富裕的油田王国——文莱(文莱景点/Attractions in Brunei)


奥玛尔·阿里·赛福鼎回教堂入口。
Main entrance of Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien.


文莱是世界数一数二的油田与天然气王国。文莱是我们的近邻,却鲜少听朋友说到文莱旅游。你对文莱感兴趣吗?

那年,我和伴侣在砂拉越美里租了一辆出租车,到尼亚洞国家公园探幽。隔日,即开车前往美里市毗邻文莱旅游。车子一驶入文莱境域,路牌皆尽换上青底白字爪哇文。 宽宽的道路,高高的灯柱,四周视野辽阔:青青草原连接着蔚蓝天,天空里白云压得很低、很低,就像千万只绵羊在草原上方飞奔。偶尔看见有人家住处此一家,彼 一家。别瞧那些房子外观朴素,屋前往往停有至少2至3辆豪华汽车呢。


Brunei has been known for its vast reserves of petroleum and gas.  Brunei is one of our closest neighbors, but we rarely hear any friends traveling to Brunei. How about you? Do you want to visit to Brunei?

We rented a car at Miri and drove all the way to Niah National Park. The following day, we drove to the neighbor country, which is Brunei. Once our car entered the national boundary of Brunei, we realized that the road signs were all written in Jawi script. The roads were wide, the lamp posts were tall, and the view displayed lush greeneries with azure sky. The crowds were so dense and were seem like so close to us. There were millions of sheep traveling above us in the sky. Scattered house were here and there along the road. Although the houses looked simple, each of the porch was at least parked with 2 to 3 luxury cars.


斯里巴加湾市有名的寿司店——Escapade Sushi。 
The popular sushi restaurant at Bandar Seri Begawan was the Escapade Sushi.

文莱是个富裕之国,伴侣曾在文莱工作的友人却告诉他,文莱有一家价格实惠的寿司店,非但寿司的款式多,而且每份寿司都很丰美哦。我在美里的友人也说,文莱那家寿司店是他们每逢周末的好去处。于是,我俩循着地图,来到鼎鼎大名、位于文莱首都斯里巴加湾市的Escapade Sushi。Escapade Sushi的寿司果然名不虚传,我们打开菜单本子一看,但见那鲑、鳕、鳗样样有,琳琅满目。刺身纹理红里夹白,目眩神迷。

Brunei is a rich country. According to my partner's close friend who worked at Brunei for years before, there was a sushi restaurant in Brunei town, the Escapade Sushi located at Bandar Seri Begawan.  There were varieties of sushi we could order with a pretty fair price. My friends in Miri also recommended me the same sushi restaurant. It was their favorite place to hang out during the weekends. No doubt, their sushi were well-deserved for the good reputation. We were so impressed with the varieties of sushi on the menu.


两款Escapade Sushi 餐厅丰富美味的寿司。
These were the two most flavorful and delicious sushi at Escapade Sushi restaurant.



吃生鱼,主要在于其鲜味。刀工掌握得妙,刺身端上桌,就如美不胜收的秋色,食物未入口,人已醉三分。我们点了几道寿司及生鱼片。陈列在碟子的生鱼片肥腴滑嫩,入口即化;寿司上的大鱼卵橙红剔透,咬进口中,液汁喷出,鲜鲜的,甜甜的。最特别的,还在于这家寿司店的日本手卷。在大马,一般的日本寿司连锁店,手卷都以紫菜卷成圆锥体状来裹米饭及馅料。这家寿司店的手卷,却用红萝卜片当外皮。脆脆的红萝卜片裹住米饭及馅料,咬下去“卡兹,卡兹”地响,味道丰富,口感多层次。

文莱最宏伟的五星级酒店是The Empire Hotel,挑高的栋梁宏伟壮观,户外那景观椰影摇曳,海风温柔,美丽极了。
 
 
The freshness of the ingredients is the key of delicious sashimi. The skill of slicing sashimi was well mastered. We were impressed even by the presentation itself. The high fat content of the sashimi making them melted in our mouth. The salmon roe was so fresh, with a crisp pop burst in our mouth. It was so satisfying. The most recommended dish was their Japanese hand rolls, Temaki. In most of the sushi places in Malaysia, the Temaki are hand rolls that wrapped with nori in a cone shape and fill the fillings. The Temaki at this restaurant were wrapped with carrot slices, making them more crunchy and unique. 
 
The five-star hotel in Brunei, the Empire Hotel with high-rise pillars were magnificent. We spent a peaceful and serene evening at the outdoor space of the hotel. The sea breeze was gentle and the coconut trees were swaying. It was such a beautiful moment.


The Empire Hotel很有意境的景观。
The outdoor environment of the Empire Hotel had a good vibe.  


The Empire Hotel室内装潢。
Interior design of the Empire Hotel.

入住The Empire Hotel,每晚要马币近千元。我们到此主要是观光散步,没必要拿昂贵的住宿账单往心上压啦。倒是该酒店为开斋节推出的自助餐,价格比较亲民。于是在身心在酒店户外流连至夕阳落幕,我们走进餐厅,迎接一顿丰盛的晚餐。音乐悠悠扬起,餐厅内逐渐席满。食物台上摆有各式以马来传统食物为主的美食,包括沙爹、炒饭、玉蜀黍糕等,也有西餐如烤三文鱼。

To stay a night at Empire Hotel, it costs about a thousand of Ringgit Malaysia. This  wasn't in our plan. We headed to the hotel to enjoy the Ramadan Buffet. Ramadhan is the month where Muslims around the world practice fasting from dawn to sunset. In Brunei, where the majority of the population practice Islam, Ramadhan becomes a major event. When we entered the restaurant, the ambient music were played. The restaurant was gradually full. There was a vast variety of  fresh and appetizing Malay traditional food on the food bar, such as satay, fried rice, corn cake etc. There were western food bar as well, displayed foods like grilled salmon.


The Empire Hotel自助餐餐厅。
Buffet at the Empire Hotel.  


美味的芋头雪糕、芒果雪糕及巧克力雪糕。
The yam ice-cream, mango ice-cream and chocolate ice-cream were so delicious.  

彻底征服我俩味蕾的,是这里芋头口味及芒果口味的雪糕。吃一口,芒果香与奶香在味蕾上跳舞,芋头香与奶香亦完美地融合在一起。闭上眼睛,啊,那甜度刚刚好,口感非常细滑,溜进喉咙,周围喧嚣皆尽消失,只剩下幸福感上涌。

如果说餐点是一趟难忘之旅的要素,美景风光自然也不可沦作配角。

Our favorites food include the mango ice-cream and yam ice-cream. The lovely aroma of the mango and milk were well matched. It wasn't too sweet, and the texture was really smooth. Enjoying each spoonful of the ice-creams made us so happy and satisfied.

If we say that the food can make an exciting trip, undoubtedly, the beauty of the scene and nature can make the holiday be truly memorable. 


浮在碧水之中的奥玛尔·阿里·赛福鼎回教堂。
Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien was appears to float on the water.

文莱在我脑海烙印的美,是那堂皇富丽的回教堂——奥玛尔·阿里·赛福鼎 (Omar Ali Saifuddien) 。这座回教堂是斯里巴加湾市标志性的建筑屋,共有29个由45公斤黄金做成的圆拱金顶,多奢华呀。我们住在位于Jalan Tasik的其中一间酒店,往市中心步行十分钟左右,即看见这座回教堂浮在碧水之中。原来,它是仿文莱16世纪一艘皇家游船的石舫而建。 走入回教堂的广场,站在柱廊抬头往外望,蓝天白云,圆型金顶及缕空乳白色尖塔框在柱廊中,宛若一幅画。

The beauty about Brunei that imprinted on my mind is the magnificent mosque, Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien. The mosque is one of the landmark at Bandar Seri Begawan. It has 29 golden domes made of 45 kilograms of gold. We stayed in one of the hotels along Jalan Tasik. We walked for about ten minutes to the city center and saw this mosque floating above the water body. It was built in imitation of the stone boat of a royal cruise ship in Brunei in the 16th century. Walking to the plaza of the mosque, standing and looked up into the sky, we felt like appreciating a painting where the round golden dome were framed by the white columns.


从柱廊抬头外望,宛若一幅画。
The columns were framing a view like a painting.

在斯里巴加湾市,除了参观回教堂,我们也参观了腾云殿。腾云殿位于中华中学不远处,是汶莱唯一香火鼎盛的佛教徒膜拜场所。

We also visited to the Teng Yun Temple at Bandar Seri Begawan. It is located near Sekolah Menengah Chung Hwa. It is the only place of worship for Buddhists in Brunei.


位于市中心的庙宇——腾云阁。
Teng Yun Temple is located in the center of the capital Brunei. 


腾云阁不远处的文莱中华中学。
Sekolah Menengah Chung Hwa is located nearby to the Teng Yun Temple.

一般旅客到文莱,还有一项旅游活动——到水上村庄走一回。水上村庄建于文莱河两岸。我在马来西亚的吉丹岛(Pulau Ketam)及龟咯岛(Pulau Kukup)等地,见识过以石柱支撑、木板建屋的水上村庄,也就不以为奇。伴侣对水上村庄亦不感兴趣,于是我们坐在一家餐厅,RMS Portview Cafe点了两道甜品,懒懒散散地坐了一个下午,观赏餐厅外,那文莱河上,一艘艘载着洋人旅客参观水上村庄的木船。那闲适的感觉,正好与文莱首都的生活步调相协调。

One of the tourist activities at Brunei is hop on a board and tour around the floating village. The floating village were built along the Brunei River. We skipped that activity since I had the similar experience at Pulau Ketam and Pulau Kukup before in Malaysia. We sat lazily in the RMS Portview Cafe for an afternoon. We ordered desserts, watching outdoor towards the Brunei River, seeing the wooden boats carrying foreign tourists visiting those floating villages.


在文莱市的一角遇见了高脚屋。
We met a stilt house in the capital.


文莱河景观。
The Brunei River.

斯里巴加湾市的道路很新,宽宽的马路上车辆少,行人更少。相对于吉隆坡、新加坡市及曼谷等市,这里的氛围更像小镇。

文莱还有一个庄严又宏伟之地,即文莱的皇宫——努洛阿曼皇宫。 努洛阿曼皇宫耗资约3亿美元建造,是世界最豪华的皇宫之一。每年的国庆日及开斋节,努洛阿曼皇宫开放门户,让该国人民及各地旅客有机会进去,也可以与苏丹握手。我们来的时候,开斋节近在眉睫,可惜开斋节未到,我俩只能开着车子,与皇宫插肩而过。盯着那占地极广的皇宫,简直让人叹为观止。

在斯里巴加湾市逗留了两天一夜,文莱郊区青青的草原蔚蓝的天,宽宽的道路及爪哇文路牌,再次护送我们回返美里。

Compared with Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, the mood of Bandar Seri Begawan felt more like a small town.  The roads were new and wide, the cars were few, pedestrians were even fewer. Perhaps it was due to the Ramadhan period. 

Brunei has another magnificent place, that is the Royal Palace of Brunei - Istana Nurul Iman. It costs about 300 million U.S. dollars to build the Istana Nurul Iman cost. It is one of the most luxurious palaces in the world. Every year on the National Day and Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the Istana Nurul Iman will be opened to the public. The royal family members welcomes visitors, both Muslims and non-Muslims, locals and tourist. Visitors are advised to dress their best in order to meet the royals. Unfortunately, it wasn't our luck to catch up the golden opportunity. So we could only drive pass the palace, and took a breathtaking view towards the palace.


往文莱首都斯里巴加湾市开去的路上。
We were on the way to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei.

别了,文莱!

Goodbye, Brunei!  


《南洋商报·读者带路》2014-05-09

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