This mosque is truly magnificent in every way possible. I walked completely around the gateway. It wasn’t clear to me if I was allowed to enter, so I only walked maybe 1/3 of the way towards the mosque and then, out of respect, decided I should turn around. The mosque is surrounded by water on 3-sides, with a large ceremonial, highly decorated “boat”  floating next to it.

Over the last few years, the sultan has added a large space next to the mosque, which is kinda an open park space for both locals and tourists to enjoy. I only saw a few people walking around. There’s also a modern foot bridge which is very nice, and includes a half moon sculpture in the middle.

When I got back into Hans car, he told me that he had asked the gentleman at the front of the mosque if I would be allowed to enter, as they do allow tourists on certain days and at certain times. We drive to the front, I put on a appropriate cover to hide my legs, and was given a quick tour of the interior. As a surprise, one of the caretakers asked me if I’d like to take a photo or two, and I said if that was allowed, I’d be honored. I even took a quick video, with his permission. Fantastico!

After that, I walked through the Royal Regalia Centre, which showcases the coronation of the sultan.

I was then taken to walk through the Empire Hotel, which is a monstrous hotel complex, hugging the waterfront (I believe it’s located in the southern part of the South China Sea). When the Empire was first built, I was told it was one of just a handful of 6 star hotels in the world. The lower lobby is over the top incredible, with 75 foot “gold painted” tall pillars. Outside, there’s a number of water features, pools, plus a couple of private coves, a golf course, and the shoreline. I was there as the sun was going down, so the timing was great.

 

Just before I was picked up about 7:00 AM, it was pouring rain. The ride took 20 minutes, then I hopped into a fast water taxi for a 45-minute trip to the town of Bangar. Along the way, we passed through a maze of waterways/water highways, dense forest areas and lots of mangroves.

Afterwards, I took another vehicle to Batang Duri. Enjoyed morning tea, before boarding a long boat for Ulu Temburong, which is a National Park. It’s interesting to note that this park in Brunei is separated by water from the rest of the country, with a sliver of Malaysia betweeni the 2 parts of Brunei.

Ulu Temburong is known for its dense forest with an elevated canopy walkway. We walked along a dirt pathway and a 750 step incline (ouch). Once on top, I was faced with a 25 story, straight vertical scaffolding ascent. I walked up 3 flights and just couldn’t go any further, as my legs were unsteady. I wasn’t able to enjoy the scenic views from the canopy above, which was the main reason I signed up for this tour. I’m super bummed out that I had to turn back, but I gave it all I had, and have to be satisfied with what I was able to achieve.

We then visited a waterfall.

Part of this tour included a rafting/kayaking trip down a moderately small river.

At 1:30 PM we enjoyed lunch, and then started to head back to Bandar Seri Begawan, arriving around 5:00 PM.

The weather was about 80 degrees, lots of clouds, and the humidity once we entered the rainforest was incredibly intense (I was 100% wet, through and through).

About 100 people make this trip per day, of whom about 10-15 get all the way to the top of the canopy. In our group, we had 4 tourists from China, all under 25-years old, 1 32 year old guy from London, and me, a61  year old guy. Only the guy from London made it to the top of the canopy. I asked him to Airdrop me a few of his photos from the canopy, so I could see what I missed, and share those with you as well.

tour info:  Freme Travel Services
Total cost approximately USD $108

Brunei factoids:

400,000+  locals reside in the country

First off was a stop at the gorgeous Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. It’s surrounded by gold painted metal fences, with a huge covered walkway to the entrance of the mosque (it has cubby units for worshipers to leave their shoes before entering to pray).

The actual mosque is very large, with a number of gold covered smaller domes, as well as one large dome. Unfortunately it’s not open to visitors on Thursdays, so I wasn’t able to go inside. On the grounds of the mosque are water features, and some very nice garden areas, not to mention a grand circle outer staircase. Overall, stunningly beautiful!

As we were driving to a waterfall I had read about, we passed a nice looking park, so I hopped out of the car and walked around for a few minutes. There’s a small river running towards the back of the park, and I saw a large monitor water lizard, but it was way to fast for me to get a photo of it running along the waters edge. I did see 2 smaller ones as well.

I was then taken to a different park which is fairly close to the main part of the city. It felt like it was part of a small forest area. About 3/4 of a mile in, there’s a very picturesque waterfall.

In the afternoon I had booked a 1/2 day tour of the original water village, as well as a mangrove forest. Unfortunately, the driver never showed up.

The boat trip took about 2 1/2 hours, and yes indeed, it was a very fast boat, powered by 6 large outboard engines, going full throttle. At times, it felt like we were baerly touching the water. We passed a number of Indonesian islands, some quite large, others just a bit of rocky ground above the water line. Indonesia has over 17,000 islands.

We stopped to watch the monkeys outside of Suranadi Park. The monkeys are pretty tame (until they aren’t), and they come out in numbers when they know people come by, as they are looking for easy food hand outs. So cute, some with very young newborns hanging onto their mothers underside.

After sailing through the night on September 12th, we set anchor off of the Satona Island around 7:00 AM on September 13th.

On September 15, Our boat anchored off Rinca Island, the second location of the Komodo dragons (1,050 dragons here).

We toured a small village, then went to a local waterfall, where I jumped off a 10-15 foot small rock formation into a small pool of water below. Also a rope swing into the same pool of water. My feet got a bit scrapped up when I hit the bottom, but it was a new experience.

At 10:00 AM we sailed west from Moyo Island to Keramat Island and used a speed boat to reach the island for our final swim before sailing back to Labuhan Lombok, where we caught a bus to Senggigi on the west side of the island of Lombok, to stay in a hotel for our final full day of this tour.

Keramat Island is a micro island, a few hundred yards wide in each direction, white sand all around, lots of palm trees blowing in the wind, and a very gradual slope into the water. As I was standing 100+ yards from the shoreline, and the water was only just above my ankles.

The weather this whole week has been sunny, with occasional clouds, high 80’s to low 90’s, and most days a slight breeze to help with the overall heat.

• How to get to Komodo Island from Bali

Yesterday I successfully completed the online PADI scuba diving test, after a full 8-hours of studying, watching instructional videos, and taking quizzes throughout the day.

The PADI E-Learning program is extremely well thought out and fairly easy to follow. With that said, there’s a tremendous amount of information to review, digest and attempt to retain.

Today, I started the actual scuba dive training with a 1/2 day session in a pool, reviewing how the equipment functions, testing my ability to follow underwater signals and instructions (via hand signs), and getting used to the scuba kit and wet suit.

Before I got started, the instructor suggested I shave off my mustache, as this will help to prevent water from seaping into my mask.

After 2 hours and 45 minutes in the morning session we broke for lunch followed by a 1 hour 45 minute afternoon session.

I did pretty well today, felt very comfortable breathing underwater using the air tank and, for the most part, felt good about my effort. I need to improve in a couple of areas, like slowing my breathing down so my oxygen lasts longer.

Today I go into the open water for the first time, with 2 different dives.

Kinda nervous and at the same time excited.

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This morning I took my first open water scuba dive lesson. It was about an hour drive from Sanur to Padang Bai. My training partner is a woman who lives in Australia.

We boarded a small boat, loaded our scuba equipment, and took a short time to get to the Blue Lagoon, on the western part of Bali, our first dive site. We dove for 38 minutes, to a depth of 12 meters.

After returning to the boat for a 45 minutes rest, we went to a Jepun bay, a short distance from the Blue Lagoon. The second dive was 40 minutes,

As I’ve said previously, I really enjoy swimming in pools, bays, coves and open oceans, but normally when you really think about it, you don’t actually stay in the water for more than an hour, usually less.

For the second day in a row, I was nervous and excited. I did OK overall, with a few areas that I need to practice to become more confident in my abilities. Also, once again, very tired after today’s open water dives.

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Yesterday’s 4+ hours in the pool, with the scuba diving equipment on my back, was very tiring. I really didn’t fully understand how heavy the equipment is and, while I was aware that physical water activities do tire you out, last night I was beat. Got back to the apartment, fixed dinner (2 styles of mushrooms, bok choy, onions, and asparagus, all sautéed, yummy), although cooking for yourself isn’t nearly as nice as being about to enjoy a meal with family and or friends. I lay down around 8:30 PM. Took a little time to fall asleep, as I was thinking about what I need to improve on, plus maybe I was over tired.

On my last day of scuba diving training, we left Sunar on a 2+ hour drive north to Tulamben, which is on the northwest side of Bali. The specific beach area is called Liberty Wreck. Fifty or so years ago, a huge ship sunk here. The sunken ship has been left here for the express purpose of providing an area for fish to feel safe and for future scuba diving (it’s amazing!). The shoreline is covered in black rocks of all shapes and sizes. It’s a bit challenging walking into the water, as the rocks are slippery, especially with the added scuba gear on your back.

Here we had our last 2 dives. The first one included more review of previously learned skills, diving up to 18 meters deep, for 41 minutes.

We ate lunch, and then proceeded to the second dive, which was totally a free dive, meaning no more lessons or review, just enjoying the art of scuba diving. Once again to 18 meters, down for 38 minutes.

After our second dive, we headed back south, once again a 2 hour drive (I was able to sleep for part of the drive, as I was tuckered out).

I got my official dive log book, in which you record specific details about your dives, including location, day, dive number, satisfaction with the dive, minutes, depth, and you can also note types of fish seen, and any other items of interest. The dive master then signs each page, and uses his own stamp to certify the information. Think of this as a scuba divers passport.

Over the last 4-days, including the PADI E Learning course and final exam, one day in a pool, and plus 2 days of open water, I’ve finalized my scuba diving prep work, and have obtained certification that I can now scuba dive, which includes the scuba diving log book. I will also receive a temporary scuba dive card, which is good for 3-months (the real card gets mailed to you). My instructor was amazing, patient, funny, with great care being taken to ensure I learned what I needed, plus to try to enjoy the whole experience.

 

Total costs:

PADI E Learning on line course USD $175
2 1/2 day scuba diving training USD $360
Total USD $535. While I think there might be less than expensive options, I felt that overall it was well worth it.

My initial thoughts in the future are to go scuba diving every so often, in different parts of the world.

Bucket list item checked off!!!!