Bahasa | Language | Sprache

honestly, i'm a fan of language! what i mean is, i love to listen to different languages and if i'm given a super power, i wish than i can master all the languages in this world, even out of this world! my favourite language is japanese. i remembered going for a scholarship interview for studying abroad where you are required to list three countries of your choice. mine is naturally japan being the first, the second and third being uk and us.

the interviewer asked me why japan? and my answer was because i'm a fan of japanese cartoons and dramas (doraemon, masked rider, flashman, maero attack, oshin) and i want to watch them without having to read the subtitles! and then i got my sense back and added that i love their cultures (punctual, advanced technology, etc.) and also i totally agreed with the 'looking east policy' at that time introduced by the prime minister at that time, tun mahathir. haha, i managed to get the scholarship and was send to germany instead (where i didn't finished my study and became one of the greatest regret in my life!) but, Allah knows best and i did finished my study locally (where it would't sound as 'WOW' when you mentioned that you are an oversea graduate, haha..)

okay, one of the good part about being send to germany is i get to learn german. i leaned the language for two year in malaysia and sat for the exam (DSH) which i managed to pass averagely.. and then i got to stay in germany for about three years. unfortunately, when i came back to malaysia, i sort of leaving the language behind. currently, i am only able to understand basic communicative german.. i am still able to read (but unable to understand each word) and converse really really bad! but i know that i am able to grasp back the language if i make the effort to.. the thing about language is, no matter how long you've learned it, but you didn't make use of it, it will gradually gone..

i've learned arabic for seven years (since i was nine years old!!!) but after the 'big arabic test', the things i've learned for seven whole years were gone in a poof! the only language that is left in me aside from my mother-tongue, malay, is english! and even my english is not that bombastic or extraordinary! i've learned mandarin for three weeks (short course training) and the only thing i can remember is wo bu zhi dao, haha..  i learned japanese formally at INTAN for about three weeks and informally by myself for as long as i can remember.. i'm better at japaenese compared to mandarin because i do love the language, hehe.. i can read only hiragana without understand them, naturally.. still learning katakana and i know kanji would be an enormous obstacle, haha.. i am also interested in spanish, again because of the dramas (la usurpadora, mis tres hermanas, rosalinda etc) and korean because of the hallyu wave of course! i'm never interested in french because i think it's a difficult language to learn but i love hearing it..

i think that i have a flair for language, haha!! i can learn them quite fast if i put my effort in it but i usually lack vocabulary! i would do just fine with the daily basic conversation, but don't expect me to write a composition.. right now, i'm planning to brush up back my german and diligently learn japanese. when i'm bestowed with my own offsprings, i would want them to learn one foreign language beside english (it would be easier for them if i marry a foreigner..) they may choose the language they like.. below i made the summary of the languages i know, knew and hope to know..

1. malay (mother tongue; first language - intact)
2. english (learned since an early age - intact)
3. arabic (9 - 14 years old - gone with the wind)
4. german (17 - 22 years old - barely there)
5. mandarin (3 weeks - what do you expect?)
6. japanese (on & off - japanese kindergardner level, maybe lower.. ok, absolutely lower!)
7. spanish (want to learn)
8. korean (want to learn)

[SONG] exile - michi

*ps: singing alone without atsushi and takahiro really brings out the 'broken japanese' in me!!! 

Destination: Bandar Seri Begawan (25 - 26 June 2016)

FLIGHT DETAILS

HOTEL DETAILS

TRAVEL DETAILS

as usual, when i updated my travel log one year later, my memory on that trip would be hazy and very unclear. so, please bear with me... we booked this trip without even realizing it was in ramadhan (fasting month). that must be the reason for the cheap flight tickets, huhu... our trip to brunei was only for two days, one full day to be exact. we rented a car (toyota vios) there. there was a little bit of miscommunication regarding the car rental. the car owner thought our rental request was cancelled due to my lack of  follow up. i thought once the deal was confirmed, there's no need for me to reconfirm further.

our first stop is the souvenir shop, syarikat perniagaan bintang ria! through our short research, this shop offers the best price for souvenirs in brunei. still, it was expensive. so, we just bought souvenirs for ourselves. next stop is bandar seri begawan waterfront which located directly in front of the shop. we took a boat along the river and around kampung ayer. we we hailed the boat the same way we hailed a taxi. the view was refreshing. we stopped a while at kampung ayer cultural and tourism gallery. all the entrance to the gallery here or museums here in bandar seri begawan are free. unfortunately, halfway through our boat ride, the rain started to pour down quite heavily. we had to cut our ride short.

next, we visited two of the famous mosques in brunei; Masjid Omar 'Ali Saifuddien and Masjid Jame 'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah. along the way, we also visited royal regalia building (bangunan alat kebesaran diraja). only after all the visits, we went to our hotel in jerudong to check in. we paased in front of istana nurul iman. then, we stopped at a restaurant (forgot the name) to book a place for our breakfast. the restaurant is about 15 minutes drive from our hotel. we rest and freshened up a bit before we went back to the restaurant to breakfast. we tried ambuyat, brunei traditional food. it tasted a little weird for me personally. it's like eating starch/glue. but, some people may find it delicious. done breakfasting, we went back to the city and pay a visit to one of the mall there. the mall there. the mall is big but not as happening as the malls we have here in malaysia. we visited the night market, bought a few street foods for our sahur. we called it a day and went back to our hotel.

we drove to the airport early the next day and returned the car. so, this would be the end of my brunei entry. quite short, isn't it? hehe, well there's really nothing much to do here in brunei to start with and the trip is only one day. just got another one more entry to go. then, i'll proceed to my latest wanderlust, laos. actually, i just came back a couple of days ago! hope when the memory is still fresh, the entry would be refreshing as well!!! :)