Brunéi

Eat

Bruneians love to eat out and there are many excellent restaurants in Brunei serving a wide variety of cuisines, thanks to the large number of foreign workers in the country. The most popular local cuisines are Malay and Chinese and are largely identical to what you get across the border in Malaysia: see Cuisine of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei for a detailed guide.

A Brunei specialty is nasi katok, a simple combination of rice and curried beef or chicken, which can be quite spicy. It is relatively inexpensive when compared to other food that you can buy, for example local food such as chicken rice. However, it is not a healthy option, with few vegetables and too much fat.

thumb|Ambuyat

Brunei's national dish is ambuyat, a culinary experience unique to Borneo. It is a starchy, gooey and virtually tasteless paste made from sago eaten with special linked chopsticks called chandas: you spin them around to collect a bundle of ambuyat and dip it in a savoury sauce. Despite the national dish status, ambuyat is not terribly common (the locals prefer rice), but there are a few specialty restaurants that serve it.

Drink

thumb|A fruit seller at a market in Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei is a dry country: alcohol is not sold anywhere in the country and consumption of alcohol in public is prohibited by law. That said, non-Muslims are allowed to bring in up to two litres of alcohol (wine or spirits) plus up to twelve cans of beer every 48 hours for private consumption, and there is a wide array of duty-free shops just across the border in Malaysia to cater to this demand. However, alcohol must be declared upon arrival in Brunei while going through customs. There are also numerous bars and nightclubs in Tedungan just across the border in Malaysia's Limbang district, Sarawak, where many Bruneians go for a good night out.

Many higher-end restaurants allow guests to bring in their own alcohol and corkage is not charged, though this is actually illegal and it's best to keep a low profile if you choose to consume in a public establishment. At the lower end (particularly Chinese restaurants), many restaurants supply illicit booze under euphemisms like "special tea".

One should definitely try out teh tarik, a sweet milk tea, as well as the wide array of coffee (kopi) available in restaurants.

Sleep

Accommodation in Brunei used to be very expensive, but some reasonably cheap guesthouses and hostels can now be found here and there. See Bandar Seri Begawan for listings.

Stay safe

Brunei is a very safe country, with low crime rates and no major security concerns. Brunei has a strict legal system ― which combines British common law and Sharia law ― that punishes crime severely, adding a huge layer of deterrence. The full harshness of Brunei's laws is reserved for criminals and those actually looking for trouble.

Brunei, like Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, has very strict laws when it comes to drugs. Drug trafficking to a certain degree has a mandatory death sentence. Other crimes, such as murder, kidnapping and unauthorised possession of firearms are also punished with death. While an informal moratorium of capital punishment exists, offenders should still expect life imprisonment or a long prison term. Brunei uses caning (for males only) for rapes, as well as for less serious crimes, including illegal entry, overstaying your visa for over 90 days, robbery, corruption and vandalism. Caning is no slap on the wrist. Strokes from the thick rattan cane are excruciating. They can take weeks to heal, and even scar for life. These laws apply to foreigners as well.

In theory, offences such as rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and insult or defamation of the Prophet Muhammad carry the maximum penalty of death, though this is not enforced. Homosexuality carries a penalty of 40 strokes of the cane and/or a maximum of 10 years in jail. The punishment for theft that exceeds a certain amount is amputation. Those who "persuade, tell or encourage" Muslim children …

Stay healthy

Eating out is generally safe because of good food safety standards. But drink water only if it's been boiled, or bottled water. Protect yourself from mosquito bites. Dengue fever is a real risk. Malaria risk is low.

Brunei's hospitals are generally adequate for most routine procedures. However, due to the lack of specialists, you may need to be airlifted to Singapore if your case requires complicated surgical procedures; ensure that your insurance covers this if you plan to be in Brunei.