So, after typing the previous blog entry, I did my little city tour of Brunei. Basically it just involved being driven around in the bus, looking at the different buildings, golden topped palaces etc...what sights still though! Amazing!! Ive never seen anything like that before in my life. Then we stopped at this indoor food market....soooo strange! I must have been walking around like a Zombie. FIRSTLY, after being at the airport so long (air con!!) I really really noticed the heat hit me as soon as I went near the airport doors....so so humid, and horribly sweaty! Brunei only have two seasons...the wet and the dry, and their temperatures range from 25C to 30C...this felt a lot hotter- I was sweating and couldnt breathe properly just standing there!!!!
I looked around....wow how cheap the food was! I decided to ask a girl sitting next to one of the stands about the names of the food advertised and what they were...and ended up trying some soup/noodles/beef type concoction for $1.50, and some coconut milk for $1- which she recommended. The servings were huge, and Im not a coconut fan at all, but this drink was GORGEOUS...definitely did the trick for hydration too! In the limited time I had at that market I got chatting to three people from Brunei (they speak quite good English)...such friendly hospitable people. I was amazed at how safe I felt in this place considering the ideas I had in my head from bad stereotypes...I have to admit Im pretty narrowminded with that kind of thing. Arab settings just dont sound safe to me!! Until now... everyone has a smile for you, whether youre sitting in the bus jsut driving past them and you happen to catch their eye, or if you walk past them in a market or go into a shop. I wish it were more that way in every part of the world. And its quite slow going except for the cars on the roads-there was some traffic- however what I had previously imagined to be a 'packed' and crowded place is actually not at all!!! I felt really at ease here and really want to come back again to see more of the place. A great experience!! Some interesting things about Brunei that I've learned so far....
-DEATH PENALTY... for drug trafficing.... ouch !
-No drinkage unless youre not from here and you are over 17
-the people are very friendly but quite shy! ... reserved is a very good description
-Brunei has a population of only 400,000 (i think!)
-NZ$1 is equiv to $0.73 Brunei
-The main foods eaten here are Malay, Chinese and Indian
(they also have some of the same stuff I found in NZ...EG Milo, that we dont have at home in the UK)
-there's a village here totally on wooden stilts in the sea! :D
-It's bloody hot- you can wear less wandering around the place, however inside mosques etc you should cover your hair, legs and arms....
- Actual name is Brunei Darassalum
And now I wait with my free Internet in the departure lounge....yaaaay!!! About time I did catch up with this blog stuff, photos, people.... what a perfect chance! Going to buy a couple of treats from the shop to take home soon, and then off I go onto the Plane again to fly to Dubai, wait in the airport, and then onwards and upwards to Heathrow.... W.O.W.........
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