Brunei Darussalam

Shaking hands with royalty: inside the Sultan of Brunei’s palace

The Sultan of Brunei takes an inclusive approach to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities at the end of Ramadan, hosting an ‘open house’ at his official residence in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. For three consecutive days the palace is open to the public, who are treated to a celebratory meal, greeted in person by the sultan or his wife – and even given a gift.

Thanks to his tiny country’s vast oil and gas reserves, the Sultan of Brunei is one of the richest men in the world, with a reputation for extravagance and a fondness for polo ponies and supercars. When he’s at home in Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB), Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah lives in Istana Nurul Iman (Palace of the Light of Faith), a 1788 room dwelling that is officially the largest residence of a current head of state in the world and is normally closed to the public.

Isabel Albiston

Lonely Planet Writer

First time Brunei: Southeast Asia's most underrated stopover destination

Often overlooked by travellers as a viable Southeast Asian layover port, the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam boasts majestic mosques, swathes of virgin rainforest, an entire 'suburb' on stilts, and a thriving food scene well worth stopping by to soak up for a couple of days in transit.

Nestled between the Malaysian Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak, tiny Brunei was known for little more than its oil wealth until 2014, when the sultanate made headlines for becoming Southeast Asia’s first country to adopt the Islamic penal code at national level. Criticised by the UN for its harsh punishments, the move hasn’t exactly served as a tourism draw card. The good news, however, is that Brunei remains one of the world’s safest countries for travellers. Because booze is banned (although non-Muslims are allowed to bring a small amount into the country), Brunei is an increasingly hot foodie destination, with a slowly but steadily emerging third-wave coffee scene. With no need (yet) to turn its pristine rainforests into palm oil plantations, these verdant expanses of greenery teem with wildlife that is becoming more and more difficult to spot in greater Borneo, and, just offshore, its coral reefs, shipwrecks and disused oil rigs are finally starting to give Brunei’s fledgling diving industry some wings.