Brunei, oh Brunei what can I say? Almost Malaysia...but not quite! Brunei is a wonderfully relaxed and quiet place to hide. Don't expect excitement or big city noise. Brunei is like some sleepy medium sized town in New Zealand...my home base. In Brunei the national pastimes are going to weddings and driving around in your modified car. The roads can be congested at certain times but are generally free of road rage. I love the 'Brunei zipper'! This happens when a whole bunch of cars either converge on an area or try to leave an area. What happens is that everyone lets one other car in and like a zipper it all locks together, occasionally some ignoramus doesn't follow the rule and this may lead to 'gridlock.' But eventually someone works it out. People are usually polite and generally easy going.

Brunei is Islamic and at present in a state of change. Imagine a small community, anywhere in the world, cut off for generations. The only way out is by boat and hardly anyone new arrives in your town...then suddenly within the space of a few years you have MTV, air flight everyday, highways, monstrous government buildings, shopping malls and Mercedes cars! Life becomes a cacophony of consumerism. At times tacky and tasteless, but, as we are seeing now, sensibilities grow as a middle class develops. You see for centuries Brunei has been, and sort of still is, a Feudal fifedom - ruled by the Bolkiah family and all their cousins. Noted by the Malay titles of 'Pengiran, Awangku or Dyangku', these people can be found in all sorts of places but most often spring up in Government Ministries.

This is one of the unfortunate aspects of the country as these people are not always the best qualified or able, but still their title gives them privilege over other competitors. So for centuries there has been a 'Kingly Class' and a 'bottom class'. This is now changing. This state of change can be seen on the streets where you may have a rather conservative set of parents being led around by a healthy looking youngster, twice the parents' size and dressed like something off MTV. The cars too reflect change, along with the growth of brick and plaster palaces. You don't find it too difficult to get that nice big living space set back against the bush. Most expatriates manage to develop a nice lifestyle here. Boats, cars, houses and clubs become the scene for most people here, unless of course you have come for the money. Then it is all about saving, which generally means paying the price in lifestyle. The cost of living in Brunei has been growing for some time and doesn't look set to stop - see basic costs below. It is hard for the average person to live 'very well' and save 'a bomb' at the same time.