07.05.
We are back at our favorite Malaysian State Sarawak, but this time for a short period. We stop to eat at the last town of the state – Lawas. The atmosphere is more Muslim than the other towns we passed through. The people from the off-road team treat us to lunch at a very nice restaurant in otherwise not so interesting small town Lawas.
The Malaysian part of Borneo consists of two states – the huge Sarawak and the so called North Borneo, Sabah State.
Brunei Darussalam
mosque Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin
Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
Population: around 500 000
Official religion: Islam
State system: Absolute monarchy – sultanate
Citizens of EU have the right to enter and stay 3 months on Brunei”s territory. Our passports are stamped and soon we fly on the highway. It is always exciting when one enters a new country. As for most countries in the world, we have stereotypes for this one too – of course almost always they prove to be absolutely wrong and are far from the real life situation. We know very little about Brunei – it is one of the last sultanates on earth (together with Oman) and is the fifth most rich country in the world due to its natural gas and oil resources. We are eager to see what awaits us here.
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The beach at Mukah
28.04
In the morning while we bathe in the South China Sea Mr. Shushtari is stung by a jelly-fish. He later told me that his heart had stopped for a second and he felt excruciating pain from the strong neuro-toxin. The tentacles touched his neck, chest and leg and the moment he got out of the sea red blisters started forming.
By the look of it we decide that this is not the most dangerous kind of jelly-fish and we run to the tent to put ointment on the blisters. Later the fisherman, we communicated with before, shows up (he is from the Melanau ethnic group, a Catholic) and tells us that this is the pink jelly-fish and though the sting is quite painful it is not dangerous. He says that he has been stung by the white jelly-fish that can cause fainting and medical care could be needed. Well obviously we were very lucky to be stung by the pink one.
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22.04
In the morning we go out together again. We eat some roti at a Malaysian eatery and the two of us continue walking around Saratok. People here are mostly Malay, which is not typical for Borneo. Usually towns are inhabited mainly by Chinese.
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Magic Kervan 