Ever since I have known her, Mehron has had a tiny obsession with a tiny Islamic sultanate located on the island of Borneo named Brunei Darussalam. This "Abode of Peace" is the kingdom of the Sultan of Brunei, who in the past five days has become my favourite international political leader and has already been Mehr's for several years. When we met up, it was hardly a week into our traveling together that Mehr popped the question. "Hey, can we go to Brunei?" I replied "Um, sure."
Here's what we knew before we landed in this country... it has been ruled by Sultans for over six hundred years. Its current Sultan used to be the wealthiest man in the world until his brother blew $16B of his money, $25m in one night's gambling alone.
Yeah, that's it.
Here's what we know now... Brunei is home to 385,000 people. It is wedged in between the two Malaysian provinces of Sabah and Sarawak on the third largest island in the world, Borneo. The population is Malay, Chinese, Indian and Borneon indigenous. Their top three pastimes are kite flying, top spinning and grass sledding. All of the country's wealth is generated by the vast oil reserves in the town of Seria near the capital. The Sultan gives out 300 new houses to his subjects on his birthday every year. He also pays child allowances, health care bills and renovation costs on the 3-5 bedroom houses that Bruneians rent for only $30-50/month. He employs 80% of the population.
And they LOVE him. I get it. If you are now thinking about emigrating here, I should warn you that you'd have to live here twenty years before you can even apply for citizenship, and you'd still have to pass several tests including Bruneian history and high Malay (the Court language).
We were hoping to attend his 63rd birthday celebrations, one of the biggest national holidays in the country on the 15th, but due to an outbreak of swine flu, he postponed the party until further notice. That didn't stop the locals from decorating though, and BSB the capital was bedecked in Christmas lights and massive banners with his pictures and birthday greetings.
In lieu of what would have been a fabulous birthday party, we spent our time around BSB and in the rainforest. BSB is home to the floating mosque (Omar Ali Saiffuddien), which was stunning to see at nighttime with the reflection in the artifical lagoon, and to the world's oldest water village, the Kampung Ayer.
We took half a day to check out the infamous Empire Hotel and Country Club, a project of his brother's that cost $1.1B to build (most expensive in the world!), and it was HUGE.
The money was poured into the details though, like the mother of pearl inlay on the mosaics on the staircase bannisters. We also paid $5 to see Transformers 2 in the hotel's cinema complex and had the theater pretty much to ourselves. Wicked.
The most impressive site was the Royal Regalia Exhibition Hall, a sprawling complex that houses the man-pulled carriage and uniforms and flags used for coronation and jubilee celebrations, as well as priceless gifts from other countries such as a glass replica of Mecca with emerald minarets, diamond studded daggers and heaps of golden treasures. Canada gave him a soapstone walrus in case you were curious and I have to say, we kind of come off as cheap misers next to the massive elephant tusks from Thailand. And to think, this is the man's closet space... imagine what he keeps in his solid gold domed palace! Money.
We also took in a day trip to Ulu Temburong National Park to see the Bruneian rainforest. It involved a number of cool moments that are easily brag-able to your friends at home at a later date.
Like "oh, and then we traveled by longboat into the Borneon jungle!"
and "we were swarmed by honey bees while on the rainforest Canopy walkway!"
and "we stood in the pool of a rainforest waterfall where the fish gave us a pedicure. It really tickled."
There are more but those are some of the highlights. We also saw a modern longhouse, where the women were weaving basket handicrafts and brewing rice wine, but all their kids are living and working in the city or are at the Arabic school down the street.
Brunei has definitely won our hearts, small prosperous little nation that it is. And our parting moment at the departure immigration centre on the border with Sarawak was the surprise drive-by of none other than the Sultan's motorcade! It's just as well we didn't see or meet him. I honestly would have been completely starstruck.
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