A little bit of luxury

We have arrived in the Sultanate of Brunei, the small, rich country with mosques built from the finest Italian marble and shining domes of real gold, and – not to forget – cheap fuel, allowing us to “cost-consciously” fill a few hundred liters of diesel into Odin’s tanks (0.25 Euro/Ltr!).

We would also have been looking forward to seeing our friend Thomas Wong, the manager of the RBYC (Royal Brunei Yacht Club), again.

Those who don't know Brunei might find it boring, but thanks to Thomas we have a full program in the few days we are here.

It's the week of the Muslim New Year, and so there are plenty of New Year's receptions being held by those who want to sell their products to wealthy clients. For example, Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche are hosting lavish spreads. (All without champagne or beer, since alcohol is completely forbidden here in Brunei.)

I stand between expensive luxury cars and all these "potential customers" and think to myself what a difference to the people and their miserable huts we so often encounter on our way.

Nevertheless, it was great to meet nice people outside the sailing scene and the basic lifestyle on the islands again – and the fantastic cars made in Germany (without electric motors) awakened almost forgotten longings in me. 😁

Well...you can't have everything...and a dinghy, which is more or less our "car," has one immensely important advantage over a Porsche...it floats! 😁