It was a spur of a moment decision and about a month to prepare. It all started with a simple inquiry of a friend about Brunei, and which I thought was an invitation to travel there. And it led to one wonderful adventure to “The Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures“, which lives up to its name.
My fellow columnist in SunStar Bacolod, Betsy Gazo, who is also a tour guide in our province, usually shares with visitors to Negros Occidental about known Negrenses who have helped built major landmarks in Brunei. She wanted to see these structures herself and was bent on going there even on a solo flight. She thought of getting tips from those who have been there before. She assumed that I have already gone there so she decided to shoot me a quick question. I just gave an affirmative without digesting what she was asking me about and before I knew it, I was booking my flight to Brunei.
A few years back, my friends who were my constant travel companions went to Brunei but I wasn’t able to join them. I felt I missed an opportunity so when someone asked me about the place, I readily said yes. In a way, I kind of invited myself to join Betsy. What even got me more excited was that a local budget airline would only cost me a total of Php8,000+ (a little less than USD 170) for round trip tickets on both my domestic flight Bacolod-Manila-Bacolod and international flight Manila-Brunei-Manila.
Finally, our trip came and we arrived in Brunei a few hours before midnight. Good thing that Filipinos and fellow Negrenses, Nonoy Hautea and Poks Grajo, both architects (I’ll write a separate post about them) who are working in Brunei, offered to pick us up at the airport. During our three days there, we only took the commute once because they have been driving us around Bandar Seri Begawan the whole time.
Brunei was a surprise. It was clean. The roads are wide. The buildings are grand but not towering. You can definitely see luxury in the place but it still maintains its rural, serene and laid back feel.
It is a very small country in Southeast Asia, with only 5,765 square kilometer in land area. The nation’s total population is only at 417,200, which includes expats living in Brunei.
They say that there are more vehicles than people in Brunei. It must be because the country is rich in natural gas and oil, making it one of the wealthiest nations in Asia, if not in the world.
Here are some of the things I have observed about Brunei and some tips and pointers as well:
- There are more private cars than public transport. And it’s not easy to get from one point to another. Buses only ply the major roads, and taxis are also not commonly seen around the city. That’s no surprise because Brunei has one of the highest rates of car ownership in the world. There are also few pedestrians, and cars ALWAYS give way to pedestrians crossing the streets.
- Brunei has lots of open spaces. Their buildings are not built close to each other. Since the terrain is not flat, most of these buildings are built on higher ground while roads are mostly on the lower vicinity.
- Brunei has several beautiful landscapes. What makes it more appealing is that there are areas, especially those by the highways, wherein they are kept wild and preserved. Poks, one of our hosts, work as an architect for landscape projects in Brunei.
- Nightlife is not the kind that you are used to. There are restaurants that close late at night but there are no bars or disco pubs. Alcohol is illegal in this part of the world, so save your breath from finding a local beer or drink. Cigarette smoking is also prohibited in certain areas and they are not commonly sold in stores.
- If you are looking for a souvenir, there are limited products that are made in Brunei. You can probably opt for traditional handicrafts.
- Since Islam is the religion in Brunei, be sure to observe the dress code there. See to it that you are covered decently. It’s better if you have a scarf in hand to cover your head in places where it is required to do so. Check the rules and regulations in buildings. Some of them will ask you to leave your footwear outside.
- Brunei is a kingdom, so observe customs, know your limitations, and pay due respect to their royalty.
There are plenty of interesting places to visit in Brunei, particularly in Bandar Seri Begawan. Read through my posts Food Trip in Brunei, and 15 Places in the Brunei-Muara District for more about my recent trip there.