What to do in Brunei?
 

Subj. As a tourist, if one is NOT interested in religious sites?

Friend of mine is planning to fly there a rent a car. I am trying to convince him that it is not that smart idea.

Hiring a car seems a waste.

In 2005, I took a boat around Bandar Seri Begawan. The guide pointed out various fauna, city attractions, and the sultan's palace. IIRC, there's also a museum downtown dedicated to sultanate memorabilia.

Other than that, it's very sleepy, but at least the roti canai and teh tarik work.

What's curious about Brunei is what it's not: glitzy. There's just none of the sparkle of wealth you'd expect to find in an oil-rich sultanate. You leave Brunei wondering where all the money is.

I went there back in 2008. I doubt much has changed. The Empire hotel is worth staying at. Very good for what you pay (or at least what we did). No drink though, of course.

The highlight of our trip was Ulu Temburong national park, and the journey to get there. It's in the "other" bit of Brunei so you need to take a speedboat from BSB and then a shallow-bottomed boat once you get up the river a bit. Quite a journey.

We did hire a car but it's not really worth it. It takes very little time to get from one end of the country to the other and there's not a huge amount to see. BSB is worth wandering around in for a day or so, but that's about it.

If I were heading back to that bit of the world I'd skip it and go to Sabah. But if you are there, the national park is the thing to do.

How long does your friend plan to stay there? IMHO 2 days are the max I will stay there for sightseeing.

Fly in on Friday evening, fly out on Sunday afternoon.

No idea why anyone would rent a car there. There's shuttles and taxis, and no problems getting around. Was there 3 years ago and stayed at Empire Hotel. Definitely burned into my memory as one of the nicest places I stayed at. You can spend 2 hours in their natural lagoon and not get bored.

As for non-religious sightseeing: Take a short downtown lake boat tour, ~30 mins is plenty to get an idea, also of water buildings. You'll need to haggle as they will try to upsell you to some half day tour of some remote water villages.

Afterwards, the memorabilia museum downtown is very well worth a visit, and you can easily spend 2 hours there. There's a sizeable model of the Sultan's Dreamliner in the lobby, so FT needs are fulfilled as well ;)

2 hours lagoon, 1 hour boat tour, 2 hours museum and call it an excellent Saturday.

Remember there will be ZERO booze available to your friend. And since there are no bars, the only place to hang out at night are coffee shops (and not the good kind). So bring your own, get a nice room at the Empire hotel, and enjoy a bottle of Red Wine on the huge balcony.

So, to answer the initial question: Renting a car is a bad idea, going to Brunei is not.

This seems quite interesting, Brunei River Cruise: http://www.bruneirivercruise.com/sig...ng-cruise.html

I remember staying at the Pusat Belia one time and the Capital Hotel the other...back then the only places that were even semi-affordable. Am sure there's more choice now. The two big mosques are impressive, the water village was worth a stroll and of course the Royal Regalia Museum (including that life-size march replica in an air-conditioned hall).

Didn't get to see Jerudong Park or the national park, but I'd prioritize the latter if it's more easily accessible now.

I've been playing with the idea of a day or two in Brunei and the bold may steer towards "Yes." A drink on what seems like a wonderful balcony would be nice. Can someone provide insight into how this works re would I be smuggling booze in? Is it ok b/c I am a non-Muslim foreigner? :confused::confused:

As an aside, what are the not good kind of coffee shops?

Cheers

Yes. You are allowed to bring two bottles of booze (i.e. Scotch) or wine, or 12 cans of beer - they don't specify the measurements. I know that 2x1L is fine. You need to declare this at customs and sign a paper declaring it's for your own use. Keep that paper. Since they xray every piece of luggage, they would find it btw, I would never think to smuggle anything into that country in the first place though. The hotel safe at the Empire holds bottles of 1L Scotch standing up, don't think that's a coincidence ;) There's a small fee for importing a carton of cigarettes, if that's your thing, but none for booze.

There are several places in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan that serve alcohol. They don't officially exist, but if you do some research, you'll find out where to go.

Several Chinese restaurants sell "special tea", aka beer in a teapot. If you find any place selling pork, there's a good chance they sell beer too.

There's also a famous hotel that has a hidden "lounge bar" with unmarked doors. It's frequented by the Police and various members of the Sultan's family - no need to worry about being caught drinking alcohol there. You'll need a local to tell you the location, just stop any white expat on the street and ask them, there's a good chance they'll have been there.

Brunei is so...sterile. I don't quite like this place but...you tolerate it.

Yes, the Museum of the Sultan's Stuff is worthwhile

I think it was the sultan's brother who was most associated with that. Though obviously the sultan would at least have to be OK with it. They do have polygamy there, BTW.

A great thing to do in Brunei would be to take a nature trip into the interior, as that has hardly been disturbed. Am not sure how easy the logistics on that would be.

I couldn't do anything to support the economy of such a country these days.

Manage your expectations. If you don't want to see any mosques and you aren't going to head into the jungle there's a few hours worth of stuff to do. See the museum of the Sultan's knick-knacks, go to the floating village, try to choke down some revolting ambuyat and stroll through the 4 streets of what may be the world's most boring capital city.

U probably should trade in any gas-powered vehicle and get an electric one, then. It's an oil-supported economy. Even if the U.S. doesn't buy a drop directly, the U.S. demand factors into the global market that sets the price. I think you're probably referring to visiting and spending money directly, but the sultan cares about and notices that a lot less than he'd notice getting de-funded by falling demand leading to falling oil prices. A lot of the mess we're in these days is because oil revenues have helped countries and people with the more radical Wahabbist bent over the years, and oil-wealthy donors have funded schools and other institutions throughout the Muslim world. The less-conservative version that was seen in places like Morocco, Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon and made places like Beirut and Tangier into what they were has lost ground by comparison.

I'm not talking about oil. I'm talking about Bruinei's ghoulish punishments against LGBT people.

But best to point out these are only theoretical measures. Not nice, but Brunei is certainly not alone or even in the forefront of such craziness.

And please note LGBT folk are not the only targets for the country's statutory viciousness.

As someone who has actually been to Brunei, I'll reply to the thread, hence it's dated. But at least my input might help someone later on, because some of the comments posted irk me seriously.

Because you're then extremely limited to Bandar Seri Begawan. Furthermore your schedule isn't tied to the availability of a taxi. Fuel is cheap, thanks to Shell Brunei, and car rentals aren't expensive compared to many isolated locations. The only possible problem would be street parking in BSB, but that's not an impossible issue. I had a bit tricky to find parking near the shopping centres after iftar for having dinner, but not impossible.

The Pan-Bornean Highway is very handy for reaching Seria and other parts of the country. :) Two days is well enough for a car holiday in Brunei. I personally did of course drive very small roads as well with my KIA Sportage.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4915e82935.jpg

Wrong. It's his 747-8. :p At least he himself flew the 747-400, but I assume he no longer has his pilot license due to his age.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d73b027c7d.jpg

The 787-8 model of BI is however at display at BWN.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c11c417e1a.jpg

I vouch for the Brunei Hotel in BSB.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3dbd8b5318.jpg

For the record: Royal Regalia Museum. Everything from actually worthy items to the odd spare Momo wristwatch. ;)

The maritime and Malay technology museums are also worthwile, easily visited by car. All museums in Brunei are free of charge.

Indeed, hence the sultan was also much of a playboy back in the day and has divorced. The current policies of the 2000s and 2010s originate from that, because as the caliph he seems to want to make good as he has grown older. Maybe feeling that he needs to be a better role model as a man of the faith.

The logistics are simple - rent a car and drive. Very straightforward and the traffic is okay. I second the suggestion of visiting the inner areas of Brunei.

Not making any political point, but just reminding you about a few facts.

First of all Brunei hasn't exercised the capital punishment during its independence since 1984. There's no moratorium on it. I just guess people have been smart enough to avoid e.g. importing over 1 kg of opium and being caught for it. :p Capital punishment is mandatory for certain drug trafficking crimes. As for caning, it previously only applied to males. All the aforementioned just like in Singapore and it's a British colonial legacy. Now this latest Sharia based legislation does indeed change the stance on canings and would also mean caning females, which is contrary to previous legislation, which had no religious background. OTOH, it's not obvious to me do they still follow the Sharia as it should be followed, meaning this gender minority legislation should in fact only apply to Muslims. At least that's how it should be, based on their previous application of Sharia, which was of the righteous kind. The alcohol consumption and purchasing bans only apply to Muslims, which explains why you can import bottles from Malaysia by car or don't have to fast during Ramadan etc. Sharia in its true form doesn't apply to other Abrahamic peoples (Christians and Jews). Just like alchohol isn't outright illegal in e.g. Iran. Alas, you can also have wine served on BI (Royal Brunei Airlines, in case IATA codes aren't your thing), if you bring your own bottle. Not an issue.

Visiting Brunei isn't a big deal or in any sense dangerous. :) And one has to remember that Malays are after usually a bit laid back and outright lazy, so they don't fuss about everything. The religious stuff just keeps them in check. This is of course just my own view, but I have no qualms with Malays. The previously mentioned "magic tea" (beer in a teapot) is linked to the Chinese minority, which run some restaurants. So if alcohol is a must for you (heck, why are you in Brunei then?), then visit a Chinese restaurant and inquire for some magic tea. I personally don't have any experience of that bootleg stuff, because I'm happy to be without drinking alcohol for weeks and months.

Riyadh is miles ahead in the competition for that title, but Seri Begawan is a strong second. The airport is a tie with VTE for the "most deserted airport of a capital city" title.

The boat tour to the mangrove forest just outside the capital with those long nose monkeys and other fauna - that was the best part. Kampong Ayer was the second best. Mosques - interesting modern muslim architecture. Sultan's stuff museum - weird, to say the least.

We had basically the whole Empire hotel complex to ourselves - there were maybe a dozen other guests, who stayed by the pool. We had the totally empty sandy beach for ourselves!

One can spend 2-3 days there, no problems, but after that it's very refreshing to move over to Sarawak.

The lounge at BWN beats the VTE lounge!

Any recommendations of a good driver with car? We will have about a 4-1/2 hour layover and would like to get out of the airport for a couple of hours to see the major sights.

curious if you found one?