How ordinary people live in Brunei. Brunei, the continuation of the Mentawai story. Modern state structure

Having lived in Brunei for almost a month, we once again became convinced that there are many myths about different countries in the world, especially those that few people know about. As with other non-tourist countries, there are also a large number of stereotypes about this rich sultanate that do not have solid ground. And we will try to tell you the information about Brunei that we learned from the locals after talking with them.

Myth 1. Every newborn Brunei gets a cash gift from the Sultan!

Only a child who was born on the Sultan's Birthday (July 15) is given a small memorable gift by the Sultan.

Myth 2. A car as a gift at the age of majority!

Of course, this is not true, but everyone who wishes receives edible gifts during the celebration of the end of the month of Ramadan (Hari Raya holiday)!

Once walking around the city, we saw woman in yellow t-shirt and they were surprised, because they had read before that it was forbidden to wear things of this color in Brunei, because this is the color of the king. Yes, the latter is true, but it means that it is impossible to appear on holidays in traditional yellow clothes, especially if the sultan is present there, and in everyday life simple things can be of any color.

Myth 4. You can not drink and smoke!

During our stay in Brunei, we did not see not only drunk or smoking people, but also places where alcohol and cigarettes. The latter products could be imported from abroad in small quantities, but they could only be consumed at home. It is not even worth mentioning narcotic substances, here, as in the rest of Southeast Asia, for this the death penalty. There are no bars or nightclubs in the country, so nightlife lovers go to neighboring Malaysia for entertainment. And the locals themselves are proud that they have such a simple and healthy way of life focused on family and family values.

Myth 5. You need to walk only in closed clothes!

There are quite a lot of Chinese and people of other nationalities living in the country, so you can see women and men in shorts and T-shirts on the streets. But the Brunei themselves usually wear long skirts or pants, as well as blouses or shirts that cover their arms or at least their shoulders.

Myth 6. You can't eat pork!

Chinese cafes and restaurants always have pork dishes on the menu, which are popular with the Chinese.

Myth 7. You can’t speak badly about the Sultan otherwise the death penalty!

People are not afraid to talk about the Sultan and his work. In general, the Sultan is respected here because he thinks about the life of his people. And, in addition to the fact that all the wealth of the country is concentrated in his hands and he has the largest palace in the world, as well as the largest collection of cars, and for a long time he remained the richest man on earth, he does a lot for the citizens of Brunei.

Myth 8. You can’t point at an object or person by pointing your finger!

If in the old days in Brunei, instead of pointing fingers, people usually pointed to an object with a fist, now many Brunei do not condemn the usual index finger gesture for us.

Myth 9. Everything is very expensive!

Prices in the country are comparable to Malaysian ones, so living there is not so expensive!

Myth 10. Everyone in Brunei lives richly, as the country has a lot of oil!

There are people who live in villages on the water and in the jungle. And there are rich people (as in any other countries) who have earned their living on their own. And not so many locals work in the oil industry, usually foreigners do it.

Myth 11. There are no fast foods in the country.

There are McDonald's and KFC.

Myth 12. Sneezing and blowing your nose in public places is prohibited.

Not every Russian has probably heard of such a state as Brunei. Nevertheless, this sultanate is known from the Chinese chronicles of the 15th century, however, under other names: Puni, Polo, Poli. A little later, in the 16th century, it was a powerful empire that subjugated part of the Philippines and almost all of Borneo to its influence. The protectorate of Great Britain - since the end of the 19th century, since 1984 - an independent state, headed by the Sultan. Today we will expand your knowledge about the country called Brunei. The capital of the state is Bandar Seri Begawan.

Location of the Sultanate

If you have never heard of such a state, the first question will be: "Where is Brunei?" It is located on its northwest coast. It consists of eastern and western regions, separated by a Malaysian territory about 30 kilometers wide.

About 85% of its area is covered with a huge tropical forest, overgrown mainly with trees of valuable species. There are several rivers flowing into the South China Sea: Temburong, Pandaruan, Tutong, Belait, they are all small in size. By the way, being interested in where Brunei is located, pay attention to the fact that the full name of the state is Brunei Darrussalam, which translates as "the haven of peace." The climate here is equatorial, humid, as it is exposed to the monsoons from the South China Sea.

Population of Brunei

About 400 thousand people live in this country. As we know, in many countries the population is steadily declining. Brunei, however, is a state for which this is not typical. It has a positive annual population growth of 1.73%. Women live here on average 78 years, men - 74. The ethnic composition of the population is as follows: indigenous people, Malays, here 67%, Chinese - 17%, Indians and Europeans - 9%, Aboriginal Dayaks - 6%.

The standard of living depends entirely on the extraction of oil from local fields, which employ approximately 30,000 technical and civilian personnel from New Zealand, Australia, England and workers from Southeast Asia. Chinese and English are widely spoken in the country, the official language is Malay. Most people are literate, women - 90%, men - 95%. uneven, but on average - 62 people per square kilometer, with 1/3 of them living in the capital. In cities - 75% of the total, and many also live in places where oil is produced. The state religion is Islam.

Brunei - sights of the country. General review

This country is typical of the world. Tourists who come here to relax should take this fact into account so as not to get into trouble. There is practically no nightlife here, you need to behave in public places strictly according to the rules. What is left for the traveler to do? Get acquainted with the history of the East and its traditions, see its sights, look at the primitive nature. So, if you arrived in Brunei, the capital of the Sultanate is just the place from which you should start your acquaintance with the state.

Seeing Bandar Seri Begawan

In addition to being the capital, it is also the only large city in the country. Modern, clean and tidy, with wide quality roads, high-rise buildings, markets and, of course, mosques. Nevertheless, a real national flavor is visible at almost every step - many houses are made in oriental style, places of worship are framed by parks and gardens, bank offices and palaces are adjacent to old houses from the beginning of the oil extraction era. Istana-Nurul-Iman - the most beautiful palace of the Sultan - the main attraction of the capital, the largest residential palace in the world.

It is located on the coastal strip, to the west of the city center, in a very picturesque place. It is distinguished by the combination of very expensive modern decoration, local traditions and Islamic architecture in one object. Imagine: 1778 rooms, 51,000 lamps, 44 staircases, 18 elevators and several throne rooms - all in one palace! Chandeliers were brought from England, granite from Shanghai, marble from Italy. At the end of Ramadan, the palace can be visited by anyone, in accordance with local traditions. If you arrive in Brunei, the capital of the state, the city of Bandar Seri Begawan, will show many other magnificent buildings.

Mosque of Omar-Ali-Saifuddin

This colossal building is one of the most beautiful and imposing oriental mosques. It was built in 1958 and named after one of the Sultans of Brunei, the 28th. It is a symbol of Islam in the state. This gigantic structure is 52 meters high and has golden bells, which are decorated with magnificent mosaics, a 44-meter minaret and many decorative architectural elements.

The building was built on the shore of an artificial lagoon, at the very bank of the river. Access inside for non-Muslims is closed, and they cannot see the luxurious interior of the mosque. Nearby is the largest shopping complex in the country - Yayasan-Sultan-Haji-Hassanal-Bolkia-Foundation, built in 1996. So know that if you fly here on vacation, Brunei will not let you go without shopping.

Jerudong Park - the green zone of the capital

This attraction is a huge beautiful one that has been turned into a real entertainment and sports complex under the patronage of the Sultan. Entrance to the complex is free. There are: a first-class croquet court, a golf course, a polo stadium, a go-cart track, a shooting range. Some tourists have made claims by visiting Brunei. Reviews indicate that travelers were not able to get to all the objects of this complex. Some places are allowed only if invited by one of the members of the club. And where does an ordinary tourist get such acquaintances or friends? But, once in the nearby Luna Park, they calmed down when they saw a huge variety of attractions and entertainment.

For religious reasons, there are no luxurious beaches in the country. The whole of Brunei, its capital, more precisely, has one beach - equipped and modern. It is just behind the Luna Park. It has a well-developed recreation infrastructure, and, in addition, there are many stalls selling fish and other seafood delicacies.

Temburong - ecological zone of the country

Brunei is not such a small country. It has other interesting places besides those located in the capital. Let's share some information about one of them. In the eastern part of the state there are many swamps and rivers, evergreen forests, where millions of the most diverse living creatures live. The main attractions of this region are Ulu Teburong, the National Park, Bukit Patoi - an ecological trail, as well as ethnic colorful villages inhabited by the Murut, Malay and Iban peoples.

Due to the fact that Ulu-Teburong Park is located relatively far from the central places and has a difficult terrain, the authorities managed to preserve the ideal natural environment here, where there is a lot of plants. The area of ​​​​the Batu Apoi forest, on the territory of which this park is located, is almost 50 thousand hectares.

Where to stay for a tourist

There are not as many hotels on the territory of the country as in some other tourist places. But for those travelers who still got here, there are enough places where you can comfortably accommodate. We list some high-class hotels in Brunei: Rizqun International 5*, The Empire 5*, Empire Hotel & County Club 5*, The Centrepoint 4*. A little simpler: Abdul Razak 3*, Terrace 3*, Riverview 3*, Pusat Belia Youth. By the way, the list does not end there. Most are located in the capital - the city of Bandar Seri Begawan. Many travelers know the only branded international hotel - Sheraton Utama.

Travel notes, day 2

I planned to get to Brunei for a long time! But I was stopped by the need to obtain a visa. It takes a long time to make a visa to Brunei, they write that up to 3 months. And so I planned a trip, submitted documents, and a month later my application was reviewed and I was invited to the embassy to put down the coveted stamp at the cost of 16 dollars.

Brunei is not only difficult to get into, there is absolutely nothing to do here. Remember the joke about Elusive Joe, who was simply not needed by anyone? So is Brunei. There are no good resorts, there are no attractions, there is nothing at all that could interest a tourist. So if you do not have a purely sporting interest to travel around the world, you can safely skip Brunei.

It is located on the island of Kalimantan, which you most likely know as Borneo. This is the third largest island in the world! It's funny that the name Borneo is actually just a corruption of Brunei. Once upon a time, Brunei controlled almost the entire territory of the island. Today, the island has been divided between Malaysia and Indonesia, and only 1% of the territory is left to the Sultanate - a small piece of land in the north! In terms of area, Brunei is half the size of Cyprus and twice the size of Luxembourg.

Perhaps this state would not exist if it were not for oil! At one time, the Shell company came here and even before the country gained independence, it agreed with the Sultan on an equal distribution of profits from oil production. Today, everything is very simple: the Shell company pumps out oil and gas and unfastens the interest to the Sultan. Nothing else happens in the economy at all. The country does not produce or develop anything, most products are imported.

Now Brunei is one of the 40 leading countries in the world in terms of oil production, and for a state with a population of only 420 thousand people, this is more than enough. Despite the fact that an absolute monarchy has been operating in the country since its foundation, Brunei can be classified as a developed country. For example, the state has a high human development index (at the level of the Czech Republic, Greece, Estonia, Qatar) and is among the top five countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita in purchasing power parity, ahead of Kuwait, Ireland and Norway and slightly behind Singapore.

As in any country with a long-playing king, Brunei did not escape the construction of its own ideology. At first it was the "Melayu-Islam-Beradzha" movement, in fact, such a local "Orthodoxy - autocracy - nationality." Nationalism with an Islamic twist, "Brunei for the Malays", that's all.

In recent years, with the growing paranoia of the Sultan, this seemed not enough, and Brunei, just in case, introduced Sharia with all the consequences, from the public flogging of women and the persecution of any non-Muslims to the execution of homosexuals.

But the day starts in Singapore! Gotta go to the airport! In Singapore taxis, there is a manual explaining how many people can ride in the car. It's funny, where are they going to put six children? ;)

02. Airport. Terminal 2 is not as cool as Terminal 3, but it will do!

03. In duty free, you can not only buy alcohol, but also try it for free. Many people get drunk like this before the flight :) Here is a whiskey bar where they freely pour it for tasting purposes.

04. The most expensive bottle of wine at the airport costs 59,000 Singapore dollars, which is about 45,000 US dollars.

05. This is for 22,500.

06. The child was bought a new toy;)

07. Since Brunei is a Muslim country, alcohol is prohibited there. The sale and consumption of alcohol in public places is prohibited, and it is especially dangerous to get caught drunk on the street. For this, according to Sharia, you can be publicly flogged with a whip.

In addition, there are quite strict import restrictions. Non-Muslims over the age of 17 can bring 2 liters of bottled alcohol and 12 cans of beer into the country. There is also a time limit on imports. The same volume of alcohol cannot be imported more than once every 48 hours. Therefore, if you are driving, for example, by car from Malaysia, you need to be very careful: Brunei is divided into two parts, and in order to get to the capital, you actually have to enter its territory twice. This is what arrogant customs officers use)

We bought exactly 2 liters per person so that it would not be so boring! When entering the country, you must fill out a separate alcode declaration, a piece of which is left with you in case of a police check. In fact, alcohol can be bought on the black market, which I will talk about in the next post :)

08. Almost the whole country looks like this: jungle and low-rise houses.

09. Aircraft "Royal Brunei Airlines". By the way, nothing like that, A320 with comfortable seats and good food) True, alcohol is not poured. But I had everything with me ;)

10. The airport in the capital of Brunei is brand new. There are no lines, everything is fast. With a taxi to the city, too, the order. There are only a few dozen taxi drivers in Brunei. 50 taxi licenses have been issued, but no more than 30 operate! All taxi drivers, their phone numbers and cars are known. The country is small, and almost everyone has a car, so taxis are not the most sought-after profession. There is also almost no public transport here, only a few bus routes and a water taxi.

11. Brunei boasts state-of-the-art bans! In the mosque here, for example, it is forbidden to catch Pokemon! Here's a special sign! And don't say later that you weren't warned!

12. And in a cafe it is forbidden to “soar” with vapes!

13. A strange local feature - to raise the wipers of the cars. Why do you think?

14. As you might guess, people here have money, and many drive expensive cars. The more expensive the car, the bolder the driver. It is customary to put good cars on the sidewalks in the most prominent place, just as the owner puts a beautiful vase in the center of the table.

15. This is a common thing for Brunei - a dude in an expensive car specially rolls it into the park on the site for everyone to see.

16. Parking. The average level of the local auto industry. As I said, almost all residents have personal cars.

17. What is most interesting, there are practically no expensive houses here! That is, people live in some completely ordinary unremarkable houses and dilapidated shacks, but at the same time they drive cars for several hundred thousand dollars. An amazing thing, just like we have in some regions.

18. The capital of the country, Bandar Seri Begawan, is of no interest at all. This is what the main street looks like.

19. The center is loose, you can get around everything in a few hours.

20. There is also a very strange approach to the design of the urban environment. Everywhere there are some extra pillars, signs, incomprehensible structures. Here is a typical example, urban navigation: two information steles, another one with the name of the building, several types of benches, different lights - and all this on one patch. And so on throughout the city.

21. This is how a transition can be arranged! Why did you make the rise? So that you can put up beautiful posts!)

22. The transitions are all very strange. They obviously don’t walk here, so the sidewalk can end at any moment, and the ground crossing often rests on a fence, flower bed or pole.

23. They haven’t heard about a barrier-free environment here.

24. Here is another example of a ground crossing through an interchange.

25. Sometimes, for some reason, elevated passages are molded, although there are zebras below. Of course, everyone crosses the ground and no one climbs up.

26. New architecture in the center. These are the most modern buildings in the country. Here is the main shopping center and the embassies of France and Germany.

27. Suddenly architecture from the last century) I wonder who designed it? It can be seen that a private house was ordered by some fashionable architect.

28. If you move around the corner, purity and beauty ends. Brunei, on the one hand, is a fairly clean and well-groomed country, but broken roads, even in the very center, do not bother anyone. Here's the parking lot at the Royal Museum.

29. And this is not a remote village, but one of the districts of the capital with private houses.

30. Garbage is also not in a hurry to clean up, if it is not the city center.

31. Shop

32.

33. Fashionable fisherman

34. There are few people in Brunei. Only 200,000 people live in the capital, so even the shopping center is not crowded, especially during the day when it's hot outside.

35. Ordinary house

36. Plain picture

37 "Maggi" here is considered a good food supplement, and the restaurant does not hesitate to boast that all their dishes are made with "Maggi".

38. Let's move on to the sights. The main thing in the city is the mosques. Here, for example, is the largest mosque in the country, Jame-Asr Hassanal Bolkiah, popularly the Kiarong Mosque. It was built in 1994 to the glory of the current Sultan.

39. The mosque must have an escalator! In general, it can obviously come in handy, because this mosque can accommodate up to 4,500 believers at the same time.

40.

41.

42. Wrong entry only at certain hours. You can enter this mosque only from Monday to Wednesday from 8 to 12 and from 14 to 15, or on Sunday. On Thursday and Friday, entry is generally prohibited. But even at the allowed time, walking inside will not work. Usually they are only allowed to look 10 meters inside, and that's it. You cannot take pictures inside. They say there are a lot of carpets.

43. Interesting minaret of some other mosque

44. But the main attraction of the country is the mosque of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin. For some reason, many confuse it with the presidential palace, although the palace looks much worse, and is located in a different place.

45. The mosque was built in 1958 by the Italian architect Rudolfo Nulli, who allegedly upgraded the original design sketched by the Sultan himself. But of course, don't believe it.)

46. ​​The mosque was erected on the bank of an artificial lagoon on the Brunei River.

47. It was collected in pieces from all over the world: marble was brought from Italy, granite from Shanghai, crystal chandeliers for the interior - from England, carpets - from Saudi Arabia.

49. The height of the mosque is 52 meters, it can be seen from almost anywhere in the capital. The minaret has an elevator and an observation deck.

50. This bridge is a copy of the 16th century bridge that once stood here.

51. The time of visitation by the infidels. Again, photography inside is strictly prohibited. It's a pity, there is a beautiful escalator right inside;). But strict security is watching closely so that no one even thinks about getting a camera. You can’t go far either, right after the entrance there is a fence behind which non-Muslims are not allowed to pass. It is not clear why such strictness.

52. In the evening, when the heat subsides, at least some life begins on the streets. A park in which they forgot to make lanterns.

53. Street cafes take out chairs on the sidewalk in the evening, and there is absolutely no room for passage.

54. And these are water taxis! Some people live in houses on stilts right on the river! I will tell about them tomorrow.

55. And there are also cyclists)

56.

57. But in general, there is absolutely nothing to do here ... I showed you the most beautiful and interesting in this post.

Original taken from maximkamax in Brunei: how people live

At first glance, Brunei live in paradise! Judge for yourself: excellent climate - summer all year round; the country is rich in resources - money has nowhere to go; the population is small - almost the entire country consists of the jungle, there are unusually few people for Asia. But something is wrong ... Hassanal Sultan sits at the head of the state, who decides what and how the subjects will do. There are no elections, there is no opportunity to influence the situation. People live as pets, like some cats. The Sultan wanted to - and banned the sale of cigarettes 3 years ago, the people will be healthier. He wanted to - and he forbade celebrating Christmas.

And Sultan Hassanal is infallible! He issued a decree with such a statement in 2006. The document says: “His Majesty the Sultan is not capable of making mistakes either in personal or state affairs. No person shall publish or reproduce anything that is likely to damage the dignity, reputation, honor, nobility or sovereignty of His Majesty the Sultan."

In general, the owner is always right ... And for this he takes good care of his subjects ...

Health care in Brunei is virtually free for citizens. For example, no money is taken from children under 12 years old, and for the rest, a standard consultation with a doctor costs 1 Brunei dollar, or 41 rubles. Remote areas of the country are served by mobile clinics and "flying doctors" in helicopters. In addition, there is a special school health service. Here we must understand that the country is very small, so we could make roads to remote settlements.

If some treatment is not available within the country, then patients are sent to be treated at public expense in other countries, such as Malaysia or Singapore. By the way, all Brunei doctors are educated abroad, because inside the country you can only learn to be a nurse or a pharmacist.

Brunei provides its citizens with free education at all levels, from kindergarten to university. Moreover, if an applicant enters a foreign university, the state pays for his studies abroad.

Brunei speaks mainly Brunei Malay, which is so different from ordinary Malay that it is easier for Malaysians to communicate with their neighbors in English. English is known here, by the way, very, very many. A significant part of the population also speaks Chinese (by the way, 10% of the inhabitants of Brunei are Chinese).

Brunei citizens are exempt from income tax. Moreover, they receive considerable subsidies from the state. But not everyone is lucky. However, many residents - in the early 2000s they were about 16% (mostly Chinese) - are deprived of citizenship or hold British protected person passports, and they have to pay taxes.

According to some estimates, Brunei's oil reserves will run out by the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. That is, in ten years, Brunei's well-being may come to an end. In addition, the current Sultan did not have very long to live. It will be interesting to see what will become of Brunei in troubled times.

As I mentioned in the last post, since 2014 Brunei has been mastering Sharia. Muslims feel great. The country even has a quota for the Hajj (400 people in recent years). That is, the state every year pays the adherents of Islam for the pilgrimage to Mecca.

By the way, this year Brunei and Saudi Arabia almost fell out after the local English-language newspaper The Brunei Times, which was considered one of the relatively independent, criticized the Saudi authorities for raising the cost of a pilgrimage visa “due to economic problems” . The conflict was resolved very simply: the Brunei newspaper was instantly closed)

In general, people live in a golden cage. But something is not right here. Kind of sad. Hothouse conditions do not allow people to develop. Brunei cannot boast of special achievements either in culture or even in cuisine. People sit and do nothing all day long, doing some of their petty things and that's it. Ate, slept, lay down, ate, walked, slept. Like cats. Something I do not like such greenhouse conditions. A person needs stress, life must be fucked up, difficulties must be overcome. We must live with the hope that tomorrow will be good. And if it’s good today, then why live then?

I don't know... What do you think? Would you like to live like this?

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