The Sultanate of Brunei has been ruled by the same family since the 14th century. For it's size, Brunei is one of the richest countries in the world. The Sultan was once the wealthiest man in the world, but his extravagances have caused his wealth to drop from around 40 billion to a mere 10 billion. He is building an 1800 room palace with 257 bathrooms, 10 elevators, 5 swimming pools and a 110 space garage.
Fortunately, most of his people benefit from the riches. There is an upper and lower class of living. We visited the lower end on our tour. A stilt fishing village. They catch shrimp and crab with nets and dry it out, package it and sell it. We enjoyed a boat ride on the river and visited several of the stilt homes. The families could not have been nicer, opening their homes and bathrooms to us. We were served some local delicacies, enjoyed a dance program and saw two wedding processions at local homes.
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