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| The South China Sea from Empire Hotel, BSB |
The Ambassador provided turkey and perhaps the stuffing, The table overflowed with food, including sweet potato casseroles (several), cheeses (always welcome in this part of the world), a tasty bean concoction, and our contributions (scallop potatoes, a tomato and cheese dip, and fruit salad). Some dishes were finished when we arrived and others arrived after we were finished. Lots of desserts, but I don't remember any fruit pies. There were about 50 guests; we were the age of most of their parents!
As we left I wished the guards "selamat malam." From their reaction I assume expats don't commonly speak Malaysian (also the language of Brunei). Throughout the trip our fractured Malaysian was treated warmly. I told our building guard, who is struggling to improve my Malaysian, that the people in Brunei thought my Malaysian was pretty good. His body language said that they were very kind.
Our friends' driver (A), an Iban, took us to his longhouse. It had separate sets of steps that lead to the rooms of each family. Between the steps and a family's rooms is a wide corridor. A introduced us to his grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. All were crowded in the kitchen, either cooking for the evening's festival or watching. We were offered and accepted a sip of rice wine - enough to graciously accept the host's hospitality.
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| Making kuih penganan - so good we bought more at the night market |
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| Corridor - on the left library, crafts for sale, doors to individual family rooms, pic of sultan who has visited longhouse |
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| Folk Art, but the dish is real. |
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A vacuum cleaner helicopter.
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| One view from Taman Rekreasi Hutan Luagan Lalak |
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| A walkway leading to a gazabo |
In our travels through rural areas, we could count on finding small shops and cafes and traveling alongside buses and motorcycles. Not on this trip. Few motorcycles and no buses except near BSB. Midway we stopped at the one shopping centre to buy fruits to take to A's family. When we returned around 1 p.m, and it was completely closed. (Many businesses and all cafes close between noon and 2 for Friday prayers.) Brunei has one of the most unique work weeks: Monday - Thursday, Friday as a rest day, work on Saturady, and Sunday as a rest day
Night markets are always a part of our trips. Gadong night market in BSB, which is open every evening, wasn't to be missed. It had the usual displays of produce and an impressive array of deep fried foods - not quite up to US state fair artery clogging choices. Our plan to be hunter/gatherers was thwarted by a heavy downpour. We spent too much time avoiding puddles and too little surveying the food for healthier choices. Consequently, we missed grilled foods that are in the market. But the piasang goering was delicious. How did we pay for our purchases, in Brunei Dollars, which the locals sometimes refer to a ringgit (the term for the Malaysia currency which older Malaysians sometimes refer to as dollars.....talk about confusion).
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| A display of durians |
During our trip we made other short stops. We went to the national and handicrafts museums both were being renovated. At the national museum only the Islamic art, Brunei's petroleum industry, and natural history galleries were open. The handicraft centre had a catalog of Brunei's craftspeople - a valuable resource for scholars and collectors. We drove around the campus of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam with its impressive buildings including a colorful science building (couldn't find a picture). Instead of the familiar dome its mosque had three parallel roofs similar to a pagoda. The covered walkways were on poles so students, faculty and others could walk comfortably in the rain.
Our host had stayed at the Empire Hotel during his job interview and later during their first days in Brunei - a hotel sure to make one think "I want to stay here a long time." Of course, they wanted us to see the hotel, its beautifully landscaped grounds, and the views. The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is open to non-Muslims except during prayer times. We didn't have scarves with us and it was getting late so we took pictures and headed home. We planned to come back to enjoy a beautiful sunset enhanced by the lights of the mosque (see links for pictures). A rainstorm ruined that plan.
Our most memorable experience in Brunei occurred as we were leaving the airport. When we thought we had completed check in we asked to pay the departure tax (12 Brunei dollars/person). We had missed that detail and had spent our last dollar. The woman behind us gave us the money, so we could complete check in and go to an ATM machine. We agreed to meet "on the other side" (meaning a few feet away not a more final destination). After immigration I had my eyes peeled for an orange hijab. No luck. Doug asked the flight attendant to make an announcement asking the "young lady who had lent him money to identify herself." Again no luck. We could not imagine how she had disappeared into thin air. But since the money wasn't ours Doug put it into the collection box for Typhoon Haiyan relief (AirAsia matched all donations and the box was packed full of bills). After we disembarked the mystery was solved. Muhammad introduced himself, we gave him the RM equivalent of the Brunei money, and asked about his friend. She was his girlfriend who had come with him to the airport. Their random act of kindness proved that "good people are everywhere." Furthermore we had a chance met a couple who respect and admire each other. We will remember them for a long time and hope that in their lives they experience others' generosity.
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| Muhammad - No worries for the world as his generation takes over |
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