As I was leaving the large Mosque near the hotel it started pouring with heavy rain and I wanted to get something to eat as it neared 6.45pm and the end of the daily fast. There were some restaurants behind the hotel so I went there to see what prices were and what was available.One had an Iftar buffet for $5BND ($4). 'Iftar' is the dinner at the end of the fast. Unfortunately they said they were sold out and they cant serve me. They said to try the restaurant op...

A short distance from my hotel was the Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, the second most famous Mosque in Brunei. This Mosque is outside of the city centre and not as touristy.The two reasons I chose the hotel I did was because it was one of the cheapest and nicest ones I could find in Brunei and it was close to this large Mosque which would have been difficult to reach otherwise .Being outside the city centre it was not as touristy and not as restrictive as the ...

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 ...

This morning I was to fly to Brunei. It had been raining heavy all night so cooled down the morning temperature. First I went to the City Mosque to board a bus to the central bus terminal near the airport.Ticket price was 1Rm ($.35 cents). I threw my ticket in the trash bin not knowing an inspector would later board and ask for tickets. I told him I was a tourist going to the airport so he told me to keep my ticket next time.From the regional bus terminal I had t...

The last thing I wanted to do for my day exploring Kuching was to cross to the north side of the river. This can only be done by small boats that carry passengers across. On the north side the distinctive State Parliament and original Astana buildings are visible. There is also Fort Margherita a colonial outpost hidden by all the treesI thought I could take a boat and walk across to all three. I took one heading for the Astana which was already filled with locals...