Brunei

Sultans and Warm Jelly

Bandar Seri Begawan

November 1st, 2023 – November 3rd, 2023

Table of Contents

Brunei was the 3rd country we visited in our Southeast Asia 2023 Trip. If you want to read through chronologically, start here.

The idea of Brunei scared me. It seemed so foreign to everything we knew. This was a country run by an Islamic Monarchy. Criticism of the Sultan was practically forbidden. We’d spent time in the United Arab Emirates before, but this was one of the least visited countries in the world. It was fear of the unknown.

There was also the ethical dilemma. Brunei is notorious for its anti-LGBT laws, with stoning and whipping being punishments for those who engage in such acts. It can be ethically tough to visit countries where societal laws and policies are against your personal belief structures. But as travelers, we don’t visit countries to endorse any governments or policies. We travel to meet people, see beautiful places, and eat good food.

Singapore to Brunei

Singapore to Brunei would be the first of many inter-Asian flights we’d be taking over the next couple weeks. This one would be relatively quick, only a 2 hour flight on Singapore Airlines.

We got to our gate early and waited for it to open. The gates here were completely enclosed and locked until 30 minutes before boarding. Once they opened, everyone lined up and went through security inside the gate. It was a pretty quick and efficient process. Once through, everyone sat in the enclosed gate until it was time for boarding. Looking back at the demographics of our flight to Singapore against this one was pretty funny. We were clearly the only tourists on the flight. It made sense though, considering Brunei is one of the least visited countries in the world. Before the pandemic in 2019, only 333,244 tourists visited the country by air, and that number has significantly decreased since COVID.

Looks like they sent a helicopter to pick us up

First Impressions

So here we were, our 16th country and 3rd of this trip, Brunei Darussalam.

Our hotel had arranged a free pick up from the airport and we were met at departures by a man holding my name on a sign. It mustn’t have been hard for him to know it was us, before we even made eye contact he had started putting the sign down. With a simple nod of the head, we acknowledged each other and began walking to the car. It seemed like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.

Stepping out into the hot, humid air, we were met with a call to prayer emanating from the airport mosque. We definitely weren’t in Singapore anymore. The man told us to follow and we got into an old white van and set off into Bandar Seri Begawan.

We drove past the stadium of one of the local football teams, Kota Rangers.

The Capital Residence Suites

Our hotel for the next couple of nights was The Capital Residence Suites. It was a nice, colorful looking building located off the side of a busy road. A chain-link fence surrounded the compound. Inside, a picture of the Sultan and his wife sat upon the wall, looking over the entire room. It was quiet, we were the only ones.

The receptionist greeted and gave us an informational packet with some details on the free hotel shuttle that ran to tourist spots around the city. “Some people have already signed up for the one at 8pm to the Night Market, if you are interested”. We hadn’t planned on going anywhere tonight, but it gave us a chance to get and out be with others.

Our room was very big. In the corner was a Qibler pointer that showed the direction to Mecca. Outside, a view over a Youth Center and Ceremonial Hall.

The Night Market

As the sun began setting, we hopped on to the shuttle and sat at at the back like the cool kids we are. There were a couple others on board, an older man and women, and then 2 younger guys.

A quick 15 minute drive and we were pulling up to the Gadong Night Market. It was about 8pm, and popping off. Cars surrounded the outside as they dropped people off. Stepping out of the shuttle, the smell of grilled meats immediately hit our nostrils. The sounds of hustle and bustle radiated through the metal structure of the market. Markets like these are our favorite places to walk around, people watch, and eat some good food. Markets don’t exist for tourists. It’s not a park or monument that is there to sell tickets. This is where you can go to see life as it is for those that live there.

Two ladies making the most smoke in the entire market caught our eyes. They stood at a small grill packed with different kinds of meat on sticks. We ended up getting two different kinds, Hati Buyah (Beef Lungs) and Hati Amyah (Beef Liver). Each stick ended up only costing about $1 each (the greatest thing about these type of markets). The lady threw them on the grill for one last burst of flame, put them in a plastic cup, and drenched them in a sweet BBQ type sauce.

Let me tell you. I don’t know exactly what they put in that sauce, but it hit like crack. It was smokey, sweet, and spicy all in one. I ripped a chunk off from the Hati Buyah stick. It was beefy, gamey and went perfect with the sauce. I honestly couldn’t tell that I was eating beef lung. The Hati Amyah on the other hand…

I want to preface this by saying, I don’t think I’m a liver person, so take my opinion at that level. One bite into this actually made me gag. It was grainy, irony, and strangely soft. The texture, flavor, everything, I just couldn’t do it. After seeing my reaction, Emily wouldn’t touch it. I don’t blame her.

Next we went looking for another popular Brunei street food, the Roti John. Standing behind a table was an assembly line of men, pumping out Roti Johns at a blistering pace. Bread went on the grill followed by egg and beef. There’s something so satisfying about the noise of metal spatulas chopping and dicing food on a flat grill. The bread came off, egg and beef were scooped on, mayo and hot sauce squirted all over, and then finally it was chopped up in to bite sized pieces. It was incredibly efficient process.

We sat down with our massive sandwich. It was like a foot long from Subway chopped up into tiny sections. We each picked up a slice drenched in sauce. The beef had a little curry twang to it, but other than that, it tasted like egg and mayonnaise. Decent, but not life changing.

We were starting to get full, but wanted to make one more stop before we made our way back to the shuttle. We once again found a stall that served beef and bread, this time in the form of a Pita Burger. Chopped beef, onions, peppers and cheese came in a pocket of pita bread. It’s hard to wrong with those flavors.

On our way back to the hotel, we started talking to the 2 younger guys on our shuttle. One of them was from Malaysia, and visiting Brunei as he’d been told “that’s where you come to find peace”. The other was a man from Iran who had visited 120+ countries. His voice, demeanor, and the fact he was wearing an Abercrombie shirt with Pride colors hinted that he was part of a group of people that weren’t welcome here. After what we had read about Brunei and its laws, we were nervous for him. Yet, when we asked about his experience so far, he said everyone had been friendly and welcoming. It was heartwarming to hear. People are not representative of their government. Good, kind humans can be found everywhere.

A Castle fit for a Sultan

The next morning we got up and headed for the streets of Bandar Seri Begawan. Like every day we’d been in Southeast Asia thus far, it was blistering hot and humid.

To get the day started we stopped by a local coffee shop, Roasted Sip Pavo Point.

The Water Village

Yesterday we asked the two guys on our shuttle what there was you had to do around the area. Both of them responded the same: A boat tour of the nearby ‘water village’. “Walk on the shore and they will come up to you in boat. Make sure to negotiate the price” they said. As we walked up to the bank of the Brunei River, it was like clockwork. Almost immediately guys began speeding over in boats, offering their service. I sat down on the cobbled bank and negotiated a price with one of them. We went back and forth and reluctantly he gave in, laughed, and told us to come aboard.

We sped off into the village, driving through the old water bound buildings. The driver pointed to an enormous castle in the distance, “This is the home for one of the Sultan’s wives. Each of his wives has one.”

We made our way further down the river into the swampier waters. The breeze felt great. It reminded us a little of our home in the Lowcountry of Charleston. The driver pointed out an enormous Alligator just to the left of our boat. We had them big back in Charleston, but never that big. On the right, a family of Proboscis Monkeys jumped throughout the trees. The boat stuttered as we drifted into shallower water. Our driver seemed somewhat panicked as he tried to start the engine over and over to failure. He whipped out an oar and started pushing it into the ground to try and move us away manually. We were stuck.

It must have taken him about 20 minutes to get us unstuck from that swamp. I could tell the driver was fed up and turned us around back into deeper water. We’d seen the monkeys, the alligator, and some of rural Brunei so we were happy. It felt good to just have the breeze smacking against our face again.

We were once again in the deep water. We pulled next to a fisherman in a smaller boat, donning a bright yellow shirt and large hat to protect himself from the sun. He showed us his catch. Trapped in a ripped red net were a couple of large prawns. It is a tough life. Hours on the water with no shade.

We continued our ride into the village. And then the engine stuttered again, except this time we weren’t in shallow swamp water. It stuttered again and again and eventually the boat came to a stop. The driver laughed, “Out of gas”. Great. We’d been stuck in the swamp for 30 minutes, now we were out of gas. He got on the phone with another driver. After 10 or so minutes, the other driver came over and gave him a couple tanks of gas. After refilling, he just dropped us off at a museum and left. We mustn’t have been worth the hassle anymore.

This wasn’t just any museum however, this was Kampong Ayer, a centuries old settlement located entirely on the Brunei River. We were excited to see it, but couldn’t help but feel confused why we’d suddenly been dumped here. Speaking with the Security Guard at the Museum entrance tried to figure out in broken English how to get back to the mainland. It was actually quite simple, all we had to do was flag down one of the Water Taxi’s that hang around the area, give them $1 and we’d be taken back. Easy enough.

The museum was free and gave an in depth history into Kampong Ayer and its people. The settlement sprung up a thousand years ago as a place for fisherman to trade. Over time more people came and houses sprung up over the water, so much so until it became one of the largest water villages in the world. It’s actually quite an incredible thing to witness. People still live here, and have no direct way to the mainland of Brunei other than crossing the river. Life definitely finds a way.

It was time to flag down a water taxi. We stood on a wooden dock overlooking the river and waited. The chugging of an old boat reached our ears and was followed by a yellow speedboat plopping along over the horizon. I awkwardly raised my hand to wave them over. I mentioned to Emily it would be funny if they just ignored us, but the driver gave a head nod and came over. On the boat were, I assumed, his wife and children as they were close and talking together. I stumbled on to the boat, handed him the $1 fee, and pointed to the shore. No more than 30 seconds later, we were there. If the ancient Kampong Ayers had water taxis this efficient, I’m not surprised they never needed to move back to the mainland.

On the shore we took to the streets and headed back to the hotel. I loved the architecture here. It was so unique, unlike anything we’d seen. The mixtures of exotic tropics and Islamic culture, traditional and modern, created such a strange yet welcoming environment.

The Warm Jelly

For some reason, we had lost all Internet connection the minute we landed in Brunei, which made it tough to get from place to place. On top of that, our beloved Grab wasn’t active in the country. We told the receptionist of our problem. In Brunei, the ride service app of choice is called Dart. She went ahead and tried ordering one for us. Nothing. She tried again. Nothing again. We sat in the lobby, debating whether we should just bite the bullet and walk. Around 5 or so minutes later, we got a confirmation, “Your ride will be here in a couple minutes”.

I was looking forward to this meal, just because of how bizarre it sounded. Our car pulled down a long alleyway and in front of an unassuming building. This was Nadi Utama Restaurant and home to Brunei’s National Dish, Ambuyat. Most people haven’t even heard of Brunei, let alone its National Dish. We certainly hadn’t heard of it before this trip. I was excited. It was a weird one. The starch of a Sago Palm tree mixed with water and then thickened. It didn’t even sound like food.

The restaurant was mostly empty. Naturally, the few people inside turned and stared at every step we took. It was nice and looked like a regular western cafe. We sat down at our table as a nervous looking lady came over to us. We struggled to communicate as I pointed at the Ambuyat. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to ask what sides we wanted, but I just ended up saying ‘Whatever you think is best’ and left it at that. Most of the time, that ends up working wherever we are.

After an Islamic Call to Prayer played over the radio and halted the entire place, the Ambuyat came. Inside this clay pot was a thick, sticky white jelly. The server instructed us to how to eat it. “Twist with these and then swallow. Don’t chew or you will choke.” Sorry what? Or we’ll choke?

The stakes were high, my life was on the line. I picked up the wooden chopstick, known as a Chanda, and stuck it in to the Ambuyat. After a couple of twirls, I pulled away with my lump of jelly. I could see the people in the back looking at me in excitement, probably waiting to see me mess it up. I stuck the Chanda pretty far into my mouth and sucked the Ambuyat off. In a split second of panic, I was very conscious of this thick, warm jelly sliding down the back of my throat. The whole thing was a strange experience. It didn’t really taste like anything other than thick, starchy gelatin. We were given a little sauce to dip it in, but that didn’t really do much for me. It was a little fishy and had a strange aftertaste.

Before Emily had even swallowed I could tell that she didn’t like it. I didn’t blame her. Luckily, I’d somehow accidently ordered some other dishes with the Ambuyat. A beef and a vegetable dish, both of which were very good.

As we had no Internet and no Dart, we began the mile trek back.

Back at our the hotel, we were treated to a pack of monkeys running around just outside our room. There was even a mother holding her baby. It was incredible how she traversed over the rooftops with a little guy hanging on to her belly.

Pizza Hut Specialty

Here’s a great trivia question about Brunei. Did you know that there is a specialty Pizza Hut pizza that is only found in Brunei? Because neither did we, until on our walk back we saw a sign saying so. I took a quick look up to see if it was true and yes, Honey Garlic Chicken Pizza is exclusive to Brunei. The better news? There was a Pizza Hut close to us. The even better news? They delivered.

Long story short. We were lazy, laid in bed, ordered a Honey Garlic Chicken Pizza and ate it all. It hit the spot. After days of eating something new and ‘Eastern’ every day of this trip, devouring a pizza felt incredible. It was sweet, savory and I think it needs to kick off in the USA right now.

On to the next Stop

The next morning we packed up our bags.

We were on our way to the next country in our trip, join us as we go to The Philippines.