Brunei

I have to admit, based on what I have heard about Brunei, I would not have chosen to go there on a holiday on my own. However, since my wife had an assignment in Brunei, it was as good an excuse as any for me to go there. Any holiday time spent with my wife is always a pleasure. As it turns out, it was quite an interesting trip.

The 2nd largest town in Brunei, Kuala Belait, is only about 45 minutes by car from the Malaysian city of Miri. I actually flew in to Miri by Air Asia and drove into Brunei in a rented car. Its difficult to get lost as there are few main roads to get lost on and the signboards are fairly clear. It was actually my first experience driving in East Malaysia or Brunei, but it was really very simple. There were times when I did have to ask for directions, but people here were more than willing point us in the right direction. The ony thing that surprised me was the RM10 tol we had to pay to use the ASEAN bridge across the Baram river as we enter Brunei. Seems rather excessive to me for a less than 1 km span. Anyway, on the bright side, the toll on the Brunei side is only BND3.

I was a quite pleasureable driving in Brunei, with very little traffic to contend with and rather courteous drivers all around. It seems that the laid back nature of the country contributees a great deal to the seemingly stress free environment. See a video of a drive at dusk below:

I suppose the drive around Seria was most interesting to me. I had never seen a "nodding donkey", so it was quite an eye opener. Coupled with a visit to the Oil & Gas Discovery centre there and you have a good educational visit. The nodding donkeys are dotted all over Seria town, even in seemingly strange location like just outside a moqsue or next to someone's house! They seem to have crude oil pouring out of their ears over here!

Anyway, no visit to another country is complete without a sampling of some local dishes. The two that we were told to try were "mee kolo" and "ambuyat". Both were nice, but the "ambuyat" was not quite what we expected. It was essentially a bowl of clear starch had with a variety of meats dipped in tempoyak or chilli paste ( adds the spicy touch). It tasted pretty good though.

Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, has some of the most impressive mosques I have ever seen. Among these was the Jame' Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque in the Gadong area. I was not allowed to take pictures within the mosque, but the picture of the exterior gives a good glimpse of what splendour and baeuty one might find within. Marble and gold inlays are found all over the mosque, and every corner is adorned with some wonderful Islamic motif. In general, all the mosques in Brunei are air conditioned for the comfort of the people, and most appear to have e-Islam kiosk to allow one to learn more about Islam via a touch screen computer.

One simply cannot miss a boat ride tour of Kampong Ayer in Bandar Seri Begawan. Some 10000 houses occupy a large area of shallow river area here. Everything is built on stilts and the only way to get around is to go by boat. It consists of all the necessary amenities one might think a established community would require. This includes schools, workshops, grocery shops, fire brigade, police and mosques - all built on stilts. Its really quite an awesome sight. The boat ride can be quite a thrill too as you navigate some of the narrow water ways. See the video below to get a flavour. Our boatman was quite friendly. He explained that each "floating" household had its own boat and typically they had unique names for their boats. In fact people are known better by the name of their boat rather than their own name. His was called "Darahkula" or Dracula.

All in all, I think it was a very enjoyable trip for both me and my wife. Of course, my dear wife had to work a little before taking a break, but I'm glad I tagged along. I don't however think I will be going there for another holiday very soon.