Wikipedia entry

Buy it on Amazon

I thought the book was a bit outdated in some of its references. The world has progressed so much further whereas the book addresses some things as “future possibilities.” But still a great read.

Have you read this book? Let me know what you think of it.

My rating:
4 out of 5 stars

And they were parading right down the area where I’m working! That says a lot. BSP is at the center of the universe with regards to applied oil and gas information technology. After all, BSP received the Shell technology partner of the year award and it has proved to be a successful grounds for digital oilfield world 1sts due to the Sultan’s funding, technology uptake, and because of people’s willingness to take innovative risks to drive business improvement.

Followed by a couple of keynote speeches televised by Radio Television Brunei, the sultan graced the halls as his hands landed on the lips of thousands of employees greeting him with utmost humility. I shook the hand of royalty and that was a nice moment for me. The sultan’s physique reflects peak fitness for a man in his sixties. It was striking in beauty to see a successful empire built on the principles of Islam, led by Muslims from the very top to the working class. I’m really glad to be a part of such a movement.

Not enough web cred/exposure has been given to this little piece of earth so I’m going to spoil it for you. Actually, when I was moving to Brunei I searched Google, Facebook, Flickr, Youtube, and people’s blogs to get the scoop. I got noth. Nothing more than a miser few images of the big golden masjid.

The only thing the world knows about Brunei is from some over-popularized documentary by National Geographic on the sultan’s riches and opulent taste in gold and oil. Zero intel on the web other than that. What a great way to keep people away, ministry of tourism. They have however done a good job keeping people wildly enthused by the myth that the Sultan is the richest man in the world and that everyone here is filthy rich. Well, it’s all relatively true but not exactly.

Where I live, on the quiet Western side of the microscopic country in the District of Belait, you can spend frankly a year here like I did and never hear anything about Obama, the Middle East, or MTV. Completely removed. Suspended in motion. One hundred percent peace and the closest ever conservative social utopia. Politically, geographically, religiously, militarily, socially, and economically amputated from the rest of the world. For all intensive purposes, Brunei is like a small neighborhood within greater Malaysia on the Borneo Island, which is the third largest island in the world.

Brunei is rich, yes, but that’s purely relative to its economic scale and its local GDP. Brunei has a population of a handful 380,000 and the wealth can be spread thickly across this small nation. The infrastructure is simple and easier to manage and the people enjoy luxuries that neighboring countries like Malaysia and Philippines do not, such as maids and grants from the government. Can you believe, once a married couple spend eight years together they are given a house by the Sultan? I asked and the equivalent is about a 3 bedroom house worth roughly $150,000USD. Not bad, American economy.

Altogether the cost of living is a small hike more expensive than Malaysia and the cost of groceries and clothes takes the biggest bites. Singapore is still a lot more pristine and expensive. This economic gap in a small area combined with an expat community creates an economic bubble very strong for price-fixing/gouging where renting a house can easily cost you near $2,000 a month. Ouch! That’s what you get for not getting married and bringing your 3 kids here.

And that’s your secret to happiness here because this safe and green-laden rainforest land is made for families, or so I hear. Ok, let’s talk about the social elements of life here. It seems there is zero western influence here so no bars, no clubs, no chain fast food stores, and no malls save a few multi-story bazaar shops. You open a travel guidebook and it suggests you check out the wet market. So now you get my point. Really not much to do except visit the world-acclaimed 7-star resort in Bandar (The Empire) or trek the jungles and rainforests with consist of 75% of the country’s real estate.

I live on the beach of the South China Sea. It’s beautiful for sunsets but nothing more as its trodden with Jellyfish, crabs, sand-flies, oil tankers, and it altogether possesses some eerie qualities not too appealing to swim in. But hey it’s a beach and just sitting at the peace watching the sky do amazing colors at sunset and hearing the crashing waves still does it for me. Now for me working here I have come to enjoy the expat lifestyle going to the social/recreation club and taking up sports I never tried more than casually before, including soccer and boxing.

For entrepreneurs, the virgin economy is ripe for business venture in even simple service markets. And you can make a killing here if you set up shop.

Brunei is not a good place to visit for tourists at all. Don’t come by choice. But living here can be quite pleasing if you have a position here at an oil company. Actually, the lack of social structure here can be very peaceful for certain personality types and can harness some great creativity for maybe an author writing a book, a freedom seeker looking for asylum, or a thief looking for sanctuary where people wouldn’t bother looking for you or envy you for anything at all. Though infinitely boring, in Brunei I have found true peace and a people void of misconduct and bad intentions. Much like Oman, Brunei is in a world of its own.

My hotel room was not bad. I like the warm color scheme, medium tone wood floors, and hi-tech gadgets throughout, although I didn’t quite understand the curious mix of retro-psychadelic floor rugs and modern furniture. Anyways, the room service was nice and it was nice to be escorted to the lobby restroom.

Dubai has done a marvelous job of attracting expats to live there. I mean, you have MacDonald’s there, Starbucks, T.G.I.F., Fuddrucker’s, Chili’s, IKEA, for god’s sake. Everything you could think of. Really pretty inviting, and with the masses of foreigners (i.e. non-Emiraties), you can feel at home while being away from home. That is, if you are into that kind of thing…

I actually don’t like the fact that 90% of the population is non-native. It kind of lacks the culture effect. It’s a fun place, no doubt, but no place to really live and raise a family. Definitely an exciting place to venture business, take risks, and meet some new contacts. It’s the hype factor- it keeps on feeding itself. Meanwhile, traffic is ridiculous and you kind of have to live with that.