SEOUL | Cheong Gye Cheon Stream

Cheong Gye Cheon stream is about 6KM in length, this is one of the historic places dated since the 14th century as one of the important pathway to go places. It was "unused" during the mid 20th century due to the urbanisation of the City, not until recently, it was restored and a dash of glamour were put to modernize the area so as to be the hip area of the city.


Restoration were completed in 2005, and "million" of people throng the area to have a closer look. For more details, one can read the plaque placed at the "start" of the stream


A poster promoting the area posted at one corner of the long wall.


A glimpse of the many "natural" design of the stream.

Some parts of the stream are re-design to make it have that modern feel, where as some area are just restored as it was, every few hundred meters, the designs will be varied accordingly.


Many people opted to just walk along the pathway, some jog, some just relax, enjoying the view or just reading their papers.


There are exits every few hundred metres, and there are also bridges crossing the stream within the exits, and if one are tired from the long walk, the subway station are just close by.


Another poster of " Seoul | A Lanscape of Silent "


Oh yeap, this is how the general overview of the stream looks like, and if you have watch the Korean Tourism adverts on TV, those "Hi Seoul", this is one of the places that where they did the promo filming.

Actually this was not my first time here, the first time I was here was few years back, which I have posted earlier here.

REPORTAGE | Visitors Centre ...

.. large cities usually have a tourist information centre or some sort ... to guide tourist .... including local tourist .. to get to know about any events, happening, info about that particular city ...


.. a man passing by the Singapore Visitors Centre .... a place one should visit to get more insight of Singapore ... friendly staff to lend you a hand ... and got foot massage as well!

BRUNEI | Gadong Boulevard ....

... traffic congestion occurs everywhere... especially so during peak hours .. or peak seasons ... and .. even so if it is raining ... like this month ... it's raining almost everyday ...

... and when it rains ... people tend to park their cars as close as possible to the mall main entrance.. if possible.. inside the lobby!! .. eh sadang luan ...

.. one of the reasons why people like to park as close to the entrance is .. hmm... malas ... inda ja... why don't you just park somewhere... be it across the road... get some exercise done will ya ... unless of course.. due to some physical reason .. then that is different story .. but if you are good and healthy .. then why not ....

... and speaking of traffic congestion ... people are always .. complaining about it .. but they don't give any suggestion to ease the traffic .... same cases in other stuff ... people love to complaint ... but don't give suggestion ...

.. well you listen here now people ... if you like to complaint .. then it's ok ... BUT ... do please give suggestion ... don't just complaint or critisize blindly ... give some options.... ok folks ..


.. LOOK at the photo ... notice anything UNUSUAL ... ?? ... it's unusual to be loved by anyone ! .. aiks.. apa kan .. out eh .. lagu Tom Jones ...

... anyway .. yeap ... estate owner ... now I'm giving you suggestion ... a win-win situation in fact .. why ...? .. ok here's why ...
1 ... look at those additional skybridges ... it is not an ordinary bridges .. but inside .... one can place .. mini kiosks .. stalls... and such ...... so that .. people... customer can buy something along the way .... the kiosk obviously be rented out .. thus income to the developer/owner ...

2... due to ease of way .. easier access from one mall to another ... will gain more traffic of customer .... good for the shops ...

3 ... can ease traffic congestion ... because ... people will now .. not really mind .. parking their car from one mall ... to go to the other ... as they can now walk under a fully air-conditioned walkway ... sheltered from rain and sun ....

4.... asthetically pleasing ... some sort of new landmark for the area ... inda ja ...

.. now it is up to you to put it into reality ... if I got loads of money .. I'd do it ...

.... and actually there's another access which can be built to ease the traffic ... but I'll just leave it for now.... unless.. there's someone who is really interested .. then ... perhaps... I can elaborate more about it ....

.. till then .... peace ...

RANDOM | Balik Kampung ....

.. for those in the big cities like Kuala Lumpur .... the first few days of raya are usually spend at their kampong .. or home village ... and now .. after few days of raya ... loads of people will be coming back to the city ... meaning .. the road leading to the city .. and the city itself .. will be packed with commuters .... either... private vehicles or public transports... for those lucky one will manage to get their ticket earlier ... otherwise... u need to "beg" for tickets ....



... looking for the right route .. making sure one is buying the right kind of ticket...

... once... nearly midnight .. it was a very long Q to the ticket vending machine .. and it was almost the last train home... and soon as we reach to the vending machine.. the ladies in front mentioned that .. there's no more ticket left .... so no more ticket can be purchased ... hmmm.. nearly frustrated ... luckily .. we still have our used ticket card ( which one can return to get your dollar deposit back) ... so we returned the ticket card back to the machine... and try purchasing a new ticket... and.... waaaheeeeyyyy... we got ourselves a ticket to ride.....

.. so the moral of the story ... keep your ticket card to the last minute... even if you don't use it... oh well.. u can just keep it as a souvenir ... can put it as your scrapbooking material ... and oh... peduli apa ia inda lead free or anything ... so what ... ;p ...

TRAVEL | Drive Safe ....

.. with the upcoming festive season... people will rush to go here and there.. visiting one another .. ( eh.. one another..? .. inda bertamu tu eh .. tani ngaga arahnya... dorang ngaga kitani ... awu inda bertamu tu ..... di Kianggeh ganya tu mun kan bertamu ....) ....

.. anyway ... please make sure your vehicle is in good working condition ... fill up your fuel ... no.. not the night before raya ..nor the raya it self ..... but ... the day before raya... unless u wanna Q up at one of the long Qs .... then by all means ....

.... it's rainy season as well... so might as well check your wiper blade .... and your tyres in good condition.... make sure got "flower" .... otherwise... like Lewis Hamilton's tyres during the China Grand Prix... issshkkk... which means Hamilton ... Alonso ... Raikonnen still up for the Driver's Championship title in the last series of F1 in Brazil .... I do hope Hamilton win thou ... make it the 1st rookie to win the Driver's Championship Title ever!! .. Great ain't it .... forget about the Constructor Championship already... due to the spy scandal.. for sure Ferrari wins one meh .... eerrkkk.. y the F1 story .. this is raya wat ... hmmm...

... cars on the "starting" grid ... revving up the engine.. as soon as the light turn green... hmmm.. nope... the photo's not edited in anyway ... the lens just got misty .. that's all... hence the fog like thingy ....

.. during the Capital Radio .. Capital Gold era .. people usually will tune in to those radios .. and the only time people will not tune to them is during this festive season .... whereby the public would rather listen to the local radio stations ... listening to those melancholic Raya songs .... .. well nothing beats those raya songs ain't it ...

... the sound of the classics .... Dari Jauh ku Pohon Maaf (Sudirman) .... Dendang Perantau (P.Ramlee) ... Seloka Hari Raya (Hail Amir & Uji Rashid) ...... Musafir Di Aidilfitri (Jeffrydin)..... that .. Anuar Zain & Elina's song ... Ahmad Jais .... D.J.Dave ..... Sanisah Huri ........ Saloma ... Sweet Charity ..... or even Black Dog Bone ... ..

.. and to forget that conuting raya days .... ~ Satu hari di hari raya... dua hari di hari raya... tiga hari di hari raya .... ~ ... well that Satu Hari Di Hari Raya by M.Nasir .... just to name a few....

... thou some are now being sung by new artist ... yet nothing beats the classic original singer ....

... I still remember the 'ol uni life... unable to "balik kampung" for 4 years ..... sekulah lagi tu ... n exam .. I think sekali saja ngam cuti ... oh well...... so we just belt out some raya karaoke songs ... like .. Last Christmas .. and ... eeerr.. oops ... that's x-mas songs ... hmmm ... oh well.... mardaassssss...

... ~....Dalam dingin subuh hatiku terusik.....
....Kenang nasib diri di rantauan....
....Bergema takbir raya menitis air mata....
....Terbayang suasana permai desa.... ~...

.. and for those overseas ... hmmm... apa boleh buat .... sabar saja.... at least now .. ada internet n stuffs.. not so sunyi lah .... ok apa .... jgn tah kan escape class... masuk tah saja klass ... kena antar belayar bukan kan escape.... mun kan escape... baik tah ganti sama orang lain.... ada lagi orang yang kan mau tu ..... .. duit atu pandai-pandai tah belanja .... jgn di abiskan membali brg inda paidah ... branded goods n stuff ..... mun cukup ok lah ... ani krg di komplain .. inda cukup apa endah .... mana jua ... bali itu ... bali ini ... liat org makai atu .. kan mau tah jua ..... apa apa ani ... sadang sadang saja .... mcm lagu dangdut ah ..... yang sedang-sedang saja... and... same goes to those locally .... and nasihat for myself jua ...

... eh better stop now.... before this post become a novel ...

... Salam Lebaran .. Minal Aidil Wal Faizin ...

.. bah bisai-bisai ah .. mun inda ... Lain Jua Rasaku Tu ... ahaks ...

TRAVEL | Stasiun Ramadhan ...

.... for those who have access to the Indonesian Palapa's satellite ... one can't miss watching Stasiun Ramadhan during Sahur time on RCTI .... with the local comedian Tukul and co. ... yeap... he is the Next Top Indonesian Comedian ... and certain source mentioned that he earned few thousand of dollar per episode .... hmmm... waduh lumayan banget nih ....

.. the setting's some sort of a train station ... with small shops.. cafe .. kiosk and stuffs .... along with the usual comedy ... there's also quizzes ... and some good advices ..... with some invited artist every night .... should give it a try if u haven't watch it .....


.. a moment in the metro subway system ....



.. with that .. I'll leave you all with the excerpt and tafseer from Surah Al-Asr (The Time)

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

1. By time,
2. Verily, man is in loss,
3. Except those who believe and do righteous deeds and exhort one another to Truth and exhort one another to patience.

STREET | Ready for Business ...

... walking along the back alley .... very early in the morning can be very intriguing ....

... u can experience.. the "behind-the-scene" .. or what's going on .... on ones daily routine .....

.. loads of empty parking spaces still.... people walking to their offices .....

....... buying .. and getting hold of the daily newspaper ..... whilst sipping those aromatic coffee .... or even those creamy frothy... "teh-tarik" (pulled tea) ... enjoying it with ... roti telur ... and dhal .. or curry .... hmmm.... can u just imagine that ...

.. well... one more day ( or two) .. before the fasting month ... if u are craving for those... there's still ample time ..... ;)

.. shop owner arranging goods for the day business ....

... as far as I know... this shop has always been there ever since I can remember... at least .. 20 years or so .... don't they...?

CONCERT | Live in ....?

... Saturday nite .... a nite usually fills with entertainment ... be it indoor .. or outdoor ...

... and for those who opt to stay in .... there aren't many interesting stuff to be watched on telly .. or even cable .... I guess.. they don't want the people to stay in ... hmmm....


... a performance during the Singapore's NDP countdown concert...

STREET | Having Some Laugh ...

.... albeit all the hectic schedule .... all those "toight" deadline ..... everybody deserves some time off for a laugh every now and then ...

... Wednesday used to be one of our "happy-hours" days ... ( still is kah..? ;P) ... eermm.... having some time off... to unwind from the day job .... and such .....

.. some ladies having some laugh during their break time ....

STREET | The Misty Lens ...

... how often to you find your lens.. be it the camera lens... or your glasses got misty .. everytime you comes out from an airconditioned.. or cool area... to another area of warmer temperature ....

.. well.... if it happens ... especially to your camera lens.... it could be a lil bit frustrating .... especially ... if there's something interesting that you wanna snap at that particular instant ....

..... hmmm.. so what to do if your lens got misty ..?

.. just leave it as it is first ... don't wipe it with the ordinary tissue... use... the lens blower.... or the lens cleaner ..... otherwise.... just snap away with your misty lens.....

... nope... no editing needed... just a misty lens.... nice effect eh.... ;)

STREET | A Dash of Light ...

... walking around during your travels..... without enough rest can be very tiring .... once in a while... u need to rest ... or just sit back along the street ...

... sitting along the street ... not only you can watch loads of people passing by ... you can even the experience the hectic life of their busy city ...

... some are rushing to their destination... some just walk in their own sweet time... some touristy like... just look.. and wander around... "looking lost".. or just having some thought on that street ...... and some are even having their ice cream .. or coffee while on the move.....


.... it was quite a cloudy day ... but the sunlight manage to lit this lady in a pretty interesting mood I might say ... hence... I grab my camera... and capture the moment ....

STREET | The Wheelock Place..

... this conical structure is another well known landmark in Singapore... particularly those who frequent Orchard Road ....

... originally when it opened in 1994, it was called Lane Crawford Place... then after its closure in the late 1990s due to the Asian Financial Crisis ... it was renamed The Wheelock Place .. after its owner... the Wheelock Properties ....

.... there are a lot of variety of stuffs .. that you can find in this building ..... ranging from those who loves books.. magazines .... bags.... shoes .... eateries... scrapbookings ... and coffee......

.... Borders ... epiCentre@Orchard (for those Apple Mac lovers...) ... Crumplers .... Birkenstocks.. Marks & Spencers... ... just to name a few.... can be found here... n yea... those who loves coffee (or tea) ... u can hang out at The Coffee Bean.... or just within the vicinity.. u can also be at .. Starbucks .... Burger King .... otherwise .. just across the road.. just watch movie at the cinema ... or just shopping.... and shopping .... and more shopping ........


... the conical glass & steel structure ... an unmissable structure at the crossroad...

... and for those who loves people passing by .... here is the place to be ...... here is the place to be seen.. or not to be seen ... hmmmm....

SINGAPORE | Waiting for the Eskrim Potong ...

.. still on the black and white series ... and getting closer towards the ice cream vendor... also known as the Eskrim Potong Man ... or loosely translated as The Cut Ice-Cream Man ..

... from the big box container .. the ice-cream is then cut into a cuboid .. or an elongated cube ... which is then wrap with bread or soft bun... or just taken as it is ... plain ice-cream....

... one can have various flavour .... Yam ... vanilla ... corn .... durian ... yeap... Durian the fruit....


.. a young girl wait solemnly for her "ice-cream" potong ... from the eskrim potong man ...

SINGAPORE | Ice Cream Time ...

..... strolling along the city walkway on sunny Sunday.... and the Ice Cream Man suddenly passed in front of you.. so what else.... approach him and get your favourite ice cream ....

... having an ice-cream break in the middle of the city .....

BRUNEI | EVENTS | HM's 61st B'Day | Bersama Rakyat 1

.. one of the main events for HM's Birthday celebration every year is the Majlis Bersama Rakyat ... or plainly translated as ... " The Get Together Event" ....

... where by HM will meet and greet the public.. in person for each district ...

.. usually the venue for the event are change accordingly ....

.. this year .. the event in Brunei-Muara District was held at the Taman Omar Ali Saifuddien ...

.. a boy running in the field of the Taman ... perhaps trying to get a better view of His Majesty... ....

SINGAPORE | The Esplanade @ Nite ...

... hmmm ... I think I just wanna post this up .... just kind of a break from the Brunei Street's series .....

.. The Esplanade a.k.a The Durian .... one of the most photographed icons in Singapore ....
(as always ... do click the image to appreciate a larger image of it)

... more photos & detail can be found here...

.... Selamat Malam Kingsway semuanya ... ;)

BRUNEI | STREET | Where Bendahara Meets Tutong ...

... nope .. no long story in this post .... just a simple photo ....

... just a simple photo of the intersections where Jalan Bendahara meets Jalan Tutong ... which is just in front of the Royal Regalia Building ....

RANDOM | The Interview With The Traffic Cone ...

... as mentioned earlier ... we were out for an outing last nite ... but I personally did not capture loads of photo ... because ... I have actually took what I need from an earlier outing last year ....

.. for those earlier photos u can see it here .... Part I ... and ... Part II ... ( 56k beware .. pix intensive)

.. so whilst the rest were capturing all those lighting and stuff ... the GF Team had something else in mind .... ;)

.. if before ... the GF Team manage to interview the Traffic Light .... yeap .. u got me right ... the Traffic Light .... well now ..... the GF Team was "lucky" .. to be given an opportunity to interview ..... (drum rolls ....) ... the TRAFFIC CONE ....


(The Traffic Cone, TC - A Personal Legacy)

GF: hmmmm.... Hii...
TC: ... hi jua ...

GF: .. apa abarnya ....?
TC: ... not too bad... boleh lah ... napanya....?

GF: .. eh boleh cakap london jua ah ...? .. apa kan bahasa rasmi u ani ...?
TC: .. eh sure.. why not ... depends lah .. dari mana kami kena buat ... if Made in UK .. so mesti pandai bahasa English .... if Made in China ... bahasa cina... mun Japan .. bahasa Jipun and so on ...

GF: ... tapi paham jua bahasa melayu ... bahasa Brunei ani ... ah ...
TC .. eh awu eh.. mun namanya batah udah di sini .. inda kan inda pandai ... orang pilipin ... orang india ... orang thailand mun batah di sini lagi pandai ... eh ... tahun ani labih udah 10 tahun ku d Brunei ani ... labih 10 tahun tah jua ku inda balik kampung ... sadih eh .. ;(

GF: .. ( nah sedih tia plang ...) .. eh bukan jua apa eh .. apa nama u yang banarnya kan? ... Traffic Cone kah banar...? .. atau Kon Polis ...?
TC: ... awu .. Official my name is Traffic Cone ... tapi ada plang jua kena panggil Road Cone lah ... Safety Cone lah ... macam topi witch pun ada jua ... asal jangan panggil aku ConeDome udah .. lain bunyi nya bah ... ahaks ...

GF: .. kamu ani biasanya andang kena buat sama kah ... and sama saiz kah...?
TC: ... inda jua eh .. macam kamu jua bah ... ada basar .. ada damit .... ada yang reflective .. ada yang glow in the dark ..... saiz pun ikut ada nya lah ... ada 12" ... ada 36" ... depends on what u gonna use it for .... .. eh BTW .. tau kamu kah ... logo VLC media player atu bah ... pakai logo Traffic Cone jua tu ... pemes kali kami ani ah ... kalah Miss Universe ....

GF: ... so semua kamu ani kena import lah? .. nada yang local kah ..?
TC: ... yes .. as far as I Know ... semua pemain import .. nada local ... pasal... local mana ada buat cone .... But at least ok lah ... cannot blem anibodi ... if local udah ada buat .. then no need to bring in imported kone .... macam printing jua bah .. atau macam tukang gambar jua bah .... mun org lokal dapat buat ... behapa tah lagi kan ngambil orang luar .... inda jua payah tu ... lain lah kalau equipment nya atu no have in the local market ... macam kiranya zoomnya 1200mm ... kah ... atau ia makai Mamiya Digital 22MP ..... mun ganya kan ngajar style ngambar.... teknik tunggang tebalik kah .... ...? .. duiiii cari saja tia bah di internet ah .... tips ngambar .... teknik ..... apa saja....... dapat jua di Goggle kali ah ... eh google kah .... atau moogle .. eh mana saja tah eh .... inda ja ....

GF: .. eeehhhh biskita ani tah ... atu tia plang di kurapak kannya .. syyyhhh..... abis kamu karang eh .. senitip tu eh benda atu eh masa ani .... kena umban karang u dari building BIBD ah .. mun inda dari PGGMB ... apa rasanya ....
TC: ... napa kan..? .. inda dapat .. bukan pasal apa... pasal future ekonomi bah ni .... bukan plang pasal lain ... mun paham bisai ..... tapi inda apa... mun inda paham pun inda apa.... asal jangan salah paham ...

GF: .. eh ada gelpren kah ...?
TC: ..... astaaah.. kan di ubahnya tia topik ah .... alum lagi abis cerita ku atu ... btw... nada wah ... behapa kan begelpren .. sakit saja kepala ... baik tah ku makai gel rambut ...

GF: (.. eh out jua eh .. ada kah gel rambut ....) .... bah apa tah ada cerita menarik pasal cone ani...?
TC: ... u wanna know a fascinating story about cone ..? hehe ... I tell u one ah ... got this person meh ... who got caught by the police for performing an indescent act with a traffic cone! .. what the ...? ... so funny one eh the fetish ... what ... he think some sort of sexual toys what .... if u don't believe ... u go to the site lah ...

GF: ... waaaah.. true kah ..? so cyber ah u .. got internet again...
TC: ... heeei brother .. come on lah .. this is modern day lah .. got wi-fi everywhere what .... GPRS again ....

GF: .... BTW ... hold on .. gonna get your photo again ...
TC: .. bah take lah ... I eksen-eksen dunno lah ...


(The Traffic Cone in "Candid" Pose)

GF: ... eh bah ... udah tah ah ... atu saja kali .. thanks btw ...
TC: .. oh atu sajakah? .. eh buring jua... tanya lagi lah ... buring ku ni sorang-sorang sini ani ... eh bukan jua apa ... yang u tanya-tanya ani .. where u from?

GF: ... eh awu lupa.... dari gferro.com ...
TC: ... oohhh... apa kan tu ? ... pemes kah tu ... ? apa pemes nya ngan KDI?

GF: .. eeeeh.. ada ada saja jua eh .. cucuk plang karang .. biar masuk gol di aying ah ... beranang tah sendiri ...
TC: ... haha .. macam lagu tu .. lagu kanak-kanak Brunei ..... Cuk-cuk nang .. terubuk pandai basi ... c awang bertunggul tunang ... makan bubuk dangan nasi ... eeh ... gol-gol nang kali ... awu ah .... atu ... lagu cuk-cukundai tu .. eh konpius eh ....

GF: ... (bangang ...) .. antam tia eh ... jalan tah ku eh ... bye ... sayonara... spaghetti carbonara...
TC: ... ok tu .. same-same but different ...

(Note: Temuduga di atas, adalah rekaan semata-mata ... mun atu pun kamu percaya jua... ntah eh .. baik tah kamu check-up .... mun inda.... baik tah pakai Traffic Cone atas kepala kamu ah ....ahaks... )

BRUNEI | FILM OUTING | Yayasan Water Front ....

... where there's a river ... or water .... there's usually a water front .... or water/river banks ... what ever you wanna call it ...

... looking at the photo .... if only they can extend the water front (to the left of the photo) .. to about few hundred metres more ... this for sure will make a beautiful and magnificient water front .... facing the serenity of the soothing water ....

.. and that water front can then be used as a spectators arena for any water events... such as "dragon" boat race ... kayak race ... and such ...

.... and during normal day ... it can be used as a jogging track ....

.. for sure will gonna be a touristy event/area in the Brunei calendar ....

.. thou many years ago ... an annual water events were done along this stretch of water ... which include ... night time boat float processions during HM's Birthday Celebrations .. powerboat racing .... and "dragon" boat racing etc ...



... a view of the Yayasan Water Front .... from the water .... ;)

FILM OUTING | Tahun Melawat Brunei 2008 ...

.. Tahun Melawat Malaysia 2007 ..... manakala .... tahun 2008 merupakan Tahun Melawat Brunei ....

Bangkok, Thailand terkenal dengan Pasar Terapong atau "Floating Market" nya ....

.... Gondola pula terkenal di Venice Italy ...... yang mana merupakan bandaraya "di atas air" ...

... dan Brunei Darussalam, juga mempunyai keunikan "atas air" nya sendiri.. iaitu Kampong Air ... atau lebih dikenali oleh orang tempatan sebagai Kampung Aying .... dimana di sinilah terletaknya Pusat Pemerintahan Kerajaan yang terawal ..... beberapa kurun yang lalu ....



... penduduk di Kampung Aying .. memerlukan mutu tambang (Perahu) untuk berulang alik dari rumah ke darat ....

... walaubagaimanapun setiap rumah di Kampung Aying mempunyai kesemua kemudahan moden yang ada terdapat di rumah-rumah di daratan .... seperti elektrik, paip air, telefon, TV, radio, komputer dan sebagainya ..... termasuklah kemudahan TV satelit ...