Never Thought I'd Be a Boat, It's a Big Blue Watery Road

With yesterday being a bit more of a relaxed one (well without a full day of sightseeing to do) I was raring to go when I got up this morning, hoping to spend my only full day in Brunei as productively as possible.

For the first time since arriving in Asia I was going to have to source myself some breakfast this morning, as the cheap room rate of my hotel sadly didn't include any food. I can't complain too much however because they do provide water, and also there is a supermarket just across the road from where I'm staying.
I went in there this morning to see what I could manage to find to eat. As I mentioned yesterday the shelves were stocked with plenty of options which I would quite happily go for as my breakfast, but considering I didn't have any need for a whole box of cereal bars, or any milk for cereal itself I settled on getting a breakfast muffin from the bakery before returning to my room.

Brunei has always been a country that has intrigued me; I think I'm fascinated by it's size, because I also have the same curiosity about places like Singapore, Hong Kong and Monaco, all of which are places I would love to visit, and two of which I will get to experience on this trip.
For some reason, I always felt like Brunei was a little closer to the Middle East than it actually is - I never had it positioned in between the two Malaysian Borneo states, but much of this could be to do with the fact that it is famous for oil and also has a lot of Indian immigrants living in the country.
Like Malaysia, it is part of the commonwealth so it was refreshing when I went out of the hotel to discover that they drive on the correct side of the road, and also appear to have developed some British manners as a car let me cross the road in front of it this morning on the way to the bus stop.

Aside from Jeepneys and taxis I have been doing the majority of my travelling on foot so far, but this morning I was going to brave public transport having asked at my hotel the best way to get to 'downtown' Bandar Seri Begawan. The lady behind reception told me to catch the number 55 bus from across the street and that would take me directly into the centre of Brunei's capital. Not being a very big place, I knew that it was probably possible to walk there, but considering it would only cost me $1BN (50p) to get there, I wasn't complaining too much.
I could yet be proved wrong, but I feel like the expense of Brunei has been slightly overplayed. Of course it's expensive compared with places like Thailand or Korea, but when I take into account dinner last night, breakfast this morning and then the bus fare I paid for a twenty minute journey, it's not actually that bad. My hotel was reasonably priced too, though it is on the outskirts of the city. A little closer to the centre and you'd be paying over fifty pounds for a night's stay.

It took a while before the bus came, but sure enough the purple number 55 pulled up on the kerb and I jumped on board. It wasn't a bus in the traditional sense, more like a minibus, but all the same it was lovely to actually be able to take a journey where there wasn't an hours worth of traffic in every direction. I'm looking at you Manila...

The bus pulled into the terminal just after lunchtime and I disembarked, not fully aware of which was the best

direction to walk in. I headed in the same direction as a few other people who also looked like tourists and found that I was pretty close to the Sungai Brunei River which runs to the south of the city. I had written down a few places to go today, but not put them in any particular order so I just started walking and thought I'd just see where I ended up. I walked through a couple of shopping malls before eventually one brought me out right next to one of the city's major sights which is Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. Another of the country's Middle Eastern links is the Muslim faith which is exhibited in some very impressive architecture dotted all over the capital.

The gold dome of the Sultan's mosque gleamed and sparkled in the sunlight, drawing me towards it, but I continued to walk down the waterfront impressed equally by the sight of the water village over the opposite side of the river. Eventually the water village disappered from view, and all I was left with was the spectacular sight of the mosque which is perhaps the city's biggest tourist attraction. Set on the water it looks even more spectacular on a sunny day with the bright light glistening off the water an enhancing the building's white concrete walls.

From a distance it was a very impressive building, and despite the fact that two of its sides were undergoing repair, I was still staring in awe at how good it looked.
I circulated the perimeter of the building, and after getting half way round I found next to it that there was another mosque - Taman Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien which wasn't quite as impressive, but still garnered enough attention to have a few pictures of it taken.

I continued up Jalen (which I presume means street) Stoney, walking past the building for the main television company in Brunei, past the Syriah Courts and the city's police station before eventually getting to another destination I'd marked down which was the Royal Regalia Building. I hadn't read too much into it, but knew that it was a popular location with tourists so thought I'd go in and give it a try. That was a very wise move as it was an interesting museum about the current Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, who has ruled over this country since 1967. As I knew nothing about the subject I was fascinated by all the information available which discussed everything from his childhood through his coronation to the work he currently partakes in today.

You had to take your shoes off and put some groovy slippers on before entering the building, and then throughout most of the exhibits the use of cameras and mobile phones was banned so unfortunately I won't be able to share too many images of what I saw inside. The museum itself was huge, with a whole wing dedicated to presents the Sultan received upon becoming the head of state in Brunei.

It went into quite a lot of detail about the ceremony itself, and also the history behind the coronation itself so it was all interesting stuff. I came out of there feeling like I'd got to know Brunei a little bit better as well as being pleased to have actually learned more about the Sultan, who I have heard about before, but knew nothing of.
I continued to walk down the street past the sadly closed Brunei Museum, and soon enough I found myself back at the waterfront promenade area of the city, meaning I had completed a full loop. I headed back in the direction of the bus stop, with one task yet to complete - this time walking along the river instead of through the shops.

Walking down by the river, the spirit of Asia truly began to come alive because almost immediately I was being hassled by touts trying to get me to buy things. I was intending to head towards the pier to ride on a speedboat towards Kampong Ayer water village which lay just across the Sungai Brunei, but as always there was an incredible amount of people competing for your business. One guy even went so far as to follow me down the boardwalk for about 200m, and even when I turned around to walk back in the opposite direction because I'd gone the wrong way, he pivoted his boat and continued to try and get me on board.

Kampong Ayer is Brunei's other famous landmark, it's a water village which houses around 40,000 people and is reachable only by boat. These 'water taxis' are available all along the bay, costing $2 for about a 45 second ride to the other side. It was a fascinating sight to see all these boats zipping around, and I got quite a good video of the one I eventually decide to ride with across the water.
Arriving at the water village I was disappointed to find that the museum, and the tourist office were both closed but I walked around for a little while, taking the sheer scope of the place.

It was actually surreal, as despite seeing a couple of water villages on my journey so far, this is the one that I have been closest up to, and it is also far more fully developed than any of the others I have witnessed. It had the feel of a small village with street signs, shops and restaurants, but completely on stilts. Obviously unlike in remote parts of the world where they are slightly more isolated, there is easy access to the mainland via boat, or using a boat of their own.
Concrete paths marked the 'main roads' of the village before wooden jetty structures took over deeper in. I find it hard to get my head around living on water, I could barely cope living on a boat I don't think. It's certainly one of the more intriguing things I have ever come across.

The use of boats too is fascinating - the description of 'water taxi' is perfect, because the boat drivers act like taxi drivers in any other part of the world, always looking out for business and congregating in places where lots of people are likely to be. I can imagine that it's a fairly lucrative role for them as well. If each ride takes less than a minute within an hour you could have made close to $50 which works out to be quite a lot over a full working day.
After a little bit of walking around in Kampong Ayer I was ready to return back to the opposite side of the water so I managed to snag a lift before carefully navigating my way back to the bus station.

A bit like when I was in Baguio and preparing to ride a Jeepney back to the city, I felt like the journey away from somewhere is always slightly more daunting than a specific location. Firstly, I didn't know how you actually got the bus to stop previously because I, like everyone else, rode it to the end of the route on the way there, so there was that to overcome. I also had to dig deep into my memory and try to remember which was the closest bus stop to my hotel; when you get to thirty it's hard to rely on your brain for anything.
The bus stop was undercover and extremely humid with lots of people waiting around. Once the number 55 bus turned up, all hell broke loose as (remember I'm in Asia) there was suddenly a massive queue of people at the door trying to get on before the rest of the passengers had even got off. They had to barge their way through the hoards as I tried not to get too involved in the squeeze that eventually took places as everyone piled through the door. It was reminiscent of those scenes you see in India where people are squeezed into a train despite there being clearly no personal space for anyone left to possess.

It was so warm on the journey, and despite the bus being hugely overcrowded the ticket collector did his best to try and get money off everyone whilst we all tried to not make the bus tip over due to the number of people on board. I was sitting on a step at the front of the bus but there were people squeezed four to a chair and a number of people who were just squatting down in the isles.
Eventually the bus got to my stop, and I heaved myself up and off the bus, making space for one more person to actually have a seat. Having not eaten lunch I decided to stop off at the supermarket, for some food before coming back to my room to look through my photos and make a little bit of a plan for tomorrow.

Although I have only been here for one day, I feel like it has been enough of an experience of Brunei for me. I was never planning to come here for an extended number of days due to the cost. Having been to the capital today, the only other major cities to explore are Seria and Muara, but I don't feel like there's a great deal to see in either of those places so I am happy to have had today to explore, and use the days either side predominantly to transit. Some people might question why I came here at all if it was only just for two days, but as I mentioned earlier, it is a place I have always been intrigued about and felt like I had to visit whilst I am in the region. I could quite easily have skipped it out had I needed to, but I am glad I came to see the few sights I witnessed today, and if nothing else I got one stamp closer to completing my passport.

I'm on a Boat
Lonely Island (2009)
** Not suitable for sensitive ears!