I went to Brunei for 5 days and 4 nights in August 2024. It was my 4th time entering Brunei. I had wanted to visit Brunei since a long time ago. Previously, I entered Brunei 3 times in June 2024, when travelling by road between Limbang and Lawas in Sarawak, but I didn't actually stop anywhere in Brunei. Therefore, this was my first time visiting Brunei for real.
At that time, I was working as a Medical Officer at Klinik Kesihatan Sundar in Lawas, Sarawak. My MRCP(UK) Part 1 exam was scheduled on 14 August 2024, and it was held online. The internet connection in Sundar is very unstable. Even though the internet connection in the Lawas town centre is usually stable, it's still prone to disconnections at times. Limbang is the next nearest town, but going to Limbang requires passing through Brunei and I wasn't sure how stable the internet connection in Limbang is.
The nearest major cities to me were Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, and Labuan. Kota Kinabalu was 3 hours' drive away, which I felt was too far, while getting to Labuan required taking a boat. On the other hand, Bandar Seri Begawan was just 90 minutes' drive away. I was also confident that I could get a fast and stable internet connection in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital city of Brunei. I decided to take the online exam in Bandar Seri Begawan, while also taking the opportunity to visit Brunei. I received confirmation that I am allowed to take the online exam in Brunei.
As I had brought my car to Sarawak, I just drove it to Brunei. As a Malaysian, I don't need to apply for a visa to enter Brunei. However, I had to apply online for an Exit & Entry System (EES) Pass and an E-Arrival Card before entering Brunei. My passport was still valid for another more than 2 years. I booked Times Hotel, which had a good WiFi connection according to the online reviews.
12 August 2024 (Monday):
After finishing work at Klinik Kesihatan Sundar at 5PM, I began driving to Brunei. I entered the Temburong district of Brunei through the Labu-Mengkalap border post. There were minimal queues at the border post and I cleared the immigration quite quickly. The Temburong district mostly consists of rural areas and villages.
After that, I took the Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge to get to the Brunei-Muara district, which Bandar Seri Begawan is located in. The bridge was open 4 years ago in March 2020, just as the Covid-19 lockdown started. The bridge looks quite beautiful, and it reminded me of Penang Bridge. Some parts of the Brunei-Muara district are well developed, while others are less developed.
I then drove to Times Hotel and I arrived there around 6:30PM. Times Hotel is located at the 2nd floor of Times Square Shopping Centre, near the Brunei International Airport. It's a high-class hotel. After checking in to the hotel, I went to the neighbouring Airport Mall for dinner. After dinner, I took a short rest and then revised for my MRCP(UK) Part 1 exam.
13 August 2024 (Tuesday):
I had chicken rice at the food court of Times Square Shopping Centre for breakfast. A famous food in Brunei is nasi katok. However, as nasi katok is commonly available in Sundar and I had it regularly, I wanted to try something else in Brunei. On that afternoon, I had nasi ayam bakar at KaKa Restaurant in the Airport Mall. After lunch, I had Doki Doki Ice Cream.
For most of that day, I just stayed in the hotel room to do my final revisions for the MRCP(UK) Part 1 exam. On that night, I had dinner at Secret Recipe in Times Square Shopping Centre. Although Secret Recipe is widely available in Malaysia, it had no outlets in Sundar or Lawas. Times Square Shopping Centre is a nice mall and it has a good number of shops, although certain parts of it looked a bit old.
14 August 2024 (Wednesday):
Early in that morning, I had breakfast at SugarBun in Times Square Shopping Centre. SugarBun actually originated from Sarawak and I had it every week in Lawas. However, as most other shops in the mall weren't open at that time, I chose to have SugarBun. After breakfast, I readied myself to take the MRCP(UK) Part 1 online exam in the hotel room using my M1 MacBook Air and the hotel's WiFi connection.
The internet connection in Brunei isn't very fast, in fact it's significantly slower compared to that in Malaysia. However, it's very stable, which is what matters most for the online exam. Paper 1 of my MRCP(UK) Part 1 exam began at 2PM. The questions weren't too difficult and I managed to answer fairly well. Although it was supposed to last 3 hours, I had finished answering all questions by 4PM and I decided to submit the paper early.
After that, I went to Rumah Sate in Times Square Shopping Centre for lunch. Paper 2 of my MRCP(UK) Part 1 exam began at 6:30PM. It was more difficult than Paper 1, but I still answered the questions fairly well. At 9PM, I finished answering the paper and submitted it early. Having completed the exam, I wanted to explore the area, but most of the shops in the area had closed at that time. I bought pizza from Pezzo for my dinner. I decided to sleep early so that I could explore Brunei on the next day.
15 August 2024 (Thursday):
On that morning, I woke up early. I first went to visit the nearby Brunei International Airport. The airport looked very beautiful and modern. After that, I drove to the city centre of Bandar Seri Begawan for some sightseeing. I visited the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. I went to Brunei Waterfront and took some photos of the Brunei River. The Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge was visible in the background. Someone offered me a ride on his boat on the river, but I respectfully declined.
I had local breakfast at the nearby Syazwan Cafe & Catering. The waitress at the restaurant asked me if I am a local Bruneian, to which I told her I am from Malaysia. I then walked around the area to have a look. Interestingly, a section of Jalan Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien looked so reminiscent of Jalan Dato Kaptain Ahmad in Kluang, Johor. While Bandar Seri Begawan is quite well developed overall, certain parts of it looked quite old. The people in Bandar Seri Begawan generally can speak both Malay and English quite well.
On the way back to Times Hotel, I drove through Jalan Subok. Several high commissions and embassies were located along that road. Later that afternoon, still feeling full from my breakfast, I only had a light lunch at Pastamania in Times Square Shopping Centre. After lunch, I watched the movie Deadpool & Wolverine at Times Cineplex Times Square. There are no cinemas in Sundar, Lawas or Limbang. It's a fun and hilarious movie that's a great addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie had Malay and Chinese subtitles. Interestingly, I had also watched the previous Deadpool 2 overseas, in Middlesbrough, UK.
On that night, I had kolo mee for dinner at All Seasons Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant in Times Square Shopping Centre. After dinner, I had ice cream at Mykopitiam. I bought a reusable bag with the word Brunei from one of the stalls in the shopping mall as souvenir.
16 August 2024 (Friday):
I had to wake up very early in the morning. I had breakfast at Airport Mall and then checked out of Times Hotel. After that, I began my journey back to Klinik Kesihatan Sundar since I was working on that day. I took the Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge to get back to the Temburong district. There was a long queue at the Labu-Mengkalap border post, and I was stuck there for almost 2 hours before I could clear the immigration and reenter Malaysia.
Conclusions:
I definitely had a great trip to Brunei. There aren't many things to do in Brunei, it's just the local food and a bit of sightseeing. However, I am glad to be able to take the MRCP(UK) Part 1 online exam and to watch Deadpool & Wolverine in Brunei. Although Brunei isn't very well developed, it's a beautiful country. The people in Brunei are generally happy and satisfied with their lives, and they have been quite friendly to me. After so long, I finally had the opportunity to visit Brunei. Brunei is the 9th country I have visited so far.
