Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei is not what we expected; it is a wealthy country with an oil-rich Sultan. Oil is the source of all wealth in Brunei. The Sultan has a larger home than most people: his palace, with 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, five swimming pools, a mosque, a banquet hall that holds 5,000 people, 200 air-conditioned horse barns, and 110 garages with over 700 vehicles, the collection has an estimated worth of 3 billion. It is a crime in Brunei for anyone to ever discuss how the royals spend their money; journalists can receive a three-year jail sentence. 
We were told that residents in Brunei enjoy some great benefits:

• They don’t pay tax; there is no tax office in Brunei.
• Residents only pay $1 for hospital visits or surgery; it doesn’t matter.
• Fuel was only 31 cents per litre when we were there.

We were fortunate to witness the Sultan’s birthday ceremonial parade in Brunei, mingling with the locals in anticipation of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin. Our glimpse of him was brief as he drove past in the Rolls Royce.

We visited the Empire Hotel and Country Club with the Down Under Rally participants for high tea. The hotel has impressive Italian marble tiles, huge granite columns, a million-dollar chandelier, and gold fixtures. We enjoyed various sandwiches, scones, cakes, tea, and coffee. The experience was fantastic, and we indulged a bit too much!

We enjoyed exploring the Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. We marvelled at its grandeur, featuring 29 golden domes symbolising the 29th Sultan of Brunei and four towering minarets standing at 58 metres each. With Turkish architecture, this mosque can host around 5,000 people, presenting a breathtaking sight, especially illuminated at night.

Throughout our visit, we immersed ourselves in Brunei’s history and indulged in numerous discussions surrounding the Sultan and his brother, Prince Jefri. The Brunei tale we will tell you is a few years old but quite amusing. While it might be a bit dated, it’s filled with interesting gossip.

The Sultan of Brunei, who is the nation’s head of state and absolute monarch, is in charge of running the country. He is also head of government in his capacity as Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Finance Minister, Superintendent of Police, chancellor of the national university, supreme commander of the armed forces, and supreme leader of the Islamic faith. He wears many hats; thank goodness he employs various councils and family members to help him with these enormous tasks! The Sultan owns 51% of the oil fields, and Shell owns 49%; earnings (profit) from the oil are put back into the country to maintain the Sultan’s lifestyle.

The Sultan has a brother, Prince Jefri. Prince Jefri was given a job as Finance Minister to help the Sultan with his enormous work load. He also served as chairman of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) which invests much of the country’s wealth, and he was responsible for overseas investments. Jefri was also very good at spending money.

One of Prince Jefri’s pet projects was to build a ‘royal guest house’ so he could invite his friends over for parties. It was called the Empire Hotel. It is an impressive structure with Italian marble tiles, huge granite columns, a million-dollar chandelier, and gold fixtures. Jefri didn’t get to have many parties at the hotel, Forced to auction personal items, Jefri ended up treating the country as a piggy bank, indulging in an average daily expenditure of $747,000 for a decade, in addition to gifting $17 billion to friends and family. I loved the Empire Hotel; it was stunning. It would be a great place to stay when visiting Brunei. Jefri also once owned a 152-foot yacht called ‘Tits’; he named its tenders (small runabouts) Nipple 1 and Nipple 2.