A new hope on Brunei Bay

In the early morning at Brunei Bay, the rising sun shines down. A cross-sea bridge too big to take in at a single glance resembles a giant dragon crossing the sea, in a sharp contrast with the water.

In one of the cars whizzing along the bridge, Khairunnisa recalls the scene after the opening of the Temburong Bridge. "In the past, we had to take a boat to go to Seri Begawan. There were more than 20 people packed in the small cabin and a strong smell of gasoline filled the air. Now the bridge is open to traffic. We don't have to worry about cross-infection from taking public transportation during the pandemic."

The Temburong Bridge was built by China State Construction. The bridge's 30 kilometers also cross the largest unexplored virgin tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia. Suhaji, the bridge's safety manager, told reporters, "There are many monkeys in the virgin forest. Before the project started, the environmental protection department told us that the construction noise should not disturb the monkeys resting in the forest."