A visit to the Sultans Palace

Every year on Hari Raya (Eid), the Sultan of Brunei opens his Palace doors to the public. On this day any man can come in to meet the Sultan and every woman to meet the Sultans wife. Last year it was closed due to the swine flu pandemic so this year we were very excited to be able to make this trip. It is definitely one of those things you have got to do if you are coming to stay in Brunei for a while.

We set off at 7 in the morning as it does tend to get quite busy. On arrival we could either take the bus to the entrance or walk for about 10 minutes. We thought we'd take the scenic route.

It wasn't too busy at this time so we were hopeful we'd be able to see the Sultan and his wife and leave quite early. Like I said- hopeful.

(The entrance)

(The equivalent of the Guards Regiments! He seemed slightly bemused at me taking this picture)

After we had registered and gone through the security checks, we thought it was waiting time but at 8 in the morning, it was breakfast time! I had thought we would see the Royals first and then eat but nope, they were feeding everyone first. The food was delicious although if you were vegetarian you would have to have gone without as all the food contained meat!

After we had eaten we had to walk a bit more to get to another waiting area. Thankfully they had loads of fans along the way but these fans were amazing in that they also blew out a spray of water and it was heavenly! (Simple pleasures....)

This was the waiting area. As you can see there were a heck of a lot of people and more were still arriving!

We were seated in rows and then had to wait for ages until our row was called but as we were sitting, a girl wearing a reporter badge came up to us and asked us if we would mind being interviewed for the local news. We all jumped up at the chance but mostly because we thought we'd be able to jump the queue a bit! The interview was slightly nerve wrecking in that they interviewed us one by one and I kept screaming 'I'm so excited!' over and over until they ended my interview! A kid at school did see me on the news though so I was quite proud of myself!

(Simi getting interviewed)

We did manage to jump the queue and thought, 'This is it! We're going to see 'em now!' So we walked on a bit more and ended up.........in another waiting area!! It.took.forever!! But this room was beautiful so it wasn't too bad a wait and everything was air con too.

(They like their gold!)

Then another queue........

and then we saw them! We went inside the room where her Royal Highness and their (5-6?) daughters were standing, shaking everyone's hands. Her Royal Highness did speak to us and asked us where we came from and what we were doing in Brunei so that was a really nice surprise. After we left the room we got given a card and a yellow box (the women's looked like a jewellery/treasure box) containing a chocolate cake which was gorgeous! Yusuf got given $5 too. He was quite happy about that.

We took some pictures of the garden but this plastic palm tree made us laugh loads! What was the point of it when there is a real, much beautiful one, right next to it???

It was a really good day out and we're glad we did it. We were finished by about 11:30 so the wait wasn't too bad. Zaheer and Yusuf can now boast they shook the Sultan of Brunei's hand (and I can boast I shook his wifes..........)

Recap of the UK (WARNING: contains lots of pics!!)

I know it has been absolutly agggggggeeesss since I updated this blog but things have just been so busy and getting back to everyday life after a long holiday always takes some time. Anyways before I start blogging about Brunei again, I though I will do a quick recap of what we did in the UK. We had soooo many people to see and so many things to fit in and there just wasn't enough time to do everything. Most of it was taken up with visiting people and shopping! But we did have a lovely time overall.

I have put all the pictures as a collage because there were just too many to upload and its easier this way. Just click on the picture to get a bigger view and you will be able to see them clearly (and if you click again it enlarges again).

1. Out and About

We missed the English countryside like CRAZY and wanted to spend as much time outdoors as we possibly could. So we went on a few walks in the Peaks (we live 20 minutes away) and had a few good picnics. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed it. I also managed to go to Alton Towers with my brother and sister and me and Zaheer also had a weekend away in Sheffield for the Tramlines Festival.

2. Family

More than anyone, I missed my niece and nephews the most. It had been a whole year and I was very excited to see them all. They had all grown up so much but cute as ever. I spent 2 weeks with them and still miss them. I also caught up with my parents and brothers and sisters.

3. Friends

We went to the Peaks for the weekend and stayed at a beautiful cottage with stunning views of the countryside with some of Zaheers friends. I also met up with mine a couple of times for a meal. It was nice catching up with them all and seeing how things were going for them.

4. My sisters wedding

This was the highlight of the trip. The first week back was my sisters wedding and it was hectic! The weddings in our culture last for a good long week, with every day being some kind of event or another but it was such fun! A good way of catching up with relatives and people who I hadn't seen in a while. My sister looked amazing and it was just a beautiful event.

(Mehndhi (henna) night)

(Wedding days)

Right, that's over and done with!! I will be back to posting about Brunei soon.

xx