A Royal Birthday Celebration

His Majesty in one of his many Rolls Royces

We got up bright and early to attend the Sultan's birthday celebration. We and a few thousand other people waited around until the three Princes (the Sultan's brother) came through in their Rolls Royces (preceded by motorcycle police and trailed by special trucks with security officers sporting traditional dress).

His Majesty was the last in the parade and entered the parade grounds where there were speeches, military marching, and medals presented to the bigwigs (the hoi polloi, such as the likes of us, were not admitted to the park). There was a 21-gun salute with cannons that rattled your teeth and made babies cry.

Helicopters.

Matt stuck out in the crowd (because he's tall and Caucasian), so we got interviewed a few times and appeared in the local papers (here and here) and even the local TV station (near the end).

Girls dressed for the occasion with their lattes

The grandeur must have gone to our heads because we splurged on a sushi lunch at the top-rated restaurant in town (still pretty reasonable). Then we had high tea at the Empire Hotel. We were under-dressed for the occasion because the decision to go was last-minute. Otherwise we would have dusted off the tuxes and high heels.

Mark comporting himself as you would expect--like a crazy person.

In less hoity toity and more alarming (for us) news, we almost had a fire the other day. We were watching a family movie, when our monitor turned itself off. Matt went over to the navigation station to investigate, when a bunch of smoke started to pour out from behind it (where the wiring for various instruments and equipment lives).  He lifted the lid and saw a red hot glowing wire through the smoke.

We quickly turned off the master breaker for the boat and, when the smoke had cleared, Matt investigated. The culprit turned out to be the power wire for the router. The wire was very thin since the router doesn't pull many amps and must have developed a short. The thin wire became very hot and melted the insulation off, but because the wire was so thin, the short was still not pulling enough amps to trigger the breaker. Fortunately, only the router wiring was damaged (and a bit of the Ethernet cable it was lying against). We got a new router in Labuan, which is duty-free. This one has a shorter power cord, which we will be sure to inspect regularly.

Brunei Darussalam

Masjid (Mosque) Omar Ali Saifuddien

Despite being an oil-rich country, Brunei's capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan ("BSB"), isn't the shining Emerald City that, say, Dubai is reputed to be. It is a relatively modern city with spots of magnificence nearby (mosques, the Royal Regalia museum dedicated to the Sultan, new bridges). But the fifth richest country in the world seems conspicuously free of bling. It's also a pretty quiet place.

Kampong Ayer

Sharia Law is in effect and you are not allowed to buy or consume alcohol in public. Apparently Miri, Malaysia is where residents head for fun. The borders are reportedly clogged on pay day.

Like most of the places we have visited in Asia so far, the people are very friendly. We have been enjoying the sites around the area and will stay until the Sultan's birthday on Sunday.

Kampong Ayer (Venice of the East) is a city over the water. We have seen homes on stilts throughout the Pacific, but none as extensive or modern as this. If not for the water underneath, some of the homes resemble townhouses in US suburbia.

School on the water

We also visited the Royal Regalia Museum, a sort of shrine to all things relating to Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibn Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (the current Sultan) and his kin. You have to remove your shoes and cannot take pictures except in the lobby. His Majesty is a handsome and accomplished man who has gotten a lot of pretty cool gifts from other countries.

Soldiers practicing for the Sultan's Birthday Celebration.

The Sultan's birthday (he's 72 this year) is a big deal in Brunei. Every business has a huge banner announcing the date. The borders are closed and civil servants are required to remain in the country. The celebration parade is over early but businesses cannot open until noon.

Temburong jungle canopy walk

Keep your hands inside the boat--there are crocs!

We took a tour to Temburong National Park. From BSB, we took a speedy water taxi, car, and zippy longboat through mild rapids to the park. There we climbed to the top of the jungle canopy on a walkway (seemingly sturdy enough but disconcertingly high and exposed). Brunei hasn't had to sell logging rights so its jungles are more pristine than many in Indonesia and Malaysia. We had hoped to see proboscis monkeys but struck out (our guide thought that the woman in the group ahead of us, who for some unknown reason was howling resoundingly and extensively, may have scared them away). Maybe she was trying to call them, Tarzan-style?

Really long longboats carried us through the river.

 

The tour included a swim in a waterfall with cleaner fish. If you stay in one place any length of time, they start 'cleaning' you. Basically, they are eating bits of dead skin from your body. It doesn't really hurt but it does feel like they are biting you--because they are. I was not a big fan of the sensation and declined to stay in one spot too long (which did not include screeching and flailing--that's how I remember it).

After a delicious lunch at the Freme Rainforest Lodge, we did a fun zip line over the river. Mark and Conrad's Nana and Grandpa had already gone rain forest zip-lining a few years back, while in their 70's. Thinking back on all the places we have visited and things we have done in our five-plus years on the boat, many were trails that they had already blazed. Happy birthday (in advance), to our adventurous Nana!