singapore & bandar seri begawan, brunei

23 November - 4 December, 2014

Selamat pagi! Apa kabar? That means g'day mate in Malay. Yep.  

Today's blog is about Singapore and Brunei. Friends and family. And heat. And totally different experiences compared to the last couple of months! All will be revealed below... 

The highlights
Singapore

• Our two favourite Singaporeans - Steve and Nina! They hosted us for 4 nights with their crazy dog, and gave us the VIP treatment. Thanks guys!
• Steve and Nina took us out for so much food, it was a gastronomic smorgasbord! I'm talking crabs, home cooked meals, dumplings, and an incredible dinner at Steve's own restaurant, the level under 1 Altitude. Which also coincided with a drinks extravaganza in his bar above (the highest sports bar in the world people!) resulting in a top 5 all time hangover the following day. The word epic comes to mind. I vaguely remember dancing, scotch and a Cuban cigar. I also recall a conversation with a cab driver who insisted that the best McDonald's burger is a fillet of fish burger. Seriously? Of all the burgers, a fish burger?? Do they even still make them?? What a nutter! I also vaguely recollect leaving half my wardrobe at Steve and Nina's place as we hastily left first thing in the morning to catch our flight. Pretty sure Steve is wearing my underpants as I write this blog post. 
• Other than food, there was China Town and Sentosa where we frolicked on the beach like a weird family with 4 adults and a puppy, but let's be honest, the real draw card was the food and friends. Awwww. Let's all hug. 

Brunei 

• We jumped on the plane, incredibly hung over, to land in irony - Brunei, where buying and selling alcohol is strictly forbidden - which suited us just fine as we had promised ourselves to never drink again. This is where Kath's dad (Allan), step mum (Tiing), and half siblings (Yasmin, Leilani and Ryan) live, and we had an incredible 7 days hanging with such an awesome bunch of people! 
• The family spoilt us with activities, movies, tours (Allan runs a tour company and we sat on board for one of their full day tours, checking out the Sultan's Palace - the largest palace in the world with over 1,800 rooms, mosques, water villages and jungle boats), and more food. If you ever find yourself in Brunei, give Kath's dad a bell, he runs great tours! Check them out here: http://www.bruneibay.net/intrepidtours/
• We also joined forces with extended family for a couple of dinners and laughs. 
• Interesting conversations about Brunei and it's culture, including Sharia law that was recently introduced though not really enforced. We received an insight into this country that most tourists never get, and experienced the national psyche and attitude of the locals. Brunei is more of a family place than a party place. In fact, one restaurant we ate dinner at had a closing time of 7pm. As in everyone needed to be finished and out the door by 7pm. Certainly a different pace to places like Singapore and Paris! 
• Giant thanks to the family for hosting us!!! 

The Summary

Weather: Hot! W3 haven't had hot for a while. Twas nice.
Activities: Eating. If we weren't eating, we were planning our next eating location. 
Food: All of it! We ate most meals out, however some of the home cooked meals by the Riches and the Ebsie's were equally delicious

Beverages: All alcohol in Singapore, and zero in Brunei!

People: The above mentioned hosts were generous, welcoming and all very good looking. Thank you! 
Accommodation: Terrible! Nah, it was sensational! 
Fun fact: In Brunei unmarried couples are not allowed to hold hands! Kath and I were told off by Kath's younger siblings on a few occasions!
Budget: Singapore just over (it's an expensive place!) but Brunei well under. 
Overall: Fantastic time visiting friends and family! Thanks guys, you really made our trip incredible!  

Bye for now,
Damo (and Kath)

Brunei

The royal family! Graciously put up with us for a full week. 

The best food - Roti Telur! This one guy nails it and people come from miles around to enjoy it, and enjoy it we did! 

Participating in a great tradition of Sunday breakfast,  including a waterfall in the backyard!  

Sibling love,  with added awkwardness of inverted fashion between Kath and Yasmin... 

The mosque's are pretty low key in Brunei. Only the roof is made of gold, not the whole thing.

Starting a new style. I'm sure it will catch on back home! 

One of the prince's coming home in his muscle car, along with police escort. 

The other, somewhat more official, royal family

The royal family home, with all 1,800 rooms. If you spent one night in each room, it would take you 4.9 years to see them all. 

The largest water village in the world! 

Our very experienced captain on the right.

I like to think orange suits me. 

Locals actually lived on the water before building houses on land. True story. 

Tea + dessert in someones living room. Yes, we were invited. 

These three kids teamed up against me for a water fight. I was losing. Then I remembered I'm much bigger than them and kicked ass! 

Due to sharia law, women can't wear provocative clothing. Even the magazines have been censored via black markers. 

No taxation in Brunei means a local meal for champions is delicious, nutritious and affordable! Seriously. No tax. At all. Not even income tax. 

Our roti magician. Would totally marry this guy if I could. Well, maybe not marry, but definitely buy roti from him!

Happy family! Kath is missing them already.

Singapore

Steve, Nina and Branston (the dog, who I'm pretty sure actually ran the household). Legends! 

The maple kind??

China town in Singapore, where you can buy whatever you need! As long as what you need is cheap touristy stuff. Otherwise you need to go elsewhere. 

Yum yum yummy cha. Get in my belly.

Just a small lunch. We ate the world's largest crab. They're smiling now, but could barely walk after. 

So. Good. 

The view from One Altitude. Definitely check it out!  

Probably the fanciest dinner we've had in a year. The waiter called me "sir". Ha! What a sucker! 

Seriously incredible. Steve and Nina - thank you! 

Cigars and suave. Nailed it. 

Photo bombed by Branston. I'm telling you, he owns this place! 

When we weren't too hung over, we actually went outside. To Sentosa. And had fun!