24 hours in Astana, what to do and what to see

December 22, 2024 by Miquel in Asia

This is the second instalment of my Kazakhstan series: after a couple of intense days in Almaty, the country’s largest city and former capital, I flew to the northern steppes to visit Astana, the city, which since 1997 has been Kazakhstan’s capital.

Astana was a really interesting place to visit, because while it is not an entirely new settlement, it has been fully transformed since its designation as a capital, with most of it having been built pretty much from scratch as a planned city.

In fact, Astana is still pretty much a work in progress and, was it not for the freezing temperatures, you would be forgiven for thinking you are at some of the fast-growing cities on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

Upon arrival at the airport you get a first taste of the type of architecture that you find throughout the city: essentially newly built structures, but often with a touch of tradition in them, which give them singularity.

Also at the airport, this mural which depicts some of the main landmarks that I visited during my 48 hiours in Astana and that we will soon see as we move further down this post.

Did you know that Astana has changed names thrice in as many decades?

The city was called Akmola in Soviet times. Then in 1997 it changed its name to Astana, which means “capital” in Kazakh languages. Then, again, in 2019 its name was changed to Nur-Sultan, in hounour to the then president Nursultan Nazarbayev. This latest change was shortlived, though, since following a wave of political protests in 2021, the name reverted to Astana once more!

Moving around Astana

Let’s start by saying that Astana is not really a walkable city.

It is not just the fact that it can get really hot in summer and freezing cold (like really, really cold, on the order of -40 C) in winter, but also that the urban design is not designed for pedestrians: there are large, broad avenues and big distances between the different landmarks, even within the city center.

In this regard, it has more in common with Dubai, Riyadh or certain American cities than with Almaty. If you like contemporary architecture and urban planning, though, it can be a really interesting city to visit.

Let’s see what is there to do and to see, where to eat and where to stay in Astana if your schedule is limited to a couple of days only.

Here you can see some sights from the restaurant Vechnoy Nebo (reviewed further below), which is located at the so-called “Moscow Tower”, one of the tallest buildings in downtown Astana.

Astana will soon have the tallest building in Central Asia, the 320m, 78 storey-high Abu Dhabi Plaza (below), the construction of which has been funded by the eponymous UAE Emirate.

When I visited Astana, the city had just held the Nomadic Games, which, as the name implies, is a sort of Olympics, but of sports and other physical activities that were (some still are!) practiced by nomadic peoples, of which Kazakhs used to be one. Think different styles of horse riding, archery and different modalities of fighting, among others.

Astana is also home to the largest mosque in Central Asia, and one of the largest in the world for that matter. Astana’s Grand Mosque is, in fact, so big that it is able to host up to 235,000 people inside! Here you can see it at dusk.

Another iconic building in Astana is the Khan Shatyr mall, which is shaped like a yurt, the traditional tent of Kazakhs and other nomadic peoples of Cental Asia. Inside it is just a normal mall, but it is quite an interesting building to see from outside, particularly in the evening, when it changes colours every few minutes.

Astana is full of contemporary monumental architecture, with long, broad avenues designed to create impressive perspectives.

The Baiterek monument

This egg-shaped 105m-tall structure is, perhaps, the most iconic sights in Astana. It was built to mark the transfer of the capital from Almaty to Astana, in 1997.

It is possible to get to the top of the egg, from where there are 360º views of Astana.

The National Museum of Kazakhstan

This museum covers the whole history of the lands that are now Kazakhstan, from the ancient times all the way to the present.

It is built on a grand, monumental scale and it is way more than an architectural shell, it does have some truly interesting collections inside.

As someone interested in ancient history, I found totally fascinating the rooms dedicated to the Scythians and other ancient nomadic peoples that once roamed the steppes of Kazakhstan and greater Central Asia.

These are cultures that are not very well known in the West despite having been quite influential in shaping settled empires from Europe to China. The clothing, jewellery and other arctifacts they produced were also absolutely stunning!

The museum offers also a glimpse into the life of the traditional way of life of the Kazakh people, which carried on pretty much undisturbed until the relatively late arrival of Russian and later Soviet rule.

And, while Nursultan Nazarbayev, last president of the Kazakh SSR and first president of independent Kazakhstan, fell somehow from grace in 2022 (when he was stripped of many of the official roles he held after resigning as president in 2019), he still has its place of honour at the museum.

Btw, did you notice this pyramid in the background? This is the next Astana landmarks, which we will visit!

Astana’s Palace of Peace and Reconciliation

This pyramid-shaped building is one of the most unique in Astana and definitely a must. Designed by the studio of renowned British architect Norman Foster, the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation is meant to be a sort of ecumenical center that brings together all religions and faiths of Kazakhstan (and, by extension, the whole world)

Like many other contemporary buildings in Astana, the pyramid is full of symbolic elements. Besides its architectural value, the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation is also a conference and event venue. Featuring an auditorium and several spaces designed to hold high level meetings.

It is possible to get to the very top level of the pyramid through a rather unique elevator that follows the outer contour of the building at roughly a 45º angle. At the lower floors you find be able to enjoy, yet, more views of the city (through the painted that highlight the overall peace theme of the building) as well as some rather interesting spaces that have an almost James-bondesque feel.

Where to eat in Astana

Sandyq

Sarayshyq St 34/3, Astana 010000

https://sandyqgroup.com/en

This restaurant, specializing in Kazakh cuisine is named after the wooden box (“sandyq”) in which nomadic Kazakh people used to keep their belongings when moving around the steppe.

It occupies several floors of a modern building in the center of Astana and it is decorated throughout to provide a proper “Kazakh” experience.

Sandyq is a great place to taste a mix of Kazakh specialities, such as the different varieties of cheese (which can be quite pungent and salty), soup (which is mixed also with cheese).

…and, of course, the quintessential Kazakh meat dish: horse meat!

There are also a number of rooms for group meals and, I must highlight that, while Sandiq’s set up and menu will certainly appeal to tourists, there were plenty of locals eating there too, including some birthday parties that at some point started singing Kazakh songs!

This was in addition to the repertoire of Kazakh music courtesy of the restaurant.

Restaurant Vechnoye Nebo

This is a restaurant specializing in the cuisine of the Turkic peoples, as represented by traditional female dresses, from all over Central Asia and all the way to the edges of Europe.

But besides the food and the ambience, one of the highlights of this restaurant (and perhaps its name, which in Russian means “eternal sky (heaven?)” is the 360º views it has over downtown Astana.

This is because it is located on one of the top floors of “Moscow Tower” one of the tallest buildings in Astana.

Restaurant Vechnoye Nebo (“Вечное небо”)

18, Dostyk Street BC “Moscow”, Floor 25, Astana

http://www.vechnoenebo-dostyq.kz

Here you will find a broad array of specialities from the Turkic culinary traditions (together with some international ones as well).

Restaurant Marcello

Turkistan Street 28, Astana 020000

https://www.instagram.com/marcello.restaurant

This is an Italian-style restaurant managed by a local restaurateur offering a cozy atmosphere in downtown Astana.

Besides the large and tasty pizzas it also offers a broad array of other dishes, including some touches of local Kazakh and Central Asian cuisine.

Where to stay in Astana

Sheraton Astana Hotel

Abu Dhabi Plaza Adreça: Syganak St 60/1, Astana 010000

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/tsesi-sheraton-astana-hotel/overview/

This is a modern hotel operated by the famous international chain. It is located within the grounds of Abu Dhabi Plaza, which includes, adjacent, the aforementioned tallest skyscraper in Astana.

The rooms are rather spacious and the bed is comfortably, although I would suggest caution when opening the cupboard doors: one of the compartments next to where the coffee machine is located opens upwards rather than sideways and activated with a mechanism that makes it bounce unexpectedly, so you can get easily hit in the face if too close to it (don’t ask me how I found about it!).

Tasting Kazakh cheese in Astana

Breakfast at the Sheraton Astana is a good opportunity to try different Kazakh specialities, particularly the cheeses, such as the ubiqutuous “kurt” (the tiny balls of salty cheese) and zhent (which has the look and texture of a sponge). If you like them, there is a supermarket right next to the hote, where you will find many of these traditional cheese types, well packed in an easy to transport way and at a good price!

Last but not least, a word of thanks to Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s national airline, which made this trip to Astana possible.

You can also check my flight reviews of Air Astana’s Economy and Business Class.

24 hours in Almaty, Kazakhstan, what to do and what to see

November 16, 2024 by Miquel in Asia

Almaty is Kazakhstan’s largest city and it was also its political capital until 1997, when the government moved to more centrally-located Astana (I did visit Astana in the same trip and a post with my impressions is coming up soon, btw!).

Kazakhstan is the size of whole of Western Europe and Almaty is literally at one of its corners, right on the foothills of the Tian Shan mountain range, which limits with Kyrgyzstan and China. The view of the Tian Shan’s snowy peaks is, actually, the first sight greeting visitors arriving at Almaty’s international airport (you can find also my review of Air Astana’s flight from Europe here).

These mountains play, actually, an important role in the life of Almaty’s residents and I had a chance to get a taster of them, but, since we have only 24 hours in the city, let’s go on a quick city tour first!

A walking tour of central Almaty

If you have ever been to any of the capitals of the former Soviet republics, some parts of Almaty will look familiar to you. Although Almaty has been settled for many centuries, it was during the Soviet period that the city grew to become one of Central Asia’s largest cities and that it got most of the landmarks I visited during this tour.

What is interesting about Almaty’s architecture, though, is that, interspersed with the classical Soviet-era styles (like the Opera palace depicted above), there are many elements that draw from local Kazakh culture.

As an example, these intricate motifs (right side picture), inspired in traditional Kazakh art, which decorate the facade of quite a few buildings in central Almaty. Judging by the type of construction, I’d say these are from around the 1970s.

Also remarkable is that most of central Almaty is laid out in a grid-like pattern, with rather wide streets intersecting at right angles. There is also quite a lot of greenery, since the city is not very densely built and there is ample space between buildings.

Our tour took place on a rainy Autumn day, which made for a nice walk in the cool (but not too cold!) air. I hope these pictures capture a little bit of the city atmosphere, like here below, at the head of Panfilov Street, one of the main pedestrianised avenues in Almaty.

A ride in the Almaty metro

Let’s start by saying that the metro (subway) in Almaty is rather limited, in fact it is not, properly speaking, a transport network, because, as of 2024, it has just one line.

What’s interesting here is that, while it was inaugurated in 2011 and part of it has been built even later, the style is unmistakably Soviet. This is not because its engineers suffered from some sort of nostalgia, but because the design and construction of the Almaty metro project actually started in the 1980s.

Apparently, every Soviet city qualified to get a metro system from the moment it reached a population of 1M. Almaty got to that magical figure (after some gerrymandering with the city limits, we were told during the excursion) only as the Soviet Union was starting to crumble. Plans were laid out, but the Soviet collapse and the chaotic years that ensued meant that the project was put on a very slow track, until it was restarted in the early 2000s. So, when it was time to get back to work on the metro, the same blueprints were used (why not?).

It is well worth taking a ride on the Almaty metro just to have a peek at the different mosaics and decor elements you find at several points.

But let’s first have a look at the metro map to get an idea of the extension of the system and, one thing of note: see the line of mountains on a blue background at the top of the map? This shows the Tian Shan mountain range, which Almaty citizens use always as a reference point when navigating their city. The mountains here help with orientation, the same way that the sea or rivers play in other cities as an geographical anchor element.

The other interesting element are the mosaics and mural art that you find all over the metro. These depict mostly Kazakh themes. Here above you can see a glass mural dedicated to Aport apple, which is a local apple variety which has become a source of local pride and a sort of symbol of Almaty.

But what I found most interesting are the many mosaics throughout the metro system that allude to local Kazakh culture (again those tile patterns!) as well as the history of Central Asia and the Silk Road.

See for example these depictions of ancient cities at Zhibek Zholy (Жібек Жолы) station. How many monuments and places are you able to recongize in this map of the Silk Road?

The city baths

Bath houses play an important role in Turkic culture (Kazakhs are a people of Turkic origin), so it’s not a surprise that another building of reference in Almaty is the Arasan public bath (today known as the “Arasan Wellness & SPA”).

It was built in the 1980s in response to Tashkent, in neighbouring Uzbekistan (and a rival for urban primacy in Central Asia) having built earlier its own bath complex.

It’s a rather modern interpretation of the traditional public bath concept with plenty of interesting decorative details built in.

Panfilov Park, Ascension Cathedral and Memorial of Glory

This is sort of Almaty’s “central park”. Although it is not huge, it has several of the city’s landmarks in it, such as the Orthodox cathedral of the Ascension, which was built in wood and using a rather innovative (for the time) earthquake-resistant approach that has allowed to survive undamaged several episodes of seismic activity.

The park is named after Panfilov’s “28 Guardsmen”, a mostly-Kazakh unit in the Soviet army that suffered very high losses while defending Moscow in 1941.

Like every city in the former Soviet Union, Almaty has here, as well, its WW2 memorial with its eternal flame. There is also a military history museum next to the park, although there was no time to visit it.

The Green Bazaar

The Green Bazaar is located less than five minutes walk away from Panfilov Park and it is one of the must-see places in Almaty, if only to relish in the broad diversity of flavours and smells here. It is also a good spot to taste and buy traditional Kazakh produce, such as the famous Aport apples or Irimshik, a sort of brownish soft cheese.

The bazaar is very well organized by product category (dried fruit, pickled food, dairy, meat…) and by ethnicity. So, it seems that every national group specializes in one type of produce. For example, we were told dried food vendors are mostly Uzbek, while the dairy section is mostly taken care of by Turkish women.

There is also a Korean section (see below). Many ethnic Koreans were deported to Kazakhstan from the Far Eastern territories of Russia on Stalin’s orders around the time of WW2 and they are now a sizeable minority in Kazakhstan. Because of the lack of the original ingredients in their new homeland, Koreans adapted some of their dishes to the local produce and tastes.

An evening walk through Almaty

Days are short in Autumn, so part of the walking tour took place in the evening, which is something that has its own appeal.

Here is a view of two landmarks of 1970s brutalist architecture in Kazakhstan. On the right is the building that used to house the Ministry of Geology, a pretty important institution in a country that derives much of its wealth from natural resources!

The building with the crown-like top to the left is the Kazakhstan Hotel. Arguably the top hotel in town for many years and, still today, one of the city’s main hospitality establishments.

At just over 100m high, the Kazakhstan Hotel was also, at the time of its construction, the tallest building in the country. It was also built with seismic activity in mind and its structure is said to be able to stand earthquakes of up to 9.0 in the Richter scale. In fact, the structure was successfully tested during its construction with a special machine that shook it up simulating a strong earthquake, with the chief architect and engineers on top (skin in the game!).

During our walk we were also able to see several of the statues scattered around central Almaty, with very different themes. For example, here on top you can see a fountain that represents the Kazakh horoscope (similar to the Chinese one) and, below, a statue dedicated to Soviet-era rock star Victor Tsoi.

Another iconic hotel in town is the Almaty Hotel, which was has a surprisingly modern-looking design despite having been built in the 1960s (the interior has been renovated but the structure remains the same).

Curious historical fact: the first director of the hotel, Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev, was the Soviet soldier that hoisted the red flag over the Reichstag during the Battle of Berlin, in 1945 (the iconic photo was a later reenactment, though).

The entrance of the Almaty Hotel is also decorated with these beautiful mosaic depicting scenes from Kazakh traditional tales.

More street art, here in an underground passage. Note, again, the Aport apple theme!

And, here, with this picture of the Kazakh Academy of Sciences, that we conclude our tour of the city centre. Before turning to the outdoor experience in the mountains, though, a word about the excellent tour guide, provided by Walking Almaty.

Shymbulak ski resort

Almaty is surrounded by great outdoors, including some world-class natural parks. You don’t even need to go as far as Altyn-Emel or Charyn Canyon (two truly unique national parks which are within driving range of Almaty, but which are, perhaps, best visited with an overnight stay), truly Alpine nature is a short taxi and cable-car ride away from the city center!

Shymbulak, is a suburban ski resort. The base station of the Shymbulak cable car is barely a 15min drive from Almaty city center (provided there is no traffic!).

The cable car will take you in a few minutes to a height of more than 2,200 meters of altitude. In Winter this is where the skiing area starts, but you can visit year round for the mountain sights, trekking (it was rainy and cloudy when we visited though) or to enjoy the restaurants and services (more on this in the food section further down).

These mountains are very popular with Almaty residents, who come here for a bit of outdoors sports and to breathe the fresh mountain air.

It is in this valley, half way up the mountain, that you find the Medeu skating ring, the highest in the world of its type. This sports facility became famous during Soviet times, because local conditions of altitude and prevailing low winds enabled many ice skating world records to be set here!

We arrived just in time to experience the first snow of the season!

Where to stay in Almaty

Intercontinental Hotel Almaty

This is a nice, modern hotel. The rooms (and bathroom) are big. The staff were also very friendly and helpful.

I also enjoyed the breakfast very much, since it include a broad variety of sweet and salty foods as well as international and Kazakh specialities, including different types of local cheese as well as camel and horse milk and dairy!

Where to eat in Almaty

Here are some nice options to eat out in Almaty and Shymbulak. It is mostly international cuisine (Italian and Turkish mostly), so don’t expect super typical Kazakh dishes here (you will have to wait to my upcoming post about Astana for this!), but all of them were pretty good and you can’t go wrong with them.

Monte Bambini, Shymbulak

This is a cozy mountain restaurant next to the base station of the Shymbulak cable car. Here you can find a mix of European and Central Asian specialities.

Big Chefs, Shymbulak

Big Chefs is also in Shymbulak but at the other end of the cable car, up in the mountain.

Turkish cuisine is the main focus here. The mezze, for example, were really good and the portions quite generous. There is also a nice dessert selection.

Aurora Café, Almaty

This is an upmarket Italian restaurant in central Almaty (with a nice aeronautical touch by the entrance!).

It’s got a pretty good selection of dishes, which include also some Central Asian shashlik, of course, besides more international fare.

And last, but not least, big thanks to the team at Air Astana, the main airline of Kazakhstan, which worked hard to make sure we experienced the best of Almaty during our short but intense stay!

24 Hours in Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan

February 11, 2024 by Miquel in Asia

Brunei Darussalam is one of the smallest countries in Asia, roughly twice the size of Luxembourg and nested between the territory of Eastern Malaysia in the island of Borneo.

Brunei, however, is a rich country thanks to its oil and gas reserves, or at least its Sultan is (besides being an absolute monarch, he has a fortune estimated in some $30 billion).

At some point before the rise of the internet billionaires and for a number of it was even considered the richest man on the planet.

One thing it isn’t, though, is a tourist hotspot, although it is quite easy to get to from the region’s main hubs, such as Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. It has even a flag carrier, Royal Brunei Airlines, that operates a fleet of Dreamliners to destinations as far away as London.

So, during a recent trip to Malaysia I came across a cheap Air Asia ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Bandar Seri Begawan and, despite the really early wake time (the flight was around 6am!), I decided to give it a go!

Getting to Brunei

As mentioned, I flew to Brunei from Kuala Lumpur (although not on the plane depicted here!), which is a bit less than a two hour flight.

Visitors from a relatively long list of countries, which include most European states and the US and Canada, don’t need to request a visa in advance before traveling to Brunei. Although it is necessary to fill in a form online before passing through customs.

Luckily Brunei airport has good public wifi (although some technical glitch prevented me from completing the customs form at the first attempt), so once you have completed the form you get a message on your screen with a reference number that you must show to the border control officer.

The airport is small and tidy, a bit like the rest of the capital.

One piece of advice is that you print your boarding pass for the return trip, because for some reason they only accept paper boarding passes to access the air side of the airport.

Another important thing to take into account is that public transportation options are very limited. One thing that becomes apparent immediately is that Brunei is a very motorized country and people move everywhere by car, to the point that even downtown the streets are often deserted. To be fair, there is a public bus, but I was told that it doesn’t really have a set schedule, so you may end up with a rather long wait.

Also, if planning to order a taxi, bear in mind that neither Uber nor Grab (its south-east Asian equivalent) are available in Brunei. There are a couple of local alternatives, but since I didn’t feel like starting the whole sign up and ordering process (which involved receiving some sms that never arrived) I ended up messaging the hotel and asking them to arrange a transfer for me (from what I read in online forums, it seems to be, ultimately, what many people staying at hotels do.

Once you have this sorted, it is a pretty short ride to the very center, less than 15min. The roads are really good and tidy, possibly the best in the region (except perhaps Singapore).

Things to see in Bandar Seri Begawan

The capital of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, is really small, or at least the downtown is (from what I could see from the plane when approaching to land, it looks like most people live quite spread out in the suburbs). But when I say “small” I mean very, very small. The downtown proper, which is next to the river front is literally a grid of 4-5 streets.

Since I had barely 24 hours in the country and well aware of the lack of public transportation, I picked up a pretty central hotel (which turned out to be a great choice as you will see further down the text).

Next are the few things I did, I think they are pretty much the top of things to do in Brunei’s capital, but I am sure that more experienced travellers can point towards some additional ones.

City center and Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque

The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is THE landmark of the city and its most recognizable sight. It is located downtown by a lake that makes for great picture-taking (well aware of the needs of the Instagram era, local authorities have installed a giant frame at the nearby park, right at the spot that allows you to take the iconic picture).

Next to the mosque there is a park and what looks like the only mall downtown. There are quite a few traditional shops in the adjacent streets, many of them selling jewellery, but most, let’s say, “modern” shops are in this small, which has also a small food court and seems to be one of the major gathering points downtown (although, just like the rest of the city, it was very, very quiet, no matter what time of the day or the evening I passed by).

On the positive side, Bandar Seri Begawan’s downtown is walkable and it feels safe.

I just happened to visit a few days before a major royal wedding and the city streets were all adorned and embellished for the occasion and, presumably, for some sort of parade or motorcade.

I post, here below, a picture of one of the major thoroughfares crossing downtown, not a single pedestrian to be seen. In fact, most of the other people (not many) I came across during my walks were, very visibly, fellow tourists.

Like many capital cities, Bandar Seri Begawan, is located next to a major body of water, in this case the Brunei river, which is also home to a significant share of the city’s population as we will soon see when I describe my visit to the Kampong Ayer floating city.

There is a short promenade along the banks of the Brunei river, with views of the Kampong Ayer floating city on the water side, while there some shops and food joints (I wouldn’t really call them restaurants), land side.

Here below is some street art encapsulating the main sights in Bandar Seri Begawan.

Brunei’s Museum of Royal Regalia

Although, at first, I was not too keen in going to museums, preferring to just walk around and see the sights, I had around 3 hours before the start of my Kampong Ayer river tour, so I decided to go see the Museum of Royal Regalia, which happened to be just around the corner from my hotel. It proved to be a good decision and the museum didn’t disappoint!

The Museum of Royal Regalia exhibits many of the ceremonial elements used by the court of the Sultan of Brunei as well as many of the gifts he has received from dignitaries of other nations.

I must say that the scale and the way in which all these items are exhibited makes for quite an interesting sight. Like in the rest of the city, I was pretty much the only visitor at the time.

The visit is done barefoot (you leave your shoes at some sort of pidgeon-holes set at the entrance for this purpose). There is also a visitor’s book where you can write your name and place of origin when you come in. It offers a glimpse of the number and profile of visitors that are following more or less the same route as you!

The displays of ceremonial gear are quite something and, while they are used very sparsely, it must be quite impressive to see them put to use for real.

As an aviation enthusiast, I couldn’t avoid remarking that aviation was well represented at the museum. This applies, both to the gifts section, like, for example, these two scale models of Antonov planes brought by an Ukrainian delegation, and to another exhibit showing the Sultan’s wide-body, long-range jets.

The museum offers also a glimpse (at small scale) of some aspects of palace life that are usually not in the open, such as the large ceremonial hall with capacity for 5,000 attendees.

The floating city of Kampong Ayer and Brunei river tour

One of the highlights of the trip was the river tour that took me to the Kampong Ayer river city and to see some stretches of jungle near the city.

The tour, which was arranged by the hotel, started in this canal right by the city center. It costs the equivalent of €30 and it takes about 3 hours.

It is pretty much the only way to see Kampong Ayer, which is an interesting part of Bandar Seri Begawan because it lies right in the middle of the river. In fact this so-called “Venice of the East” is home to between 10,000 and 20,000 people living on houses that are built on top of stakes that protrude from the water. It is considered the largest floating city in the World and it was mentioned already by travellers in the 16th C.

So, it turned out this was going to be an individual tour, after all! Here is my guide (Hj.Sofree Hj.Aji, who can be reached on “Padi Boat: +6738788261 or +6738788651 ”). He happens to be a resident of Kampong Ayer himself!

When heading into the river we took a little detour to see the bridge from up close. There are two large bridges in Brunei, this one, built by South Korean engineers across the Brunei river and another longer one (30km), recently completed, which unites Brunei’s mainland with its eastern enclave to the east, providing geographical continuity to the country.

And here are some views of Kampong Ayer, which is a proper city with houses, schools, fire and police station…all built over water.

We cruised along the “streets” without stopping and headed to the jungle a bit further out from the city…

It doesn’t take long to get into the jungle, even if not far from the city center and in a relatively urbanized area, it is possible to spot quite a few animals here.

And, indeed, it didn’t take long to spot a few monkeys. This, to my understanding, are some species of proboscis monkeys, a type of monkey recognizable by its really long nose which is typical of Borneo. We also managed to spot a saltwater crocodile, but it disappeared under the water very quickly!

And here is a glimpse of part of the palatial complex of the Sultan. Brunei’s royal palace is said to be the largest residential building in the world, with 1788 rooms and 257 bathrooms. The palace is not open to tourists, so one of the ways to see some parts of it is from the water.

And here below is the riverfront of downtown Bandar Seri Begawan, it practically fits all in this picture!

Where to stay and where to eat in Bandar Seri Begawan

The Brunei Hotel

https://thebruneihotel.com

I picked this one up online mainly on the basis of its very central location and it turned out to be a very good choice.

It is a four-star hotel, reasonably priced, very clean and with nice service. I think there are some slightly cheaper options downtown, but I am not sure they offer as much value.

The staff were very friendly (in general I found people to be very friendly throughout my stay!) and they gave me an early check in (my flight arrived quite early in the morning), gave me a room with canal views and helped me arrange the airport transfers and river tour.

The wifi connection worked really well. The hotel has also a restaurant, although I didn’t try it (seen the issues I had later finding a place to dine, possibly I should have given it a try!).

I also liked the fact that there are purified water stations in the corridors and you have a bottle in your room that you can refill whenever you want.

Some pics of my cozy room at The Brunei Hotel, complete with views of the canal (this course of water is barely 100m from the main river and it is from here that I would later start my river tour)

When it comes to food. My main piece of advice is: be careful with the schedules! I tried to have dinner at around 20.30 only to find the mall’s food court closing down.

This meant that the only other options at hand were some fast food joints, none of which was particularly appealing, so I ended at Pizza Hut, and a couple of ice-cream parlours (this was very good, I must say!).

Earlier in the day I had lunch at the aforementioned food court. There are 4 or 5 restaurants serving different types of Asian food. I opted for these seafood noodles and it was very tasty and reasonably priced, hence my later attempt to go back to the same place (the city is not exactly bustling with eat-out options!)