Brunei Darussalam

The tiny sultanate of Brunei is a remnant of a naval empire that once controlled all of Borneo and part of the present-day Philippines. Nevertheless this quiet darussalam (Arabic for 'abode of peace') has the largest oilfields in Southeast Asia (though they're due to run dry in 30 years).

Look beneath the surface of this tightly regulated sultanate and you'll see the wisely conserved wildness of its natural environment, thanks in part to the money generated by the oilfields. Old-growth, primary forest abounds, especially in verdant Ulu Temburong National Park.

However, the introduction of a strict interpretation of sharia law in April 2019 has prompted global criticism and concern. Under the new legislation, adultery and homosexual acts are punishable by death by stoning, and theft is punishable by the amputation of limbs. As the world struggles to come to terms with Brunei's new direction, the future of tourism is uncertain.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Brunei Darussalam.

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Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque
Built in 1992 to celebrate the 25th year of the current sultan's reign, Brunei's largest mosque dominates its surroundings. It's impossible to miss the gleaming domes and four terrazzo-tiled minarets as you head towards Gadong. It's certainly an impressive building – since the sultan is his dynasty's 29th ruler, the complex is adorned with 29 golden domes. At night the mosque is lit up like a gold flame. The interior more than matches the mosque's lavish exterior, with sweeping staircases, supersized chandeliers, fine stained glass and repeating motifs based on Islamic geometry. Look out for the sultan's own personal escalator at his private entrance to the mosque.
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Royal Regalia Museum
When called upon to present a gift to the sultan of Brunei, you must inevitably confront the question: what do you give a man who has everything? At this entertaining, dome-capped museum you'll see how heads of state have solved this conundrum. Offerings range from portraits of the sultan executed in semiprecious stones, to gold models of oil wells and a solid silver model of Angkor Wat. Family photos offer a good overview of the life of the sultan, who is himself depicted in myriad forms (including a hologram) from childhood through military service at Sandhurst to his lavish wedding and sporty adult life. Recent portraits show the sultan looking stern and authoritative but he's much more relaxed in person. Also on display is the chariot used during the sultan's 1992 silver-jubilee procession, along with the regalia and weapons carried by the royal entourage, and a second chariot used for the 1968 coronation.
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Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
Named after the 28th Sultan of Brunei (the late father of the current sultan), Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien is surrounded by an artificial lagoon that serves as a reflecting pool, mirroring its gleaming golden domes. This being Brunei, the interior is almost as lavish as the exterior: the floor and walls are made from the finest Italian marble, the chandeliers were crafted in England and a 3.5-million-piece glass mosaic overlaying real gold leaf covers the main dome. The mosque's 52m-high minaret makes it the tallest building in central BSB, and woe betide anyone who tries to outdo it – apparently the nearby Islamic Bank of Brunei building originally exceeded this height and so had the top storey removed by order of the sultan. The ceremonial stone boat sitting in the lagoon is a replica of a 16th-century mahligai (royal barge). Come evening, Taman Mahkota Julbi Emas park at the back of the mosque becomes the happening centre of city life in Bandar. Whenever the weather is dry, families gather to walk, jog, fly kites and amble around in rented pedal carts (B$10 per hour), pausing to admire the onion domes through a giant picture frame erected for the purpose. Behind the park, a footbridge leads over the Kedayan River to the stilt villages on the north bank of Sungai Brunei.
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Malay Technology Museum
This absorbing museum focuses on the traditional lifestyle and artisanship of Brunei's ethnic groups, using re-creations of tribal villages from across the country.
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Kampong Ayer
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 ago, half of Brunei's Malay population lived here, but life is changing along the river, and many old wooden homes are falling into decay, while smart new, government-built stilt homes are appearing on concrete plinths among the wooden boardwalks. Flag down a water taxi (B$1) and explore for a taste of what Brunei was like before oil changed its fortunes. Founded at least 1000 years ago, the village is considered the largest stilt settlement in the world. When Venetian scholar Antonio Pigafetta visited Kampong Ayer in 1521, he dubbed it the 'Venice of the East', which is, as descriptions go, a bit ambitious. Although motorboats have replaced the traditional skiffs and rafts that used to ply the channels between the houses, most of the villages are still dominated by fading timber homes, painted sun-bleached shades of green, blue, pink and yellow. While the over-water lifestyle still appeals to many Bruneians, the draughty wooden houses do not; many areas of the village are being redeveloped by the government, with tidy rows of modern stilt homes, each with their own personal boat jetty. The water villages used to be the epicentre of traditional industries, such as silversmithing, goldsmithing, the weaving of fine cloth and boat making. Boat making is still something you can see easily, but to find the weavers you need to go with an operator who can arrange a demonstration in advance. Wandering around the rickety wooden boardwalks is a fascinating introduction to the Bruneian way of life, but be prepared for a fair amount of rubbish strewn across the intertidal mud between the houses. As well as the area across the river from the BSB waterfront, take a wander along the shore-side villages west of the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, where you'll see luxury cars lined up on the shoulder of the road, belonging to wealthier stilt-village residents.
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Istana Nurul Iman
The sultan's official residence, the world's largest residential palace, is more than four times the size of the Palace of Versailles. It has 1788 rooms, air-conditioned stables for the sultan's polo ponies, gold door handles and 257 bathrooms. The palace is open to the public only during the three-day Hari Raya Aidil Fitri festivities at the end of Ramadan. The best way to check it out on the other 362 days of the year is to take a water-taxi cruise. Designed by Filipino architect Leandro Locsin, the palace mixes elements of Malay (the vaulted roofs) and Islamic (the arches and gold domes) architecture with the sweep and oversized grandeur of an airport terminal. The crystal teardrops in the royal reception room, sinuous wooden ceilings above covered walkways, and the glass ceiling features of the grand banquet hall are the work of Khuan Chew, responsible for Dubai's Burj Al Arab. Istana is located 3km southwest of the town centre.
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Brunei Museum
Brunei's interesting national museum has an Islamic art gallery, exhibits depicting Brunei's role in Southeast Asian history from the arrival of the Spanish and Portuguese in the 16th century to the modern day, and a natural-history gallery. It is situated 4.5km east of central BSB at Kota Batu. At the time of research the museum was closed for ongoing renovations. The oldest pieces here are ceramics from Iran and Central Asia and blown glass from Egypt and the Levant dating from the 9th and 10th centuries, as well as manuscripts of the Quran, tiny Qurans the size of a matchbox and gold jewellery. Don't miss the collection of Brunei's famous ceremonial cannons, known as bedil, some with barrels shaped like dragon heads. It wasn't oil but these bronze-cast weapons that were once the source of the sultanate's wealth and power. Close to the museum, the Taman Arkeologi Kota Batu preserves the stone ruins of the 14th- to 15th-century capital of Brunei.
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Brunei Darussalam Maritime Museum
The skeleton of a 15th-century Chinese sailing ship, lined with ceramic vessels, greets you as you step into the main hall inside this gleaming building at Kota Batu, 5km east of the city centre. On display are some of the 13,261 artefacts excavated from the country's most important shipwreck, discovered by divers in 1997. Items exhibited in the well-presented shipwreck gallery include crude singburi (stoneware jars) and fine Ming ceramics from China, and porcelain from Vietnam and Thailand, which would have been traded in Brunei for local products, including spices, rattan, sago and camphor.
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Kampong Ayer Cultural & Tourism Gallery
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.