Today we are
Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of the small, sultanate of Brunei
Darussalem. Brunei for short. This tiny country is on the island of Borneo,
surrounded by Malaysia and Indonesia. It
is an absolute monarchy with the Sultan of Brunei (the 29th Sultan –
Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saidfuddien III). Quite a mouthful.
Our tour was
entitled Sultanate Discovery. I assumed
it was discover of the country (which is a Sultanate). Instead, it was discovery of the Sultanate,
as in the royal family. So, after a bit
of a drive…
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| A Cemetery |
During our drive we didn't see many of the shanty type villages that we have seen in so many parts of Asia. Most of what we saw were modern structures. Don't know if the rest of the Sultanate is the same.
The drive took us through the grounds of the Empire Hotel. The guide indicated that many celebrities stay here as the hotel assures them privacy. It doesn't hurt that pond side villas are extremely expensive...limits the commoners.
Then it was on to our first stop. Light snacks at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club. The current sultan and many of his sons and other royal family members are avid polo players.
The anteroom to the ballroom...
with a portrait of the sultan on his favorite horse.
The club house was magnificent and the room that we ate in was the huge, beautifully decorated club ball room...
with Swarovski crystal chandeliers
and lots of gold gilding everywhere.
We also had a short tour of a few of the public areas...
including the pool.
The grounds also featured many stalls for the polo ponies…
and we also drove by the polo field and viewing stand.
Then it was on to the Jame’As Hassani Bolkiah Mosque. This was built for the people by the current sultan and is the largest mosque in the country. Inaugurated in 1994, at a cost of about $8 million (US), it has 29 gold domes and four minarets and can accommodate 5,000 worshippers at a time.
The entry hall had a marble staircase, many columns and a magnificent stained glass dome.
The main prayer hall...
with a beautiful dome
and intricately woven carpet.
The sultan has his own, private entrance from a lovely garden with fountains.
Other photos of the mosque complex.
Next stop was a visit to the Istana Nurul Iman, the royal palace. The name means Palace of the Light of Faith. Per the Guiness Book of Records criteria for size, this palace is the largest residential palace in the world at over 2.1 million square feet. Some of the statistics include 1788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, a banquet hall that can accommodate 5,000 guests, a most that can hold 1500 people, a 110-car garage, five swimming pools and an air conditioned stable for the Sultan’s 200 polo ponies. And there are other mind-boggling stats.
Unfortunately, we can only see the entrance gate,
the guards,
and an interesting structure just inside the gates.
Couldn’t see the actual palace. Some of the landscaping outside the walls.
After lunch at a mall (buffet), we visited the Royal Regalia Museum (Muzium Alat Kebesaran Diraja)…
where we saw the huge chariot used to carry the Sultan in the parade celebrating his 25th silver jubilee which took place in 1992.
The display included many headless mannequins (but with “hats” suspended over the forms) in traditional dress of his soldiers and escorts.
His and his wives golden garb worn during the ceremony. They must have each weight a ton as they were woven from golden thread.
And a model of the ceremonial room where some of the jubilee ceremonies took place.
The main hall included displays of ceremonial umbrellas (color coded to indicate function or status of the person with the umbrella),
ceremonial candle sticks,
and shields.
And there was another, smaller, chariot in the main room.
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More Regalia Museum
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Then it was on to the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque (named in honor of the 28th sultan and father of the current sultan). We only visited the exterior of this mosque.
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More Brunei Mosques
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During the drive we passed a river. There was a park along the river that had a number of outdoor sculptures.
Then a short visit to the Energy Hub. Brunei gets its vast wealth from its oil and gas fields.
There were views of some homes built over the water.
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More Brunei
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Then it was back to the ship.
Today is our last port on this cruise so we decided to go topside for milk shakes and to record our last sailing. Every port departure they play It’s a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong. It has become a favorite song of ours.
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Video of It's a Wonderful World
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We had dinner tonight with Brenda, the bridge instructor, a couple of dance hosts and other regular Crystal cruisers. Brenda has ordered a special desert, a Salzburger Nockerl.
A divine, decadent desert of meringue peaks, dusted with powdered sugar to look like snow dusted peaks, and sitting on a decadent pudding-like base. Really yummy.
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