The White Ball

This is not the White Ball I've always dreamt of but an interesting one nonetheless. Through Phil's work we got an invite to the Istana, Sultan's palace, to celebrate his majesty's 68th birthday. Most service personnel get an invite to this annual buffet with the opportunity to shake Sultan's hand. As per its name, all guests are invited in their No 1 white uniforms and the ladies in white. I am wearing the local outfit baju kurong with gorgeous beading detail.

To the Finnish readers, think of the Itsenäisyyspäivänvastaanotto. My friend called it the standing parade, which describes it well; after a very quick dinner hundreds of guests stand in line waiting for the Sultan to shake their hand. There's barely time to wish him happy birthday before he's already moved on. And all this done standing up for hours.  

Phil & HM

However, our small UK group got lucky, and upgraded. We were moved from the "cheap seats" with chicken & rice buffet and sachets of coffee to a selfie distance of HM. We enjoyed a superb silver (or should I say gilded gold) service with beautifully prepared food. With two starters and seven main courses I was pretty much done before the dessert! Our chicken and rice dish was probably the best one I've had in country, but really all the dishes were tickling my taste buds. Someone knew to tell that the chefs are brought in from KL for the occasion but as everything in the country; no one really knows as no questions are asked. Regardless, the chefs were fantastic, and they must have had hundreds of members of staff for the evening to serve us all in such a harmony. 

Whilst the food was amazing the atmosphere was typical to Brunei: awkward and silent. Once all people were served you would imagine to hear klickety klack of the knife and fork and a pleasant bubble of conversation raising from hundreds of people. But you could hear nothing. Just a silent scraping of a spoon and possibly the sound of people texting. Even the Royal family ate in silence. It is too weird to describe. The power of the bird's nest drink doesn't bring out the conversation, it seems. I don't think I've ever eaten seven courses so quickly in my life and still been the last man standing with food on the plate. And if you're not careful they'll sweep the plate from you before you get to put your spoon down. I'd say this is one of those tick events - been there, done that, but no need to try it again!

Upon its construction in 1984 Istana Nurul Iman, or the Palace of Light of Faith, became the largest residential building in the world. Apart from being the Sultan's private home, The Palace also houses the Prime Minster's office (handily) and is used for official state functions. The banquet room can accommodate upto 5,000 guests. As a curiosity fact, Istana makes use of 51,000 light bulbs to light up its 564 chandeliers. If you wish to visit the palace, you better save your visit to Hari Raya Aidilfitri when the Palace opens its doors for 3 days.