chilly up there. I put on the old-fash-
ioned knitted gloves and hat that had
been given by the tour company ...
besides, no one would judge my fash-
ion choice up here.
Seeing the sun finally come out
and the giant shadow it cast of the
mountain form on the other side was
surreal.
Descending the mountain safely, I
crossed over towards the eastern side
of the island and to Sandakan, which
is known for its semi-wild orang-
utans, peculiar proboscis monkeys
and for occasional visits by pirates.
The northern side of Borneo is in
proximity to the Mindanao part of
the Philippines; the islands that have
become infamous for piracy. As my
host took me along the coast and to a
restaurant, it was a sobering feeling
to hear about a kidnapping that had
happened there just months earlier.
Thankfully, this has been the only
incident in the past few years, after
a period of more frequent incidents
on smaller islands along Borneo’s
north-eastern tip.
Heading further south, I crossed
the small Sultanate of Brunei Darus-
salam, nestled in between the two
Malaysian states of Sabah and Sar-
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awak. Nowadays, there are two sep-
arate pieces of Brunei, which means
when heading across the sultanate,
you cross four borders and get eight
new stamps in your passport—all pos-
sibly within half a day!
I spent a few days in Bandar, Bru-
nei’s capital, marvelling at its magnif-
icent mosques and visiting the water
village, Kampong Ayer.
Combine Brunei’s access to South-
East Asia’s largest oil fields with its
small population and it becomes
apparent that the country is super
rich. Formally, the oil money went to
the Sultan, who would pass his wealth