Kampong Ayer Cultural & Tourism Gallery

Bandar Seri Begawan

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A good place to start a visit to Kampong Ayer – and get acquainted with Brunei's pre-oil boom culture – is this interesting museum and cultural centre, directly across the river from the waterfront in BSB. Opened in 2009, the elevated complex focuses on the history, customs and crafts of the Kampong Ayer people, and a glass-enclosed viewing tower offers panoramic views over the surrounding 'streets' of stilt houses.

Signs beside the boardwalks in front of the gallery show the way to sites of interest in the stilt village beyond.

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Nearby Bandar Seri Begawan attractions

1. Kampong Ayer

0.06 MILES

Home to around 30,000 people, Kampong Ayer consists of 42 contiguous stilt villages built along both banks of the Sungai Brunei (Brunei River). A century…

2. Galeri Seni

0.23 MILES

This waterfront building, constructed in the 1950s, houses the tourist office, plus a gallery space that opens periodically for temporary art exhibitions.

3. Tamu Kianggeh

0.36 MILES

The covered market set amid canals to the east of the waterfront is a lively place in the mornings, when locals gather to buy ingredients – strange and…

4. Teng Yun Chinese Temple

0.41 MILES

Colourful Teng Yun, built in the 1960s, is the oldest Chinese temple in BSB, and its interior is filled with gilded statues, joss smoke and hand-painted…

5. Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas Park

0.42 MILES

On dry evenings, locals head to this pretty park on reclaimed land at the back of the Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque to walk, jog, fly kites and amble around…

6. Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque

0.53 MILES

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7. Royal Regalia Museum

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8. Taman Peranginan Tasek

1.3 MILES

If you need a reminder that just beyond BSB's air-conditioned malls lies the Bornean jungle, this city park, with its background chorus of buzzing,…