Sultan of Bling

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January 30th 2013

Published: January 30th 2013

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His Dudeness

Bandar Seri Begawan

Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque

You get a tan in the days,

It's sunny in the rays, but meantime

South of the river, you stop and hold everything

A man is callin' prayers double four times,

You feel alright when you hear his voice ring...

And now you step inside, but you don't see to many faces,

Comin' out of the sun to hear the muezzin go down,

Competition in other holy places...

Oh but the faithful are blowin' that sound,

Way down south, way down south BSB town

You check out Sultan Bolkiah, he owns all the oil,

But he is strictly Muslim, he don't want to make it shine or bling

They say a grand ol' palace is all he's got for all his toil,

With only 1800 rooms to do his thing

And Bolkiah doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene,

He's got 50 billion dollars, he's doing alright,

He can play his sultanate like anything,

Savin' it up, day and night,

'Cause he's the Sultan... Yeah, the Sultan of Bling

And a crowd of

Bandar Seri Begawan

Another view at its golden dome

young Bruneians are kind of satisfied,

Calm and dressed in their local dress and designer shoes,

They don't give a damn 'bout any stupid voting rights

It ain't what they call interesting

'Cause they like the Sultan... Yeah, the Sultan of Bling

And the man on the throne he steps right up to the microphone

And says at last just as the prayers ring

Goodnight folks, now it's time to go home

And he leaves really fast in the car for the King,

'Cause he's the Sultan, Yeah, the Sultan of Bling'

Lyrics adapted from the Dire Straights song 'Sultans of Swing'

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What can you really write about Brunei, if you have only visited the place for three measly days. I think I did the best I could, by just changing the lyrics of aforementioned song. Mostly because I was listening to this particular song, just before I started this blog. But unfortunately it doesn't fill up the required amount of words to make it onto the main travelblog page, which is of course every bloggers wet dream. After

Bandar Seri Begawan

Waterfront monument

all, now you can all see what a talented song writer I might have been if I had chosen a different path in life.

So, Brunei, small, green, lots of oil, and a Sultan who only recently was de-throned as the richest man on this planet. He still can comfort himself with having the biggest palace of them all though, so I think he is 'doin' alright' as the song says.

I would have stayed longer, but unfortunately the only youth hostel in Bandar Seri Begawan was fully booked when I was there, which meant I had to stay in the second cheapest dig in the centre. It was however not very cheap, and it certainly was not clean. Getting out of Bandar Seri Begawan without your own transport is also rather hard, so after two days I took a boat down to Bangar, which is the district capital of Temburong the 'other' part of Brunei. Bangar is small, very small. But it has a youth hostel which is new, clean, comfortable and where I was the only guest. Most people just pass through Bangar on their way to a National Park further up the river, but not

Bandar Seri Begawan

Royal Regalia Museum

me, I couldn't afford that option. Instead I went to Peradayan Forest Reserve, just down the road, specifically made it seems for cheapskates like me. It was nice, because due to the massive oil reserves the jungles and forests have basically been left alone.

Finally, if you are from Brunei and feel insulted by the lyrics in the song above, just remember they come from a man who only was there for a few days, and he has now continued on to other pastures so you won't have to put up with me again.

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