Travelling Hopefully

The water village stretches for several kilometres along the south bank of the river.  There are also parts on the north (city) bank although a lot has been cleared for various developments.  In fact it isn't one village but several which now have bridges connecting them.  The village I stayed at is called Bakut Berumput.   On my last full day my hostess Kem took me for a walk around some of the villages using the wooden boardwalks in various stages of decay which are the only means of getting from A to B if you don't have a boat.

The water villages are in fact the traditional form of accommodation for the Bruneians who only moved onto land at the turn of the twentieth century at the "suggestion" of the then British resident to avoid water borne diseases.  Up until that time the Bruneians had apparently divided their time between fishing, trading and raiding.  Three Swedish girls staying with us at the time pricked up their ears at this.
"Vikings," they said, which didn't seem like an unfair analogy.

The villages have their own schools, mosques, shops, police and fire brigade.  The fire brigade might seem counterintuitive but if your house catches fire on land you can run into the street.  Try that in the water village and you'd better be able to swim.  The houses need constant maintenance to keep them from toppling into the river.  Traditionally the stilts are made of ironwood which is about as tough and water resistant as wood gets but even so they're only good for about forty years.  Concrete hasn't proved any more durable and they're currently experimenting with PVC.

Houses collapsing into the river isn't uncommon.  For all its appeal the water village is tough on the elderly, access isn't exactly easy for those of limited mobility.  If they have the resources older people way well retire to dry land.  Unless there is family both immediately available and willing to look after the house it won't be long before the house is on a downward slide.  Said downward slide ends in the river.

Some of the houses are amazing, well presented, double story dwellings others are more ramshackle. Whatever the condition fresh paint is the sign of a house proud occupant.  Not just for aesthetic reasons either but also for the extra life expectancy that the right quality paint can provide.

We passed children flying a kite.  I didn't realise that at first, I thought they were just holding string.  Then Kem pointed at a speck several hundred feet up in the air.  Apparently that speck was attached to the small child in front of us.  We also passed a young man and woman sitting in front of a house.  The girl had nice hair and Kem asked if she could take a photo but the girl was very shy.  Kem told me the reason later, the two of them were on a date and we were cuttting into their alone time.

Incidentally the water village has full power and water.  I noticed an ugly, square, windowless building jutting out of the river in unsplendid isolation.  I asked Kem what it was, apparently it was a substation.  I took more photos of it than it probably deserved.