A Perplexing Visit to Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Brunei Darussalam is a small, oil-rich country on Borneo that most people don’t ever visit or even hear about in their lifetime. Despite the fact that Brunei is not known for any major sights or nature, I decided to pay the small sultanate a visit while I was travelling through Borneo.

Brunei has one of the highest standards of living in Asia and has a large welfare system with free medical care, free education and food- and housing allowances. There is also no income tax, as most of the country’s money comes from oil taxes.

While all of this sounds great and should be the perfect base for a free life, unfortunately, that is not the case with Brunei.

Brunei is controlled by a Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, who decides everything. He’s one of the richest men in the world and is often criticized by the Bruneians for this, as they also want to have better living conditions. As it seems, Brunei is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but the Bruneians don’t see much of that wealth in their everyday lives. I set out to see with my own eyes how the average Bruneian lives. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).