Not far up the street, I stopped in the refreshing air conditioning of the Royal Regalia Museum, where the sultan has been kind enough to donate just a tiny bit of his endless list of gifts and possessions, displaying presents from other heads of state, pictures of the royal family, his car collection and even some pieces and re-creations of the massive chariot and lines of cardboard people made from a real picture of the people that filled the street back in 1984 for the independence parade. The museum was free, so it was interesting enough for about an hour, though things start to blend together after a while. I asked about the buses getting to the other main mosque of the country, a short ride outside of the city, and I got a few different answers, so I decided I'd just hop on a bus and try my luck. Many of the people in Brunei speak a bit of English thanks to their time under the British crown, yet it was still hard to communicate, and the bus driver and I finally figured out that I was on the wrong bus. So I hopped off and headed back down the road, backtracking to a major intersection and hoping I'd have better luck there. The bus drivers and locals there told me I was on the wrong route, so I was getting a bit frustrated, as the infrequent buses and English speakers meant that I spent a long time walking up and down the road randomly in the hot sun. I made it up one exit ramp thinking I was going in the right direction, but I figured buses wouldn't follow that route, so I eventually walked most of the way back into the city and finally caught the correct bus, taking me to the next mosque in about 25 minutes.
Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque was built in 1992 as a gift for the 25th anniversary of the sultan's reign of power over the kingdom. Though not quite as ostentatious as the city's central mosque, this one is still an impressive sight full of golden bulb shaped domes and soaring minarets, surrounded by a small garden and a few tiny pools and fountains, each crafted with traditional Muslim inspired shapes and symbols. Being Ramadan, I could not enter the mosque to see the inside, so I was content to just walk around, admiring the fine details of the building, the ornate archways and windows and the intricate paint circling up the minarets around the sides of the mosque. This was a beautiful sight, but after about 45 minutes, I had pretty much seen it all, so I headed back to the bus stop where I found a few helpful locals and caught my next set of buses, again bringing me back towards the downtown area before turning around and catching another bus back out of the city.
The next destination was the sultan's palace, Istana Nurul Iman. I had seen just a glimpse of it the day before, and I wanted to see if I could get any closer. The bus stopped, and I walked off towards the entrance of the gated complex, featuring gardens and trees blocking any sort of view of the palace perched upon a tiny hill in the area. Just before getting there, I was stopped by a policeman, though I didn't really know what was going on, but I knew well enough that I had better obey the officer. So I stood still along the sidewalk as the policeman and his cohort brought out a few portable traffic signals and stopped traffic both ways on the main road out of the city. A minute later, the gates opened, and I wondered if I'd have the chance to see the sultan and an accompanying motorcade, though it just turned out to be a friend or a worker, as it was an unimpressive minivan with no escort that came flying out of the gates, not having to stop thanks to the police. A minute later, the gate closed and traffic resumed, and I was told that I couldn't get past the gates, so I had to be content with the tiny glimpse of the top of the palace from the day before.
For the evening, I went back to the riverside near the main mosque and flagged down one of the many boat drivers/taxis in the river. These guys take tourists on a typical tour of the riverside area, highlighted by a trip into the stilt village of Kampung Ayer which just means Water Village in the local language. The never ending rows of wooden houses are built on tall stilts on top of the river below, much of the area only accessible by water taxi, though once in the village, the houses are linked by a series of boardwalks. The huge community even includes a few schools, mosques and a fire department. This is said to be the largest stilt village in the world, at one time housing over 30,000 people. My driver explained that a fire five or ten years ago burned down a large portion of it, so the population is now around 21,000, and I assumed that this was probably before the fire department had a branch in Kampung Ayer. The driver also stopped off at one of the rickety wooden docks to give me a chance to walk around amongst the village, as well as giving himself the chance to stop off at his house and have a few quick snacks, as the sun had just set, ending his time of fasting for the day. I found a few friendly kids, rows of houses and a couple of restaurants and a loud pair of cats snarling and fighting as they ran up and down the wooden walkways. The view along the river also provided a different perspective on the glowing mosque, and I had hoped to see the sultan's palace from the water, though my driver explained that it would cost extra, and it was already almost dark, so I opted to not make that extra portion of the trip. He also explained that people going out around 4 in the afternoon can ride up to a forested area where the proboscis monkeys play just before the sun sets, but I was too late for that as well.
I began my final night in town with another look at the mosque, lit up brilliantly against the dark night sky, but I was more excited about my next stop for the evening...a local shopping market and Ramadan bazaar with a few events to entertain the locals and the tourists...
(The Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque was built in commemoration of the sultan's 25th year as ruler of Brunei. Not a bad gift.)
(As with Brunei's other major mosque, the golden domes and intricate designs are spectacular.)
(In the front of the mosque, the series of golden domes have a way of catching your eye.)
(I met a nice high school student there who took this picture for me and was interested in hearing my impressions of his country. I told him I hated it, just to see his reaction. Then I punched him in the stomach and ran.)
(A few of the larger buildings in the city, though obviously not as tall as the minaret of the mosque, as that's against the ordinance.)
(Geometric figures are always pleasing to the eye. Multi-variable calculus, time series or mathematical statistics - not so much. Don't worry, they are not included in any of the pictures...ever.)
(I headed back to the mosque for another night viewing. It was really that impressive that it drew me back, plus there's really not much to do in Brunei.)
(In front of the mosque, I met a nice guy from India who explained many of customs and etiquette with this particular mosque and also told me about how hard it has been for him and his friends to try to get Visas to come to work in America. It's very interesting to hear the stories from another perspective.)
(Here are more of the wooden shacks on stilts next to the river and right across the street from the mosque. The ones that are attached to the mainland by bridges are the poorest ones, as the workers that live there can't afford to live on the water and pay for water taxis every day.)
(I watched this fisherman throw in his net a few times, but he didn't seem to be that successful.)
(From the bridge over the river, you can see how the mosque and the poor village don't really fit well together aesthetically.)
(I was there during the slightly dryer season, though in Borneo, it can really rain at any time, so I have no idea if the water level ever gets up to the top of the wooden stilts.)
(Right before dusk, I hired a water taxi to take me on a tour of Kampung Ayer, the water village. This is the village of stilt houses that sit out in the middle of the river or near the other bank, requiring boats to go anywhere.)
(Kampung Ayer is said to be the largest stilt village in the world, at one time housing over 30,000 people. They now have around 21,000 people living there, complete with schools, mosques, a few restaurants and even a fire department.)
(Wooden boardwalks connect different parts of the village. On the left, you can sort of see the flag of Brunei, one that you probably don't see too often. While I was walking around, my driver walked back to his house in the stilt village to have a little bit of food, since the sun had just gone down.)
(After my tour, I went back for a few final views of the mosque, since it was my last night there.)
(The reflecting pool works particularly well at night.)
(And the palm trees keep that nice tropical feel, reminding you that you're still in Borneo.)
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