My first visit to Brunei

[Introduction]

I traveled to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Penang) and Brunei for a week, while I attended my Malaysian friend’s wedding at Kuala Lumpur. In this article, I will write about my first visit to Brunei, as part of Day 6.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1 (1) Flying to Kuala Lumpur (Related article)
* Day 1 (2) Night view of Petronas Twin Towers (Related article)
* Day 2 (1) Petronas Twin Towers and Suria KLCC (Related article)
* Day 2 (2) Aquaria KLCC (Related article)
* Day 2 (3) Bukit Bintang (Related article)
* Day 3 (1) Colonial architecture in Penang (Related article)
* Day 3 (2) Pinang Peranakan Mansion and Eastern & Oriental Hotel (Related article)
* Day 3 (3) Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion) (Related article)
* Day 4 (1) Ethnic architecture in Penang (Related article)
* Day 4 (2) Art works in Penang (Related article)
* Day 5 (1) Masjid Negara and Islamic Arts Museum (Related article)
* Day 5 (2) Chinatown (Related article)
* Day 6 (1) Royal Regalia (This article)
* Day 6 (2) Old Mosque (Related article)
* Day 7 (1) Water Village, New Mosque and Gadong area (Related article)
* Day 7 (2) Empire Hotel (Related article)
(Day 1, 2, 5, 6: Kuala Lumpur, Day 3, 4: Penang, Day 6, 7: Brunei)

[Travel Dates]
2015.9.22 – 29

NOTE: as the blog title suggests, I mainly write about my travel around Japan, but I will write about my overseas travel in this series.

[Main Part]

Moving from Kuala Lumpur to Brunei

Day 6 of my travel to Malaysia and Brunei. On Day 6, I moved to Brunei from Kuala Lumpur.

First of all, I checked out the hotel.

After I returned from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, I stayed at Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral, which is directly connected to the KL Sentral station. Aloft is a low-cost version of W Hotel in the Starwood Hotels and Resorts group.

I moved to Kuala Lumpur International Airport from KL Sentral station by KLIA express.

Breakfast at the airport. I had Kaya Toast.

Flying to Brunei.

Although the this was just a two-hour flight, in-flight meal was provided.

Arriving at Brunei

I arrived at Brunei International Airport. Unfortunately, Brunei was also suffering from haze just like Kuala Lumpur.

Arrival lobby in the airport.

There was a mosque adjacent to the airport building.

I moved to a hotel. The hotel was “The Capital Residence Suites”, which was located in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei.

The reason why I chose this hotel is because the hotel offered a free transportation service between the airport and the hotel. The hotel also provided a free shuttle service to several tourist spots. Actually, there was not any trains in Brunei and it was not easy to catch a taxi on the street in Brunei, so such a service was helpful to me.

After I checked in the hotel, I walked around Bandar Seri Begawan.

Royal Regalia

First, I visited Royal Regalia. Royal Regalia is a museum that exhibits ornaments the Brunei royal family owns.

Exterior of the museum.

Exhibits.

Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex

After I left Royal Regalia, I moved to Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex, a shopping mall. I visited there to have a dinner before going to the next destination.

Exterior of the building.

I had a quick dinner in the food court.

Adjacent to the shopping mall, there was Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque (Old Mosque), the final destination on that day.

Then, I went into Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque (Old Mosque), and I will write about it in the next article.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about my first visit in Brunei. Brunei is abundant in natural resources (oil and gas) and had different atmosphere compared with other Southeast Asian countries. Generally speaking, streets in Southeast Asian countries are filled with cars and bikes and chaotic moods, while there were not so many cars in Brunei and the town was relatively calm. In addition, I was surprised to see most of car drivers stopped their cars when I crossed the street. This could not happen in other Southeast Asian countries.

In the next article, I will go around Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque (Old Mosque), a major landmark and a tourist attraction of Brunei.

［Related Link］
Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral
Royal Brunei Airlines
Brunei Toursim
The Capital Residence Suites