Hot, cold, wet, dry, sticky, sweltering .................. finally in Brunei!

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OK, so carrying on from before, we took advantage of the duty free status of Labuan and purchased a bottle of Vanilla Absolut for NZ$12 (6 pounds - this keyboard doesn't have a pound sign so for all the Brits just halve the kiwi dollar amount!) - well, it would have been criminal not to.

We ate dinner at Kedai Kopi Fah Fah, ginger prawns/chicken and rice plus two ice cold Tiger beers for 20 ringgit, about NZ$8. Not bad. Then we went back to the lovely (not) room at the Victoria and watched a movie where the sound kept going.............. otherwise a nice vibe to this island.

Yesterday (Thursday) it rained for a week in about 30 minutes - it was bouncing, but over and dry again before you knew it. Had roti canai for breakfast, very tasty, then checked out of the Victoria and took our bags to the Sara, as check-in not until 3. Also managed to email a hotel in Brunei to try and avoid the wandering from place to place, and bought ferry tickets for tomorrow, opted for second class this time (lower deck), 35 ringgit each, crossing just over an hour.

We took a bus to the Peace Park further around the island, only 15 mins journey. We visited the art gallery next to the park, only a few pieces by local artists but very impressive nonetheless. We walked through the park and also saw the Surrender point, the place where the Japanese surrendered at the end of WW2. The Japanese gave the park to Labuan later and erected monuments to peace.

Back in town we had nasi lemak and gado gado for lunch then checked into the Sara earlier than 3 as it was searing again and we opted for some cool air con and respite from the heat. The Firm was on HBO and as it's an excellent film we stayed in the room for the afternoon.

Later we ate at Choice, a highly recommended Indian restraurant, but sadly they didn't have most of the food we asked for left as it had gone 7.30 pm and they'd run out. So the dinner we had was not the best, but the place was very clean.

The night ended with another film and confirmation that we've got our first choice accommodation in Brunei sorted.

Today (Friday) we had a leisurely start to the day with roti again for breakfast. The ferry terminal is only about 5 mins from the hotel so we strolled down there in time for the midday ferry, which left 15 mins late but got us in to Brunei (Muara port) about 1.25 pm. Muara is only about 40 mins by bus from the capital (Bandar Seri Begawan, hereafter referred to as BSB as it's much easier to type!) but we sat on the bus for over an hour before leaving as the driver wanted to fill up with passengers from the next ferry in! So it was about 4 when we got to the hotel, the Terrace - a very nice room, breakfast included, friendly reception, swimming pool, about 10 mins walk maximum to the city centre and river. All for 80 B$ a night (about same in kiwi) - it's more expensive here than other parts of Asia. Brunei, incidentally, is a small sultanate sandwiched between Sabah and Sarawak in northern Borneo.

So since arriving we've walked around the place, visited a Chinese temple, the Yayasan complex and Hua Ho supermarket (where we bought some goodies, not quite sure what they are but look interesting(!!), and sushi), the riverfront to gaze on Kampung Ayer (the world's largest stilted village, home to over 20,000 people, looks incredible), the outside of the Omar Ali Sufaddien Mosque, a market, a huge mosaic on a wall and the night market (of course) where we ate dinner - nasi goreng kampung and gado gado for B$3 each.

After walking off dinner by revisiting the mosque to take photos, it rained, including thunder and lightning, for about 5 minutes - enough to get us completely drenched! A valuable lesson was learned - don't leave without the umbrella! So now we're back in the room, dry, cool and watching Harry Potter, plus planning for tomorrow. So far Brunei has been pretty good.

The photos attached to this blog are continuing from where the last ones left off so may be a little out of sync with the text.

Jenny, if you're reading, happy birthday for tomorrow - thinking of you!

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