Brunei is a tiny nation on the island of Borneo with a population of 420,000. It is also one of the richest nations (natural gas and petroleum) in the world governed by a Sultan who lives in his tiny palace with 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, a 110-car garage and a banquet hall which will seat 5,000 of his closest friends. The day after Ramadan, he hosts a 3-day open house for the entire population which is when that banquet hall comes in handy.
Brunei is a Muslim country, with only a few other religions in minority percentages. We were briefed to cover our knees and shoulders, both male and female, no low cut tops or dresses for females, no orange or yellow clothing as those are the royal colors and would be offensive. No alcohol products could on land from the ship. Smoking tobacco is mostly forbidden. Large cameras were not allowed, defined as bigger than 6 inches, I assumed no DSLR type cameras. For these Brunei images, I used a 15 year old Sony point-and-shoot camera. Many of the pictures were taken from a moving bus with window reflections. Yeah, not good pictures from Brunei. In my work, I traveled worldwide and never felt the trepidation that I did when entering this country.
Our excursion today includes a leisurely boat ride to scenic mangroves and colorful water villages. We set off on the Brunei River where we saw proboscis and long tailed monkeys flying from tree to tree (some with babies), lots of egrets and crocodiles. We were invited into a water village home to share tea and pastries. These homes, which are built on stilts and connected by a series of wooden planks (no railings), were built for nobles. All are in need of a facelift. There is an entire grade school set upon stilts. The children walk the wooden planks. Another way of getting around is to take a water taxi. We don’t recommend either.
Muslim men may have up to 4 wives as long as they get permission from the first wife (wives). Our guide has 10 siblings and then told us he has 2 moms because his father took a second wife by which he has another 10 siblings. This day happened to be a Thursday and he was telling us how his real mom is always upset on Thursday because the father goes to his other wife/family on that day; they have separate houses. He also said when the 2 moms get together, it’s like lightning striking! He was a character.
Other than entering the water boats and walking the wooden planks, we felt completely safe and well taken care of.
