On to Singapore

Brunei


This tiny nation, actually a sultanate, is in the north of the island of Borneo entirely surrounded by the Malaysia part of Borneo; the other part is Indonesia. Until we came to this part of the world, I never realized this split in these respective countries. It’s smart that Brunei didn’t go into Malaysian group or it wouldn’t have the sole benefit of it’s considerable oil revenues.
As we left the gangway, a lovely local lady gave each of us what can only be described as a very cute nosegay. It is suspended from a round metal carrier much like a bracelet or the handle on a basket. The photo doesn’t do justice to how delicate and pretty it is. There is a sachet of fragrances in the little net bag beneath the ribbon.
This was the most WONDERFUL full day’s tour!
The weather was in the 80s with very high humidity and a fierce sun (we are very close to the equator again). The bus was very nice and the air conditioning worked fine. Also we weren’t a huge group which made a difference in terms of time.
Wet Market
This was a real cultural experience and it was made so much richer by the tour guide we had. Apparently all the tour guides were quite good. Ours had lived in the US for a while and his use of vocabulary and pronunciation were superb.
Vendors here must keep everything clean and fresh or they will lose their license to sell here. We saw mostly women working in the stalls but we did see a few men shopping. Everything is incredibly fresh and you are allowed to mix and match. We were told of many different veggies, fruits, and many herbs. The guide would tell us what was an herb or medicinal product and how it was prepared and used. He described dishes that could be made from many of the ingredients in front of us. When we had a question that he couldn’t answer in detail, he would query the ladies in the booths. This was such a keen experience.
Royal Regalia Museum
This was an amazing place. First of all, the architecture here spans the gamut from very primitive to the most modern you’ve ever seen. This museum is in the latter category. You must take off your shoes (also in the mosques so wear socks or bring along “temple socks”) and the carpeting is cushy and interspaced with shiny black marble. The center piece of the entrance hall is the Sultan’s chariot. You need sunglasses to view it as the gold rivals and may exceed St. Petersburg! It turns out that the model we saw in the lobby, the only place we were allowed to take photos, is a replica. The guide described a blind couple on one of his tours who were allowed to touch it and attested to the fact that it was real gold.
Inside the museum were many more mind boggling displays. The history of the sultanate, the oldest continuous sultanate in Malaysia, is shown in dioramas, photos, sketches, paintings, and documents. A large number of the revolving displays (because there is so much in storage) are of gifts exchanged with other countries. Some were practical but most were just eye candy.
The original of the chariot is inside the part where photos are forbidden. It has statues (think like the terra cotta warriors) of the men who were in front of and behind the chariot. Visually it looks like they are pulling it but like the Rose Parade floats, it is motorized. Furthermore, while it looks like the Sultan throne are is open (and it is) it is also air conditioned. All around the side of this room are life side cut outs of photos of people who were actually present at his coronation. This gives you the feeling that you are in the curbside crowd while the chariot goes by. Later, there was a video we saw of the actual coronation.
Another impressive area has an entrance area that replicates the same one you would walk through if you went to visit the Sultan at his main palace. Once a year anyone who shows up can meet the Sultan (if male) or the Sultana (first wife—he has two: the second is younger than his oldest daughter).
Last but not least, they have garments which have been worn ONLY ONCE by the Sultan and his wives. They are made of silver with gold threads and have real diamonds and pearls. I can’t even imagine what their value is but it must be stunning.
Lunch
This was a buffet at the (former Sheraton) Radisson and it had some local variations on the expected SE asia diet. Quite good, all of it. We were given bottles of water everywhere: on the bus, at restaurants, and encouraged to drink a lot of water. We never miss an opportunity to use a rest room in such conditions and these were spectacular and so clean.
Mosques
We saw several large, elaborate mosques as we travelled around. Each community is required to have it’s own. The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque has a large moat surrounding it with a marble ship in the lagoon (much like the summer palace near Beijing). But we actually got out to take photos at an enormous and gorgeous mosque whose name I’ve forgotten. Marble of various colors (see photos I’ll post later) and great architecture. We had heard that we’d be allowed to go into the mosque but our timing wasn’t good as it interfered with prayer time. Still we appreciated the effort made by Princess and the guide.
Liquor and drugs
If you are Muslim, you will be severely punished for drinking. Others however, are allowed to bring in liquor from adjacent Malaysia within certain constraints. When they banned the sale of liquor in Brunei, their rate of drunk driving and domestic violence went down dramatically.
Caning is used for a lot of infractions. There are blinking lights on the tops of the busses to tell at a glance is the driver is speeding. The beeping inside the bus is annoying—it’s purpose is to give feedback about speed. Brunei has 2.7 cars per each citizen; 1/3 of the residents are ex-pats. There is no income tax, and education and health care are free. Housing for certain employment is free and generous by Asian standards of space.
Brunei River stilt villages and animals
We boarded, or rather lurched onto, water taxis and were off for a speedy ride down the Brunei River which was first visited by outsiders when Magellan’s ship (he had been killed in the Philipines just before this) sailed in here. There is no speed limit for the boats and it’s amazing why there aren’t a steady stream of crashes on the waterway as these various boats careen around without any obvious adherence to lanes. Our drivers were speedy but safe drivers. We were required to wear life jackets but the drivers did not. Sadly several of our ship mates couldn’t even get it on because of their bulk.
Along the way, we passed used village complexes, Kampong, where you would have as many as 2000 residents and their homes joined by shaky wooden walkways without handrails. They are governed by the equivalent of a mini-sultan and there is a mosque within hearing distance for call to prayer. Our guide told us not to think these were substandard housing, because that’s exactly how they looked from outside, because they are the Beverly Hills of Brunei. If you can afford to live here and keep up your place (and your wives) you have a lot of money.
While some of the newer ones have sewage removal, most just empty into the water here. I suppose there’s enough exchange to prevent any appreciable odor. There is a story about fish eating the feces but I’ll spare you.
Animals
Dogs are considered a dirty animal by the Brunei because they sniff everything but cats are very popular and indeed our guide has four. We even saw some adorable little birds the names of which I have forgotten.
But our trip up the river was specifically to view the probiscus (sp) monkeys which are found only on Borneo in the mangrove forests where they feed off of shoots. They are shy and die if taken into captivity though I suppose there are exceptions since I’ve seen them in the LA Zoo. We were told we might not be lucky but our drivers seemed to have a sixth sense about where to find them. They are not easy to see and I wish I had brought the binoculars though truly by the time you see it and get the binoculars up to your eyes, they’d probably have jumped to another tree by then. Ed did manage to get lots of photos (of leaves with an occasional shot) of a monkey but I have to go through the photos yet to find them.
There was also a huge snake coiled in a fork of a tree but there was some confusion as to whether or not it was poisonous. I heard that it was a python (I couldn’t see it so I’ll hope it’s in the pictures) and then a boa. But it was black with yellow stripes—there was agreement on that part!
The pink house
Google the ”pink house Brunei” and you’ll find the web site for this home where we visited and had tea. Nelson Mandela and many other well knowns have visited here and I’m told that the web site has a list. The few rooms that are air conditioned are lavishly decorated with gold, crystal, and expensive rugs. The bedrooms, bathrooms and such are not air conditioned. All around the outside is a huge veranda with many tables and chairs. We had tea and some scrumptious snacks here. Our favorite was the plaintains covered by a cheese batter and drizzled with honey. Mmmmmm There were some oscillating fans here but I couldn’t tell if they helped or not.
Back to the ship
We were grateful to get back to the ship and a shower. And supper involved sharing what each of us had seen. The others only did half day tours which overlapped much of what we saw. But while Ed was a little skeptical about taking this all day tour, he was quickly converted and will rave about it perhaps even more than I do.
The entertainment was the banjo player we’ve heard before. He’s good but we weren’t in the mood and stayed in the cabin until it was time for MUSIC TRIVIA. This is not our strong point and we knew it. We had invited Dale and Janet, the two profs from Florida, but Janet went to sleep and so Dale came along. We were joined by another loose couple so we were one short of a full team. We didn’t do too bad actually; our expectations were very low so perhaps that made a difference in how we did and in our attitude.