Watching Sunset on Brunei River

Bandar Seri Begawan, May 16th 2012

According to the map of BSB I tore from the magazine I got at my hotel, Brunei Museum didn't look too far from the bus station. I tried to follow the route and walked, and walked... uphill... downhill... The museum didn't come in sight. Bus number 39 came but I thought I wanted to safe money. I continued walking. I started to blame the one who drew this map for not paying attention to the scale. You blame yourself last, don't you? I do.

I looked at my watch and thought, "Even if I get to the museum, the museum must be closed already." I turned back.

Part of the road I had went through looked like this. These cars are the Kampong Ayer people's car. Like I've mentioned before in Kampong Ayer by Day, they don't park their cars on river. They park by the side of the road along the river. I read somewhere, every 2 Brunei has 1 car. Wow. No wonder.

Yesterday when I cruised the river, Azmi told me that a parking lot on the river is under construction, because the sides of the streets cannot hold all the cars anymore. So when I return her next year, this sight would be different.

How could I be so sure that these cars were the Kampong Ayer people's? I lingered for more than an hour on this water taxi terminal. You remember that? The water taxi terminal, I mean. I folded my legs on the bench, played with both my cameras while observing people coming and going.

A man got up from a water taxi. He reached into his pocket, walked to the left, got into a car, and drove away. And then a school boy and school girl came from another water taxi. They seemed to be siblings. A woman was with them. Maybe their mother. The boy and girl sat on the bench across me, teasing each other. Their mother went up to where the cars were parked. Minutes later I heard a clap. The siblings looked up. They got up at once and ran towards the woman. A car stopped by and they all got in.

I was enjoying my moment of solitude and freedom. That's the beauty of solo traveling. I don't need to feel uneasy fearing that my companion is getting bored or wants to go to another place. Neither do I need to make an agreement about how long we would be staying here. If someone asked me, I would simply answer, "For as long as I feel like to."

Best, I don't need to face a sour face because the other party is not interested in what I'm doing. I would never hear, "Are you done?" I'll be done only when I am. Yay!! And even the further annoying thing, "Are you done? Come on, let's find something to eat!" I would not hear.

The sun is coming down. That's the floating school I passed yesterday. I couldn't find a spot where the sun would fall exactly on the horizon. This one was the best around, because the school's roof was flat.

I always tried my best to seize the moment when someone got on the taxi water like this, or ...

... or like this, when a taxi water is approaching. Please excuse me for the variety of color tones. I told you, I was playing around with my cameras -- in my freedom.

Some colors splashed for me in the sky.

Let's call it a day, and...

... and find something to eat! LOL This is at a cafe facing Brunei River at night. "Nasi Goreng Kampung" is the menu. Frankly speaking, it didn't taste as "kampung" as the "nasi goreng kampung" in my country. Next to it is apple juice.

When I ordered, I asked the waitress in Malay wheter the juice was fresh and not from a tin. Fresh, she replied in a full assurance tone and a hundred percent guarantee look. Indeed, it was fresh. The small chunks of apple meat were floating through my glass into my throat. Obviously, it cannot get more fresh than this. The whole meal cost 4,5 dollars.

Good night, Brunei.