Sunday, November 09, 2014

Brunei Darussalam: Inside the Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures


One of the things that made our first-ever international trip to Malaysia last March spectacular was the fact that we were not only able to visit one country, but two.

Brunei Darussalam (literally ‘Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace’) is just a mere three-hour drive from Miri, so we gladly took on the challenge and crossed the border for a one day trip.

It’s Not About the Destination…

The road trip along Pan Borneo Highway to Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, is in itself riddled with attractions. 

Our first stop down this road was the ASEAN Bridge, otherwise known as the Batang Baran Bridge. 

The bridge crosses the Baram River and connects Sarawak with Brunei. 

Luckily, vehicles are allowed to stop briefly on top of the bridge, so we were able to take some quick snapshots.

Upon clearing the Immigration Checkpoint at Sungai Tujuh, we were now finally inside Brunei. 

The drive from Miri up to the checkpoint only took us around 45 minutes, meaning we still had about two more driving hours to the capital. 

On the way, we learned about Brunei’s history as an oil-producing country by touring the vast Brunei Shell Petroleum headquarters in Seria where we saw giant oil vats, numerous pumpjacks and long pipes transporting the oil to the ships docked along the bay.

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