Insight Adventures

As I sit in the dilapidated rococo surrounds of a hotel lobby desperate to demonstrate its former grandeur, I wonder what the vivid green drink in front of me contains…

I’m in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of the devoutly muslim state of Brunei, and yet this strange, lonesome hotel where I’ve been dropped sits in a no-man’s land. Between the chipped gold-painted pillars of the hotel restaurant, sprawling families celebrate Ramadan by ravenously feasting on banquets of browns, reds, and greens. Full of airline food, and nursing my dubious drink, I look on and feel, once again, like an alien.

This is a feeling that had permeated my experience of Brunei so far. Instigated by the realisation of my inappropriate attire going through customs, and piqued again by my consciousness of intruding upon the twilight street markets, I had never felt so displaced. As the sound of evening prayer rose from distant mosques, it sunk in that I was in a country I knew nothing about, as it knew nothing about me. I suddenly became aware of the elderly lady regarding me wearily as I handled a knock-off MAC lipstick from her stall. Smiling weakly, I placed it down, remembering I’m eligible for a ‘welcome drink’ back at the Orchid Garden Hotel - precisely what I needed.

But alcohol is strictly prohibited in Brunei, something I remember when trying to order a gin and tonic from a young waiter.
‘I will bring you our fruit drink, ma’am,’ he informs me.

I choose a faded chaise in the incandescently-lit restaurant, and ensconced by the tired seat, wonder how I’ll spend the remainder of the evening until my 4am flight to Bangkok. Gazing at the children, parents, and grandparents who fill the restaurant, I think about Ramadan. All of these people have spent the day refraining from their physical needs. They’ve fasted not only today, but for the twenty-two days of this month so far. This month, I’ve eaten and drunk everything I’ve fancied. I’ve slept when I wanted, I’ve indulged every whim — and now I’m feeling impatient about the time lying ahead, before I move onto the next chapter of my trip.

I feel different here, because I am different. Nothing in my culture has ever required me to deny myself the comforts I expect, in the name of re-evaluating my impact on others. I think about the commitment to mindfulness Ramadan represents, and its absence in my Australian lifestyle. Taking a sip of my drink, I ponder what we can learn from the very cultures that feel most alien to us.