Tuesday 8^th April

After a quick stop in Labuan, a duty free island to stock up on gin, beer, fishing gear and motor oil we headed out of the busy harbour to Brunei.  Ships were anchored as far as the eye could see ready to service the oil and gas rigs while huge ships with enormous gas tanks anchored far out to sea.

The trip up the Brunei River past mangroves and many tiny fishing boats was past water villages and some huge barges. We anchored off the Royal Brunei Yacht Club, a haven for expats and drinkers in a country where drinking is illegal. Jeremy enjoyed hearing about Brunei life from Richard and helped him demolish his nightly bottle of whisky! Brunei is the richest country per head of population in the world with the Sultan as its head, once the richest man, but he has now been superseded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet! Every Bruneian resident is entitled to free housing and a job. It is rich in oil and gas reserves evident all along this coast.

The skyline of the main town is littered with gold domes and spires. Our visit to the new mosque was very interesting seeing the wash area for when the Muslims wash before prayer, the beautiful stain glass windows, intricately painted dome, escalator for the Royal Family when they pray on Fridays and the huge carpet area for a possible 3000 people to pray. The girls enjoyed wearing the head scarves and Jeremy and I had to wear robes to enter.

After a delicious lunch of fried rice, spicy curries and roti we headed to the museums. The Regalia museum housed many presents given to the Sultan by other countries and paraphernalia used in his ceremonies.  Willow loved the Sultans big, beautiful carriages that were red and gold. ‘Many people carried his carriage down the street.’ Hatty learned that the Sultan was given gifts from Royal people in different countries and that why he set up the museum to show people. ‘There was a model of a big, shining, silver palace made out of mosaic mirrors and a model of a gas ship.’ Porcelain from Thailand, knives, painting, sculptures and models from so many countries were fascinating. Phoebe’s favourite thing at the Regalia museum was looking at all the shields, spears, swords and umbrellas for special occasions such as when the Sultan got married and when he had his Silver Jubilee.

The Brunei Museum had many interesting exhibits including a priceless collection of Islamic art with stunning textiles, books and gorgeous swords many dating back to the 10^th and 12^th centuries. Willow liked the stuffed deer and the Proboscis Monkeys that had giant noses. ‘The wooden games that the local people played were good to look at.’ Hatty liked looking at the tiny Qur’an books which had lovely, detailed patterns and a border around the fancy Arabic writing. ‘In the olden days the groom sat in a decorated wooden seat which about four men carried to the bride’s house before the wedding. I liked looking at it as it had streamer and fake flowers attached to it.’ Phoebe enjoyed gazing at the pretty intricate Islamic writing books. ‘The stuffed Sun Bear with its white rim of fur like a necklace was sad to look at because it is an endangered species’. Information on the oil and gas showed how vast the rigs are down the coast.

A trip in the tender this morning to see the Kampong, the extensive water village, was fascinating. In peak hour, traffic through the choppy water of many speeding boats, we enjoyed seeing the maze of walkways connecting the stilt houses. We saw schools with veiled Muslim girls lining the verandas, fire boats parked outside the fire station and people being dropped at the hospital with water ambulances parked outside. Water taxis picked up passengers from many jetties bound for schools and work on shore.

Beautiful gold domes of mosques and the Sultan’s Palace shone in the early morning sun on the shores of the river. Down the river we cruised again for a night at the other yacht club, where the girls have enjoyed the pool, before we fuel up and head down the coast tomorrow.,