Getting into Brunei

Brunei is considered to be the most observant Islamic nation in Southeast Asia and the sale and public consumption of alcohol is illegal, although non-Muslims are allowed to bring up to two litres into the country. There are queues of people filling in the necessary declarations at the airport, when I arrive from Manila. It’s another late night, but although it’s 12.30 a.m. when I arrive the hotel receptionist is still happy to phone a tour guide and arrange a trip for me tomorrow morning. I’m hoping the tour guide is as happy about it.

What Does the Name Brunei Mean?

Brunei is officially known as Brunei Darussalam in Malay, which means "abode of peace"

A Brief History of Brunei

• The area now known as Brunei, on the island of Borneo underwent various invasions and alliances with China, and islands in the area now known as the The Philippines and Indonesia, before the sultanate of Brunei emerged in the fifteenth century.
• At the peak of the Bruneian Empire the Sultan controlled most regions of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu Archipelago off the northeast tip of Borneo, possibly Seludong (modern-day Manila), and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo.
• During the nineteenth century, the Empire began to decline. The Sultanate ceded Sarawak (Kuching) to James Brooke, a British explorer, installing him as the White Rajah, and Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British 'colonial manager', in 1906.
• Although the Federation of Malaysia - which includes Brunei's neighbours of Sarawak and Sabah - was formed in 1963, Brunei did not gain independence from Great Britain until 1984.

Is Brunei a Rich Country?

• Brunei is a tiny, independent, oil-rich country wedged between the states of Sarawak and Sabah on the Malaysian side (northeast) of the island of Borneo
• In 2015, Brunei ranked higher on the Human Development Index (31st overall in the index) than all other countries in Southeast Asia, aside from Singapore.

Facts and Factoids

• Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo; the remainder of the island's territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was roughly 400,000 in 2018.

• The government is an absolute monarchy under the Sultan; it implements sharia law and directs Islamic practices.
• The Sultan also serves as Defence Minister, Prime Minister, and Finance Minister of Brunei.
• Brunei passed a law in 2014 making homosexuality punishable by stoning to death.
• Brunei has one of the highest car-ownership rates (roughly one car for every two people),in the world.

Is Brunei a Safe Country to Visit?

Brunei has very low crime rates and is one of the safest countries in South East Asia.

What To Do in Brunei?

Brunei is very small so it's easily and quickly navigated. But it's also known as the Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures. As the tourist board says: ' Brunei Darussalam is a land blessed with the gifts of nature, culture, a stable political environment and harmonious peoples'.

The capital, Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) lends itself to strolling and admiring the Islamic architecture, with a boat trip thrown in to visit the stilt houses - if they still remain (they are being torn down and replaced with far less characterful dwellings). There's beach and ancient rainforest. And these are, indeed, some of the friendliest people you will ever meet.

Leaving Bandar Seri Begawan

Check in is frustratingly slow as there are a group of Chinese tourists waiting. After that the airport is very modern, easy and quiet. There’s just me and five security guards. They won’t let me take my water through, but they count down from ten, laughing, while I drink it. Bangkok next.

I've flown into Bandar Seri Begawan from Palau via Manila. I don’t have great expectations of Brunei, so I’ve only allocated two nights. I’ve been told it’s very boring and quiet. 

Bandar Seri Begawan - or BSB

Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital and largest city of Brunei, and the nation's primary administrative, cultural, and financial centre. It's a (mostly) modern metropolis of roughly 72,000 residents with an unhurried, peaceful atmosphere heavily shaped by Islamic tradition and the country's oil wealth. It was known as Brunei Town until it was renamed in 1970. The name is a mouthful: Bandar, in Malay 'city' and 'Seri Begawan' was the sacred royal title bestowed upon Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III (the 28th Sultan of Brunei) after he abdicated the throne, in 1967 in favour of his son, the current Sultan. The title itself is derived from Sanskrit and translates as 'the shining, blessed, or saintly one'. So, when put together, the name roughly means 'City of the Blessed One' and was intended honour the Sultan's contributions to modernising Brunei during his twentieth-century reign. Thankfully, as it’s almost part of Malaysia it’s known affectionately as BSB.

Mohammed, my guide, doesn’t endear himself to me right off as he refuses to let me sit in the front seat of the little bus (there’s only him and me). And then he tells me that I have obviously travelled a great deal. ‘How did you know?’ I ask. ‘Because you don’t listen to what I say, you ask your own questions instead and you look around a lot’, he says. ‘But that’s fine.’ I suppose that’s true and very astute, and after that we get on like a house on fire. He turns out to be very sensitive, informative and friendly. There are three must-sees in Bandar Seri Begawan These are the water village, the Royal Regalia Museum and the main mosque.

Kampung Ayer

Kampung Ayer is (or rather was) a maze of ramshackle structures wobbling on the Brunei River, in Bandar Seri Begawan. It used to be home to nearly 30,000 people, dates back over 1000 years and is said to be the largest river village in the world. It’s now, sadly, being reconstructed, on one of the sultan’s programmes, and the wooden structures replaced with concrete cubes on stilts. I can see the logic, especially the fire hazard issues, but the new buildings have none of the charm of the originals.

I’m entertained to refreshments in one of the houses and ignored by the long suffering residents. They are watching TV, two different channels on two sets standing side by side. Then we tootle up the river on a water taxi, for views of houses, old and new, a pointy roofed jetty for each of the different villages, views of the mosques and a glimpse of the sultan’s palace (just the gold dome).

Golden Domes

An additional mosque has been added to the programme, so I visit both the sultan’s mosque, the opulent Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah, with its 29 golden domes (one for each of the sultans so far), which is slightly out of town, and the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque built by his father, which is the one by the river. There's an enormous madrassah/Islamic government affairs building adjacent. I think the riverside complex is more picturesque, but I keep quiet about that. I have to wear a black gown to enter both, though no-one seems overly fussed about head gear.

It's an interesting contrast, the opulent, gold-domed architecture and the ramshackle stilt village.

Royal Regalia Building

Everything is neat and tidy (other than the ubiquitous plastic bottles floating in the water) and the infrastructure good. So it would appear that the Sultan is not to be compared with dictators like Kim Jong Un or Karim of Turkmenistan. But the Royal Regalia Building collection leans more in their direction. It is a vanity project which houses a large collection of sumptuous gifts given to the sultans over the years from various world leaders. (There’s a very ugly green glass urn from our queen.)

Also on display are the fabulous carriages used at the gold and silver jubilee displays and coronation. There are a panoply of uniforms, umbrellas and so forth that were also at the pageants and photographs of the VIP attendees. Sophie and Edward Wessex represented the UK both times. Make of that what you will. There are also mock ups and photographs of part of the sultan’s palace, so that his subjects can see how he lives.

The Perils of Eating Durian

En route to the museum we fit in the local market. Everyone has been very friendly so far and the stall holders here are remarkably so. They are very good natured about photographs. It's mainly fruit and vegetables on offer. The spiky durian is in season and the whole market reeks of the sour odour, which prevents many people (me included) from savouring this so called delicacy. Mohammed confides that he consumed six at one sitting (while watching football) and is now suffering the after effects. 'Too much heat in the blood has given him the sniffles'. I think he’s lucky if that’s the only after effect he’s had. He goes on to report that his wife isn’t very pleased with him. He ate half their stock.

The Brunei Jungle

We divert into the jungle countryside, (pristinely green) a little and back again to try and disguise the fact that we have covered a very small area (BSB is tiny) and I could easily have walked to all these places from my hotel. the Old Town is about a mile wide and little more in length. However, I’m not unhappy. It’s more fun to be escorted, except I could do without Mohammed’s constant foot on the brake style driving. I’m decidedly queasy in the back (vomiting would at least make him think twice about passenger placement in future). The roads are in better condition than those back home, lined with trees and artistically clipped bushes.

A Sunday Stroll in Bandar Seri Begawan

On Sunday,, I take my camera out for a walk round Bandar Seri Begawan, just to check I haven’t missed anything. I haven’t. I wander the other side of the river from the water village and round past the public gardens. Sunday seems to be a proper weekend rest day here, even though it’s a Muslim country, and families are out renting bikes, walking or just sitting. My stroll is punctuated with calls from the boatmen to take a ride or, pleas from the locals who want selfies with me. There are not many tourists, just a few groups of Chinese at the mosques. The taxi driver assumes I’m here on business. So I’m mostly a novelty. Maybe, as I’ve posited elsewhere, that’s why the people are so welcoming. It’s 31 degrees and the humidity extremely high. I have my long top and ankle length trousers on, to comply with local custom, and an hour at a time is as much as I can cope with.

I retire to my room in search of air conditioning and ice. The hotel staff are incredibly friendly and helpful here too. There are only two hotels in town and it’s good to be back in Asia. The buffet is a delicious fusion of noodles, sushi, local fish and marinated beef.

I’m delighted to report that Brunei isn’t boring at all. (Read more about Brunei, The Land of Unexpected Treasures here). It’s astonishingly welcoming and pleasantly interesting. But it is very small and very hot…

Next stop Bangkok