Brunei Darussalam occupies a small enclave on the island of Borneo, surrounded on three sides by the Malaysian state of Sarawak and open to the South China Sea on the north. With a population of approximately 450,000 and oil reserves that have made it one of the world's wealthiest nations per capita, Brunei is an absolute Islamic monarchy under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah — one of the world's longest-reigning and wealthiest heads of state. It has no income tax, no national debt worth mentioning, and subsidised fuel, healthcare, and education for its citizens. It is also one of the least visited countries in Southeast Asia. Here are five places that explain why it deserves more attention.
1. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque — One of Asia's Most Beautiful Buildings
The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, completed in 1958 and set on an artificial lagoon in the centre of Bandar Seri Begawan (the capital), is one of the most visually spectacular religious buildings in Asia. Built in a classical Italian-Mughal hybrid style by architects from Italy and the Philippines, it features a pure white marble exterior, a 44-metre golden dome visible from across the city, and a ceremonial barge (a replica of a 16th-century Bruneian royal vessel) moored permanently on the surrounding lagoon for effect. The reflecting pool doubles every feature in still water at dawn and dusk. Interior access for non-Muslims is permitted outside prayer times — visitors are provided robes at the entrance, the interior is cool, silent, and extraordinary: Italian marble floors, English crystal chandeliers, and wall mosaics assembled from over three million pieces of Venetian glass. There is no entrance charge. It is among the most undervisited great buildings in Asia.
2. Kampong Ayer — The World's Largest Water Village
Kampong Ayer ("Water Village") is a settlement of approximately 30,000 people living in houses, schools, mosques, clinics, and a fire station built on stilts above the Brunei River in the capital. It is believed to have been continuously inhabited for over 1,300 years, predating the land city around it. Antonio Pigafetta, the chronicler of Magellan's circumnavigation, visited in 1521 and wrote of a "Venice of the East" — 25,000 homes on the water, reached by boat and connected by boardwalk. Today, Kampong Ayer is a functioning community of modern stilt-houses, reached by water taxi (10 cents per ride) from the waterfront, with its own schools, mosques, and community facilities. Walking the elevated boardwalks between houses, watching residents fish from their back porches and commute by speedboat to the mainland city, is the most authentic cultural experience Brunei offers.
3. Ulu Temburong National Park — Borneo's Intact Lungs
The Ulu Temburong National Park covers 50,000 hectares of primary lowland and montane rainforest in Brunei's Temburong district — a physically separate part of the country accessible only by longboat or the new Temburong Bridge (opened 2020, the longest bridge in Southeast Asia). Brunei has never allowed commercial logging in this forest; the result is one of the most intact primary rainforest ecosystems in all of Borneo. The park is accessible only on guided tours. The highlight is the rainforest canopy walkway — an aluminium treetop walkway system reaching 60 metres above the forest floor, providing a view across an uninterrupted green canopy to the Brunei Bay and the South China Sea beyond. The forest below contains Borneo pygmy elephants, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, and over 400 bird species. Day trips or overnight stays are available through authorised tour operators.
4. Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque — 29 Golden Domes
Completed in 1994 to mark the Sultan's 25th year of rule, the Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque is the largest mosque in Brunei and one of the most ornate in Southeast Asia — 29 golden domes (one for each chapter of the Koran), four minarets, a capacity of 4,500 worshippers, and a surrounding garden complex of fountains and immaculate grounds covering several hectares. It is newer and more opulent than the Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque; where that building has classical European elegance, this one has pure Gulf-state grandeur. The two mosques represent two very different aesthetic visions of Islamic architecture and are both remarkable. Non-Muslim visitors admitted outside prayer times.
5. The Royal Regalia Museum — Inside the World's Wealthiest Sultanate
The Royal Regalia Museum in Bandar Seri Begawan houses the ceremonial state objects of the Brunei sultanate: the coronation regalia of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (gold-encrusted throne, royal chariot, ceremonial arms), gifts from foreign heads of state, and the royal family's formal portraits and artefacts. It is free to enter, extraordinarily well-curated, and provides a window into the culture and scale of one of the world's last absolute monarchies. The centrepiece is the hand-crafted gold and silver ceremonial chariot used in the 1968 coronation — pulled by hand through the streets of the capital, weighing several tonnes. The museum is the most concentrated display of Bruneian royal wealth and is one of the finest small national museums in Southeast Asia.