BRUNEI

My last entry from this trip. I leave this evening to fly back to the UK. It will be an 18 hour trip from Bandar to London. The way out was very spacious. One of those flights where you get to stretch out into the next seat to try and get some awkward, cramped and dried out airplane air sleep, but sleep none the less! I hope for more of the same tonight.

They have purple buses here. One of those little things that excites me. A purple bus!! It costs a dollar for any distance of journey along the line between KB and Seria. I don’t know if it is the same around the rest of the country, but I know I get to the swimming pool for B$1.

Tuesday night there was a fancy dinner in the officers mess for some general whom it was a big deal for them to have apparently. My aunt did NOT want to go. We did however go for a walk along the beach so that we could get to enjoy the good bit which was the Gurkha band playing the pipes and drums. We were apparently spotted skulking in the floodlit bushes, but it was worth it.

I went into school to see Priscilla’s class on Tuesday. The children were very friendly and the girls all tried to sit next to me and were stroking my skin and playing with my hair. I was trying to get them to listen to the story Priscilla was reading to them! They were very sweet though and when I went in to meet Priscilla at the end of school yesterday a couple of them spotted me sitting at the picnic table outside the staff room. I was surrounded by about six little girls. “Hello Mrs. James” (which I had now become), “Your hair is so curly”, “Why were you not here yesterday?”, “See you tomorrow?”…

We were invited to Lal Kumari Guruama’s for a meal on Wednesday evening (one of the Nepali teachers). I had been looking forward to a real dahl bhat but it was even better than that. We had syel roti to start with which is a Nepali bread/donut style thing. Very delicious and I haven’t had it in years. We also had a couple curries and onion bhajies. This was all to start off. We then had the rice and dahl and veg! The meal was finished off with a plate of fresh fruit. We were absolutely stuffed but very happily so! It was good to be in an environment where Nepali was being talked. My Nepali is so rusty! It felt a bit awkward trying to use it, but it will still be there. I look forward to spending some time in Nepal at the end of August and getting it back!

We went up to Jerudong Park Playground yesterday. It was a thwarted Take 2. We had done up on Tuesday to be told they were closed on Monday and Tuesday. So, we returned yesterday (Thurs) at 3ish to find they didn’t open until 5pm. We went into Bandar, and it was already raining at this stage. The Regalia museum was open until 5pm so we got half an hour in here and saw lots of photos of His Majesty the Sultan, as well as his amazing very golden coronation crown. A cup of coffee and soaking walk through the puddles and pouring rain later, we drove via the palace (unintentionally) to Jerudong. By this stage the lights were on; bright red lit up roller coaster and multi coloured rides of various descriptions could be seen over the fence and through the wet and blurry windscreen. There were about 10 cars there and with Priscilla not even wanting to go on a ride we drove on, through the heavy rain, back to Seria. Not to be!

I have not really got to meet many Bruneians, but that is how life is for my aunt. We meet them in shops and even then many are Chinese and Filipinos. I have met quite a few Nepalis though! Our main time with a local was with David, but even he is Bornean and not Bruneian! The country seems very nice though. There is a not load to do and tourism is purported by expats to be lower because of the no alcohol laws of the country. Many people cross over to Malaysia for a liquid break away. With the prospect of oil running out in about 30 years the sultanate is looking more towards tourism, but it is in its early stages. If anyone does come through Brunei though, get in touch with David and go into the jungle, even for an afternoon! A definite highlight!