Friends and family often write me online asking "Where are you now?" When I told them Brunei, I'd often get a response like, "Where in the hell is that??!"
Some other travelers told me that there isn't much to do there...
I suspected that maybe they said that because their style of travel wasn't as authentic when compared to mine. But in Brunei, locals told me the same thing! >.<
But fear not!, there are a few things in Brunei that make it worth visiting! I actually really loved my time there.
I was surprised how different it was than Malaysia, especially considering how small it is and that it's almost completely surrounded by Malaysia. It would be landlocked if it wasn't for one side touching the ocean.
The number 1 thing I have to stress to anyone going to Brunei Darussalam (that's the longer, official name) is to Meet People!
I became friends with a local Bruneian and if it weren't for her driving me around, sharing information and showing me places, I may have had a boring time.
Let me share how the small country of Brunei is unique:
-SUPER MUSLIM!
It's neighbor on both sides, Malysia, is a Muslim country.. but Brunei is a SUPER Muslim country!
In Malaysia, there is nightlife and bars. But in Brunei, no alcohol is sold! That can be a bit of a turn-off for some backpackers.
So when heading off to see Brunei, embrace the abstinence and dedication of Islam!
here's a great example:
While my sober self was enjoying a coffee at a coffee shop one afternoon, I had to get out. Because everything in the country closes for about 2 hours every Friday. This also has something to do with the Islam. I walked around outside and saw no traffic. Only a few foreigners were out on the street and wondering "what's going on?"
Many things look elegant and fancy. Especially mosques. The government is rich and by the way, gas was cheaper than water!
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| At the musuem |
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| I'm a bad boy |
Except the water village, which didn't look as fancy to me. Yes, it's a village that lives on water. The name is Kampong Ayer and all of the buildings there is built on stilts over the Brunei River with pier-like wooden walkways connecting everything.
It's called a village but over 30,000 live there and it's known as the largest water village in the world!
And definitely check out the amusement park! Well, it's not like a big amusement park with roller coasters or anything like Six Flags.. But it's got a Ferris wheel, a putt putt golf course, and a merry-go-round, which I totally rode!
But my favorite thing there is something I haven't yet seen anywhere else.. It's like a real life video game, a dark room filled with lasers. you have to be like a spy and cross the room without touching the lines of light or an alarm will go off, then you get the key on the other side of the room while working with a partner to touch a lever simultaneously while you are opening blah blah, well, you'll see, if you go,
You can choose levels like easy, medium and hard. We did All of them.
Oh, and by the way, Brunei has a mall called The Mall.
And they got a great sushi restaurant. But for a truly unique Bruneian culinary experience, Definitely try Ambuyat,
Prepare yourself.
Related Post: Eating Ambuyat, A Bruneian Sticky Goo Dish.
By the way, Brunei accepted Singapore Dollars as well, probably because the rate was the same.
and Um, Oh, and my friend took me to a really awesome little water stream slide place, but there's no public transportation and I don't know where it was. It was way out in the woods somewhere. Sorry.
Well, that's all I can think of for now.I was there for 3 days, so there's probably a little more to discover. So I hope you enjoyed reading. Bye bye!
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