Saturday, March 31, 2018

Afternoon Tea at Kampong Ayer

31 March 2018

Our visit to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei included a visit by boat to Kampong Ayer, a prominent traditional settlement of villages on the Brunei River. After a bumpy ride around the area we alighted to visit a family in their home where we were served an afternoon tea that included traditional snacks.

The Kampong has been called the 'Venice of the East'. I failed to find many similarities.


The Bumpy Boat

Lifejackets for Precious Cargo

Cooling Spray!


Our Home Visit

Welcome

Afternoon Tea 

A Welcome Drink

Peeling Lesson

Traditional Food

Ready for the Return Journey

Neighbourhood Church

Local Store




Fire Station




Thursday, March 29, 2018

Kuching

Our tour today took us to Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, the largest state in Malaysia. Situated on the banks of the Sarawak River the city exudes a wonderful Old World charm. We visited the Cat Monument, Chinese temples, a museum, markets and wandered along the Heritage Walk.

We enjoyed chatting and posing for photos with a group of local school students who were on an excursion.
















Monday, March 26, 2018

Blown away by Borobudur

I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't heard of the World Heritage site of Borobudur until I saw it on the list of excursions for this cruise. As I take every opportunity to visit World Heritage sites I put our names down for today's trip.

We had a hairy ride to the site as we were provided with a police escort to assist us to get through the traffic. I thought I was lucky being seated towards the front of the coach with a good view but my nerves took a beating as we weaved our way through the traffic following the red police car. We were often on the wrong side of the road.



On arrival I was blown away by the magnificence and majesty of the site. After a short orientation we were let loose to explore. Robert climbed right to the top while, scared off by the steep stairs, I stuck to the lower levels. The detail of the many carvings was amazing and in good condition. We went a bit crazy taking photos some of which follow.

This is definitely a site worth visiting.



First glimpse


It was a long way up

And a long way down














Our last view 

Following our visit we were treated to a delicious lunch and a performance by a group of local dancers and musicians. Our return journey was just as hairy as our journey to the temple. We were pleased to get off the coach but were so pleased we took the trip.


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...