Right so you've heard the term "Venice of Asia" a load of times, in fact you might even have read about it twice on my blog as I visited Tai O (Hong Kong's answer to Venice) and Pingjianglu in Suzhou, China. But there are so many places dubbed the Venice of Asia it gets a bit ridiculous, today I'm talking about Kampong Ayer. Where? Exactly! I hadn't heard of it either but while staying in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei's capital city, I had to make the short boat trip across to Brunei's answer to Venice - known as Kampong Ayer and WELL worth the trip.
Getting to Kampong Ayer in Bandar Seri Begawan
Head to the waterfront of Bandar Seri Begawan at any time during the day and guys on boats will shout up at you asking if you want a boat. Tell them you're heading across the water, directly to Kampong Ayer. They all speak English and rely on tourists so you'll have no problems. Failing all else just point to where you want to go.
How much does it cost to get to Kampong Ayer?
To get to Kampong Ayer you pay $1 Brunei Dollar for a single journey - so that's a total of $2 Brunei Dollars return. But you pay it each time. You just pay the guy on the boat in cash each time - there is no need to book anything or get tickets. It's a very easy process.
What can you do at Kampong Ayer?
For a start it's totally free and basically you just walk around admiring the place. Here are a few things to see and do when you're over there. It's not touristy at all and there is no "set path" - just walk wherever you want.
1. Visiting Houses - Every house in Kampong Ayer is literally a house on water! They are fascinating and you can walk round and explore a range of cool looking houses. It's perfect for those into photography as the houses are in all shapes, sizes and colours. You might be able to go inside some of the houses too if you ask the locals.
2. Mosques - Brunei is a staunch Muslim State and Mosques are everywhere - even built on the stilt villages at Kampong Ayer. We found two Mosques but there may be more.
3. Meet the Locals - People in Brunei are mostly friendly, welcoming and approachable. We met the locals and these lively folk even posed with my travelling Northern Ireland flag. A great place to get off the beaten track on your travels.
4. Sweet Shop - There is a magnificent old style sweet shop on Kampong Ayer. This is a great chance to pretend you are young again and buy some tooth destroying candy and sweets!
They sell the sort of sweets I had as a child growing up in Bangor in Northern Ireland! The beauty of it is that it's also really cheap!
Another reason I did this was because entrance to Kampong Ayer is free and it felt good to spend some money there and help the locals - they're not rich at all - don't let the fact Brunei is rich in oil fool you. These people work hard to earn their crust.
5. Walk around - Just walking around and exploring the place on your own is a great thing to do. This is a really intriguing part of your journey to Kampong Ayer.
That's really it for Kampong Ayer for this lifetime. If you're in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, make sure you get the boat across to it - it's really worth seeing and it definitely deserves it's "Venice of the East" title - I'd say Kampong Ayer is much better than Venice. Less tourists for a start so you'll have the place to explore all on your own. I also wrote about how to get to Brunei from Malaysia , how to take alcohol into Brunei and drinking in Brunei which are worth checking out. A country well worth a trip.
Getting to Kampong Ayer in Bandar Seri Begawan
Head to the waterfront of Bandar Seri Begawan at any time during the day and guys on boats will shout up at you asking if you want a boat. Tell them you're heading across the water, directly to Kampong Ayer. They all speak English and rely on tourists so you'll have no problems. Failing all else just point to where you want to go.
How much does it cost to get to Kampong Ayer?
To get to Kampong Ayer you pay $1 Brunei Dollar for a single journey - so that's a total of $2 Brunei Dollars return. But you pay it each time. You just pay the guy on the boat in cash each time - there is no need to book anything or get tickets. It's a very easy process.
What can you do at Kampong Ayer?
For a start it's totally free and basically you just walk around admiring the place. Here are a few things to see and do when you're over there. It's not touristy at all and there is no "set path" - just walk wherever you want.
1. Visiting Houses - Every house in Kampong Ayer is literally a house on water! They are fascinating and you can walk round and explore a range of cool looking houses. It's perfect for those into photography as the houses are in all shapes, sizes and colours. You might be able to go inside some of the houses too if you ask the locals.
2. Mosques - Brunei is a staunch Muslim State and Mosques are everywhere - even built on the stilt villages at Kampong Ayer. We found two Mosques but there may be more.
3. Meet the Locals - People in Brunei are mostly friendly, welcoming and approachable. We met the locals and these lively folk even posed with my travelling Northern Ireland flag. A great place to get off the beaten track on your travels.
4. Sweet Shop - There is a magnificent old style sweet shop on Kampong Ayer. This is a great chance to pretend you are young again and buy some tooth destroying candy and sweets!
They sell the sort of sweets I had as a child growing up in Bangor in Northern Ireland! The beauty of it is that it's also really cheap!
Another reason I did this was because entrance to Kampong Ayer is free and it felt good to spend some money there and help the locals - they're not rich at all - don't let the fact Brunei is rich in oil fool you. These people work hard to earn their crust.
5. Walk around - Just walking around and exploring the place on your own is a great thing to do. This is a really intriguing part of your journey to Kampong Ayer.
That's really it for Kampong Ayer for this lifetime. If you're in Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, make sure you get the boat across to it - it's really worth seeing and it definitely deserves it's "Venice of the East" title - I'd say Kampong Ayer is much better than Venice. Less tourists for a start so you'll have the place to explore all on your own. I also wrote about how to get to Brunei from Malaysia , how to take alcohol into Brunei and drinking in Brunei which are worth checking out. A country well worth a trip.
About the Author:
For more stories like Visiting Kampong Ayer check out the Top travelling Blogs by Jonny Blair which demonstrates how simple it is to enjoy a lifestyle of travelling and see the globe.
