Brunei is a tiny country on the north coast of the island of Borneo -- surrounded by Malaysia to the south and the ocean to the north. Some of you may have heard of the Sultan of Brunei, who was considered the richest man in the world prior to Bill Gates' rise to the top. It is a very small country -- about 2,200 square miles with a population of approx. 400,000 (about 1/2 the population of San Francisco).The first sign that we were headed to an Islamic country was on the flight from Singapore to Brunei. Before takeoff, along with the safety procedures, there is a pre-flight prayer. The video screens show images of different mosques while and Islamic prayer is played overhead. Not something you would find in the States. The flight was about 2 hours long and uneventful.
Upon arrival, we exited customs and began looking for our ride. The hotel was supposed to send someone to pick us up. Apparently, with the holiday and all, they forgot to tell the driver. After looking around for 15 minutes or so, we bargained a taxi driver to get us to the hotel. Luckily, Brunei dollars are pegged to the Singapore dollar and both currencies are readily used in Brunei. No need to exchange (which is nice since we arrived at about midnight and nothing was open).
The first day, we were going to check out the Royal Regalia Museum and a couple of the main mosques. First stop was the museum. Before entering, everyone must remove their shoes -- a nice tradition that I think should be imported back home. One of the first things you see when
entering the museum is a giant chariot surrounded by swords and shields. This is the chariot that was used during the coronation of the Sultan. Elite guards pushed and pulled the chariot through the city streets presenting the Sultan to the public. It is quite large and appears to house a few modern conveniences one would not really expect. To begin with, the large wooden beams used to pull (and push) the chariot are supported by wheels -- relieving the people pulling the chariot from having to bear the weight of the beams as they pulled the very large chariot.There also appeared to be air conditioning vents around the base of the stand on which the Sultan was seated. As Brunei is much like Singapore environmentally -- i.e. freaking hot and humid -- it makes sense that they would have something to prevent the Sultan from melting during the coronation. In the back of the museum, there is a huge room set up showing what the procession looked like. It included life-size mock ups of the guards leading the procession, along with pictures of people lining the street all around the chariot. There were some videos of the actual procession, which looked pretty cool. (Unfortunately, there were no cameras allowed past the entrance room of the museum, so I cannot show you what this looked like).
The rest of the Regalia Museum housed numerous gifts to the Sultan (pen sets seemed to be popular gifts from other royalty), as well as a section showing the history of the country. Brunei was formerly a British protectorate -- finally gaining complete independence in 1984. There were copies of numerous treaties and other legal documents between the countries showing the evolution of their relationship. Overall, the Regalia Museum was a pretty good starting point.
Next stop was the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. It is hard to miss this giant mosque in the middle of the downtown area of BSB (Bandar Seri Begawan -- the capital city). The massive
golden dome is visible from most parts of the city. It was built by the present Sultan's father (apparently as a birthday gift to himself). As Vicky was prepared with a head scarf she picked up earlier in the day, we made our way to the entrance to see if we could check out the interior. They do allow visitors, and had black robes available for both of us (and a number of other tourists that came by for a look). Again, shoes were removed before entering. If you are not Muslim, you can enter during non-prayer times.The inside was gorgeous. Huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling. British stained glass filled the windows around the mosque, Italian marble was everywhere. (Again, we could not bring cameras inside). The main room could hold 3,000 worshipers at a time, we were told. Since we were there at off-hours, only a few people were there praying. There was a partitioned off section on the left where the women prayed. The sexes were apparently separated inside, with a different entrance on the side for the women. There was a group of men at tables on the far right side. Occasionally, men would enter and head over to the tables. We asked what was happening, and were told they were making donations. I guess like when Catholics pass the plate for donations, a similar practice occurs outside of the actual prayer times. A newspaper article we saw later during the trip stated that the making of a donation was not considered optional to those with the means to donate.
After seeing how impressive this mosque was, we decided to try and find the Jame'Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque -- the largest mosque in Brunei. Vicky and I jumped on a bus from the city
center and headed out to try and find the mosque. Conveniently, we were dropped off right by one of the entrances. The parking lot looked empty -- not a hopeful sign. We entered the gates and began the long walk across the empty parking lot toward the massive building. Like the Omar Ali, a massive golden dome shone at the middle of the building. This was surrounded by four taller, skinny towers -- each topped with a golden dome of its own. The ground surrounding the mosque were impressive as well. Beautiful landscaping, fountains, marble and tile work. It really was amazing.Not seeing anyone around, we slipped off our shoes, Vicky dawned her head covering and we started into the building. Not more than 30 feet in the side entry way, a person came out and informed us that the mosque was closed. They were apparently preparing for the Hari Raya crowds and would not be open to the public until after the holiday. After informing us of this, he asked if we were Muslim. Apparently, if we were Muslim we could probably have gone in to pray. As neither of us knew what this might entail, and we didn't think we could fake it, we decided to just wander the grounds outside and see what we could.
It was getting late so decided to call it a night. Tomorrow was a big day. It was Hari Raya and, from what we read and were told there was a special treat on that day. Apparently, on Hari Raya, the Sultan opens the royal palace (the largest royal residence in the world) to the public, meets people, provides gifts and food and basically has a big shin-dig at his place. This is the only time that the public is allowed into the palace and onto the grounds. We wanted to make sure we got up and made it out there rested, refreshed and ready to go.
A little about the palace: It is called Istana Nurul Imana. It is larger than the Vatican
Palace and Buckingham Palace. There are 1788 rooms, 200 toilets and banquet room that seats 4,000 and cost over $350 million to build. (Apparently, prior to the discovery of oil, the Sultan lived in a two story house in the water village of Kampung Ayer -- right alongside the regular citizens.) We were told that the grounds included polo fields, a large mosque of its own, and a shopping center. (The shopping center is for the workers there and the Sultan so he does not have to go into town). Excited that we might be able to meet the Sultan (or at least I could and Vicky could meet his [first] wife as the sexes were apparently separate again) we went to the bus station and found the route to the palace.Unfortunately, when we arrived the rumors we had been hearing turned out to be accurate. For the first time since the Sultan started this tradition the palace was NOT going to be open to the public on Hari Raya! The stupid H1N1 swine flu "pandemic" had taken hold here and the worry
caused the Sultan to cancel this year's festivities. Even though the paper showed a grand total of 3 cases being treated here, our chance at meeting the Sultan and checking out the royal palace -- a very rare treat -- was undermined by a pig cold! Kind of ironic since pork does not appear to be served here as it is not a part of the Muslim diet.Another thing to note, since I just mentioned the Muslim diet. As alcohol is not allowed by Islam, Brunei is a dry country! That is right - alcohol sales are prohibited. Non-Muslims are allowed to import up to 2 liters of alcohol and 12 cans of beer, but cannot consume it in public. There was also a story in the paper about an elderly lady that was arrested for selling alcohol and was fined and jailed for the offense. She apparently sold 6 cans of beer and was fined a couple thousand dollars and jailed for a short period. So, having been let down that we could not enter the Mosque, and now could not check out the royal palace, we could not even drown our sorrows in a stiff drink.
All around, the town seemed to be pretty slow. There was one last chance for some excitement. Vicky arranged for a boat tour of the river. The tour included some river views of the palace, a chance to see the famous Proboscis monkeys (maybe some crocodiles) and the Kampong Ayer water village. With dark clouds rolling in overhead, we headed back to the hotel to get picked up for our trip.
We got a ride to the docks, boarded our boat with our guide and skipper and were off! The small, canopied boat took off up the river, away from the city center and the water village (for now) into the jungled area beyond the main city.
The first big sight was the back side of the palace. From the river we had better views of the main palace and the mosque on the grounds. We were told of the stories that the palace was haunted and there were two ghosts that have been seen lately -- the blue guard and the white woman (who apparently looks like Queen Elizabeth). The Sultan currently has two wives -- numbers one and three. (He is divorced from wife number two who apparently lives in Las Vegas now!) The first wife lives with the Sultan at the palace and his other wife has a house somewhere else in town. Although they were previously allowed as many wives as they wanted, either by custom or law (it was not clear which) men in Brunei are now supposed to be limited to four wives. We were also told that large families are the norm. It is rare for a couple to have 2-3 children. Six or more is not unexpected, and ten or more is not unheard of. (The Sultans brother apparently has five wives and 35 children!)
A bit further down the river, we pulled to the shore to try and spot some Proboscis monkeys. These monkeys are recognizable due to their giant noses (at least on the males). With the help of the guide's keen eyes, we spotted a number of monkeys in the trees. They were a bit far away, but with the aid of some binoculars, we could get pretty decent looks at a few of them. Unfortunately, most of the monkeys sat with their backs to the river. The guides actually said this was the norm. It was weird that they appeared to do this purposefully. Even when they moved, they would then sit and turn with their backs to the river. Their diet consisted of leaves from the trees surrounding the river -- which are apparently poisonous to other creatures.
We proceeded up the river, making a few stops to see different groups of monkeys. As we were doing this, the rain started to trickle down. Luckily, there was a canopy over the top of the main part of the boat, so as long as we were relatively still, the rain did not bother us much. A little farther up the river was a key spot to sight some crocodiles, we were told. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to spot any this trip. As it was getting dark, and the rain was starting to come down, we started heading back to town. At this point, the clouds really opened up and started pouring rain. The little canopy did not do much to stop the downpour
-- especially as we sped across the water back to town.Even with the rain, the tour was not over yet. Last stop: Kampung Ayer -- the water village. This is an old, traditional village across the river from BSB. It is basically a village of buildings set on stilts, sitting on top of the river. Each house is shared by 4-5 families -- including extended family. Included in the village are a couple schools, a mosque, and the fire and police departments. It is its own self contained village with all the amenities any other town may have. It was pretty cool boating through the "streets" between the buildings and seeing the village from the water.
Overall, the trip to Brunei was pretty cool. It would have been great to be able to enter the mosque, see the royal palace and meet the Sultan, but the other sights were interesting to see. Now we are back in Singapore and getting ready for the next big event this weekend -- the Singapore F1 race. It is the only F1 race that is run at night, under the lights, through a major city. It should be a blast. We have tickets for the qualifying and practice rounds. (Unfortunately, the race day tickets were either sold out or very expensive). I'll let you all know how that goes next week.
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