Didn't want to walk through the gates at that time so I asked one of the policeman that was guarding the parking lot where Istana Nurul Iman was. He said it was too far. I asked how many kilometres and he said about 4. I thought, I have walked this easily, so I started my journey.
Speaking of which, Brunei Airlines plays a hymn, as we were taxiing to the runway, to bless the plane for a safe journey, almost like Catholic's when they are about to eat. This blessing must have gone on for 5 minutes. I hope they don't do that when they drive their car.
Was it a hard walk! The humidity is really bad here, I couldn't stop sweating. I got to about halfway and got really thirsty and faint and with no shops open, I had to admit defeat and head back. Luckily though, it wasn't even open today. It is going to open on the second day of Hari Raya. So when morning breaks, I will be there by taxi or bus.
Had a little rest in the hotel and off again. This time back to Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque where I took my shoes and through the doors. As soon as I went through someone stopped me and told me it was closed. Damn, but from the brief glimpse of the inside of the mosque, it was amazing! I saw gold on all the edges of the wall the ground is completely carpeted.
I was really disappointed after that, so went back to buy a packet of chips to eat. Were the chips good! It was a cross between prawn and potato chips with some sort of sweet chilli sauce. Thinking about it makes me want more. yummy!
Now that I was full of energy, I did a bit of shopping in the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation Complex. Nothing special here, but they seem to sell heaps of fake stuff. Seems expensive too for the fake stuff, so I left it alone. The shopping complex also sells mod chips for all consoles and copied games. It seems to be legal here, as everyone just goes in and buys it.
I was also very tempted to buy the Nokia 6120 Classic as it only costed $333 AUD. Only get that price on ebay and that doesn't even include postage. The only problem is that it doesn't have international warranty, so I pulled the plug.
After visiting the same shops a few times (thats how small Brunei CBD is) I headed back to the hotel to rest. This was only 2pm and I had gone around Brunei so many times already.
After deciding that the hotel room was even more boring I went for another walk. This time I went towards the market next to the hotel, but they were closed so I walked towards the river. I saw so many speed boats on the river. Apparently they are just taxis's to get to and from the water villages, but it looked like suicide bathtubs with a big engine! These things are fast! Being the crazy person that I am, I found one and jumped on it. Initially the driver asked for $20bnd for a half hour ride around the villages. I heard that and said forget it. He quickly said $15bnd and I said $10bnd and the deal was done.
I can see why they call this place the Venice of the east. Everything was on water. The houses, the schools, the police station and even the petrol station. What a great ride on the speed boat, the driver was nice enough to slow down when I wanted to take photos. As I headed back, the driver somehow new I wanted him to go faster and find waves to bounce on. He did it all, awesome! I gave him a little tip for doing an awesome job.
The day slowly came to an end and I went to some Indian place around the corner to get some take away (no A/C in the restaurant) and that was real nice but wasn't enough. So I went to get some desert. Found a little restaurant next to the river and and a massive coconut. I think there would have been about 1 litre of juice and there was heaps of coconut meat inside. All this for $2bnd, amazing!
And now I find myself at the lobby of the hotel where the Internet is free and the air is cool, and getting ready for the long wait at Istana Nurul Iman.
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