Can Crocodiles Jump in Brunei?

A land covered in mist and forest, might have been a good tourism slogan from Brunei, although they probably have one already and I bet it is better (that’s why nobody is hiring me to write slogans). But really, I don’t think many know much about Brunei, it is a small country in the island of Borneo and it is not very easy to reach, at least without paying a lot of money. Unless of course you are in Kuala Lumpur with an AirAsia ticket, like me and so the journey begins…

Actually, I can barely call it a journey cause I only stayed one day in the country’s capital. Actually Brunei is so small, that the capital is the majority of it (I assume, it is not a fact, don’t quote me). Although from all of my trips, that had me the most concerned. Brunei is a muslim country under sharia law and a constitutional monarchy. The monarchy was not as concerning, I had just been to Malaysia and it is not a democratic country either. The sharia law on the other hand gave me second thoughts. The fact that I accidentally booked the tickets one month after the date I actually wanted and I had to pay a lot to reschedule (always double check) could have been seen as an omen, but I don’t believe in omens. I do, however, believe that ignorance can make your mind create horror scenarios and fear when there should be none. I was imaging the strictest security checks to get into the country, women only allowed to walk accompanied and of course dressed from head to toe, even after reading stories from solo female travelers explaining that there is really nothing to worry about. Until I entered the country, I had to constantly remind my self that I was being idiotic and prejudiced (because I was) and that my fear was not based on reason but irrationality harbored by the negative press countries like that have been getting throughout the years. Of course blaming the media is a low hanging fruit, cause we all know about critical thinking and blah blah, but when the sirens are singing it is hard to ignore them and there is this little voice in the back of your head whispering «What if they were right», even when the front is trying to suffocate it with a pillow. Seeing however is indeed believing and what I saw was a country, in which, at least I, as a tourist, could easily enter, walk wherever and dress however I wanted. I didn’t feel restricted at any point (I know that Brunei has passed some unforgiving laws in the past years, for example against homosexuality and whether they actually applied the law or not, these are actions to be condemned, but here I am only describing my experience as a tourist).

Another thing I didn’t expect is for Brunei to be actually quite beautiful. I had already seen the Mosques online and they seemed and were impressive, but their harbor, floating village and parks were also great to walk in and explore. However Brunei doesn’t seem to have much for the tourist to do for more than two days. My biggest problem, though, was walking. Yeah who would have thought that an ability mastered by humans since we learnt to walk in two legs would be my downfall. Brunei like Indonesia is not a country made for walking, like the infamous boots. It is too hot and humid for one, but most importantly even though it had pedestrian streets everywhere, it took more than five minutes for me to reach the highway (it really is a small country) and walking on a highway alone with just the company of speeding cars that can turn you into a yummy mush when trying to cross is not the best idea.Oh and let’s not forget about the crocodiles, cause, like a sign informed me, there were in that area so people should be careful (it was mostly referring to the actual river though). So walking embraced by the sound of car engine and the terror that a crocodile can jump at me at any minute (can crocodiles jump?) I decided that going to places by foot is not really recommended. Despite that I made it from one mosque to another, but my trip from the second mosque to the night market was cut short by another highway. After that I just walked until the internet, ordered a car and slept the night away at the airport, which was quite comfortable I have to say, although frigid.

So if you are planing to go to Brunei, I say go ahead. Except for the implications of kinda supporting financially a morally questionable institution, there is nothing to worry about. Just make sure you have a vehicle or you can rent one. There is public transport but I don’t think it is the most trustworthy or punctual, so taxis are your best bet if you don’t want or can’t rent. The only online app they have now is called Dart and it works like all the others (Uber, Grab etc). Make sure you have date before though, cause free internet is not easy to find. And as a last info, Brunei is not particularly expensive, at least for transportation, food and sightseeing, so breaking the bank for those will not be necessary.