We were excited at the prospect of being able to add another country to our list of places visited. Travelling across the top of Borneo from Sabah to Sarawak by land took us into and out of Brunei (more than once ! ). The journey from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah to the Brunei capital Bander Seri Begawan (BSB) was scheduled to take around 10 hours by coach with regular toilet/refreshment stops and border crossings. The route from Sabah to BSB is an interesting one. Over the years since the time when the British were occupying large parts of Borneo the various pieces of land have changed hands numerous times. As there are few good roads in the country it's necessary to take a route which crosses from Sabah to Sarawak, then Sarawak to Brunei, Brunei back to Sarawak and then Sarawak back to Brunei. Each border crossing necessitating climbing down from the bus a immigration to get exit and entry stamps, and waiting for all fellow travellers to complete the necessary formalities.

Bander Seri Begawan, although the capital is a relatively small place so I'd managed to secure a reasonable rate at a hotel not far from the coach drop, which for a change was in the centre of town. BSB isn't big on budget accommodation so it's difficult to find hostels or low priced B&B's, so we just booked three nights giving us a couple of days for exploration. It proved quite easy to walk around the city due to its small size, although the heat was intense. We explored two of the city's biggest mosques- both incredibly beautiful and serene in their different ways. It was unfortunate that photographs couldn't be taken inside so you'll just have to take my word for it. Most mosques supply appropriate clothing in the form of long robes, and headscarves/ hijab to enable visitors to enter outside prayer times. I have to admit, having seen the photo I think I look pretty smart, although I'm not sure the locals would be ready for me to adopt it at home.

Apart from the Mosques we visited the Royal Regalia museum, a building housing the various gifts received by the Sultan and his family over the years. There were many paintings and models of buildings and ships. I wasn't sure many of them would get houseroom with me, although I guess when you have your own gallery you don't actually have to look at them too often. I was however impressed with the presents gifted by Thailand, which were definitely to my taste and could find a place on my shelves at home. Considering the countries close allegiance to Britain and Queen Elizabeth the second I was surprised that I couldn't find any gifts from Great Britain, with the exception of one from the Shell Petroleum company- presumably to ensure continuation of productive oil based relations. One of the best areas of the museum was a gallery displaying a recreation of the 25th anniversary of the Sultans ascension to the throne. The carriage was stunning and the uniforms of all the attendants immaculate. It must have been a memorable event.

On our second day we took a walk to the Taman Perangjnan Tasek Lama park. A collection of man made roads linked the various treks and we soon found ourselves climbing through undergrowth and scaling the sides of the wooded valleys, using the tree roots for purchase. About half way round we heard a rustle in the trees , and on looking round spotted a silver leaf monkey foraging in the tree for food- our first completely wild monkey.

Brunei was not as clinical as I thought it would be. Imagining a place with wide empty roads and expensive buildings I was surprised to find somewhere not radically different to many of the places we'd seen in Malaysia. BSB wasn't a busy place, especially for a capital. There was no evidence of British colonial style buildings as far as we could see, although the new buildings there were pleasing to the eye, with a strong emphasis on good design rather than being utilitarian. It's exceptionally clean, the roads and verges are well maintained, and the people very welcoming. Whilst the presence of some beautiful mosques suggested a strong allegiance to Islam we were surprised by the tendency for most people to wear Western clothing rather than traditional Islamic garments. The only exception really being the women choosing to wear the hijab headscarf over their clothing. The Brunei people seem to be proud of their country, it's natural environment and the Sultanate.