At Rowan's suggestion, we next went off on a 20-minute plane ride from Kota Kinabalu, in eastern Malaysia, on Royal Brunei Airlines, to the Sultanate of Brunei, and it was a wonderful trip! Rowan and Shirl were each in charge of a three seat section of the exit row, at the request of the flight attendants. What a difference from the West, where people fight over exit rows. They *asked* us to serve!
The big kahuna in the town of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, where we stayed, is the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, here shown in the daylight before we visited, with its Ceremonial Ship
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and then seen from the Kampong Ayer (River Village) by Rowan, walking without handrails!
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and then seen from the nearby shopping mall, reflecting old and new
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Here are Rowan and Shirl, appropriately dressed for a mosque visit
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Rowan and Razik, security at the mosque, who welcomed us with open arms, as did all who saw us waiting to enter!
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Shirl in front of the Ceremonial Ship after the mosque visit
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and the mosque lit up at night.
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And now for the new tradition, here are snippets from the paper in Brunei:
1. Things are the same all over the world: from the Brunei Times, December 5, 2011, Headline on page 1: "Minister's call to private sector: Give more benefits to women staff . . . She [called for] reviewing compassionate leave to enhance work-life balance. . . . She said as half of Brunei's population constitute women, it is pertinent they are employed or it will be a 'big loss to Brunei.'"
And 2. And a unique Brunei perspective: From the Borneo Bulletin, December 1, 2011: "His Majesty the Sultan . . . again showcased his commitment to ensuring . . . excellent . . . education by taking the time to pay a visit to a few schools . . . . Echoing his many recent statements over the last couple of months about the importance of energy conservation . . . [he pointed] out the questionable use of air conditioning units inside the school's gymnasium and whether that is actually required . . . ."
[The temperature in Brunei is about 90 degrees, and the humidity is about 95%.]