Experiencing life on the water in Brunei’s Kampong Ayer

Kampong Ayer in Brunei. — Brunei Tourism

It's often said that water is the “other” name for life.

Since time immemorial, this notion has inspired people in certain parts of the world to live on the water in houses built on stilts. By virtue of natural population growth from generations living there, some of these settlements expanded to such a scale that calling them floating or water villages became obvious.

Today, they exist in varying magnitudes in many Asian countries like Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Brunei.

Away from the shores, their unique setting and lifestyle, which is apparently different from dwelling on the land, make them an interesting drawcard for savvy travellers. Particularly the one in Brunei, which is touted as the largest water village cluster in the world. Known as Kampong Ayer, this expansive settlement on the Brunei River in the heart of the nation’s capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan, stands today as an emblem of national heritage.

So, I marked it as a “must explore” in my itinerary when I toured this tiny South-East Asian nation recently.

Officially called Negara Brunei Darussalam, it’s an oil-rich Islamic monarchy led by one of the richest people on Earth, whose extravagant lifestyle always draws a lot of attention in the media. By reading some of those media gossip, the outside world perceives that everything in Brunei is made of gold, from the water taps to the door handles.

Obviously, it didn’t take me much time to find out that it’s a myth.

However, the opulence of the nation came out distinctly when I visited the two significant mosques in the capital: Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. Both the architecturally wondrous creations have multiple domes made from pure gold, and the shimmer from them confirmed my presence on an extraordinarily wealthy land.

The dome of the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is made of pure gold. — Photos: SANDIP HOR

Tucked on the island of Borneo along with the Malaysian states Sabah and Sarawak, and Indonesia’s Kalimantan, Brunei is an absolute monarchy country that has been ruled by Malay Islamic rulers or sultans since the 14th century. Historians tout this monarchy as the best fusion of Malay culture with the teachings of Islam, and a mutual respect between the monarch and people.

The fate of the nation changed in the early 20th century with the discovery of oil, and very soon it became economically super-giant by selling petroleum products to the rest of the world.

It’s said living on the waters of the Brunei River was conceptualised even before the arrival of the sultans. The driving reasons for this were the ease of building dwellings on stilts, the convenience of movement along the water in the absence of roads, and the availability of abundant seafood. Fast forward several centuries, and today the settlement is a huge cluster consisting of 42 villages, over 4,000 homes with nearly 40,000 people living there.

Today, there are over 40,000 people living in Brunei’s Kampong Ayer.

In the Bruneian Malay language, “kampong” means village, and “ayer” means water. Initially, I thought it to be a small affair on water, surely bigger than what I had seen earlier in Ha Long Bay in Vietnam or Penang in Malaysia. However, I was proven wrong.

At first sight from the shoreline, I was awe-struck to see a never-ending stretch of floating houses, and after landing there on one of its several jetties, the domain crowded with a mix of old and new timber and fibre houses flanking a maze of wooden and concrete boardwalks appealed to me more as a floating township than a village.

A water taxi is the best way to get around Kampong Ayer.

“It’s a self-contained community with its own mosque, schools, clinics, shops, electricity, clean water and emergency services,” said my guide Mohammed, while showing me around the village.

During the early days, most of the residents were fishermen or boat makers. Now many of them have jobs or businesses in the capital or other nearby places. They mainly use the water taxis for transportation, and some even have their own cars parked on the shore.

“However, at the end of the day, they love to come back to their floating home; perhaps they can’t sleep without hearing the sounds of water,” commented Mohammed.

To sense the rhythm of life on the water, I wandered with him along the boardwalks, went past the houses, smelt the aroma of curries from their kitchens floating in the air, watched women hanging the laundry, elderly folks gossiping outside a small grocery store, and children playing with the chickens. I visualised an easy-going and simple lifestyle not stained by extreme touches of modernity.

Though my perception changed a little when, as part of our tour, we visited a family home for some hospitality. It was a five- bedroom house fitted with everything that modern generations look for, from satellite television, air conditioning, and 21st-century kitchen outfits to mobile reception and fast WiFi connection.

Inside a water village house.

“This is the beauty of Kampong Ayer. While from outside it may appear laid back, inside we are up to date with anything modern,” commented Haiji, our host and owner of the house, who has lived in the water village all his life.

“We love the life on the water; we live here as a big family, caring for each other and sharing our joy and sorrow. Life on the shore will not give us the kind of fellow feeling and peace we have here,” he said before bidding us goodbye.

When Venetian scholar Antonio Pigafetta visited Kampong Ayer in 1521, he dubbed the place the “Venice of the East”, which to me is an over-ambitious exaggeration. However, surely it’s something to be experienced when in Brunei as an example of a national heritage well maintained by the ruler and the subjects.

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Travel notes

Getting there: Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia have direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Brunei. Alternatively, you can fly to Sabah, Sarawak or Labuan first, and then take another flight from there to Brunei. You can also drive to Brunei from either of the states.

Stay: Brunei is a small country but it does have plenty of good hotels to choose from, like the Brunei Hotel.

What to eat: Roti Kuning is a popular breakfast meal (the Chop Jing Chew coffeeshop is famous for it), while ambuyat is considered a national dish.