A Catholic In Brunei

The Brunei Hotel, swiped from williamnyk on Flickr.

Life in Brunei was more positive with a new lodging arrangement at The Brunei Hotel. According to my Project Manager, it was recently refurbished, so everything was spick and span. However, there are rumours of spirits on the third floor as it's a very old building. Judging from the condition of the abandoned building at the opposite side, I can imagine. The room comes with free laundry service (four pieces a day), daily newspaper, free canned soft drinks (three a day), decent WiFI and free breakfast (MUCH better than the old hotel I stayed at). Other attractions include transvestite escorts (according to my colleagues, they look like a burly bunch) and the nearby Tamu Kianggeh, a market by the side of a river. It makes working from 09:00am till 10:00pm everyday a little bit more bearable. At least I can walk back to the hotel, without having to arrange for the driver. Another plus is the fact that the place is just a fifteen minute brisk walk from the city's Catholic church-- The Church Of Our Lady Of The Assumption. On Sunday morning, I woke up early to have breakfast with a couple of colleagues before starting to walk there.



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They were protestants who attended their Sunday service at St. Andrew's Church, an Anglican church just opposite the Catholic church. The church is of moderate size and air-coditioned. Outside, migrant workers from the Phillipines sell food items from their home country, kinda like a small market. At the altar was a giant image of the Divine Mercy. There's a second floor with limited seating as it mostly is dedicated to the choir and musicians. However, due to the angle and the use of glass banisters, women in short skirt are not encouraged to sit up there. But then again, they have no business wearing a short skirt in church! The 09:30am mass was mostly in Malay. Brunei has no problem with Catholics using "Allah" in their liturgy and hymns. Go figure.

"Yesus Domba Allah, Mulia Nama Mu!"

On the next day, I went again to attend mass celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In addition to The Ascension of the Lord, All Saints' Day and Christmas, they make up the four days of obligation for Catholics in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The celebration was quite grand due to the fact that it was also the church's feast day. The back of the altar was covered up with a giant painting of Mother Mary, complete with 3D effect using cloth to accentuate Her robes. The Psalm was sung by a dimunitive Pinoy girl with a big voice. The Prayer of the Faithful was joined by many of the expatriates in the congregation. They wore their traditional clothes and spoke in their native language. Some local tribes, Pinoy, Chinese, several Indian dialects, Korean, African and some Caucasians. After mass, there was a procession of the status of Mother Mary followed by a whole bunch of flower girls. Fellowship ensued (read free food), but I rushed back to office instead. Had dinner of a decent beef kuay teow at Cafe Vito where I caught sight of two baklàs at the table beside mine. Not cute though, else I wouldn't have rushed off after my meal. ;).



On the night of the Hungry Ghost Festival (I know!), my colleagues and I went walking around town taking some pictures (the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is particularly beautiful at night). We only saw one spot with burnt offerings in an atmosphere that is completely oblivious to the opening of gates of Hell. And in the end spent some time at the nearby department store. Hardly any shopping going around though Raya is just around the corner. It would be such a different scene in KL's Sogo. This is how 'tranquil' Bandar Seri Begawan is.