A lengthy account of my first open water freediving session in Brunei with Italian merman Stefano.
Post CORONary dissection
A post new year’s account on living out the dream of having an all-girls’ trip to the white sands and blue waters of Coron.
Saturday night fervor
So taking Dad’s boat to view the decorated boats and floats procession and fireworks display was the best idea ever. Departure from home: 7.00pm, Arrival (BSB): 7.45pm, Traffic: none, Population: 10 on the manifest, Visibility: up close and rockin’ . We got so close to the action – like 20 feet away from the floats and felt the vibration from fireworks creating waves and rocking our boat. That night definitely ended with a bang for all those on board the Rezeki.
Cramming in a dive on crammed feet
Introduced to serious challenges that can come with increased depth, trying sea conditions and newly introduced dive sites. Also came out with sobering insight to take it easy before I end up giving up on freediving and ultimately myself.
Golden Occasion for All
5th October 2017: Joined in on witnessing history-in-the-making, alongside close to 100,000 strong who were overwhelmed with patriotism. Congratulations to His Majesty for the 50 years reign and resulting progress and development. So much has been achieved leading up to the day. Daulaut Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik!
A Landmark for the Gold: The Sungai Kebun Bridge
As a Lumapas native and resident, the completion of the Sg Kebun Bridge has great personal significance. It means cutting down my travel time to and from major Brunei-Muara hot spots. Thank you and congratulations to the Government of His Majesty for the construction of this major (infra)structure and milestone.
Hello October: from Stormy to Clear
Hopping from one dive site to another with a colourful bunch welcoming in October on Cekli’s boat.
Long weekend cherry on top
The long holiday weekend ended with a bang thanks to a mixed crew on board and newbie me on successful freedives with the pioneers.
Touched by Teraja
Where many Brunei residents decided to go abroad for the long weekend, I opted to explore my own country. The sweetener was being able to visit a reclusive gem in the Belait district. Longhouse? Hiking? Waterfall? You had me at Teraja!
The Outcome: Coastal Cleanup Saturday
15 divers and hours later… one piece of trash recovered from the Panaga Beach waters. Read up more on the real struggles of my Saturday morning.
On the outside diving in: Why dive in Brunei?
With the plethora of tourist places in Southeast Asia, it is easy to overlook Brunei as a possible dive destination yet the dive scene among the locals and expats in Brunei alone is gaining considerable traction.
As a Bruneian citizen who also spent half her life growing up abroad, I believe that I can help balance out facts and preconceived notions by answering some questions that I usually get about Brunei and diving in this Sultanate. I will continue to do my best to acquaint readers with the country, first with its underwater gems and the dive community.
