The Road to Brunei

Trip Summary

• February 12: Ho Chi Minh City – Kuala Lumpur (Flight)
• February 15: Kuala Lumpur – Kuching (Flight)
• February 17: Kuching – Miri (Flight); Miri – Brunei (Car)

Today’s Story Is Short But Worth A Tell. You’ll Get A Sense Of How I Made It To Brunei Without Flying Straight There.

The Route

From Vietnam To Brunei On Budget Airlines Like AirAsia, You’ll Need Two Flights:

• Via Malaysia: Ho Chi Minh City – Kuala Lumpur – Brunei (AirAsia’s Go-To Cheap Route). Time It Right, And You Can Snag A Round Trip—Ho Chi Minh – KL – Brunei – KL – Ho Chi Minh—For About 120-160 USD.
• Via Thailand: Ho Chi Minh City – Bangkok – Brunei. Pick This To Mix In Some Thailand Travel Or Shopping. It Might Cost More Since Bangkok-To-Brunei Fares Are Pricier, But Ho Chi Minh-To-Bangkok Is Often Super Cheap. Luck Of The Draw—Book Whichever’s Cheaper When You’re Ready. Cool?

If You’re Up For Exploring Like Me, Start With A Flight From Ho Chi Minh To Kuala Lumpur. Then You’ve Got Options:

• From Kuala Lumpur, Fly To Any East Malaysian Spot Like Kuching, Sibu, Miri, Or Kota Kinabalu.
• Next Steps:
  • Kota Kinabalu: Tricky. You’ll Need A Car And Face 5-6 Border Crossings Between Malaysia And Brunei—The Land Border Zigzags Like Crazy. A Friend Of Mine Did It With Their Own Car; Took 6-8 Hours. Way Too Long!
  • Other East Malaysia Spots (Kuching, Sibu, Miri): Simpler. Get To Miri First, Then A Car Takes You Straight To Brunei With One Border Stop. About 3-4 Hours—Easy Peasy. Want To Try This? Check My Post For The Details.

Back To My Story

This Morning, My Host Left For Work Early, So I Hitched A Ride To The Airport At 8 A.M., Even Though My Flight Wasn’t Till 1 P.M. The Wait Dragged, But I Was Restless. In Miri, I Hadn’t Locked Down A Couchsurfing Host Yet, And The Future Felt Hazy. There’s Even Less Online Info About Miri Than Kuching—Barely Enough To Scribble A Travel Note.

So Why Fly Straight To Miri? It’s East Malaysia’s Top Party City. Why? I’ll Spill That When I Swing Back From Brunei In 5-6 Days, Okay? Another Reason: It’s The Closest Hop To Brunei. If I Couldn’t Crash In Miri, I’d Hitch A Ride Or Taxi Into Town, Then Grab A Bus To Brunei. After Tons Of Digging, I Found A Facebook Note From A Friend Who’d Done Miri To Brunei. She Swore There’s A Bus—About 2 Trips A Day—But Couldn’t Recall The Schedule. That’s All I Had, And I Still Went For It.

Tip

Want Solid Info? Hit Your Gate An Hour Early And Start Chatting.

That’s How I Got More Scoop And Saved Cash. You Never Know What’ll Pop Up. I Snagged An Empty Seat At My Gate And Struck Up A Convo With The Guy Next To Me. I Was Hoping For Backpackers Or Cool Young Folks—Nada. Mostly Old Folks And Workers Flying Kuching To Miri. Ended Up Beside An Older, Skinny, Dark-Skinned Guy Who Looked Like A Laborer. After Some Shaky Small Talk, He Said He Was Brunei-Bound. Jackpot! I Begged To Tag Along, Haha. He Said He’d Call His Buddy To Check For Space—12 USD (50 RM) If I Was In. I Said Yes, Knowing Brunei-To-Miri Used To Be 13.50 USD (18 Brunei Dollars), Though That’s Old News.

At Miri Airport, I Trailed Him, Super Nervous. Was Trusting This Dude Smart? Would I Even Crash In Brunei With The Friends I’d Lined Up?

I Kept My 3G On, Praying My Phone Wouldn’t Die—My Power Bank Had One Charge Left. I’d Only Have 3G In Malaysia; In Brunei, I’d Be Mostly Off-Grid. Haha.

In The Car, I Was With Seemingly Nice Folks, All Speaking Chinese—Laborers Heading To Brunei For Work. No Malay Chatter, And Chinese Speakers Spook Me A Bit, So I Posted A Quick Facebook Status About The Ride—Just In Case Something Went Down, Folks Could Track Me. Better Safe Than Sorry! Kept Messaging My Brunei Host And Malaysian Friends, Feeding Them Details.

GPS Showed We Were On Track, And Soon We Hit The Malaysia-Brunei Border.

Brunei Immigration

Southeast Asians Like Vietnamese Can Hit Brunei Visa-Free For Up To 14 Days. I’d Heard Brunei Customs Can Be Tough—Lots Of Questions, And Fumbling Could Spell Trouble—So I Prepped My Host’s Phone Number And Address.

But At The Border? Nada. The Driver Took My Passport, Handled Everything—I Breezed Into Brunei Without Seeing An Officer. It Was Drizzling, But I Stayed Dry, Chilling In The Car. At First, I Freaked—What’s He Doing With My Passport? I Wanted To Chat With Customs Myself! But When It Came Back, It Was All Done. We Zoomed Through. Later, Someone Said These Shuttles Are A Service—Transport And Passport Stuff For Workers. Big Buses Make You Get Off And Stamp At The Checkpoint, But I Didn’t Spot Any That Day.

In Brunei, I Cheered Inside. Phone Lost Signal—Just Me, The Shuttle, And Brunei Now.

Brunei Greeted Me With Lush Green Forests. Houses Were Massive, Built Malaysian-Style, Like Vietnam’s Stilt Houses. Some Modern Concrete Ones Popped Up, All Identical, Clustered In Neat Groups. Roads Were Wide, Smooth—Cars Glided Without A Bump. My First Take On Brunei: A Mix Of Nerves, Caution, And Excitement At Pulling It Off—Though Luck Played A Big Part.

At The Brunei Bus Station, The Driver Even Called My Friend To Pick Me Up—Super Helpful. Finally, I Had A Tasty Dinner And Swapped Stories With Friends At The University Of Brunei Darussalam (UBD). It Was The Kickoff To An Unforgettable Brunei Adventure.