Welcome to Brunei

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The story goes a little something like this.........

Tired of working & the cold miserable winter, looking for a break from the monotonous routine. The plan was that Saurabh was going to come and visit at the end of July. So I had booked my leave at work. Leave booked from 27th July - 10th Aug. Last week of work and Saurabh still procrastinating, no plans of coming, no visas applied for - nothing! Two options left for me really - either cancel my leave and continue working waiting for Christmas or book a ticket and go see him. If Mohammed wont come to the Mountain must go to Mohammed. So booked my ticket on the Thursday to fly out on the Friday. Have no idea where UAE is - somewhere in the Arab world, oh well I will get to see another country! SCORE!!! Needed to do some travelling anyway, was getting itchy feet - would have definately preferred an exotic location like Egypt or even Cambodia but alas Mohammed was only to be found in UAE! Who is Mohammed? ........Well thats another story. Money, passport and a ticket is all I really needed. Armed with a backup plan I was ready. Said a little prayer and jumped on the plane. Love spur of the moment plans.

Day 1 - 25th July
Arrived in Brunei, another country I had no intention of visiting - life so strange and full of suprises that way. I have a 11 hour transit here after a 10 hr flight. Could sleep at the airport but the opportunity of exploring another country was greater. So it was off the plane and straight to the transfer desk to book free 2hrs transit tour plus an additional 4hr proper tour for USD44. My mobile roaming not working so couldnt call anyone to let them know what I was up to. Hopefully it will work when I land in Dubai. The free tour was basically a bus ride through the the capital of Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan (quite a mouthful), with the main attractions seen through the bus window. The guide did tell us some facinating facts about Brunei.......

1. They have a $1 hospital and everything from a common cold to major surgery costs the locals $1. If they need to go overseas for an operation, the government pays for their airfares plus someone to travel with them. That is so cool.
2. Economy is based on Oil & Gas. Half the Oil and Gas belong to Brunei. Half the Oil and 25% of the Gas go to the Dutch, who originally found the Oil & GAs in Brunei.
3. Exchange rate is 1.125 to the USD.
4. The ruler had his 63th birthday and shook hands with over 10000 people.
5. Primary & Secondary education is free.
6. Petrol cost 53c/litre.
Not a bad country to live in, all the cars were brand new. I suppose there must be a flip side that one does not see on a day tour. We ended the tour by stopping at some market place for lunch. Ate a chicken noodle soup. Was good after having eaten the airplane muck.

There were only two people on the 4hr tour, me and another chick from Wellington, New Zealand. She works in the WETA studio for Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings guy). Our guide (Tony) was of a happy & chatty disposition. Its been a hot daqy in Brunei, so I casually ask Tony if it rains at all in Brunei - a few seconds later, as if the Gods had heard it started pouring cats & dogs. I loved it, it remained me of the torrential rains we used to have in Gweru, Zimbabwe - complete with loud claps of thunder and lighting. Oh and the smell of torrential rain on a hot day when the earth if hot and thirsty.
Our first stop was the Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. One of the Sultan's mosques. Here I had to put on a robe that looked more like a graduation robe and the cameras had to be left at the entrance along with the shoes. We got soaked dashing back in the rain to our transport. I was in hysterics, it was so much fun - cannot remember the last time I got wet in the rain like that.
Next we stopped to check out the Royal Regalia, the most impressive was the Sultan's chariot that was pushed by 48 men and had a tiger skin covered chair for the Sultan. A newer chariot has since been made that has air conditioning, a roof for protection against the elements and a motor so it does not require so many men to push. Now we have semi-dried off.
Third stop was the Brunei Museum. Had a walk around and then outta there.
Final stop was the Water Village. This was the best stop. Jumped onto a water taxi and explored the water village. EXtract from Wikipedia on the water village -

The Water Village (Malay: Kampong Ayer) is an area of Brunei's capital city Bandar Seri Begawan that is situated in the middle of the Brunei River. 39,000 people live in the Water Village. This represents roughly ten percent of the nation's total population. All of the Water Village buildings are constructed on stilts above the Brunei River.
The Water Village is really made up of small villages linked together by more than 29,140 meters of foot-bridges, consisting of over 4200 structures including homes, mosques, restaurants, shops, a school, and a hospital. 36 kilometers of boardwalks connect the buildings. Private water taxis provide rapid transit. Most of these taxis resemble long wooden speed boats. From a distance the water village looks like a slum. It actually enjoys modern amenities including air conditioning, satellite television, Internet access, plumbing, and electricity. Some of the residents keep potted plants and chickens. The district has a unique architectural heritage of wooden homes with ornate interiors
People have lived in Kampong Ayer for over 1300 years. Antonio Pigafetta dubbed it the Venice of the East when the fleet of Ferdinand Magellan visited in 1521. The district is a culturally important part of Brunei that preserves the nation's river dwelling origins. According to geography professor Abdul Aziz of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, this is the largest and most famous water settlement of Southeast Asia. "It was historically the very core of Brunei and one of the most important centres of trade in Borneo."

Part of the tour included a visit to one of the house in the water village. The inside of the house was so immaculate and lovely. I so would have loved to buy a house here, unfortunately they are not for sale and the only way to get one is to inherit one. No new house are allowed to be built and if a house burns down, the owner cannot rebuild it. The government will pay the owner out to buy land on the mainland and build there. The Brunei River was pretty dirty but there was a campaign being launched to educate the elders about throwing stuff in the River that was no bio-degradable (plastic bottles and wrappers). Still a sterling experience. The funniest bit was the massive biilboard in the middle of the water village. We were served some local snacks with some tea. Yummy. Then it was back to the airport for the second leg of the journey - 8 hr flight to Dubai.

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