Brunei is a sultanate the size of a large county, tucked into the northwest coast of Borneo and surrounded on three sides by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is one of the smallest and wealthiest countries in Asia — its oil and gas revenues have made it one of the highest per-capita income nations in the world, and the benefits are visible everywhere: free healthcare, no income tax, heavily subsidized petrol, and roads that would not embarrass Germany.
What makes Brunei unusual, beyond the money, is how it wears its wealth. There are no casinos, no nightclubs, and no alcohol sold anywhere in the country. The Sultan — one of the richest individuals on earth — lives in the Istana Nurul Iman, a palace with 1,788 rooms, and governs under a philosophy called Melayu Islam Beraja: Malay identity, Islamic values, and royal authority. This is not a country trying to become somewhere else.
For travelers willing to accept those terms, Brunei is a genuine surprise. The capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, is clean and quiet, with gold-domed mosques that rival anything in the Islamic world and a vast water village — Kampong Ayer — where some 30,000 people live above the Brunei River on stilts. Beyond the city, the Temburong district holds some of the most pristine rainforest left on Borneo, accessible by longboat and explored via a spectacular canopy walkway.
Brunei sits on Borneo, the world's third-largest island, and shares it with the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and Indonesian Kalimantan. The country is actually split in two by a strip of Malaysian territory — the main part contains the capital and most of the population, while the smaller Temburong district to the east is connected by road through Malaysia or by speedboat up the river.
Destinations within Brunei include the capital Bandar Seri Begawan, the oil town of Seria, the border town of Kuala Belait, and the gateway to Temburong, Bangar.
