Brunei ~ More

(Links to pictures are at the bottom of this page.)

Brunei is a small country located on part of a larger island which is also Malaysia. Its major resource is oil, with Shell, which is the only thing it exports. Population is around 300,000-360,000 residents, which, as far as I can remember, includes the foreign workers. One third, or about 100,000 people or so, work for the government. The rest are in private sectors. The poverty level is 0%. The country is ruled by a Sultan, the 29th, which on his birthday in 2001 was 54 years old. He has about 30 or so names, none of which I could remember, or pronounce. He has two queens, the first through an arranged marriage, in 1967 at the age of 20, and when he was crowned prince. Not bad, to be Crown Prince of Brunei and Husband all in one day. The second queen is a former airline hostess for Royal Brunei Airlines, and I found it interesting that our tour guide referred to it as "they made love in the air and then got married". My first response was quite different than the one he meant, as our interpretation of "making love" is quite different. He meant, to put it into a simpler, more familiar term for me, that they fell in love in the air. Shoot, and here I got excited for nothing. :) 

The Sultan is well respected by his people. He gives them gifts that can be used and enjoyed by all, such as huge parks, with picnic areas, fountains, rides, and many things for family outings. He has gifted them with shopping centers, real gold-domed mosques, and makes their lives as happy and comfortable as possible. I asked our guide about housing, and was told that if someone could not afford a home, the government built them one, charged them perhaps $100 or so a month for it, and after 30 years, it was given to them. When asked about unemployment, we were told by the guide that if someone had no job, then one was created for them. We were also told that there is no income or sales tax. Almost all the people had their own cars, and browsing in the grocery store in front of our hotel proved that the food was quite reasonable. I bought a baked potato for fifty cents and got two pieces of pizza for $1.20, to give an idea of the pricing. And my Bata sandals, imported from India, were $16. And also remember that Singapore and Brunei's money are valued at about the same, and it takes almost two dollars to equal one US dollar (approx $1.82 Singapore dollar to $1 US). So figuring it that way, I paid more like a little over a quarter for the potato, and about 65 cents for the two slices of pizza. The same grocery store had a bulletin board near the entrance that advertised an almost new BMW for sale at $18k or "best offer". 

All the public places we visited displayed a portrait of the Sultan, with his wives on either side. We were told it was because of the deep respect and affection the people had for their Sultan. The country is what the guide called a monarchy (BIM, but as he added, does not mean "Men In Black"), but its people are evidently quite happy, and I could see why. It is a beautiful place. Everything everywhere is clean and you see no garbage--it is almost as though the leaves are afraid to mar the beauty of the country by falling on the ground. And every bush and flower are trimmed to perfection, everywhere. It was humid, until it rained the second day we were there, a regular tropical storm with lightning and thunder and the heavy rains that came with it. But after the sky was finished with its fury, the weather was quite pleasant. The temperature there is similar to Singapore, although Singapore is closer to the equator. It was around 31-33 Celsius, or about 90 F or so, which is about the same as Singapore. I think the only thing which varies in any great degree in either place is the humidity. And sometimes the humidity can be very bad.

We had gone by the palace, and the only thing we could see was the entrance (above) and even that from across the street. We were told the palace had hundreds of rooms (I forgot how many he said), and housed 60 people, the Sultan and his two Queens, their children, and immediate family. We were also told that there were 1000 people who took care of these 60 ones. The outside of the palace was guarded by the police, which we could see from the road. Our guide said the interior of the palace was protected by armed guards. The park is also close to the palace, and our visit there also saw police guarding the entrances and gates. It is not surprising that the crime rate is very low there. The people are well taken care of, so we were told that the crime is mostly from foreigners. 

We went to the park, but I forgot to take the camera. It was very beautiful, just as elaborately done as everything else in Brunei. It had a beautiful carousel, much like the one back home in Dollywood, which had been rescued from England. We also went to a museum, which had many of the dresses worn by the Sultan and the Queens for certain ceremonies, plus gifts from foreign dignitaries and the chariots used when the Sultan was crowned prince, etc... But here, again, we were not permitted the camera.

The thing I liked most about Brunei, besides its friendly people and beauty everywhere you looked, was the fact that 70% of the country is rain forest. It is a rich country, with a rich Sultan, but the people are happy and content, and the Sultan takes care of his people. It is a Muslim country, but as our guide said, it is not fanatically so. We were told that the Sultan respected other religions as well, and pointed it out as we passed a Catholic school, with the parents there picking up their children. The government employees have an hour and half lunch times, to allow them to pick up their children from school, and go home for lunch. There were busses and "teksi", but not needed so much for the people to get around. Most of the homes were landed, very nice single-family dwellings, and all the ones I saw had cars in the driveway.

Most of the times when we ate in the restaurants, we were either the only ones there, or one of the only ones there, but irregardless, the food was excellent. Our hotel staff were very friendly and eager to help us out in finding a place to eat, or somewhere to go, and they were also the ones to arrange out outings and provide the driver. And I just loved being in the less crowded place, after being jam-packed with everyone else in Singapore....

I would have never thought I would have felt so much at home, so far from home. I actually hated to leave.

Pictures of Brunei--Click ->>  MOSQUE ~ SHOPPING ~ WATER VILLAGE