Article and photos:Little Mousse
The ferry was empty with long rows of clean seats. After more than an hour, we arrived in Brunei. While it was still light, we immediately visited the famous Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque located in the center of the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. This magnificent mosque is open from Sunday to Wednesday from 8:00 to 17:30. Visitors must leave their shoes outside when entering and women are required to cover their faces. In the evening, the mosque is lit by white lights, creating a magical scene. But I was most impressed by the corner of the mosque viewed from the floating village of Kampong Ayer.
While taking a boat trip on the river and learning about the world's largest river village, the brilliant sunset made the church corner stand out even more. Kampong Ayer Floating Village covers an area of over 10 square kilometers and has about 30,000 residents living in 42 villages along the Brunei River. This 1,500-year-old village attracts visitors with its traditional stilt houses, schools, train stations, churches and countless wooden bridges connecting one place to another.
There are no cheap hotels or motels in Brunei. It takes a long time to find a place that costs 10 Brunei dollars per person, sleeps in bunk beds, is very clean with an outside toilet. In Brunei, men and women are not allowed to sleep together, men and women are separated. You are not even allowed to enter the men's area if you are a woman and the same, unless you are the other person's lover. Because the income and consumption level of this country is much higher than other countries, finding a place with a relatively reasonable price like this is a blessing for us. Not to mention, it is also very convenient for traveling because it is right next to the road and just across the road is the Royal Museum and a few steps away is the night market with a variety of food and drink.
Most of the attractions in the capital have opening hours from Saturday to Thursday. For example, the Royal Museum, which displays many historical artifacts, is open from 9:00 to 16:30 from Saturday to Thursday. Meanwhile, the Brunei Historical Center, located right next to the museum, is open from Monday to Thursday and Saturday from 7:40 to 16:30. The Brunei Museum, located in Kota Batu, is the largest museum in Brunei and is also open from Thursday to Saturday from 9:30 to 17:00. Meanwhile, the Royal Palace, the residence of the Sultan, is the largest palace in the world and is open to visitors during the Muslim New Year - Hari Raya (around July every year). Therefore, if you come to Brunei in other months, you may only be able to stand outside and take pictures of the Palace.
Unlike Malaysia with its discreet and somewhat restrictive dress style, Brunei is a more open and rich country. Along the night streets with all the shops sparkling with lights and goods, many young Bruneians go out at night. With a modern dress style, young people do not hesitate to hold hands on the street or sit on the steps and drink fruit juice because beer and alcohol are still banned in public places. A modern and colorful image of Brunei.
At the clean night market, we enjoyed the attractive drinks from the convenience stores. While being hungry, my friend and I tried a delicious grilled meat skewer until we discovered that it was fatty fish balls. The streets were decorated with colorful flags. The lanes were wide with not many cars passing by and taxis were rare to find because there are only about 50 taxis in the whole country, so catching a taxi here is quite difficult. The buses also run without stopping. You can stand at any location on the street and tell the driver where you want to go so that the driver can drop you off at the right place.
The city tour by bus is quite interesting because you can go anywhere for only 3$ Brunei. From the bus, you can see beautiful churches with their characteristic golden domes sparkling in the sunlight. The streets are extremely clean and have lots of trees. 24 hours passed quickly, we returned to Malaysia by car to catch our flight. End of an interesting tour of the small but richest country in the world, Brunei.
More information:
Brunei is a Muslim country with 70% of the population being Muslim. Of these, about 16% are of Chinese descent.
When visiting mosques, you must remove your shoes and sandals outside and wash your hands and feet. Avoid walking in front of worshippers while they are praying or touching the Quran. If you are a woman, you must cover your head and keep your knees and arms uncovered. Mosques have areas that are off-limits to women.
Bruneians mainly eat halal foods with the main foods being beef, buffalo, chicken and seafood, using many spices such as curry, cinnamon, star anise. You can eat at Chinese restaurants with suitable taste, very affordable prices.
Malay is the main language but English is widely spoken in Brunei.
The Brunei dollar (BND) is equivalent in value to the Singapore dollar.
Vietnamese and Bruneian citizens are exempt from visa requirements for 14-day tourist stays (from August 2007).
