Our trip to Brunei Darussalam coincided with the celebration of the New Year 2001! Our whole family flew to the capital of this state, with the amazing name of Bandar Seri Begawan.
Our hotel had the status of six stars. But I would have assigned it a star placer without an account.
«The Empire Hotel & Country Club» hotel impressed us with its gratitue and luxury. The steps are made of semiprecious stone "cat's-eye", gilded columns, high ceilings, spacious halls ...
The hotel really looks like a palace!
We were as happy as children. Escaping from a non rich country, a tight apartment and gray concrete monotony outside the window, we plunged into the atmosphere of the "royal" life.
Now I understand that, probably, a person who was born and grew up in a rich environment does not consider this something surprising. He calmly takes this luxury, believing that he is worthy of that. Such people, as a rule, do not have an inferiority complex. They do not try to prove anything to someone. They just live like this. And it's great!
But we are getting off topic.
Now about "The Empire Hotel & Country Club".
The huge territory of the hotel knocks you off you feet. The area is many hundreds of hectares with a classy green landscape, an abundance of exotic flowers and islets-oases with small ponds. Everything is harmonious and exquisite, everything breathes with the love of people who have embodied their beautiful fantasies.
In order to get to places in such a vast territory, there is a hotel's special transport. These are small cars, open from all sides. At any time, such a taxi with a driver is ready to take you where you please.
Wonderful tennis courts
Nice bowling
Endless golf courses.
And the SPA! There you can spend a whole day and not even notice how quickly time passes.
A staff at the hotel somehow was not even visible. There was a feeling that everything is done at the behest of the "magic wand". Nothing and noone bothers you at all.
Right on the shore of the Yellow Sea are swimming pools and bars, including a bar right in the pool. All kinds of drinks ...
Oh yes, one moment, Brunei is a Muslim country. There are no alcoholic beverages here, in principle. We were the first tourists in this hotel, so to speak, it was "trial tour". And it was 2001. Maybe something has changed since then.
About the Yellow Sea, I only read in books, and then I could see it with my own eyes and even bathe in it. For some reason, I imagined the Yellow Sea as some lemon color, and it was just turbid and opaque, a lot of sand suspended in the water.
We could leave the territory of "The Empire Hotel & Country Club" only by a taxi. As if clean, classy, black 600th Mercedes drove up to the hotel and took tourists away. Taxi in the hotel - only the 600th "Mercedes-Benz". Wow!!!
And in general, Brunei people do not walk on the streets in their cities. Pedestrian sidewalks are not used, people do not walk on them. When my friends and I once walked on one of such "pedestrian sidewalk", the cars passing by us stopped and the Bruneians stared at us in surprise. They all ride only by car. I, even, can not remember if I saw any public transport there at all?
As I said earlier, we arrived in Brunei Darussalam for the New Year! We did not manage to celebrate 2001 with a glass of cold champagne. The Muslim state ... We were sitting at the tables which was abundantly filled with food, on New Year's Eve. Our tourists were looking helplessly around, in the hope to see of at least some miracle. But Miracle did not happen, the sparkling mineral water did not turn magically into sparkling champagne ...
Harry Potter did not visit us.
Having celebrated the New Year "in a new way," we quietly headed to our rooms. The 2001 New Year's Eve I will remember forever. Because it was unusual, probably ...
Next time I want to tell you, my dear readers, how I ended up at the Palace of Sultan of Brunei.