Tag: borneo

Review: Jesselton Express (Subsidiary of Sipitang Express), A Public Bus from Brunei to Kota Kinabalu

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

Slowly but sure, the story of my Borneo trip will come to an end now that I’m gonna talk about how to get to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah from Brunei.

There are a few options that you could choose if you’re planning to travel within the route. Apart from the fastest way through a flight, you could also opt for either by bus or by ferry. For my Borneo trip, I chose the public bus as the way of my travel. Although to be honest, if I could go back to Borneo, I’d totally go for the ferry option just for the sake of experience.

As usual, I rely on Easybook for all the reservations for my transport during the trip. And this time, I chose the one and only option for Brunei-Kota Kinabalu trip by bus: Sipitang Express.

So, why did I end up using Jesselton Express instead of Sipitang in the title of this post? Well, this one will be explained later. Keep calm, and carry on. 😉

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How and Where To Go Around Brunei

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

In the past few weeks, chances are you’ve read something about Brunei in some mainstream media. Yes, you’ve probably read something about their new anti-LGBTQ law that has been applied since earlier this month. Honestly, I don’t really care whether you’re pro or against the law, because I’m here to just share my experience. An experience to explore the country called Brunei Darussalam.

My first mistake when I arrived in Brunei was the thought that Brunei would be pretty much like Singapore: a small, rich country where everything is expensive. That’s basically the stereotype I’ve got as an Indonesian.

Well, I gotta say… Things around Brunei are much more affordable compared to Singapore. And did you know that the gas only costs around 3 cents BND per liter?!

I know, it’s not surprising as they’re a country that is rich with oil anyway. But believe me, I was surprised by the fact that I could control my expense quite easily in Brunei. If anything, I suppose Brunei has a currency that is on par with SGD, but the living cost is slightly on par like in Malaysia. And for me, it’s a sweet spot! 😉

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Some Random Things You Need to Know About Brunei (That Have Nothing to Do with Their Upcoming LGBT Death Penalty)

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

Hi, everyone!

How have you been? Have you read the news recently, especially the one about George Clooney calling out for hotel boycott over Brunei LGBT laws?! Well, I’m not going political in this post, despite the fact that I have big respect to all LGBT communities, both in Brunei and everywhere else.

If you read my blog frequently, you might already know that sooner or later, I’m going to post something about Brunei here anyway. So, that’s what I’m going to do today.

But this time, I’m not going to touch the topic that has been on the news in the past few days. I’m going to focus on what I know and what I see from my last trip to Brunei Darussalam. At the same time, I’m going to share some random findings that I’ve found about the country as well! 😉

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First Time Staying at an Airbnb in Brunei: EZ Lodgings, Bandar Seri Begawan

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

So, in case you haven’t read my previous post on my last Borneo trip, my main destination for the trip is actually Brunei Darussalam. Not only that I wanted to go to Brunei as I have to tick off this country from my bucket list, but also because I’ve got an old friend there to visit. 😉

My first time in Brunei became the first thing for me to do something else: staying at an Airbnb.

I know, some of you might wonder where I have been all the time that I never used the platform before as I’ve traveled. However, despite creating my account in the platform a long time ago, my first experience staying at Airbnb was on the trip to Brunei.

In Brunei, I stayed at EZ Lodgings, located around 15 minutes drive from the city center in Bandar Seri Begawan. For this, I got recommended by Suzie ever since we started talking about my plan to visit her in Brunei.

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3 Days 2 Nights in Bario: Where to Stay and What to Do Around Kelabit Highlands in Sarawak

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

Needless to say, Bario was actually my serendipity when I planned out my trip in Borneo. Before I finally decided to go there, I knew nothing about Bario or Kelabit Highlands in general.

However, thank God that I accidentally found some pic on Instagram in the last minute of my trip planning. That basically led me to the decision to just book a flight to Bario from Miri.

Now that I’ve been to Bario, I could proudly say that I’ve been there and flown with Twin Otter as a passenger. So, what’s so special about Bario?

Continue reading “3 Days 2 Nights in Bario: Where to Stay and What to Do Around Kelabit Highlands in Sarawak” →