Brunei

Posted on April 14, 2012 by jipp

So, I jotted down another country in the list of my travel trips by visiting Brunei last week. Of course the idea of coming to Brunei had first come when I heard about the upcoming Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon so I just decided it was probably the right time for me to come to Brunei and leave my marks there. Besides, it was one of only four more countries in South East Asia that I had yet to go apart from Laos, Myanmar and Dili.

Language

My first worry about traveling to Brunei had been the probability of a language barrier. Although it is located very much in the vicinity of Sabah, I was quite worried that they’d be a little bit of problem talking to Bruneian people who I knew had their own language. Continue reading →

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SCBHM2012 – Running for A Reason

Posted on April 11, 2012 by jipp

SO, I have just returned from Brunei to join the first Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon (SCBHM) in Bandar Seri Begawan last weekend. It would be the latest addition in the series of annual marathons under the Standard Chartered so the air of excitement was all over the participants as I made my way to the starting line.

I overheard from some conversations that most Bruneian runners were not quite ready to take on the half marathon this year so most of them had opted to go for the 10K instead. I can only assume that you’d see more of them in the 21KM next year (when they are ready of course) so next year’s HM is going to be much more hilarious I guess. Continue reading →

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3 Hours in Golok, Narathiwat (Thailand)

Posted on April 2, 2012 by jipp

So, in my previous entry on my trip to Kelantan, I wrote about my solo road trip to Rantau Panjang from where I crossed over the famous Golok River and marked my steps on the Thai soil almost in no time. It was such an easy business doing all the stamping of passport at the Thai immigration office in Golok. They’d help you fill up a form and you only need to pay RM2 for their little help.

I couldn’t help but getting a little bit worried when the officer showed quite too much interest in my camera (I had it slung around my neck). He kept staring at it while filing up the form, asking all kinds of questions such as its price and where I bought it. I guess I got a little bit traumatized after the incident at the Bali Airport when an immigration officer tried to take my camera away and asked for money if I wanted it to be returned. Damn. Continue reading →

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From Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by BUS

Posted on March 30, 2012 by jipp

It was a mixture of somberness and excitement as the bus moved slowly against the traffic jam, then past the rows of heavily French buildings in Phnom Penh, from its denseness to scarceness and finally out into the countryside where all we could see were kampong houses lined up along the roadside with expansive paddy fields in the background.

It’s always sad to say good bye to a place that you have traveled to and grown quite fond of because you’ll never know when you’ll be coming back there again. 🙁

Continue reading →

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Bidding Farewell to the Beautiful City of Phnom Penh

Posted on March 29, 2012 by jipp

It would be the day when we’d have to say good bye to the beautiful city of Phnom Penh. Thinking that we didn’t have much time to spare, I grabbed my shoes and went for a little run on the riverside of Tonle Sap river.

It would be my very last run before I joined a few thousands runners to battle it out at the Angkor Wat Marathon. Continue reading →

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