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Adventures of a Global Wanderer
Having finally left the airport and made it downtown I headed to the waterfront to get my bearings. The Kampong Ayer 'floating village' was easily visible. The river was alive with many speed boats buzzing around shuttling passengers to the village or giving tourists river tours.
The first thing I wanted to head to was the iconic floating Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. At first they wouldn't let me in thinking I was a tourist so I had to tell them I was Muslim. Then they said it was ok but that no photos were allowed
The interior was very impressive and normally tourists do not get to see the inside. It reminded me of a Russian Orthodox Church with its impressive ceiling work. It was laced with detailed gold work and you could tell money had been spent to lavishly display its opulence. There were lots of Mosque officials inside so I couldn't try taking any pics
The front end of the Mosque was even more impressive with tiny gold tiles decorating the small chamber in Byzantine style wall art. I was only able to sneak in some photos thru the open doors before someone noticed so closed them. They seemed very protective at this Mosque which is not typical of other Mosques
The Mosque is surrounded by a large pool to give the illusion of floating. There is a giant barge that used to be painted gold but no public access is allowed.
One of the exit paths from the Mosque led back to this end of the floating village. I went across as this was accessible by foot and did not need a passenger boat to reach.
Heading back to the town centre I now had to figure out how to get to my hotel. I bought some cookies to get change and to ask if they knew the bus numbers. They weren't sure but told me to head to Kuilap district
At the bus terminal I tried asking the drivers. First I tried bus 01 which went close to the large Mosque by my hotel. He told me to take bus 20 which was not on the bus map
I thought he meant 22 so I asked that driver when the bus pulled in. He told me again bus 20. I kept saying there is no bus 20 on the map and he kept replying 'yes'. So reluctantly I waited and fortunately bus 20 pulled in
I asked this driver who told me to go back to bus 01 where I started from. I told him to wait while I asked bus 01 who had pulled in beside him. Bus 01 again told me to goto bus 20 so I went back to the 20 driver and told him this is what bus 01 said. Still unsure he said ok and asked some of the passengers
As we neared the Kiulap area people told me where to get off and where to walk. They all seemed very helpful and spoke good english but they thought the distance was too far to walk. It was less than 10 mins to reach the hotel which was near a big shopping mall.
The hotel had free use of pool and gym and was quite a high standard room compared to the hostels for the rest of my trip. Brunie hotels are not cheap and there are no budget hostels in this oil rich state. They also said there was no airport shuttle whas was a bit of a nuisance in getting here.
Bus fare is a flat $1BND (.80 cents) to anywhere in the city. However all buses shut down at 6pm so I needed to get to the hotel to avoid taking an expensive cab
The first thing I wanted to head to was the iconic floating Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. At first they wouldn't let me in thinking I was a tourist so I had to tell them I was Muslim. Then they said it was ok but that no photos were allowed
The interior was very impressive and normally tourists do not get to see the inside. It reminded me of a Russian Orthodox Church with its impressive ceiling work. It was laced with detailed gold work and you could tell money had been spent to lavishly display its opulence. There were lots of Mosque officials inside so I couldn't try taking any pics
The front end of the Mosque was even more impressive with tiny gold tiles decorating the small chamber in Byzantine style wall art. I was only able to sneak in some photos thru the open doors before someone noticed so closed them. They seemed very protective at this Mosque which is not typical of other Mosques
The Mosque is surrounded by a large pool to give the illusion of floating. There is a giant barge that used to be painted gold but no public access is allowed.
One of the exit paths from the Mosque led back to this end of the floating village. I went across as this was accessible by foot and did not need a passenger boat to reach.
Heading back to the town centre I now had to figure out how to get to my hotel. I bought some cookies to get change and to ask if they knew the bus numbers. They weren't sure but told me to head to Kuilap district
At the bus terminal I tried asking the drivers. First I tried bus 01 which went close to the large Mosque by my hotel. He told me to take bus 20 which was not on the bus map
I thought he meant 22 so I asked that driver when the bus pulled in. He told me again bus 20. I kept saying there is no bus 20 on the map and he kept replying 'yes'. So reluctantly I waited and fortunately bus 20 pulled in
I asked this driver who told me to go back to bus 01 where I started from. I told him to wait while I asked bus 01 who had pulled in beside him. Bus 01 again told me to goto bus 20 so I went back to the 20 driver and told him this is what bus 01 said. Still unsure he said ok and asked some of the passengers
As we neared the Kiulap area people told me where to get off and where to walk. They all seemed very helpful and spoke good english but they thought the distance was too far to walk. It was less than 10 mins to reach the hotel which was near a big shopping mall.
The hotel had free use of pool and gym and was quite a high standard room compared to the hostels for the rest of my trip. Brunie hotels are not cheap and there are no budget hostels in this oil rich state. They also said there was no airport shuttle whas was a bit of a nuisance in getting here.
Bus fare is a flat $1BND (.80 cents) to anywhere in the city. However all buses shut down at 6pm so I needed to get to the hotel to avoid taking an expensive cab
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