Day 60 - Thursday March 14, 2024, Maura, Brunei

Arrival: 11:00 All Aboard: 19:30 Departure: 20:00

As we make our way into Maura, oil rigs can be seen dotting the landscape. Passing through the breakwaters a huge oil refinery can be seen along with docks to transfer the product to oil tankers.

The country of Brunei can be found on the island of Borneo. The island is the third largest island in the world with an area of approximately 748,000 square kms. What is different about Borneo is that it is governed by three separate countries - Indonesia 73%, Malaysia 26%, and Brunei 1%. The approximate population of the entire island is 21.8 million.

Brunei although small in stature is a major producer of oil and natural gas within Southeast Asia. In fact, our tour guide mentioned it was cheaper to fill up your car with gas at $0.35 per liter than to purchase a liter of bottled water at a cost of $0.35.

Brunei is governed by the Sultan of Brunei - Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th sultan. His father abdicated in 1967 and he has been on the throne since then. He is also Prime Minister with the independence of Brunei from the United Kingdom in 1984. Hi this is Janice. Yeah, I get to say a few words. The country is Muslim and is governed by Sharia Law. It has very strict laws where all body parts must be covered, drinking and gambling is forbidden and sadly so is homosexuality. You might think as I did initially - why bother to visit this backwards country but I feel that the more educated we all are perhaps there is a better chance for positive change in the future. You can take the time to research this law at your leisure if you wish.

Muslims (82%) make up most of the population of Brunei. The remaining (18%) are considered Christian (9%), Buddhist (8%) or others (1%).

Since the closest city to the port is 26 kilometers away and there are very few taxis, a ship tour was selected. Our tour was called Cultural Highlights and Water Village Tour.

Kampong Ayer Brunei's Water Village was our first stop. Here we boarded longboats for a five-minute ride over to the village. There are about 40 villages spread out over a 38 km boardwalk. A mosque and a fire department can also be found here. You can bequeath your home to your children but if it were to burn down you cannot rebuild. The stilted houses sit on the Brunei River.

One of the homeowners allowed a visit to his home where we were treated to tea and biscuits. All guests were required to remove their shoes upon entering the home.

The water village is attached to the mainland by a bridge, so the bus picked us up on the other side.

The second stop was to the Royal Regalia Museum for a one-hour visit. Again, our shoes remained outside the museum. It is amazing but my socks were not that dirty after walking on the marble floor and as Janice says I am very particular lol. The museum is dedicated to the Sultan of Brunei's family. The museum included replicas of the carriage used in the parade procession of acclaiming the current sultan to the throne as well as photographs of the current Sultan who is 78 years old and his family.

A photo op was made to the Jame Asr Mosque. Here at least four ship tour buses stopped at the same time to take pictures. We were prevented from entering the mosque due to Ramadan.

We are back on the ship as departure is not until 20:00 as we sail to Kota Kinabalu (Borneo) Malaysia 104 nautical miles away.

As a side note, while we waited in the lounge for our ship tour, I was shocked by some of the clothes worn by the passengers. Whether or not Destination Services provided sufficient information, it does not matter. People should be aware of the customs when the country they are visiting and should dress appropriately.

And that is my rant for today.