Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
here turn east 400m north of the Terrace Hotel in the north of the city centre, otherwise
catch a Northern Line bus.
MONKEY BUSINESS
Long-tailed macaques and their adorable offspring often frolic in the trees along the road that heads up the hill (to-
wards the radio tower) from the intersection between the Terrace and Radisson Hotels - listen for the tell-tale rustle
of branches as they prance from tree to tree. As ever, don't approach the monkeys, no matter how beguiling they
are. The primates are somewhere nearby all day long - sneaking into someone's kitchen through an open window,
perhaps - but are easiest to spot very early in the morning, in the late afternoon and around dusk.
JERUDONG
Jerudong Park Playground
(Jerudong; admission free, under 5/over 5 rides B$8/10; 4-10.30pm Wed, Thu & Sun,
2-10pm Fri & Sat, closed Mon & Tue except during school holidays)
In its heyday, this
B$1 billion amusement park, a Prince Jefri project opened in 1994, was the pride of
Brunei, and the only major modern amusement park in Southeast Asia. The concert hall
hosted free shows by the likes of Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, the latter to cel-
ebrate the sultan's 50th birthday, and the many rides included a giant roller coaster.
That attraction, along with most of the others, was sold off to repay debts, and today
Jerudong is mostly a depressing lesson in hubris and economics: don't build something
people don't want. Ostensibly 10 rides, including a merry-go-round and junior bumper
cars, still operate. In our experience, this is not a sound assumption to make, so ask the
person in front if any rides work before you buy a ride ticket. The park seems pretty busy
on weekends, which is probably the best time to visit. The rumour is some party out there
wants to convert the park into a smaller children's play area with basic rides and attrac-
tions, which sounds like a lovely idea.
There is no bus service to the park, which is near the coast about 20km northwest of
BSB, so the only way to get here is by taxi (about B$35 from the centre) or private car.
AMUSEMENT PARK
