We drove down to Brisbane on Tuesday; it was a good run despite heavier traffic than usual, a lot of travellers heading north. The day was quite warm and sunny after a cloudy beginning. We made very good time, arriving in Caloundra by 2.30pm, just 3.5 hours after leaving Bundaberg. Did our bit of business in Caloundra then went on to Redcliff to see Denise briefly and give her some of my lovely lemons. She has a very nasty cold.
We then went back to Burpengary to Helen and Cliff’s home where we were warmly welcomed and where we shall leave the Landover while we are away. The greyhound pups have grown well and are full of energy.
Wednesday dawned bright and sunny; it wasn’t as chilly as some mornings, only 8C. David has been spending some time trying to get this new laptop to work properly. We set off for the airport about 10am and had a good run. No wait for check in, fortunately we beat the rush but were still too late to get the emergency exit seats or bulk head ones. Bought some booze to take to Heather who like a tipple now and again.
The flight boarded on time and soon we were high over Brisbane and heading off in a north-westerly direction passing above try farmland and dams low in water. We ran into cloud that got more and more thick and so couldn’t see a thing. It cleared when we crossed the Gulf coast but again thickened as we crossed Arnham land clearing again as we headed out over Bathurst Island and on towards Indonesia. Then the cloud got thick again and stayed that way until we were almost at our destination. It was a little bumpy most of the way. The service on board was very good with a lovely meal and frequent drinks. Afternoon tea was served.
Took us quite a while to clear immigration upon arrival: We waited in a queue for ages only to be told when we got to the counter that I had to get a visa from another desk and that took a while too. Then when we got outside and no-one from the hotel was waiting I had to go and find a place where I could get some change and then make a phone call to the hotel, they then sent a van to collect us and also gave a lift to a couple of Dutch fellows who had been waiting hours for their hotel to send someone.
After we settled into our room we went out for a walk and found a night market nearby. Plenty of people strolling about and plenty of market stalls mostly selling food but some others selling just drinks or the general market junk you find all over the world. The buildings were all lit up with lights and along the streets coloured lights were strung. It turns out that the Sultan’s birthday was last Sunday the 15th, he turned 61 and this week is full of celebrations for that occasion. Some birthday party:
Next morning after a good breakfast at our hotel we set out to have a look around the city. We could see at least one Mosque not far away but as I was not dressed for visiting mosques we did not head in that direction. Instead we just wandered about a bit. Everywhere there were large posters with pictures of the Sultan and his age, on one side in our numerals and on the other in Arabic numerals. It seems that Malay uses both written scripts, the Latin script and the Arabic script, Malay being the primary language here and Islam the main religion. The majority of women wear the Islamic headwear but not over their faces, and in a wide range of colours:
In our wonderings we soon came to a large arena, we had been attracted to it by the din coming from the loud speakers. We went up into some stands where there were just a few people and watched from the shade an arena filled with school kids of all ages rehearsing a show for the celebrations. Just as we got there the announcer said they would go from the start one more time and that it was to be their 2nd last rehearsal. So after a few minutes rest in the shade they all headed out into the arena to go through their routine. There was a choir and a brass band, then there were several groups who did a routine with bright pink streamers. These were mainly older kids. The youngest ones came on with bright coloured tinsel tassels in a range of colours and brandished them around to the beat of some music. Some of them were in there normal clothes but some appeared to be wearing bright coloured satin costumes probably what they will wear for their feature performance. None of it was precision but it seemed the kids were enjoying themselves and no one got stressed out if one of them went the wrong way. Two men collapsed in the hot sun and had to be carted off on stretchers.
We came to the post office and found a tourist information office where we booked and afternoon trip on the river to see the Proboscis monkeys, hopefully. Also got a map and the lady advised us to visit the Royal Regalia museum that was not far away and free to visit.
We found it fairly easily and went inside. Had to take our shoes off and leave outside, and also put our camera in a locker, no photos allowed. It was an interesting museum however, and we spent quite a long time looking about and had the place almost to ourselves. There are displays of many of the costumes of the Sultan, not only the current Sultan but some of the past ones too. Included were his uniforms from his time at Sandhurst in England.
On display too were many gifts that have been presented to the Sultan from foreign dignitaries and heads of State. Lavish gifts that must have cost a great deal and they are just put on display in a museum. One that I took particular note of was a large model of a Palace, it was constructed entirely of tiny mirrors, many only about 1cm by .5cm. There were gold daggers encrusted with gemstones, models of mosques in gold and or silver, a solid crystal fish leaping.
Carriages too were on display. One small exquisite one that had been used when the Sultan was crowned, the crowns too were on display along with swords, shields, daggers, beetle leaf holders etc. A huge display of the carriage and procession through the streets of the city on the occasion of the Jubilee of the present Sultan coming to power, not sure what year that was: The carriage is mounted on wheels and 16 men in front and another 16 behind propel it along, just as well there are no hills around the city. The procession was made up of dignitaries and nobles of the aristocracy carrying ceremonial daggers, swords and shields.
Rooms dedicated to documents on the history of the country and its treaties with Britain; hallways filled with paintings many of them gifts from foreign countries. It really was an interesting place to visit.
In the afternoon we were picked up from our hotel and driven to the river where we boarded a long boat with an outboard for our trip to see the monkeys. There was just the boat drive, the guide and us. The river looked none too inviting, there was plenty of rubbish floating down, its tidal at this point and salt. Across from where we boarded is the water village where the houses are built on stilts over the water, we would visit it another day. We headed off upstream past the water village and soon pulled in to shore to see some crab catching monkeys, but these monkeys had other plans and could not be seen so we moved on. They catch crabs by dangling their tails down crab holes as bait, sometimes losing a bit of their tail in the process, so that as they get older their tail gets shorter. Oo! A bit painful I should think.
On one side we could see the Gold dome of the Sultans Palace and the roof of the convention hall, it was all that can be seen over the top of the dense vegetation along the river bank. Beyond the palace we passed under a bridge that crosses the river to the burial place of one of the past Sultans. Further on some of the ordinary houses were built on the bank and had small landing stages. Our boat driver saw a couple of crocodiles but they soon swam off so yours truly missed them, nothing unusual in that. Plenty of large white egrets along the river bank, had no trouble seeing them.
Mark, the boat driver was really good at sporting things and soon caught sight of some proboscis monkeys. We pulled in amongst the mangroves and saw the branches moving, then caught sight of the animals themselves. They are quite a honey colour with the big males a darker colour and the youngsters a bit lighter. It is surprising how well these animals with this colouring blend into the deep green of the mangroves they live amongst. These ones we caught a glimpse of here soon moved off. As we headed out of here back to the river Mark spotted a huge monitor lizard lying on a tree branch right beside us. He was very large, the size of a small crocodile, about 1.5m long with a thick vertical fin like tail that is very powerful, it would really power him through the water I should think. With their dark grey colouring they are the same colour as the tree branches where they like to rest. This one did not move but had his eyes open watching us carefully.
Just a short way further upstream and Mark spotted a yellow ring snake in a tree over the water, it was a good 30m away when he spotted it but we were practically right underneath it before we could see it wound up tightly around a branch. A bit further on Mark again spotted some of the monkeys and this time we were very lucky in seeing a troop of about 5 in the grass very near. As we pulled further in amongst the mangroves they moved off a short way and climbed some trees but they were still easy to see even for me using my binoculars. These monkeys the largest of their species, eat the mangrove leaves and these leaves contain poison but the monkeys have 7 compartments to their stomaches and the first one contains bacteria that breaks down the poison in the leaves. They must not however eat bananas as the sugar in bananas would kill the bacteria and so without those bacteria to break down the poison in the mangrove leaves the monkeys would then die from the poison.
There are two species of these mangroves too, one is used for making the stilts of the stilt houses, it does not rot in the salt water. The wood from the other species of mangrove is used for making charcoal that the people use for cooking.
After some considerable time watching the monkeys do very little we headed back towards town as the thunder roared, lightening flashed and it began to rain. Mark took us through the stilt village pointing out the primary schools, the fire stations, and boat service stations that have been built to service this community of around 30,000 people. Back on the landing stage we thanked our guide, he, hadn’t really done much, and our boat driver Mark, and were driven back to our hotel.
In the evening, after the rain had stopped we went out to the market and looked about at what was on offer from the small restaurants. We had a really lovely meal for around $10 (local currency). The Brunei dollar is on par with the Singapore dollar and both currencies are used in the country. Most of the local notes are synthetic the same as Australian notes.
The next day dawned fine and sunny again. It was Friday, the Moslem religious holiday of the week, like our Sunday. Still, we found when we went out that many of the shops were open as usual.
Our first port of call this morning was the lovely little Chinese Temple. Painted bright red with some green trim it is overshadowed by much taller and bulkier concrete structures on two sides. Its cool interior offered a break from the heat outside. The inside walls are decorated with lovely panels of tiles. 16 tiles to a square, 10 squares in a row and 5 rows high, each square was a picture, probably hand painted, and together they probably told a story but I couldn’t really work it out. Then again, I wasn’t sure which way they are meant to be read, being Chinese perhaps they are meant to be read top to bottom and right to left. Can’t cope with that sorry!!! There were four walls of such panels.
Other larger squares of larger tiles showed pictures of men or deities riding creatures. Some were animals that we could recognize like a horse, bull, lion, tiger, camel, or straddling a bird with wings extended, but some of the others were mythical creatures. A large tile picture was of a tiger with a cub biting its tail, it was really beautiful. The air was filled with the fragrant smell of burning incense and 3 deities were encased in glass overseeing all. I think it was a Taoist or Confucian Temple, but I can’t tell the difference between them.
Back outside on the opposite side of the road and across the ditch is another market so we went for a stroll through it. Plenty of fresh fruit and vegies, namely the Chinese vegies like bok choi and pak choi, big fat snake beans, not like my poor little ones I’ve been growing at home, great big hands of small green and ripe bananas, rambatans, and lots of other things. Other stalls had the usual Asian array of tiny dried fish and shrimps as well as large dried fish all of which smell quite foul. The stalls were mostly run by women, Moslem or otherwise.
We went for a look at the arts and craft centre but there wasn’t really much on offer, some wood carving and fabrics woven with gold threads, some intricate silver wear and not another soul about expect for someone behind the counter. Everything was supposedly discounted but still far from being a bargain.
At the river we took a water taxi across to the Stilt Village and walked about there on the wooden walkways that link everything together. Boats whizzed by under us along the waterways, stray skinny cats slinked by and could be seen walking on the massed garbage that has collected under the houses in the tidal shallows. That garbage was incredibly unsightly and composed mainly of things that could easily be recycled like plastic bags and bottles, old furniture, and plenty of broken styro packaging. A flock of gray herons lived in a few mangrove trees growing in one place and scavenge a living from the garbage. Saw lots of little girls dressed up in their finest clothes going off to or coming home from prayers at the Mosque. They looked lovely in their yellow dresses and white veils. Did not see many other people about though, only those on the boats that were whizzing about.
Some of the houses are brightly painted and well maintained whilst others are in a poor state. They all have electricity and running water but no sanitation, that goes straight into the water or tidal mud flats, the fish live on the effluent and people catch the fish to eat. I was not going to eat fish in Brunei. We could see the charred stumps of houses that have burnt down.
Some people had lovely gardens made up of pot plants both large and small. The houses looked to be quite large but we really didn’t get to see inside any. There were television antennas and/or satellite dished on every house.
In the afternoon we walked up to a nearby recreational park. We expected that there would be a lot of people about having picnic etc. Indeed there were plenty of cars parked in the lot but when we came to walking along the paths we had the place to ourselves, don’t know where everybody was. We found our way to a small waterfall and large pool that is supposedly used for swimming but I wouldn’t even paddle my feet in the muddy looking water let alone swim in it. Sat in the shade and watched some insects for a while before returning the way we’d come. As we walked along the street we saw some small monkeys playing on a high security fence, one sat on the barbed wire at the top and watched while the others could squeeze between the upright wire struts and appeared to be playing around them.
Another storm in the late afternoon with plenty of thunder and lightening but not a great deal of rain, by 8pm the rain had gone but the lightening show continued on filling the night sky with a wonderful display.
On our last day we took a bus ride to visit a recreational area that was recommended to us by a fellow in the information office. He gave David instructions on which bus to catch, where to get off and directions from there, however when we got off at the stop indicated we were outside a large department store in the suburbs. We went in and asked directions and after one person after another coming to our aid we ended up talking to the head girl who told us that the place we wanted, Wasa Kendal was quite a distance away, back the way we’d come but not signposted at all. We walked back some way but could see noting that looked like a recreational area so went back to town and took another bus to Jeradong beach. It was an interesting drive through suburbs and patches of forest. Past smart modern houses that very much resemble ones at home or older wooden ones, none with wide verandas as you would expect to see in such tropical climes but all had air conditioning systems along with satellite dishes. Past Mosques and schools and vibrant bougainvillea in flower:
The beach when we came to it wasn’t much to look at, a narrow strip of sand and a gently lapping bright turquoise sea, little rock breakwaters that were disintegrating. A grassy strip with a few small pines trees gave a patchy bit of shade between parking lot and beach. There was a little litter about but not much. A large fish market faced the parking lot and the beach but only a few stall hadn’t yet closed up. I must say that these stall are kept scrupulously clean as there was no lingering stench or stale or rotting fish even on as hot a day as this was. Behind these stalls were a few others selling fruit and veg and other household supplies but not a customer in site.
Altogether there was not much to see here so we found a shop where we could buy an ice-cream and caught the bus back to town. Near this beach there is also an amusement park that was once just a playground for the Sultan alone but after his 48th birthday he opened it to the public, I believe its free entry.
As evening came and the storm clouds gathered again it was time for us to head off to the airport for our flight on to England.
©Lynette Regan 23rd July 2007
We arrived in England after a good flight on Royal Brunei. We had stopped in Dubai for a couple of hours and passed through security twice in that time, how ridiculous can it get. Coming into to Heathrow we did a long curve over central London, quite low, so that we got a reasonable view of the central area, places like London Eye, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, Westminster Abby and the Houses of Parliament. It was very grey and wet looking.
Took me about 45 mins to pass through immigration but when I reached the carousals the luggage had not yet started to arrive. After we had passed through customs I spent ages looking for an ATM as all those in the arrivals hall were out of action. After an extensive walk I finally found one in the Arrivals hall thank goodness. Nothing like arriving in a place and then not being able to get any money:
We picked up our hire car and set out for Arundel. The weather had improved since our arrival two hours earlier. Now there were patches of blue sky and the road was dry. No much traffic on the M25 so we made good time round that and even when we got onto the A24 heading south there wasn’t heavy traffic, not like there normally is on a summer Sunday. The grass is just so green and lush, the trees heavy with their summer foliage, bright yellow daisies and white flowering cow parsley can be seen in all the fields and along the roadsides, I just love to feast my eyes upon it. Brightly coloured summer flowers can be seen in most gardens and lots of places have hanging baskets and window boxes full of colour. There was some water lying about but this area had not had the flooding rains that had created such havoc in Gloustershire and thereabouts.
We called in to see Margaret and Norman Brasington on our way through. Margaret is David’s cousin. Over a cup of tea we found out what had been happening hereabouts since our last visit 10 months ago. Its always lovely to see this couple, they have been really good to us over the years.
Heather made us very welcome when we arrived in Arundel by which time there was just a few fluffy white clouds in an otherwise bright blue sky and the day was very warm. Heather is the widow of David’s’ long time friend John, we stayed with them last year for quite a while. Sadly John died last December; we all miss him very much. Heather is one of the very first people I met when I first arrived in Arundel in 1970.
I can’t say that we are actually doing very much since we got here. Some days have been overcast with some drizzle whilst we have had one hot sunny day. Today, as I sit and write this it really can’t make up its mind what it wants to do, the weather that is: It’s overcast and threatening to rain and dam cold. The wind is now blowing strongly too.
Yesterday we visited Fishbourne to see the remains of the Roman Palace that has been found there. It was accidently discovered in 1960 when a drainage trench for a new housing estate was being dug. The palace dates from 75AD some 32 years after the Roman invasion of 43AD. A military base had been built on the site first probably immediately after the Roman invasion. It is even possible that one part of the invading forces landed here as it is known that they landed further west than the main force that landed in Kent. The base was then replaced with this palace. It consisted of 4 large buildings built around a large quadrangle with gardens, lawns and hedges in the middle. It didn’t have a long life as it was destroyed by fire around 270AD at a time when furnaces were being built and ducts dug for underfloor heating. Perhaps it was some accident arising from this installation that caused the fire. It is such a shame as it must have been a beautiful place.
The south wing faced the sea and was the main entrance to the whole complex. A very large area of lawns and gardens separated it from the north wing directly behind. Much of that garden area and all the south wing is now buried under the houses and gardens of the residents of Fishbourne. The sea is not quite in the same place as it was 2000 years ago, it is now further away: The remains of the buildings on the two long sides of the quadrangle have been dug up, artefacts recovered and mosaic floors studied then covered over again and are now lawns. The hedges have been replanted in the same place and pattern that they were laid out in originally. This was able to be done because the original gardeners had dug trenches and filled them with different soil, that suitable for growing a Box hedge, the most usual plant for such purposes in Roman times. In fact there is a whole garden area where the types of plants that these people would have been growing are growing. Figs and grapes, a whole range of herbs and a bay tree are about all I can remember. An interesting thing I read stated that the climate 2000 years ago was much warmer than it is today. Now what caused that, did the Romans have global warming, or do we blame it getting colder on continental drift. I would love to hear some of our so called experts today try and explain that.
It is the north wing that is now covered with a permanent building and walkways constructed so that the public can have a good view without causing any damage. There are also plenty of signs explaining just what we are looking at. When the palace was first built the floors were laid with simple geometric, black and white mosaic designs, but at a later date much more elaborate designs were laid over the top. Coloured mosaic tiles laid in lovely designs, the most famous being the cupid on a dolphin mosaic. This mosaic was laid in a room that was probably a dining room. The Medusa is featured in another but it is not easy to see as much of it has been destroyed. Wine glasses and vines and birds have been incorporated in the borders. The colours can still be seen. Some places subsidence has made the floor very uneven but perhaps because the tiles are so small they have not come loose and they look just as a carpet would over such a floor. You can even see where some floors had been repaired using just a pink tile.
One room with a lovely mosaic floor had been converted into a blacksmith’s workshop, on another the workmen had been mixing plaster and other materials probably for the heating ducts that were being installed under the floor of an adjoining room.
The walls were made of a brick then plastered over and painted. I wonder what the ceilings would have been like. The roof was tile. Much of this construction material has been carted off and used in other constructions over the intervening centuries, though the land over the top of the ruined palace was first used for agriculture then later for grazing sheep. Just how the ruined palace come to be covered in enough dirt to plant crops I have no idea, perhaps it was several hundred years before such activities begun.
This north wing had a very imposing entry too with a row of columns, pieces of both Corinth and Tuscan columns were on display. These are both distinguished by the style and type of carving or relief at the top of the column. A three dimensional model of what the whole place is supposed to have looked like was on display. Such a model does help to put things in perspective.
The most important resident of this palace seems to have been the client King Togidubnus. I have absolutely no idea what a client king is, but I suspect that he was subservient to Rome but King and ruler in his own area.
Just outside one of the wings of this palace a large defensive trench has been found. It has given archaeologists quite a puzzle. It predates the palace and the Roman invasion but cannot be dated accurately. At some point it has been back filled in two stages, with material that is Roman in origin on top layer, but dates from about 30AD. From this it has been deduced that the tribal ruler here had contact with Rome before the invasion. The lowest layer of back fill is 50BC or more, which means that the trench is older still. Another puzzle is that it’s not obvious just which side of this trench is the defensive side. With most trenches this is quite easy to tell but not with this one.
We also got a guided tour of the recently opened Collectors Discovery Centre, a fancy name for a museum and research rooms. Here we got to see some academic fellow who has been studying the bones of the Saxons and he has come to the conclusion that the men averaged 6ft (1.8) in height. Research has also been done on some fellow deer bones that were uncovered here. It had always been believed that the fellow deer were introduced into England by the Normans, but this skeleton has proved otherwise. This particular beast had been born in Italy but had also lived in England. No doubt it was not the only deer to do so. In one room 7000 boxes of artefacts are stored, 3000 from this site, and here we were all told to gather round the table and we were given a few pieces of pottery from early Iron Age to 12h Century to hold and feel and study. The oldest things we got to handle and have a really good look at were a couple of Stone Age flint axes. They were much heavier than I expected.
For more info in this place go to: www.sussexpast.co.uk
Here we also saw an old roman loom used for weaving wool and linen. The fabric is quite coarsely woven but it would have been a very serviceable material.
After we had spent several hours here we headed off to the small but picturesque village of Bosham. This little village right on the coast where the high tide often floods the streets and lanes and low tide provides much need large parking spaces, as long as you remember that you must rescue your car before the tide comes in. One of its main claim to fame is because this is where King Canute tried to hold back the sea. Apparently he did this not because of some misguided belief that he really could but to prove that he could not.
In the drizzling rain we drove around and came to the church, the Church of the Holey Trinity, the oldest church in Sussex. This church is featured on the Bayeux tapestry:
It is another lovely old stone church. Very cold inside on this dreary summers afternoon: We took time to have a look around. On this site a Roman Basilica once stood. The current church dates from about the 10th century, but has been added to in bits and pieces of the centuries. The chancel was added later, and the aisles, the crypt in the 13th century. The square tower is Saxon built but the top story of it was added by the Normans. Around the door jams there are several crosses carved into the wood; these were done by returning crusaders in the 13th century (I think). Under the floor are two stone coffins, one of a man and the other of a child of about 8 years. It is believed that she was King Canute’s daughter. He did have a home at Bosham.
We have visited a couple of other churches around the area since we arrived. One is the small church at Wigganholt, Heather’s husband John is buried here. It sits on a rise overlooking lush green fields and the Arun River: There are only a few graves in the churchyard and it looks very overgrown, but that is by design, not neglect. If the grass is just left the wild flowers in the spring flower profusely then have a chance to flower and propagate. In autumn the grass is tidied up before winter. Heather tells us that in spring the wild flowers are absolutely beautiful. The church was locked so we couldn’t see inside.
We also visited the church at Sullington; it is not far from where David lived in Storrington. This is also an old Saxon church too. There is even a crusaders tomb here topped with an effigy of a crusader. It also has some lovely stained glass windows. In the churchyard there are a number of Yew trees. One is about 1000 years old and there is a young one planted in 2000 that was a cutting from a 2000 year old tree. The tower, the roof and the yew trees were all very badly damaged in the devastating hurricanes in 1987 or 89 which ever year they happened.
Most days I go for a walk along the river. Some of the tracks are quite muddy where the cows have churned them up. There are lots of swans on the river; I counted 15 by the bridge today but have not seen one cygnet this year. Usually there are plenty to be seen at this time of year.
© Lynette Regan 27th July 2007
