Brunei, a strict muslim kingdom, who was introducing the Sharia as their law system in which homosexuals are getting stoned. Those are the things we are hearing in the media about this small country. What were my expectations and how is it in reality? Read this article and find out!
Where is Brunei located?
Brunei is a little country with less than 500.000 inhabitants living there. It is located at the Southeastern Asian Island of Borneo, which is part of Malaysia and Indonesia. It is only sharing a border with Malaysia though. The capital is called Bandar Seri Begawan and they are using the Brunei Dollar, which is also possible to use in Singapore. Their currency is 1:1 with each other.
What were my expectations?
Before visiting Brunei I was actually a bit worried about the laws to not make anything wrong. I didn’t know how it was in reality because I knew almost nobody who was visiting this small country. There is not really useful information on the internet for this topic, so I basically jumped in cold water – again.
I had no idea how much money I should bring or exchange. Due to the fact that the country owns a lot of money due to oil, I thought of bringing more money, then I would usually bring it to other countries , especially in this region. Due to the fact that the Singapore Dollar is equal to the Brunei Dollar, I was just assuming the prices would be the same as in Singapore.
I was expecting everyone to wear a burka and be strict with the religion. I was wearing long pants and tried my best to hide my tattoos before coming. Visiting some Middle Eastern countries and I always try to be as respectful as possible. In my opinion, the laws of a country need to be respected, everywhere you go!
To be honest, I was expecting the worst. I didn’t even find a host on Couchsurfing, which is weird. Usually I am always successful there.
How did I experience Brunei?
While arriving at the runway, the pilot is making it clear to declare your things because of how strict the country is and you could easily go to jail. The declaration is mainly important for alcohol and cigarettes, at least that is what the officer asked me.
Answering some questions about my stay and then receiving the stamp to enter Brunei, country 82! I was exchanging money and bought a sim card, everything was quite easy and at a fair price. Outside and ready to go to the city, the taxi cost 25 Brunei Dollar, which is 17 Euros, for less than 5km, even Germany is cheaper!
Waiting for the bus took more than 1 hour, before I tried to do some hitchhiking, which worked super easy. Brunei is a country made for cars, you don’t really see motorcycles like in the rest of Southeast Asia!
The mosque next to the airport
Everyone I was talking to was able to speak and understand English, which made the communication way easier. Adding to this, the locals were also happy to help and communicate with me, that was letting me feel welcome from the beginning on.
Even though everything seemed to be chill, the mind was still filled with the information I had before, I tried to not do anything illegal.
Getting to know Locals
I was meeting with two people from the place I was staying, a local girl with whom I was connecting via Couchsurfing. Her family came four generations ago from China to Brunei. The people always think that she is from China, but has a Brunei passport.
We were driving around with her and asked many questions to the topics, you don’t really hear about. She was saying that the strict Sharia laws, which are out there, isn’t valid for her because she isn’t a muslim. Basically when a non muslim is breaking the law, the law system, which the British were introducing, is counting.
Also it is really rare, that someone is getting actually stoned, in order for that something really bad needs to happen and adding to this there need to be four witnesses. The four witnesses need to be moslem as well and following the Sharia law. In most cases that would just not happen.
She was saying that the king kind of lost his mind, but the population is having a safe and peaceful life due to that. The population doesn’t need to pay taxes, the gas prices are low and the food isn’t that expensive. You can easily get around and even have enough to travel in most cases. As a citizen from Brunei, your passport seems to be quite decent and you have a lot of benefits in the country itself. Many events for free and also healthcare.
In the end, the leader of the country is trying to make the people feel good as much as possible. She also said that the king has a lot of money, but the country itself isn’t rich. Also, she thinks that the king is losing his money slowly due to less and less things staying free for the citizens, so she is seeing a little change happening.
The kings palast
Prices
The prices for the tourists and locals are the same. It is cheaper than Singapore, that is for sure, but I wouldn’t say it is really cheap. When starting at the taxi prices, they are higher than everywhere I went before, this is due to the Dart app (similar to Uber) and that most people are owning a car.
The supermarket prices are depending, there are some things quite cheap and others way too overpriced. There it also depends on the supermarket you go to, Hypermart is the cheapest I saw.
When you go into restaurants, the prices are actually quite decent and the quality of the food was in all places. I went quite well. There are of course local ones, which are cheaper than some international chains, or when you are in a tourist section it is also more expensive than outside of them. So I would not be worried about food poisoning here.
Safety
When it comes to safety, everyone I talked to is feeling safe and so did I. It is feeling really safe and that also at night, doesn’t matter where you are going. Of course I still tried to keep all my things tight on me to just not risk anything. The people want to live in peace and that is what it seems to be over there.
On the other hand, Brunei is quite boring because there is nothing really to do. During the day it is really hot and at night it is dark. The people are working and then sitting somewhere with air conditioning. It is not only boring for the locals, but also for tourists because you can basically just walk around the center, which isn’t big. You can book an expensive jungle tour, which probably is fun. Also there seems to be a jungle tour including sleeping at the indigenous people, which sounds amazing. My time was sadly limited. Those tours are better to book, when actually being there, to get cheaper prices and a more authentic idea about if it is something you would like to do.
Final words
Brunei is a small country with two big fronts, the strict muslims and the strict laws to show to the public. On the other side there are normal people, who are going to Malaysia to get drunk and have unmarried fun with others. Also transgender and homosexuals are existing in the country. This is a side you are just not seeing, when you are just a normal tourist in the country. Also inside the country people are drinking, just not openly on the street. Cigars are not wanted in the country and still you can buy a pack for 2,5 Euros, when really searching for it. It is the same in the Middle East or other strict muslim countries. You will find ways around, it is just a bit more risky, but you can’t stop it from happening.
Brunei is for sure a country, which you should keep in the back of your mind, when planning a trip in Southeast Asia. But when you come here, try to get in contact with locals and give it a chance. The western media also is just showing one side of the story. The other side you will find out while traveling with open eyes and ears.
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