BRUNEI    INFO & DIARY  1

 GENERAL INFO (Jump to Diary)

Brunei, officially Negara Brunei Darussalam is a little sultanate between Malaysia and the South Chinese Sea on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. It covers 5,765 square kilometres and is the home to 455,500, mainly Muslims inhabitants.
At the Bruneian Empire's peak, during the reign of Sultan Bolkiah in 1485–1528, the state is claimed to have had control over the majority of Borneo. During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline. The Sultanate ceded Sarawak to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906. Britain's protectorate over Brunei would eventually end on 1 January 1984, when it became a fully sovereign state. The country's wealth derives from its extensive petroleum and natural gas fields.
One of the oldest rainforests in the world: Temburong is home to rainforests that date back more than 150 million years. Many plant and animal species, some of which are unique to Brunei and Borneo, can be found in abundance in the waste woodlands. The mainly rainforest cover is around 72% of the total land area, and the wildlife of Brunei is one of its primary attractions. With an estimated 2,000 species of trees, Brunei is home to an estimated 15,000 species of vascular plants, which is a lot for its size. Here are quite some

caudiciforms; Medinilla scortechinii, Hydnophytum puffii, Myrmecodia echinata, Abelmoschus manihot, Secamone elliptica, Abelmoschus sagittifolius, Lecanopteris carnosa, Adenia penangiana, Baijiania borneensis, Lecanopteris crustacea, Impatiens mirabilis, Stephania japonica, Clerodendrum inerme, Bulbophyllum concinnum, Ficus microcarpa, Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Hydnophytum formicarum and there might be more. I'm not specific looking for then though.

5/6. Singapore stopover. A relative long flight, which I actually enjoy, as it is with Singapore airlines. It is like 1 class with others. Great vegetarian food, action movies I haven’t seen, 15 centimetres space in front of my knees and three seats to sleep on.

I just to have a three hour stop-over in the truly amassing Singapore airport. A huge part of it is a tropical greenhouse with a massive waterfall and a train-line. Plentiful orchids, mangrove aquariums, ponds and alike. I make it to terminal one and three as well, but not the waterfalls, as that is on the other side of immigration. 
 Photos from Singapore airport  (All slideshows opens in a new window).

Brunei: At noon, I do the a two hours’ flight to my country number 132: Brunei. A little, but real wealthy sultanate, surrounded by Malaysia on the huge island of Borneo. I arrival in Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Airport, find Avis, who have my name in front of their central shop in arrival. I get my car and head for Tutong beach, 50 kilometres out of town. It is the coastal highway, so much alike a Danish – except it cuts through pristine rainforest – and we here drive in left side of the great roads.

The Tutong beach is huge and completely vacant. Well, here are some small crabs and the remains of numerous small shells and snails. The water is around 32C, but I only walk it. The bushes along the coast are interesting. Tall pines, screw palms, ferns, passionflowers, and way more, I can’t recall the names of.

I try to some minor roads, but they soon turn into gravel and unfit for my car. The few houses are sometimes on stilts, the rivers brownish and the rainforest dense. I see Macaque Monkeys and some huge Asian  Water Monitors on the road, before I find back to the highway. The GPS falls off, and I can’t hear it. The road-signs are mainly in Arabic, and navigation a bit challenging for some time.
I try to buy water, bisques and tape for the GPS, but the large convenient store does not accept cards. No problem, the young man behind me pay for me, with a smile.

Back home in the capital; Bandar Seri Begawan, I find the Miniinn Guest House – only cash, and get my room. Then over to the mall to get cash and a large coffee with generous amounts of Milo: Condensed milk - witch holds suspicious much sugar. I spend a long time sipping it, while I write diary – which vanish: Too many iPhones, too little WiFi.

I head back home and re-organise, then out to get supper. I find a local Chinese diner on the other side of the road. They serve a great tofu with different vegetables and rice. It been a real long day, and I call it a day at half pass seven. It is dark at seven anyway.  Day's highlights  and  All the better photos of the day.
                                   Time to head on in Diary 2.