SIGNBOARDS

Went for a 'morning round' around Belait town with my staff and i managed to snap a few pictures of unique sign board in Belait Town. I'm sure some of you know the location of this signboard.

One of the colourful street label erected by the Municipal Department

Labels at one of the secondary school in Belait Town

Had to hide the name of the street. Do you think the spelling is right?

GAWAI CELEBRATION IN MUKIM SUKANG

Gawai Day, which falls on the 1st of June every year, is a day for all Ibans races in Brunei to celebrate the end of the harvest season. It is a tradition whereby Ibans will go back to their own village or “kampung” and celebrate Gawai Day together with their families.

The celebration starts on the evening of 31 May. In most Iban longhouses, it starts with a ceremony called Muai Antu Rua (to cast away the spirit of greed), signifying the non-interference of the spirit of bad luck in the celebration. Two children or men each dragging a chapan (winnowing basket) will pass each family's room. Every family will throw some unwanted article into the basket. The unwanted articles will be tossed to the ground from the end of the longhouse for the spirit of bad luck.

Gawai Dayak celebration may last for several days. Visitors/Guests are most welcome to the homes of the Dayak during the festival.

Yesterday the residents of Rumah panjang Bang Taong celebrated their open house Gawai day. Guest of Honour for this event was Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdullah, Minister of Development.

Bang Taong Long House is situated in Mukim Sukang, Belait Dstrict and its about 1 hr 30 mins from Sg Liang. With a total of 21 Houses attached together this long House is also known as modern Long House where it is the only long house in Belait District probably in the whole Brunei which are built entirely out of concrete and you will be surprise the decoration of the interior of the Long House,

Most of the resident are Iban and are headed by Awg Jawa ak Gelayan, Bang Taong Chief Long House.

A Happy Chief Long House, Jawa anak Gelayan

Interior of one of the house at the Bang Taong Long House

TIPS ON GETTING BETTER FUEL CONSUMPTION ON YOUR VEHICLES

First of all sorry for not updating the blog for such a long time (berhabuk hehe) been buzy with work especially for the preparation for the upcoming Sultan's 62nd Birthday celebration.

As a daily commuter from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuala Belait, one thing that you need to think everyday is fuel consumption. As for myself using a 4x4 diesel commuting really save me on my petrol bills and what really open my eyes are the amount Brunei Government subsidize our petrol one of the highest subsidize in the world.

Take for instance from my calculation, to fill up my 4x4 diesel from empty to full without the subsidize of the government will cost me $52 where I’m paying only for $20. A tank full will last me atleast 3 days of commuting where an average per week I’m spending $40 on my petrol bills which works out $160 per month.

This means that the amount of petrol subsidize by the government for me alone will work up around $256 per month if not i’ll be paying $416 per month (karau eh).

So we have start to think and open our eyes on ways on saving on fuel consumption and think the amount of petrol subsidize by our government cost $202 million per year.

Here are some tips on getting better mileage on your vehicle:

1) Drive at a moderate speed. This is the biggest factor. You may have to be a little patient, but driving atleast 90 kmph instead of 110 kmph or 120kmph (average speed of road user from my observation) will save you money.

2) Drive smoothly. Avoid hard acceleration and braking whenever possible. Once up to speed on the highway, maintain a steady pace in top gear. Smooth acceleration, cornering, and braking also extend the life of the engine, transmission, brakes, and tyres.

3) Minimize driving with a cold engine. Engines run most efficiently when they're warm.Research shows that making multiple short trips and starting the engine from cold each time reduced fuel economy. Engines also produce more pollution and wear faster when they're cold. When possible, combine several short trips into one so that the engine stays warm.

4) Keep tyres properly inflated. More important, underinflated tires compromise handling and braking, and wear faster. And they run much hotter, which can lead to tyre failure.

5) Avoid idling for long periods. A smaller engine would probably burn less, but idling still adds up over time. As a rule, turn off your engine if you expect to sit for more than about 30 seconds. An engine warms up faster as it's driven anyway