Muara, Brunei Darussalam Mosques- 3 of 3

From a distance we got a glance at the Israna Nurul Iman Palace. The Sultans $400 million residence has 1800 rooms, 257 bathrooms, 564 chandeliers and a 5,000 seat banquet hall. We also stopped to see the Prime Minister office building and the Legislative Council Building where they meet to budget for about 2 months a year. As you can see from the photos, each one of these building complexes are bigger than life and bigger than their equivalent in any country we have ever been to. We can’t find any logical reason except the Sultan’s money can be thrown out on these structures that show off the Country’s wealth. When it comes to politics it was very clear that they enjoy the Sultans decision making on everyone’s behalf. We were told “it is a much better system than in Countries where you get to vote and choose a candidate for office that you may not like later. With the Sultan they know there is no need to let the people make a bad decision”. This comment was made about 5 minutes after we passed by their "CIA" building in which we were told they were listening to everything that was being said within a 5 mile radius of their building.

Overall, a very uncomfortable place where all explanations seemed to be “filtered” and skewed to believe that way of life here is the optimal compared to elsewhere around the world.Read more