About to go to shore and we hear that Icicle is out of fuel entering Brunei Bay. So we take a 20 litre Jerry Jug of Diesel out in the dinghy a few miles to help them out. Yes it did the trick and they self motored into Brunei as we raced back in the dinghy. After breakfast then we piled into the dinghy with everything required for the day and night as we had a full day planned. We received a friendly welcome at the yacht club, very pleasant highest clubhouse open air verandah style over looking the bay and swimming pool below. Firstly formalities of clearing immigration and customs needed to be got out of the way, temperatures taken, normal procedure in most countries at present due to the "Swine Flu". Just enough time to down a quick lunch before heading off on tour of Brunei.

A small bus load of yachties guided by Allan Ritches, an expat living in Brunei for over ten years. Our first stop was at the new mosque named after the present Sultan, upon arrival we were welcomed with an almighty clap of thunder and the skies opening up with a deluge of rain. The mosque was a huge, palatial, magnificent marble and gold building. Covered up in black cloaks we were permitted to view inside, but not take photos, the enormous male prayer hall that holds 3,500 males. The chandelier in the middle was solid gold weighing 2.5 tons, the prayer mats were made of New Zealand wool woven in Thailand. The female prayer hall was equally as palatial but on a smaller scale as it is optional for females to go to the mosque. Marble, granite, gold, and to top it off the gold domes with the gold set in clear ceramic tiles. Apparently it does not matter how much it costs to build a mosque.

The rain stopped as we left and we then went to see the building housing the Royal Regalia where the Sultan's inauguration chariots (the last one and the new one for the 25 year anniversary are held. This also once held the greatest collection of Churchill memorabilia now much returned to the UK as some people deemed it a bit out of "spirit" to maintain it here. This building housed some interesting history and also the "life story" of the Sultan.

We then went to the Sultan's Palace, where we stopped to watch whilst the traffic was held up as one of the Royal Family was leaving the palace with the normal cavalcade. The most interesting part of this visitation was to go the original Palace where the Sultan was born. The current Palace is said to have something like 1700 odd rooms, a reception room for 4,500, stables, its own shopping mall etc etc etc. The original Palace where the Sultan was born was a high set suburban house maybe with ten rooms! WHAT a CONTRAST in his lifetime.

Our next visit was a "Water Village" where we went into a traditional water village house for afternoon tea. These entire villages are built on stilts with timber walkways on the water. When you sweep the floor you just flip over a floorboard and sweep the rubbish into the water below for the Catfish (they say don't eat the catfish!)
These fascinating villages have the school, Police, Fire Brigade, mosque etc all built out over the water. Each house is quite large with a shed (every man needs a shed!) mostly for boat repairs, timber storage etc. The old water villages do have fire problems as the houses are so close together and interlinked and of course cooking is on gas or fire. Even the chicken coop is built above the water. The new water villages are more appropriately layed out with formal design rules, water and sewerage connections and services. Of course even the old ones have electricity and water (fresh water) supplied. The houses are often beautifully furnished and the people live a co-operative lifestyle. The kids and young adults fly kites off the walkways. I guess you would have to become a good kite flyer as you would ditch into water if not. Boats and outboard traffic zooms in and out and under the houses and walkways like kids on bikes or scooters.

This was a great day trip and we returned to the Club for a delicious barbecue dinner and back to Charmar for a good sleep!