Posted
on February 23, 2014
 |
| This map highlights with a red star the port of Muara, in Brunei. |
Brunei
is a small nation located on the island of Borneo. It is entirely
surrounded (except for the coast) by part of Malaysia—and a chunk
of Malaysia actually divides Brunei in two! It's also quite
small—smaller than the U.S. state of Delaware, although a bit
larger than Rhode Island.
You would think, wouldn't you, that a
Southeast Asian nation this small and divided might be poor and
undeveloped?
Well,
if you thought that, you would be wrong. Brunei is considered a
developed nation, and it is wealthy from its petroleum and natural
gas resources. It is second only to Singapore, among Southeast Asian
nations, in education and health statistics, and in 2011, it was one
of only two nations in the world with 0% national debt!
Today
Brunei celebrates its independence from the U.K. in 1984.
One
thing that is interesting to see at Brunei is Kampong Ayer, the Water
Village, which is a part of the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan.
Every building in the village is built on stilts—because the
village is built in the middle of the Brunei River!
You
may be picturing a cluster of 30 buildings in the river, built on
stilts, and you may think, oh, how nice—but the Water Village is
more than 4,200 structures. There are houses, of course, but there
are also restaurants, shops, schools, and a hospital. There are
mosques. There are more than 29 thousand meters of foot-bridges
connecting the village to the shore, and 36 kilometers of boardwalks
connecting the various buildings. Instead of using the boardwalks,
many people go from place to place on water taxis that look like long
wooden speed boats.
Even
though people have lived in the Water Village for more than 1,300
years, there are modern facilities available. People enjoy plumbing
and electricity, of course, but they also enjoy air conditioning,
satellite TV, and internet access.
Opposite
Kampong Ayer is a beautiful mosque called Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin
Mosque. It is built in an artificial lagoon. With its marble minarets
and golden domes, the mosque is one of the most recognizable bits of
skyline of the capital. It is surrounded by a courtyard and gardens.
A bridge leads to the Water Village, and another bridge leads to a
replica of a 16th-Century barge.
Plan
ahead:
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out my Pinterest boards for:
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