Because my hotel is out of town I decided that I would spend some money on tours which would enable me to see a little of the country. Had my hotel been in Bandar Seri Begawan, I am sure I would not have seen and learned as much as I have done about this small country. Wandering around a city, although always enjoyable for me, really doesn't give you a flavour of the people and the countryside and so I set out on a visit to the countryside to see the old crafts that only a few inhabitants keep up now in this modern world and this civilised, forward looking country.
The earliest recorded mention of cloth-weaving in Brunei can be traced to Sultan Bolkiah's reign from 1485 to 1524. Magellan,the Portugese maritime explorer, visited Brunei some time during this period and his official chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, reported seeing beautiful examples of Brunei handicrafts, in particular the woven cloth. It is in fact the gold and silver threads that make up the design. The actual job of weaving thread into cloth is a complicated one and would be difficult to describe step by step.It is generally considered that a good coordination between hands, arms and feet is necessary, coupled with inordinate amounts of skill, patience and, of course, craftsmanship learned over many years of practice. The finished standard piece of cloth measures about 2.2 metres by 0.8 metres and can take anything from 10 to 15 days, and sometimes even months, to finish depending on the intricacy of the design and the speed at which the women works. The prices of the weaved cloth reflect the intricate designs and the hard work that a weaver has to undergo. Prices range from about $300 to $2,000 per piece (approx. 2 BND to the £) depending on the pattern that one chooses. The designs too have survived many centuries. I watched the skill of the women in the cottage industry shop and admired the patience I would find difficult to copy. Prices prevented me buying any material. Whoopee, some would say!
The next place was way out in the country and this was a plantation. The man grew orchid palms. Unfortunately flowers are no longer purchased very much in Brunei and market gardening for plants of this type is a dying trade. Also on his plantation were coconut palms which interestingly had lots of termite hills among the trees. These differed to the ones we saw in Namibia, these were much smaller and more rounded rather than the chimney pot type of the African termite. The weather here among the greenery was extremely hot and humid.
Next came the paddy fields. These are run by the government and people can rent the land from the government to grow rice. My guide told me that it was normally retired people who needed something to do that grew the rice. There are several types of rice in Brunei including a very small rice called laila rice and a red rice which is expensive. The rice had already been cut and they were waiting to plant again which can take place anytime, unlike India, which has two rice plantings a year. Only a small portion of the fields were flooded. Most rice growing was done mechanically with few water bufallo being used these days, although we did see some as we went on our travels.
Last but not least we went to the fish market, which was right on the coast. The beach could have been lovely, but was covered in plastic bottles. The area was full of men and fishing boats, going in and out of the small sheltered cove. I sat on a log on the littered beach, in the shade, for a while, as the sea breezes were cool, but it doesn't feel cool for long and the heat takes over again and then you know it is time to get back in the air conditioned minibus.
We then moved on and up a notch and the guide asked me if I wanted to visit the exclusive Empire Resort. I am always open to seeing as much as I can of a country and willingly agreed. From what I can gather every film star and member of royalty has stayed at this super exclusive hotel (who knows)! These people stay on the left hand side of the building in suites. The Sultan's brother, who had this resort built, had the idea that ordinary people should share in this opulence and he built some ordinary rooms on the right hand side. The inside of the reception areas is all marble and looks fantastic. There are three or four floors interconnected with beautiful staircases and escalators. We wandered around outside where there is a natural beach facing the South China Sea and a man made beach facing a pool, bar(no alcohol remember), jacuzzi etc. It was really beautiful.
But all good things must come to an end and so did the tour!
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