Solo Trip: Discover Brunei #2

Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei Darussalam

Hi everyone! Cik Nurul is back and today I would continue this first-solo trip of mine :)

If you miss out to read the first part of this trip, please read it from the beginning. Only then, you will be able to follow my trip 'online' Hehe...

Here you go, the link to the first part of my Discover Brunei -->> Solo Trip: Discover Brunei #1

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my first plan for Day 02 was to do a city tour, but I changed it a night before as the only available tour to this one and only National Park in Brunei is on Saturday. I guess, I made the right choice. Why do I say so? Hehe...

I will let you guys know why do I say that I made the right choice of going for the Ulu Temburong tour instead of city tour in my next entry. Hehe...

So... lets begin the adventure!!! :)

DAY 02

My first breakfast at MyTown Eating House :)

I woke up early that day. The sun rise early in Borneo, and I was quite excited to start the adventure. Hehe... As the price I paid for my accommodation is include breakfast, so I have to ensure I do not miss it. Hee...

I get myself ready before 7.00am, and would like to have my breakfast. Unfortunately, they start serving breakfast at 7.00am onward. So, I have to wait until 7.00am, only then I can enjoy my breakfast :)

They served 2 half boiled eggs, with bread and hot coffee or tea. They actually have few choices of complimentary breakfast, but basically it is the same. Hehe... You can also choose other menu, but you have to pay extra. Hee... So, during my stay there, I chose to only have the complimentary breakfast. Hehe... I don't mind about food. As long as I get my meal on time, it shouldn't be a problem for me :)

While I am having my breakfast, the driver who brought me to the Kianggeh Jetty, Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) for a boat transfer to Bangar, Temburong District, already waiting for me. Hehe... I enjoyed my breakfast so much, I think, until I forgot that someone is waiting for me. Hee...

During the 10 minutes drive from the hotel to Kianggeh Jetty, I managed to have short conversation with the driver who already worked in Brunei for 4 years. He is from Surabaya and he said that he love Brunei :)

After a short briefing about the tour by the tour guide, Mr. Hatta from the Borneoguide.com, we start our journey. It took about 45 minutes boat transfer, and along the river you will able to see lot of mangrove trees on your left and right. You will also pass by the famous Kampung Ayer. I will share about this Kampung Ayer in my next post. 

Apart from me, there are also few others tourists (or could I say, travelers) who joined this tour with me. They are couples from Indonesia who is very, very friendly and nice, also a group of more than 5 people from Canada, Germany and hmm I can't recall from which country they are from. Hehe...

It was hot sunny day and I can't wait to reach the destination :)

The picture taken is not too clear. I am sorry for that. Hehe...

Alhamdulillah! Yeay! Finally, we are here at the Temburong District :)

Actually, you can also take land transportation to this district. But you will need to go in and out from Malaysia to Brunei. Hehe... As I am not taking land transport, so I will not talk much about it :)

Well, we are not there yet. Hehe... Still, we need to take a shuttle from this Bangar Jetty to Sumbiling Eco Village which took around 20 minutes. Along the way, Mr. Hatta and also Brian (or maybe his name is spell as Bryan. hee...) shared with us a bit about this Temburong District.

Some information I got which I hope these info are correct. Hehe...

**Population in Temburong District is about 10,000 people and mostly they are Muslim

**Approximately 10 Chinese families stay in Temburong District

**There are 9 long houses in Temburong District

**Among the 15 schools in Temburong District, there is only 1 secondary school

**Their source of economy here are from business and some work with the government

**Apart from Malay ethnic, there are also Murut and Iban

**85% of the Temburong District is covered by jungle, 15% is other areas

**Brunei government wants to keep Ulu Temburong as what it is now

**The Ulu Temburong jungle is about 400 million years old

We finally reached the Sumbiling Eco Village whereby from here we will need to board another longboat transfer to the entrance of national park. They provided us with some refreshment before we board the longboat.

Decoration here is very close to nature

Not just 'some', but I guess these are a lot :)

They served us banana fritters (fried banana), spring roll and light drinks. That would be enough to give us energy to climb up the stairs at the national park.

It is time to explore peeps! Hehe... Lets go!!! The journey from Sumbiling Eco Village to the national park took around 45 minutes to 1 hour. It depends on the water level.

Sooo refreshing to see greenery scenery like this. I like it so much :)

That is the longboat we took from Sumbiling Eco Village

The above picture is the entrance whereby you need to register yourself here before you start your adventure. The tour package I took is already include the entrance fee to this national park.

As mentioned in my previous entry, the package I took cost me BND150. This package includes:

**Return speedboat fare from BSB (Kianggeh Jetty) to Bangar

**Return transfer from Bangar to Sumbiling Eco Village

**English-speaking guide in Temburong

**Ulu Temburong National Park entrance fee

**Visit to canopy walkway, return longboat ride

**Visit to waterfall (if river condition suitable)

**Light refreshments & lunch

Once done with the registration and all, ohh ya before I forgot. You need to ensure you go to the washroom first before proceed to go to the canopy walk as there is no washroom along the way. Hehe... So, once everything done, we will proceed to the canopy walk. Please ensure you have enough energy and ready to climb up 1,280 stairs before you reach the canopy walk. Wow! 1000+ stairs! I took the challenge to climb up the stairs. Honestly, it was really, really, really tiring. My energy level went down so fast, but it kept going up as I really want to see Brunei from the highest top. Hehe...

The real thrill start at the end of this suspension bridge. Hehe...

Are you ready guys? Hehe...

Another half way to go. Hehe... Fighting Cik Nuru! You can do it!

I almost lost all my energy. But... I have these people who encourage me so much, very supportive. I am really thankful to be able to meet them. Thank you Allah for sending them to me. But I forgot to get their contact number or email. Hee... If one day, they found out about my writing here, I just want them to know that, I felt bless to meet you guys. Thank you so much for taking care of me, for being very, very good mates during our adventure here. 

The guy at the back is our tour guide, Brian @ Bryan. The other two are the couple from Indonesia. Thank you so much guys :)

Finally, after few stops (I guess, not just few, but sooo many stops. Hehe...), we managed to reach at the canopy walk.

Another stairs to climb up. Fuhhh :)

The canopy walkway consists of 6 towers joined by bridges at least 40m above the base - one-way traffic, up through 1st tower, down by the 6th tower.

Mr. Hatta said to me, if I don't climb up the canopy walkway, it means that I haven't been to Brunei yet. Hehe... He knew that I am actually afraid of height. So, he challenged me. Challenge taken! Hehe...

Managed to climb until here, still got another tower to climb up

Climbing up the canopy walk in Ulu Temburong is quite challenging for people who is afraid of height like me. But, I managed to climb until the 6th tower. And, here is the result I get...

Hello Brunei! Cik Nurul completed the challenge in Ulu Temburong!

SubhanAllah! There is no word to describe how beautiful it is to see the greenery part of Brunei from up here. It is sooo beautiful. The weather was really nice to me that day until I could see the scenery like above picture  :)

I made it!!! Yeay!!! Thank you Brian for helping me took this picture. Hehe...

Alhamdulillah! I made it! Challenge taken and I really made it!

After a while, enjoying the scenery up here, we went down to the registration area. Though my feet are getting tired, but I have to finish it. I need to gain back my energy. I have to ensure I go back to the registration area safely.

On our way back to Sumbiling Eco Village, we stopped by the waterfall. I am sorry I don't have good pictures to share with everyone here. Hehe...

We spend around 10-15 minutes at the waterfall and afterward heading back to Sumbiling Eco Village as our lunch is ready there. It is makan time! :)

They served white rice, chicken cooked in bamboo, some vegetables and fruits. Some of the tour members get a sleep after lunch. We headed back to BSB at around 3.30pm.

It was absolutely tiring, but really worth it! My feet felt really tired and the next day I walked like a robot. Hehe...

If I get a chance to come here again, I would choose to stay overnight here. I want to experience and do night activity in Ulu Temburong National Park.

Once I reached BSB, the driver was already waiting for me to send me back to the hotel. I am really satisfied to be able to do a tour at Ulu Temburong. A tiring trip,  yet one of my best memory I had in Brunei :)

So, for Day 02, I had my dinner at MyTown Eating House. I ordered Chinese Fried Rice and Ice Lemon Tea which cost me only BND6.70.

My total expenses for Day 02 is only BND6.70.

I had a great day in Brunei. Spending 1 day in Ulu Temburong, meeting new people there, be a stranger and the only Malaysian during the tour among other travelers from other countries, I left Ulu Temburong with a memory that I will never ever forget.

Thank you Allah for ease my adventure in Ulu Temburong :)

You guys can check for more information about Ulu Temburong National Park and the tour available here from these 2 websites:

1) Borneoguide.com

2) Ulu Ulu Resort: Ulu Temburong National Park

That is the end for Day 02. Stay tuned for the next update. Hehe...

Salam Kembara,