C & C globetrotting around the world…

Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands about 30km off the coast of Malaysia in the Andaman Sea. It is close to the border with Thailand and we went there to recharge our batteries. We will soon be flying back to Europe and there we have a full schedule visiting friends and family. Langkawi means reddish brown eagle and we saw many soaring above our heads during our stay. Only the main island is inhabited and has been targeted by the Malaysian government for tourism development. There are mountains, nature parks, waterfalls and a giant aquarium, as well as many options to go island-hopping. We decided to only go to the beach and take advantage of the sun and sea during our one week-long stay. We were very lucky with the weather too, as it was sunny during the day and it only rained in the evening, between 6pm and 4am. We spent our time going to the beach in the morning for an hour or two, then coming back before lunch and returning again to the beach in the afternoon for 2 to 3 hours. Not only is the sun dangerous around lunch, but it was also way to hot to stay out. We would take refuge in our room where the air-conditioning was set to 30 degrees and it felt nice and cool ;). Our guesthouse was only a 5-minute-walk from the beach and a fun place to meet fellow travellers. We also discovered some cheap restaurants close-by, as most places cater to higher-end tourists.

The tranquillity of the beach and the fine powdery sand made up for the lack of the perfect vivid turquoise waters we expected. We had a good time sunbathing, swimming, exercising, walking on the beach and watching the beautiful and romantic sunsets.

From Bali we flew to KL and then a few hours later we had a connection to Penang. It was actually cheaper to fly than take a bus, so we went with the time-saving option. Arrived in town, we were picked up by Rudy, our CS friend from Brunei. We stayed with him and his girlfriend in Penang, which was great. The island of Penang in the Strait of Melacca has a similar history to Melacca, influenced by trade and settlement of the British in the 18^th century. The historic city of Georgetown which was granted UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site status in 2008 has grown to encompass the entire island. The city has a rich collection of historic buildings in colonial, Chinese and Muslim styles to name a few, making for an interesting tour. They reflect the various ethnicities making up Penang, but also Malaysia: Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Malays as well as Indonesians, Siamese, Burmese and Europeans. It has grown from a swampy town to a bustling trading post and is now an important economic hub as well. Malaysians like to eat, but nowhere is it as evident as in Penang. There are many local specialities and the people take pride in being the food capital of Malaysia. It seems like all activities one does are just sprinkled between the tasting of various dishes.

On the first day we went to town to walk around a bit. For dinner we went to a Baba Nonya restaurant with Rudy and Amelleia. The place, in a traditional Baba Nonya house, was fancy and the food delicious. Rudy ordered a bunch of different dishes, complementing each other in taste and texture. Really good!

On the second day, we visited Fort Cornwallis, built by Francis Light immediately after his landing on the island and was used as an administrative centre. We then walked along the promenade past Town Hall, City Hall and Padang Kota Lama. This green space is where young girls were shown off and threw oranges into the ocean to find a suitable partner. With the backdrop of the nice colonial buildings, “Anna and the King” was shot around here as well. We also saw the Leaning Clock Tower, a 60-foot clocktower built by an opulent Penang millionaire to show off his wealth. It was completed in 1902 to commemorate the 60^th year of Queen Victoria’s reign. Because of a bomb that fell close-by during the war, the tower is now leaning. We also visited St George’s Church, an Anglican Church completed in 1818 and with a very simple interior, typical of Anglican churches. Along the same street is the Cathedral of the Assumption which is almost as old as Penang itself. We then went to the Christian Cemetery, the resting place of many pioneers of the island. We walked under the frangipani trees and found, amongst others, the tomb of Francis Light, founder of Penang.

From there we just made it in time for the 3pm tour of the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, dubbed “La Maison Bleue”. This is a flamboyant masterpiece built by one of the wealthiest businessmen of Penang at the turn of the 20^th century. He had arrived penniless from Guangdong in southern China at age 16 and slowly built an empire. He was seen as one of the most historic and colourful personalities of the era and inspired many to follow in his steps. The floorplan of the house is typical Chinese with a beautiful courtyard, but there is some Western influence, such as the Gothic louvered windows and Scottish cast iron works. There is very intricate Chinese cut-&-paste porcelain work decorating the roofs, the most beautiful we’ve seen so far. Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures inside, but it was quite a sight. The Mansion is not open to the public outside the guided tours as it serves as a “historical hotel”. We then walked through the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, a fancy hotel opened by the Armenian Sarkis brothers in a series of other elegant hotels throughout Asia, such as the Strand in Yangon. We found out that Hermann Hesse and Karl May were here too. This time, we cooked for dinner. Rudy and Amelleia asked us to cook something European, so we decided to make Romanian “Sarmalute in foi de vita”, the summer version of cabbage rolls. They turned out pretty good and we were very happy that our hosts liked them.

Penang is really all about food. We even stayed a day longer in order to have more time to try the local delicacies. We did a few things in between, but it just felt like we ate all day. We started off with a snack of “char kuay teow” – stir-fried flat rice noodles. Afterwards we walked around a bit, passed the Kapitan Keling Mosque by the Indian Muslim community, then admired the typical Chinese shophouses of Penang. We visited Khoo Kong Si, a showcase of the prosperity of the Khoo clan. Built around 1900, it is one of the most ornate clan houses outside China and probably the most beautiful we have seen on our trip. Before going back to our hosts’, we had a few more snacks, of course.

After breakfast we left for our tour of Bali, which we had booked before leaving to Lombok but post-poned due to rain. Public transportation is practically non-existent since the locals all have scooters now. Therefore, you have to rely on tours and drivers for tourists. We had a car with a driver to take us to some sights we selected. Our first stop was the Elephant Cave (Goa Gajah) which was built in the 9th century and serves as a sanctuary. Then, we visited the Pura Tirta Empul (Holy Spring Water Temple), famous for its holy water and the place where Hindu Bali people go for purification. Built in 926 AD, it has Bali’s holiest spring in its centre and is surrounded by the peaceful, shady gardens. The holy spring water is believed to have magical powers. There is also a legend about the death of King Mayadenawa, symbolising the victory of good over evil.

On the way to Mount Batur, we stopped at a coffee plantation where we got to sample some local coffee, tea, chocolate and fruits. Just as we were approaching Mount Batur, it started to rain and we were scared that we won’t see anything. Luckily, the clouds cleared and we were rewarded with a view of the cone and the caldera with the lake. Mount Batur (Gunung Batur, 1,717m high), which has erupted 24 times since 1800, is still active today. Actually, it has two concentric calderas. The inner caldera contains an active, 700-metre-tall stratovolcano rising above the surface of Lake Batur. With its 18 sq km, Lake Batur is the biggest lake in Bali and functions as an irrigation source to all farmers around it.

From there we drove to Pura Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung. The Mother Temple of Besakih is the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali. It was built in the 14^th century and sees about 70 festivals celebrated here every year. While we were there, preparations were underway for yet another celebration. This Mother Temple is actually a complex made up of twenty-two temples that sit on parallel ridges. It has stepped terraces and flights of stairs which ascend to a number of courtyards and brick gateways that in turn lead up to the main spire (symbolizing Mount Meru, the centre of the universe in Hinduism). All this is aligned along a single axis and designed to lead the spiritual person upward and closer to the mountain which is considered sacred. A series of eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963, which killed approximately 1,700 people also threatened Puru Besakih. The lava flows missed the temple complex by mere meters. The saving of the temple is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous, and a sign from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected. Mount Agung is the highest point on the island and dominates the surrounding area influencing the climate. The clouds come from the west and Agung takes their water so that the west is lush and green and the east dry and barren. The Balinese believe that Mount Agung is a replica of Mount Meru, the central axis of the universe. One legend holds that the mountain is a fragment of Meru brought to Bali by the first Hindus. It last erupted in 1963-1964 and is still active, with a large and very deep crater which occasionally belches smoke and ash. From a distance, the mountain appears to be perfectly conical, despite the existence of the large crater.

Our last stop on the tour was Semarapura. The Klungkung Palace is a historical building complex situated in Semarapura, the capital of the Klungkung Regency. The Klungkung kingdom was considered to be the highest and most important of the nine kingdoms of Bali from the late 17th century to 1908. The palace was erected at the end of the 17th century, but largely destroyed during the Dutch colonial conquest in 1908. Today the basic remains of the palace are the court of justice, the Kertha Gosa Pavilion, and the main gate. Within the old palace compound is also a floating pavilion, Bale Kambing, which was added in the 1940s. At the end of the 18th century, the Kertha Gosa Pavilion, the hall of justice, was erected in the north-eastern corner of the palace compound. It typified the Klungkung style of architecture and painting. Kertha Gosa was considered the supreme court of Bali, and cases on the island which could not be resolved were transferred to this site. Three Brahmana priests presided over the court and were known for their harsh and inhumane sentences. The convicts (as well as visitors today) were able to view the ceiling which depicted different punishments while they were awaiting sentencing. The Dutch intervention in Bali in 1908 marked the final phase of Dutch colonial control over the island of Bali. The intervention was triggered by a Balinese revolt against a Dutch attempt to impose an opium monopoly in their favour. The Dutch sent troops to repress the riots. In a final confrontation on 18 April 1908, Dewa Agung Jambe, the Raja of Klungung, was shot by a Dutch bullet. The Dutch burned the Royal Palace to the ground. The surviving members of the royal family were exiled and the palace was largely razed to the ground. In 1929 the family was allowed to return, and settled in the newly built Puri Agung. We arrived back in Ubud before dark and enjoyed a quite evening. Bali has many more interesting sights, historic, cultural or nature, but this tour gave a nice overview of the island and its variety.

After the disappointment on Lombok, we returned to Padangbai on Bali. There at least the beach had been nice, even if not ideal. It’s a bit frustrating because we spent the first sunny day in a week in transit. The ferry was rocking back and forth in the waves so much, that we got nauseous. A lady sat down next to Cecilia and started talking. She said she doesn’t speak English well, but that she likes to practice it. When she saw that Cecilia’s nausea wasn’t getting better, she offered her Tiger Balm oil to apply on the nostrils. It worked almost instantly, which was a huge relief. Tiger Balm is really used for everything in Asia: aching muscles, head ache, nausea, mosquito bites, etc. We finally arrived back in Padangbai and went to look for a guesthouse. We found a place for 200,000 rupiahs and decided to splurge and spend the extra $5 for a hot shower, aircon, a mosquito net and internet in the room. We showered (with HOT water), which felt heavenly and managed to get the sand out of our hair, hehe. Sometimes it’s the little things in life that matter, like a hot shower.

The following day, we spent it relaxing on the beach. Although it was pretty early, it was nice not waking up to the sound of the alarm clock or loud motorbikes. We had breakfast on the terrace, reading and sipping our coffee. Then we set off to the beach which we had discovered last time, 10 minutes away. We suntanned and swam for about 2 hours, then ate lunch and headed back to the room until we returned around 3-4pm. We swam a lot, since the water was even better than in the morning and there was no sun to tan. We read and sipped a coconut, which was fun.

On our last day in Padangbai, we spent the afternoon at the beach and although it wasn’t very sunny, we had nice swims in the water. We sipped the usual coconut, ate its flesh and enjoyed reading. When the massage girl came back to nag Cecilia to get a massage done, she conceded to half an hour. The girl still wanted to charge 30,000 rupiahs, the same price as for an hour. Funny girl! She said it was not good business just 15,000. Or maybe she can’t do the math? In any case, we told her we’ll come back tomorrow for a full hour massage. It’s kind of unfortunate, but the vendors really come to bug us all the time. It’s probably due to the fact that it’s low season and business is slow, but when you just want to relax, it’s annoying when you get nagged every few minutes. They are also pretty persistent, starting off by “Hello, where are you from? What’s your name? Nice to meet you. Where are you staying? Would you like to buy a bracelet?” We know they’re just trying to make a living, but it’s annoying nevertheless. The result is that we don’t feel like talking to anyone anymore, because you know they will try to sell you something. It’s too bad, because we feel like we’re missing out on the culture. Although Lombok and Padangbai was far from the beach vacation we had hoped for, it was still pleasant.

We took a mini-bus to Padang Bai, from where the ferries leave to Lombok. We decided to spend a night there to see a small and less touristy town. Around 4pm when the sun wasn’t as strong anymore, we set off to go to the beach. There we were greeted by a lady with a fresh coconut. That was exactly what we needed! There was a girl selling sarongs and we decided to buy one, which will double as a beach towel for 20,000 rupiahs ($2). The water was warm enough to go straight in, but still cool enough to refresh. Unfortunately we hadn’t brought our swimming suits, so we couldn’t go in, but it was nice to be at the beach, sipping a coconut and listening to some local guys playing music and singing songs. In town during the evening, there were lots of people dressed in white carrying baskets and going to the temple. We found out that today is celebration of the town’s biggest Hindu temple and that’s why everyone is going. We would have liked to go to see the dancing and the performance, but were stopped by the rain that started after dinner.

The next day after breakfast, we took the ferry from Padang Bai to Lombok. On the other side, we were picked up and driven in a mini-van to Kuta (Lombok). We had read that the road was the worst in Asia, but it turns out the road was very good and even had a highway for part of the way. Right away we could see that we had left Bali. Here, there are mosques everywhere, as Lombok is Muslim (like the rest of Indonesia). We arrived in Kuta before dark and we quickly found a guesthouse. After buying a pair of flip-flops for Cecilia (hers broke when getting off the ferry), we had a yummy dinner (grilled chicken with a great sauce and fish & chips with a beer) at our guesthouse. We were looking forward to a nice beach vacation here. We really need to relax a bit, as we are both a bit tired and grumpy.

In the morning, we had breakfast at our hotel. It’s nice that in Myanmar and here breakfast is included in the room rate. The coffee was not that good, especially Christoph’s that had more “satz” than actual coffee. We found out that the way they make coffee here is by putting the ground coffee in your cup and pouring hot water over it. Yeah, not exactly the way we like it. It’s too bad, because Indonesian coffee is good, but the way they prepare it, isn’t. We then went to the beach, but were very disappointed by it. It was dirty and not nice at all, so we kept on walking in search of a better one. After a while we did come to a nice one that was clean and had beautiful white sand. The waves were huge – great for surfing- but way too strong for us. We only went in the water to our knees, but the waves splashed us from head to toe and the current was really strong, pulling us in. We drank a coconut and then headed back to our hotel. In the afternoon and evening it rained almost continuously, so we took cover inside. We had a really delicious lunch at Bule Restaurant and a great dinner with some French people.

The next morning a mini-bus picked us up and drove us from Kuta Lombok to Senggigi, also on Lombok. We hoped the beach is better there, as we were bitterly disappointed in Kuta. There, on the other side of the road from our hotel was “The Beach Club”, nicely set up. There we had lunch and chilled on their bamboo terrace overlooking the beach. When the rain stopped a bit we tried going swimming, but the waves are very strong, so we only went in a bit. We decided to chill on the bamboo terrace, listening and watching the waves whipping the beach. It was very impressive and we could feel the thump of the strong waves. What was also interesting is that there were waves going back into the sea, something we had never seen before. We spent the afternoon there reading books and working on the blog. With a sense of accomplishment we watched the sunset and the huge waves before having a nice and delicious candle-lit dinner. The next day, we chilled on the bamboo terrace at the Beach Club again, having a fruit platter and reading our books. We had a delicious lunch and then chilled some more, reading and answering emails. Later Cecilia got a massage on the beach to the sound of the waves, which was wonderful. At sunset we ordered some cocktails and kept on reading while sipping the delightful concoctions. We had a delicious dinner and watched a funny movie in our room to end the night. We had been told that Lombok is nice because it’s less touristy. There are indeed less tourists, but there is a reason :-). Had it not rained every day and we been surfers to take advantage of the enormous waves, Lombok would have most probably left a different impression on us. It wasn’t the ideal beach vacation (especially because of the weather), but it was relaxing and we had really amazing food.

From Brunei, we flew to Bali, connecting in KL again. Our first stop on Bali is Ubud, the cultural and artistic heart of the island. This is also where the last part of “Eat, Pray, Love” plays and the place gained even more fame because of it. One hears so much about this tropical paradise, we were excited to discover it for ourselves.

We slept in and got served breakfast on the terrace when we woke up. We walked around Ubud, taking in the atmosphere. There are lots of art galleries, shops overflowing with all kinds of artifacts and souvenirs and the streets are lined with cafes and restaurants. In between there are plenty of spas the never-ending touts trying to sell you tours and taxis. The architecture is beautiful and everything is so wonderfully green, it’s a pleasure to walk around. After a delicious lunch (curry and Soto Ayam soup), we went back to our guesthouse. It was pouring and there were puddles in the alleyway, so we took off our flip-flops so as not to slip and started running. It was pretty fun and we were laughing like kids. Our guesthouse, Jati Homestay, is wonderfully located. We spent the afternoon relaxing on the beautiful terrace facing the lush green rice paddies and reading. It is a very calming and pretty sight! We had dinner at a small restaurant and then headed for a Balinese Dance show. The shows used to be performed to entertain the kings of Ubud and featured many different scenes. We enjoyed most the “Bumblebee Dance”, depicting the courtship ritual from a famous traditional love story. The main characteristic of all the dances is that the women adopt postures that seem unnatural for us, with their bums protruding. The “dance” consists of them moving their hands and eyes, thereby telling a story. The show was interesting to see, but not really to our liking. We will definitely not send our kids to Balinese dance lessons, :).

The next day we wondered through the streets, being careful not to step on the flower offerings lining them. These offerings are little baskets made of young palm leaves filled with flowers and sometimes a bit of rice. They are for the gods and the Balinese put out at least one or two of these offerings per day. They are also available to be bought at the market, but Balinese women usually spend a lot of time preparing these colourful baskets and offering them to the gods in a little ritual where they sprinkle water everywhere, a symbol of purification. We then found the way leading up to the rice paddies and walked for a while, admiring the various shades of green and the lush paddies beautifully lined with coconuts. The water system is also remarkable and the entire sight was breathtaking. For lunch we stopped at Sari Organic, an organic farm and restaurant amidst the paddies. The location, beautiful presentation and the great taste were a pleasure for the senses. After lunch we hung around, waiting for the rain to pass, while taking in the serenity of the surroundings. We then continued our walk, coming across ducks and birds feasting on the little snails in the paddies’ mud. The contrast of the immaculate white animals against the intense green of the rice plants was magnificent and Cecilia kept on saying how beautiful it all was. There was also a painter there and one can imagine how inspiring the landscape here is. We walked for quite some time, along the ridge of the Ayung river and eventually found a way out of the rice fields. We walked back towards Ubud through some villages.

After our trip to Lombok and Padangbai, we returned to Ubud for 3 more days. Besides a tour we did, we spent some time soaking up the atmosphere, buying some souvenirs, watching movies, relaxing and having good food. Cecilia would have liked to go to the medicine man from “Eat, Pray, Love” (he actually exists), but he charges $25 for a visit and we read that since he has become so popular, he doesn’t really take it seriously anymore, instead he tells people the same thing. That would be a waste of money, so we skipped it. Next time to Bali, Cecilia wants to do a Yoga Retreat, as there are lots on offer. Most of them are for a week or so and include healthy food, so it would be fun to do.

There is so much beautiful art in Ubud, we wanted to take some home. We walked to a street lined with workshops and stores in quest of souvenirs. It was nice to see some artisans at work and some really interesting pieces being created. We saw many beautiful lamps and vases, but unfortunately they are too big or fragile to bring home. Later we met up with Viviana, a Romanian girl we had met the previous day, and together we went to the Monkey Forest, a nice shady monkey sanctuary. The macaques are funny creatures, eating, playing and sitting around. There were even some cute babies, tightly clinging to their mommies’ fur. We then went to Cinta Bar with Viviana and had 2 for 1 mojitos. We had really interesting talks about Afghanistan and Angola, where she worked for 8 years. We talked only in Romanian and Christoph understood everything, which surprised him and made Cecilia very proud. Later in the evening, it started pouring and the power went out due to the heavy storm and rain. We were given a candle by the staff and finally got to use our matches that we’ve been carrying around for the last 7 months.

The next morning, the weather was sunny. We had read that there is a ceremony going on at a temple, so we went to check it out. Whenever there is a temple festival, men dress in white to attend and women prepare huge offerings of flowers and fruit, which they care to the temple on their heads. There were also some musicians and an older “wise” man, so it was nice to see. Initially we had wanted to go on another tour to see more temples, lakes and sunsets, but decided against it. Since it was our last day in Bali, we pampered ourselves and got a relaxing shiatsu massage. It felt really good, especially since we have a tiring night ahead of us (at the airport). We spent the afternoon on the breezy roof-top terrace in a restaurant with excellent food, coffee and cake.

We spent the night at LCCT in KL (low cost carrier terminal in Kuala Lumpur). Luckily we were able to sit at McDonald’s where it was nice and cool and relatively comfortable. We had breakfast there (you can’t have the healthiest eating habits when spending the night at the airport) before checking in for our flight to Brunei. Christoph had always wanted to go to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, because of its name. We are now closer than we’ll ever be, so we decided to hop over for a few days.

Arrived at the airport in BSB, as it is often called, we tried to find a bus. We had read that public transportation is a rarity in this small country because everyone has a car. Taxis apparently don’t really exist either. We talked to 2 police officers and they sent us walking in one direction, to wait for a bus at the highway junction. We were there looking around and before we knew it, someone stopped the car and offered us a ride down-town. Of course at first we were a bit skeptical, but we didn’t have a choice except for walking the 10km to town and it being a safe country, we decided to go. The man was a Brunei Chinese who has lived in Vancouver. His mother still lived in Edmonton and he was very happy to drive us to our hotel and chat with us. Wow, we couldn’t believe it. We checked into our guesthouse and were not too happy to see that our $35-room looked like a hospital room converted into a hotel room with no bathroom attached. We still took it, since the next cheapest thing would have been a room at $70. Anyway, we won’t be spending time in the room and it’s clean, so that’s what matters. After a good nap, we went to a travel agency to get some info. The guy (Rudy) there was amazing: a true tourist information centre. He gave us lots of information without trying to sell us a tour, which was really nice for a change. He is a traveller himself and we talked a lot. In the end it turned out he is a CSer and told us that there was a CS dinner the following evening. That was his last day at work and he was moving to Penang next week. We were lucky. For the rest of the afternoon and evening, we walked around town and went to see the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. This grand mosque was built by the current Sultan’s father in the 1950’s. Unfortunately we couldn’t go in, but it’s impressive from the outside.

The next day, we took a boat across the Brunei river to Kampung Ayer, the largest water village in the world. It has about 20,000 inhabitants and there are more houses being built. Some like to refer to it as “Venice of the East”. It has many walkways on stilts connecting the houses, the mosques and the schools. There is also a museum showcasing the history of the area. This water village has moved around during its history and was the capital of Brunei, until the British decided to move the capital on land and founded Bandar Seri Begawan. Actually, BSB was called Bandar Brunei (Brunei town) until 1970 when it changed its name to Bandar Seri Begawan, after the Sultan’s father, who abdicated from the throne at that date. After having walked around in the heat, we took the boat back to BSB. There we walked around a bit, hoping to meet some people from Waldrach. Christoph’s mom told us there are 4 people from there visiting Brunei at the same time as we were there, so we were hoping to meet them, which would have been really funny. In a cafe, we met people from Rheinland-Pfalz, the same Bundesland as Christoph, but not the same town. They were on a stop-over with the AIDA cruise and we talked to them for a bit. We then walked through a shopping mall and were disappointed. We had heard that Brunei is so rich and that shopping is the people’s favourite hobby (along with eating), but the stores here don’t look that appealing at all. Maybe the people just fly to Singapore or Europe? We also visited the Royal Regalia Museum, a museum where the Sultan exposes many gifts he received from around the world. Since the CS dinner was a bit further away, we tried to take the bus, but no Bruneian could agree on which bus to take, not even the ones on the bus we took. We ended up getting off the bus and decided to walk, since it wasn’t that far. Secretly we were hoping a Chinese Bruneian would come and offer us a ride again :).

We met 8 CSers at the Lemongrass Restaurant in Kiulap. It’s a Thai restaurant and it was nice to have Thai food again, our favourite. One guy only stayed for a bit, but he paid our drinks, which was really nice. We chatted during dinner and it was entertaining. Then, we went for dessert to another place, this time with only 4 other people. Two girls left pretty quickly and we were left over with Rudy and Iza, who told us lots of things about BSB and Brunei. It was a fun and informative evening. Iza ended up paying for dessert, which was very kind of her. At some point we received some cupcakes from somebody inside the restaurant (we were sitting on the terrace). The waitress said it was the guy’s birthday and he gave everyone cupcakes. How nice! And we didn’t even know the guy. They were our breakfast the next day, yay!

The following day we met up with Rudy and went to the market, where we had a yummy and cheap lunch. He took us to an archeological site where they are digging up remains from an old settlement and also showed us the tomb of the 5^th Sultan of Brunei. We then went to the Brunei Museum where the country’s history was explained through exposed artifacts. Rudy knew his way around the museum and pointed out special things to us. It was great having our own tour guide :). After the museum tour, he took us to his place where we picked coconuts. He has a tool which consists of a long rod with a metal hook at one end. He showed Christoph how to pull on the coconuts with it. It was pretty fun, especially because we got to drink the juice and eat the flesh afterwards. Coconut palms grow loads of coconuts all year round and we were able to pick which ones we wanted. Cecilia prefers the riper ones, which have sweeter juice and thicker, harder flesh. She was very happy that she got a perfect one. Christoph took a younger one with more juice and soft, floppy flesh. Rudy cut them open for us and we sipped the delicious juice. When we were done, he split them open for us to eat the flesh too. Wonderful!

For our last day in Brunei, Iza had offered to take us on a tour to Tutong district so we get to see more of Brunei. The country boasts nice beaches and pristine rainforests, but there is no public transportation to get there. We could have booked a tour to Temburong National Park, but it was very expensive. We were grateful that she had time to show us around, otherwise it would have been pretty boring staying in Bandar Seri Begawan since the town is very small and the down-town pretty dead. We went to a nice lake, but only stopped for a short while. The fact that there were signs to watch out for crocodiles also didn’t make us want to wonder off too far. From there we stopped at a place where there is pure white sand by the side of the road. It looked like salt or snow, so Iza and Cecilia pretended to surf. For lunch she brought us to a place where we ate a typical Bruneian dish called “Ambuyat”. It is a glue-like substance made from the interior trunk of the sago palm. You eat it by rolling the paste around the prongs of a bamboo fork and then dipping it in sauces. With it she ordered some beef jerky and a beef stew, which were all very delicious.

After lunch we headed to the beach. It was actually a nice place, but nobody was there, although it was nicely set up with picnic tables and a playground. We didn’t have our bathing suits with us, so we only dipped our feet into the water. We then headed back towards BSB, stopping at the Royal Country Club on the way. There we saw the horses the Sultan uses when playing polo and the fancy grounds. We also went to the Empire Hotel, a luxurious resort with 532 rooms decorated with gold, marble and precious stones. All rooms are elegantly furnished with European furniture and have beautiful views of the South China Sea, but the best is the Emperor Suite with its 675 sq meters, own swimming pool and jacuzzi. To finish today’s tour, Iza showed us some of the houses Bruneians receive from the government. It’s pretty impressive. Many of them will then expand the house and have 5 cars parked out front, which is insane. She then invited us over for coffee and cake because her maid had baked a marble cake. It was nice to see her little cottage, get to know her puppy and we finally got to try “weasel coffee”, kopi luwak. It is one the the world’s most expensive coffees because it has a low production. The coffee fruit are fed to a civet (like a weasel), which digests it and then the coffee beans are collected. We had seen it being sold in Vietnam, but never tried it. Now we had the chance and we were surprised that it actually tasted good, less bitter than regular coffee. The marble cake was good too. Afterwards Iza dropped us off at Jame ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, Brunei’s largest mosque. It was built by the Sultan himself as a gift to his people. With its 4 main minarets and 2 golden domes, it is a fantastic sight. From there we walked the meeting place we had made out with Eve, another CSer from the dinner. She took us to the night market and we got to try many different Bruneian delicacies, which was fun.

As public transport is very difficult in BSB, Rudy offered for us to stay over at his place and to bring us to the airport in the morning. Brunei itself seems more like a sleepy kingdom than another Dubai. It has nothing modern to it, not even the roads are well maintained. With a bigger budget you can visit the untouched rainforests, but this was no option for us this time. We were happy that we met the CSers and they made the difference. Without them our stay would have been pretty boring and we wouldn’t have learned nor seen so much during our visit.