It certainly makes you realise how much of western culture is based around alcohol when you walk through a city centre and see no bars or off licences. What then, if like me you do enjoy the very occasional steady half- how do you survive in a dry country? Due to it's small size Brunei is not far from the border in any direction and sensing this obvious market, Malaysia is very accommodating! It gives a whole new meaning to a booze cruise as this isn't just a ...

I have to admit when my friend Ian (Keker) told me he was moving with his family to Brunei, I assumed it was a barren desert like country in the middle East. It took a look at the map to realise I was several thousand miles and a whole continent out. Indeed, as the undercarriage lowered on our approach to the small airport in the country's capital of Bandar Seri Begowan (Bandar or BSB for short), my initial expectation of dry desert country couldn't have been fur...

Christmas Eve 2001 I remember being sat on the back of my Uni friend Keker's (Ian) moped desperately searching Tokyo for Father Christmas costumes. Watching and avoiding Keker's hopeless slide down a muddy slope deep in the wet Brunei jungle on his backside some 10 years on we agreed we had created a new priceless and somewhat surreal moment! This was the secret sport of 'hashing' at it's very finest. Hashing is a sport dating back to the late 19th century named...