Brunei

Money and time.You need an abundance of the former, but a smattering of the latter.
I arrived in Brunei around 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 with no accommodation booked and uncertain of where the bus stop was located to catch the bus from the airport to the city center. But this was nothing new to my travels, and I figured it would all work out just like it had been in each of the places I had previously visited. And in the end it did work out, just in a very different way!
I was hoping to stay at Pusat Belia, a youth center in Brunei that offered dorm rooms for B$10 (B$= Brunei Dollars) a night. I had read online that it was understaffed and finding someone at reception could mean waiting for a couple of hours, but in each of the cases, it had worked out fine and the writers (of the blogs and forums I perused through) had been able to secure a room. I wasn't sure where the youth center was, so I asked an airport employee if he was familiar with the place and knew which bus I could take and where to board said bus. He knew the place, but said the bus was unlikely to be available any time soon (I had also read about the shoddy public buses in Brunei, which are unreliable and won't run unless there are enough passengers, in those same blogs and forums). And then he offered to drive me to the youth center for only B$5. I hesitatingly agreed, then a moment before leaving the doors of the airport to his car, I panicked as the plots of "Taken" and "Hostel" flashed through my mind.
So I figured I'd just get a taxi. But I was not inclined to pay B$25 for a 9 km ride! So I set out in search for the bus (a B$1 ride), but to no avail. Happily another traveler was looking for the bus as well, so I told him about the ride I was offered and asked if he'd be willing to split it. He agreed and we went back into the airport in search of the man who offered me the ride. We found him after a short time, and happily he, who I later learned is Min, was still willing to drive me in to town and didn't mind having a second passenger. Min dropped off the other guy first and then took me to the youth center. He even went with me to the youth center to ensure that I got a room, and good thing he did, because the staff was gone for the day and wouldn't be back until Saturday! He knew the cheapest hotel in town and drove me there and helped me secure a room there. It was B$40 a night, so significantly more expensive than what I planned for by staying at the youth hostel, but definitely the cheapest hotel in town from what I had researched on the Internet. I was so thankful to have Min's help. He was such a kind man and really just wanted to help me out of kindness (and maybe a bit of boredom).

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque

Min left, but we planned to meet again at 7 p.m. (about two hours later) for dinner. I dropped my stuff off in the hotel room, then set out to look around. The capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB), is tiny and very walkable. My first stop was the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. As I was taking pictures of it, I saw a girl walking around that I had seen on my flight. When I first saw her on the plane, I thought I should talk with her and find out what she was planning to do in Brunei, but she was far behind in the immigration line, so I left the airport before she cleared customs. But seeing her again, I decided to chat with her and found out she had been thinking the same! Alisa joined me as we walked around the city. As we discussed our plans for the next day, I decided to alter mine and join her tour of the Ulu Temburong National Park (I had planned to go Saturday), because it was cheaper to go in a group. I wasn't able to sign up for the tour though, because the office had closed. So we decided I'd just meet her in the morning and try to jump on the tour then. Later she joined Min and I for dinner. He took us to a traditional restaurant, where we tried a variety of Brunei food. It was pretty good, but a bit of an acquired taste I think. After dinner we headed back to our abodes and got some sleep.

Ulu Temburong National Park

The next morning I met Alisa and we walked to the jetty, where the booking agent would send us off to the tour guide. Happily, I was able to join in the tour with no problems. We took a boat to the Temburong area of Brunei. We were picked up by our tour guide and then taken to the Eco Village Guesthouse where we would set off to the jungle. Next we went by boat again up the river, but this time our boat was a Temuai, a wooden long boat. The river was low, so there were several parts where the skipper had to cut the motor and the man in front would help propel us forward with a large stick, mind you while going up rapids. I was constantly impressed with their expert handling of the boat! The took us to the entrance of the park, where we registered, and then we carried on again to the part of the river with the canopy walk way.

The river to the park.

We were dropped off on the river bank and then set up to climb to the canopy walkway. The first part of the walk afforded a bit of hiking, but we were soon to a lengthy staircase that would take us the rest of the way. We completed the 800 steps, reaching the bottom of the canopy walkway. A few more steps up the towers led us to the top of the canopy. It was an incredible view! I felt like I had nearly as good a vantage point as a bird flying overhead would see. The walkway had four towers and three bridges connecting the towers. We walked along all of them and saw the canopy from different parts of the bridge. The final tower definitely had the best view!

Canopy Walkway

After the walkway, we hiked back down to the boat and then stopped off at a small waterfall on the way back. Our tour guide had us all take off our shoes, hold hands and close our eyes, and then led us in to the water where the fall pooled. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but suddenly I burst out laughing as I felt something nibbling at my feet! Everyone had a similar, joyous reaction and we all enjoyed our complimentary fish spa pedicure. It was such a fun way to learn the fish were there. Our tour was almost up, as we headed back to the Eco Village, where we had lunch before returning to BSB. It was a great tour overall and well run. Well worth the B$125 fee.

Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkia Mosque

After showering and resting, Alisa and I met again to head to Gadong for its night market and mall. Alisa had a free shuttle (round trip) from her hotel, which the staff generously allowed me to join! The shuttle didn't go directly to Gadong, so we were taken to the closest spot, Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkia Mosque, which I was happy to see as well. We walked around the mosque a bit, but couldn't go inside as it was prayer time. So we walked to Gadong (about 15 minutes away) and strolled through the disappointing night market. We then walked through the mall, where I discovered a store that sold Bottle Caps! I was quite excited to find my favorite candy and bought a pack. We had dinner at the food court, and then returned to the mosque to take the shuttle back to the hotel.
The next day Alisa left Brunei, and I joined Oceanic Quest for some diving. I had planned to do three dives, but the visibility was crappy (though good for Brunei apparently) and they where all wreck dives, which I have discovered I don't particularly enjoy. I am glad I did the two dives, however. Interestingly, they were the American and Australian wrecks, two ships that were both sunk by Japanese mines during World War II. They are the only wrecks I have seen that were not purposely sunk to stimulate coral growth, so it was interesting to see in that sense. But I really prefer the colors and variety of corals and sea life, so staring at a decaying vessel just isn't as appealing. After the dives, I headed back to town, where I visited the Royal Regalia Museum to check out some of the absurdly abundant amount of gifts the Sultan has received. I then spent much of the night hanging out in a coffee shop. Sunday I was able to get a ride from Min to the airport (Seriously, this guy was so great! Really made my time in Brunei so much easier. A real blessing.) and then flew to Kuala Lumpur.
My time in Brunei started out rather stressful, but I was blessed with meeting great people who made it an enjoyable place to visit! The mosques were spectacular and Brunei had some of the most beautiful sunsets! The colors were spectacular. Streaks of saturated pinks, oranges and reds painted the sky. It turned out to be a great time.

Brunei Gratitude Journal
1. I am grateful for Min.
2. I am grateful for fellow solo travelers.
3. I am grateful for skilled boatmen.
4. I am grateful for scuba diving.