Brunei is an independent islamic sultanate on the island of Borneo. It is surrounded by the East Malaysian state of Sarawak and not too far from Sabah. It looks and feels like Malaysia in so many ways, in the buildings, the rainforests and the people themselves, but it is less open than Malaysia and it is extremely rich due to petroleum and natural gas.

It’s not on everyone’s radar when in South East Asia but for us living in KL it was a good little get away for Chinese New Year (Jan-Feb 2017)

We dropped on with our Hotel; Palm Garden. This was because you had full gym access next door in Fitness Zone Kiulap which was as good a gym you could ask for, Aida even got to go to the classes which were on. We took turns in going as the other had to stay and watch Maya who was still not one yet. The breakfast was also very good as this was at the Health cafeteria underneath the gym, and was very nice, so I would certainly recommend it as a place to stay (it’s a little out of the city centre but grabs are really cheap) and there are ample places to eat nearby.

So what to do in Brunei. If nightclubs and drinking are your thing, then Brunei is certainly not for you, but we stayed for 4 nights and found plenty of things to keep us occupied (the gym was a bonus).

We visited Kampung Ayer floating Village (Venice of the East they say, I’d disagree somewhat) and this was fairly cheap to get a boat for the three of us to go around. The Omar Ali Saiffudian Mosque doesn’t sound like somewhere you would necessarily go on holiday but it’s very impressive nonetheless. Just walking around the waterfront reminded me of the corniche in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and it was just as warm. There are also two museums which I’d recommend; The Royal Regali and Malay Technology Museums are good ways to pass some time. Near where we stayed was a soft play centre and Maya loved there so we went on two separate occasions as finding something for a toddler to do is one of the main difficulties we find on any vacation. This got a huge thumbs up from Maya.

If we were to go again in a few years time, we would certainly head out into the National Park of Ulu Ulu and see what that had to offer. It certainly looks good.

Overall, it was a good break away and another country to tick off the list.

Rating: Chris 7   Aida