At number 10

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We landed in Brunei - our 10th country - and had to wait half an hour for a shuttle bus to take us to our accommodation, which turned out to be in the middle of nowhere. When we pulled up Erica and I were really surprised as there was nothing to tell us we were in the Capital city at all. The receptionist was quite rude to us, and she wanted a $200 deposit for the key card, which we thought was a lot, as it was over 65 pounds. Luckily there was an ATM around the corner because all we had was a few Singapore dollars left over (which you can spend here). The cash machine wouldn't accept our cards but luckily we found a super market around the corner with three more, the odds were that at least one would work, fortunately one did.

Our room was rather nice, better than the hostel and guesthouses we had got used to. Air conditioning, fridge, kettle, TV, there was even a hair dryer, it took us a few minutes to identify it as it has been that long since we saw one!

We hadn't got much sleep in the airport so we spent the entire days relaxing, only going out to get some food from the super market. We decided that we would save some money and not eat out, so we stocked up on instant noodles and bread but did treat ourselves to some cheese (I do miss good cheese!!!).

In the evening we watched a few films on the movie channel and treated our self to a do it yourself manicure and facemask before falling asleep.



On Monday we caught the free shuttle bus our hotel provided and headed into town and passed Jame'Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque on the way, which is Brunei's largest mosque and is very attractive. Our first destination was Suttan Omar Ali Sai Fuddien Mosque, which was also beautiful, and stands behind a semi circular lagoon, which has a boat made from stone attached to it via a bridge.

We then walked to The Brunei Art and Handicraft Centre, which is about a kilometer out of the centre. We both bought a small memento there, I purchased a wallet and a tiny purse which are both made from hand weaved bamboo.

We then caught a taxi boat down the Sungai Brunei River to Istana Nurul Iman, also known as The Sultan's Palace. We had a 10-minute walk to the entrance to discover that we were not allowed on the grounds to take pictures, so rather disappointed we took some through the gates. We couldn't see much of his $350 million (US) Palace at all, just one gold tipped dome.

On the way back our taxi boat started to have engine trouble so we were dropped off in the floating village and made our own way back, which was good fun as we saw how some people choose to live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

In the evening we had another lazy night watching movies in our room. In case you are wondering why we have been so well behaved it was because there is no alcohol in Brunei! You are allowed to bring it in as a tourist but as the people of Brunei are strict Muslims it is not sold anywhere.

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Photos

Another View
Suttan Omar Ali Sai Fuddien Mosque

Istana Nurul Iman (The Sultan's Palace)
The best view we could get!