The Sultanate of Brunei is a small country in the Island of Borneo. Known as the Abode of Peace, it is one of the richest countries in the world deriving most of its income from crude oil.
Though it has yet to become a hot tourist destination, there are interesting sights worthy of a short trip to the small sultanate. We travelled to Brunei from Miri in Sarawak by bus. During our 2D2N trip to Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei’s capital, the highlight was our visit to Istana Nurul Iman, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei. Read more about our experience at the Istana’s Hari Raya Open House.
We had only one full day in Bandar Seri Begawan. But with much of our time spent in the palace, we were left with not much time for sight-seeing around the city centre. Thankfully, the sights are close to one another and within walking distance from the Brunei Hotel, our base for 2 nights. Besides, many of them were closed for the Hari Raya festive season.
(Tip: Hari Raya public holidays last 5 days, information shared by our friendly taxi driver. Hence do not be surprised by the lack of crowd in city centre because everyone is on holiday.)
Among the places of interest, Tamu Kianggeh is the closest to our hotel. Tamu Kianggeh used to be an open air market with hawkers selling their wares shielded by colourful parasols along the river.
Today, the hawkers are housed under one roof at the nearby new complex opened in 2016. The market was not as bustling as we expected when we got there. Though some of the stalls were opened for business, many of the vendors must still be enjoying their festive break. We wanted to get some local breakfast here but was disappointed at the limited selection. The market is said to be open from 6am to 6pm with good variety of food and goods sold. We were just not there at the right time.
Right across the road from Tamu Kianggeh is Teng Yun Temple or Temple of Flying Clouds(腾云殿). Though small, it is the first and only Chinese temple in Bandar Seri Begawan.
With a population that is predominantly Malay and Islam being its official religion, Brunei has a number of beautiful mosques. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, opened in 1958, is often considered one of the most beautiful mosque in Asia Pacific. The mosque is the first state mosque that can accommodate 3,000 worshipers and the main mosque for religious state activities. A replica of a 16th century ceremonial boat stands in the artificial lake around the mosque. It is open for visits during non-prayer times. Feeling fatigue from the earlier events of the day, we decided not to enter upon reaching the mosque. Not a wise decision I must say.
A view of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque from Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Pedestrian Bridge. From this bridge, we walked across to Kampung Ayer.
Brunei’s Kampung Ayer is considered the largest stilt village in the world. Literally translated as ‘Water Village’, Kampung Ayer stretches 8km along the Brunei River with 35 villages linked together by wooden boardwalks. With 2,000 homes for 30,000 people or around 3% of Brunei’s population, the water village used to be home to half the population. The village dates back 500 years and has its own police station, clinics, post offices, schools and even gas stations, all on stilts! (Source: The Brunei Times) The section of village which we went to looked somewhat run down to us, and frankly, not quite in line with our perception of the wealth in the country. Some of the houses here seemed to be abandoned.
A school on stilts.
There was another section which we saw from afar that looks to be far more prosperous. Set against the background is Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha Bridge, a 622-metre bridge which is said to world’s second-longest single-pylon cable-stayed bridge. The bridge, opened in October 2017, leads to the villages at the border with Malaysian state of Sarawak.
The Perpuspaan Main Gate 1968 was a memorial built to commemorate the coronation of the current Brunei Sultan in August 1968. It was initially built at entrance of a nearby water village before being relocated to its present location near Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. This main gate was gazetted under Brunei’s Antiquities and Treasure Trove Order 1967 in 2006.
There were a number of locals who attempted to sell us boat tours in the city centre, particularly near Kampung Ayer. As we strolled along the waterfront promenade, the boat drivers would accelerate their small vessels towards us and offered their boat tours. We even encountered a tout prowling the city centre during our short walk, who told us he was trying to round up tourists for a boat tour and checked if we were interested. For a 2-hour boat ride, we were quoted B$30 per pax that will bring us up close to the Kampung Ayer houses and into the mangroves to spot proboscis monkeys. We decided against taking up any of these tours. Travel guides talk about a B$1 boat ride to cross the water village, but we were not able to find that.
From Kampung Ayer, we walked along the Waterfront Promenade in a circuitous route back to our hotel. The Waterfront Promenade opened in 2011 after a B$5.6 million project aimed at enhancing Bandar Seri Begawan’s tourism offering. Stretched along Brunei River, Dermaga Diraja (or The Royal Wharf in English) has restaurants, art and exhibition galleries, gift shops and tourist information counters. Mercu Dirgahayu 60 is a sculpture that stands prominently in the promenade. Styled after the Arabic number of 60, it was a gift from the people to His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah to celebrate his 60th birthday.
Close to the monument is the Old Customs House, built in early 1950s as a main entrance into the country. It is now a heritage building gazetted under the country’s Antiquities and Treasure Trove Order 1967. The building is now used to house art exhibitions and a Tourist Information Centre. Not surprisingly, it was closed when we passed by.
There are other sights that are worth visiting such as Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, Royal Regalia Museum or even a day trip to the Ulu Temburong National Park in the extreme east of Brunei Darussalam. It was a pity we just did not have the time.
*****************************************
Read about the rest of our trip and our itinerary in Borneo – Mulu / Brunei Itinerary 2018 .
*****************************************
