It was not my first time flying with an airline from a Muslim country but this was definitely a new experience.
I looked around me a couple of times to see if anyone was actually praying but no one in the 3/4 empty plane was doing any such thing. At least not so that I could see.
Back in the day when I was a kid and obsessed with aeroplanes I always thought Royal Brunei's planes were made of gold and diamonds.
A collection of expensive materials that make a standard Boeing 767 more valuable than your average Tiffany's store. The leather I sat on was a bit worn but one could still see that when this aircraft was put in service, it was the definition of luxury. Comparing this to my last flight on Ryanair seemed like comparing apples with condoms i.e. not worth my time.
The flight from Kota Kinabalu to Bandar Seri Begawan only lasted roughly 35 minutes and we touched down before I even finished my coffee.
Brunei doesn't generally get a lot of tourists (as opposed to the remainder of the states that share the island of Borneo) but it is often used by Aussies and Kiwis as a transit hub to and from Europe/Asia and of course all the oil workers who come to make the Sultan even more money. According to Forbes Sultan Hassanal Bolkhia is the second richest head of state in the world, second only to King Bhumibol of Thailand (this was a surprise to me too?)
After a slightly suspicious customs officer stamped me in for the day I went on a quest to find out where the bus to town left from. Funnily enough I asked 4 different people ranging from the information desk lady to an armed soldier and everyone pointed me in a different direction. "This is gonna be fun", I thought.
What I found hilarious next to the blistering heat that almost melted the skin off my body was the personalised welcome desk for "Shell" employees. I wish I had gotten this kind of treatment when I worked for Kent in Romania. Would have saved me a bit of hassle at good old Henri Coanda airport.
Eventually a purple bus came by and I jumped on board. The ticket lady told me it was going to the center of Bandar (Brunei's minature capital) so I kicked back and relaxed...
After passing the 2nd sign that indicated Bandar was in the opposite direction I started feeling queasy and leaned forward to ask the driver where exactly we were going. His answer: "Oh we go to %^&*£$ %£@!@^ you must get off here and take this bus" he informed me. - "Sorry"? I said in astonished bewilderment. "You told me you were going to the center when we left the airport". "No we're not, you must get off now" he said. Oh for feck's sake.
Thus I got off the bus and boarded another one that just happened to be coming our way. Of course I had to pay again and this time I insisted they inform me where they were going exactly before I let the driver close the door. "To central bus station" the answer came. Hm... We shall see, won't we!
So far I hadn't seen anything particularly spectacular and started to wonder what exactly I was meant to do for a whole day here.
Part of the reason why I was here in the first place was because I was already in the neighbourhood after just having finished my 9 day Earthwatch experience in the Malaysian rainforests of Borneo and the other part was because I was just really curious to see what this place was about anyway. I suppose the fact that the Footprint guide for Malaysia and Singapore completely omitted this tiny country could have been an indication that there was in fact nothing to see here.
But who knows. You only find out by exploring yourself right?
Eventually we reached the main bus station (a chaotic carpark style building on an unassuming highstreet). My little map showed a couple of places of interest so I ventured out along Jalan Sultan towards the recommended "Alat-Alat Kebesaran Diraja" - in other words "Place where his majesty displays all the great things he has". It took me a while to find the entrance considering all the windows and doors were blackened out and there didn't seem to be a single soul about. I also found this hilarious sign that made me laugh so hard that the sweat pearls of which I had already accumulated a great deal danced off my forehead and onto the burning concrete under my feet.
It read: "Assembly point for officers/staff and visitors in case of major desaster." Elaborate please!
Inside I was advised that I was not allowed to take any photos. God forbid anyone would see the Sultan's riches! The items on display ranged from strange ornaments and exquisite sculptures (mainly from other Muslim heads of state and ministers) to a real life display of the Sultan's magnificent golden carriage.
Boy how I wanted to be Sultan then!
In hindsight this was probably one of the most interesting sights out of the 3-4 or four that Bandar offers an eager visitor such as me.
Later I also visited the stamp collection at the local post office (see? I was having a good time) and tried to visit the magnificent Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, which I was not allowed to visit as a non-muslim since I decided to visit Brunei on a Thursday. Stupid me. So I was only allowed the view from outside (admittedly it was pretty awesome with its little boat-in-a-moat outside).
The heat was becoming unbearable in this stale midday sun so I looked for cover in the local Starbucks look alike "Coffee Bean" where I sipped on an iced latte for a while taking note of all the other coffee drinkers who came and went. A couple of expats, a couple of students and the occasional local business man.
Other than that there was little action on the streets of Bandar, capital of a dry country where only foreigners are allowed to bring in limited amounts of alcohol (as long as they are not Muslim).
Trying to make the most of my time here I later wandered down towards the water front to take a look at the ancient Kampung Ayer neighbourhood that was built on stilts across from the main business district of BSB. The little houses seemed too ancient and simple to be real. Little boats going to and fro delivering goods and carrying school children from one miniature island to the next. Ok granted, Brunei is not Dubai but it still struck me as strange, albeit I was glad to see some cultural heritage in a country that to me doesn't really stand for much else other than Oil, Oil and the Sultan.
With a couple of hours left to kill but not much of a tourist infrastructure available I decided to have a late lunch at Ismajaya, famed for its delicious curries. It was allllright to be hones but nothing to make you jump up in the air and scream: YUMMY!
Flicking through the 2-3 pages I managed to copy of someelse's Lonely Planet revealed little else that was worth seeing this afternoon.
My last resort of some kind of attraction was a little market called Tamu Kianggeh that amongst a couple of other things sold loads of dried fish. Ever had the pleasure of smelling dried fish for 20 minutes? Don't.
Disillusioned and somehow really unsatisfied I took the bus back to the airport (this time it dropped me a good 500m away from the small terminal building) and checked in for my return flight to Kota Kinabalu. Once inside the terminal I saw a huge crowd of bored Aussies waiting around for their flights home (be that Oz or UK) and I felt sympathy for them. This place was dead boring. If you happen to stop over in Brunei, think about it twice before you get lured onboard a RBA day tour of Bandar.
I am sure the country has much more to offer (lush rainforests, beaches etc...) but if you're just here for a couple of hours, maybe just bring a really good book instead.
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