Travel to Brunei Part 1

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, our company’s employees visited Brunei from June to July as part of an investigation project.

I will describe how it went in a narrative way. Please enjoy.

Overview of Brunei

Brunei is a small country located on the northeastern part of Borneo Island, facing the South China Sea, and is the most strictly Islamic nation in Southeast Asia, bordered on the east and west by East Malaysia. Its official name is Negara Brunei Darussalam. Generally, it is simply referred to as "Brunei," but in formal statements or writings, its official name is used. The population is about 460,000. There is a time difference of -1 hour with Japan.

Rich in oil and natural gas resources, it has a high GDP per capita (approximately 28,000 BND in 2009 statistics), and its welfare is well developed. It declares "the maintenance of an Islamic monarchy based on Malay nationalism" (abbreviated as “MIB”) as its national philosophy (proclaimed by the Sultan during independence in 1984). It places particular importance on rituals and formalities.

Supported by abundant oil and natural resources, its political and economic situation is extremely stable, but the cultivation of industries other than resources remains an issue.

The enclave on the right side of the lower map is an area called Temburong and is one of the destinations for this trip.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　Source: Wikipedia

Travel via Singapore

Entering Brunei via Haneda Airport and Changi International Airport.

During the transit at Changi International Airport, I was guided to the isolation area.

The isolation area looks like this.

Mandatory 14-Night Quarantine

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a 14-night quarantine was mandated. The Brunei Empire Hotel, a seven-star hotel, was arranged as the quarantine location. Although it was quite a beautiful hotel, unfortunately, I could not step outside of my room.

Source: Tabipoketto (https://www.tabikobo.com/tabi-pocket/asia/brunei/article35011.html)

The quarantine room prepared looked somewhat modest. I would be confined here for 14 days.

However, I could look outside and feel a bit of the tropical atmosphere from there.

This handrail had become a pathway for monkeys.

Meals During Quarantine

As I could not step outside my room, meals were delivered three times a day.

Dinner from one day

Breakfast from one day

Lunch from one day

In Brunei, unfortunately, due to religious reasons, alcohol is not permitted.

Quarantine Release

After being released from the 14-night quarantine, I took a walk around the Empire Hotel.

I plan to update the continuation a few times afterwards.

※This is the Youtube channel of Mr. Okouchi who assisted me locally. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC62anuVuFAHxW6iHY7k1UPQ