Diving in Brunei

Today we docked in Brunei’s capital of Bandar Seri Begawan, at the port of Muara.

The ship’s company was very excited, since the Crown Prince of Brunei was visiting the ship, to highlight cruise ship trade to Brunei.

A group of crew all headed out to go diving. We were picked up at the port, and driven a short distance to the dive shop. We didn’t get to see much of the land side of Brunei—only enough to see that they drove on the left. Note to self: don’t get killed when crossing the street.

Once we were at the shop, it was all suiting up, signing forms and get in the van. Off to the boat ramp, to launch the dive boat. A half-hour boat ride brought us to our first dive site, Rig Reef.

It was a submerged series of metal trussing and structures, looking like the bones of an oil rig. I saw tons of fish that I’ve never seen before. There were all sorts of soft coral that doesn’t live in the western hemisphere. With my underwater species identification limited to Hawaiian and Caribbean waters, this excursion definitely broadened my horizons.

We also saw the biggest fish I’ve ever seen. It was about 6’ long, and very angry looking. According to its face, it had a very bad attitude. But it wasn’t interested in us. It was a huge grouper, complete with a ramora on the side.

The next reef was a shallower reef with low visibility. It was almost all soft coral, with huge fans and tons of small sights to stop and see.

Overall, it was a great day of diving, to expand my diving horizons. The water was murky, due to recent rains, and a bit on the colder side (especially for being at the equator), but it was definitely worth it.