And, in direct opposition to the previous post, here’s a little shout-out to decadence. Brunei isn’t tops on most people’s travel lists. It’s a small country, there’s no alcohol, and it’s a bit expensive to get to and be in. Unless, of course, you are already in Borneo and the border lies only an hour or so away.
So to Brunei, I went. And stayed at what is probably the nicest place I’ve ever been in. It wasn’t phenomenol by today’s standards – I imagine most swanky hotels in Dubai would blow it away. But for a 25-year-old hotel, it still manages to awe, and holds a charm that modern hotels have yet still to earn.
The hotel is the Empire, and it hearkens back to a nonexistent colonial era. It’s thoroughly European (as this American would picture it), but with a distinct Asian flare. The service is impeccable, the decor is gold-plated and ivory, and the rooms are furnished in an outdated whimsy that somehow manages to charm, despite being distinctly unstylish. It helps of course, that the bathroom is the size of a small apartment, the balconies face the ocean, and the pool is a lagoon, complete with white sand covering all 11000 sq m of the floor. Stunning is an understatement.
But the sultan’s brother didn’t stop there; the hotel also boasts several shops, 5-6 restaurants, water sports rental (for kayaking in the aforementioned lagoon), 2 private beaches, 2 lookout points, a full golf course, spa, and probably a bit more. It’s a miniature city, and is it any wonder I never actually got to see the rest of Brunei?
Not entirely true – I did see some oil rigs, and Shell Oil-owned homes. But the highlight, of course, is the Empire.
I think until you travel, you never really know how the little things you do can have such an effect on others. In Borneo, I got a stark reminder of that. Do you know what palm oil is? Most people don’t. But it’s an ingredient found in a lot of processed food, in its refined form. It has little nutritional value, and might even promote high levels of unhealthy of bad cholesterol.
Pure palm oil isn’t bad, of course. It’s high in beta-carotene, and many other vitamins. It has a high smoking point, and when sustainably harvested can be a significant source of income for small shareholder farmers.
But since when do we (by that I tend to mean, Americans) like to leave a good thing alone? Instead, we’ve mass-produced palm oil and turned it into a lucrative commodity, refining it down to the point where it adds a requisite texture to processed foods. and not much in the way of nutritional value. Not to mention, the social and environmental impact – farmers selling their valuable (to themselves and to the global community) tropical forest land for palm oil companies to grow sterile unpretty tracts of palm trees.
The reminder is glaring in Borneo. As you drive deeper into the rainforest, you see rows and rows of palm trees, neatly lined up and clearly artificial, devoid of life and a major disappointment for those of us who are keen to see a bit of mother nature at her most turbulently beautiful. You see palm fruit lying on the ground. Perfectly manicured palm fronds swaying in the breeze. But no undergrowth. No birds. No monkeys. No elephants. In sum, no jungle at all, but a massive commercial farm like you’d see in Iowa or Ohio, but with a slightly more exotic plant.
When you do see jungle, it’s astonishing in its savage finery. Riots of green, ropey vines, mixed vegetation, a dozen or so birdcalls, and occaisonal flashes of hands? feet? tails? trunks? Something is visible amidst the dense growth of flora that has grown unchecked and unchanged for eons. But sadly, this true forest is dwindling swiftly, and more and more of the jungle of Borneo (particuarly along the large rivers) is losing ground to commercial greed, for which we all share a little bit of blame.
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