We drove down to Brisbane on Tuesday; it was a good run despite heavier traffic than usual, a lot of travellers heading north. The day was quite warm and sunny after a cloudy beginning. We made very good time, arriving in Caloundra by 2.30pm, just 3.5 hours after leaving Bundaberg. Did our bit of business in Caloundra then went on to Redcliff to see Denise briefly and give her some of my lovely lemons. She has a very nasty cold.
We then went back to Burpengary to Helen and Cliff’s home where we were warmly welcomed and where we shall leave the Landover while we are away. The greyhound pups have grown well and are full of energy.
Wednesday dawned bright and sunny; it wasn’t as chilly as some mornings, only 8C. David has been spending some time trying to get this new laptop to work properly. We set off for the airport about 10am and had a good run. No wait for check in, fortunately we beat the rush but were still too late to get the emergency exit seats or bulk head ones. Bought some booze to take to Heather who like a tipple now and again.
The flight boarded on time and soon we were high over Brisbane and heading off in a north-westerly direction passing above try farmland and dams low in water. We ran into cloud that got more and more thick and so couldn’t see a thing. It cleared when we crossed the Gulf coast but again thickened as we crossed Arnham land clearing again as we headed out over Bathurst Island and on towards Indonesia. Then the cloud got thick again and stayed that way until we were almost at our destination. It was a little bumpy most of the way. The service on board was very good with a lovely meal and frequent drinks. Afternoon tea was served.
Took us quite a while to clear immigration upon arrival: We waited in a queue for ages only to be told when we got to the counter that I had to get a visa from another desk and that took a while too. Then when we got outside and no-one from the hotel was waiting I had to go and find a place where I could get some change and then make a phone call to the hotel, they then sent a van to collect us and also gave a lift to a couple of Dutch fellows who had been waiting hours for their hotel to send someone.
After we settled into our room we went out for a walk and found a night market nearby. Plenty of people strolling about and plenty of market stalls mostly selling food but some others selling just drinks or the general market junk you find all over the world. The buildings were all lit up with lights and along the streets coloured lights were strung. It turns out that the Sultan’s birthday was last Sunday the 15th, he turned 61 and this week is full of celebrations for that occasion. Some birthday party:
Next morning after a good breakfast at our hotel we set out to have a look around the city. We could see at least one Mosque not far away but as I was not dressed for visiting mosques we did not head in that direction. Instead we just wandered about a bit. Everywhere there were large posters with pictures of the Sultan and his age, on one side in our numerals and on the other in Arabic numerals. It seems that Malay uses both written scripts, the Latin script and the Arabic script, Malay being the primary language here and Islam the main religion. The majority of women wear the Islamic headwear but not over their faces, and in a wide range of colours:
In our wonderings we soon came to a large arena, we had been attracted to it by the din coming from the loud speakers. We went up into some stands where there were just a few people and watched from the shade an arena filled with school kids of all ages rehearsing a show for the celebrations. Just as we got there the announcer said they would go from the start one more time and that it was to be their 2nd last rehearsal. So after a few minutes rest in the shade they all headed out into the arena to go through their routine. There was a choir and a brass band, then there were several groups who did a routine with bright pink streamers. These were mainly older kids. The youngest ones came on with bright coloured tinsel tassels in a range of colours and brandished them around to the beat of some music. Some of them were in there normal clothes but some appeared to be wearing bright coloured satin costumes probably what they will wear for their feature performance. None of it was precision but it seemed the kids were enjoying themselves and no one got stressed out if one of them went the wrong way. Two men collapsed in the hot sun and had to be carted off on stretchers.
We came to the post office and found a tourist information office where we booked and afternoon trip on the river to see the Proboscis monkeys, hopefully. Also got a map and the lady advised us to visit the Royal Regalia museum that was not far away and free to visit.
We found it fairly easily and went inside. Had to take our shoes off and leave outside, and also put our camera in a locker, no photos allowed. It was an interesting museum however, and we spent quite a long time looking about and had the place almost to ourselves. There are displays of many of the costumes of the Sultan, not only the current Sultan but some of the past ones too. Included were his uniforms from his time at Sandhurst in England.
On display too were many gifts that have been presented to the Sultan from foreign dignitaries and heads of State. Lavish gifts that must have cost a great deal and they are just put on display in a museum. One that I took particular note of was a large model of a Palace, it was constructed entirely of tiny mirrors, many only about 1cm by .5cm. There were gold daggers encrusted with gemstones, models of mosques in gold and or silver, a solid crystal fish leaping.
Carriages too were on display. One small exquisite one that had been used when the Sultan was crowned, the crowns too were on display along with swords, shields, daggers, beetle leaf holders etc. A huge display of the carriage and procession through the streets of the city on the occasion of the Jubilee of the present Sultan coming to power, not sure what year that was: The carriage is mounted on wheels and 16 men in front and another 16 behind propel it along, just as well there are no hills around the city. The procession was made up of dignitaries and nobles of the aristocracy carrying ceremonial daggers, swords and shields.
Rooms dedicated to documents on the history of the country and its treaties with Britain; hallways filled with paintings many of them gifts from foreign countries. It really was an interesting place to visit.
In the afternoon we were picked up from our hotel and driven to the river where we boarded a long boat with an outboard for our trip to see the monkeys. There was just the boat drive, the guide and us. The river looked none too inviting, there was plenty of rubbish floating down, its tidal at this point and salt. Across from where we boarded is the water village where the houses are built on stilts over the water, we would visit it another day. We headed off upstream past the water village and soon pulled in to shore to see some crab catching monkeys, but these monkeys had other plans and could not be seen so we moved on. They catch crabs by dangling their tails down crab holes as bait, sometimes losing a bit of their tail in the process, so that as they get older their tail gets shorter. Oo! A bit painful I should think.
On one side we could see the Gold dome of the Sultans Palace and the roof of the convention hall, it was all that can be seen over the top of the dense vegetation along the river bank. Beyond the palace we passed under a bridge that crosses the river to the burial place of one of the past Sultans. Further on some of the ordinary houses were built on the bank and had small landing stages. Our boat driver saw a couple of crocodiles but they soon swam off so yours truly missed them, nothing unusual in that. Plenty of large white egrets along the river bank, had no trouble seeing them.
Mark, the boat driver was really good at sporting things and soon caught sight of some proboscis monkeys. We pulled in amongst the mangroves and saw the branches moving, then caught sight of the animals themselves. They are quite a honey colour with the big males a darker colour and the youngsters a bit lighter. It is surprising how well these animals with this colouring blend into the deep green of the mangroves they live amongst. These ones we caught a glimpse of here soon moved off. As we headed out of here back to the river Mark spotted a huge monitor lizard lying on a tree branch right beside us. He was very large, the size of a small crocodile, about 1.5m long with a thick vertical fin like tail that is very powerful, it would really power him through the water I should think. With their dark grey colouring they are the same colour as the tree branches where they like to rest. This one did not move but had his eyes open watching us carefully.
Just a short way further upstream and Mark spotted a yellow ring snake in a tree over the water, it was a good 30m away when he spotted it but we were practically right underneath it before we could see it wound up tightly around a branch. A bit further on Mark again spotted some of the monkeys and this time we were very lucky in seeing a troop of about 5 in the grass very near. As we pulled further in amongst the mangroves they moved off a short way and climbed some trees but they were still easy to see even for me using my binoculars. These monkeys the largest of their species, eat the mangrove leaves and these leaves contain poison but the monkeys have 7 compartments to their stomaches and the first one contains bacteria that breaks down the poison in the leaves. They must not however eat bananas as the sugar in bananas would kill the bacteria and so without those bacteria to break down the poison in the mangrove leaves the monkeys would then die from the poison.
There are two species of these mangroves too, one is used for making the stilts of the stilt houses, it does not rot in the salt water. The wood from the other species of mangrove is used for making charcoal that the people use for cooking.
After some considerable time watching the monkeys do very little we headed back towards town as the thunder roared, lightening flashed and it began to rain. Mark took us through the stilt village pointing out the primary schools, the fire stations, and boat service stations that have been built to service this community of around 30,000 people. Back on the landing stage we thanked our guide, he, hadn’t really done much, and our boat driver Mark, and were driven back to our hotel.
In the evening, after the rain had stopped we went out to the market and looked about at what was on offer from the small restaurants. We had a really lovely meal for around $10 (local currency). The Brunei dollar is on par with the Singapore dollar and both currencies are used in the country. Most of the local notes are synthetic the same as Australian notes.
The next day dawned fine and sunny again. It was Friday, the Moslem religious holiday of the week, like our Sunday. Still, we found when we went out that many of the shops were open as usual.
Our first port of call this morning was the lovely little Chinese Temple. Painted bright red with some green trim it is overshadowed by much taller and bulkier concrete structures on two sides. Its cool interior offered a break from the heat outside. The inside walls are decorated with lovely panels of tiles. 16 tiles to a square, 10 squares in a row and 5 rows high, each square was a picture, probably hand painted, and together they probably told a story but I couldn’t really work it out. Then again, I wasn’t sure which way they are meant to be read, being Chinese perhaps they are meant to be read top to bottom and right to left. Can’t cope with that sorry!!! There were four walls of such panels.
Other larger squares of larger tiles showed pictures of men or deities riding creatures. Some were animals that we could recognize like a horse, bull, lion, tiger, camel, or straddling a bird with wings extended, but some of the others were mythical creatures. A large tile picture was of a tiger with a cub biting its tail, it was really beautiful. The air was filled with the fragrant smell of burning incense and 3 deities were encased in glass overseeing all. I think it was a Taoist or Confucian Temple, but I can’t tell the difference between them.
Back outside on the opposite side of the road and across the ditch is another market so we went for a stroll through it. Plenty of fresh fruit and vegies, namely the Chinese vegies like bok choi and pak choi, big fat snake beans, not like my poor little ones I’ve been growing at home, great big hands of small green and ripe bananas, rambatans, and lots of other things. Other stalls had the usual Asian array of tiny dried fish and shrimps as well as large dried fish all of which smell quite foul. The stalls were mostly run by women, Moslem or otherwise.
We went for a look at the arts and craft centre but there wasn’t really much on offer, some wood carving and fabrics woven with gold threads, some intricate silver wear and not another soul about expect for someone behind the counter. Everything was supposedly discounted but still far from being a bargain.
At the river we took a water taxi across to the Stilt Village and walked about there on the wooden walkways that link everything together. Boats whizzed by under us along the waterways, stray skinny cats slinked by and could be seen walking on the massed garbage that has collected under the houses in the tidal shallows. That garbage was incredibly unsightly and composed mainly of things that could easily be recycled like plastic bags and bottles, old furniture, and plenty of broken styro packaging. A flock of gray herons lived in a few mangrove trees growing in one place and scavenge a living from the garbage. Saw lots of little girls dressed up in their finest clothes going off to or coming home from prayers at the Mosque. They looked lovely in their yellow dresses and white veils. Did not see many other people about though, only those on the boats that were whizzing about.
Some of the houses are brightly painted and well maintained whilst others are in a poor state. They all have electricity and running water but no sanitation, that goes straight into the water or tidal mud flats, the fish live on the effluent and people catch the fish to eat. I was not going to eat fish in Brunei. We could see the charred stumps of houses that have burnt down.
Some people had lovely gardens made up of pot plants both large and small. The houses looked to be quite large but we really didn’t get to see inside any. There were television antennas and/or satellite dished on every house.
In the afternoon we walked up to a nearby recreational park. We expected that there would be a lot of people about having picnic etc. Indeed there were plenty of cars parked in the lot but when we came to walking along the paths we had the place to ourselves, don’t know where everybody was. We found our way to a small waterfall and large pool that is supposedly used for swimming but I wouldn’t even paddle my feet in the muddy looking water let alone swim in it. Sat in the shade and watched some insects for a while before returning the way we’d come. As we walked along the street we saw some small monkeys playing on a high security fence, one sat on the barbed wire at the top and watched while the others could squeeze between the upright wire struts and appeared to be playing around them.
Another storm in the late afternoon with plenty of thunder and lightening but not a great deal of rain, by 8pm the rain had gone but the lightening show continued on filling the night sky with a wonderful display.
On our last day we took a bus ride to visit a recreational area that was recommended to us by a fellow in the information office. He gave David instructions on which bus to catch, where to get off and directions from there, however when we got off at the stop indicated we were outside a large department store in the suburbs. We went in and asked directions and after one person after another coming to our aid we ended up talking to the head girl who told us that the place we wanted, Wasa Kendal was quite a distance away, back the way we’d come but not signposted at all. We walked back some way but could see noting that looked like a recreational area so went back to town and took another bus to Jeradong beach. It was an interesting drive through suburbs and patches of forest. Past smart modern houses that very much resemble ones at home or older wooden ones, none with wide verandas as you would expect to see in such tropical climes but all had air conditioning systems along with satellite dishes. Past Mosques and schools and vibrant bougainvillea in flower:
The beach when we came to it wasn’t much to look at, a narrow strip of sand and a gently lapping bright turquoise sea, little rock breakwaters that were disintegrating. A grassy strip with a few small pines trees gave a patchy bit of shade between parking lot and beach. There was a little litter about but not much. A large fish market faced the parking lot and the beach but only a few stall hadn’t yet closed up. I must say that these stall are kept scrupulously clean as there was no lingering stench or stale or rotting fish even on as hot a day as this was. Behind these stalls were a few others selling fruit and veg and other household supplies but not a customer in site.
Altogether there was not much to see here so we found a shop where we could buy an ice-cream and caught the bus back to town. Near this beach there is also an amusement park that was once just a playground for the Sultan alone but after his 48th birthday he opened it to the public, I believe its free entry.
As evening came and the storm clouds gathered again it was time for us to head off to the airport for our flight on to England.
©Lynette Regan 23rd July 2007