Soaking it up

When we get back to Abu Dhabi it will still be very, very hot and I can't really see us spending any time outside much for another month, and a bit probably. So we have been soaking it up here in Brunei, where the temperatures are a bit more comfortable.
The Turners have a great outdoor setup, they say installing the pool was one of their best decisions.

Lykke and the kids came down for a swim, as Monday was another day off school thanks to a Public Holiday. They got treated to one of Tash's Pavlovas, yum!

Lush life!

Sunday funday

Lucas had arranged with some of his old school mates to meet up at Regent Square for the afternoon, and hang out. There was still nothing in these shop houses when we lived in Brunei, now it seems like it is really the place to be!

Lucas and his mates went to the Escape Room together:

Apparently they didn't make it in time... but they still had lots of fun!

While they were there, Nicole, Beenal and I took the other kids to Nerdee Café. A really cool concept café with a scientific theme. The kids could play board games while they enjoyed their treats.

Then, not to spy too much on Lucas and his friends, we dropped Linnea and her gang at the Escape Room while Lucas and his friends came to Nerdee Café to eat.

Nicole, Beenal and I went to yet another new café - Alter Ego. I was speechless, it was a such a beautifully decorated place and they had gourmet coffee drinks, cold brewed coffee and much else on the menu. We shared an Afternoon Tea, aaahhh... gorgeous!

This was such an enjoyable experience, far from the time when I ordered a double espresso at another café here in Brunei a few years ago... What a beautiful afternoon we had!

Oink oink

Sunday lunchtime we were introduced to a new place to us, the Danes Café. They specialize in - pork! Mmm! I had a 'Breakfast nr 7' with extra bacon, yum yum!

A really lovely restaurant, food was delicious and ambiance was great.

Coffee dates

The weekend also saw a visit to see Kym & Ben (although Ben was at work). While us girls were inside having coffee in the air con, we left it to swim coach Stoli the Husky to keep track of the kids in the pool.
She was so funny, she would bark at them if they tried to get out of the pool, and was only happy if they all swam lengths back and forth!

We also wandered up the hill in the Turners simpang, to the new Swedish family for some 'fika' one day. Great views from the top!

The Swedes have recently moved into this house, which is a familiar house as we used to have other friends who lived there when we were first arrived in Brunei. This is where Linnea used to go to playgroup!

I also managed to meet up with a German friend, Katrin, who was also on return visit to Brunei. Maria kindly invited a few girls around to hers for morning tea. Lovely morning!

Sundowners

It's not weekend in Brunei, if you don't spend it at the Yacht Club. I got a new chance in trying to capture some of the stunning colours of the sunset. No filter needed on these photos.

The view from the Yacht Club has changed a bit with the construction of this new bridge:

The RBYC club house:

Sky on fire:

Jerudong Park

Friday afternoon after school we had decided to try the new and improved Jerudong Park together with Nicole and the kids. Jodie, Nicolas and Natasha came along as well, and Linnea's school friend Emily.
We got our wristbands and off we went!

Jerudong Park had really gone through a major renovation since our days in Brunei. It used to be a state-of-the-art amusement park when it first opened in the 90s, hosting concerts with Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston to name a few. Unfortunately it was not looked after, and when we lived in Brunei it only had a few rides and was really quite a sad place.
It sure is a different story now! The park has been completely revitalized with a many new rides, a ferris wheel, roller coasters, a big drop, water rides, laser tag and much more:

We could hardly keep up, the kids were on a mission to do as many rides as possible!

Lucas and Nicolas:

Some things haven't changed though, they still close all the rides 30 minutes for evening prayers - so we took the opportunity to go across the road to the newly opened McDonalds to have dinner.

The new Water Park, looked pretty good but we didn't make it there this time.