Brunei - You won't believe this one...

Market in Brunei
see all photos »

Brunei is unlike anywhere else.   Thanks largely to the discovery of  massive off-shore oil reserves, the tiny sultanate of Brunei is home to a very wealthy and sincerely friendly Muslim population.  There isn't much to do in Brunei.   The sale of alcohol is banned throughout the country*, the entire capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) can be explored in 1 hour on foot, and the few tourist attractions are relatively expensive compared to anything in Thailand or Malaysia. 

Market in Brunei
see all photos »

We visited Brunei out of sheer curiousity and ended up with an experience we'll never forget.  Here's the story...

We visited Brunei out of sheer curiousity and ended up with an experience we'll never forget

We arrive by boat around 10:30am hoping to spend 3 hours exploring BSB before catching the afternoon boat back to Malaysia.  This plan was clearly NOT thought through.  The boat was 30min late, immigration took another half hour, the bus ride to BSB from the ferry port was more than 1 hour. Leaving us with about 15-20 minutes to see the whole country, what a joke!!!

Market in Brunei
see all photos »

So we decided instead to take a boat the following day, and thus set out to find a hostel where we could spend the night.  Of the 2 hostels in Brunei, the first hostel we came to was completely abandoned.  The other hostel was on the other side of town and we were too hot/lazy to carry our packs through the 30 degree heat so we stashed them in a food vendor's cart behind the hostel. 

Then with a lack of anything better to do, we decided to visit the Canadian Embassy (Office of the High Commissioner) and that's where the adventure began.  We met an expat named Len in the Embassy elevator who was living in Brunei for 9 years and happened to know the High Commissioner very well.  When Len found out that we had nowhere to sleep, he not only offered us to stay at his waterfront mansion, and give us a tour of Brunei, but he then introduced us to the High Commissioner, who invited us to a party at his residence that evening!!

Who invited "those guys" ? Reception at the High Commissioner of Canada's residence in Brunei.
see all photos »

After a tour of Brunei and few beers on Len's patio, we cleaned up and borrowed some of Len's clean clothes (hoping that we wouldn't stand out too badly at the party).  At around 6pm, we pulled up to the  High Commissioner's residence and were greeted by one of his valet's.  Moments later several black Mercedes Benz's pulled in, each displaying a different flag on the hood: Ambassadors from Vietnam, Cambodia, Britain, the United States and a few others were attending the party that night. 

The High Commissioner himself!
see all photos »

It was unreal!  Not only did we get to meet several of the ambassadors and a bunch of  really interesting expats, but the party was also open bar!!!  Alcohol in Brunei, how could this be?!  So needless to say, we put our tax dollars to good use!

Hope you enjoy the party photos.  (Unfortunately I don't have photos of the city on a CD now, I'll try to find 'em soon)