By the grace of the All Mighty, i stumbled onto my long lost notes at the most unlikely of places.. somewhere i wouldnt even dream of looking. suffice to say its another one of those instances when i am fully affirmed of the existence of a most benevolent & merciful higher power :)
The scribblings i made when i visited brunei was something i needed since it happened ooh soooo very long ago lol. 12 years to be exact and we all know how undependable my memory can be heheheh. but going thru it i soon realised that some parts of of my notes could be considered 'sensitive' and might compromise security. so, we'll just be sticking to the basics :)
I was, at the time, a part of a project team involved in the upgrading of the palace here, namely the balairongseri and later the banquet hall. to facilitate in determining the design & scope for the works, trips to istana nurul iman in bandar seri bengawan & the grand palace in bangkok were arranged. it was a chance not to be missed because the sanction of the istana allowed us certain liberties in carrying out our work, especially in brunei.
My impression of brunei?
Brunei walks the talk. she doesnt only declare herself an islamic country, she also makes an effort to potray the image. brunei air has their stewardesses wearing a head veil. admittedly its rather flimsy but its more than can be said with other similar airlines. then there's also the recitation of the doa perjalanan upon take off, displayed onscreen. and all of this is done matter-of-factly.. you dont get the feeling that its being shoved into your faces. i'm guessing that some would consider it superficial but like i said, at least theres effort.
Being in brunei was no different from being anywhere else in malaysia or singapore.. everything's basically the same. unlike the times i was in manilla and jakarta, there wasnt any sign of beggars or street peddlers loitering about. i guess being a wealthy country helps.
It was comparably quiet & clean. i was actually expecting a busy, ultra modern, citylike atmosphere but as we travelled around i realised that for a small country, the growth was surprising not uniformed.
I could also see that citizens of brunei love their monarch.. and i guess if i was given free education & healthcare, i would too ;)
The Sultan with his wives during his 60th birthday celebration - 2006
My personal take on the sultan? the man has cajones.. he practises polygamy and is completely open about it; no cover ups, denials or pretense. at his throne or singgahsana, there are 3 chairs - the usual pair for him and his queen, another smaller one by the side for his other wife. he also houses her in an official residence, istana nurul izzah. smaller no doubt, but her existence is acknowledged.
Ok back to the main reason i was there.
We spent two solid days making our way round the palaces - istana nurul iman, istana nurul izzah, istana edinburgh, istana taqwa and 2 other istanas belonging to the sultan's bros. only during our last day there were we given the chance to indulge in a little shopping & sightseeing. to be frank, there wasnt really much to see or do but what i remember vividly was the fun time i had at the free theme park in Jerudong - hehehe.. as many rides as you wished and for free, how cool is that!! But then i heard they started charging admission since March 2000.. too bad bcos providing a free park for the people is a great idea.
Istana nurul iman is the official palace & residence of the sultan of brunei, his majesty sultan hassanal bolkiah mu'izzadin waddaulah. it is accessible to the people only during eid celebration and even then only around certain designated public areas like the courtyard and dewan santapan awam. that explains why the tour operator was actually even more excited than we were because our visit was by invitation only and he couldnt otherwise venture into the restricted areas.
Of course i neednt mention that the palace is quite huge. i believe it has a basement parking for about 160 royal vehicles.
It is basically divided into 2 areas - 1. the working area consisting of the usual royal rooms & halls (mengadap, menunggu, singgahsana & balairongseri, bankuet & santapan), the offices, kitchen, pantry and surau (a 2 storey annex buiding). 2. the private residence of the sultan & his family.
I was made to understand that the running & management of the whole istana, during the time of my visit, was entrusted to hyatt international.
And lets not talk about the luxury & oppulence. after 2 days of being witness to what money can buy, i was more than ready to rough it out on the beach somewhere, with the salty breeze in my hair, sand at my feet and clear skies over my head.
I'm pretty thankful for my simple life :)
Although small, brunei does have her attractions. we were taken to the yayasan for some shopping and shown places like the kampung ayer (similar to the ones in sabah), the jame' asr hassanil bolkiah mosque (it has a distinctive dome and its crescent & star is reportedly made of 24 carat gold), universiti brunei darusalam and of course the jerudong park. jerudong park's amphitheatre was the site where the late michael jackson performed to the masses in a free royal concert held in conjunction with the sultan hassanal bolkiah's 50th birthday celebration in 1996.
Kg Ayer
Jerudong Park Open Stage
Jerudong Park rides
Brunei sure has a lot of freebies eh :)
Unfortunately i'm not a photo buff and i cant seem to find any of my own pics, if there were any to begin with lol, of my visit but i'm still holding on to the experiences & the memories :D
*Pics are courtesy of the brunei tourism board.
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