Yesterday I did not go ashore in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo as I was very sick.  

Today I plan on going on a Mangrove cruise and a visit to a water village in Brunei.  Brunei is between Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo, the 3rd largest island in world.  The population is 450,000.  There are no high rises so our guide said but that’s not true. It is quite  well off. Most are in Brunei Muara area. It is a Muslim country so have to have shoulders and legs covered. 

The mosque that was built in 50’s, has 28 domes and made of 24 karat gold. In 1984 Brunei got independence from Britain.

We came across a group (not sure if that is the correct word ) of proboscis monkeys…. All females with babies. Generally they travel in packs of 20. Different than other monkeys in that they can swim across a river. When doing that they will sacrifice one of the pack to saltwater crocs if crossing. The bigger the nose of the males, the more handsome it’s considered. They weigh up to 30 kgs. Female nose is pointy. Probably there are only 7000 proboscis monkeys here… the only place in the world they are found. …. Consequently they are endangered. They are shy and will run away unlike the macaque monkeys. 

Water village… part of heritage is kept but they have all the amenities except a place to park car. It’s actually not aboriginal… not native. Disappointing. They are all in terrible shape atleast in the outside. Inside the one we went in (were served tea and sweets), it was typically Muslim in decor and in better shape than outside.  Less than 10,000 people live in the water village. It’s disgusting. Effluent is dumped directly into river. Catfish …. Full of nutrition …. Lol! 

In 1994 the last mosque was built. It has 29 domes… means the 29th ruler had it  built.  It is compulsory to pray 5 times for men and there is no opening of stores til 2pm or tours on Friday. The non-Muslim go to Kololuka(border with Malaysia) to drink cuz it is illegal to drink here. 4 wives allowed for Muslim’s but the husband has to have approval from the preceding wives and they all have to have the same value of home….treated equally.

There are only Shell petroleum stations here. .53 /ltr….in Brunei dollars(.59 CAD) But .98/… diesel

No interest is charged when buying a house, to people that work for the govt……otherwise 4-5% interest. It costs only 1$ to see a doctor.