Well its different to what I expected

Some of the idyllic looking houses... I was assurred there was no Malaria here, even in jungle locations. So I assume all those nasty Malarial Mosquito's all stop at the border!
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So after I finally left limbang, cleaner and after throwing away 2 t shirts as they weren't going to come clean (white is not the colour to wear when mountain climbing.. .honestly.

I left for Brunei by boat, I had envisaged small ferry like boat, not a small boat, that you can't stand upright in, which makes for an interesting time when you go into the boat will a full backpack on, to find that you need to be bent double to move down it....

Ahh well, arrived safely in Bandar Seri Begawan, with my arms bright red (from the fungal infection) and no sooner than I get off the boat that took me there, then its into a water taxi to get to my hotel.

Well, this is the Mosque built for the 28th Sultan, and very impressive it is too
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Now water taxis are the cheapest, easiest most "fun" way of getting about, but when you are carrying a 19kg backpack and you have to step onto the prow of the boat, thats fun.

When you take the backpack off in the boat, that's bliss, but what I forgot to take into account was that I wasn't likely to be swinging the backpack onto my back at the other end, and that the water taxi took me to the closest spot (nice of him), which had old very steep, slimey steps.

I did wonder, since he waited around, whether it was him being noble, or waiting for some possible fun with me falling back into the water.... either way, I and my backpack made it safely to the hotel.

Water taxis waiting to take you anywhere, preferably on a quick tour for lots of dollars
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Brunei is an odd place, there are, currently no taxes, the shopping is all duty free and fairly cheap, but the difference in the housing between the haves and the have nots is huge.

Having said all that, the people can choose to give up their house in the water village and they will be given a brick house to live in, in fact, if a house burns down (it takes on average 7 minutes for a house in the water village to be completely razed) then they are given a land based on as a replacement.

I think the thing that surprised me most, is that everyone has to learn English as this the language that is spoken in schools for all Academic studies, Maths, Sciences etc, Islamic is spoken in the religious part of the schooling and Malay in their homes and their Malay lessons.

Which means, for the lowest of low paid shop jobs, they are expected to have a good command of English, which seems harsh, especially when you look at the standard of our language abilities in England.

The other thing about this country is that as a western female, you get alot of attention from the local men and I don't just mean saying Hi!

This is even with nasty red arms, in fact, if you wear a wedding ring (which I did for one day as a test) most will ignore you, those that don't, is reduced to a simple hi and then they pass on, a far cry from not wearing one.

Anyway, glad I visited, although no where is crowded as the country is relatively small and not densely populated, but a final thought is that the locals used to use the theme park that the Sultan built for them, until he decided to charge an admission cost, now it's a ghost town.. .and the cost well its $15 Brunei dollars for an adult to go there, all rides are then free.

This equates to 5 pound sterling and $9.50 US, its really not that expensive (as told to me by a guide I used) but apparently its all down to the principle....

Anyway, pics are found here