We woke up and were excited to explore Brunei this morning. Thunderstorms had been predicted on all the weather apps but when I pulled the curtain back it was actually sunny. So we decided to leave and make the most of this weather. We left to walk into the CBD of Brunei, now most people don’t walk in Brunei (which i think I said yesterday) and i think that one of reasons for the lack of walking here is that sidewalks are nearly non existent. We had to walk on some roads (luckily there is not much traffic) and walk through muddy carparks but eventually made it to a big bridge that crossed into the CBD. Most of the CBD has been closed this morning as the Bruneiens had been doing a fun run and as we were heading inot the CBD we past a lot of them heading home. Most of them stopped to say Hello to us and welcome us to Brunei. They are very friendly people.

Crossing the bridge we caught our first view of Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and it is a beautiful building. We took some pictures admired it beauty.

We then headed down into the gardens that surround the mosque and then followed the path along the moat that surrounds the mosque. We spent ages trying to take pictures of the cool reflections. In the distance we saw the Brunei Frame. This is a huge art installation of a giant frame that you look at the mosque though. So we headed over there to take some photos. It was huge!

I really wanted to hed into the mosque but it was closed for religious activities. This seems to be what happens to me when I want to see a mosque. The same thing has happened mutliple times in Singapore.

We then decided if we couldn’t get into the mosque we would go get coffee. We had a few coffee recommendations from a friend and decided to hit up the first one. Top Grind Coffee Roasters was really nice. The drinks were top notch and the owner was so nice. I had a mango match which i would very much reccomend.

We decided to go for a walk around the CBD next. We saw the Big Wall of Brunei. This is just a huge decorated wall in the city. While walking in the CBD the most suprising thing is there was no people out walking or driving. It was so quiet., a little like a ghost town.

Next stop was to the Royal Regalia Museum. The Royal Regalia Museum is home to the Sultanate’s heirlooms and regalia. We entered and were the only ones there at first. We took off our shoes and stored them (no shoes allowed in the museum). This museum is all about the Sultan and everything about his reign as the Sultan of Brunei. His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah has ruled since 1967 and is one of the world’s longest-serving monarchs. Inside the museum, there’s a lot to take in — golden crowns, ceremonial outfits, massive chariots, and gifts from leaders all over the world. Australias gifts were pretty rubbish btw! We got to see the throne and decorations from his coranation as well. Overall it was a super interesting place and we spent much longer then we thought we would in there.

We headed to find some lunch after this. As we were walking down the main road in the city a monkey jumped up onto the pole next to me and ran up to the nets to cross the road. It was so cute.

We had heard a lot of good things about the Japanese joint at the waterfront Kaizen Sushi Yayasan. We thought we would give it a go. It was a beautiful restaurant with a view looking out across to the water village. We had a very lovely lunch with way too much delcious food. I also got very distracted just watching the boats ferrying people back to the water village.

We thought we would give the mosque a quick try again but it was still closed so we grabbed a car and headed back to the hotel for a rest.

We were meant to be going out on a monkey, water village and firefly tour. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the tour meeting point, no one showed up. After waiting for a while, we realized something had gone wrong. It turns out there had been a mix-up with the date in the booking. Viator had the wrong date listed for our tour, which meant we were essentially at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Our hotel staff jumped into action. Instead of letting us figure things out on our own, they took the initiative to contact the tour company directly, explaining the situation and finding a solution. In the end we have rescheduled to a morning tour tomorrow morning. Luckily we did cause about 30 minutes later it starting pouring rain and thunderstorming. Guessing everything happens for a reason.

We took advantage of this and decided to head to Gagong Night Market. This was an awesome place with so much delicious food. They also had the cutest cats that just wanted to sit with people. All the food was super cheap too!

Now its to bed early as we have monkeys to get up and see tomorrow.