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It's school holidays...again!! And this time, till the end of August. Imagine, in 6 years time, Tiffany will be at University, and for Leslie it's only four years from now...as we start to speak seriously with Leslie of the choices of where and what, it does indeed looks like tomorrow morning....coming soon....
But for now, we are back on the road, or shall I say, on the water and below water...You know me, it's all about keeping discovering our little planet....we visit new places, and from time to time, we go back to old time school, back to places we love, or that I love. So this summer, it will be a little of everything....new, old...lots of bubbles...even some white powder...and not much shopping beside some serious wine. Don't try to guess, it's coming soon! This summer will be divided in three parts...first with Tiffany and Leslie....second, alone while they are in Vietnam with their Mum...third...back to more bubbles with Tiffany and Leslie.
This summer will also be about big...and some wild animals...my wish list will get short...to reach a very special trip, coming in the middle of October. Don't forget, you live only once,
so better be good...and hoping everything else will go fine.
But first thing first, and our first stop in Brunei. We took two MH flights from Bangkok to KL, and than from Kuala Lumpur to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of the small Sultanat of Brunei. You may never have heard of this place, but if I want one day to have seen every single country in Asia, a stop in Brunei is on the list.
Few things about the country...small, stuck into Malaysia on the North coast of Borneo, and for the last few months, the only country of ASEAN applying the Sharia at a State level...it doesn't make them only friends. No alcohol in the country, not even in the international hotels. I used to work for a company that had an office here, that's 18 years ago...and the rule hasn't changed...if you are a foreigner, and a non-muslim, you can bring two bottles in, but don't forget to declare them...that is important!
Sharia it may be, but Brunei does have one, if not the most friendly population in South-East Asia...so let's not mix things...friendly people and seriously strict
muslims do match, and they don't have to be what you see in Syria and Iraq these days.
Brunei it is, and their wealth is coming from a single source...which won't be here forever, I call the oil supplies...drying fast, but still there. And at the pump, it shows, as liter of petrol is simply...around 32 euro cents...think about it. and road...are of equal great quality.
We arrived here on a Saturday afternoon, for 2 nights and a day and half to visit what Brunei has to offer. There is not a lot to see in Brunei, and trust me, when it's Ramadan, there is even a ....lot less to see....
We landed at short to 3pm and where ready te explore Bandar Seri Begawan by 4pm....our hotel, the Radisson being right in the middle of downtown. There is the main Museum, the Regalia Collection. This is where the Sultan store all the gifts he received from other Countries....well, it was close by 2.30pm. Than there is the main Mosque, pretty amazing and beautiful from outside, but closed to non-believers during Ramadan...They also have a single big shopping mall, but seriously,
living in Bangkok, do we have to visit every single shopping mall...simple answer...no.
So by 5.30pm, we had seen the floating village, the mosque, the "Champs Elysees" of Bandar...and even the outside of the Regalia Collection building....it was time to get ready...for dinner. Kids don't know much about Muslims, so I decided to show them something simple, the end of the day fast for any muslim believer. We went to a restaurant, ordered, and wait like everybody else for the signal of the prayer, and at the signal it was the end of the fast for the day. Understanding others, simply means to understand what there daily routine is, and during Ramadan, for Muslims, it's simply something that is important for kids to understand, what they went throug their day, too.
Next day, a first for any travelblog entry on Brunei, some diving pictures. Yes, you can dive in Brunei! It's not amazing, but it's fun. We had our own boat, manned by two DM from..Lembeh...to come too...one of these days. First two dives were with Leslie, last one with Tiffany. First dive, we did a wreck...one of the many in Brunei...pretty poor visibility,
but a lot of fishes...next dive, a truly fun one...a sunken oil rig with Leslie. A first for both of us. Don't ask me to dive every week here, but it was truly fun...still poor visibility like on any other wreck. Last one was with Tiffany, her 18th dive, my...yes...600th...on a cool reef....down to 15-16 meters...she is improving fast... and we had a seahorse, a couple of small cuttlefishes, an octopus and even few nudibranches...not a bad day after all...and my 44th country for diving...
Next morning, we left early our hotel, for a day on the water...first taxi to Muara, than a boat to Labuan. Our "planned" ferry was broken, so we took the next one....than spent just over an hour in Labuan. Labuan is a duty free area providing...a lot of duty free alcohol, serous offshore banking, serious back-up to the oil industry, and I've heard, but not seen...lot of night "services" to all those sailors...
Next stop, KK, Malaysia...
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Brunei
We loved our time in Brunei and enjoyed touring the hospital with a local. Very cool. Enjoy. In the early planning stages where do the kids think they would like to go to school?