Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei: the water village, the mosques and the river

The water village is the reason to come, and it deserves more than a boat ride past it. Kampong Ayer is one of the largest water settlements in Southeast Asia, a cluster of villages built on stilts over the tidal river and linked by kilometres of wooden and concrete walkways, and it has been lived in continuously for centuries — early European visitors described it as a city on the water, and the comparison with Venice has followed it ever since. It functions as an ordinary suburb: there are mosques, schools, clinics, a fire station with its own boats, shops, and houses ranging from modest to substantial, many with satellite dishes and cars parked on the far bank. Getting there is half the pleasure. Small outboard water taxis, called penambang, work the river constantly; you stand at the waterfront steps, one comes over, and the crossing takes a couple of minutes for a nominal fare. Once across, walk the boardwalks — they are public, residents are used to visitors, and the etiquette is simply to be quiet and not to photograph into homes. The Kampong Ayer Cultural and Tourism Gallery on the village side tells the settlement's history, and its observation tower gives the view back across the water to the mosque and the modern shore that everyone comes for.

The capital's skyline belongs to two mosques, and they are quite different. The older, Omar Ali Saifuddien, was completed in 1958 beside the river in an artificial lagoon, its golden dome and white marble reflected in the water, with a replica of a sixteenth-century royal barge set in the lagoon as a ceremonial stage — one of the most photographed buildings in the country, and at its best floodlit after dark. The newer and larger, Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah, stands inland and carries twenty-nine golden domes across a vast compound with fountains and terraces. Both admit non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times, and doing it properly is easy: dress modestly with arms and legs covered, remove your shoes, use the robes provided at the door if you need them, and expect photography to be fine outside but restricted in the prayer halls. Visiting windows for non-Muslims are built around the five daily prayers and change around Friday prayers, so check the current times before setting out.

Between the two mosques lies the older heart of town, and its main draw is the Royal Regalia Museum. It holds the ceremonial objects of the monarchy — coronation regalia, crown jewels, ceremonial weaponry and chariots, with a royal procession reconstructed in the galleries — along with a large collection of state gifts from other countries, and it is worth an unhurried hour for the craftsmanship alone. The old centre around it is compact enough to cover on foot, best in the early morning or after five, when the heat has eased.

You do not have to leave the capital's outskirts to see Borneo's signature wildlife. The mangrove creeks and river islands immediately around Bandar Seri Begawan hold a healthy population of proboscis monkeys — the large, pot-bellied, improbably long-nosed leaf-eaters found only on Borneo — and boat operators run short wildlife cruises from the waterfront in the late afternoon, when the animals come down to the water's edge to feed and settle for the night. The same trips typically show long-tailed macaques, monitor lizards, kingfishers, sea eagles and, on a good evening, saltwater crocodiles; some continue after dark to a stretch of mangrove where synchronous fireflies light the trees. It takes an hour or two, starts from the middle of the city, and is one of the best-value excursions in Brunei. The river also gives the approach to the older royal mausoleum and to the villages along its banks. Bring a long lens if you have one, insect repellent regardless, and expect to get slightly wet.

The capital eats cheaply and well, and mostly outdoors after dark. The Gadong night market is the place to graze in the evening, working along the stalls for satay, grilled fish, noodle dishes and excellent tropical fruit; nasi katok — rice with fried chicken and sambal, wrapped in paper — is sold cheap at all hours from small shops across the city. The dish to seek out at least once is ambuyat, Brunei's national dish: a sticky sago starch twirled on a bamboo utensil, dipped in a sour, spicy sauce and swallowed without chewing, served in a shared bowl and best eaten with company at a restaurant that serves traditional Malay food. No alcohol is sold anywhere in the city, so meals come with juice, tea and soft drinks.

Brunei International Airport (BWN) sits a short drive from the centre, with regional connections across Southeast Asia and beyond. Within the city, the compact centre around the waterfront, the old town and the lagoon mosque is walkable, and the river is crossed by water taxi rather than bridge whenever you are heading for Kampong Ayer. Gadong, Jerudong on the coast to the north-west, and the inland mosque are a drive away, and with buses infrequent and taxis few, most visitors cover them by hire car or a ride-hailing app. Heat sets the rhythm of any day here: start early, keep the middle hours for a museum or a long lunch, and go back out once the afternoon cools.