We flew to Brunei late last night. Brunei is a small kingdom on the northwest part of the island of Borneo, nestled between the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah. I think it's about the size of Rhode Island. It's also just about the richest country on the globe, per capita, because it sits right on top of a huge deposit of oil discovered in the '60s. Thus the capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan, looks like any major U.S. city: it has freeways, glass and steel buildings downtown, and beautiful landscaping. You'd have thought you were in Dallas.
It also has miles and miles of canals lined by lush vegetation that provide access by boat to the more rural parts of the country. This morning we boarded speedboats to cruise through the canals to the district of Temburong, where we visited an open air marketplace and then visited a family home of the indigenous Iban people who live in "longhouses" that look, frankly, like an apartment building. The family shared with us their method for weaving mats from straw, performed a ceremonial dance for us, and shared homemade curry and cakes. They were incredibly generous to a crowd of tourists.
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