Exploring Brunei: How Many Days Are Enough?

Brunei is a small but wealthy country located on the island of Borneo. It is often overlooked by travellers, but it offers a unique blend of traditional culture and luxury, from breathtaking mosques to stilt villages built on water.

Brunei is a great destination for those interested in history, culture, nature, and something a little out of the ordinary. The pace of life in Brunei is very relaxed, and there is plenty of rainforest and wildlife to explore outside the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan.

While some people spend just one or two days in Brunei, others recommend a stay of at least four days to truly experience the country and visit the Ulu Temburong National Park.

Bandar Seri Begawan

• Visit the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, one of the country's national mosques and a symbol of the Islamic faith in Brunei. It features Italian marble floors, granite from Shanghai, Arabian carpets, and chandeliers from England.
• Explore the Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, Brunei's other national mosque. It features modern architecture with clear influence from the Ottoman Empire and immaculate symmetry, including 29 golden domes representing the 29 sultans of Brunei's history.
• Experience Kampong Ayer, the world's largest water village. This historic village, built on stilts, has been home to the seat of the Brunei Empire and offers a unique glimpse into local life.
• Take a Brunei River Mangrove Tour to spot proboscis monkeys, Asian water monitor lizards, and other endemic wildlife.
• Discover Ulu Temburong National Park, often called the "Green Jewel of Brunei." This park offers calm nature walks, jungle treks, a zip line, and a canopy walk for panoramic views of the jungle canopy.
• Indulge in local cuisine at the Gadong Night Market, where you can find a wide variety of Bruneian, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Singaporean dishes at affordable prices.
• Visit the Royal Regalia Museum to see gifts given to the Sultan by foreign heads of state and learn about his life and the royal family.
• Explore the Kota Batu Archaeological Sites, including the ruins of an ancient palace, mosque, and administrative centre dating back to the 14th century.
• Admire The Empire Brunei Hotel, one of Southeast Asia's most luxurious hotels. Enjoy its peaceful walking trail along the coast and luxurious interior, which includes a $1 million USD chandelier.
• Witness the grandeur of Istana Nurul Iman, the world's largest residential palace and the seat of the Brunei government. It is open to the public during Hari Raya, an annual three-day holiday celebrating the successful completion of Ramadan.
• Stroll through the Kianggeh Market, a well-known outdoor marketplace offering fresh seafood, meat, fruits, and traditional dishes. It is particularly lively during its "tamu" market on Fridays and Sundays.
• Learn about traditional Malay technology and culture at the Malay Technology Museum, which features life-sized huts, model humans, and exhibits on handicrafts, textiles, boat-making, and food production.
• Appreciate the architectural beauty of the Ash Shaliheen Mosque, built in the Andalusian style with bright blue domes and creamy vanilla walls.
• Hike the trails at Tasek Lama Recreational Park to reach the Tasek Lama Waterfall. This natural escape is conveniently located near the city centre and offers beginner-friendly trails through the Borneo jungle.
• Catch a spectacular sunset at Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas, where you can take in panoramic views of the city centre, Brunei River, and Saifuddien Mosque.
• Wander through the city centre (Pusat Bandar) to discover attractions like the Lapau, Teng Yun Temple, Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex, and Mercu Dirgahayu 60 monument.
• Delve into Brunei's maritime history at the Brunei Darussalam Maritime Museum, showcasing the country's trading power and a shipwreck found off its coast with thousands of ancient artefacts.

Kampong Ayer

The village is built on the Brunei River, which separates it from the modern city centre of Bandar Seri Begawan. The juxtaposition of the historic village and the contemporary city is a sight to behold.

The village is connected by a 38-kilometre-long wooden boardwalk, with hundreds of turns connecting the homes of its residents. Many of the homes are built of wood and are painted in bright, flamboyant colours. The village has public services such as schools, a hospital, a police station, and a fire station.

Life in the village is relatively undisturbed by tourism, and it maintains a distinct, peaceful feel. Visitors can experience the village by taking a water taxi from the Bandar Seri Begawan jetty, which costs 1 Brunei Dollar one way.

Ulu Temburong National Park

The park can only be reached by river, and access is by longboats from the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan. The first destination by boat is Bangar town, where the Limbang River emerges from Sarawak and drains into Brunei Bay. Travel from Bangar town to Batang Duri is by road, and this is the starting point for travel by longboat along the Temburong River into the park. An extensive network of boardwalks, bridges and stairways, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) in length, have been constructed to visit all regions of the park. There is also a canopy viewing walkway that rises to a height of 50 metres (160 ft) above the forest floor, providing vistas of the forests.

The park features tropical lowland rainforests with dominant species of trees including Shorea, Dryobalanops and Dipterocarpus. The primary lowland and hill forests are Dipterocarp forests, while the lower montane forests are largely in the southern part of the park. Mangroves are seen in the coastal areas, and rattan species are common at ground level. Other varieties of vegetation include gingers, begonias, gesneriads, aroids, and Ixora blooms. Along the river courses, plant species include palms, ferns, mosses and lichens. Fruiting figs, on which birds feed, are also extensive.

Fauna in the park include mammals, reptiles, butterflies, insects and birds. The most popular species is the Eastern grey gibbon, which is totally arboreal and has a grey colour. Its habitat is mostly the forest canopy, and it is occasionally seen at the mid-canopy level. Squirrels, including the tiny plain pygmy squirrel near human habitations, and black spotted rock frogs are also reported from the park. Orchids and snakes, particularly the coloured Wagler's pit viper, reside on treetops. Otters such as Smooth-coated otters can be seen on the Temburong River. Other notable discoveries of animals in the park include the Belalong tree frog and the earless monitor lizard.

There are four hundred species of butterfly in the park, some quite rare. The most famous is the Rajah Brooke's birdwing, which is given the name "white rajah" honouring James Brooke. Another variety of butterfly is the tree nymph, which is a white and black spotted species. Other species of insects found in the park include centipedes, giant forest ants, lantern bugs and termites.

A 70,000 ha tract of land, encompassing the park and extensions to the Batu Apoi Forest Reserve, has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) due to its forest habitats supporting significant numbers of various threatened bird species. The bushy-crested hornbill, rhinoceros hornbill, black-and-yellow broadbill, and swiftlets are notable birds in the park.

The only accommodation inside Ulu Temburong National Park is the Ulu Ulu Resort, which offers a mix of rooms including a dormitory, standard, superior and deluxe rooms. The resort has a conference room, auditorium, restaurant, gift and souvenir shop, and games room. To stay at the resort, visitors must book in advance as part of a Ulu Temburong National Park tour package, to and from Bandar Seri Begawan.

Local food

Brunei's local cuisine is similar to the food of neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, with additional influences from India, China, Thailand and Japan. As with the wider region, fish and rice are staple foods, while beef is less common due to its expense. Because of the predominance of Islam, the food is halal and pork is avoided. Alcohol is banned in Brunei.

• Ambuyat – Brunei's national dish, made from the interior trunk of the sago palm tree. It's a sticky, flavourless ball of sago starch that you wrap around a bamboo fork (called candas) and dip into a spicy and sour gravy.
• Nasi Katok – 'knock rice' in Malay. This consists of plain rice, fried chicken and sambal, a spicy relish made from ground chilli peppers and secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, lime juice, vinegar and anchovies. It's served wrapped in brown paper and will only cost you BND1.
• Wajid Temburong – a well-sought-after delicacy. The recipe calls for glutinous sticky rice, but in Temburong, locals use beras Jawa, which is difficult to find elsewhere. The texture is less sticky and less chewy, and the colour is dark brown due to the addition of coconut milk and sugar, cooked to a dark caramel consistency. It's wrapped with daun nyirik (phyrinium leaves) and secured with a skewer made from coconut leaves.
• Kueh lenggang – a popular traditional sweet snack, known by many names throughout Southeast Asia. It's a light, pandan-coloured crepe filled with grated coconut and sugar, and rolled into a cylinder.
• Kueh Pancut – little, round, chewy cakes covered in shredded coconut. They're made from glutinous rice flour mixed with pandan juice and filled with melted palm sugar.
• Kueh kusui – a soft cake, similar to kuih kosui in Malaysia or kue lempang in Indonesia, but in Brunei, gula anau (made from sago or nipah tree sap) is used as a sweetener, giving the cake a distinctive dark caramel colour and a subtle nutty flavour.
• Kueh koci – a smooth, glutinous rice dough filled with toasted, shredded coconut and sweetened with palm sugar. Sometimes, different fillings are used, like sweet potato or crushed peanuts. It's wrapped in banana leaves and steamed for about ten minutes.
• Seri muka – a dessert loved across Southeast Asia. It has two layers – a light green, pandan custard top and a glutinous coconut-flavoured rice base.
• Pulut panggang – a snack similar to kelupis, but grilled instead of steamed. Mei Fang in Tutong is recommended for some of the best pulut panggang.
• Bamboo chicken – unique to the culinary arts of Borneo, this is chicken marinated and stuffed, along with onions and spices, into bamboo poles, then cooked over an open fire.
• Selurut – a soft, steamed, cone-shaped rice cake with a sweet aftertaste. It's made with a floury brew of rice and sago, then drenched in salted water with a dash of coconut milk, and poured into a coconut leaf, which is then left to steam.
• Penyaram – also known as Kuih UFO, this is a creation of the Bruneian Malay and the Bajaus. It's made with rice flour or corn flour, coconut milk and hot cooking oil.
• Tapai – a lengthy process is required to make this traditional Malay snack. It's made by rolling Siam rice with "laru" (yeast starter) and sugar, then wrapping it in nipah leaves and keeping it in a cool place for fermentation.
• Cincin – meaning 'ring' in Malay, this snack is made with red-palm sugar and brown sugar, and coated with rice flour, then deep-fried.
• Keropok Udang – a traditional snack shared across Borneo and Kalimantan. It's a blend of minced prawn and starch, garnished with garlic, salt and pepper, baked in the sun, then fried in hot oil.
• Chicken butt – exactly what it says on the tin. Chicken anus has a tough, chewy tube in the centre, but it's not bad!

The Empire Hotel

The Empire Brunei is a five-star resort comprising stunning private beaches, lagoons, five pools, a championship golf course, four restaurants, and a cinema. It is located on the northern coast of Borneo in the South China Sea and is surrounded by lush rainforest and immaculate coastline. The resort offers international restaurants, a children's club, cinemas, a spa, and a wide range of sporting activities.

The hotel boasts 522 exquisite accommodations, including 16 secluded villas featuring gardens, living areas, and balconies with ocean views. Experiences include stand-up paddle boarding at the Grand Lagoon, an eight-lane bowling hall, a deluxe spa, a three-screen cinema, and almost two miles of private beaches. The Country Club offers an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, night golf, and a golf academy.

The Empire Brunei is renowned for its warm Bruneian hospitality and extensive services. The welcoming atmosphere, multiple room types, and ample event space make this resort hotel great for any type of traveler, from an intimate couple's escape to a family-friendly reunion.

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