The architecture is amazing, worth a visit by anyone. The use of materials is both utilitarian and aesthetic, and everywhere one sees examples of man's creative instincts and the striving for beauty. The sidewalks are tiled, much as in Portugal and other European countries, and the use of geometric patterns is a continuing delight to the eye. There is no city in the world where glass, ceramic, steel and concrete are combined into such magnificent forms. All this in surroundings of lush tropical greenery is a surprise and a delight.
Engineering makes such structures possible.
Borneo seems a strange place to build a huge dam. The justification for a dam is generally to provide a reservoir of water for irrigation and consumption, with industrial demand another important consideration. The generation of hydroelectric power is another factor which may justify the expense of building a dam, and weigh somewhat against the environmental damage that dams inevitably cause. In Borneo there is no shortage of water. It rains almost every day.