The Beetle spent a large part of 2005 working in Brunei. Here is a whistle-stop summary of some of its attractions; Brunei is definitely worth a three day or so detour.

Brunei, or to give it its full and correct title, Darussalam is situated on the north-west of the island of Borneo. It is a comparatively small country and has a total area of 5,765-sq. km. with a coastline of about 161-km along the South China Sea. It is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, East Malaysia though the Malaysian state of Sabah is to the east and Indonesia’s Kalimantan is to the south comprising the rest of Borneo. Brunei became independent from Great Britain in 1984 and Malay and English are widely used.

Brunei is blighted by a most unjustified reputation of being very expensive. Compared to say, Singapore, you can get a room in a hotel, say the D’Angerrek (where the Beetle lived) which is of a very high standard, for around £20 a night – something you could not find in Singapore for the same budget or indeed standard. The food in Brunei is excellent and there are many restaurants to choose from, from the ubiquitous food courts on the top floor of shopping centres to Indonesian satay and gado gado places to Japanese restaurants, all at very reasonable prices. There are a number of extremely good supermarkets that stock everything you could possibly want and far, far more in the way of fish, meat, fresh fruit and veg than say the UK – everything except alcohol, for Brunei is a dry country.

Public transport, or rather the lack of it lets Brunei down. There are buses, but the network is not extensive and they tend to stop at 5pm, so hiring a car is something of a pre-requisite.

There is a centre to Bandar, the capital but it is not big. There is a small shopping complex with a food court and an impressive mosque, the Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque – see picture left.

Also in town, there’s the Kampong Ayer, a somewhat up market floating village. I was told by a boatman who lives there that around 20,000 people live in the Kampong and more and more are leaving for more comfortable housing. I say up market, because it has electricity, satellite dishes and some of the houses have two storeys and pretty painted verandas and large pots of flowers and other plants. There are also several primary and secondary schools, a mosque and a fire station and a floating Shell petrol station. On my last trip there, I was told that the govt has plans to demolish some of the houses to build a bridge but it is still in the planning stage and attracting much controversy. The inhabitants are planned to be moved to the less characterful single storey concrete houses on stills at the lower end of the Kampong. It’s a little strange to see people’s cars parked on the opposite side of the Kampong – there are loads, and another reason why I say it’s not quite like similar Kampong’s I’ve seen. You should expect to pay about between 15 – 20 Brunei dollars for an hour’s tour of the Kampong. Further upstream you can see proboscis monkeys in the morning and late afternoon, but the usual boatmen will not usually take you there, you may find you have to book a tour (not cheap at 60 Brunei dollars).

About 6 kms out of town on the way to one of the two royal yacht clubs there’s a rather dry and dusty museum where they make you put your belongings including camera in a locker. See photo right. Downstairs artefacts from Iran, Turkey etc and you are left wondering about Brunei. Upstairs is about Brunei and its history. Also near the museum is the tomb of the Sultan Bolkiah which is a short walk from the road. It is in a pretty setting with frangipani trees around it, close to the river.

Tasek Merimbun, also known as Merimbun Heritage Park, is 27km (17miles) inland from Tutong, and contains Brunei’s largest lake with a tumbled down and decidedly precarious wooden walkway that used to take you all the way out over the lake and across to the island in the middle. It used to be a pretty place surrounded by forest with several walking trails. You can tell that it used to be very pretty but it has a somewhat dilapidated air about it these days.

A drive to Miri the small seaside border town in Sarawak takes you through the Shell oil town of Seria in the south of Brunei where, you can see tucked away down a lane leading towards the sea, past the Shell training and development centre, Brunei’s Billionth Barrel Oil Monument commemorating one billion barrels of crude oil from the Seria field 1 well which was the first commercially viable oil well to be drilled in 1929. This monument was commissioned by Brunei Shell Petroleum, designed by a local architect and built in 1991. It commemorates the production of billionth barrel of oil by the Seria oilfield which can be seen very close to the shore.

There’s also the Jerudong Park Playground, a huge amusement commissioned by the sultan in 1994 as a gift to his people. Until 2000, entry was free until 2000, but when it started charging, locals lost interest. According to local expats, it was around this time that various foreign workers responsible for maintaining the amusement ground left the country, so some local people laughingly joke that the rides are not quite as safe as they once were. When the Beetle went, most rides were available and she had great fun on the large roller coaster (there are two or three) and especially the log flume which does a crazy reverse at the top of a peak and whooshes down backwards (amidst much embarrassing Beetle squeaks). The second time the Beetle visited, many rides were shut down for maintenance, but it’s still a fun and occasionally spooky place to visit (where there is no lighting because the rides are closed) for an evening out. Now many rides languish, waiting for spare parts or to be re-insured but it’s still an intriguing experience to wander round the massive semi-deserted grounds in the evening.

Close to the Jerudong Amusement Park is the uber posh and very spectacular Empire Hotel, commissioned by the Sultan’s brother, Prince Jefri. This amazingly luxurious Empire Hotel which inside resembles a pastiche of all the different styles you possibly imagine, from 1920s art deco to the Harrods-like Egyptian and Greek columns is very impressive and a tourist sight in its own right – an absolute must in all its gaudy glory. There are several restaurants and buffets to sample and there is a small beach and pools as part of the grounds. Definitely worth a visit and occasionally, because of very low occupancy rates, good rates are to be had to stay in the hotel.

Getting to Brunei is easy – there are flights (including low cost airlines) from Singapore, Malaysia and Bangkok and direct flights from Europe. British subjects are allowed a thirty day visa on arrival, for others, there are different rules. There are coaches from Malaysian Sarawak to the west and you can take a very nice ferry to Labuan and then, if you wish, taken another to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Sabah.