Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Brunei
POP 410,000 / AREA 5765 SQ KM
Includes ยป
Why Go?
The small sultanate of Brunei almost looks like a geographic comma plunked between
Sarawak and Sabah. It certainly forms a conceptual one, because unless you're a petroleum
engineer, when folks ask 'Why go to Brunei?' the answer is usually the travel equivalent of
a pause: transfer or stopover.
But there's more here than passport queues. This quiet
darussalam
(Arabic for 'abode of
peace') has the largest oilfields in Southeast Asia, and because oil generates money, Brunei
hasn't turned its rainforests into palm plantations. Old-growth greenery abounds, especially
in verdant Ulu Temburong National Park. Because booze is banned, the citizens of the cap-
ital, Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB), are mad for food and shopping.
