Observations
11 January 2014 | Royal Brunei Yacht Club
Cloudy with rain coming later.
Yesterday, as we sat waiting for a long overdue bus, we made a short list of some of our observations as we cruise SE Asia and primarily Brunei.
Everyone uses a straw in their drinks-can, bottle, or even in a glass, a straw is always served and normally used.
XPats don't give people lifts in their cars when they see you walking. Natives will. Offer to pay them what the bus would have cost.
Men don't wear shorts and Muslim women must at the very least have their elbows and knees and shoulders covered as well as ALL their hair.
No salt and pepper in restaurants. You can ask but we take our own.
Tomato Catsup is packed with sugar.
Napkins are half the size of restaurants in the US and very flimsy.
Satellite dishes are on every house, sometimes two(Brunei). While the ones attached to the house are at an angle toward the satellites, the big ones on the ground face just about straight up in the sky.
In Brunei, by order of the Sultan, all and I do mean all businesses are closed from 12:00 to 14:00 on Friday afternoon. We've seen some start closing about 11:30 so they won't be caught open. The Mosques are packed with followers till 1330 when they start returning to work. "Religious Police" drive around in cars making sure that everyone is closed.
In Brunei, Pepsi is the soft drink of choice. Advertisements everywhere but few for Coke.
Muslim women wear blouses and no tee shirts.
Rice is eaten at every meal normally with chicken as beef is expensive and not readily available. Minced beef is hard to find in some countries unless shopping at a store that caters to westerners.
There are very few taxis(teksis) in all of Brunei. Most families have at least two cars--many more. Most take their cars. The rest take buses.
No Hellmans(Best Foods) mayonnaise in Brunei except in one store(Supa Save) and it's expensive. The same with tortilla chips. You can find flour tortillas if you hunt but no corn tortillas.
They love Milo(a Nestle malt chocolate drink)
Kentucky Fried Chicken is everywhere. Every town has at least one outlet. With Chicken being the number 1 source of protein here, it makes sense. Pizza Hut(part of the same chain) is second.
There is only one McDonalds in Brunei.
Houses do not have "central" air conditioning. They have individual room units. If you are in the room, turn it on. Leave--turn it off.
Toilet paper is available in Brunei. Not so much in Indonesia and Malaysia. Most restrooms have toilets that have a hose attached to the side for "cleaning". In Malaysia, you squat over a hole in the floor. No sitting there.
Restoran is the word for Restaurant.
Teksi is for Taxi.
Drive on the right side of the road.
Store signs are in Arabic, English, Malay and Chinese on most stores.
Not unusual for women to hold hands as they walk down the street.
Buses have a route that is only sometimes observed and no set schedule. He may go into an area if he has someone on board that needs to go there. If not, he may by pass it.
There are fewer buses running on the weekends.
No beggars in Brunei.
Brunei has the highest standards of living in all of Southeast Asia. If you work for the government, you pay only $134 Brunei a month for where you live. The government pays the rest.
Muslim women must have permission from their fathers or husbands to leave the house during the day or to drive a car if they do. If a couple is found(say at a park) without a chaperone, they can be arrested and fined or put in jail. If in a public place, much less of a problem.
There are no "Club" stores like Sam's and Costco in Malaysia, Indonesia nor Brunei. Yes in the Philippines.
Most grocery stores are in shopping centers. Few are stand alone type.
Grocery stores all play music--From rap to Chinese hiphop(sort of enjoyed it). The bad thing is that they play the same song over and over and over till it's drilled into your skull.
In Brunei, the dollar bill that is used by far the most is the $10.00 bill.