July 2016 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
It only takes 2 hours to cross Brunei Bay dividing Labuan island from the Sultanate of Brunei, a tiny nation in the middle of Malaysian Borneo. You can either take a speedboat, bumpy and closed in ‘cigar’ with a single row of seats on either side or a car ferry. The latter is the way to go – not only for the comfort but most of all for the scenery you will never forget. Before you leave, however, you may like to stock up on some wine and/or beer in one of many duty-free shops next to the terminal. Brunei is a dry country where no alcohol is sold anywhere, including hotels. If you are non-Muslim and over 17, you can bring in 2 liters of alcohol and 12 cans of beer.
Crossing Brunei Bay is like traveling through a mangrove forest but instead of trees, you navigate among the tankers. To this day I am mesmerized by the sheer number of the vessels stationed around Labuan. To this day I am sorry I didn’t take a shot that would give justice to that surreal and almost unbelievable scenery. One of those sceneries you need to see to believe.
The ferry terminal ‘on the other side’ is located some 20 kilometers away from your presumed destination, the nation’s capital town – Bandar Seri Begawan. Getting into the city can be a time-consuming challenge – if you’re unlucky. There are only forty-something taxis in BSB so don’t count on one being just when/where you need it. If you are lucky, you can catch a public bus. The problem is that they only run a few times a day. The best option and the one that worked for me is to ask someone on the ferry for a ride. If there is room in their car, the locals will only be too happy to help. People of Brunei, along with ethnic Burmese, are the kindest people I have ever met.
Despite (or perhaps because of) other travelers’ accounts and their pros/cons arguments about visiting Brunei in the first place, the sultanate was one SEA country I was most curious about and the one I had to visit – no matter what.
Disappointed? Not at all. I knew what to expect, and I took it for what it is. Even though there wasn’t very much to see or do I liked being there just the same. What surprised me the most were the people, always glad looking and smiling. Big, heartwarming smiles. There was something exotic and mystical ‘in the air’ that my senses and imagination found stimulating. My only disappointment was that I couldn’t stay few days longer. I would have liked so much to take a road trip, still better a boat, and drive/ride through the whole country.
Perhaps the best known and most talked about the landmark, the gem of Brunei is the Royal Palace. The palace or rather the top of its golden dome can be seen from almost anywhere in town. The palace itself (which I was so looking forward to shooting at night) was out of reach. But … if I only made my research better …
I would have come one day earlier for then not only could I see the palace in all its glory but also I could shake hands with the sultan. Yes, during the three days long Hari Raya celebration the palace door is open for everybody and anybody who wishes to visit and the host himself is there to greet the crowd. Had I only come one day earlier. One day.
Take a note, everyone, if you ever travel through this region and like to see the palace and shake hands with the Sultan of Brunei come and visit during Hari Raya. The same applies to open houses in Malaysia. If you like to enjoy the hospitality of Malaysian home and celebrate the end of Ramadan with locals come and visit during Hari Raya.
The city center is tiny, a couple of streets, small game park/football field/gathering square, a mosque (2 minutes away) and waterfront. During my visit, the park and the rest of the city were being decorated for the upcoming birthday celebration. The sultan’s 70th birthday.
Maybe a hundred or two hundred meters offshore and in full view from the waterfront, the largest floating village in the world is floating about. Even though its existence once started as a housing project the Kampong Ayer is today anything but. Today the village is a well-functioning town housing over 30.000 people, with well-working plumbing system, schools, shops, businesses, transportation, Internet, mosques. Everything one can need is there. By no means, it is a slum with 30.000 shacks built on the top of each other (Filipino style) but well organized, clean, well taken care of houses – some of them even luxurious villas. Living in the floating village is for most inhabitants, no longer a necessity but a way of living.
Hiring a boat and cruising through the floating village and then further through the mangrove to watch monkeys and other jungle animals is a must. Just go down to the waterfront and in no time several boat operators will approach you with tour offers. Ask for Mark. He and his wife run a company together and offer the best tours in Brunei. They are very knowledgeable and generous with their time. Mark is also a wildlife photographer … do I need to say more.
Cruising the mangrove and getting the glimpse of the real jungle was magical. Maybe the peak of the whole trip. So quiet, so peaceful, so serene, so tranquil, so pure and so genuine – to the point that even I, the city slicker, had no problem letting the time stop and just stand still for as long as it took while I was under the spell of the real paradise – Eve and Adam paradise.
Sitting in that boat I knew I was experiencing something unique. The real jungle is disappearing to give way for more lucrative palm oil plantations. Apparently, the only real jungle that is left is in Brunei. Malaysian Borneo is big business today. Not sure how things are on Indonesian Borneo … but I hear …
Brunei in pictures
