Brunei an unspoilt, exotic paradise for royal watchers<\/p>\n
By Andreas Heimann<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (DPA): Many people associate Brunei with
\nArabian deserts, camels and sheikhs yet this tiny state is not
\npart of the Arabian Peninsula, it is in southeast Asia, in
\nnorthern Borneo.<\/p>\n
The error is still understandable though since Brunei
\nDarussalam, as the state is officially called, is a sultanate and
\nit is thoroughly Islamic.<\/p>\n
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the ruler of Brunei, takes religion
\nvery seriously. In 1991 he banned the sale of alcohol throughout
\nthe country. It is also forbidden to drink beer and wine in
\npublic. Even bars at international hotels serve only freshly
\nsqueezed fruit juices. Royal Brunei, the state airline, also
\nserves no alcoholic beverages and prayers are offered to Allah
\nbefore every take-off.<\/p>\n
None of this has contributed to making Brunei a top tourist
\nattraction although the territory has many merits. There are no
\nviolent ethnic conflicts, no political unrest and crime is
\nvirtually unheard of. \"It is one of the safest places in the
\nworld,\" said Klaus-Peter Brandes, German ambassador in Brunei's
\ncapital Bandar Seri Begawan since May 1999. And unlike the
\nIndonesian southern half of Borneo, the rain forest in Brunei has
\nremained largely untouched.<\/p>\n
Brunei has so far had no need to attract tourism. The sultan
\nis one of the richest men in the world with an estimated fortune
\nof US$36.5 billion. His 330,000 subjects have also benefited from
\nthe country's oil reserves -- the country has the highest per
\ncapita income in southeast Asia. Now it hopes tourism will
\nprovide another safe economic stake.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest attractions to foreign guests is the royal
\nfamily itself. Sultan Bolkiah certainly has a certain glamour
\nfactor. He has two wives, 10 children, at least 200 horses for
\nplaying polo, and good many cars. He recently gave one of his
\ndaughters an airplane for her birthday, complete with an on-board
\nswimming pool.<\/p>\n
His palace Istana Nurul Iman has nearly 1,800 rooms and 257
\nbathrooms, although visitors can usually only marvel at it from
\noutside. But if you wander through the capital Bandar Seri
\nBegawan -- known as BSB for short -- you stumble upon many traces
\nof the sultan's family, such as the splendid Omar-Ali-Saifuddin
\nmosque, which Bolkiah's family had built in 1958.<\/p>\n
Just around the corner from here is the shopping mall that the
\npresent sultan had built in 1996. The shops here contain nothing
\nat all reminiscent of the orient, but are full of expensive
\nwestern designer labels like Gucci and Cartier.<\/p>\n
A little further north is the Royal Regalia Museum, opened in
\n1992 on the 25th anniversary of Hassan Bolkiah's coronation.
\nBasically it is a celebration of the royal family itself. After
\ntaking off their shoes at the entrance, visitors can peruse
\nphotos of the ruler's ancestors, the sultan playing polo, playing
\ngolf and even taking part in a tug-of-war contest.<\/p>\n
Other exhibits include a throne adorned with a tiger skin, and
\nthe robes the royal couple wore for their coronation. To mark the
\nSilver Jubilee of his accession to the throne, the sultan had the
\nJame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque built in green gardens adorned
\nwith fountains. Brunei's largest mosque with four symmetrically
\nplaced minarets is open to the public - visitors are expected to
\nwear modest clothing.<\/p>\n
The Kampung Ayer quarter offers a glimpse of the way the city
\nmight have looked before the streets were asphalted and new
\nconcrete housing blocks were built. This settlement built on
\nstilts in the Brunei River can only be reached by boat.
\nIndividual houses are connected by wooden piers, many of them
\nmade of ramshackle planks.<\/p>\n
At first sight, these dwellings seem to have all the flair of
\na corrugated iron hut, but they are all equipped with modern
\nfittings, right down to the satellite dishes. The washing is
\ndried on the veranda, cats stretch out on the piers in the sun.
\nAlongside the local hospitals and mosques in Kampung Ayer, there
\nare also a number of schools in which the children take their
\nlessons in classrooms just above the water level.<\/p>\n
Bandar Seri Begawan does not have a reputation as an exciting
\nmetropolis. The night life certainly does not match up to
\nEuropean expectations. If the local people go out at night, it is
\nto the Night Market in the city center, consisting of a
\ncollection of small stalls next to each other, covered with
\nplastic sheeting.<\/p>\n
They sell raw ingredients, and fish is fried on the grills
\nalongside meat kebabs or chicken wings. You might like to try
\nlocal delicacies such as Ayam Goreng, chicken with rice, which
\nyou can also take away in styrofoam bowls.<\/p>\n
There is plenty on offer for the sweet toothed - chocolate
\ncake with desiccated coconut is not typical of the local cuisine,
\nbut a big favorite in Brunei.<\/p>\n
Information in the Internet at www.visitbrunei.com.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/brunei-an-unspoilt-exotic-paradise-for-royal-watchers-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }