This morning we leave Malacca by bus to KL airport to catch our flight to Brunei. Brunei is its own country, separate to Malaysia, but on the island of Borneo. Back in 2018, I travelled to Borneo to the orangutan sanctuary which was in the Malaysian part. There is also a piece of Borneo that is owned by Indonesia so three countries on one small island. I’m delighted that we are getting the opportunity to visit Brunei, famous for being ruled by a Sultan for 650 years. The flight time is a short one and a half hours and thankfully we arrive on time as we only have two nights here to see the capital city – Bandar Seri Begawan. On the plane there is an announcement to remind us that being caught with drugs in Brunei means the death penalty!
Our hotel provides a pick up from the airport and as we drive toward town (only about 15 minutes) it all looks very clean and well manicured. We drop our bags and head toward the waterfront.
There is no alcohol allowed in Brunei. (Well actually that’s not strictly true, as a visitor, you can bring in a small amount once you declare it and drink it in private). We didn’t go to the trouble so are on the dry! In addition to having no drink for the couple of days, it is currently Ramadan. This means no food during daylight hours for the people of Brunei and we are not sure what to expect and if we will be able to eat in the daytime. Based on the research we’ve done we will not be able to eat publicly, but we will be able to have food in our room. This is going to be interesting!. Once the sun has set we go into a restaurant and have some dinner.
We pass Toking Chinese temple which is beautifully lit up, with a giant parking structure behind! It is the oldest and most significant Chinese temples in Brunei
Next morning after breakfast is delivered to our room, we start the day with a visit to The Museum of Royal Regalia. As the name suggests, it is full of all sorts of regalia belonging to the Sultan (he’s worth around $50bn btw).
We learn about the current Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah – well that’s his short name – his full name has about 14 parts to it and that’s not just titles, it’s actual names! The museum has lots of photos of him and gifts he received from countries all over the world.
We start a walking tour (from Lonely Planet) around the capital, which is really small so we may have to drag some of this out!!
We see some interesting buildings and soak up the local atmosphere. There’s hardly anyone out and about… seemingly everyone drives everywhere! We see “The Big Wall”, a giant mural welcoming visitors to the country.
We walk to the river to look across at Kampong Ayer, the “floating city” and are enticed to a boat trip. We travel along the Brunei river to a spot where we can see proboscis monkeys. It’s hard to photograph them as they’re high up in the trees and the sun is is barely shining but we do get to see a handful of them swinging through the trees and eating leaves. You can just about spot their protruding bellies and bulbous noses!!
The driver (captain?!) points out the enormous Sultans palace as we pass by. Apparently it cost $3bn to build and has 17 floors!! It is certainly a contender for the Worlds biggest palace.
The young boat driver asks us if we’re married and we both respond “yes”, “Oh good”, he says “Now I can take your photograph”!!! Seriously!!!
We see some lovely birds and enjoy sailing through the mangroves and then head back to the city on water. Kampung Ayer is a cluster of 28 villages, entirely built on stilts. It is the world’s largest water village, with a history spanning over 1,000 years.
We see the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha Bridge – they do love a long name!
We get off at the museum and learn some of the history of Kampong Ayer. It is considered the birthplace of Brunei civilization and was called the “Venice of the East” when the Western colonists arrived. It was the original capital of Brunei and had a palace for the Sultan.
Off the boat, we duck into the shopping centre to cool down and we notice a lot of police and security around. There are a number of black Mercedes outside and we’re fairly certain somebody important is around. Shane asks one of the security guards and he says the prince is on his way. We also spotted what seems to be a celebrity chef (Chef Ammar) who must be cooking for the prince – a red carpet has been laid out and the security teams are greeting the chef, shaking his hand and getting selfies with him.
After some lunch which we have to take back to our hotel room to eat, we continue our walking tour!
We walk through the lovely Jubilee park, where there is a giant frame for that Insta shot of the mosque!! It’s a bit grey today!
As we approach the mosque, actually this is the side entrance, a young man says hello and asks us where we’re from. We chat to him briefly and he tells us “you know you don’t have to worry about Sharia Law – it’s only for Muslims”. Good to know but we’re not taking any chances… then he says “like if someone was LGBT, only if they’re Muslim would they take action” 😱. We smile and nod politely (ehhhh ok!), while I put on a headscarf and go inside the grounds.
Yet another view of the mosque!
Shane has found a restaurant which serves ambuyat, the national dish of Brunei. It’s a starchy, bland substance similar to tapioca, served hot and you try to wrap it around the chopsticks and dip into various sauces. He ate most of it!!!! This restaurant is fantastic – it’s clearly family run and all Muslim. When we arrive we are nearly too late for the Iftar (evening meal to break the fast) buffet feast…. These people don’t hang around (clearly they’re very hungry), once the sun goes down they are ready to attack… even though we arrived only 30 minutes after sunset, we had the last of the buffet to enjoy!! Everyone was so nice though and said hello to us, asked where we were from and suggested what we should eat!
Next morning we have some time before we go to the airport so we visit the Energy Hub which is essentially a museum to Brunei’s biggest asset – oil!
It has some really interesting information and we even get to do an interactive photo!! We’re the only people there!
Brunei is a strict Muslim country under Sharia Law. This building is the courts… I wouldn’t wanta be in there!
Some other snaps from around the capital…
On the way to the airport we see the Ministry of Religious Affairs- the building is giant and palatial! 🧐
Well Brunei, that’s a wrap… it’s been interesting!
odohertyelaine 