Oh bother, it's Brunei!

Kampung Ayer- the "Venice of the East"
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So…why would you want to go to Brunei? That was the question pointedly asked of me when I mentioned to a friend that we’d decided to venture into this part of the world. Implicit in the question was a suggestion that Brunei wasn’t that exciting and with alcohol banned for sale and with very little in the way of nightlife, one could easily be sympathetic to that proposition. Indeed, arriving in Brunei and being hit with a $SD20 visa fee (for being a non-transit Australian citizen) and then a hefty taxi cab fee to our hostel (as all buses close at 5.30pm) and no other forms of public transport available, the thought that we’d come to the wrong place certainly entertained our minds! But like most facetious thoughts, it gave way to our traveller instincts and urge for the ‘exotic’. For my first visit (and Michael’s second visit!) there was a lot to learn from such a fascinating place as Brunei Darrusalam.

Kampung Ayer and its watery byways
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We stayed in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital city of Brunei. My impression was the wide, spacious roads and neatly kept houses and office buildings, which was almost reminiscent of sophisticated Singapore. Brunei itself is a very wealthy and proud nation where its citizens enjoy the beneficence of the Sultan of Brunei who administers this devoutly Islamic state by amply providing for their health, housing, education and other public needs. Perhaps the most beautiful public works are the magnificent mosques that command the eye’s attention. It makes me admire how a belief in the divine and the pursuit of sacred worship can inspire humans to make such wonderfully beautiful buildings.

…why would you want to go to Brunei?

Enjoying our classical holiday repast...honey chicken!
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The downright highlight for me was the visit to the so-called ‘Venice of the East’: Kampung Ayer. Consisting of interconnected clusters of homes and buildings built on stilts above the Sungai Brunei (Brunei river), over 20, 000 people (along with a colony of cats) are claimed to live in the Kampung. Adding to the intrigue of this place were the squadrons of ‘water taxis’ (wooden speed boats) frenetically criss-crossing between the Kampung and the mainland like a fleet of voracious dragonflies. We caught one such water taxi to get to the Kampung and proceeded to walk around the watery settlement. We were greeted with many friendly ‘hellos’ and ‘what is your name?’. We chartered another water taxi for an hour, which enabled us to get a clearer sense of the spatial spread of the water village with its labrinythine maze of homes. We even got the chance to visit a local Islamic school courtesy of our water taxi guide who was picking up his kids from school!

Water Taxi
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I think visiting any tropical country is not complete without seriously experiencing a tropical rainstorm. So last night around 10pm, we decided to walk the 3 or so kilometers to the Sultan’s palace and while marching there on the highway we ignored the ominous signs of pending rain. Long story short- we made it as far as seeing the Sultan’s palatial dome, before being thoroughly drenched in an hour long rainstorm much to the bemusement of any sensible Bruneian! Michael said it was like swimming with your clothes own. True enough. It’s only water. It’s a pity though that I have no pictures of our bedraggled selves managing to flash two rather foolish grins!