Brunei, a few evening hours in the Gadong district
Finally I arrived, a mere 3 ½ hours later than planned (thanks a lot, mister VIP). Only 1 day in Brunei so this robbed me of 15% of my time! Part of travel though: take it as it comes and make the most of it. 
Right after getting to my hotel, I headed out to the night market. This was one of the key “to do and see” items on my list, and also my plan for dinner. Which, as you look through the photos, you’ll realize was rather adventurous. Remember the Survivor weekend, Mom, and the spin-the-wheel of death-by-strange-food game? Now I know what you do with chicken feet to eat them – BBQ, of course!
So I wandered around the market, asking people if I could take photos and prying them for information on the contents of their
stands. After having a taxi driver who spoke perfect English and employees at the hotel who speak English very well, it was a good reminder that even in a former colony and well-developed Sultanate, your average Bruneian speaks Malay, or Iban, or Tutong, or Chinese. Or whatever, as per musings in my last entry. But not necessarily English. Nonetheless, I was greeted with friendliness whether I bought or not, and people made a huge effort to try to answer my questions and tell me about their wares.
Dinner? Well, it comprised of three different banana leave wraps (nasi lemak – rice in banana leaves, I guess). One with rice and beef (says the vendor), one just with rice and sweet paste of some kind, and the third with rice and “fish things”. I probably should have guessed it, but was horrified to take a bite of wrap #3 and taste my nemesis anchovies – this was not a good thing as merely the smell of those little buggers is enough to make me ill for a day! Thankfully, the other half of my dinner was a bag full of rambutans, so I quickly peeled a few and ate them FAST. Problem solved. Total price for my dinner of nasi lemak, rambutans and water: $2.50
After my visit to the market, I walked back to the hotel, despite hotel staff encouragement not to – they wanted me to call for a car to pick me up. (Jill, why is it that wherever we go, hotels think we shouldn’t be walking around on our own – remember the horrified looks in Moshi when we insisted we did not need a guide?) On my way, I went past Brunei’s largest mosque, which looks stunning all lit up at night. This mosque has 29 golden domes, 4 minarets 58m tall and space for 4500 worshipers. And is not far from my hotel, which was a bit unfortunate at 4:30 am when the call to prayer songs woke me up.
Now – on into the center of Bandar Seri Begawan! Lots to do and see in my remaining hours!
Tags: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, experiences, Gadong, night market
jilljaimi
1. What are rambutans? Those pokey looking fruit things?
2. Glad you liked the rice and “beef” – but I think beef in that part of the world might mean beloved furry pet… 🙁
3. Sounds like an adventure already… wish i was there!
p.s you didn’t try the chicken feet!!!?
rambutans are the little (well, slightly smaller than your fist – you have little hands) red pokey/furry fruits. They are like a bigger litschi with more fur. You peel them the same way as a litschi and the fruit is very similar. love them!