Brunei 4th-6th May

Brunei was our first stop out of Singapore. We were welcomed by Mr Nithi, Deputy Ambassador of Singapore Embassy. We went through customs in a breeze and we were given a preview on what to expect in the next few days in Brunei. Being able to speak in Malay, it was much easier for me to remember the names of the places of interests that we were recommended to go to to be able to meet with the local people.
The first thing that we noticed about Brunei was the slow and steady pace that was taken by the community there. Every 5-10 mins of traveling on the vehicle, we'd only see 1 or 2 people walking down the pavement by the road. Massive difference from Singapore I'd say.
At a nearby shopping mall appropriately called, “The Mall”. Supposedly the mini-orchard of Brunei, we were greeted by an almost deserted mall. Families in Brunei normally spend their Sundays at home with their families. Overall, the locals could speak English so communication wasn't really a problem. We were then greeted by this group of cute young girls who just came from a birthday party. After a short while of interacting with them, we noticed a group of middle-aged ladies standing around us. At first impression, I thought they were the children's mothers but then Damien shed some light on it saying that they were actually the maids of the children. One to attend to every single one of them. At that point of time, we realized, we might be with the children of some of the richest families in Brunei. Stroke of luck brought us to meet another group of girls but this time teenagers. They were very friendly and the thing is, they really look like Singaporean Chinese school girls. One of them willing to become our tour guide on the next day.

We went to Kampong Ayer, (water village), it is actually a village of Kampongs built on stilts. Very traditional. We were there at sunset so the whole place was majestic. We didn't managed to get to the village but we did pay an amount for a boat to bring us around the village. A nice touch of tradition amongst the concrete buildings around the island. Even though we only had an afternoon to catch the sights, I felt that it was well worth it the places we went to for the day. Point to note; never wait for a cab in Brunei, there only 30 in the whole state. One more thing, everyone owns a car in Brunei.
Breakfast was a 'treat' as we were greeted by many breakfast sets, only difference between them? The way the egg was prepared. We were treated to a number of Brunei goodies which looked familiar to me but then they were presented differently than in Singapore. Finally something familiar, to me at least.
That night,we met up with this girl and mum who we met the previous day who became our guides. And we happen to find out that her family was rumored to be the richest family in Brunei (they own a chain of 8 huge departmental stores around Brunei, “Hua Ho Supermarket”). Really nice to be able to meet nice people who were able to trust perfect strangers to bring us to the Palace and this huge Pasar Malam. Every store had a shop space, compared to Singapore but then they didn't have so much things to sell, and even sold them at super low prices. Imagine a packet of Nasi Lemak was sold at 80cents. (notice the ease of converting Brunei currency). This was where we had the 'Pop Pop' icicle. Just bad-tasting crushed ice with flavored powder. Of course being in that place was a treat for me and Damien as we were suckers for places with such good environment for taking pictures, with all the smoke from the food and the bright tungsten lights. This was also a place where the Brunei families came together at night to make a living and mingle with the rest of the community.
At this point of time, we were feeling that Brunei was coming to an end. Going to the Singapore Embassy after that was a treat. It felt like it was a small part of Singapore, in Brunei. Ambassador, “It's easier to strike oil in Brunei then to hail down a cab”. So we were told to take a picture with the cab because of the it's rarity in Brunei. “Empire Hotel”, just it's name sounds majestic, needless to say the hotel itself. Built by the Sultan, the whole place looked like it was made with gold. It even had its own mini man-made beach within its compound. It was plain ridiculous. Never thought I'd come face to face with such a fancy place, it was almost surreal.