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Published: April 28th 2015
After boarding the boat on the Brunei River, we sped toward a mangrove area where we stopped to spot some long tail monkeys. Although we did spot some, the shots I got were of their backs as they stayed far up in the trees and were camouflaged by the leaves.
Next stop a village over the river on stilts, where we were welcomed by a family to sit on their porch and enjoy some snacks they had put out for us. We were allowed inside to look at their house which was unusual indeed. It was very spacious as a family of 25 lives there. The two front rooms were very ornate. The whole house was air conditioned but not as fancy in the other parts of the house. They have running water and electricity but the sewage still goes into the river! Ugh! Thirty thousand people live in the Water Village.
The residents fish for carp in that river and then put it in a holding tank for a week before eating it. Not sure what that does.
The muslim cemetery was interesting because they don’t put names on the markers, only female or male and they
New Palace
Being built for the Crowned Princeare buried in a cloth. A coffin is only used for transport.
Most of the houses we saw were very nice and the public buildings were over the top. No one pays taxes here but they don’t have much fun either. The only entertainment allowed is cinema and TV and no doubt they are restricted. Muslims are not allowed to drink so there is no place to purchase but the non-Muslims travel to Malaysia to purchase alcohol and cigarettes. Borneo shares an island with Malaysia and it is only a 45 minute drive to the border.
Our tour guide explained that the palace is open at the time of the Sultan’s birthday for 3 days. People from all over can go visit the palace and when they go in (men in one entrance, women in another) are given a plate and can pile it up with food. The men then line up to shake hands with the Sultan and the women shake hands with the Queen. Each person is given a souvenir box with goodies inside, the children are given $5.00 each.
A very interesting tour today.
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Maria Brown
non-member comment
Fabulous Building we did not visit
Very Interesting....... Glad you did not go swimming in the River or eat the fish!!