Sunday, December 02, 2007

Mingling with Royalty (almost...)

I guess every Bruneian in the UK was at the Inter Continental Hotel on Park Lane this afternoon. It certainly felt like it: I heard there were two thousand people there. Holy Cow! As Mr K-E put it, if the population of Brunei is 300,000, then about 0.8% of the Brunei population is in this room. He thought that was hilarious for some reason.

He was also amused when I pulled out my baju kurong from the back of the wardrobe and tried it on last night. It's so bright compared to the clothes I normally wear in England but seemed positively drab compared to the outfits on show this afternoon. Note to self: black is not the only colour.

The food was good but please, why can't we have some chairs? My poor achy feet.

And yes, I got my cash. Woohoo! Thanks a lot Your Majesty!

(Background: The Sultan of Brunei and family usually visit London around this time of the year. The Brunei High Commission holds a reception for students and other Bruneians in the UK and Ireland. There's nice food in a big ballroom packed full of Bruneians, the royal family make a short appearance and at the end you get a cash "gift" from His Majesty. Errr, that's it in a nutshell.)

1 comment:

prince Nai Iyyahadine said...

Hassanal Bolkia is not the real sultan of Brunei and is not the son of Suffaiddien, merely the son of Al Murham. I am the son of suffaiddien and the crown Prince of Brunei, living in exile near London.You can contact me if you wish.Greetings from your future king. Crown Prince Nai Iyyahadine