Bali Trip 2014: Borneo, Brunei & Some Ending Thoughts on this Trip

BORNEO, INDONESIA, 

BRUNEI 

& SOME ENDING THOUGHTS ON THIS TRIP

 

Malaysia

Did you know that Malaysia has 13 states?  Borneo is an island with 2 of those states.  There are just under 500,000 people in Borneo with 60% of those inhabitants religiously identified as Christians and 40% identified as Muslims in this Muslim country.

Kota Kinabalu (KK)

Malaysia is more modern and successful than Indonesia.  Our port, Kota Kinabalu (KK)

had malls, decent transportation and it was clean.  There were street markets with handicrafts.  Unfortunately, most of those handicrafts were factory made rather than made by locals.  The local handicrafts were poorly made so leave KK of your must do shopping list.

Mount Kinabalu

We met our guide and drove 90 minutes to Mount Kinabalu, also known as the “shy mountain” to visit Kinabalu Park.  Kinabalu Park is Malaysia's first World Heritage site.  It offers a variety of botanicals including 1,200 species of orchids.  It is a birding paradise with 325 species of birds.  After our visit, we had lunch at a local hotel and then were dropped off at one of KK's malls.  The mall was just like any mall USA so we left.

Brunei

Our next stop in our journey was a visit to Brunei.  Brunei shares the same land mass island as Borneo but that is where their connection ends.  Brunei, is so much more wealthy than Borneo.  Their roads are in good shape and their population is better educated.  Actually, their education is free as is their medical care and pensions.  What surprised me was how quiet their

Bandar Seri Begawan

main city of Bandar Seri Begawan was.  No blaring music, no horns sounding – everything seemed controlled.  Because Brunei is a Muslim country, alcohol is prohibited.  Their traffic patterns are measured.  This is where the Sultan of Brunei rules and has absolute control.  He is one of the richest people in the world. 

Brunei is not tourism driven – they just don't need our tourist dollars.  This country is so wealthy due to its vast oil and gas reserves.  There isn't much to see here as a result.  All visitors visit Kampung Ayer which is their water villages.  These

Kampung Ayer

are a collection of 42 villages with 30,000 people living in homes built on stilts in the Brunei River.  The poorest looking house is surprisingly large and is likely to house modern household amenities.  The government is trying to move the inhabitants to land but the locals are resisting the move.

We drove past the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque which is considered to be the most beautiful mosque in South Asia.  It's huge dome made of gold, marble minarets and lagoon were quite dramatic.  As crazy as this seems, the Mosque is not the most opulent building in the city.  The Sultan's Palace, Istana Nurul Iman wins.  It has 1,788 rooms.  We also visited the Royal Regalia Gallery which is used as an introduction to the six centuries of Brunei Monarchy.  It houses a collection of Royal artifacts and gifts from all over the world along with a photo gallery of all the major players in the family.

Sultan's Palace, Istana Nurul Iman

Looking for something else to see?  Well, there are markets and malls but that's it.  Our full day tour ended after an early lunch.  Would I visit Brunei or suggest that you visit?  No, I really wouldn't. 

My Ending Thoughts of this Trip...

With this in mind, I can now say that after cruising over 35 times, unfortunately, this has been the least interesting itinerary that I've ever experienced.  Other cruise lines visit this place in the world but I just don't get it.  Out of a scale of 0-10, this itinerary is a 2 but that is only due to Bali.  Again, Central Java was interesting but the commute to Borobudur Temple doesn't warrant this being a port to stop at.  Central Java needs to be done independent of a cruise.

Our Crystal Cruise experience has been stellar and I want to mention that the ship experience has been at 9.5 out of 10.

Our cruise ends in Singapore.  If I find anything interesting, I'll blog about it.  If not, thank you for reading my blog for this vacation.  I am always available for answer your questions.

Also, exclusive to Protravel, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Crystal Cruises is offering a wonderful promotion until the end of the week!!

Please contact me if you would like information.  

I will be available from March 13th forward.

The World is Our Playground!

Mari