Day 20: Country #4

By far the most amazing combination of events imaginable coalesced on this day, which started off seemingly routine. I asked to be dropped off at the hospital for my next rabies shot and was lucky to get the only shot in the entire country, which was stored in a closed branch of the royal hospital. A long walk later I rendezvoused with another tourist at the royal museums, both of which were about the royal family, before meeting up for the guesthouse owner’s group tour at the jetty. Unlike yesterday, we saw families of monkeys, then on the way back to the water village, perfectly timed for sunset, the light rain let up, revealing 2.5 complete 180 degree rainbows as we approached the city just beginning to light up for the night. The full range of color accentuated by the clouds amidst the flows of a sunset, reflected over the water is probably a once in a lifetime sight. This was just the start of the tour. We visited Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque as the sultan was visiting, royal neighborhoods, night market and had a wonderful dinner by Jerudong Park.

Tip:
You know you’re seeing something special if the tour guide stops and starts taking pictures as if he’s a tourist. They rarely do this, so don’t be offended. Relax and enjoy the moment. Often it’s hard to even realize the significance of an experience, so their reaction is a strong signal.

Rainbows at sunset over Bandar Seri Begawan

Published by BE

I write about my travel and money experiences. View all posts by BE