Brunei - Borneo
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- 2000+ Posts! Aghh I Have No Mates
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Brunei - Borneo
Has anyone lived in Brunei? What is it like ?
Just like to get the REAL side of the place. Private parties with alcohol etc...
Social side etc...
Just like to get the REAL side of the place. Private parties with alcohol etc...
Social side etc...
Nothing but an opinionated tourist. The Pope spends more time in countries than I do ! It is also not my place to comment on a gentleman's dress. A real 23 minute wonder, that obviously knows little about ovens and cooking in Cambodia.
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- Making Khmer girls cry since 2003
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I spent 48 hours there once. It felt like an eternity. Most boring country on earth.
Follow my lame Twitter feed: @gavin_mac
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- 2000+ Posts! Aghh I Have No Mates
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gavinmac wrote:I spent 48 hours there once. It felt like an eternity. Most boring country on earth.
It does seem a very quiet place with no pubs or bars and little entertainment. Strict (expat) only laws on alcohol. That said, the standard of living in other respects is very high and it is the only country in the world ( at the last count, that has got a national debt of 0%.
Lots of pro's n Con's , it will be nice if others have some first hand knowledge too
Nothing but an opinionated tourist. The Pope spends more time in countries than I do ! It is also not my place to comment on a gentleman's dress. A real 23 minute wonder, that obviously knows little about ovens and cooking in Cambodia.
- Barang_doa_slae
- cannonballer
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Get a local Gf, Brunei citizens instead of paying income taxes get about 30k$ every year from the government.
I suspect the cost of living to be unbearable...
I suspect the cost of living to be unbearable...
- zehner
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I've been living in Brunei for nearly 4 years now.
Expats can bring in their quota of alcohol every 2 days...that's 12 beers and 2 bottles of wine or spirit. If you don't want to go over the border you can call a "milkman" who will deliver what you want to your doorstep (for a premium)
If you want to get wasted most people go over the border to Kuala Lurah. It's about a 30 minute drive from BSB. You'll find the usual Chinese-run bare concrete, plastic chair experience. Booze is very cheap as it's from duty-free Labuan. Kota Kinabalu is about a 4 hour drive from there. Many people go the other direction to Miri, about a 2.5 hour drive away, if they want to stay in a nice hotel and have some fun.
Standard of living is high. Most families I know have 2 cars, a full-time maid and a big detached house with garden. There are 2 good international schools, ISB and JIS. Most companies pay 75% - 100% of the fees.
The majority of locals are very friendly and can speak English quite well.
There are plenty of supermarkets which stock western produce. The prices aren't too steep. Pork is available in the non-halal sections.
Expats can bring in their quota of alcohol every 2 days...that's 12 beers and 2 bottles of wine or spirit. If you don't want to go over the border you can call a "milkman" who will deliver what you want to your doorstep (for a premium)
If you want to get wasted most people go over the border to Kuala Lurah. It's about a 30 minute drive from BSB. You'll find the usual Chinese-run bare concrete, plastic chair experience. Booze is very cheap as it's from duty-free Labuan. Kota Kinabalu is about a 4 hour drive from there. Many people go the other direction to Miri, about a 2.5 hour drive away, if they want to stay in a nice hotel and have some fun.
Standard of living is high. Most families I know have 2 cars, a full-time maid and a big detached house with garden. There are 2 good international schools, ISB and JIS. Most companies pay 75% - 100% of the fees.
The majority of locals are very friendly and can speak English quite well.
There are plenty of supermarkets which stock western produce. The prices aren't too steep. Pork is available in the non-halal sections.
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- 2000+ Posts! Aghh I Have No Mates
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Thanks Zehner, great info , especially the Milkman, lolzehner wrote:I've been living in Brunei for nearly 4 years now.
Expats can bring in their quota of alcohol every 2 days...that's 12 beers and 2 bottles of wine or spirit. If you don't want to go over the border you can call a "milkman" who will deliver what you want to your doorstep (for a premium)
If you want to get wasted most people go over the border to Kuala Lurah. It's about a 30 minute drive from BSB. You'll find the usual Chinese-run bare concrete, plastic chair experience. Booze is very cheap as it's from duty-free Labuan. Kota Kinabalu is about a 4 hour drive from there. Many people go the other direction to Miri, about a 2.5 hour drive away, if they want to stay in a nice hotel and have some fun.
Standard of living is high. Most families I know have 2 cars, a full-time maid and a big detached house with garden. There are 2 good international schools, ISB and JIS. Most companies pay 75% - 100% of the fees.
The majority of locals are very friendly and can speak English quite well.
There are plenty of supermarkets which stock western produce. The prices aren't too steep. Pork is available in the non-halal sections.
Nothing but an opinionated tourist. The Pope spends more time in countries than I do ! It is also not my place to comment on a gentleman's dress. A real 23 minute wonder, that obviously knows little about ovens and cooking in Cambodia.
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- 2000+ Posts! Aghh I Have No Mates
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Is wine making is beer brewing (home brew) allowed or is it going on but under ground ? penalties?
As a lazy, single man, would it be appropriate to have a live in maid or handyman ( shopping, cleaning, washing, gardening etc...) or would this be culturally taboo, as I am single?
Is there a good dinner party circuit ?
What do folk do, when not working ? or is that all over the border?
Thanks for your advice
As a lazy, single man, would it be appropriate to have a live in maid or handyman ( shopping, cleaning, washing, gardening etc...) or would this be culturally taboo, as I am single?
Is there a good dinner party circuit ?
What do folk do, when not working ? or is that all over the border?
Thanks for your advice
Nothing but an opinionated tourist. The Pope spends more time in countries than I do ! It is also not my place to comment on a gentleman's dress. A real 23 minute wonder, that obviously knows little about ovens and cooking in Cambodia.
- zehner
- I live above an internet cafe
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Nobody bothers with homebrew as you can just pop over the border to get the real stuff whenever you like. A friend of mine made some Cider homebrew a couple of times but it seems to much hassle to me.
Most expats have a filipino or indonesian maid. It doesn't matter if you are single or not. Non-muslims cannot hire a muslim maid. Monthly wage for the maid would be around $500.
I don't really know about dinner-parties as I don't go for that sort of thing. Mostly just call over to a friends house for a few beers or go over the border if we have a day off.
The Hash (walking in the jungle) is very popular here. There are about 5 chapters and beers are available afterwards at all of them. Lots of swimming pools, football fields, tennis courts, badminton, cycling.....playgrounds for the kids.
Most expats have a filipino or indonesian maid. It doesn't matter if you are single or not. Non-muslims cannot hire a muslim maid. Monthly wage for the maid would be around $500.
I don't really know about dinner-parties as I don't go for that sort of thing. Mostly just call over to a friends house for a few beers or go over the border if we have a day off.
The Hash (walking in the jungle) is very popular here. There are about 5 chapters and beers are available afterwards at all of them. Lots of swimming pools, football fields, tennis courts, badminton, cycling.....playgrounds for the kids.
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- 2000+ Posts! Aghh I Have No Mates
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Not allot known about life for ex-pats in Borneo then
Nothing but an opinionated tourist. The Pope spends more time in countries than I do ! It is also not my place to comment on a gentleman's dress. A real 23 minute wonder, that obviously knows little about ovens and cooking in Cambodia.
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I retract what I said about Brunei being the most boring country on earth.
Follow my lame Twitter feed: @gavin_mac
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- 2000+ Posts! Aghh I Have No Mates
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You retract it ? you found somewhere else ?gavinmac wrote:I retract what I said about Brunei being the most boring country on earth.
Nothing but an opinionated tourist. The Pope spends more time in countries than I do ! It is also not my place to comment on a gentleman's dress. A real 23 minute wonder, that obviously knows little about ovens and cooking in Cambodia.
Gilligan's Island.EdinWigan wrote:You retract it ? you found somewhere else ?gavinmac wrote:I retract what I said about Brunei being the most boring country on earth.
- zehner
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Borneo is a very different buzz to the rest of SEA. Most of it is sparsely populated and massive sections have no road connections....apart from the ubiquitous logging roads. The ethnic mix is very apparent with Malay, Chinese living alongside the native Dayak people (Iban, Penan, Kayan, Kelabit, Bidayuh etc.)EdinWigan wrote:Not allot known about life for ex-pats in Borneo then
You have Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan in the Malaysian territory. Kalimantan in Indonesian territory and Brunei with the two separate "fingers" surrounded by Sarawak.
I'm in Kuching at the moment. It's the largest city in Borneo but still feels like a small town compared to Bangkok.
I've lived in Cambodia and Thailand (about 6 years total).....don't really see much difference apart from not being able to go a "legal" pub in Brunei or worrying about getting shot by some shithead in a Lexus (bullets and guns are banned in Brunei too )