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connecting villages, via a series of wooden walkways and bridges. You'll find mosques, craft workshops, fire stations, schools and clinics – plus a new gallery that covers the neighbourhood's heritage in brass, silver and wood-fuelled arts and crafts. Don't worry if you get lost at any stage. The locals, I found, speak decent English thanks to Brunei being a British protectorate from 1888 to 1984. I was invited into a few homes for tea and biscuits, and while in many countries I would have been wary of being stung with a big bill afterwards, in Brunei, the people seemed, by and large, genuinely welcoming and honest. According to the United Nations, Bruneians have some of the best standards of living in the region, with the country's oil wealth helping to fund free education and healthcare. Government subsidies mean petrol costs around 30 cents a litre. Still, if you accept an offer of tea, a small donation – say a dollar or two – will be appreciated. Although influences from its old master shine through – in the colonial-style buildings peppered throughout the country, the British education and legal systems, and cars driving on the left-hand side of the road – Brunei is now an absolute monarchy, with its 29th sultan at the helm. Haji Sir Hassanal Bolkiah is said to be part of a dynasty that claims direct descent from the prophet Muhammad. Most of the year, the closest you'll get to royalty is a visit to the Royal Regalia Museum, which is chock-a-block with glittering regal treasures, including the chariot that carried Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah through Bandar's streets after his ascension to the throne in 1968. However, my visit to Brunei coincided with Hari Raya, a festival that follows Ramadan, and in what was a memorable, though fleeting and slightly surreal experience, I shook hands with the Sultan. For three days each year during Hari Raya, the Sultan opens up the Istana Nural Iman, his grandiose royal palace. He provides a free Malay-flavoured buffet for all comers (I snaffled lemon-coated prawns, shrimp balls, beef satay and chicken nuggets). Male visitors then queue to meet His Majesty and the princes, including eccentric playboy Prince Jefri. Females, meanwhile, are ushered towards the Sultan's Queen and his glamorous princesses. Everyone is given a gift to take away – I left clutching a cake and a greeting card. travel&living 89 OPPOSITE TOP Strewn with marble and blessed with an array of gilded flourishes, the ostentatious Jame'Asr Hassanil Mosque was built in 1984 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the current Sultan of Brunei. It's one of two magnificent – and eye-catching – mosques in Bandar Seri Begawan, and is considered one of Asia's greatest pieces of Islamic architecture. OPPOSITE BOTTOM Children frolic in the waters of Temburong, the smaller, eastern slice of Brunei, which is split from Bandar, and the country's more populated western part by Malaysia's state of Sarawak. ABOVE While Brunei's rich wildlife makes it a feast for nature lovers, the country's people are also worth getting to know. Affable and welcoming, they generally speak a good level of English – a legacy of Brunei's time as a British colony.