The Road to Tedungan: A New Year’s Journey to Brunei (Part 1 of 3)

Part 1
We headed to Brunei on the fourth day of Chinese New Year, following a plan my father had made since the second day of the festivities. We were going to visit one of my aunts who lives there. It had been nearly a year since I last saw her during the previous Chinese New Year.

That morning, my father woke my brothers and me up around 8:00 AM. He insisted we leave early to avoid the massive queues at the Immigration checkpoint. Honestly, I was exhausted and reluctant to get out of bed because I had stayed up late the night before. I even considered staying behind, but my mother’s persistent nagging left me with no choice but to get up.

After breakfast, we began our drive toward the border to get our passports stamped. However, as we reached the Limbang town area, my father suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! It’s a good thing I checked this, otherwise, we’d be pushing the car!”

As he pulled into a petrol station, we realized the tank was nearly empty. It took about 15 minutes to fuel up before we could finally resume our journey.

Driving in this area requires focus, otherwise, you might hit a "landmine" buffalo dung. Most people in the rural areas here own farms and plant rice for a living, so buffaloes wandering along the road are a common sight.

Despite the hazards, I noticed the air felt significantly fresher and crisper here compared to the town.

While my father drove, my brother, Kerry, was preoccupied with his comic books.

Along the way, we passed a secondary school built by the Limbang government for rural children. It’s heartening to see that they have access to an education. The students clearly take pride in their school; the decorations were impressive, and they maintained a beautiful flower garden that stretched along the roadside.

We eventually reached the bridge that was completed a few years ago. Before it existed, the only way to cross was via a government ferry service, which always resulted in long, frustrating queues.

My uncle, a contractor in Limbang, actually played a part in this construction project. My father mentioned that they hired laborers from India for the job. Interestingly, there were dark rumors that human heads were mixed into the cement to make the bridge’s foundation "solid." When my mother heard those stories, she became incredibly worried whenever my brothers or I stayed out late!

Looking back at the bridge after crossing, I realized that while it only takes one or two minutes to drive across, it took years of labor to build. It made me think: when we enjoy modern conveniences, do we ever truly consider the hard work and effort people put in behind the scenes?

When you’re in a hurry, it feels like everything is moving too slowly. We got stuck behind three large Shell petrol tankers, and my father had to overtake them one by one. I managed to snap a photo of one as we passed.

As we neared the Immigration station, we passed a set of government flats where the station staff live. Nearby, there are several small stalls set up near the border.

Since alcohol is prohibited in Brunei, many residents cross over to the border here to drink and socialize with friends. Some of these stalls even offer karaoke!

These businesses usually open around 4:00 or 5:00 PM and stay busy until midnight or even dawn. It gets especially crowded on Fridays, which is a public holiday in Brunei.