Stilt houses and oil drillers in Brunei

vogel-fliegt-aus — Sat, 16 May 2026 10:29:00 GMT

Water Village

In three stages, I traveled in May 2025 by bus about one thousand kilometers from Kuching, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, to Brunei on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Brunei is regarded by travelers as boring and sterile, thus unattractive.

Moreover, there are some disturbing aspects: in 2014, Sharia law was reintroduced, including the death penalty by stoning. Since 2019, homosexuality and adultery can also be punished by death. Not that it concerns me; I am neither gay nor married. But the principle alone puts me off.

However, curiosity prevailed, and after stages in the three Malaysian cities of Simanggang, Sibu, and Bintulu, I arrived on May 11, 2025, in the Sultanate of Brunei, which appears on the map of Borneo like a tiny fly speck, as it is only about the same size as the canton of Bern (or, for German readers: twice the size of Saarland) and has barely half the number of residents as both the German state and the Swiss canton, namely less than 500,000.

As I said, I imagined Brunei to be austere, rigid, and anti-pleasure. While it is easy to stock up on alcohol in Malaysia, which is also predominantly Muslim, if one wishes, it is frowned upon in the absolutist Islamic monarchy of Brunei. Even smoking is prohibited - a unique phenomenon worldwide.

I had to revise my first prejudice already on the first evening during a walk along the waterfront, the generously developed bank of the Brunei River in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. Here, half the nation jogs at sunset. And while many women wear headscarves - face veils are hardly seen - others run past me in shorts and T-shirts. One would never see such a thing in rigid Saudi Arabia or the Iran or Afghanistan ruled by religious fanatics.

Outside the comfort zone

From the aforementioned promenade, one can see a huge stilt house settlement on the opposite bank of the river. To visit this primordial quarter called

which is on stilts above the water and has an estimated 30,000 residents, I take a water taxi from the promenade across the river. After that, I leave my tourist comfort zone for two or three hours.

Firstly, it is incredibly hot and humid. And secondly, the houses, mosques, and schools are connected by wooden walkways on their stilts, and with every step, I think of the fate of Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam II, who ruled from 1906 until his malaria death in 1924. Jamalul Alam, the great-grandfather of the current billionaire ruler Hassanal Bolkiah, was poor. It is said that he fell through a rotting floorboard in his residence, which, like all the houses in Bandar Seri Begawan at that time, was built on stilts. Many planks appear rotten today or are already broken. While the residents of the picturesque quarters seem to float above, the few tourists tread carefully with cautious steps.

Brunei sees itself as a modern state, and there are resettlement programs from the

Water Villages

to the mainland. Certain stilt house quarters have already had to give way to waterfront promenades, city parks, and new urban quarters, and the population still living on the water is shrinking. But the stilt villages are unlikely to disappear too quickly: one can even see new constructions on the water.

Mosque in the spotlight

A man who simply calls himself

moved from the stilt house village to the mainland about ten years ago. His real first name is too complicated, he says. Z is a supervisor in the magnificent mosque of Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the father of the current sultan, who ruled from 1950 to 1967. The mosque, which can accommodate 3,000 worshippers and was completed in 1958, is an eclectic mix of traditional Indian and indigenous Malaysian styles, executed in gleaming polished Italian marble with ornate columns and richly decorated interiors with mosaics and extensive Arabic calligraphy.

The mosque stands in an artificial lagoon, where a replica of a royal barge from the 16th century can also be admired. In the setting sun, as well as with the sophisticated nighttime lighting, the ensemble with its dominant golden dome takes on a magical presence.

The building is not only a place of worship and venue for state ceremonies wrapped in religion, but also the country's most important tourist attraction. Unfortunately, I missed the visiting hours for non-Muslim tourists. Nevertheless, Z let me in, and afterward, we had an extensive discussion about God and the world, in the truest sense of the word.

Billionaire sultan

Brunei is officially called Negara Brunei Darussalam (

State of Brunei, the Land of Peace

). In the 15th century, the then ruler Awang Alak Betatar converted from Hinduism to Islam and took the name Sultan Muhammad. He established the Muslim dynasty that has ruled continuously since then. Brunei is known, among other things, thanks to the 29th sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah (79), and his passion for cars: the monarch is said to own between 5,000 and 7,000 automobiles, including 600 Rolls-Royces, 380 Bentleys, and 550 Ferraris. I couldn't count them; the collection is not accessible; there are only a few videos about it on YouTube and some leaked photos from 2001.

Bolkiah's palace Istana Nurul Iman is also remarkable: with 1,788 rooms, it is according to the Guinness Book of Records the largest residence of a head of state in the world. Again, I have to rely on unverifiable information. Cars and the palace are not his only extravagances. The sultan allegedly owns a private zoo with 30 Bengal tigers, an art collection that includes a Renoir that cost him 70 million dollars. And he is rumored to fly in his hairdresser from the Dorchester Hotel in London - which he also owns. Hassanal Bolkiah has twelve children from three women, one of whom has already died from a serious illness.

It is verifiable that Hassanal Bolkiah has been on the throne since 1967 and is therefore, since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the world's longest-serving head of state. He is king, prime minister, defense, foreign, and finance minister in personal union and is also the supreme guardian of the Islamic state religion.

Since 1888, Brunei has been a British protectorate - except for the years 1942 to 1945 under Japanese occupation. A British

Resident

largely determined state affairs and oversaw the finances. Since the definitive independence from Great Britain in 1984, the sultan has succeeded in tearing down the barriers between the state treasury and his personal income. Brunei regularly appears on the lists of the ten richest countries in the world, thanks to oil, commercial extraction of which began in 1932. How much of the state budget flows into the coffers of the royal family remains a secret. Their wealth is estimated at over 20 billion euros, but that is pure speculation.

In the end, I stayed four days before I traveled on to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah in northeastern Borneo. The airport of Brunei, as clean as a well-kept living room, ultra-modern and completely oversized for the sparse air traffic, is empty and tidy; check-in, passport control, and security take only a few minutes. Airports can be pleasant; most are not; this one is.

It was not boring in Brunei. Especially not on the last evening. I dined in an excellent restaurant (the name of which I will not disclose to avoid causing problems for the chef). A daughter of the sultan, a real princess, dined there with a larger entourage. At the table next to me sat the bodyguards, a woman and three men.

When the group had left, I got into a conversation with the restaurant manager, a Malaysian, and a waitress from the Philippines. They both work in Brunei because the earning opportunities here are better than in their countries. After chatting for a few hours, he pulled a cooler bag from a back room and produced a few cans of beer. Next time I sink into the

24/04/2019 fino al 26/04/2019 - Brunei

anne & ben um die welt — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 11:07:00 GMT

Freme Rainforest Lodge

24/04/2019
Oggi finalmente mi sono alzato senza sveglia, perché il nostro volo da Mulu a Miri partiva solo nel pomeriggio. Siamo atterrati puntualmente e verso le 18:00 abbiamo attraversato in auto il confine della Malesia nel Sultanato del Brunei Darussalam. Quello che abbiamo visto per primo è stato sconvolgente. Ovunque fumi densi, a destra e a sinistra della strada tutto era bruciato e alcune fiamme ardevano ancora. Faceva caldo, la terra era secca, non pioveva da molto tempo. Bastava una piccola scintilla e tutto sarebbe andato in fiamme. Persino l'autostrada dovette essere chiusa. Così i 128 km fino alla capitale Bandar Seri Begawan sono stati piuttosto lunghi. Alle 20:30 siamo arrivati al molto accogliente Poni Homestay. Abbiamo rapidamente riempito la lavatrice con i vestiti sporchi dalla giungla e poi il proprietario ci ha portato in un ristorante dove abbiamo mangiato uno dei Nasi Goreng più deliziosi.

25/04/2019
Di primo mattino siamo stati di nuovo prelevati. I luoghi d'interesse della città li abbiamo visti solo dall'auto di passaggio, poiché la nostra meta di oggi era il Parco Nazionale di Temburong. Dopo 2,5 ore di viaggio e 2 attraversamenti di confine, siamo arrivati alla Freme Rainforest Lodge. Un piccolo snack, un caffè e poi siamo andati a visitare un tipico Iban Longhouse. In questa Longhouse vivono 70 persone in 10 appartamenti. Siamo stati accolti con grande calore e abbiamo potuto dare un'occhiata a uno degli appartamenti. Abbiamo assaggiato un vino di riso fatto in casa e osservato la padrona di casa mentre realizzava cesti. L'alcol è vietato in Brunei, ma nei Longhouse è consentito bere il vino fatto in casa. Siamo andati a visitare una seconda casa, che ha anche dieci appartamenti, ma ospita 116 persone. Questa è la variante moderna di un Longhouse. Anche qui abbiamo incontrato persone molto accoglienti, che ci hanno mostrato un po' della loro vita, della loro
cultura e della loro passione per la collezione. Siamo tornati alla lodge per una breve pausa pranzo prima di salire sul Longboat. Poco prima della partenza ha iniziato a piovere a dirotto, quindi la pausa pranzo è durata un po' più a lungo e siamo partiti per una passeggiata notturna solo dopo cena. Abbiamo visto alcune rane, vari insetti e un serpente da cui abbiamo rapidamente sognato, poiché domani mattina ci aspetta la partenza per l'alba.

26/04/2019
5:30, partiamo per l'alba. La foresta pluviale porta il suo nome per una buona ragione. Ha piovuto di nuovo, così abbiamo dormito un po' di più. Dopo colazione, siamo poi andati sul fiume. Dopo mezz'ora di viaggio siamo arrivati al nostro punto di partenza per l'escursione. Da qui ci sono circa 200 scale da salire. Poi abbiamo proseguito con altre scale fino al Canopy Walk. A 42 metri di altezza eravamo sopra gli alberi e abbiamo potuto godere di una vista splendida sulla foresta pluviale. Dopo essere scesi da tutte le scale, il Longboat ci ha portato a una piccola cascata. Qui abbiamo ricevuto una pedicure gratuita da piccoli pesci. Dopo una pausa pranzo, siamo tornati in capitale Bandar Seri Begawan con lo Speedboat. Abbiamo utilizzato il pomeriggio per visitare alcuni luoghi d'interesse della città. Al Malay Technology Museum abbiamo visto come vivevano e lavoravano le persone in Brunei in passato, e al Royal Regalia Museum abbiamo imparato tutto sul sultano. Anche in Brunei c'è regolarmente un tea-time pomeridiano che abbiamo consumato in uno dei villaggi galleggianti. Infine, abbiamo scattato una foto della Moschea Sultan-Omar-Ali-Saifuddin e abbiamo mangiato deliziosamente al Nightmarket.

Freme Rainforest Lodge

Longhouse I

Longhouse II

Viaggio a Brunei - Blog di viaggio, reportage e consigli di viaggio

Stilt houses and oil drillers in Brunei

24/04/2019 fino al 26/04/2019 - Brunei