Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei is the first port we’ve been to that doesn’t feel Americanized, and subsequently my first step into what truly feels like a foreign land. It won't be until Europe that Christianity is the most practiced religion, but a few things remain truly universal. The world has a taste for Pizza Hut, and in return the Hut has taken its sauce across every conceivable boundary...



I think it takes an Arby's before a country is truly considered developed.

It was in this city that I took my first step into a mosque. There's a mosque down the street from where I live in Nashville. In contrast to the mosque pictured below, the Nashville mosque does not have a 6 ton globe made of pure gold. However, I hear they do have terrific social barbques and that's worth something. The reverence and strictness of the Muslim faith is inspiring. I have no insight into the genuineness of their efforts, but the unwavering consistency of their rituals are beautiful. I wonder if there are less formal sects of Islam like in Christianity...like the jeans and t-shirt version that meets in a strip mall. After visiting this beautiful building in the middle of Bandar Seri Begawan, I put my shoes back on, and began a fruitless search for some barbque.







There is a large village in the middle of the city that is completely raised on stilts and is only accessable by boat. The price for a boat ride to the city was the equivalent of about 25cents.



On to Hong Kong...