First of all, I'm not involve in any hanky-panky with the royal family. I think Malaysia's political scene has seen enough of these similar theatrics with all those drama queens accusing, backstabbing, playing the "victim" and acting like dumb blonds. Seriously "girls"! Enough cat fightings and superpoking each other (pun intended). Straighten up your acts or just send your resume to Hollywood.
Slightly off track haha... Straight to the point, I'm going to Brunei The Abode of Peace!
I think you know what flag is this... right...?What's it got to do with the title above? Simply put it this way, it's the Kings 62nd B'day! Yes, it's Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaula, Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam's phews... big day and I'm one of the 16 chosen by my college to attend His Majesty's extravagant gala. To prove how grand it is, they even created a damn website for the event. Sadly, I'm not going as a VIP sighs.. We will be there for the sole purpose of assisting in the royal banquet which will be held at the Nurul Iman Palace! What's so "pah pai" about this palace? According to Wikipedia,
"Istana Nurul Iman contains 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, and a floor area of 2,152,782 square feet (200,000 m²). Amenities include 5 swimming pools, and an air conditioned stable for the Sultan's 200 polo ponies (Is he like a fan of 'My Little Pony'?), a 110-car garage, a banquet hall that can be expanded to accommodate up to 4,000 guests, and a mosque accommodating 1,500 people. The palace was built in 1984 at a cost of around $1.4 billion USD and has 564 chandeliers, 51,000 light bulbs, 44 stairwells, and 18 elevators. It is also a home to a car collection that includes custom-made Ferraris and Bentleys as well as 165 Rolls Royces. Istana Nurul Iman is indisputedly the world's largest residential and administrative palace currently in use for state functions, and at 2,152,782 square feet, Istana Nurul Iman certainly has more building floorspace than any other palace in the world".
Partial view of the palace with golden dome. Notice the houses are like the ones in our own Jetty area build on stilts. It's also a tourist attraction.
Bird's eye view of Nurul Iman Palace. It looks like the shape of a mosque!
VIP Seatings
VVIP Seatings
The Royal Banquet HallNow that's kick ass cool! However, there are restrictions on where one can or can't go as everyone involve in the function will be given a palace pass which is as sacred as a passport. In the event that it is stolen or misplaced, one will be required to lodge a police report. Another fascinating fact is that ladies are required to wear a headscarf, in local terms "tudung", while in the palace regardless of race or religion! I'm so gonna have a Kodak moment with my female companions teehee... By the way, I'll be there for 10 days starting from the 9th till the 18th of July. Which means I'll be back just in time to celebrate another "Royal B'day" lol... In addition, my trip will be at the expense of my college yeehah... On top of that, I'll be fulfilling another lame childhood dream of mine which is to fly on an airplane. I hope we are flying with MAS although I'm all for Tony, you go girl! Oops... i meant, you rock! As icing on the cake, we are gonna be paid. I'm not sure how much but some inside source suggested that it might be close to RM 1000! I'm starting to see Bangkok on the map lol... if I do get paid at the amount stated that is. Did I mention we'll be serving with equipments and cutlery made of PURE GOLD that might weigh up to a deadly 15 KG! I couldn't help but wonder, am I gonna cause a royal disaster?
