May 12, 2007

Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei)

A Day in the Oil-Rich Kingdom of Brunei

This morning started early: as I settled down in bed for the night I began chatting with a couple European girls sleeping in the bunk next to me, and after half an hour we decided we might as well head out for a few beers at a local pub. Both study in Copenhagen at one of Europe's top business schools, and they have 10 days of freedom in Borneo before heading back for a series of presentations. It is difficult re-capping the variety of topics we chatted about, but suffice to say we didn't get back until 3am.

One of the girls is the daughter of a Swedish diplomat, and after living all over the world (including visits to Jupiter, Florida and Cope Cod, Massachusetts - I have family in both places) she developed a terrific base of knowledge and perspective. The other girl lived in America for several years while attending a prep school on a field-hockey scholarship, and despite her modesty it was clear how competent she was, as well. The Europeans are a lucky bunch because exposure to a variety of nationalities means they are cultured from a young age. This is a trait Americans must work hard to learn, and it is never easy because of of time and distance constraints.

When I told them I keep this weblog, they made me promise the to quote the following comment they directed toward me: "If all the world were as informed as you the possibilities would be endless." I feel silly typing such things ("he who thinks little of himself is much more than he thinks"), but I don't want to rule out the possibility they will hire me some day for following through on promises.

The second part of my morning began at 7am when I collected my belongings, showered, and had a quick bite to eat before departing for the country of Brunei. Once more I was lucky enough to hook up with a group of people who had already chartered a taxi, and I ended up saving money by tagging along with a Brit, an Aussie, and a Dutch girl.

I have long-since stopped counting the number of countries I have visited because it is too difficult to characterize what counts as a country (for example: Taiwan, Tibet, Bali, Hong Kong, and Borneo), but a more serious issue is that my passport is becoming dangerously full. I have 24 pages covered in stamps and visas, and despite having extra pages added once before I may soon be forced to apply for a new one.

Brunei immigrations was a painless process: we drove up, handed our passports through the window, received our stamps, and drove on. I tried ordering a Big Mac and fries - upsized - when I handed over my passport, but I don't think the officer caught my joke. That, or he was like everyone else in the car, and just didn't find the joke very funny.

Later on the ride, I listened to our Chinese driver's conversation on a mobile, and he was talking about how long it would take for us to arrive (he had a pick-up to make at the airport in the afternoon). Since he didn't speak any English, I asked him about all this in Mandarin, and once more the language has turned into my greatest asset because he was thrilled I could speak. We all found it funny how excited he was, and after conversing for a bit he said he would take us to Brunei's famous Empire Hotel.

For anyone who doesn't know about the Empire Hotel, it is rated a 6-star hotel that cost $1.1 billion to build. It was commissioned by the infamous Prince Jeffri (brother of the current Sultan) as a way to encourage tourism in the oil-rich country. This is the same Prince Jeffri who formerly stole over $4 billion of public funds for his lavish lifestyle - which included gold-plated toilet brushes, upwards of 2000 cars, and several private jets - and he even carried out an audacious kidnapping of Miss America. He hired her as the face of Brunei's tourism industry, and then kept her locked up for several months while he attempted to use her in ways she wanted nothing to do with. More recently, Prince Jeffri has been exiled to London by the sultan, but he is still being pursued for allegedly stealing upward of $10 billion in recent years (he was formerly the Minister of Finance).

All this puts Britain's concerns over royalty in a bit of perspective.

Anyway, the driver took us to the hotel and he sat around while we wandered through the grand atrium with an 80m ceiling, seven restaurants, a Jack Nicklaus designed golf course, cinema, bowling alley, and eight pools (totalling 11,000 sq. meters). Of course, with a price tag of $26,000/night the accommodation didn't quite fit in with my backpacker's attire and student's budget.

An hour later we arrived in the capital of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan. We checked into the slightly more modest Hostel Brunei, which cost $10/night and was still the most expensive bed I have paid for on this trip.

I grabbed a quick meal of gado-gado - an Indonesian favorite - and began touring what felt like a ghost town. It was Saturday, and there were still hardly any people on the streets, and all the shop owners were lounging around worry-free. Even the jewelry shops were right out in the open with simple glass encasing and no security guards. This is an advantage of a country where petrol costs $0.25/liter, alcohol and drugs are strictly prohibited (and harshly enforced), most purchases are government subsidized, and the sultan formerly held the coveted position as the world's richest man (presumably until Prince Jeffri went on his spending spree).

The most impressive sight in BSB was the imposing Omar Alu Saifuddien Mosque, which is the city's tallest structure (the sultan ordered other buildings lowered). The interior of the mosque was every bit as impressing as the exterior, but the guard was not particularly friendly and we each looked like Harry Potter in the black robes we had to wear.

Afterward we continued wandering the town and found a local water taxi who agreed to take us on an hour long tour of the world's largest stilt community. Excluding the 0.2% of the population who comprise the royal family, an estimated 30,000 of Brunei's citizens still live on houses built over the river. The schools, mosques, and police station all make up the colorful boardwalk community, and it was pleasant riding through the "village." I posted YouTube video at the end of this post.

Later in the day we toured the Royal Regalia Museum, which houses an impressive collection of gifts to the world's richest monarch; most impressive was the huge dragon carriage that took up half the main hall, but the silver magnum would have made Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) proud.

As the day wound down I headed to a local coffee shop where I began chatting with a local girl and her brother. The girl just finding her business degree in London while her older brother was working for the Ministry of Defense, so they spent the next two hours answering my litany of questions - each of which they found quite hilarious. The people of Brunei have a great sense of humor, and don't take their country too seriously.

Before dinner I made one final loop around the Mosque while the sun set in the background, and then I savored one of the best martabok ayam dishes I have ever had.

Other than food, staying at the Empire Hotel, working in the oil industry, or visiting the terrific locals, there are not too many reasons to visit Brunei. This was even confirmed by the French diplomat who I (literally) ran into when he was walking out of a grocery mart. We had a good laugh over the close call, and he went on to explain his role was to assist the French community who work for Total (oil company).

Finally, here is video of the cruise along the water villages of Brunei.

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