Brunei

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A few days in the kingdom of Brunei

We have had a very enjoyable few days in Brunei, staying in the capital BSB. We traveled here by ferry from KK, very easy and traveled first class; this only meant that we had a view. They kept the temperature unbelievably cold. Emerged after a couple of hours in jumpers to the heat of Brunei.
We have spent our three days here doing a lot of wandering around the streets. It's not the shining Arabic city of my imagination but a small and pleasant place with some huge buildings. We've been on ferry boats and water taxis to look at the surrounding forest and stilt villages, spent hours in the (again freezing cold) Royal Regalia Museum, with lots of information about the sultan and a fine collection of things royal. Particularly impressive were the huge carriages that he used on his coronation and then on his 25th anniversary. Public buses are incredibly cheap here and we've twice taken quite long bus rides out to the big mosque (very impressive) and today to the ridiculously large Empire Hotel. The atrium of this hotel is so huge, with massive glass windows and white and gold pillars. Not a great many guests.
We've also enjoyed not having to eat rice or noodles, managed to find places to eat naan bread with fine kebabs, a pleasant change after ten days of rice or noodles for every meal!
Tomorrow we leave on the early bus to Miri in Sarawak and then fly into the huge national park at Mulu for 5 days.

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