Brunei...NO WOMEN ALLOWED!!

Up at 6:15, got dressed and went to the bus stop to get a bus to Brunei, met a German girl, Webke, she was going to Brunei as well. We got our tickets, one for the bus to the border, and another for two buses to Kuala Belait. Then we had to change to another bus for Seria, then change again for a bus to Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB), the capital of Brunei. Got to BSB about 11:30.

We walked to Pusat Belia, cheap hostel (B$10 for dorm). There was no one around, so Webke defied the "No Women Allowed" sign, and entered the male wing, we found an open dorm room, dropped our bags, then showered. We were sitting in the room afterwards, and another guy, who had just arrived and was staying (he had stayed there before) saw Webke sitting on the bed, and said, "Oh no! Ladies are not allowed in here!" He told us the hostel dude would be back about 2:00, after prayers.

Webke and I went for lunch, then hired a water taxi boat to give us an hour tour for $15. He took us through the water villages, both the old, rickety ones on wooden stilts, and also through the new, residential development, featuring new, white, cookie-cutter homes. Then he took us to see the Istana Nurul Iman, the sultan's residence, and the largest palace in the world. We didn't get very close to it, unfortunately, just saw it from a distance on the river.

After the tour, stopped at DQ (DQ in Brunei, who would've figured!) for a Blizzard, then back to the hostel and the warden was there. He asked if she was my wife, I said I don't know, and turned to her and asked her, "Are you my wife?" She said she was, and made a remark to the warden that I'm sometimes forgetful, but the warden wasn't buying it, and Webke had to move into the women's wing. Haha. Too funny. He also told us he has a driver going to the amusement park at 6:30, and wanted to know if we wanted to go. I said yes, Webke said maybe, as she's not an amusement park kind of girl.

Webke and I then headed for the Royal Mausoleum, but couldn't find it, so went back to the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, which the sign says is open to visitors from 4:30 to 5:00 on Friday. We got politely kicked out, he told us to come back tomorrow, it's not open on Friday, because it's the Muslim holy day.

So, back to the hostel, found out the hostel dude couldn't arrange a driver, so the amusement park is out. There's another couple, Josh and Vanessa, from Florida, at the hostel as well. We each went to our separate wing, and arranged to meet at 8:00 for the night market. I wrote in my journal, talked with Josh for a while. At 8:00, the girls picked us up, and we went to the night market for food, then walked around downtown a bit, then to DQ, then back to the rooms shortly after 10:00, read and to bed.