Traders Inn Bandar Seri Begawan

... I told him we could ride together but only after reviewing the boarding process. He repeated back to me (twice no less) the three golden rules to boat travel: 1. Step quickly to the center of the boat and only the center. Center means middle. 2. Sit down quickly and do not stand on one side. 3. Lean forward to put the center of gravity in the middle so as not to rock and capsize the vessel while others are trying to enter. Against my better judgment I signed him ...

Clean like you would imagine it to be. Built up reasonably too. But strangely it didn't feel like a massively rich country with a population of only 350,000, a fair bit of land, oil and money and the seventh richest man in the world in charge - the Sultan of Brunei.

One ...

... in 1984. Many travelers skip Brunei because it's considered expensive. Well, that's not quite true. In Bandar there is a youth hostel for B$10 per night with a/c, and a dish on the market costs B$1, which is similar to Malaysia. Bandar offers only a few interesting sights. Definitely worth seeing is the main mosque, which gets pretty photogenic at dusk. Water villages provide a great contrast to the wealth ...

... the town of Limbang at the end of the trek, so that we only had to hike with a small daypack each. This meant that we could take very little clothing and toiletries with us to last for the 5 days. The flight to Mulu took half an hour on a twin prop plane that flew low over the jungle. Our first night’s accommodation was in the Royal Mulu Resort on the edge of the National Park. This boded very well for the rest of the tour, we thought, as the hotel was ...

... guiding skills! She drove us to our first stop and blithely told us that we would have to walk (climb she meant) 500m to the top of a hill for a view over the forest. It was steep too, wooden stariways on the steepest sections, a bit of clambering over rocks and a few easy paths. It was hot again, of course. Little sign of any wild life, just butterflies and the odd millipede, 8" long and 3/4" wide. The view northwards towards Mount Kinabalu was the closest we got to this ...

... here each year so we were welcomed with open arms everywhere. Our 3rd bus upto the capital and the conductor asks us if we have somewhere to stay. When we explain we booked at the Terrace in advance he digs out the address and 2 hours later drops us at their reception! I was expecting a 'stay here not there' malarky. On this note, I've bought a new MP3 to bring away. My trusty iRiver finally ...

... their shoes! Damn 'The Humidity' and all who worship her! Brunei Terminal is quite small and very, very-very quiet at this time of day so plenty of seats to slouch on, trying to get as low as I can hoping to reduce the humidity, no such luck! Even on the floor its saturating. I drop to the floor and do my normal exercise in a vain attempt that a burst of adrenaline will act as a defibrillator and shock my body into the world again, but all it does is sap what little spirit I have left. Sit ...

... par bus bien entendu. Le chauffeur etait content de nous voir. Imaginer, tout le monde a une voiture a Brunei, il s'ennuyait. Imaginer en plus, personne ne peut se payer un autobus publique a partir de cette hotel. hihihi Par la suite, nous avons visite le garage royale (encore une fois). Les babioles en or, carosse de grande occasion, etc, qui n'allait surement pas dans la decoration du palais. Ce sont les ...

... that the food on the flight was pretty awesome as well.. Apparently the Brunei-eans like indian food.. who would have known.. Samosa's and Curry were the order of the day. Unfortunately there was no beer to be consumed, cause it's dead set illegal to drink mind-altering, but life giving hopps generated goodness in the mother country. Actually.. I've not yet defined what Brunei is ...

... Quote of the day... "You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge." Till next time... cheechos madia hosay mosay Follower of the giant teapot. Sunday 3rd August, 2008. 5:01pm. Went across the border to Malaysia yesterday with my boss to a small town named Miri. Had a beer. Bought some DVDs. Then came back. I was driving so couldnt get plastered ...