Bandar Seri Begawan

By Rough Guy'd

The first day of my big trip saw me take it at a rather sedentary pace, all things considered. I had only planned to stay one night in Brunei as I was taking an overnight plane. This gave me two days and one night before I moved on to Singapore to see family and plan the next part of my trip. I had been advised that many of the pulling points of Brunei could be seen on a much grander scale and for a fraction of the cost in neighbouring Malaysia. Early on, I realised that planning too far ahead was a silly move and I resolved not have a real plan yet after Singapore.

So after arriving safely, I tried to take a bus into town but quickly found myself stumbling around looking for the bus stop. As expected, a taxi soon noticed me and tried to give me a ride. At first I tried to wait for the bus but quickly realised that despite the guidebook suggesting bus numbers and price, none were forthcoming and I had to give up and take a taxi. At this point, the taxi tried to charge me extra for picking me up in the airport (apparently they had to pay a fee) so instead I walked ten metres outside and got a cheaper one.

One point I will make now. Though I tried not to rely on the guidebook, I found that their recommendations for accommodation were usually excellent and in all honesty a lot better than the taxi drivers/tuk tuk drivers that would sell me onto certain places. Thus at most destinations, I picked a guesthouse/hostel before arriving and only after trying and failing (because of vacancy, drop in standards etc) did I have a look at their choices for me.

One thing I discovered about Bandar Seri Begawan is that most of the town could be seen by walking. This country is not very big and though there was a fair bit of roads into more rural area, the only convenient way to get there was by taxi. As it was, I spent the first day going to the Brunei museum (though museums can be considered by people to be dry, I found them fascinating as much for the history they contained as for the point of view of the local people) and for a free museum, it did not disappoint. Lots of amazing things here including lots of Islamic art.

At night, I ended up wandering around the, admittedly sleepy, town. I managed to strike up a conversation with some of the local youths who basically told me the only thing they do for fun is text each other. Hmmm, just like home but without the alcohol then. After hanging around with them for a couple of hours, I headed back for some sleep.