Riding the Tide

When I got back to the office on Tuesday morning, jet lag and all, there were a number of things in my in-tray. One of them I saw was a letter from the Director of Information Department with the above book attached to it. I kept the book aside and didn't look at it until much later.

When I finally opened the book by the end of the day, I saw the full title of the book which is "Riding the Tide: Commemorates 100 years (1906-2006) of Brunei of Brunei Darussalam's Capital City Development on the Land 1906-20006". I thought it was just a collection of photographs by Information Department photographs through the years. However it was much more than that.

It was a history book too. We had old photographs like this. This one shows His Royal Highness Sultan Omar Ali with the Duchess of Kent when she visited Brunei in 1952. Look at the half completed shopouses in Brunei Town then.

And old photographs of life in Kampong Ayer.

There are also many modern photographs like this. But what the book had which is most unusual is that it contained on the last chapter profiles of business people in Brunei. People who matter in the commercial world. The profiles were quite extensive. All the races who have contributed to Brunei were included.

Among them was Mr. Ramesh of YMRM.

The Hoon family...

And the couples who made Nusa Laila Puteri, a household name, for private schooling in Brunei.

I am not sure how to get book publicly. You might want to contact Information Department for further details. It is a worthwhile read.