Miri to Brunei Overland

When I mentioned to friends that we were travelling to Brunei, I was usually met with looks of incredulity. Almost no one could understand why we had to go to Brunei when there's so many other countries that we could go to.

My reasoning was clear (at least to me). Brunei is one of our neighbouring countries. It's just there across the border and it would seem like a travesty if we bypassed Brunei in our quest to increase country stamps in our passports. And getting to see the proboscis monkeys in their native land cinched the deal.

As flights to Bandar Seri Begawan ("BSB") were expensive, we tried to explore other options. I was seriously contemplating the overland trail between Kota Kinabalu and Brunei. Apparently it takes at least 8 passport stamps (that was enough to get me hyperventilating) but it would take 8 - 10 hours and I thought it would be unfair to subject Snufkin to that. Another option would be to take a bus from Miri. A faster and more reasonable way than KK-Brunei, and much cheaper than flying straight to BSB.

So that was how we found ourselves in Miri. After spending a day and a night in Miri, we woke up early the next morning to catch the 8.15am bus to BSB. A pre-booked taxi was waiting outside the hotel to take us to Pujut Bus Terminal.

I believe bus tickets can only be bought at the ticket counter at the terminal. I was initially worried if the seats would be sold out as we did not buy the tickets in advance. It turned out that the only problem that we had was which seat to choose - We were 3 out of less than 10 passengers on the (very clean) PHLS Express bus, which also meant that we could recline our seats without worrying about people seated at the back.

The PHLS Express bus from Miri to BSB

The bus left right in time and soon we were leaving Miri behind and reaching the Sungai Tujuh Immigration Complex. There's something about border crossing that always gets me excited. Perhaps it's the knowledge that you are entering a totally different territory to explore, and unlike travels by plane, you can see literally see 2 countries side by side.

We got off the bus at Sungai Tujuh to get our passpport stamped for our exit from Malaysia. This was a quick process as there was just our bus. Then back on the bus and on through No Man's Land, that patch of land between Malaysia and Brunei, which looked more like a ghost town. 






Sungai Tujuh immigration checkpoint

We then reached the immigration complex on the Brunei side. There were other vehicles this time, more notably 2 express buses which probably were on the way from other parts of Malaysian Borneo. The queue to get our passports stamped this time was longer, but still less than 1/2 hour.

Upon entering Brunei, I could immediately see the difference. Whilst the road in Miri was flanked by scrublands and industrial buildings, Brunei was very green. I caught glimpses of the Borneo that I had in mind as we passed verdant jungles, lush fields and orchards. I suppose that logging was the last thing on their agenda considering the black gold that the country was sitting on. Signs of the oil economy of the country were everywhere, as below:

"Nodding Donkey" in the most obscure of places

Apart from the above, for most of the journey, we didn't see much else except for some modest shoplots and houses that made up the townships, most notably Serian, Tutong and Kuala Belait.


All signboards are in 2 scripts: Roman and "Jawi"

After nearly 4 hours, more pages of colouring book completed by Snufkin, and even more "are we there yets", we reached the capital BSB. The bus dropped us near the bus terminal on Jalan Cator, from which it was a 15-minutes walk to our hotel.

The walk from the bus terminal to the hotel

Accommodation

Accommodation options in BSB were rather limited. Against our usual aversion towards chain hotels, we booked a room in Radisson Hotel. At BND100 (approx. RM260) per night, I thought it was a really good value of money, especially when there seemed to be a dearth of reasonably-priced boutique hotels in BSB.

The room was bright with one of the nicest beds we've had in hotels. If you are travelling with kids, the pools are a big plus point: a great place for the kids to cool themselves with even free ice-cream thrown in the deal.

Trust me, when you are in BSB, you need a decent hotel with a pool as you will no doubt spend your afternoons in the hotel to escape from the scorching heat. As we did.

Radisson Bandar Seri Begawan

Note:

Buses leave Miri's Pujut Bus Terminal for BSB'S Bus Terminal at Jalan Cator. BND18/RM40 for the 4-hours journey.

Radisson BSB - Address: Jalan Tasek 2203, Bandar Seri Begawan BS8211, Brunei