter, there seems to be a trend. More opting for these two instead of blogging. Even without conducting a survey, in Brunei I think, Facebook and Twitter are a popular medium.

I myself am caught in Facebook and Twitter and lately, I’ve gone slightly crazy tweeting. To me, it is a much faster mode of communication, to find out what’s the latest, what’s hot in town.

The situation outside of Brunei is unclear but what is clear, social media has taken a storm in the field of communications. My visit to Beijing last year showed me what challenges social media has brought to the traditional media, how some agencies are treating social media not as a threat but instead a partner in helping them sustain their traditional media.

So what about Brunei? Media agencies are slowly using the social media. RTB has come up with their own Facebook page, DST and Brunei Times with their Twitter accounts. Though slowly but there is a shift in the preference.

But I do agree though, instead of seeing social media as a threat, it is wise to treat it as a partner and help sustain your original product

 

Football is coming home…

It’s coming home, it’s coming home… football’s coming home..~~~ Do you remember that famous song when England hosted the Europe Cup? Well, the same can be said to Brunei’s football team…

One of the good news this month is that football is back in town. After years of questions among football (some might say it soccer) fans – what is happening to our football association.

The historic moment came and it was announced the sanction put on Brunei by FIFA has been lifted and National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) is now recognised by FIFA.

As a football fan, it is definitely good to know that we are now eligible to play at any football tournaments worldwide.

Let’s hope that NFABD will bring good changes to our local football

 

Half a year gone by

Wow… has it really been half a year? So much has happened that I feel I should start a new blog instead, just to get a new breather.

Even the dashboard on wordpress looks so much different than previously. Honest be told, I’ve been on Twitter and Facebook so much that the tendency to blog simply just vanished.

But now I’m here … dropping by just to see what’s been happening.

Hope all of you had a good year so far and here’s to another half

 

Grilled Lamb Chop

Being without a housemaid has somewhat turned me into a domestic goddess. Instead of doing laundry once a week, now I have to do it at least three times per week, that’s just because I am afraid that the amount of unwashed cloths will leave my husband and I without any proper working attire. LoL!

And when there’s no housemaid, the tendency to cook comes in automatically… there was no worry when the housemaid was here.

So I dare say, the month of January has kept me busy, and with the housemaid only coming back most probably late February, the household chores are here to stay.

Not that I am complaining, it somewhat made me more discipline instead of being a couch potato

So two days ago, I decided to marinate the lamb chops I bought and decided to grill it instead of deep-frying… which I assume is much healthier.

It was easy to make. You can choose the conventional way of marinating such as using soy sauce, shallots, lemon… but I chose to use the easy way out.

You just need to get those on-the-shelf marinating sauce and add in honey and a can of Coke or 7-Up or Sprite. Leave it chilled for at least a day and grill it for about 45 minutes… and wala! It will be ready to be served

 

Happy New Year 2011

Bid farewell to 2010 and let’s give a big welcome to 2011.

A recap of 2010;

• Entered second year of marriage
• Became an aunt to two new nephew and niece.
• My health has improved tremendously.
• For the very first time, my dream of visiting the Forbidden City came true.
• Became a member of the team responsible for Brunei’s Pavilion at World Shanghai Expo.
• Visited Shanghai for the very first time.
• Went on vacation to Singapore and had a time of my life at Universal Studios with husband.
• Went to Singapore for a short getaway with the parents too.
• Went to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah after nearly 15 or so odd years; and met husband’s KK relatives for the very first time.
• Met up with the core group in KL after two years.
• On the down side, applied for two posts and got rejected.
• Work load was slightly chaotic.

It looks like the better outweighs the bad ones but somehow the bad memories gave more lasting impression.

So here’s to a better 2011

 

Cultural experience

Just got back from a two-day work trip to Temburong District. It should not be that tiring but we used the road instead by boat, meaning we had to make a big turn crossing over Limbang, Sarawak, almost a two-hour journey. We could have used the boat which would only take us 45 minutes to arrive but we had to bring lotsa stuff for filming.

But it was a fun trip nevertheless, tiring but worth it.

We went to a farm and saw how salted eggs are made; took a closer look at how wajid, a famous local delicacy are made; and for the very first time, I saw and learned what Nuba Tinga is, and how they are made too.

Just to sum it off, here are some pictures.

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Rainy season

It is snowing in the UK and it is raining cats and dogs here in Brunei Darussalam. Hardly a day goes by without raining, especially in the evening. But I am not one to complain, it is better than being in a hot dry weather. Only thing is, some are affected due to flashflood especially in other districts.

I’ve been trying to polish this blog, just added the 2011 Public Holiday list, next will be the school terms if I can manage to find it.

Heavy clouds ahead. Picture taken a few weeks back.