BRUNEI Holidays...ooooh, there’s the Brunei Darussalam airport! ..oh wait, I don’t see a runway…
oh that’s the Sultan’s house…Ah Brunei. Something about it makes me feel like it
should be in the middle east, a desert country. It’s the name, it doesn’t
sound Asian. When I pictured ‘Brunei’ in my mind, I pictured sheiks and
camels and sand… until I went to Borneo.
I only really paid attention to
the fact Brunei is in SE Asia the first time I went to Borneo, a number of
years ago … there it was, a little blip on the massive island, wedged between
the two Malaysian provinces on Borneo, Sabah and Sarawak. On a piddly
few-week holiday, there was no time to stop in Brunei! who goes to
Brunei? But I always wanted to. I always wanted to get to each province/
country on Borneo.
From the first time I learned about jungles, I just had to
see them. When I learned about them in school, I pictured these magical
places of Borneo and Sumatra and believed they would be just like Jungle Book!
(I later also learned how mean Disney movies were to animals!) Oh how wrong
that is. Sabah and Sarawak’s jungles are almostly completely gone, half
to palm oil, half to population and development. Kalimantan, the largest area
of Borneo, belonging to Indonesia, is also teetering on disaster.
I mentioned before that it is very possible for people to
actually live their entire life on Borneo and NEVER see jungle. So
different from what I learned in school. I imagined these places to be
full of Moglis and there would be animals everywhere. Not at all. People
who live in cities in Kalimantan, who may never have reason to travel off of
Borneo, which is not unlikely, probably won’t have much reason to go too far
out of their own city. And unless you fly, or can travel for hours, and
hours, and hours by bus or car, you will never see jungle, just buildings, and
palm oil. It’s mind-boggling to fly over this island for hours, and only see
palm oil. The jungle is hard to find.
The small areas left can barely hold viable populations of
what is left of animals like orangutans who need large, large areas to maintain
viable populations. And sometimes you see plantations encroaching in from all
sides on a patch of jungle, and all I can think is ‘what happened to all the
animals that were in there?’ they were shot, poached, stolen and sold, or
starved to death, or burned in the fires, and the ones left in the little
patches must be absolutely terrified.
In Sumatra I’ve mentioned this similar issue, although most
who live outside of the city have at least seen the jungle-covered mountains,
even if they have never actually touched them. But those who never leave
the city, would also never see jungle. Imagine living on Sumatra or
Borneo and never seeing a wild monkey in your life? The only ones they’ve seen
are going crazy trapped in some tiny cage outside a ‘pet store’ or outside someone’s
house, or in one of the many god-forsaken zoos they seem to love here. Or
imagine living here and seeing a wild monkey for the first time as an adult and
being terrified out of your mind? (I see this all the time in Bukit
Lawang when the city-dwellers make big daytrips to the wild west to seim in the
cleaner rivers) I suppose I’m a minority, but I don’t understand how some
people can’t feel the fascination with jungle?
But then, there’s Brunei, known as the green heart of
Borneo, and rightly so. Brunei, rich on oil, doesn’t look like what you
expect an oil-rich country to look like. I picture oil-rich, and I picture dust
blowing in the wind. But no, Brunei, is oil-rich and green, so green.
Brunei is still 70-80% virgin rainforest, the complete opposite of it’s
non-eco-friendly neighbours. Brunei’s development is all close to the
coast, and it’s inland jungles are pristine. There are NO PALM OIL
PLANTATIONS in BRUNEI! This may be the only SE Asian country that can say
this. If you are someone who is turned off by the idea of visiting a
“strict Islamic state”, you are missing out. Alot of the reason this
country is so interesting is the strict Islamic code mixed with a love for the
environment and a love for opulence, that somehow all works together.
Even the city itself is a strange mix of modern and old,
opulence and simplicity, seen in the water villages Kampong Ayer Brunei surrounding the
harbours, where thousands of people live in makeshift wood-huts on the water.
But these wood huts have electricity, satellite cable, a/c.
These water villages also have mosques, schools, stores, fire departments,
everything you’d find on land pretty much. And when a fire burned down 50
plus homes, the government rebuilt what look like water condos! The only
thing is the people like the bright colours of the originals over the muted
tones of the water condos. But hey, free houses!
What a difference from it’s neighbours. Kalimantan is
also oil rich, but it’s a disaster of poor planning and management, well there
is no planning or management. Indonesia is a free for all. You want
to set up an oil well here? go ahead. You want to put a palm plantation
here, go ahead… and soon, thereis nothing left and the money? it’s gone
with the foreigners who saw a great place to exploit people and environment for
huge profits. And the people, still poor.
Where’s the money in Brunei? Most is with the Sultan,
but the rest is with the people. This country is nothing like anywhere
else I’ve seen in SE Asia. There is order, there are rules, there is calm,
there is quiet, there are procedures, there is space, there is
cleanliness! Everyone drives nice cars, there are no motorbikes (I saw
1!). There is no alcohol (illegal to sell alcohol), very few people
smoke, no one litters, and there are consequences, harsh ones, to breaking
rules…. when you have been in the SE Asia mayhem for any length of time… Brunei
is like a twilight zone.
Brunei Darussalam is NOT set up for very much tourism, it only started
promoting tourism within about the last 10 years. And it is definitely
not set up for budget tourists and backpackers. My poor little piddly
daily budget was blown to shreds here. Luckily for me, my piddly budget
is still way more than what I actually need to live on in Indonesia, so I had a
nice fat surplus waiting to be blown in some exotic oil-rich country!
The thing is, after you pay for your hotel, taxi, food…
there is pretty much ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do in the city. The capital of
Bandar Seri Begawan pretty much shuts down by 6:00. It’s just office
buildings and mosques, a few shops and restaurants.
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| Coffin Boat ride to Temburong Brunei |
But there really aren’t any people. They work, and go
home, in their nice cars. It’s hard to see people! You can wander around
the wide clean streets, but during the day, you will soon notice, you are the
only one wandering (if there are other tourists around, you might see them…
otherwise it will just be you wandering). Why? the local people are
working, and they don’t wander around in the day, it’s too damn hot! they drive
in their nice cars.
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| climbing the 700 sweaty steps to the canopy view. ya this is Brunei, they give you steps! |
I could wander for an hour or two and I’d have to go back to
my room, or an a/c refuge, it was really spectacularly hot and humid on the
pavement. But also, after walking a couple of hours, you will have pretty
much seen everything.
There are other towns outside the capital, where you
can apparently see some people, but again, trying to keep my spending down, I
stuck to the city and spent my money on heading to the jungle.
Yes, if you were to come here from home, you would probably
be bored, think it was very odd and strange, and basically want to leave!
But, coming from other parts of SE Asia, this is a miracle that has to be
seen! Apparently Michael Jackson hid out here for a while at one time,
excellent choice
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| then you climb up here on Temburong Brunei Canopy |
So as for the Sultan, one of the richest, if not the richest
man in the world, valued at approx. $25 billion, he seems quite personable and
obviously prides himself on keeping his country green. During ramadan, the
peops are all welcome to his home to meet and greet him.
So as for the Sultan, one of the richest, if not the richest
man in the world, valued at approx. $25 billion, he seems quite personable and
obviously prides himself on keeping his country green. During ramadan, the
peoples are all welcome to his home to meet and greet him.
So what’s different for a citizen of Brunei compared to
their SE Asian neighbours? well, cars, homes and even trips to Mecca are
subsidized. They don’t pay personal tax (well, neither do people in
Indonesia, but that’s just because they don’t want to because they don’t trust
their gov’t), and healthcare and education are free. Yes, everyone is educated,
and well-educated compared to their neighbours. The Sultan himself is very well
educated, receiving international education and obviously also very well
travelled. The Sultan has implemented a forest police program to combat
the illegal logging happening at their borders with Malaysia (yep, they just
NEVER STOP!) This police force actually does patrol the borders, and they
arrest people, and they fine them, AND they FOLLOW-THROUGH! Indonesia has
forest police, no one knows what it is they do though, other than take payment
to break the law. Yes, so what a difference some leadership, education,
and clear sense of priorities can make.
And for such a small population, this country has their own
airline (Royal Brunei Airlines) and their own television station. You
just get the feeling everyone must know everyone.
A little info about the Sultan. His home basically
looks like an airport. had I known when I flew over I could have had an amazing
photo, shoot!
His home has 1788 rooms, 257 bathrooms and a banquet hall
for 4000 people. He spends 2.5 million a year on badminton lessons, the same on
masseuses and acupuncturists. He has 200 polo ponies that live in
climate-controlled stables. He has 5000 cars, yes, 5000, housed in 5
aircraft hangars. He has 2 boeings. He spends 100,000 per year on
guards for his exotic bird cages. And he has homes in Paris, LA, New York
and London. However, when I was in Brunei, he was there too because I saw
him on TV! It was the ASEAN annual meeting and Brunei was the host. (why
is USA at this??) I didn’t go to see his home up close because I’d have
to take a taxi.. I just got a little peak from the water. I had a
great view from the plane coming in, but like I said, at the time I thought it
was the airport!
There is also a museum, which is pretty impressively large,
in honour of His Majesty. no photos allowed, but it houses a mind-boggling
number of lavish gifts to the sultan from other countries. It houses his winged
chariot and coronation trinkets. There are many interesting photos of him with
over the course of his privileged life with very flattering little comments. It
was really quite an enjoyable museum. Considering I’m not much of a museum
buff unless they are for dinosaurs or ancient egyptian history… it was a thumbs
up. But with all the goods in the museum, I can’t imagine what on earth he has
left in his home? Perhaps his is more of a ‘minimalist’ when it comes to decor.
As for me, I mostly came to Brunei, well I ONLY came to
Brunei, to see the jungle.
Brunei has done such a good job keeping their jungle, it is
just such a shame they are not a much, much, larger stakeholder of this island.
These people know how to do it right and if they had more of it in their hands,
the whole world’s lungs would be so much healthier. But it’s not to be,
so for now, at least there is something left. Unfortunately, the
surrounding devastation to the jungles in the Malaysia and Indonesia have done
enough damage that orangutans were not able to survive in the jungles of Brunei,
so you will not find them here. However, the proboscis, also critically
endangered, and found only on the island of Borneo, still live here. The
best fun for me in Borneo jungles, is you generally get to go by boat. I
hate boats, but I love jungle river boats! go figure. The commuter boats
are called coffin boats. They really zip around and do crazy 45 degree turns
I am happiest looking at jungle, I cannot get enough :) my
jungle photos…
The proboscis still survive here, found only on Borneo. Famous
for their big noses and fat bellies. Indonesians call them Monyet Belanda, or
‘Dutch Monkeys’. Pretty sure not originally meant as a compliment, but now said
all in ‘good fun’ :o
you can hire thes boats from the harbour. the drivers, some
completely covered and madked to protect from the sun, will find you. tgey will
give you the two finger circular wrist motion indicating ‘ I’ll drive you
around for 20 dollars.’ good deal.
Brunei has a way to go to get tourists here, but I think if
they promote eco-tourism, and just let people know they are here, people will
come! Jungle hunting has become a ‘thing’ for some. It’s getting
harder to find good jungle areas to visit, h and for those who want to see it,
they will go. I just think many people spending time in Sabah and
Sarawak, looking for jungle, don’t realize they just skipped right over it!
