Monday, February 18, 2008

Belait Boat Trip





On Saturday Donncha and I went all the way to KB - an hours drive and very far by Brunei standards - to join a boat trip on what was probably the wettest day in Brunei. It had rained since the early hours of Saturday and by the afternoon the temperature was down to 22 degrees. A far cry to the usual 33/34 degrees and for us rather nippy. But thanks to the needles and pins we soon got into the spirit and immersed ourselves into the green scenery of the Belait River.

The journey in total took about 3 hours and the highlight is the now deserted village of Kuala Balai. Amongst its ruins is a small hut on the river bank housing remnants of what is thought to be Japanese skulls from the Second World War. A stark reminder of a past war and the headhunters of Borneo, both now relegated to the history books. Brunei is not part of the tourist trail and a real shame considering its raw beauty and hidden treasures such as this river trip but for the sakes of our beloved sleepy Brunei and our tranquility we would not want it any other way. 

Thank you to Brian and Cath for including us on this special afternoon.

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