Brunei 2000, Part 1

MONDAY 17 JULY

Last day on Indonesian soil! Wow! What a brilliant five-week period! Probably
the best of my life! It has been by far the best country so far. I have also
spent more time there than in any other  (with the exception of  Bangladesh,
which nearly got 6 weeks). I don’t know whether we spent so long there because
we liked it so much or liked it so much because we spent so long there. But
anyway, I’d become really attached to the country; the people; the rice
terraces; the lakes; the active volcanoes, the dormant volcanoes, the extinct
volcanoes; and the ancient volcanoes that are so large that you could spend
your entire life inside one without realizing it! I will return soon,
Inshallah. (Haven’t been to Northern Sumatera, Irian Jaya, Kalimantan, Flores,
Sumba, Sumbawa, Sulawesi or Malaku.)  

Anyway, all good things, just like all bad things (here anyway), must come to
an end. It was time for the next country. It was time for Brunei Darussslam
(Brunei, the Abode of Peace). The Royal Air Brunei flight was for 11:50am and
we got to the aiport with more than an hour and a half to spare, very unlike
the missed first (scheduled) flight of this tour! Remember?

We had had no difficulty getting in to Indonesia but they more than made up for
it on our exit. We were both taken to the immigration office, asked loads of
standard questions, before being set free. Because of this we were late in
boarding and had to hurried by a PA announcement. “Will Mr Muhammad and Mr
Mustafa please make your way to….”

I forgot to make a special request, so no vegetarian food unfortunately. And I
like plane food aswell! No vegetarian food but we were treated to the most over
the top publicity video for Royal Air Brunei. Finding it a bit tacky at first,
it kinda grew on me. “North, South, East or West, Royal Brunei is Asia’s best!”
!

Landed in Bander Seri Bagawan at about 3pm. Remind yourself of the no. 1 rule
of border crossing for it made a dramatic comeback! Yes, just as with getting
out of Indonesia, I had problems getting in to Brunei. My passport was taken
away at immigration and I was left waiting for ages before a big guy came and
took me to his office. “How did you (a non-white) get a British passport?”.
These people don’t seem to have any knowledge of other countries at all.
Otherwise they’d know that there are about 1.5miilion people in the UK of
Indian descent. Ignorant fools!

Perhaps looking like a rich Arab, Mustafa didn’t have any problems at first but
when it became apparent that we were travelling together he was also questioned
by the big fella. Anyway, we were both eventually set free after all the
nonesense. 

Took a bus to the centre of town and Pusat Belia, at 10BRD/night  (1GBP
=2.55BRD) the only thing approaching budget accommodation in the whole country.
On arrival we were told that it was full. We were contemplating what to do, for
the next cheapest place, the Capital Hotel, cost a whopping BRD50/night. But
five minutes later the manager comes and asks if we still wanted accommodation!
Very strange guy! Shared a room with two Australians (Perth and Byron Bay),
who’d also been knocked back initially.

Soon after, went out to pray Zuhr and Asr at the Omar Ali Saifuddin Masjid. On
the way met an electrical engineer from Bangladesh (from Dhakah unfortunately
so I couldn’t speak to him without difficulty) who was here in search work.
Dhakah was unaware of Pusat Belia and had stayed in the Capital Hotel and had
also been making overseas calls using the phone in his room. At the end of two
days our friend, whom we were to meet many times in Bander, had a hotel bill of
more than 280BRD. Our 5-day budget was 250BRD for the both of us.

Named after the 28th Sultan of Brunei, the Omar Ali Saifuddin masjid is a
mightily impressive sight. Everything about the mosque, built in 1958 at a cost
of USD5miilion, was impressive - the Italian marbled walls and pillars, the
stained glass windows, the huge gold dome, the courtyard and the wudu area –
except for the floor cover that consisted of disjointed pieces of green ugly
Saudi carpets. 

It just so happened that we were in Brunei during the Sultan’s birthday 54th
celebrations. As part of it, every night there were food stalls around the
park/open stadium in front of the masjid. We did a tour of all these food
stalls before buying dinner and dining in the park, listening to the recitation
of the Quran over the loud speaker from the Mosque and watching kids play
soccer. It was a very good atmosphere.

Prayed Isha, where we met Dhakah again, had more food, chatted for a while and
headed back to the youth hostel . With the exception of the immigration
problems it was a good first day in Brunei, a country that is high on the list
for immigration for me.