Brunei

Muslim
Paradise

Brunei is a tiny county squeezed in on the coast between the South China Sea and Malaysia. Their landmass is diminutive, only just slightly bigger than Rhode Island, but their economy is substantial. The Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, makes huge amounts of money off the national oil reserves and then disseminates some of this to his people. Thus, Brunei is wealthy as a country and has a relatively high standard of living.

The absolute monarchy government is tightly intertwined with Islam, the national religion [TOP: The waterfront Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque]. Alcohol and drugs are both illegal. Getting caught trafficking the later results in an emphatic death penalty. The dress is very conservative considering the hot environment. Women are expected to cover up and keep exposed skin to an absolute minimum. In addition, Muslim women are required to wear a head scarf that covers all but their face. The head religious officials in Brunei have even strongly advised their followers to reject Valentine's Day because it promotes unpure behavior. All media is censored to remove anything improper of vulgar. They also ensure that all broadcast opinions adherer correctly to the government view point. In this manner the country has been striped clean of most evil temptations.

The combination of a prosperous nation with a land devoid of SEX encouraging exposed skin, free from DRUGS and alcohol which impair moral judgment, and with censorship of suggestive ROCK & ROLL makes for a Muslim Paradise. For a devout Muslim working hard to adhere to the strict principles of Islam and live a pious life, this is an ideal country. However, for a westerner raised in the land of temptation and vice it is somewhat dull.

By 6:00pm the bus service stops and is followed shortly by normal taxi service ending at 7:00pm. At which time nearly everything in the town shuts down except for a couple little cafes and the singular movie theater in the big new mall. By 9:00pm downtown in Bandar Seri Begawan, a bustling city with around 50,000 people during the day, becomes an absolute ghost town. It is a city without a trace of a night life.

At night we spent most of our time in Brunei watching awful politically censored local TV in our hotel room. Every once and a while a decent American TV show would come on (censored of course), but mostly the local channels just broadcast political propaganda. Then evening news was a particularly entertaining in its singular focus on the Sultan. They largely neglect the evils of the outside world.

During the daylight hours though we got to see some impressive sights and appreciate the architectural accomplishments of the Brunei people. Together with some friends we made from Australia, Jess and Alex, we went on an hour long boat tour of the extensive Water Village [ABOVE: A home in the Water Village]. Before Bandar Seri Begawan ever existed on land the town had solely consisted of building built on top of poles over top the slow moving river. Still today a large portion of the city exists suspended over the water with access only by boat and interlinking boardwalks. It is an interesting sight and provides a view into the old way of life in the region that was governed by the essential waterways.




The most impressive sights in Brunei though were the towering and golden Mosques [ABOVE TOP RIGHT: The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque at night; ABOVE BOTTOM RIGHT: The Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque; ABOVE LEFT: Brunei Flags out in preparation for Brunei Day]. There were two giant ones in town and lots of other smaller ones scattered throughout the region including one on a platform in the Water Village. They all adhear to similar architectural principles with four large gold capped towers surrounding a massive central gold dome. The large amounts of gold make the Mosques glisten in the sunlight and stand out like a beacon to the Islam faithful. Inside and outside the buildings are detailed with crisp clean patterns of mostly white and gold which create a very refined and exacting feel. They are works of near architectural perfection and oriented due west for prayer. Their artistic simplicity stands in stark contrast to the artistically ornate churches of Europe, but the mosques are equally impressive.

I must say though the highlight of our time in Brunei though was probably meeting Andy. We met him though another traveler, Marcin from Poland, who had helped him with moving a Ping-Pong table. Andy was a local Malay man who worked for the Brunei government. He was middle aged, fit, friendly, highly successful, very generous, and not Muslim (which meant he could drink). Together with Marcin, Andy took us over the Malaysian boarder to seek out a bar and some night life [LEFT: Mike, Marcin, and Andy drinking at the bar just across the boarder in Malaysia]. We drank and had piles of hot wings in a seedy open bar just across the boarder. Andy shared with us lots of interesting information of about Brunei and himself. It was a great insight into the country and Malay people in general.

The next day Marcin had continue on his travels, but Andy offered to take Alex, Jess, Mike, and I on a tour of Libang and eastern Brunei. Using his car we drove from Bandar Seri Begawan through Libang in Malaysia, with a stop there for lunch, and on to his vacation home in eastern Brunei. He owned 8 acres on the edge of the rain forest and was in the process of building a 3 story mini mansion [RIGHT: Andy's house in eastern Brunei]. He gave us a tour of his amazing house in work and elaborate grounds around his house, which included a large pond with a suspended gazebo and a giant star dug into the hillside. Then we all retired to his other small house on the lot and spent the evening eating, drinking, and talking. A couple of his friends and one of his brothers even stopped by making it a fun and entertaining evening. Especially, when a giant jungle spider almost lowered itself onto Alex and she flew across the room in a single bound, tackling Jess in the process.

The following day Andy took us to see his parents 800 acres of rice paddy fields, his sisters fish farm, and his brothers fruit trees [BELOW: Andy picking Rambutan fruit from his brother's tree]. Then we drove into the jungle to find some small rapids along a large muddy river and went swimming in the river to cool ourselves from the heat of the day. We played in the strong current and flopped around in the river for a while before eventually just relaxing an having a warm beer while sitting in the river. From the river we went back to his vacation home for lunch and then on to Libang (our starting point for traveling in Malaysia) where Andy dropped Mike and I off. He found us a hotel and gave us some good advice on getting to Mulu National Park before heading back to Bandar Seri Begawan himself.

It was totally random how we met Andy and the series of events that followed was also quite random. However, it turned out to be a great experience and we got to see a lot of Brunei that we otherwise would not have, so I think it was a good bit of random luck meeting Andy. It is amazing how much luck and chance shape the content and character of your experiences when traveling.

As always,
-Russ

[Pictures from BRUNEI]