Muara is the capital of Brunei Darussalam, a new stop for us. It is charming with many markets, incredible museums, unspoiled nature and breathtaking landmarks. Brunei is one of the two remaining Ruling Sultanates in the world today and shares the island of Borneo with Indonesia and Malaysia. The Sultan’s lavish residence has achieved legendary status as the largest palace in the world and features a unique blend of contemporary and traditional Islamic architecture. But there is nothing traditional — or expected — in this small country in Southeast Asia.
It was a British protectorate from 1888 to 1964. The country holds many surprises. Kampong Ayer, or Water Village, is a township of multi-colored houses built on stilts over the Brunei River. Take a boat ride through the narrow waterways between the myriad colorful, ramshackle, houses and take a peek into the unique, age old lifestyle of the residents there. Local sweet and savory snacks such as tapai, wajid, pulut panggang, buahulu and penyaram can be found at the outdoor tamu markets. For a quick and cheap meal try the Nasi Katok – a simplified form of nasi lemak wrapped in brown paper – a meal that is available almost anywhere. But for a truly local gastronomical experience, go to Tarindak D'Seni at Jln Kota Batu and try the ambuyat.
We do the free ship’s tour "Brunei Culture and a Visit to the Water Village." After a fast room service breakfast, we gather in the theater at 7:30AM. Once on the bus, not as nice as yesterdays, we travel inland for about 25 KM to Muara, the capital. After a drive by the Prime Minister’s offices and the Parliament building, we go to a nearby jetty, board a boat and cruise to the Water Village where we witness first hand a much different side of life. More than 30,000 people live here in thousands of structures built on stilts in the Brunei River. The village is an amazing assortment of homes, restaurants, mosques, shops, schools and hospitals, all connected by wooden boardwalks. Surprisingly, some of the homes are quite elaborate, and we stop by one for a cup of tea. Amazingly, people have lived in the Water Village for more than 1,300 years, making it one of the most historic areas in Brunei. From the leafy banks of the Brunei River at the water village we get a distant view of the Sultan's Palace, what a contrast!
Housing
Housing
Water Village
Refreshment Stop
Next we stop at the white-domed Royal Regalia Museum where we wander through exhibits of luxurious items from the Sultan's lavish coronation and other celebrations. Some of the items we see here are His Majesty's royal chariot, ceremonial swords, a model of the palace and various gifts from foreign dignitaries.
Then we drive by the beautiful mosque built by the sultan’s father and stop at the majestic Jame Mosque, built by the current sultan and Brunei's largest, for a photo stop before heading back to the ship. The tour is interesting and worth doing.
Brunei is a study in extravagances afforded by its abundant oil and natural gas. It is a modern clean country like its friend Singapore. It operates under English common law in legal matters and Sharia Law in religious matters. There are no taxes, most everyone gets a government check, education is free, the homes are nice, even the government ones for people with low incomes. Our guide did mention that the last four years have been hard due to the low price of oil.
Back at the port, we walk through the small shop area and get a pin for Jack and a magnet before getting on the ship. After a fast stop in the suite, we head to the dining room for lunch. It has been a long time since breakfast! Back in the room we nap, read, work on the blog and enjoy the balcony for sail away and during the afternoon while sailing by the many oil rigs!
We take our time getting ready for dinner. It is late for us so we decide on Italian and go to Sette Mari. There are only about eight tables occupied when we get there. Not sure where everyone is, but we have a very pleasant dinner and head back to the suite. It is very warm in the suite and no air is moving into the room, so Carolyn calls about it. We get the usual run around from the crew member with the temperature reader telling us it is OK. And as usual in a little while the incoming air comes on and it begins to cool down. We are convinced they are cycling turning off the AC in various parts of the ship to save fuel. The bean counters seem to have had their way. This is our only real complaint about the ship.
Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to blog about your trip. I am really enjoying keeping up with your travels. I have one navigator question. When you first got on the navigator you have a table removed and a chair added to your suite. Could you post a picture of the sitting area with the way you have it and also without a table how do you handle room service. This is no big deal but I would be interested since we are on the navigator later this year.
ReplyDeleteI posted pictures of the suite as we have it on Day 7. Just click on that post and there are several pictures. We don't use room service much....breakfast on early tour days and a few lunches. They bring stuff on a big tray that we put on the sofa and eat picnic style or use the table on the balcony. Works for us. Dick would rather eat in one of the food venues.
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