Tag Archives: BSB

Backpacking South East Asia: Brunei – The Sultan’s Treasures at the Royal Regalia Museum

After visiting the Kampong Ayer (water villages) and having lunch at CBTL where Zaza met me, we then went to the Royal Regalia Museum, one of the must see places in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB).

Brunei-Royal-Regalia-Museum-Portrait.jpg
Royal Regalia Museum

The Royal Regalia Museum houses the “treasures” of the Sultan and the Sultanate of Brunei, ranging from personal collections of photos and memorabilias to gifts from various State leaders and governments. I guess you can say that just like in old times where the visiting envoys or monarchs or sultans/datus/rahas present exquisite gifts to the host, visiting State leaders or Ambassadors also present tokens from their countries as a gesture of “friendship” between countries. The collection included birthday gifts as well as anniversary gifts for the commemoration of the Sultan’s coronation.

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Backpacking South East Asia: Brunei – Getting In, Around and Out of Kampong Ayer

Day 4: Bandar Seri Begawan walkabout and actual Kampong Ayer exploration (part 3)

Note: The delayed Part 2 is on Yayasan and surrounding areas, Part 4 is inside the Kampong Ayer Cultural and Tourism Gallery, Part 5 will be the Royal regalia Museum and the Masjid Jame’ Asri Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Please bear with my slow writing and uploads!

After having breakfast and doing some walkabout and shopping at Yayasan (it’s raining so I had to stay indoors), I decided to go around the complex (actually get lost is a better term) and its nearby landmarks. After which, I noticed that a lot of time has already passed and so I really need to go to Kampong Ayer or else miss my chance of seeing the water villages.

Water Taxi Terminal
Water Taxi Terminal (Kampong Ayer a few seconds away!)

I’m not really a nature tripping fanatic so though it interested me to see the proboscis monkey, I opted to just spend my time inside the water village. So, since the Ates (Pinay!) from the souvenir shop, already informed me of the things I need to remember when going to the village, I hopped on to one of the water taxis waiting near Yayasan. I asked the driver how much it would cost and he said that it’s BND1 (PhP35). I knew that the fare should only be 50Sen but I was willing to let it slide. However, a passenger about to board the same boat said, “It’s only 50Sen.” Yun na! Hahaha Continue reading Backpacking South East Asia: Brunei – Getting In, Around and Out of Kampong Ayer