Take an interesting tour through Brunei, a country in Asia. The current state of Brunei represents the remainder of a much larger sultanate in earlier times, which previously roughly assigned the entire north coast to the domain of the Sultan of Brunei. Let yourself be impressed by Brunei’s attractions and visit the most important cities such as the capital Bandar Seri Begawan, with the palace of the Sultan Istana Nurul Iman and the Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque; the city of Kuala Belait with the oil river and another palace of the Sultan or the city of Seria. Do not miss this impressive journey through Brunei!
Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque
The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is located in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei. Built on an artificial lagoon on the banks of the Brunei River, the gloriously shining white mosque initially seems to serve more as a place of worship. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth as the grandiose mosque is in fact only intended for prayer to Allah. The mosque can therefore only be entered by believers, but it also offers a breathtaking view from the outside.
In the vicinity of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, the golden dome of the mosque shines in the night sky. Although the population is only 400,000, 2/3 of the population of Brunei is committed to Islam and the laws are based on Sharia law. The country is very proud of its Muslim population and the golden mosque was built to honor this aspect. The Brunei sultan did not shy away from the cost of around 5 million US dollars and imported Italian marble columns and floors, granite from Shanghai, crystal chandeliers from England, ornate carpets from Saudi Arabia and a main dome made of pure gold.
Numerous fountains, courtyards and gardens give the church the peaceful idyll of a fantastic park. The artfully arranged flower arrangements and trees symbolize the kingdom of heaven in the Islamic faith. The magnificent mosque is one of the most imposing and beautiful in Asia and is a symbol of the city and the whole country. The mosque is a must for visitors to Bandar Seri Begawan.
Kampong Ayer – Brunei’s village on stilts
The Brunei is a river in the small kingdom of Brunei and gave the country on the island of Borneo its name. It is the livelihood for the people on Kampong Ayer, a water village in Bandar Seri Begawan. The pile dwelling settlement is one of the tourist highlights in Brunei. The more than 30,000 residents of Kampong Ayer have opted for this unusual way of living for generations, although the government of the state, which is rich in oil wells, has made repeated attempts to move people from the river to houses on solid ground.
Ebb and flow ensure hygiene
Numerous houses in this cluster of villages are connected to one another. This also strengthens social relationships within the population. There are schools, mosques, shops, a fire brigade, hospital, police station and even a garden center here. Ebb and flow ensure a certain hygiene, because all waste ends up in the murky waters. By the late 18th century, nearly fifty percent of the people in the Sultanate of Brunei had chosen this form of lifestyle.
Houses on stilts for a thousand years
Historians assume that today’s largest stilt settlement in the world existed a thousand years ago. After all, Antonio Pigafetta, who sailed around the world with the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, recorded in his diary in 1521 that he had seen the “Venice of the East” on Borneo. What the Dutch navigator Olivier van Noort confirmed three quarters of a century later. He was fascinated by the lightness of the houses on stilts.
With water taxis to the landing stages
In the meantime, the construction of the wooden houses has been perfected by Kampong Ayer. Today they even defy the force of the monsoon storms that occur again and again in this region and are an interesting destination for tourists from all over the world. With water taxis you get to the landing stages of the water village in the heart of the metropolis in the Brunei River. Most houses have electricity and a connection to the water mains.
Study trips to Burma (Myanmar)
Many people still know the Southeast Asian multiethnic state of Myanmar under the name Burma or Burma – but Myanmar or Burma is best known for its thousands of colorful pagodas. The not particularly large country has much more to offer visitors and other things worth seeing … cultural and cultural-historical as well as natural. The landscape especially attracts mountaineers and hikers to the country, the relief of which is characterized by several mountains. In the east there is the Shan Highlands, in the southwest the Arakan-Joma Mountains, in the north there is the Kachin Mountains, a foothill of the Himalayas, and where Myanmar meets India and China, the Hkakabo Razi rises with an impressive 5,881 m to the sky. Myanmar has forests as well, as well as coastline, on the Bay of Bengal and on the Andaman Sea. A popular beach is, for example, Ngapali Beach in Rakhine State. However, longer than the list of well-known beaches is that of major cities, because the capital has changed several times in the course of history. One of the ancient capitals is Py Thaton Bagan, where around 5,000 stupas and the Ananda Temple can be seen. Inwa or Awa has even been the capital several times and also has impressive sights. In Rangoon you will encounter the most important holy place of Myanmar – the Shwedagon Pagoda. Sri Ksetra, on the other hand, will show you the oldest Buddhist buildings on the Southeast Asian mainland, and in Bagan you will find yourself in the archaeological center with 3,000 pagodas and temples. However, you should also pay a visit to the current capital Naypyidaw or the largest city of Burma, Yangon.
