... 31st May 2007 .. marks the 46th anniversary of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces .... or in malay ... Angkatan Bersenjata DiRaja Brunei, ABDB .... .. this year the main event was held at the National Stadium ... ... btw ... FYI .. there is also a exhibition being held at the International Convention Centre, ICC .. during this celebration ... which is ( strangely.... amusingly ...) called "BRIDEX" ... ( 'coz .. I .. and perhaps .. most people will think that .. it is some sort of BRIDAL EXHIBITION ... ) .. but ... waheeey ... it, BRIDEX, actually stands for Brunei Darussalam International Defense Exhibition .... which is the first ever such kind of exhibition ever held in the country ... ... hmmm .. to avoid confusion ... why not called it .. BRUFENSE .. or BRUDEF ... or the likes... hmmmm..... oh well... 
.. Happy 46th Anniversary .... p.s. .... I'm still not over with that .. BRIDEX ... and BRIDal EXhibition thingy ..... speaking of which ... somebody should organise such expo ...
.... was watching the news just now ... when this subject came up ... ... Kenali Negara Kitani, KNK .. a.k.a. Know Our Country ... .. there are actually some "unexplore" part in our country that are yet to be explored ... Did You Know That .... ... there is a village, very close to the capital .... where the villagers drive their car without any car registration (nada plet lesen) ... and there is no traffic light in their village ...?... there are 17 Mukims in the Brunei-Muara District alone ... and 6 of them are located at Kampung Aying ...... there are more then 100 villages in Brunei-Muara District! (Imagine how many Ketua Kampung!) .. and yet Brunei Muara District is the smallest of all 4 districts.... ... Bandar Seri Begawan is located in Mukim Kianggeh .... and so does Istana Nurul Iman!.. Gadong is located in Brunei-Muara District ... but Kampong Gadong Baru is in Temburong!... Sumbiling is also located in Brunei-Muara District .... but Kampong Sumbiling is in Temburong!.... Labu is in Temburong ... and Labi is in Belait District....... there is no beach in Temburong!... Kampong Pekilong Muara is not in Muara .... but in Kampung Aying! .... Kampong Burong Pinggai Berakas is on land ... where as Kampong Burong Pinggai Ayer .. is on Water ...... Mukim Saba is the only Mukim .. where their Villages (Kampong) .. are called by and start with their Mukim's name ... i.e. Kampung Saba Darat 'A'; Kg. Saba Darat 'B'; Kg. Saba Laut & Kg. Saba Ujong. ... you don't have spend much if u wanna go to U.K. ... 'coz u can just go to Ujong Kelinik in Mukim Sungai Kebun .... .. and obviously ... when people say they are going to K.L. .. they might be going to Kuala Lurah in Mukim Pengkalan Batu .... ... and on the other hand .. just to glamorise your destination ... u can say ... u r going to L.A.buan ... or aMIRIka ... or just plain UBDcity ..... ;) .. thou u need your passport if u wanna go to L.A. or Miri ... .. and o yea ... if u think there is no traffic jam on the water/river .... think again .... just look at the photo ... ;)
... the busy ... hectic Brunei water ... during peak period ..... ;)
... the day's getting dark .... ... the sun's setting ... ... the boat's getting bouncier due to the "wavy" water .... ... it's getting harder to get a "still" photo .... this is when u really need those Image Stabilizer ... ... with the unchangeable ISO setting .. (due to film constrainted.. ) .. you are stuck with just a single ISO setting ....... most autofocus lens would find difficulty in focusing in low light ... the lens would hunt for the right amount of light to get into focus .... and this is where the manual focus with the parallax-error-mirror comes in handy ...... ... then gazing the magnificient cloud formations ... .. and with a limited amount of film exposure left.. ...... made you think twice .... .. either to capture the clouds .. or the waterfront ..... ... hmmmm ..... but not much time to think about it .. otherwise.... you will miss the moment .... .. then... * click * ....
... this is what I finally decide to take ... .... another perspective of the waterfront .... with the marvellous cloud formation .....
... "close-up" of the village's jetty ... where the boat load/unload passengers and goods .... .. modern jetties are now built from reinforced concrete .... although there are still wooden jetties being use ...... ... the reinforced concrete do still get eroded due to the erosion of the steel bar by the salty water ..... ... I think it is about time for those concern to build a properly computer design jetty .. which can withstand those salty water.... and other natural .. or man-made impacts .... ... a floating jetty should also be considered .. so that it is easier to unload/load .. regardless of the tide of the water ..... 
... people bargaining for fare price before taking ride to their respectful destination.....
TIPS FOR NEWBIES TO THE WATER VILLAGE
1. Use an appropriate footwear, especially during climbing the steps of the jetty, as it is quite slippery, use high heels only if you think you are stunt acrobats from a circus, hence a flat rubber sole is recommended.
2. Bring small change, a short trip across the river, can be as little as from $0.50 per person, but if you give them $1, there will be no change, anyway, on the other hand, just give them the $1, share the wealth.
3. Bargain the fare first before taking the boat ride.
4. While walking along the wooden plank walkway, see not only the front, but watch your step literally, you would never know what you gonna step on ;)
5. Due to the "mysterical" and fascinating maze of walkway, becareful of where you are heading, you might end up at someone's kitchen!
6. Smile, and be polite, the villagers especially the children are very welcoming and friendly, and please do not be rude, as the people in the village are all related to one another in every other relationships i.e. uncles, aunties, granddad, cousins, 2nd cousins, 3rd cousins, sister's husband's cousins etc ....
7. Make sure your camera have enough film, batteries and memory cards etc, unless you wanna miss your chance of a lifetime ... leaving all those sweet, beautiful memories of Kampung Aying just in your heart ....... I Heart You ....
... 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 .... ;)
