Brunei Darussalam
- Karen Darnell
- May 25, 2020
- 3 min read
The one person I know who visited Brunei bribed her way in with a bottle of vodka (alcohol is illegal in Brunei). But that was a long time ago and apparently tourism is now easier, even if Brunei doesn’t have much of it. For reasons why not, check out travel blogger Lauren Juliff’s post in Never Ending Footsteps, “Is Brunei Worth Visiting? My Experience in the Sultanate” at https://www.neverendingfootsteps.com/brunei-worth-visiting/
If you do visit, either in reality or while staying at home, you’ll see some sparkly things. Brunei ranks among the four wealthiest countries in the world. Some of those sparkly things can be seen by watching the episode on “Brunei: The Last Absolute Monarch” from the series on Amazon on Asia's Monarchies. Other sparkly things can be seen by reading Some Girls: My Life in a Harem by Jillian Lauren (available on Kindle, Audible, or paperback). If you want to check out the storyline and tone before you read the book, watch “The Moth Presents Jillian Lauren: The Prince and I” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pROF0H6osDA
Brunei shares the island of Borneo with Indonesia and Malaysia. Borneo is three times as big as the United Kingdom and, as far as islands go, only Greenland and New Guinea are larger. However, the Brunei part of Borneo is about the size of Delaware, the second smallest of the United States, and Brunei often gets lumped in with Malaysia and Singapore in travel guides and food notes.
When I searched for Brunei on Yelp, Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine in Alhambra, California came up. The Kalimantan section of Borneo is actually right over the border in Indonesia, but when talking about a tiny country, I have to hope that Bornean food is still Bornean food in the Brunei part of the island. On my way home from a work assignment in Los Angeles one day last year, I stopped there for the Rojak - salad with pineapple, cucumber, jicama, and carrots in a sweet brown sauce with chopped peanuts. Wong Java House in Alhambra and Seasons Kitchen USA in Anaheim are two more restaurants where one might try food from Borneo which might be similar to what you would find in Brunei. Once we can go out to eat in groups again, I’ll be gathering my friends for a meal at one of those. If you want to try making your own food, Darlene Longacre provides recipes for a full Bruneian meal at International Cuisine, “Our Journey to Brunei” https://www.internationalcuisine.com/brunei/
When looking for books on Brunei, the following two caught my attention: The Brunei Revolt: 1962-1963 by Nicholas van der Bijl (available in Kindle and hardcover) and Silat: A Perspective on the Malay Martial Art: An exploration into the exotic Southeast Asian martial art of Silat, as it is practiced in Brunei Darussalam by Amir Talib (available on Kindle Interactive). The second book led me to learn more about Silat, an indigenous martial art of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, portions of the Philippines, the southern part of Thailand and the central part of Vietnam. I found a YouTube video of a couple of westerners trying to learn Silat in Malaysia to be amusing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBcDCgJORpM
More beauty from Brunei, including the natural part which isn't frequently mentioned, can be found at https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-brunei/
Finally, when this pandemic is over, you might want to plan travel to Brunei using your local travel advisor. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive - may we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Brunei and throughout the world.
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