Friday March 3
The ship is supposed to dock at 11:30 am and we will have our first excursion. But we have to wait a bit because it takes longer until the ship has officially cleared with the Brunei authority. We have time in the morning to do the online work to get an arrival card for the Philippines where we go the day after tomorrow. It is a bit of a nightmare. We were supposed to take a screenshot of the QR code at the end. James' QR code popped up right away. But even though I got an email that I had done it successfully the QR code did not show itself and I could not take that screenshot. Inquiring at the service desk I was told that it takes a while and I just needed to be patient.
The harbor is Muara in the Sultanate of Brunei. James and I have been in Brunei before for a business meeting when we lived in Singapore. If you want to read about that, you can find it HERE! It is the second from the bottom. It is a PDF.
We had signed up for the Mangrove Cruise & Visit to Water Village.
I think 5 buses (groups) left for that excursion and our group started with driving to the Water Village first.
We saw this form of transportation everywhere. It is probably very practical since the ways and boardwalks are very uneven.
Right away we were taken to this house and offered a taste of the local appetizers.
Vincent, our guide, explained how to eat the stick-things on the plate on the right. You twist the bottom like a lipstick. That opens the top and the jelly-kind sweet treat comes out easily to eat. Better than peeling from the top which would be messier.
It worked like a charm. The spiral outside is something from nature.
While we were nibbling I spied some monkeys on that walkway we just came from. They were just the ordinary kind.
Another treat which needed to be uncovered. Vincent explained that too. This was a savory sticky rice, quite spicy. Very nice. But most of the things were sweet.
The children of the house were quite happily mingling with the guests. So cute.
We were invited to go inside to see how the Water Village people lived. We were told that 27 family members were living here. Propably several branches of a family tree.
As the sign outside said, we were in the house of a "Local Delicacies Maker".
We had been told that it was very nice living like that. Houses were passed down for generations. The walkways were taken care off by the government. You could just fish from the front door or a window for your dinner and that there was plenty of fish in the river.
The house opposite had a very posh front door.
And then we walked to a jetty.
We were put in two boats. A small one and a large one. James and I ended up in the large one. The mandatory lifevests were quite uncomfortable. It sometimes cut into my shin. But, oh well...
We were out to see some wildlife but really mainly the endangered proboscis monkeys. We were told that they are native to Borneo Island and only live in mangrove forests. We were told that they only eat leaves from the mangroves and never fruit. The sugar in fruit would eventually kill them.
If I understood right this is the palace of one of the sultan's sons.
Our guide and the two boat crews were on the look-out for what we are wanting to see. And there was one sighted.
First we had only glimpses high up in the trees but then we actually saw some closer. It was really fun.
On the way back I had a glimps of the Sultan's back gate.
Even a Water village has a mosque with a golden dome.
Into the bus and off we go.
After a toilet stop we drive by another mosque. This is the former Sultan's mosque. He was the 28th Sultan. His son is the 29th and his mosque has 29th minarets. I don't have a photo of it.
Back to the ship. Just before we arrive the downpour starts. The first bus in front of us drives right up to the gangway and it takes a while for everybody to unload. When it is our turn the authority changes mind and we have to drive again round to the other side of the building and walk out in the rain, through the building which is very slippery when wet and over to the ship. But we had to wait the downpour out before running across. We had enjoyed our outing very much though.
What else? First a nice hot shower. There is a lot of entertainment on board. I can't quite remember what all we did. Dinner was lovely. We shared a table again with a lovely couple living in Rotterdam, Netherlands. They were on their way back from Australia were Kate was from. So much fun. We laughed a lot.
The cauliflower and white beans salad seemed like a good idea but it was a bit bland and would profit from some spices.
The fish was very nice.
The souffle was totally worth the sinning. The menu always says: souffle of the day - ask waiter for details. Sorry. Can't remember what this one was.
We went with our dinner table buddies straight to the entertainment which was a singing/dancing show and could have lifted anybody's spirits. After that James and I even went to the Horizon Bar on the 10th floor for a night cap. That band mostly plays music we also like, and we were joined by a couple with whom we had shared a lunch table. They are from Berlin, Germany.
Great day all together. Night, night.
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