Royal Regalia Building, Brunei's Luxurious Royal Museum

(中文版本：汶萊皇家博物館，富麗堂皇之美)

On May 10, 2016, after I checked out my B&B in the water village, Kampong Ayer, in the morning, I walked around in Downtown BSB (Bandar Seri Begawan) and then entered Royal Regalia Building soon because of the very hot weather in Brunei.

Royal Regalia Building

The building was originally called "Churchill's Museum", which had been established by the previous Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddien III, as he admired Winston Churchill. It was renamed Royal Regalia Building in 1992 to celebrate the 1992 Silver Jubilee of the present Sultan's coronation as the king of Brunei.

Hassanal Bolkiah, the current Sultan of Brunei, reigning since 1967
(Photo from http://investorsking.com/sultan-of-brunei-bans-open-christmas-celebration/)

The building was a large gold-domed structure which is fitted with specially-designed mosaics. I saw a huge Royal Chariot as soon as I entered the museum. The chariot was really splendid!

The splendid Royal Chariot-1

The splendid Royal Chariot-2

There were numerous precious treasures in Royal Regalia Building, and it seemed to be guarded by Royal Brunei Armed Forces, from my observation. I heard that the collections here were probably worth totally up to 4 billion US dollars! That was awesome!

I visited the main display area of the museum. There were the artifacts which were used for royal ceremonies in Brunei, the gold and silver ceremonial weaponry, the diplomatic gifts from foreign countries, crowns embedded with jewels, and other paraphernalia that formed part of the coronation ceremonies, and ceremonial costumes.

*Here is the worst information but important information for tourists. Taking any photos in the main exhibition area is NOT ALLOWED! 

I only took some photos in the magnificent hall due to the rule. Although I couldn't take any photos in the restricted area, I still loved this attraction and would recommend it to visitors to Brunei!

The hall-1

The hall-2

The hall-3

The hall-4

Here was a small souvenir shop for visitors at the corner. I bought one rare souvenir, compared to other attractions, that contained one drop of Brunei's crude oil!

My souvenir, one drop of Brunei's crude oil

After Royal Regalia Building, I had my lunch in Downtown BSB and then took the express bus to my next destination, Miri, Malaysia.

The Map