Backstreet Bandar

With the entire weekend free, my friends and I decided to pack our bags for a road trip. Since dense jungles and dank caves aren't exactly my kinda thing, my choices here are pretty slim so I opted for a visit to the nearest urban settlement.

Which is of course the neighbouring city of Bandar Seri Begawan. Otherwise known as BSB.

Silly rule about tinted cars prevented me from driving. Fortunately Piratin Patty managed to con Dishy Dante into handing over his car. Wonder if the fit fella's ever shagged a bird in his ride.

Dante. Naked. In his car. Hmm.


Road trip baby!
Where were we again? Trip to Brunei?

Oh yeah.

Had some pointers from the Mirian locals though it turns out we were fooled by the slowpokes here. Expecting a three hour journey as described, we packed an entire picnic basket of snacks and drinks along with almost 20 CDs to beguile the dull trip. In reality it took little more than an hour and two CDs to arrive at the polished gates of Bandar.

Just twice around Roxette's Greatest Hits.


So how was the journey? Lonesome highways connect the small seaside kampungs here, beautiful paved roads with empty barren nothingness on either side. Though amazingly accurate signposts dot the entire route. And if we expected glittering towers of steel in the city, we were to be disappointed. Quite sad indeed for such a oil-wealthy state. Rather than invest their billions to create a latter-day cosmopolitan city to rival Dubai or even Singapore, obviously the Bruneians prefer a bucolic backwater of a capital.

Imagine one of our smaller state capitals with tree-lined boulevards, pre-colonial shophouses and the occasional modern department store. Then turn back the clock a decade. Or two.

Still, it was a relaxing trip full of pirated DVDs, glowing mosques and delicious sushi. A nice break.