Reposted from the web

Summary: This travel account explores Malay history, culture, and indigenous food in Kuching. It keeps the original place names, museum and street details, food notes, and photographs while using natural English for international readers.

At a traditional snack stall on a Kuching street, we bought a traditional Malay pastry called Kuih gulung. It is made from a mix of rice flour, eggs, and coconut milk, colored with pandan leaf juice, and filled with shredded coconut and palm sugar. After dessert, we took a walk along the Kuching riverfront. The temperature had not risen yet in the early morning, so it felt very cool.













The classic Kuching street snack is Sarawak layer cake (kek lapis). Many shops in the old town sell it. Sarawak layer cake comes from the Betawi people's layer cake in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a local version of a European cake made by the wives of Dutch officials during the Dutch East Indies era. After the Indonesian layer cake reached Sarawak, locals made it more colorful and flavorful. Today, it is a classic snack for celebrations like Eid al-Fitr, birthdays, and weddings.









On Wayang Street (Lebuh Wayang) in Kuching's old town, there is a Borneo food restaurant. It has a Chinese owner and an indigenous Borneo chef, where you can eat authentic indigenous Borneo food.

We ordered cassava leaves with torch ginger, bamboo chicken, stir-fried bamboo shoots, and stir-fried stink beans with local red rice. It was very much in the style of Borneo. Torch ginger is a special ingredient in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The stir-fried bamboo shoots were very fresh and went well with rice.

Bamboo chicken is called Ayam pansuh in Malay, and it is a specialty of Borneo. To make it, chicken and seasonings are placed in a bamboo tube, covered with cassava leaves, and cooked. You eat the chicken and cassava leaves together.



















Across from downtown Kuching is a traditional Malay village. Many people still live in stilt houses there. There are many small piers along the riverbank where you can take a wooden boat to cross quickly. The village on the other side is shaded by trees and full of blooming flowers, like a hidden paradise.



















There are large gardens on the north bank of the Sarawak River. There are very few tourists, and the scenery is beautiful. There is a free orchid garden inside. It is very pretty during the orchid season. Not many were blooming when we went, but it was still very pleasant. The orchid garden also has a small prayer hall, so you can sightsee and perform your prayers.



















The Sarawak River sunset cruise runs daily from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. It costs 70 Malaysian Ringgit for adults and includes free orange juice, Sarawak layer cake, fried snacks, and traditional indigenous dances.



















In the evening, we performed namaz at the Sarawak State Mosque. The State Mosque is the largest in Sarawak. The main hall can hold 14,000 people. It is the largest mosque I have visited in Malaysia. The experience was moving, and under the huge dome, people felt as small as ants. When I went, the main hall was full of children learning to recite the Quran. After the prayer, they all rushed to the small shop to buy snacks, which was very cute.



















The Kuching City Mosque was built in 1847 under the leadership of Datu Patinggi Ali. It was rebuilt in 1968 to its current form. The mosque is on a hill west of Kuching and overlooks the whole city. We performed Dhuhr prayer at the mosque and chatted with the imam, who was very friendly.













Artifacts in the Borneo Cultures Museum.



Artifacts from the Brunei Sultanate era, unearthed in 2003 in a village near Kuching called Kampung Benat. This place may have been where the Brunei Sultanate sent representatives to collect taxes and tributes from the Sarawak region.





A Brunei Sultanate cannon unearthed in Samarahan. Samarahan was once an important trading port for the Brunei Sultanate. In the 19th century, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II of Brunei (reigned 1828-52) gifted the cannon to his representative in Sarawak, symbolizing the Brunei Sultanate's rule over the region. Shortly after this, however, Sarawak was ceded by the Brunei Sultanate to James Brooke's Kingdom of Sarawak.



The gate of the 19th-century Sarawak indigenous leader (Rajah) Aban Jau (Tama Long) bears an inscription: 'This is the gate of Tama Long, the Rajah who holds power in the Tinjar region and controls all trade.' This leader once opposed the rule of the Kingdom of Sarawak but later became a friend of the British official and ethnologist Charles Hose. This gate was later gifted to Charles Hose by Aban Jau's daughter.





Fajar Sarawak, the first Malay-language newspaper in Sarawak, founded in 1929. At that time, communication between East and West Malaysia grew stronger, and publications were constantly arriving in Kuching from Singapore by steamship.



The prayer drum (beduk) used at the Sarawak State Mosque between 1852 and 1967. In the past, Malay people would strike the mosque's beduk to signal the call to prayer, the end of a fast, or Friday prayers.





The Brooke Gallery inside Fort Margherita in Kuching.



A dagger (keris) used by Sarawak Malays in the mid-19th century, which has always been a symbol of Malay bravery.





A swivel gun (lantaka) used by the Brunei Sultanate in the mid-19th century, which could be mounted on sailing ships.







A portrait of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II of Brunei drawn by British naturalist Arthur Adams in 1846. Under his rule, the Brunei Sultanate ceded the Sarawak region to James Brooke's Kingdom of Sarawak.





The west side of the Old Bazaar in Kuching faces the former site of the Kingdom of Sarawak courthouse, built between 1868 and 1874. After 2003, this site became the Sarawak Tourism Complex, housing a museum, restaurants, and other institutions. The old courthouse features a roof made of Borneo ironwood (belian) and is a typical example of Kingdom of Sarawak architecture.

In the courtyard is The Ranee Museum, which introduces Margaret, the wife of the second Rajah of the Kingdom of Sarawak. She published her memoir, 'My Life in Sarawak,' in 1913, which serves as a precious record of the region.



A precious photo taken by Ranee Margaret in 1880, featuring four Malay chiefs of the Kingdom of Sarawak at the time. From left to right: Datu Hakim, Dato Bandar, First Resident Francis Maxwell, translator Inchi Bakar, Dato Imam, and Haji Suden. You can see that these four Malay chiefs are all wearing ornate robes and headscarves (destar).



A painting by British biologist Marianne North from the 1870s, showing the view of the Old Bazaar from the Sarawak Palace. Margaret wrote in her memoir, "There is a picturesque commercial street by the water, which is the Chinese bazaar (pasar)." Parked near the coast are all kinds of strange boats—Chinese junk sailboats, Malay schooner sailboats, and barge rowboats.











In front of the old courthouse stands the Brooke Memorial, built in 1924 to honor the second Rajah of the Kingdom of Sarawak, Charles Brooke, who reigned from 1868 to 1917. The monument features bronze reliefs of the four major ethnic groups of the Kingdom of Sarawak: Chinese, Malay, Dayak, and Kayan, with the Rajah's birth and death years inscribed in each group's language. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Brunei offers visa-free travel for Chinese visitors and a compact route through mosques, museums, royal history, and Malay culture. This first part keeps the original itinerary, photos, place names, and travel details in a clear English article.

The Brunei Darussalam Immigration Department announced that starting March 8, 2025, Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports valid for at least 6 months can enter Brunei visa-free for up to 14 days. Brunei has officially become a visa-free country!

I happened to take my family to Brunei in December 2024 and visited quite a few places. In my opinion, Brunei can be described as a "rural version of Singapore and a high-cost Malaysia." If you have already visited Singapore and Malaysia, this place is still worth a look.

First, Brunei has its own ride-hailing app called Dart. You can link a VISA card or pay with cash, and the cars arrive quite quickly. Note that after leaving the airport, the ride-hailing pickup point is in the parking lot on the right. Walk from the main airport entrance toward the mosque on the right, then follow the canopy to the end to find it.

My first impression of downtown Brunei is that everyone drives everywhere, and there are basically no pedestrians on the streets. It feels like the whole city was designed for cars, and there are very few crosswalks. The city density is very low with lots of greenery, making it feel like a garden city for cars.

Below, I will share some places in Brunei that we think are worth visiting and eating at.

Eat halal Nanyang-style Chinese food.

Yingzhun Hao.

Just like in Singapore and Malaysia, many Chinese people from Hainan and Fujian in Brunei apply for halal certification, hire Muslim staff, and serve halal Chinese food with Nanyang characteristics. We ate at several of these places this time, and they are all worth recommending.

The most famous Hainanese teahouse in Brunei is Yingzhun Hao. They have Brunei halal certification and are favored by people of all ethnic groups. The founder of Yingzhun Hao, Han Qiongyuan, was from Wenchang, Hainan. In 1939, during the Japanese invasion of China, 17-year-old Han Qiongyuan traveled to Southeast Asia and arrived in Brunei to work as a handyman at his uncle's coffee shop. In 1946, Han Qiongyuan officially opened Yingzhun Teahouse, mainly selling coffee, bread, and other food, and became widely known for his "longevity bread (roti kuning)." Later, as the teahouse business grew, Han Qiongyuan also expanded into real estate and presided over the construction of the Brunei Hainan Building. After 1993, Han Qiongyuan returned to his hometown every year to visit relatives and invested heavily there, being awarded the title of "Patriotic Hainanese" by Hainan Province three times.

Their shop has a very rich variety of bread. The most classic sandwich breads come in four flavors: peanut, red bean paste, butter, and coconut. There are also peanut yuanyang bread, cheese bread, yuanyang yellow bread, and French toast. You can add a fried egg and cheese, or order a soft-boiled egg on the side. Cakes include custard cake, egg tarts, coconut tarts, red bean cakes, butter cakes, pandan cakes, and more. Western-style breads and pastries were learned by Hainanese people working as kitchen helpers for British families when they traveled south to Southeast Asia in the 19th century. Today, they are a classic part of Nanyang Hainanese restaurants.

Besides breads and pastries, they also serve various noodles, including sesame flat rice noodles (zhima guotiao), dry-tossed noodles, fried noodles, Hainanese noodles, fried rice vermicelli, and egg gravy flat rice noodles (huadan hefen). These are all very well-suited to Chinese tastes. We ordered egg gravy flat rice noodles, sesame flat rice noodles, egg tarts, egg custard cakes, yellow bread with fried eggs, chicken curry puffs, peanut and kaya butter bread (yuanyang mianbao), ginger milk tea, and lemon tea for a full East-meets-West experience. The peanut and kaya butter bread is filled with coconut jam (kaya), butter, and crushed peanuts, giving it a very rich texture. The sesame flat rice noodles have a sweet, salty, and spicy flavor. Served with fried tofu and fried fish chunks, they are a major specialty of the restaurant.

















Babu's Kitchen

There are many Chinese shops in the old town of Bandar Seri Begawan, which is also a great place to eat at halal Hainanese restaurants. We chose Babu's Kitchen. It was very busy at lunch with Chinese, Malay, and Indian customers, which is a classic scene at a Hainanese restaurant. Since they didn't have a Chinese menu, we asked the owner to recommend the Assam fish fillets, salted egg fried mushrooms, beef noodles (yee mee), and bean curd skin with tofu and chicken. Like in Malaysia, the Chinese in Brunei speak very standard Mandarin. Overall, the food was very good. The Chinese dishes were infused with Malay flavors, but they were still very easy for Chinese people to enjoy.

















Meiguang Tea House

We had a Hainanese breakfast at Meiguang Tea House in the old town of Bandar Seri Begawan. The owner is Hainanese, his wife is from Xiamen, and the staff are all Indonesian. Because they mainly cater to the nearby office buildings, it is usually quite busy. It is relatively quiet on weekends, and there are fewer steamed dim sum options than usual. We ordered chicken and radish buns, red bean buns, beef porridge with small fried dough sticks (youtiao), longan herbal tea, fried noodles, and steamed dumplings (shaomai). Next time, if any friends (dost) are around on a weekday, we can try their other specialties like Fuzhou 'wealth-attracting' rice noodle soup, dry-tossed silver needle noodles (laoshufen), and chicken intestine noodles.



















Shixianle

Near the Fujian Association is a restaurant called Shiraz Seafood Restaurant. The name sounds like an Iranian place, but it is actually a Chinese restaurant called Shixianle. It specializes in dim sum and various Nanyang Chinese snacks. The menu is very extensive, and it is halal-certified in Brunei. After we went in, a table of Malays and a table of South Asians arrived, which shows how much different ethnic groups love halal Chinese food.

We ordered Cantonese steamed dumplings (siu mai), chicken feet, fish maw with chicken, five-spice meat rolls (ngo hiang), fried stuffed tofu (yong tofu), fried radish cake, longan herbal tea, chicken porridge, seafood soup (a mix of fish fillets, fish balls, etc.), and dry-fried green beans. We really enjoyed our fill of Nanyang Chinese snacks in Brunei.

Ngo hiang is short for 'five-spice marinated meat,' a snack that originated in the Minnan region of Fujian. In the past, life was hard, so people would season leftover meat and vegetables with five-spice powder, wrap them in bean curd skin, and deep-fry them. Later, as Chinese people traveled south, it spread to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, and Thailand.

Stuffed tofu (yong tofu) is a traditional Hakka dish. In the Hakka dialect, the word niang means to stuff with filling. Legend says that after the Hakka people moved south from the Central Plains, they wanted to eat dumplings but had no wheat. They used tofu instead of flour and invented stuffed tofu (niang doufu). Later, stuffed tofu followed the Hakka people as they traveled south to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, and Thailand.

















In Brunei, the Fujian Association and the Taiwan Overseas Compatriot Association share the same building. Nearby, there are non-halal restaurants, which are rare in Brunei, and they all have red non-halal signs at their entrances.





Hua Ho Department Store

Hua Ho Department Store is a famous halal supermarket owned by Chinese merchants in Brunei, and it has many branches across the country. We went to the Kiulap branch. Inside, one side features various traditional Brunei Malay snacks. We bought a traditional snack from Sabah and Brunei called Kuih Cincin Tempatan, which is fried using red coconut, rice flour, and palm sugar. The other side is the supermarket area, where you can buy various halal foods with Cantonese, Fujian, Chaoshan, and Taiwanese characteristics.

The founder of Hua Ho Department Store, Lau Gek Poh (Liu Jinguo), was born in 1920 to a farming family in Lieyu, Kinmen, Fujian. In 1938, he traveled south to seek his fortune, first going to Singapore and then to Brunei to join his eldest sister. In 1947, Lau Gek Poh bought a piece of land in Manggis, on the northern outskirts of Brunei. He built a vegetable garden and hired workers to raise chickens and ducks, officially establishing Hua Ho Department Store. After the 1950s, as agricultural prices fell, Lau Gek Poh eventually went bankrupt and closed his shop in 1958. Afterward, he began selling vegetables at the market and selling fabric door-to-door. He did not reopen his shop until 1961. In 1966, he built a small two-story building, and the shop was opened on the first floor. Later, he gradually expanded the scale of his business, eventually making Hua Ho the largest department store in Brunei.

In 2004, the Sultan of Brunei awarded Lau Gek Poh the title of Pehin Kapitan Cina Kornia Diraja, making him one of the few Chinese nobles in Brunei. Lieyu, also known as Little Kinmen, is located between Kinmen and Xiamen. People from Lieyu began traveling south to Brunei in the 19th century. Initially, they worked mainly as shipping laborers, dock workers, fishermen, and street vendors. Later, they gradually accumulated capital and turned to business, occupying an important position in Brunei's business world. Many have received the titles of Pehin Kapitan and Pehin.













Some products at Hua Ho Department Store: coconut jelly powder, cold bean curd powder, Hong Kong narcissus flour, Shantou sweet potato starch, fragrant braised peanuts, fragrant vegetable hearts, belacan chili, Chaoshan specialty sweet and sour ginger slices, South China vegetables, spicy fermented bean curd with sesame oil, rice noodles, shredded codfish, and selected squid.











Traditional Malay Market: Gadong Night Market

Gadong Night Market is very famous, but it is actually not very big. There are very few tourists in Brunei, so the night market is mostly filled with locals.

We first bought shredded squid and fish paste with chili sauce. This little snack is quite delicious. Then we bought mangosteen and snake fruit. It was my first time eating snake fruit, and the taste was quite good.

















We ate noodle soup at a small snack shop at the entrance. We ordered Bakso beranak (large beef balls stuffed with smaller beef balls) and Soto Daging (beef noodle soup). The eating habits here are almost the same as in Indonesia. I really enjoy the beef noodle soup here, especially on a rainy day when a bowl feels very comforting. I also ordered a coconut. The local coconuts are large. Even though the husk is thick, there is still plenty of juice inside, and it comes served with a lime wedge to squeeze in.









I had satay skewers at the Gadong Night Market, specifically the liver and chicken hearts, which were sweet and grilled a bit firm.









A wide variety of Brunei-style buffet.

If you want to try authentic local food in Brunei, I recommend the buffet at the Brunei Arts and Handicraft Training Centre. You can find it on the map by searching for Tarindak D'Seni.

We went for lunch from 11:30 to 14:30, which cost 91 RMB per person, and there is a discount for seniors over 60. The environment is lovely, with the Brunei River right outside the window. The food selection is rich. You can eat various sticky rice pandan Malay cakes (kuih), Sarawak laksa noodles with coconut milk, and even make your own shaved ice dessert (cendol).

They serve Brunei's national dish, sago starch paste (ambuyat), which is made by mixing sago palm starch with hot water to create a thick paste, eaten by dipping it into a sauce.

Nasi kebuli is rice cooked with goat broth, goat milk, and ghee. It was brought to the Malay Archipelago by Hadhrami people from Yemen and is especially popular in the Arab communities of Java.

Black beef (daging hitam) is a beef rendang made with a sweet soy sauce containing plenty of palm sugar and rock sugar, a specialty of the Sarawak region.

Chicken cooked in coconut milk (opor ayam) is chicken simmered in coconut milk with various spices.























Two national mosques.

Brunei has two national mosques, each built by a different Sultan, and both are worth visiting. The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, also known as the 'water mosque,' was built between 1954 and 1958 by the former Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddien III (who reigned from 1950 to 1967), and is named after him. The main hall features a Mughal-revival style golden dome. The interior uses Italian marble, Shanghai granite, British chandeliers, and Venetian mosaic glass, making it Brunei's most important landmark after its completion.









We happened to visit during Friday prayers (Jumu'ah). Brunei requires all malls and restaurants to close between 12:00 and 14:00, so the mosque was very crowded during the prayer, with the entire hall full, which was quite spectacular.

The pulpit (minbar) in the water mosque has two levels. The first level is where the muezzin calls the adhan, and the second level is where the imam delivers the khutbah. Next to the minbar, there is an escalator leading to the second-floor prayer area reserved for the royal family.





After Friday prayers, boxed meals were being handed out, mostly to South Asian laborers.



The water mosque during the sunset and dusk hours. Both of Brunei's national mosques look better at night than during the day.











The full name of the Brunei Friday Mosque is Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. It is one of Brunei's two national mosques and also the largest mosque in the country. The Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque was built by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei to celebrate his 25th anniversary on the throne and officially opened in 1994. The mosque's 29 golden domes commemorate the 29th Sultan of Brunei. Five fountains symbolize the five daily namaz and the five pillars of Islam. The mihrab is decorated with gold-plated tiles, and the interior is very luxurious, featuring Persian carpets, Italian marble, and Philippine hardwood.

The night view of the Brunei mosque is more beautiful than the day. For friends (dosti) who want to take photos, I recommend coming during the times for maghrib and isha.

















The Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque during the day. The main prayer hall connects to a women's prayer hall via a corridor. This is a very rare independent women's hall in Southeast Asia, and it is quite large. Below the women's hall is the wudu area. It is the only one I have ever visited that uses sensor-activated faucets.







The ancient city in the mountains of Brunei.

Take a taxi from the city to the Kota Batu Archaeological Park, the ruins of the Brunei Sultanate palace hidden in the tropical rainforest. This is Brunei's most important archaeological site.

Kota Batu is believed to have been the capital of the Brunei Sultanate from the 14th to the 17th century. It was once an important trading port in Southeast Asia and a central city in northern Borneo. A civil war in the Brunei Sultanate between 1660 and 1673 led to the abandonment of Kota Batu, and the Sultan moved the palace to the water village of Kampong Ayer on the upper Brunei River.

Kota Batu means stone castle, and it is one of the few stone architectural ruins in Brunei. British naturalist and Sarawak Museum curator Tom Harrisson began archaeological excavations at Kota Batu in 1952-53. He discovered many Chinese coins from the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, as well as Arabic coins, glassware, ironware, bronze, wooden tools, stone carvings, and ceramics from Siam, the Indochina Peninsula, and the Song and Ming dynasties of China.

During excavations in 1986-87, a square stone building measuring 25.8 by 25.4 meters was found, along with 36 stone column bases, tombstone remains, and Ming dynasty porcelain shards. It is believed the building dates back to the 15th century. Because the column bases are divided into three levels, it is thought the building had a three-tiered pyramid roof structure similar to traditional Malacca mosques. Although early Brunei Sultanate palace buildings were made of wood and left few traces, the coins and pottery found at Kota Batu suggest the Sultan's palace was likely near this site.











The paths in Kota Batu Archaeological Park feel like a primitive forest. There were no other tourists, and the mountain trails were often covered by fallen leaves and hard to see. It is hard to imagine that this was once the capital of Brunei.









The tomb of the third Sultan of Brunei.

The Kota Batu Archaeological Park contains the tomb of the third Sultan of Brunei, Sharif Ali.

Sultan Sharif Ali (reigned 1425-1432) was originally a preacher from the ancient Saudi city of Taif and a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. He arrived in Brunei to preach in 1395 and was respected by the Sultan and the people. He married the daughter of Sultan Ahmad around 1400 and inherited the throne after the old Sultan died in 1425, which is how the Brunei Sultanate gained its lineage from the Prophet's family.

Sultan Sharif Ali worked to spread Islamic law while keeping local customs that did not go against it. During his reign, Brunei officially changed from a Hindu-Buddhist cultural area into a part of Islamic civilization. He built the first mosque in Brunei, designed the national flag, and established the title of Brunei as the Nation of Peace (Darussalam). It is believed that he may have also built the stone wall fortress in Kota Batu. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This second part of the Brunei visa-free cultural trip continues through sites connected with Malay history, Muslim life, and local heritage. The English version keeps the original place names, photo order, and historical notes from the source article.



North of the tomb of Sultan Sharif Ali is the grave of Sharif Adam, another pioneer who came to Brunei with the Sultan to spread the faith. Together, they spread the influence of the faith from Brunei to the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao in the southern Philippines. According to the tombstone, Sharif Adam passed away in 1454.





Tomb of the Fifth Sultan of Brunei

South of the Kota Batu site No. 1 is the tomb of Bolkiah, the fifth Sultan of Brunei, who reigned from 1485 to 1524. His reign is known as the golden age of Brunei history, when the Sultanate held power over Borneo and the southern Philippines.

When Magellan's fleet arrived in Brunei in 1521, they witnessed the power of Brunei under Sultan Bolkiah. When they reached the palace, they were shocked by his wealth. A hall reached by wide steps was packed with courtiers in elegant clothing. Through the corridor was a slightly raised room decorated with luxurious silk and brocade curtains, bathed in natural light from wide windows. Three hundred of the Sultan's warriors stood guard there with drawn daggers. A little further on was a smaller but equally beautiful room, where the muscular forty-year-old monarch chewed betel nut on a large mat with his young son beside him.

Sultan Bolkiah's tomb is tall, majestic, and finely carved. The tombstone has eight layers, but only the bottom layer is original. One of the upper stones commemorates Sultan Muhammad Ali, and another commemorates Sultan Abdul Mubin, likely made in the late 17th century. The middle slab records that Sultan Bolkiah died on July 17, 1524, and was likely carved in modern times.















Water Village (Kampung Ayer)

We took a speedboat from the pier by the Brunei River and reached the Water Village (Kampung Ayer) on the other side for 1 Brunei dollar each. We first visited the Kampung Ayer Cultural and Tourism Gallery, which has information about the water village, and a lookout tower next to it for a panoramic view.

Kampung Ayer is the Malay term for water village. It was once the main port of the Brunei Sultanate and served as its trade center from the 15th to the 17th century. After the Brunei Civil War in the 18th century, Kota Batu was abandoned, and the water village became the capital of the Sultanate. In 1521, Italian explorer Antonio Pigafetta arrived in Brunei with Magellan's fleet and called Kampung Ayer the Venice of the East. The water village was once huge and included the Sultan's palace, but it gradually declined under British invasion in the 19th century. After the 20th century, Brunei began encouraging residents to move to land, but many people still choose to stay.















The two traditional wooden mosques on stilts in the Water Village are a major highlight of Brunei. The walls and pillars are made of wood, but the air conditioning inside is so strong that you cannot feel the humidity from the water. In recent years, Brunei has built several large concrete mosques along the banks of the Water Village, and the traditional wooden mosques are becoming fewer.















The Water Village has its own scenery, small restaurants, and convenience stores, though it is usually quite quiet.















Tomb of the 16th Sultan of Brunei

Take a speedboat west from the Brunei River to reach Luba Island, hidden by mangroves, where the tomb of the 16th Sultan of Brunei, Hussin Kamaluddin (reigned 1710-30, 1737-40), is located. Sultan Hussin Kamaluddin survived the Brunei civil war as a child, and he was pious, studious, and hardworking. Under his rule, Brunei was prosperous and had plenty of food. Legend says the Sultan liked to fish with locals along the upper banks of the Brunei River, especially near his tomb on Luba Island.











Old Town of Brunei Town

Until the early 20th century, the capital of Brunei was the Kampong Ayer water village along the Brunei River, until British Resident Malcolm MacArthur began guiding residents to settle on land in 1906. In 1910, Chinese immigrants were the first to build shops on the north bank of the Brunei River, and Brunei Town began to take shape. In 1922, the reigning Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam II decided to move the palace inland to Brunei Town, a move that encouraged many Water Village residents to accept relocation, leading to rapid urban development.

In 1945, Brunei Town was almost leveled by Allied bombing, followed by large-scale reconstruction in the 1950s and 1960s. After 1963, economic growth from oil and gas led to a rapid increase in Chinese immigrants to Brunei Town, who opened many shops. In 1970, Brunei Town was officially renamed Bandar Seri Begawan.













On the east side of the old town is the Sungai Kianggeh River, where Kampong Ayer residents can boat directly to the Kianggeh market to buy various farm produce. This is also one of the relocation points for Water Village residents after they come ashore.





The old Royal Ceremonial Hall (Lapau Lama) in the old town, built in 1950, now displays the scene of the 1959 Brunei Constitution signing, including the original chandeliers, tables, chairs, and the microphone used by the Sultan. Lapau Lama is the oldest concrete building in the old town, with an interior that blends pragmatism and minimalism.







Next to the old Royal Ceremonial Hall is the Royal Regalia Museum, which houses two royal chariots: one used for the Sultan's coronation in 1968 and Queen Elizabeth II's visit in 1972, and another used for the Sultan's 25th anniversary of his coronation in 1992.





Tasek Lama Recreational Park in Brunei

Strolling through Tasek Lama Recreational Park in Brunei, a primeval forest in the city center, is very relaxing by the waterfall. The mountains are full of birds and monkeys, and pitcher plants can be seen everywhere along the road. People in Brunei love jogging in the park, and after finishing, you can buy big, juicy coconuts at the entrance to drink.









Take a speedboat to see proboscis monkeys.

At the Royal Brunei Wharf, you can see many speedboats looking for tourists to take on tours of the water village and to see proboscis monkeys. We asked the price and it was 10 Brunei dollars (53 RMB) per person for a one-hour boat ride, which felt like a pretty good deal.

After boarding, we first toured the water village, where you can see a water fire station, a water school, and a water mosque. We also spotted a huge monitor lizard among the mangroves. Then we went to see the proboscis monkeys. We traveled 10 kilometers west along the Brunei River to Luba Island in the middle of the river. The island holds the tomb of the 16th Sultan of Brunei, Hussain Kamaluddin. This is also the best place to watch proboscis monkeys, and we saw a family of them eating leaves by the edge of the mangroves. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This first part of the Brunei journey follows historic sites from hilltop fortifications to places tied to Malay royal and Muslim culture. The English version preserves the original route, images, place names, and historical notes from the Chinese source.

Entering Brunei

I took a Royal Brunei Airlines flight from Kuching in the afternoon and arrived in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei's capital and only city, in just over an hour. After getting off the plane, follow the crowd to the immigration counters where you will see a row specifically for visa-on-arrival. Staff members will check in advance if you are holding a Chinese passport. When entering, just show your prepared flight itinerary and accommodation booking. You do not need to print the electronic arrival card or health declaration if you have filled them out online. Then, pay the visa fee with a VISA card to complete the entry process.

After clearing immigration, I exchanged some Malaysian Ringgit for Brunei Dollars and installed the SIM card I had bought in advance. I had already installed Dart, Brunei's local ride-hailing app, on my phone. It supports both VISA card and cash payments, and it is quite fast at getting a car. Note that the pickup point for ride-hailing cars is in the side parking lot. Walk from the airport entrance toward the direction of the airport mosque, then follow the canopy until you reach the end to find it.

We stayed at the J Hotel for our first night. The hotel environment is nice, and it is not far from the Gadong Night Market and the Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. After checking into the hotel, we walked over to the Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque.

My first impression of downtown Brunei is that everyone drives everywhere; there are basically no pedestrians on the streets. It feels like the whole city was designed for cars, and there are very few crosswalks. The city has low density and lots of greenery, making it feel like a garden city for cars. Our hotel was only about 300 meters away from the mosque as the crow flies, but it took 15 minutes to walk there. This is because you have to walk along the road for a long time before finding a place to cross, and then you must walk through a parking lot over 200 meters long inside the mosque grounds to reach the main prayer hall.

Brunei's two national mosques

The Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque is one of Brunei's two national mosques and the largest mosque in the country. The mosque was built by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah to celebrate his 25th anniversary on the throne and officially opened in 1994. The 29 golden domes of the mosque commemorate the 29th Sultan of Brunei. The five fountains symbolize the five daily prayers and the five pillars of Islam. The mihrab (prayer niche) is decorated with gold-plated tiles. The interior is very magnificent, featuring Persian carpets, Italian marble, and Philippine hardwood.

The night view of the Brunei mosque is more beautiful than during the day. For those who want to take photos, I recommend coming during the times for prayer.



















The Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque during the day. The main prayer hall is connected to the women's prayer hall by a corridor. This is a rare example of an independent women's prayer hall in Southeast Asia, and it is very large. Below the women's prayer hall is the ablution area (shuifang), and it is the only one I have ever visited that uses motion-sensor faucets.



















For Friday prayers (Jumu'ah), we went to Brunei's other national mosque, the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, which is also known as the 'Water Mosque'. Brunei requires all malls and restaurants to close between 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM, so the mosque was packed during Jumu'ah, with the entire main hall full, which was a spectacular sight.

The Water Mosque was built between 1954 and 1958 by the former Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddien III (who reigned from 1950 to 1967), and it is named after him. The main hall features a golden dome in the Mughal Revival style, and the interior uses Italian marble, Shanghai granite, British chandeliers, and Venetian mosaic glass, making it Brunei's most important landmark since its completion.

The minbar (pulpit) at the Water Mosque has two levels; the first is where the muezzin calls the adhan (bangke), and the second is where the imam delivers the khutbah (hutubai). Next to the minbar, there is a staircase leading to the second-floor prayer area reserved for the royal family.



















After Jumu'ah, they were handing out boxed meals, mostly to South Asian laborers, and I also went over to get a bottle of water.







The Water Mosque during the times of the morning prayer (shamu) and the afternoon prayer (hufu tan). Both of Brunei's national mosques look better at night than during the day.















The earliest historical relics of Brunei are in China.

The Brunei History Centre has a replica of the 'Tombstone of the King of Boni' from Nanjing, and the full text is on display.

The Tomb of the King of Boni in Nanjing is commonly known as the Ma Huihui Tomb, and it is the burial site of the Bruneian Sultan Mana'naja. In 1405 (the third year of the Yongle reign), Sultan Mana'naja of Boni sent envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and he was granted the title of King of Boni and given many gifts. In 1408 (the sixth year of the Yongle reign), the Sultan led a delegation of over 150 people to Fujian, then traveled to Nanjing to meet the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di, where he was treated with great honor. A month later, the Sultan suddenly fell ill and passed away at the Huitong Hall in Nanjing. According to the Sultan's final wish to 'have his body buried in China,' the Yongle Emperor ordered that he be buried with royal honors at Shizigang, outside Andemen Gate in Nanjing. After the Qing Dynasty, the tombstone was lost for a time, but the remaining parts were finally found in 1958, though unfortunately, the top of the stone has never been recovered.

The story of Sultan Mana'naja is recorded in the 'History of Ming' (Ming Shi), but it does not appear in Bruneian history books, nor is it in the Bruneian royal genealogy, the 'Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei'. Bruneian historians believe Sultan Mana'naja is one of the sultans not mentioned in the genealogy.





The original Nanjing tombstone that I photographed a few years ago.









The ancient city in the mountains of Brunei.

I took a taxi from the city center to the ruins of the Brunei Sultanate palace hidden in the tropical rainforest, the Kota Batu Archaeological Park (Taman Arkeologi Kota Batu), which is also Brunei's most important archaeological site.

Kota Batu is believed to have been the capital of the Brunei Sultanate from the 14th to the 17th century. It was once an important trade port in Southeast Asia and the central city of northern Borneo. In 1521, Italian explorer Antonio Pigafetta arrived in Brunei with Magellan's fleet. He recorded: 'This city is built entirely on the sea, with 25,000 households, excluding the homes of the Sultan and certain heads of state.' A civil war in the Brunei Sultanate between 1660 and 1673 led to the abandonment of Kota Batu. The Sultan of Brunei moved his palace to the water village of Kampong Ayer on the upper Brunei River.

Kota Batu means 'stone castle.' It is a rare site of stone architecture in Brunei. British naturalist and Sarawak Museum curator Tom Harrisson led the first archaeological excavations at Kota Batu from 1952 to 1953. He found many Chinese coins from the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, as well as Arabic coins, glassware, ironware, bronze, wooden tools, stone carvings, and ceramics from Siam, Indochina, and Song and Ming dynasty China.

During excavations in 1986 and 1987, a square stone building measuring 25.8 meters by 25.4 meters was discovered. It contained 36 stone column bases, tombstone remains, and Ming dynasty porcelain shards. It is believed the building was constructed in the 15th century. Because the column bases are in three layers, the building likely had a three-tiered pyramid roof structure similar to traditional mosques in Malacca. Although early palace buildings in the Brunei Sultanate were made of wood and left few traces, the coins and pottery found at Kota Batu suggest the Sultan's palace was likely near this site.

















Next to the site are nine graves of Brunei nobles from the 15th and 16th centuries. The tombstones were all imported, likely from China.



The paths in Kota Batu Archaeological Park feel like a primitive forest. There were no other tourists, and the mountain trails were often covered by fallen leaves and hidden from view. It is hard to imagine that this was once the capital of Brunei.



















Tomb of the Third Sultan of Brunei

The Kota Batu Archaeological Park contains the tomb of Sharif Ali, the third Sultan of Brunei.

Sultan Sharif Ali (reigned 1425–1432) was originally a missionary from the ancient Saudi city of Taif and a descendant of the Prophet's grandson, Hasan ibn Ali. He arrived in Brunei to preach in 1395 and earned the respect of the Sultan and the people. He married the daughter of Sultan Ahmad around 1400 and inherited the throne after the old Sultan passed away in 1425. This is how the Brunei Sultanate gained its lineage from the Prophet.

Sultan Sharif Ali worked to spread Islamic law while keeping local customs that did not conflict with the faith. During his reign, Brunei officially transitioned from a Hindu-Buddhist cultural zone into a part of Islamic civilization. He built the first mosque in Brunei, designed the national flag, and established the title 'Darussalam' for Brunei. It is believed that he may have also built the stone castle at Kota Batu.



















North of Sultan Sharif Ali's tomb is the grave of Syarif Adam, another sage who came to Brunei with the Sultan to preach. Together, they spread the influence of the faith from Brunei to the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao in the southern Philippines. According to his tombstone, Syarif Adam passed away in 1454.















Tomb of the Brunei Princess

In the center of the old town of Brunei, there is the tomb of Raja Ayang. Legend says Raja Ayang was a royal family member during the reign of Sultan Sulaiman (reigned 1432-1485) of Brunei in the 15th century. Some research suggests she might be Rokayah, the daughter of Sultan Abdul Majid Hassan who passed away in Nanjing.

People say Raja Ayang had an affair with her own brother. Sultan Sulaiman punished them by locking them in a small, man-made cave that only had one air vent connecting to the outside. The Sultan provided them with enough food to live inside the cave. If no cooking smoke rose from the air vent, it meant they had passed away. Later, people built the tomb of Raja Ayang next to the small hill.

The small hill of Raja Ayang's tomb lasted until the 1950s. It was torn down to build a nearby post office and radio station, but the tomb itself was preserved. The inscription is blurry from years of people lighting candles for dua, but you can still see verses and the year 859 in the Islamic calendar (1454 AD), which is likely the date Raja Ayang passed away.













Tomb of the Fifth Sultan of Brunei

South of the Kota Batu Site 1 is the tomb of Sultan Bolkiah (reigned 1485-1524), the fifth Sultan of Brunei. His reign is known as the Golden Age of Brunei history, when the Sultanate of Brunei held power over Borneo and the southern Philippines.

When Ferdinand Magellan's fleet arrived in Brunei in 1521, they witnessed the power of Brunei under Sultan Bolkiah. When they reached the palace, they were shocked by his wealth. A hall reached by wide steps was crowded with courtiers wearing elegant clothes. Through the corridor was a slightly raised room decorated with luxurious silk and brocade curtains, bathed in natural light from wide windows. Three hundred of the Sultan's warriors stood guard there with their daggers drawn. A little further on was a smaller but equally beautiful room, where the muscular forty-year-old monarch sat on a large mat chewing betel nut with his young son beside him.

The tomb of Sultan Bolkiah is tall, majestic, and finely carved. The tombstone consists of eight layers, but only the bottom layer is original. One of the upper stones commemorates Sultan Muhammad Ali, and another commemorates Sultan Abdul Mubin, likely made in the late 17th century. The middle slab records that Sultan Bolkiah passed away on July 17, 1524, and was likely carved in modern times.



















Next to the tomb of Sultan Bolkiah is the tomb of his wife.











Kampong Ayer Water Village

We took a speedboat from the pier on the Brunei River and reached Kampong Ayer on the other side for 1 Brunei dollar each. We first visited the Kampong Ayer Cultural and Tourism Gallery, which has information about the water village, and there is an observation deck next to it for a panoramic view of the village.

Kampung Ayer is the Malay term for water village. It was once the main port of the Sultanate of Brunei and served as its trade hub from the 15th to the 17th century. After the Brunei Civil War in the 18th century, Kota Batu was abandoned, and the water village became the capital of the Sultanate. In 1521, Italian explorer Antonio Pigafetta arrived in Brunei with Magellan's fleet and called Kampung Ayer the Venice of the East. The water village was once massive and even housed the Sultan's palace, but it gradually declined after the British invasion in the 19th century. Since the 20th century, Brunei has encouraged residents of the water village to move to the shore, but many people still choose to stay.



















The two traditional wooden mosques on the water are a major highlight of Brunei. The walls and pillars are made of wood. Once you go inside, the air conditioning is very strong, so you cannot feel the humidity from the water. In recent years, Brunei has built several large concrete mosques on the banks of the water village, and the traditional wooden mosques are becoming fewer.



















The water village has its own scenery, with small restaurants and convenience stores, though it is usually quite quiet. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This second part of the Brunei history and culture journey moves through water village homes, museums, and sites tied to Malay and Muslim life. The article keeps the original place names, photos, and historical details while presenting Brunei in simple English.











Tomb of the 16th Sultan of Brunei

Take a speedboat west from the Brunei River to reach Luba Island, hidden by mangroves. It holds the tomb of the 16th Sultan of Brunei, Hussin Kamaluddin, who reigned from 1710 to 1730 and again from 1737 to 1740. Sultan Hussin Kamaluddin survived the Brunei civil war as a child. He was a pious, studious, and hardworking man. Under his rule, Brunei was prosperous and food was plentiful. Legend says the Sultan liked to fish with locals along the upper banks of the Brunei River, especially near his tomb on Luba Island.



















Old Town of Brunei Town

Until the early 20th century, the capital of Brunei was the water village of Kampong Ayer on the Brunei River. In 1906, British Resident Malcolm MacArthur began guiding residents to settle on land. In 1910, Chinese people first began building shops on the north bank of the Brunei River, and Brunei Town began to take shape. In 1922, the reigning Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam II decided to move his palace inland to Brunei Town. This move encouraged many water village residents to accept resettlement, and the city grew quickly.

In 1945, Brunei Town was almost leveled by Allied bombing, followed by large-scale reconstruction in the 1950s and 1960s. After 1963, economic growth from oil and gas led to a rapid increase in Chinese immigrants to Brunei Town, who opened many shops. In 1970, Brunei Town was officially renamed Bandar Seri Begawan.



















The Sungai Kianggeh River is on the east side of the old town. Residents of Kampong Ayer can boat directly up the river to the Kianggeh market to buy various farm products. This is also one of the resettlement points for water village residents after they come ashore.







The old Royal Ceremonial Hall (Lapau Lama) in the old town was built in 1950. It now displays the scene of the 1959 Brunei Constitution signing, including the original chandeliers, tables, chairs, and the microphone used by the Sultan. Lapau Lama is the oldest concrete building in the old town, with an interior that blends pragmatism and minimalism.













Next to the old Royal Ceremonial Hall is the Royal Regalia Museum. It houses two royal chariots: one used for the Sultan's coronation in 1968 and Queen Elizabeth II's visit in 1972, and another used for the Sultan's 25th anniversary of his coronation in 1992.













The Royal Regalia Museum also displays porcelain vases with Arabic calligraphy collected by the Sultan, as well as stone artifacts with Arabic calligraphy gifted by Saudi Arabia.

















The Brunei International Airport mosque has an imam. It is clean, cool, and bright inside. Everyone performs namaz with great enthusiasm, and the atmosphere is wonderful.













Souvenirs bought at the Brunei airport: paper art of two Brunei national mosques. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Singapore article explains early Malay history and the city connection with regional Muslim trade and settlement. It keeps the original historical facts, names, museum details, and travel observations in clear English.

The Kingdom of Singapore.

On a small path in Fort Canning Park, Singapore, hides the tomb of Sultan Iskandar Shah (Keramat Sultan Iskandar Shah), the legendary last king of Singapore. There is still no final conclusion about the true identity of Iskandar Shah.

According to the Malay Annals (Sejarah Melayu), written during the Malacca Sultanate, Iskandar Shah was originally a prince from Palembang, Srivijaya. He ruled Singapore from 1389 to 1398, fled after an invasion by the Majapahit Empire, and founded the city of Malacca in 1402. Iskandar means Alexander in Persian. Based on his Persian name, people guess he likely converted to Islam, but it is unclear if he converted while in Singapore or Malacca.

The Malay Annals record that to punish one of his concubines for adultery, Iskandar Shah ordered her to be stripped naked in public. To take revenge on the Sultan, the concubine's father secretly sent a message to the Majapahit Empire, promising to support their invasion of Singapore. In 1398, the Majapahit Empire sent a massive fleet of 300 large ships and hundreds of small boats to invade Singapore. The Majapahit army besieged Iskandar Shah's castle for a month but could not break through. Eventually, the concubine's father ordered the city gates to be opened, and the Majapahit army rushed into the castle and slaughtered the people. Iskandar Shah fled to Malacca, where he established the Malacca Sultanate.



The History of Ming (Ming Shi) contains a different record regarding the identity of Iskandar Shah. The entry for Malacca in Volume 325 of the History of Ming records that the Malacca chieftain Parameswara was granted the title of King of Malacca by the Ming Dynasty in the third year of the Yongle reign (1405). After Parameswara died, his son Megat Iskandar Shah traveled to the Ming Dynasty in the twelfth year of the Yongle reign (1414) to receive his title and later frequently sent tribute to the Ming court. Therefore, he should be the second Sultan of the Malacca Sultanate.

When the British landed on Singapore Island in 1819, the island's leader, Temenggong Abdul Rahman, told them that the hill in the dense forest was called Forbidden Hill (Bukit Larangan) and that commoners were not allowed to go up. Local Malays believe that an ancient king of Singapore once built a palace here.

After the British occupied Singapore, they cleared the dense forest on Forbidden Hill and found many brick ruins on the north and east slopes, with the largest area being the platform where the tomb is located. After 1822, more and more people believed this was the tomb of Sultan Iskandar Shah. Since 1984, archaeologists have found thousands of 14th-century artifacts near the tomb, many from China and Java, but unfortunately, no evidence of the tomb owner's identity has been found yet.











The National Museum of Singapore houses 14th-century artifacts unearthed from Forbidden Hill, and the ceramics among them likely came from China's Yuan Dynasty.





A reconstruction by the National Museum of Singapore of Malays living in Singapore during the 14th century.





To commemorate the 14th-century Kingdom of Singapore, Fort Canning Park built a garden on the hillside at the site of the original royal palace, named after Singapore's first king, Sang Nila Utama. The garden was built in the traditional Javanese architectural style of the 14th-century Majapahit Empire, with some inspiration taken from the 14th-15th century Majapahit capital ruins in Trowulan. At the same time, many of the fruit trees and potted plants in the garden were also found in ancient gardens.

According to the Malay Annals, Sang Nila Utama was originally a prince from the city of Palembang in Srivijaya, and he established the earliest settlement of Singapore (Singapura) on Temasek Island in 1299. For many years, the founding of Singapore was just a legend, until the 13th-14th century Singapore settlement was rediscovered during the first archaeological excavation around the tomb of Sultan Iskandar Shah in 1984.

















Temenggong Abdul Rahman

At the foot of Mount Faber in southern Singapore, there is the tomb of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, one of the founders of modern Singapore, and his family.

After the Majapahit Empire destroyed the Kingdom of Singapore in 1398, Singapore was ruled by the Malacca Sultanate in the 15th century and by the Johor Sultanate after the 16th century. In 1603, the Johor Sultanate allied with the Dutch to attack Portuguese ships in Singapore. In retaliation, the Portuguese destroyed the Johor Sultanate's trading settlement at the mouth of the Singapore River in 1613, which directly led to a 200-year period of decline for Singapore.

In 1811, Temenggong Abdul Rahman of the Johor Sultanate moved his family from Riau to Singapore to rule over the Malays and Chinese on the island. On January 29, 1819, an expedition led by Sir Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company landed in Singapore and met with the Temenggong who lived by the Singapore River. With the help of the Temenggong, Sir Stamford Raffles invited Hussein Shah of Johor, who was living in exile in the Riau Islands, to come to Singapore to claim the Sultan's throne.

On February 6, 1819, the Temenggong, Sultan Hussein, and Sir Stamford Raffles signed the Singapore Treaty, which allowed the British East India Company to set up a trading post in the Johor Sultanate. In exchange, the British paid the Temenggong 3,000 Spanish dollars and the Sultan 5,000 Spanish dollars every year. This day is also considered the founding date of modern Singapore.

In 1824, the Temenggong and his family moved to a 200-acre plot of land at the foot of Mount Faber in Singapore, which was assigned to them by Sir Stamford Raffles. Just one year later, the Temenggong passed away at his residence and was buried in a tomb near his home. From then on, this place became the royal burial ground for the Temenggong family. Between 1825 and 1900, 32 members of the Temenggong family were buried there.

Besides Temenggong Abdul Rahman, another important figure in the tomb is his second son, Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. Daeng Ibrahim moved to Singapore with his father in 1811 and succeeded him as Temenggong in 1833. In 1855, the reigning Sultan of Johor signed a treaty with the British in Singapore, agreeing to transfer most of his power to Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. This made Daeng Ibrahim the de facto ruler of Johor, and his son later became the first Sultan of modern Johor.

Today, this tomb is known as Makam Diraja Johor Telok Blangah and remains the property of the Sultan of Johor.





























Next to the Royal Johor Tomb (Makam Diraja Johor Telok Blangah) is the Temenggong Mosque (Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim), which is also owned by the Sultan of Johor. This site was originally a hall attached to the tomb. It was officially converted into a mosque in 1871 and rebuilt into its current structure in 1993 with funding from the Sultan of Johor.









The Sultan of Johor and Kampong Gelam

After Sultan Hussein of Johor, the Temenggong, and Sir Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company signed the Singapore Treaty in 1819, the British began building a colony in Singapore. In 1822, Sir Stamford Raffles formed a committee and officially proposed the Singapore Town Plan, also known as the Raffles Town Plan.

In this plan, Singapore's streets were laid out in a grid, and the area was divided into four main zones: European, Chinese, Indian, and Muslim. Although these four ethnic zones were not strictly enforced during actual construction, the policy of ethnic residential zoning in Singapore did not begin to change until the mid-1960s.

According to Sir Stamford Raffles' plan, Kampong Gelam, located east of the European zone, was allocated to Sultan Hussein of Johor and his family and followers. The Sultan received a large plot of residential land in Kampong Gelam, which he distributed to the Malay people who followed him from places like Malacca, the Riau Islands, and Sumatra, making this Singapore's earliest Muslim district.

Between 1824 and 1826, Sultan Hussein used funds from the British East India Company to build the Sultan Mosque in Kampong Gelam. The original mosque was in a typical traditional Malay style, featuring a single-story brick structure with a two-tiered sloping roof. After the 20th century, the Muslim population in Singapore grew significantly, and the original Sultan Mosque could no longer accommodate everyone. In 1924, the centenary of the mosque's founding, the trustees hired Irish architect Denis Santry to rebuild it. Due to the economic recession following World War I, fundraising continued until 1928. Construction on the mosque began that same year and was officially completed in 1932.

The new Sultan Mosque was built in the Indo-Saracenic style. British architects frequently used this style for public buildings in British India and Malaya during the 19th century, with its most prominent feature being the addition of Mughal-style onion domes to modern structures.



















The center of Kampong Gelam is the palace (Istana) built by Sultan Ali, the eldest son of Sultan Hussein of Johor, between 1836 and 1843. It is now the Malay Heritage Centre. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovations when we visited and will not reopen until 2025.

South of the palace is the Prime Minister's office, built in the 1850s by Tengku Mahmud, the youngest son of Sultan Ali. As an auxiliary building to the palace, it is known as the Yellow Mansion (Gedung Kuning) because its exterior walls are painted yellow. In 1912, a Javanese merchant born in Kampong Gelam named Haji Yusof bought the Yellow Mansion. It was later sold to a Chinese family before being bought back in 1925. From then until 1999, four generations of Haji Yusof's family lived there.

In 1999, the Singapore government bought the yellow mansion, restored it, and opened it as the Malay Heritage Centre. After 2021, it became Permata, a halal buffet restaurant featuring food from the Malay Archipelago. We were short on time and couldn't go in to eat, but we want to try it if we visit Singapore again.







The Malay Royal Cemetery is located in the north of Kampong Glam, where many members of the Johor Sultanate royal family are buried. Sultan Ali opened the cemetery to the public in 1848, and many wealthy Malay merchants are also buried there. At the center of the cemetery is a mound where the relatives of the Johor Sultans are buried, though Sultan Hussein and Sultan Ali are buried in Malacca instead of here. Besides the Johor royal family, the most famous Malay merchant buried in the cemetery is the Bugis businessman Haji Ambok Sooloh Bin Haji Omar. He was an active member of the Singapore Muslim community and helped start the Malay-language newspaper Utusan Melayu.













Hajjah Fatimah Mosque is on the east side of Kampong Glam. It was built with donations from the Malay noblewoman and philanthropist Hajjah Fatimah between 1845 and 1846. Hajjah Fatimah came from a wealthy merchant family in Malacca. After her first marriage ended, she married a Bugis prince who was doing business in Singapore. The prince passed away not long after, so she ran a shipping and sailing trade company in Singapore by herself and became very successful.

Because Hajjah Fatimah had built up so much wealth, her mansion in Kampong Glam became a target for thieves. Her house was broken into twice in the 1830s, and during the second time, the thieves set the house on fire. Grateful that she was not home during the fire, Hajjah Fatimah made a dua to rebuild her house as a mosque and donated money to build homes for the poor on the land next to it.

The current main prayer hall was designed in the 1930s by architects Chung & Wong and rebuilt by the French contractor Bossard & Mopin and Malay workers. Like the Sultan Mosque, it is in the Indo-Saracenic style and features Mughal-style onion domes. The most unique part of the mosque is the European-style minaret at the main gate, with a Neo-Gothic building on each side featuring traditional-style windows.



















To the east of the Kampong Glam palace is the former site of the Al-Ahmadiah Press, established in 1911. It is now the Sultan Hotel, but unfortunately, we did not stay there because the price was quite high. Ahmadiyyah Press was founded by Bugis-Malay nobles from the Riau region, including Raja Haji Ali Bin Raja Muhammad, a member of the Johor Sultanate royal family in the Riau Islands. Along with another publisher called HARMY, they printed many Malay-language books in Jawi script covering religion, language, and literature, and they also launched the first Malay women's magazine after World War II.













As Singapore's trade status grew in the early 20th century, Kampong Glam expanded its shophouses, and more Bugis, Minangkabau, and Javanese people arrived to make a living. Although most of their descendants have blended into the Singaporean Malay community, many of their original cultural traditions remain today. The streets of Kampong Glam feature many murals that show what life was like there a century ago. The first two images show a bird's-eye view comparison of Kampong Glam over the last century, while the others show scenes like eating satay skewers (satay), selling bamboo baskets, wayang shadow puppetry, making tombstones, and crafting songkok caps, with satay and wayang shadow puppetry being Javanese specialties.



















Today, Kampong Glam still has several long-standing Padang rice (Nasi padang) restaurants, which represent the food culture of the Minangkabau people. The Minangkabau are a Malay-speaking group from the Minangkabau Highlands of Sumatra, and they are very closely related to the Malay people. The Minangkabau have always been known for their business skills and are one of the most mobile ethnic groups in Southeast Asia. More than half of the Minangkabau live outside of Sumatra, and many young people leave home in their teens to study or do business, believing that traveling far from home brings not only wealth and knowledge but also prestige and honor.

We visited Warong Nasi Pariaman, a Padang rice restaurant on North Bridge Road in Kampong Glam that opened in 1948. The restaurant was founded by Isrin bin Ibrahim and his wife Rosna binte Zainal Abidin, who came from Pariaman in western Sumatra. They immigrated to Singapore in the 1940s, started by selling Padang rice from a street stall, and rented their current shophouse in 1948, naming the restaurant after their hometown of Pariaman.

We ordered beef rendang (Rendang Kambing), fried fish (Ikan Goreng), boiled eggs in spicy balado sauce (Telur Rebus Balado), grilled chicken (Ayam Bakar), beef spleen (Limpa Lembu), tofu in coconut milk (Tahu Lemak Kachang), and fried mashed potato patties (Perkedel).

Rendang is the most classic Minangkabau dish, made by slowly simmering meat and various spices in coconut milk until all the liquid evaporates and the meat turns dark brown. Rendang originated from North Indian curry, brought to Sumatra by Indian traders in the 15th century, and was later developed by the Minangkabau from a soupy curry into the dry version known as rendang.

Balado is a classic Minangkabau spicy sauce made by stir-frying red chilies and other spices in coconut or palm oil, with added shallots, garlic, tomatoes, and the Southeast Asian specialty kaffir lime (arrow-leaf orange).



















North Bridge Road is the main street in Kampong Glam. Built between 1833 and 1835 and once called the Great Horse Road, it is one of the oldest streets in Singapore. The street is lined with shophouses, including several century-old shops and small boutiques run by young Malay people. It is a great place to explore.



















Stop by the Tarik tea shop next to the Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam for a classic Nanyang pulled tea (Teh Tarik). Local Malay youth really love this shop. Tarik means pull in Malay. To make it, you mix black tea with condensed milk and pour it back and forth between two containers with your arms stretched out. This cools the tea and creates a frothy top.

We also ordered a cup of Milo, which is a chocolate malt powder made by Nestlé. People in Malaysia and Singapore love to sprinkle extra Milo powder on top of iced Milo, which they call a Milo Dinosaur. view all