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BRUNEI
About
Brunei
The tiny but thriving Islamic Sultanate of Brunei perches
on the northwestern coast of Borneo, completely encircled by the
East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It has a population of 323,000,
nearly seventy percent of which is made up of Malays and indigenes
from the larger ethnic groups like the Murut and Dusun; the rest
are Chinese, Indians, smaller indigenous tribes and expats. They
enjoy a quality of life that is quite unparalleled in Southeast
Asia, with the literacy rate a staggering 93.7 percent of the population.
Education and healthcare are free; houses, cars, and even pilgrimages
to Mecca are subsidized; taxation on personal income is unheard
of; and the average per capita salary is around US$19,000. The explanation
is simple: oil , first discovered in 1903 at the site of what is
now the town of Seria.
The sultanate's full name is Negara Brunei Darussalam, the "Country
of Brunei, the Abode of Peace", and peaceful is a fair, if
rather polite, description of the state. Nightlife is almost nonexistent,
and liquor extremely hard to get hold of since a ban in 1991. Until
recently, the Sultan viewed the development of a tourist industry
as unnecessary, and there's been little for visitors to do in Brunei.
However, things are gradually changing. Brunei is becoming less
introspective and looking more to the West. You can see the results
in the building of smart plazas with their requisite coffee bars
in the capital Bandar. The authorities are starting to promote Brunei's
natural resources, and sections of pristine rainforest like Ulu
Temburong National Park in eastern Brunei are opening up to visitors.
The lack of accommodation outside the capital is being tackled by
the recently formed homestay programme - where travellers overnight
in Malay and Murut kampungs (villages) and Iban longhouses. This
opportunity to share in rural life is gaining popularity. Add to
this the fact that the capital Bandar Seri Begawan is an attractive
city, with two exquisite mosques and the fascinating Kampung Ayer
stilt village , and a stop-off in Brunei is a more appealing proposition
than ever before.
That said, the problem remains that Brunei is more expensive than
neigbouring Malaysia or even Singapore - hotel prices in the capital
are at least double those in nearby Kota Kinabalu or Miri. Most
travellers still end up in Brunei either because of an enforced
stopover on a Royal Brunei Airlines flight, or as a stepping stone
to either Sabah or Sarawak. In the latter case, however, it can
work out cheaper to take an internal MAS flight between Miri and
Labuan rather than bussing it through Brunei.
Brunei's climate, like that of neighbouring Sabah and Sarawak, is
hot and humid, with average temperatures in the high twenties throughout
the year. Lying 440km north of the equator, Brunei has a tropical
weather system, so even if you visit outside the official wet season
(usually November to February) there's every chance that you'll
see some rain. |
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