Weirdest Amusement Park in the World
All of Brunei is a pretty surreal place: a country of just 374.000 people, about the size of Cyprus, divided into two parts by a slice of Malaysia where alcohol is illegal and the economy is supported almost entirely by oil. There are many weird countries in this world, though.
Jerudong Park Playground, however, must positively be the weirdest amusement park in the world. Literally. Think of a place as big as Disneyland (it is huge) but entirely deserted (remember, nobody lives in Brunei, anyhow). Two thirds of the rides are closed, it’s only open at night and hardly lit, so you almost can’t even find your way around. Then there’s a ‘musical fountain’ playing hits that must have been in when the thing was opened (stuff like Backstreet Boys). It is weird.
Best of all, though, is the story of the park’s creation: it’s a birthday present. The sultan of Brunei, the absolute monarchical ruler of his country, gave it to his country, at his birthday. Well, he has too much money anyhow — he’s estimated to have $10 billion in the bank, plus some other extras like the world’s biggest Rolls-Royce collection (200 of ‘em). Whatever.
