Kuala Belait: My Home Town

Written by Delwin Keasberry Saturday, 27 August 2011 20:51

I am a proud 'KB boy' - always have been, always will be.

I grew up in the Belait district. Specifically, my family had a house along Jalan Sungai Pandan which is about a two minute drive / a seven minute bicycle ride / a 15 minute walk from the Kuala Belait or 'KB' town centre. The Internet only came around (to me) in the '90s and so there was no Facebook, no blogs, no Twitter, no emails, no Farmville, no Wikipedia. What I did have however were pen-pals, a tree house to climb, tadpoles to catch, Super Soakers to fill, the New Kids On The Block to listen to and KB town to call my own.

The primary layout of the town centre is like this: a long stretch of shops on one side and another stretch on the other. If you walked it, it would probably take 15 minutes; it is not a large town. The thing about growing up in a small town though...is that you do not realise it is a small town. To me, compared to the size of the neighbourhood compound, KB town was an entirely different galaxy! I visited KB town (after a long time) the other day and took a few photographs with my smartphone. Let me walk you through.

Pheonix Hair Design: I used to get my hair 'designed' here

I had my hair 'designed' here too

For those after a real treat, there is always SPHJ Salon

The general town centre layout

Zebra crossings which extend into little shopping alleys pepper the length of the town

An alley way shop

The bus / taxi depot which also serves as a gerai spot for local food vendors

The standard shopping lane view

Hing Nam Foong: a well known eatery / hangout joint for town 'tau-kehs'

Jee Juan Coffee Cafe: another great eatery / hangout joint

This shop looks the same as it did from years ago

This one too

A closer look at their display cabinet

The Body Shop: I remember buying a few gifts for my school time sweetheart(s) from here

KFC: Was and still is a popular date spot for young couples I am sure

One of the 'newer' shops selling pirated dvds and cds

Sei Kai Book Shop: My dad used to buy his newspapers from here

What about you? Do you live in Kuala Belait? Have you ever been to Kuala Belait? What are your KB memories?