As I mentioned last night, I was bringing students on a trip to Kampong Ayer and Proboscis Monkey Tour along Sungai Brunei today. I woke up as early as 5.50am, headed to shower and Lulu picked me up sharply at 6.35am. By 6.50am, we were already at Bandar Jetty. Four students were already there when we arrived! It was nice seeing them excited! By after 7.30am, we had one student yet to arrive at the meeting point. The tour guides from Monaflora Fauna Tours were at present as early as 7am. They introduced themselves as Azman, Danny and Mike.
The groups were divided into 3 - two of 10s and 1 group of 20 students. I was in-charged of the biggest number while Tracey and Lulu were in-charged of the small groups. Their groups went ahead seeing the Proboscis Monkeys at the mangrove areas while my group headed to the Kampong Ayer. But first, the three boats sailed along Brunei River towards the Old Istana, passing Kampong Ujong Bukit, where my dad originated. Passing by the wooden house, I proudly told the group, "Ok everyone! I was born HERE, at this house!" All went .... Ohhh! :) I took a picture of the house, knowing that my uncle's family (my dad's younger brother) was inside.
From the Old Istana, where His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah was borned, my group separated from the other two and led by Azman, our tour guide, to the famous Kampong Ayer - the Venice of the East. He told us about the history of Kampong Ayer: brilliantly told us all the facilities that are found there. The group witnessed the primary and secondary schools, the Fire and Police Stations and the Suraus on water. We even got to see the restaurants and workshop (specially servicing the motor boats).
Personally, I learnt that there are not only water taxi available in Kampong Ayer but also water BUS!! It carries teachers and students from one destination to another on rather a bigger boat compared to the water taxi. It also has rooftop! Simply looks like a bus on water! A water taxi fee costs as low as 50 cents per passanger and as much as B$2.00. When we assumed that living in Kampong Ayer was 'cheaper' than living on land, Azman corrected us by saying that we were wrong. The villagers of Kampong Ayer spent so much on traveling expenses on water as well as fuel on land for their cars. A boat could cost as much as B$2000!! Though cheaper than cars on land, as majority of the Kampong Ayer residents work at Governmnt Sectors, they need cars on land to travel thus the expenses on travelling cost double than those living on land.
Our group also experienced going up on a Kampong Ayer house belonged to a man named Awang Karmin. It seemed that he had entertained lots of tourists as I saw pictures of him with them on the walls. There, we were served with traditional cuisines (which the students DIDN'T know some!!). There were Penyaram (my favourite!), Bingka Nasi, Calak, Tapai, Celurut and Kueh Seri Muka. We had them with tea. Azman then explained to us a species of 'Brunei Petai' found hanging on the wall of Awang Karmin's living room. We learnt that, the seed of the Petai could be used as soap (ironically, as we know those who eat Petai could 'produce' smelly gas, if you know what I mean!!).
From the house, we went off to the mangrove area. There, Azman briefed us on eco-species that are found in Brunei mangrove. There are two types: the oily mangrove and non-oily mangrove (he did mention the scientific names of both but I kind of forgot about it, whoops!!). From there, we went to the nearby and famous Jong Batu. In the hot sun, he told us the legend of Nakhoda Manis who was cursed by his mother into rocks. I believe you know this story perfectly. The Malaysian version would be the legend of Si Tanggang, while Indonesian's Malin Kundang.
Leaving Jong Batu, we headed to the other mangrove area, seeing species of animals along the way. We spotted two kinds of 'Kenawai' birds, the mangrove snake; sleeping and wrapping itself on the tree branch, the water lizards; two crawling on the trees and one swimming in the water (looked like a snake though!) and of course, the main attraction, the Proboscis Monkeys! We could see them up-close! We did try capturing some pictures of them but as they are shy creatures, we only managed to snap their backs more than their fronts. But it worths the trip!
To you who still do not know, Proboscis Monkey is the biggest species of monkey in the world, which can only be found on the island of Borneo. The female gives birth to one, rarely twins, and only mates with one male species throughout her life. The male species, which is the leader of the group, mates with as many as 7 female species. The bigger its nose, the more handsome he is to the eyes of the females. The females, on the other hand, have smaller pointed nose. In fact, this is how we differentiate both sexes. Proboscis Monkeys mate throughout the year, unlike other species of monkeys which mate only during mating seasons.
Proboscis Monkey eats the young leaves of the mangroves. Having 7 compartments in their stomach, they are naturally having some sort of body system that enables them to reject bacteria from the mangrove leaves that they feed on. For your information, some mangrove leaves are full of bacteria. This type of monkey can swim and its main predator is the seawater crocodile, which can also be found in the Brunei River. They are not aggressive as they feed on fish and the monkeys. So, we need to preserve the mangrove and wildlife so as to keep the crocodile intact in the mangrove areas. We wouldn't want it to swim freely in Kampong Ayer looking for food, would we?
From the sightseeing, we went back to the Portview Jetty to go home. By then, it was already 11.30am, just meeting the right schedule. We took more pictures on the jetty before bidding our goodbyes to the lovely tour guides. We all had fun and learn a lot from the trips!
Thank you so much Monaflora Fauna Tours!!! I owe you guys all the education that I need :)
The groups were divided into 3 - two of 10s and 1 group of 20 students. I was in-charged of the biggest number while Tracey and Lulu were in-charged of the small groups. Their groups went ahead seeing the Proboscis Monkeys at the mangrove areas while my group headed to the Kampong Ayer. But first, the three boats sailed along Brunei River towards the Old Istana, passing Kampong Ujong Bukit, where my dad originated. Passing by the wooden house, I proudly told the group, "Ok everyone! I was born HERE, at this house!" All went .... Ohhh! :) I took a picture of the house, knowing that my uncle's family (my dad's younger brother) was inside.
From the Old Istana, where His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah was borned, my group separated from the other two and led by Azman, our tour guide, to the famous Kampong Ayer - the Venice of the East. He told us about the history of Kampong Ayer: brilliantly told us all the facilities that are found there. The group witnessed the primary and secondary schools, the Fire and Police Stations and the Suraus on water. We even got to see the restaurants and workshop (specially servicing the motor boats).
Personally, I learnt that there are not only water taxi available in Kampong Ayer but also water BUS!! It carries teachers and students from one destination to another on rather a bigger boat compared to the water taxi. It also has rooftop! Simply looks like a bus on water! A water taxi fee costs as low as 50 cents per passanger and as much as B$2.00. When we assumed that living in Kampong Ayer was 'cheaper' than living on land, Azman corrected us by saying that we were wrong. The villagers of Kampong Ayer spent so much on traveling expenses on water as well as fuel on land for their cars. A boat could cost as much as B$2000!! Though cheaper than cars on land, as majority of the Kampong Ayer residents work at Governmnt Sectors, they need cars on land to travel thus the expenses on travelling cost double than those living on land.
Our group also experienced going up on a Kampong Ayer house belonged to a man named Awang Karmin. It seemed that he had entertained lots of tourists as I saw pictures of him with them on the walls. There, we were served with traditional cuisines (which the students DIDN'T know some!!). There were Penyaram (my favourite!), Bingka Nasi, Calak, Tapai, Celurut and Kueh Seri Muka. We had them with tea. Azman then explained to us a species of 'Brunei Petai' found hanging on the wall of Awang Karmin's living room. We learnt that, the seed of the Petai could be used as soap (ironically, as we know those who eat Petai could 'produce' smelly gas, if you know what I mean!!).
From the house, we went off to the mangrove area. There, Azman briefed us on eco-species that are found in Brunei mangrove. There are two types: the oily mangrove and non-oily mangrove (he did mention the scientific names of both but I kind of forgot about it, whoops!!). From there, we went to the nearby and famous Jong Batu. In the hot sun, he told us the legend of Nakhoda Manis who was cursed by his mother into rocks. I believe you know this story perfectly. The Malaysian version would be the legend of Si Tanggang, while Indonesian's Malin Kundang.
Leaving Jong Batu, we headed to the other mangrove area, seeing species of animals along the way. We spotted two kinds of 'Kenawai' birds, the mangrove snake; sleeping and wrapping itself on the tree branch, the water lizards; two crawling on the trees and one swimming in the water (looked like a snake though!) and of course, the main attraction, the Proboscis Monkeys! We could see them up-close! We did try capturing some pictures of them but as they are shy creatures, we only managed to snap their backs more than their fronts. But it worths the trip!
To you who still do not know, Proboscis Monkey is the biggest species of monkey in the world, which can only be found on the island of Borneo. The female gives birth to one, rarely twins, and only mates with one male species throughout her life. The male species, which is the leader of the group, mates with as many as 7 female species. The bigger its nose, the more handsome he is to the eyes of the females. The females, on the other hand, have smaller pointed nose. In fact, this is how we differentiate both sexes. Proboscis Monkeys mate throughout the year, unlike other species of monkeys which mate only during mating seasons.
Proboscis Monkey eats the young leaves of the mangroves. Having 7 compartments in their stomach, they are naturally having some sort of body system that enables them to reject bacteria from the mangrove leaves that they feed on. For your information, some mangrove leaves are full of bacteria. This type of monkey can swim and its main predator is the seawater crocodile, which can also be found in the Brunei River. They are not aggressive as they feed on fish and the monkeys. So, we need to preserve the mangrove and wildlife so as to keep the crocodile intact in the mangrove areas. We wouldn't want it to swim freely in Kampong Ayer looking for food, would we?
From the sightseeing, we went back to the Portview Jetty to go home. By then, it was already 11.30am, just meeting the right schedule. We took more pictures on the jetty before bidding our goodbyes to the lovely tour guides. We all had fun and learn a lot from the trips!
Thank you so much Monaflora Fauna Tours!!! I owe you guys all the education that I need :)
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