24/04/2019 to 26/04/2019 - Brunei

24/04/2019
Today I finally woke up without an alarm clock because our flight from Mulu to Miri was in the afternoon. We landed on time and around 6:00 PM we crossed the border from Malaysia to the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam by car. The first thing we saw here was shocking. Everywhere was smoky haze, on both sides of the road everything was burned and some fires were still burning. It was hot, the ground was dry, there had been no rain for a long time. A small spark is enough to set everything on fire. Even the highway had to be closed. So the 128 km to the capital Bandar Seri Begawan took quite a long time. We arrived at the very comfortable Poni Homestay at 8:30 PM. We quickly filled the washing machine with the dirty clothes from the jungle and then the landlord took us to a restaurant where we had one of the most delicious Nasi Gorengs.

25/04/2019
We were picked up early again. We only saw the city's sights from the car for now because our destination today was the Temburong National Park. After a 2.5-hour drive and crossing the border twice, we arrived at the Freme Rainforest Lodge. A quick snack, a coffee, and then we went to a typical Iban Longhouse. 70 people live in this Longhouse in 10 apartments. We were warmly welcomed and were able to take a look inside one of the apartments. We tried a homemade rice wine and watched the lady of the house make baskets. Alcohol is prohibited in Brunei, only the homemade one is allowed to be drunk in the Longhouses. We went to a second house, which also accommodates ten apartments, but 116 people. This is the modern version of a Longhouse. Again, very warm people who showed us some of their life, culture, and collecting passion. We went back to the lodge for a short lunch break before getting on the longboat. Shortly before departure, it suddenly started pouring rain, so the lunch break was a bit longer and we only set off for a night walk after dinner. We saw a few frogs, various insects, and a snake that we quickly dreamed of because tomorrow morning is the start of the sunrise.

26/04/2019
5:30 AM, off to see the sunrise. The rainforest lives up to its name. It rained again, so we slept a little longer. After breakfast, we got on the river. After a half-hour drive, we arrived at our starting point for the hike. From here, it was only uphill on about 200 stairs. Then there were more stairs to the Canopy Walk. At 42 meters high, we were still above the trees and enjoyed great views of the rainforest. After descending all the stairs, the longboat took us to a small waterfall. Here we got a free pedicure from small fish. After lunch break, we returned to the capital Bandar Seri Begawan by speedboat. We used the afternoon to visit some of the city's attractions. At the Malay Technology Museum, we saw how people used to live and work in Brunei, and at the Royal Regalia Museum, we learned all about the Sultan. In the afternoon, there is regularly a teatime in Brunei, which we had in one of the floating villages. Finally, we took a picture of the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque and had a delicious dinner at the night market.