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The capital and largest city of the south-east Asian Sultanate of Brunei is Bandar Seri Begawan. Bandar offers visitors some stunning architecture mixed in with some not-so-stunning architecture, good hotels, restaurants, the Water Village and more.
Bandar Seri Begawan can be reached through the Brunei International Airport (airport code: BWN) with daily flights from the UK. Airlines offering flights to Bandar Seri Begawan include Virgin Atlantic Airways, British Airways, Thai International Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Malaysia Airlines all offering one stop flights from London. Air Berlin and KLM provide two stop flights to Bandar Seri Begawan. Your journey will take you via Berlin or Düsseldorf and Bangkok for Air Berlin, and via Berlin and Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur with KLM.
The airport is about 20 minutes from the city and easily accessible by taxi, or if you’re staying in one of Bandar’s hotels ask whether they have a complimentary airport shuttle service as some do.
The Tourist Attractions of Bandar Seri Begawan
Compared to many other cities in this part of Asia, visitors may find that Bandar Seri Begawan actually lacks some of the usual impressive architecture you may have come to expect, but this doesn’t mean it lacks it altogether!The most notable building is the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. This is said to be one of the most impressive mosques in this part of the world, so more than makes up for the lack of other interesting buildings! Built in 1958, the mosque was named after the 28th Sultan of Brunei and has typical Islamic architecture on the outside whilst the inside is adorned with Italian marble, crystal chandeliers from England, carpets from Saudi Arabia and granite from Shanghai! If that wasn’t luxurious enough, the main dome of the mosque is covered with pure gold!
Although a working mosque, visitors are usually welcome when prayers are not being conducted. You will need to remove your shoes and will be given a robe on entering.
The waterside setting makes the mosque all the more impressive and the structure which resembles a boat is actually a permanent fixture and connected to the land via a marble bridge. This ‘ship’ was once used for official state ceremonies.
Another bridge connects the mosque to the Water Village (Kampong Ayer). If you’d like to explore the water village yourself you can do so from here, or the alternative is to get a water taxi to take you on a tour. Bandar Seri Begawan’s Water Village is really best seen from the water as you can really appreciate the fact that the houses seemingly float on water though are in fact on stilts. The Water Village is actually a collection of several villages and about 4,200 structures altogether, connected by boardwalks. Despite appearances the Water Village is actually a fully serviced area with electricity, plumbing, TV and internet services and more and the houses are historically important for their wooden structure and architecture.
Bandar Seri Begawan has several museums worth visiting. In the city centre is the Royal Regalia Museum. This exhibits a multitude of gifts which have been given to the Sultan over the years. The second museum is on the way out of the city and is called the Brunei Museum. The Islamic Art Gallery is highly recommended.