Brunei, Day 2

There is no order in Brunei. I'd thought that I wake up early to queue up and see the Sultan, but that didn't go according to plan. Luckily the taxi driver asked one of the cops what time the queue started, but the cop said I couldn't go in because I wasn't properly dressed. So I went back to the hotel, and put jeans and a shirt on. That is crazy.

When I finally got to the queue, it all seemed good some order not much pushing, but then all of a sudden everyone started pushing forwards! What! There was no queue, it was a matter of who can push who aside! Luckily, I had experience in situations like this and shoved everyone off. haha!

Once in, it was an amazing palace, the 2 rooms I saw. The first hall is a massive place where they served us food for free. It was all very nice food too and I am guessing its a selection of tradition Brunei cuisines, but I can tell you its not healthy. Lots of deep fried stuff, but what the hell, I have sweat so much that I needed it and I was enjoying it, but that is when it all changed.

I am a fairly fast eater and finished my plat of food in record time and went to the next queue. This queue was the worse in the world! They make you wait until the entire army, air force and navy, over 10000 of them, have gone to see the Sultan before they let you see him. This in itself is a 5 hour wait! Lesson learnt, do not go on the first day.

Once the military finally finished filtering through and as they let more citizen through. They didn't follow the order any more. They just let all the people at the back of the queue go first, what the hell is going on here! The cops can't even get it right, no wonder why these people push and shove.

Alright once I got to the next room, which I might add is absolutely amazing, there is another queue. When I got there the military just finished leaving that room, and it took 45mins from the last military to leave the last room before I entered the next. I thought, this must be the dumbest system I have ever seen. The crap thing is I had to check out at the hotel at 2pm and it took one hour to get back. So I left after only seen that one room. So no, I didn't get to shake hands with the Sultan.

On the way out, I had to walk all the way around and queue up to leave! What crap is that! They made you accept a present from them and that took another 30mins. I was like, I don't care about it, just let me leave damn it! The answer was no. AARRGGHH!!

Summary of Brunei, its the most boring place I've been to. No clubs, alcohol is banned, shops close heaps early, and the capital is smaller then Woden.

If I ever go back, it will be straight to the rain forest!

Brunei, Day 1

The day started off with a trip to the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque where hundreds of people were praying. Mostly men actually. Strange, but I guess that is the tradition. The other strange thing is that they broadcast their hymns on a really really loud loudspeaker. I heard it as soon as I walked outside of the hotel, which is at least 3 blocks away.

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.