Brunei is an amazing place for it's serene and beautiful nature, mosques, king's lifestyle, water village, dense forest and many more.  It's sparsely populated and one of the richest country in the world.

Out of all the tourist places around Bandar City, capital, trekking was one of them in my list.
The place is located right in the middle of the city. It was just 2.5km from my hotel.

Plan was to start by 6AM so that I can return before it's too sunny. It was supposed to be just 2-3 hours of trekking, thanks to google.
I got up at 8AM. It was beautiful Saturday late morning.  You always have the privilege of time if you are traveling alone.

I left home at 9AM and started walking. There were only two small makeshift stalls at the entrance for water and drinks.  I was not in the mood to carry any bag hence didn't buy any water, even left one filled water bottle at home.

I had done a lot of trekking before, but never alone. I saw a few groups finishing their trekking at the entrance.
"Hello brother, how much time it takes to climb up?" I asked.
"2-4 hours depending on the path you take."

I have done full day trekking before and this might be the shortest.

Map at entrance

I took a photo of Map at the entrance and started moving on trekking path. Sun rays were struggling to enter the dense forest. Brunei has preserved their nature well and untouched. You can see really old dense trees very next to your apartment.

Few monkeys were sitting on way enjoying their time with family.
It was only me in this dense forest and I was totally enjoying my date with nature. It was a rare moment.

After almost one hour of trekking, I started feeling thirsty.
There were few direction boards in the beginning but after getting further into the dense forest, I was not able to see any such boards. If I hit any junction with multiple walkways, I had to decide on my gut feeling and little help from map photo I took at the entrance. I was not able to see anyone now most probably because this place is not so popular or I am too late for trekking.

As time passed, my throat went completely dry. I was getting exhausted and tired by now. As I was reaching the top of the mountain, the sun was able to penetrate the forest increasing temperature.



I looked around with very less hope of finding any help.
Few crazy thoughts started taking birth in my head.

"What if I am lost here?"
"Am I going to die here?"

"I am already real thirsty and if I choose correct path while returning, best case will still take minimum two hours. Will I be able to survive till then?"
My legs started shivering. I started feeling more exhausted and more thirsty.

Another side of mind woke up.
"Shut up, nothing will happen, this is such a small problem"
"Your life is not so cheap. You will definitely come out of it"

But the first part of the brain didn't buy this.
"I am sure you are just trying to console me".

I was putting one step after another slowly on steep stairs toward the top of the mountain. There was no question of going back without touching the top. I was making sure not to get exhausted much hence was taking rest more often.

Slowly top was visible. One small shed was built there decorated with a signboard "
Welcome Mid Autumn festival".
Colorful Chinese lanterns were hanging around the shed. Suddenly I saw one almost 10 liter water jar kept at the corner of the shed. I started moving fast, went to it but it was empty. Looks like it is there since long time untouched covered with complete dust.
"Thank god for laughing at my situation." I looked up and said.

Small worn out shed at top

"Helloooo"  "Helloooooooooooooo" "heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelppppppppppp!!!!!!"
I shouted without much of hope.

No reply. There was no signal on my mobile as well.
I was now in a strong urge to drink water else I might faint. I felt an urge to empty my bladder as well.

"Should I drink my urine?"

"What if I drink and fall sick? It will become worse"
But if I just pass it, I might lose a chance to drink something.

Few documentary movies re-played in my mind where a person in such a situation drinks his own pee and eats cockroaches to keep himself alive.
"I didn't see any cockroach in the forest yet."

I saw one garbage box kept in the corner. I walked to it, opened the lid which was tightened properly to avoid being blown away by the wind.

Quite a few water bottles stared at me from inside, as if telling me that they are also thirsty without water since long. Few empty soft drink cans were also lying in that with ants queuing to get last sweet drop left sticking to bottle.
I felt jealous of ants. They can quench their thirst in just one drop. Now I was missing my bottle, I left on the table at home, very much. It was flashing in front of my eyes every second.

I dropped the plan of drinking urine as I never tested it. Right in the middle of a forest on top of the mountain, it was really fun peeing there. You can enjoy a few moments even when you are in deep shit.

I was not sure what to do now. Minimum 1-2 hours of more trekking left to go back and I had no energy left.

No choice but to move. I walked hardly two steps and my legs started shivering.
I returned to shed again and lied down on the fixed thin bench.

"Forget about the problem. Relax and enjoy the beauty of the moment. close your eyes."
I let my heavy breathing turn normal. Got my mind relaxed and dozed for few minutes recharging myself.
I got up, cherished and praised the city which was beautiful from the top. I can see the main structures all around the city, Mosque, bridge, sultan's palace etc.

I started walking again, with new confidence. "Slowly one step at a time, just focus on finding a right and shortest path"

I was analyzing the surroundings to make sure that I am not lost.

After a good 40 min walk suddenly sun rays reflected on my face. Reflection was coming from a beautiful lake hiding behind trees. I remembered I saw one lake in the map. I immediately took out the map in excitement trying to locate myself using the lake as a landmark.

"Woo hoo. I am on the right path." I started walking along the lake. That what I learned from a few movies. Walk along water body if you are lost. Small pathway turned wider and now I can see it is connecting to the proper path.

I was so happy that I am out. Finally took a sigh of relief. I was thinking I will go out now and drink a lot of water first. from one side I heard a faint waterfall sound. I started chasing the sound and soon I was on top of it but the waterfall was not visible.

Soon I realized that I am on the wrong side. I can get a proper view of the waterfall if I go opposite to it. It was a calm and lovely waterfall. No one was there as well.

I sat at bottom of the waterfall. The strong urge of drinking water was gone. You can't get this type of opportunity very often where only you and nature are spending time together.

Waterfall in middle of forest

Last 4 hours was reeling in my mind.
"Why do our mind works against us? "
Our mind plays around us and fools us. 1 hour back I was fully exhausted, dead thirsty and completely out of energy and now I am sitting calmly in front of a waterfall with no strong urge of drinking water. Just because I got this feeling that I am safe now and I know how to go out of this place.

It was a rare life-threatening experience but with the realization that we live in so much of comfort zone that we feel helpless in even such small problems.

We should live in the present and enjoy the moment than worrying much about the future. Keep your hand on your heart and say "All is Well" and strongly face the situation.
I was happy that I managed to calm myself when I was at the peak of the mountain and could adore the nature's beauty.

With calmness induced from nature, I walked away at a slow pace. Found a water vending machine at the entrance. Dropped coins and emptied the sweetest water I ever had.

Vending machine

Life is learning every day, never miss the present worrying about the future.

Travelling has become part of my life. In fact life is a journey and even if you are not travelling, you are travelling in time.

Doesn't matter how many times I travelled to different countries, excitement to see a new country is always high in me. This travel, God was ready to give me a totally new thrilling experience.

My flight was booked in advance which was supposed to depart at 11:15PM  from Bangalore. I had connecting flight in KL, Malaysia to Brunei.

Although it was my business travel, we booked in AirAsia, budget airlines, because of few limitations.
It was Thursday, Friday was holiday for Ganesh puja in India, which means a long weekend.
So what for me? I was anyway travelling to another country where Friday was working day. But no, "Wait" this holiday had an impact on me.

As per my calculation and previous data analysis, It generally takes 1.5 hours to 2 hours to reach Bangalore Airport from my home. Yes, Bangalore airport is almost in different city.

1 hour buffer should be good enough. I travelled in international flight many times and I knew that from taking boarding pass to reaching boarding gate takes max of 30 min so reaching airport 1.5 hours to 2 hours before take off should give enough comfortable time.

I planned to leave by 7PM from home and I should reach max by 9PM. 30 Min buffer and 9:30PM should also be before ticket counter closing time which is 1 hour before flight departure.

After packing and finishing few errands, I managed to book Uber only 15 minutes past 7PM. Mostly Uber arrives within 5-10 minutes as my house is close to main road but long Ganesh Puja holiday and traffic of people going to their hometown was choking the movement.

Continuous call to Uber driver, tracking him till he reached my home only by 8PM. Two sweat drops rolled down from head to ears and neck thinking of unexpected. I sat inside taxi and said "All is well, All is well" to myself.

Impact of Ganesh puja was yet not over. Traffic in my area was crawling while I was still hoping that once it reaches ring road, taxi can run faster. I can't do anything else other than keeping hope alive.

I never missed flight so I was kind of sure that I will not miss this time as well.
All horns were adding sound effects in thrill ride and traffic lights were it seems planning to ruin my trip. I told driver that flight is at 11:15PM and we should go fast. He stared at me and moved his eyes back on road.

Once I am out of city limit, it takes 15-20 min only to reach airport. While on ring road we need to pass one railway station KR Puram area. Our taxi started crawling like tortoise once we reached there. Till now I was sweating from everywhere(yes I mean it). It was not hot but I requested driver to switch on AC.

After 30 min of struggle on that 3KM stretch our taxi got some speed.
Highway was also covered with buses going to different city and taxis to airport. By the time, we conquered this fight and reached airport, my watch showed 10PM. I paid money immediately to driver which I was holding in my hand to save whatever few seconds I can.

I took my luggage out from car trunk, put on trolley and ran to airport. Bangalore airport domestic and International departure are in same area.

I saw AirAsia written on one window and ran there. One flight attendant told that it's domestic Airasia flight window, go to International on other end.

I ran again, as fast as I can. My mind was running faster painting all possibilities  in background. I scanned all windows till end and couldn't see Airasia written on any window.

"Did they close already ?"
I missed a heartbeat. "Now I need to justify why I missed or pay for another booking."

I  just shook my head to drop all these thoughts and focus on current situation.
Saw an AirAsia attendant and rushed to her. She pointed at window 57 and said "It was, now they are closed".

"What???"

I ran to the window shoving my trolley as fast as I could.
"Madam, my ticket and passport."

"Where are you flying to sir?"
"KL and then connecting flight to Brunei."

"That flight window is already closed sir. It closes one hour before departure."
"But I came 1 hour 15 min before departure. It took me time to find departure window as Domestic and international flight windows are not mentioned clearly."

"Now you can't do anything. You Can't fly!!"
"So what are my options?" I asked.
"Can't sir!!. Your flight is non-transferrable and it will go in -no show."

Can't was bouncing in my head.
I also Can't give up so easily. I reeled in my mind.

She said, go to AirAsia ticket issuing counter. They might be able to help.
Time was running out faster than ever, as if, I was trying to save someone's life in ICU.

 I ran to ticket counter and just jumped inside the room.
"Excuse me sir! You can't come inside like this."

"I need urgent help as my flight is about to depart and window is closed." I said in one breath.

"Which flight?" she asked as if she got chance to have some fun time with me.
"Flight to KL" I replied.

"No chance. Window is closed. We can't take any passenger now"
Again one more "Can't".

"What are my options? when is the next flight. Can I use my return ticket at least from my current booking?" I asked.
I was expecting "yes" as an obvious answer, but when you are in trouble, obvious is not so obvious.

She pretended as if she is busy entertaining other passengers at counter.
"Next flight is only on Saturday night. Since all the legs are booked under one PNR. If you don't fly onward, this ticket will automatically expire."

So next flight only after 2 days and a loss of around 1000 Dollars. Flight will be costly also if I book just 1-2 days before.

No, not one more "can't" again.

I tried to calm down. Took bottle out of my bag and drank one gulp, trying to swallow what was happening with me.

I took few deep breaths and instructed my mind to think "How can I?".
If someone is not helping in an organization, what can we do?

Escalate it to higher management.

I told her, "I want to meet your manager. Please call him".

She replied, "Please go to boarding counter. They might be able to help."
I ran back to boarding counter and repeated the same.

It was already 10:35PM by now. 40 more minutes to go.
"No sir, manager is busy with passengers. He can't help."

"I got very important meeting tomorrow as soon as I land and you don't have any flight tomorrow.
Check your records I am a frequent flyer in Airasia and also VIP passenger."
I cooked some story.

It seems it worked. She told " Okay, I will call the manager".
She dialled someone and spoke for a while. Then she told me
 "Go to ticket window and wait there."

I felt like she is just shooing me away as I am trying all ways to board the plane.
I had no choice though, but to do as she said.

I went to ticket counter and waited restlessly there. After good 10 mins, one guy came running and asked.
"Why are you late, sir?"

There was no time for discussion.
He told "follow me" and ran toward Airasia Domestic window where terminals were still open for other flights. I ran beside him with my luggage trolley telling him story of Ganesh Puja holiday and unexpected heavy traffic, booking taxi etc..

On way he instructed someone to collect my luggage and put in flight.
When we reached boarding gate, he jumped on the other side and took my ticket printout with passport.

"You have booked luggage? will this exceed luggage weight?"
"Yes, 25Kg is booked and sure this is in limit as I weighed at home"

No time to weigh luggage. He printed boarding pass, stickers to paste on luggage. In between another guy came running to collect my luggage. Manager instructed him how to put in plane as it was not going on conveyor belt.

He jumped this side and said "please run with me"

I started running together with him as I got only hand baggage which was a backpack.
20 more minutes to go for flight to take off, I just checked my watch quickly.

He took me to Immigration counter for crew members as there was no queue.

Immigration officer checked my passport and boarding pass and asked that guy "Why are we allowing him so late? You are not following protocol."

Manager told that there was some serious problem. Immigration officer didn't ask any further question. He stamped on passport and let me go.

We ran to hand baggage scan area. Ran through long queue "Sorry, my flight is leaving in another 10 minutes" I kept shouting without waiting for anyone's reaction and reached to scanning machine.

I repeated the same line in front of our army guys deployed there for security and scanning. He immediately kept my bag inside machine surpassing all bags in queue and checked and stamped my boarding pass.

"Run! Run!" he said. Manager was not seen anywhere.

I checked my boarding pass for boarding gate. Luckily it was near by.
People were already boarding the plane. I was just in nick of time.

Manager stood at the boarding verifying everyone's ticket.
I showed my ticket, he beam his barcode reader gun toward ticket and reported on walkie talkie.
"Passenger 256 boarding. Passenger luggage loaded in plane?"

"Luggage loaded" someone replied from other end.

I told him how grateful I was for the last minute adjustment and appreciated them for accommodating me. He looked at me in the eye acknowledging the pain I went through to get till here, then he went ahead with other passengers.

I walked slowly as a conqueror inside plane, glanced at the empty seat waiting for me which would have flown without me today.

As I adjusted the hand baggage I carried with me in the overhead bin, felt how badly I was sweating and smiled thinking the chain of events which got me till this moment. It was a sigh of relief when I sat in my seat “finally”.

Have I not instructed my mind to stop focusing on "can't" and start thinking "how can I" I would be in some soup.

Remember, whenever mind says "can't", listen to it as "How can I?"
This will make you look for solution instead of crying at closed door. This happens in every walk of life.

Try once yourself and you will be shocked with the result.

Few Brunei Pics
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It was a lazy start of the day. Weekends are always late risers. I always try to make my weekend happening and memorable because this is the day which is completely mine, not sold to anyone.

My to do list was popping something today. Generally I don't like to go out for lunch alone. I found this Vietnamese restaurant on Zomato.com and had no patience to wait for any company to go there. I knew I will be alone there but wished it would not be boring.

It was a little struggle to locate the restaurant. Tucked on the street beside sony center, 100Ft road of Indiranagar,Bangalore, was a little struggle to find when I crossed it two times, "The Phobidden Fruit" but could not see it(I thought its name bidden should be changed to hidden). It is on the opposite of "mom & me" shop. The entrance is a small passage. this restaurant brought a surprise to me. I was thinking if it could have maintained the same interior decoration and cool look of restaurant as the restaurants in Vietnam are.

Not only the interior design and the service, Vietnamese theme was also well preserved in this restaurant. This restaurant was successful in providing the relax and soothing environment.
To my surprise it was well crowded and most of the tables were occupied. I never thought Indian people may like Vietnamese food so much.



I found one place and got comfortable there. The menu was in front of me. I was excited. I wanted to check if they are able to cook Vietnamese food with same aroma and flavor. I ordered the most popular Vietnamese food Pho Ga(Pho: noodles , Ga: Chicken). It was very weird kind of feeling eating Pho in Vietnamese restaurant full of Indians.
The Pho was maintained with same aroma what I used to eat in Pho24 in Saigon. The flavoured leaves and other supplements were also provided in same way. The only difference I felt was the noddle part was not as soft as in Vietnam.May be they bought this noodle in bulk from Vietnam and preserved somewhere.

I ordered lemon Grass Iced tea. The theme was preserved in drinks also.  The same size and shape of ice cubes was used in drink. It reminded me of the drink we used to have in Vietnam where one drink used to last for 2-3 hours.

Lemon Grass Iced Tea

I was looking in menu again. This time wanted to eat some delicacy. I ordered for squid Salt and pepper fry. In the meantime when waiter could fulfill my order I started satisfying my queries.

I called manager type looking guy and asked
"who is the owner of this restaurant?"
A Tamilian sir" He replied. I was astonished.
"And where are these waiters from?"
"They are from North East of India". He added.
"How come you have successfully copied the theme of Vietnamese restaurants as well as the cuisines ?"
"Sir, Our head chef is also from north east part of India but was in Vietnam for almost a year hence he learned."
I was not convinced. Chef can cook delicacy but restaurant cool look and making Vietnamese theme live can not be his brain.
I saw a family sitting just next to my table. They were almost done with their food. With formal greetings I asked the guy.
" how often you come to this restaurant?"
"This is my first time". He said
"How did you know about it"? I asked.
"We just came to know from some site. Me and my wife are foodies. We like to taste new dishes of different countries. "
"How did you find this place?"
"Its cool and relax look. I liked Vietnamese food. Not so spicy but have aroma and softness."

In the mean time my pepper fry squid was on my table. I started enjoying it. It was also delicious. I took some snaps paid bill and came down.

Pepper Fry Squid

Downstairs I thanked receptionist and also praised the restaurant. One lady in her age of forties sitting next to reception was more interested in my talk. She started showing her ecstasy on the success of her idea.
My curiosity was still not satisfied. I asked the same question to the lady.
"How is it possible that without involvement of any Vietnamese, this restaurant have all the themes and aroma of Vietnam successfully preserved?"
In her surprising voice she told
" I am Vietnamese. I came and settled down in Bangalore 10 years back."

I was totally surprised. She changed a lot. In Indian dress and Indian style makeup it was hard to identify her as Vietnamese. I gave another keen look and realized that yes she is Vietnamese.

One Page of Menu

We were following the orders of tour organizer. I always like to plan my trip myself and love to explore the unknown places. The idea behind this is to discover the place and understand the culture, tradition and scrutinize something which is not catchy at first glance. This time I was forced to opt for a package trip since there was no other option available.

We were always tempted to spend more time at some place and look for something more interesting. Since we were in group we had to suppress these thoughts. Many times we felt that we could read each others mind at incidence of tour guide's order, we looked at each other and smiled.

Most of the tourist attractions were conquered in the short interval of time. Two days in Bangkok passed faster then our calculation. In evening when we were set to return back to hotel tour guide announced that following day we will drop you in center of city and you all will be on your own.
We were waiting for it and accepted this with alacrity.
Morning we landed in the center of city. Our area of interest was not mall and shopping but to find something traditional. Hence we inquired for the market where street vendors are more. We were in the middle of some discussion for our next target when suddenly my eyes got caught in one of the very colorful and attractive street shop. We didn't gave any other thought and moved toward this street seller where our taste buds were tingling me making me feel that we are going to eat something really delicious. And we were never wrong.

What is this? I asked. This is "Thai Salad" she replied. She was busy in preparing salad for other customers. We also tried to observe how she is preparing it. We paused for some time and then asked her again .
"How much is this?"
She replied
"50Baht for green mango Salad and 90 baht for green mango salad with crab."
I was trying to read the faces of people who were enjoying this delicacy. Which combination will be better? I was thinking. We both are crazy to find new dishes and savor it, we didn't find difficulty in coming to a decision. We ordered two green mango + crab salad assuming that uncooked crab smashed will definitely enhance the taste.
The seller started preparing for us. She took 4-5 red hot chilli in the beginning and tossed it in a wooden vessel. ( in picture it is kept beside her). I want more chilly, a request came and before it can reach the seller I suppressed it immediately telling that let her prepare in her own way, else we will not get the real taste.


It was fast. Green mango, many different sauces, tomato and many more got smashed in her wooden pot. Then one black crab was also tossed in the same vessel when other hand was doing the smashing job using a thick cylindrical wood. We were eager to taste it.
Sooner we got the salad in our hand. Mouthwatering yummy smell was flowing in the air.
The first spoon in my mouth left me in the unstoppable vibrating taste which passed electrical pulse throughout my body. The electrical pulse was so strong that it became a challenge for me take the second spoon in my mouth. Really those chilies had done their job appreciably. Same time it was so mouth watering and tempting that it was tough to stop myself.
I looked at her and felt that she could bear the hot chili shock. She was totally lost in new delicacy. I thought not to disturb her and tried to concentrate on my plate. Second spoon in my mouth made my eyes to show the ecstasy by dropping tears. I asked her " How is it?".
 She replied
"it is very delicious. I love it. Hope I can pack some and take to my home."
She lifted her head up and i could see her tears also rolling out.
"You are feeling hot. Do you need water?" I asked.
She said "I love the taste of this salad and even its spicy part." I said " I am also liking it".
There was no question of stopping ourselves before we run for water. The crabs really added flavor in it. I think those were sweet water crabs since they were not hard or may be the crabs got crushed in the wooden pot and got softened. We ate till end also drank the tasty juice coming out. After eating we both were just struggling to get rid of this spice by opening our mouth big and blowing air out of it with sound whooooooo and hhhhhaaaaaaaa.... No one could utter even a single word before we got water.
It was indeed an unforgettable moment of savoring any delicacy which ignited our taste buds. The experience which can not be described in words.
I am trying to explain the recipe according to my observation of the street vendor.
2-3 Red chili. Smash it for some time.
Put one lemon juice and also one small red tomato.
few sprout beans (all begin smashed slowly)
Then some sauce(I think fish sauce and soya sauce) was also added with one green fruit (it is in photo and I still don't know the name).
 Green mango ( cut slices and shred) added and smashed slowly.
Some small cut beans.
and then the crab is also smashed.
( during the preparation she also added some more thing from the box kept in front of her.)
At the end it was decorated with some slices of papaya, peanuts and cashews.

I know you might be excited to try the same dish but my description is not good enough to prepare it at home.

Still after so many days when memories of Thailand is eroded, the feeling of eating mango crab salad is still fresh. I wish I can enjoy it again in near future.



( This article won the runner up prize in indiblogger Amul contest).

Many of us may wonder the meaning of this word. Many might have searched this name in google also till now. Landlocked with Thailand,cambodia, Vietnam and Burma this country inherited most of its culture from Thailand. Budhdhism is the most followed religion here. Capital of the country is Vientiane and it is just 15Km form Thailand border. Nongkhai is the border city in Thailand.
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