Even though we had a (mis)adventure on our first day, I'm still excited and looking forward for our second day in Brunei. I love historical sites more than shopping malls and I'm so glad Brunei has a lot to offer.
8:39am: Breakfast
We decided on starting our day late since we were so tired and stayed late the night before. So we took our turn in the small shower room and ate breakfast at the hotel. Free breakfast is included in the room rate, although there's not much to choose from. After eating we head to the first site in the list of what to see in Brunei.
9:39am: Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
My fascination and I think my friends too with this Mosque never ends. We only saw this mosque at night and since we can see it from a distance, we took a lot picture before heading to Royal Regalia Museum, our first stop of the day. The mosque really looks magnificent under the sun, specially the golden dome. Please visit: Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
10:00am: Walk from Central BSB to Royal Regalia Museum
After taking a couple of pictures, we started walking to Royal Regalia Museum. We passed by Brunei Historical Centre again and the Lapau Majilis Dewan. It only takes less than 10 minutes to get to the museum from central BSB. Just make sure to bring an umbrella if you plan on walking there as it's really hot.
10:07am: Royal Regalia Museum
One of the beautiful museums in Brunei that houses a lot of expensive and rare gifts to the Sultan. It also houses a full documentation of the history of the country's constitution. Inside the museum, you can only take pictures around the lobby where limited items are displayed. You can't take pictures where all the gifts given to the Sultan by other countries' leaders and priceless artifacts. They will ask you to leave all your things including cameras and phones at the lockers provided before they let you go inside. Oh and you have to take off your shoes even before you enter the museum. Please visit: Royal Regalia Musem to know more.
11:24am: Walk from Royal Regalia Museum to Tasek Lama
An hour and a half is enough to explore the museum, that's if you're not gonna read everything that's written about the artifacts displayed in the Museum. You can stay more if you want or come back since there's no entrance fee. We left the museum when we're satisfied and started walking to Tasek Lama. We really don't know how to get there, we just followed the direction from Google. And we didn't know at that time how far it was from the Museum. So we walked for liek an eternity under the scorching sun. We almost gave if only we haven't walked that far and we felt like we're almost there.
11:58am: Tasek Lama Recreational Park
When I was preparing our itinerary, I read a lot of blogs about how to get there and how far it is from Lapau Majilis Dewan and most of them said it only takes 1 15-minute walk. Which is not true because we've been walking for more than 20 minutes from Royal Regalia until we saw the park. The park is situated at the very far side of central BSB near the mountains. The park is perfect for running and for family gathering, however, when we were there we didn't see anyone. Well, except for one man who was running. Outside the park are stores selling local food, bottles water, canned sodas and buko (young coconut) juice. To know how to get there, please visit: and to know more about the park, please visit:
12:30pm: Walk/Travel from Tasek Lama to Central BSBAfter almost half an hour walking around the park, we decided to go back to central BSB to eat lunch. We walked from the park up to the highway and since we're hungry and a little tired, we tried to hitch hike again. However, same as the day before, they just looked at us and drive passed us. And then we saw this bus coming, fortunately for us, the bus really is going to central BSB and we were able to ride for B$1.
12:49pm: Walk from the Bus Station to Yayasan Complex for Lunch
Since we did not have a proper lunch on our first day, we decided on treating ourselves to a sumptuous meal. We headed to Yayasan Complex to try their food at their food court, but when we arrived there a lot of people. So we decided on looking for other restaurants until we saw this Japanese Restaurant near the riverbank. That's after we took more pictures with the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque (LOL).
1:18pm: Lunch at Kaizen Sushi
Finally, we found us a decent restaurant and we can treat ourselves for lunch. Kaizen Sushi is one of the international restaurants in Brunei that offers Japanese food. We all know that Japanese food are a bit expensive and this one is not an exception. But at least you know that you'll have good food.
This restaurant is popular even to locals so if you are planning on eating there, make a reservation. We did not know that prior to our going there and we're just fortunate that they have extra table. My friend likes here food, mine however taste bland. It's a good thing we ordered Shrimp Tempura and it's quite delicious. The table we had is facing the river so we took our time eating our lunch and at the same time rest our feet. Please visit: Kaizen Sushi
2:23pm: Walk from Kaizen Sushi to Jubilee Hotel
This restaurant is popular even to locals so if you are planning on eating there, make a reservation. We did not know that prior to our going there and we're just fortunate that they have extra table. My friend likes here food, mine however taste bland. It's a good thing we ordered Shrimp Tempura and it's quite delicious. The table we had is facing the river so we took our time eating our lunch and at the same time rest our feet. Please visit: Kaizen Sushi
One of the many reasons why we booked at Jubilee Hotel is the free Drop-Off to any destinations on their list per number of night stayed. We stayed there for 2 nights so we are allowed to choose from the listed destinations: *Royal Regalia *Water Village, *Brunei Museum *Brunei Arts and Handy Craft Centre *Jami Asr Mosque *Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque *Tasek Lama Recreational Park.This is also depends on the availability of their driver so make sure to schedule ahead of time. We have chosen the Water Village and scheduled our trip for 3:00pm so after resting a bit in our room and refresh, we waited for the driver to bring us to the riverbank for the water taxi going to the village.
3:37pm: Kampong Ayer or Water Village | Kampong Ayer Gallery | Kampong Sungai Homestead
At the riverbank near Yayasan Complex, there are a lot of water taxis waiting for guests. Advance booking is not necessary, boatmen will approach you when they see. Make sure to haggle with the price. We joined a group of other Filipinas, one of them who lived in Brunei so she haggled, and we only paid about $5.00 each. Sailing up to the village from river bank took only about a minute. Kampong Ayer or Water Village is one of my recommended places to see in Brunei. If you want to fully explore the village you will need more than a couple of hours. We've been there for almost an hour and a half and we haven't seen half the water village yet. We haven't even tried their national dish, the Ambuyat. If you are planning on visiting the Water Village, please visit on how to get there: How to Get to Kampong Ayer; and to read more about the water village: please visit: Kampong Ayer (Water Village): The Venice of East
4:31pm: Walk from Riverbank to Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
4:38pm: Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
I can't remember how many time we came back to see this Mosque, but all I know is I really like it. Well, one of the reason why we went back there in the morning is so we can go inside to see how its interior looks like. Unfortunately, there's an event at that time and Catholics are not allowed inside. The old man sitting outside was kind enough to tell us to come back the next day or try other mosques. I really wished I can see for myself the inside to see how grand it is. We just took a lot of photos outside of the Mosque. It's is really beautiful and grand. For the list of mosques in Brunei, please visit: List of Mosques in Brunei Darussalam
5:00pm: Yayasan Complex
After we visited the Mosque for the second time, we spent the rest of our afternoon exploring the Yayasan Complex. I'm not particularly a fun of shopping, but checking out what their mall's like won't hurt. Aside from gasoline, Brunei is also known for Gold. When I learned about that, I planned on buying a necklace, however, because of the high exchange rate it ended up being more expensive than buying here in Manila. There are cheaper necklaces and earrings but the design is not unique.A helpful tip, when you asked for a price of any items when you are doing window shopping abroad, don't show them you're disappointed if it's expensive. Show them you can afford it, it's just that you don't like the design or the quality. That way, they will not belittle you.
Oh and make sure to check their grocery stores. There are a lot items available there that are not offered in the local mall! Ad there are also items with the same brand but different products. There was this one brand of sardines in the Philippines, but in Brunei it's a brand for potato snacks and fruit juice. After buying some pasalubong to bring home to our friends, we headed back to the hotel to rest. For list of what to do in Brunei, please visit: Top Things to Do in Brunei.
I know I'm being redundant, but again, we went back late at night to see the Mosque! We really can't get enough of it, probably because we weren't able to what the inside looks like or we have nothing else to do.
We didn't eat dinner before we went there and we planned on eating before heading back to the hotel. Forgetting that Brunei has no Night Life and all of the restaurants close early. We decided on just eating at the hotel's restaurant, only to find out that most restaurants in the hotel also close early. So we had no choice but buy instant noodles at the mini store located in the same building. And I thought the fried chicken we ate on our first night was the worst dinner! When you visit Brunei, keep in mind the different business hours so you won't have the same mistakes as us. And I thought we're all prepared!For more of our (mis) adventure in Brunei, please visit:
Brunei Darussalam Day 1: Tamu Kianggeh | National Day Celebration | Tamu Selera | Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque
Brunei Darussalam Day 3: 45-Minute Free Viewing of the City | Istana Nurul Iman|Brunei Arts & Handicrafts Training Centre | Malay Technological Museum | The Empire Hotel & Country Club | Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque
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