It was a beautiful Sunny day, the Water Village, also known as Kampong Ayer in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, looked beautiful from the other side of the Brunei River, and the late afternoon golden sunlight made it even more spectacular. The hotel’s complimentary transfer dropped me off at the city center’s jetty, Mercu Dirgahayu 60 Monument in Bandar Seri Begawan. From there, I tried to get on a scenic water taxi ride around the water community and visit a local home to observe the daily livelihood of typical residents of the houses floating in the Brunei River.
Walkway Inside the Water Village
With a history of over 1000 years, the Water Village is the largest in the world and a preserved national heritage site. The Kampong Ayer is home to 30,000 residents and stretches about 5 miles ( 8 km), and is a self-contained community with schools, police stations, fire brigades, hospitals, and mosques.
Water Taxi – Jeti
The village is a cluster of smaller villages, each with its leader or chief, known as Ketua Kampung. A complex web of walkways and bridges connects the villages themselves.
Life Insider The Water Village
You must take a boat or water taxi to get to the village. Private water taxis provide rapid transit. Most of these taxis resemble long wooden speedboats. From a distance, the water village looks like a slum. However, if you look closely, they enjoy modern amenities, including air conditioning, satellite television, internet access, plumbing, and electricity. Some of the residents keep potted plants and even live chickens. In addition, the neighborhood has a distinctive architectural heritage of wooden homes with decorated interiors.
The village people were very friendly and spent quite a bit talking to them; they usually park their cars on the mainland and have their own speedboat or water taxi service to get home.
I was there for a couple of hours and had a wonderful time walking miles on the wooden network of walkways and bridges over the water. In the late afternoon, the scene at the jetty bustles with life as school children and adults come home from work on water taxis. Some are sitting on the balcony with their family members and enjoying a relaxed life. Overall completely different experience, and I definitely forgot that there is another world out there. Apart from the incredible trip to water town, there are plenty of other things to see and do in the city to keep you busy during your trip.
