Kampong Ayer (Water Village) | Bandar Seri Begawan

Kampong Ayer (Water Village) – Living Heritage on the Brunei River

Rising gently on stilts above the Brunei River, Kampong Ayer feels less like a relic of the past and more like a living, breathing town that simply chose water as its foundation. Often called the “Venice of the East,” this vast water settlement stretches for kilometers along the river’s bends, its wooden walkways creaking softly as residents move between homes, mosques, shops, and schools. From the riverbanks of Bandar Seri Begawan, the village appears almost weightless in the morning mist, house rooftops floating above the slow-moving brown water.

A Village with Five Centuries of Continuity

Kampong Ayer’s roots reach back over 500 years, making it one of the world’s longest continually inhabited water settlements. Long before modern roads and concrete embankments shaped Brunei’s capital, this village served as the heart of the kingdom’s political, commercial, and social life. Early European visitors described it as an entire city on water, with traders, fishermen, nobles, and royal courtiers all sharing the same river network.

What makes Kampong Ayer remarkable is not just its age, but its uninterrupted role as a real neighborhood. Families have remained for generations, passing down homes, jetties, and even specific mooring spots for boats. Despite modernization on land, this floating town continues to function as an independent urban system.

Daily Life on the Water

Life here moves to the rhythm of water traffic rather than road traffic. Water taxis zip between districts, their engines humming steadily as they leave gentle wakes behind. Children in school uniforms step carefully along wooden walkways. Elderly residents sit on shaded verandas with cups of tea, watching boats glide past like passing cars.

Basic services are fully integrated into the village. There are mosques with loudspeakers carrying the call to prayer across the river, a fire station built on stilts for rapid response, a police post, clinics, schools, and even small grocery shops balanced above the water. At low tide, you glimpse the dark, barnacle-marked stilts below the homes. At high tide, the river laps against doorstep ladders.

The air smells faintly of river water, wood, cooking rice, and diesel engines. Some afternoons are almost silent except for birds and the splash of oars. Other times, the village buzzes with layered sound - engines, voices, children laughing, and the distant echoes of the city beyond the river.

Architecture and Floating Neighborhoods

Kampong Ayer is not one single village but a network of linked settlements, each with its own character. Homes range from older wooden structures with hand-carved railings to modern concrete houses painted in soft blues, greens, and creams. Narrow walkways connect everything, sometimes barely wide enough for two people to pass comfortably.

Small details define the scene: flower pots balanced on verandas, laundry drying above the water, fishing nets coiled neatly beside doorsteps. At night, scattered lights from hundreds of houses reflect on the river, creating a quiet mosaic that feels both intimate and endless.

A few homes are open to visitors, offering brief looks into traditional interiors, where woven mats cover the floors and low tables hold tea cups and local snacks. The blend of old craftsmanship and modern adaptation gives the village its gentle, evolving character.

Visitor Experience and River Perspectives

Most visitors arrive by water taxi, which instantly becomes part of the experience. As the boat cuts across the river, Kampong Ayer slowly unfolds - wooden piers, passing boats, families chatting on verandas, fishermen adjusting nets. From the water, the scale of the settlement becomes clear. It is not a small cluster of houses but an entire urban landscape afloat.

Walking inside the village feels different from walking on land. The slight spring of the wooden boards underfoot, the constant proximity to water, and the steady hum of river life create a uniquely immersive atmosphere. There is no formal entrance gate, no ticket booth, no staged performance. What visitors see is everyday life, unfolding naturally.

Cultural Meaning and Quiet Resilience

For Brunei, Kampong Ayer is more than a scenic attraction. It represents continuity, adaptability, and identity. While many residents now choose to live on land, those who stay often do so out of deep emotional attachment rather than necessity. The village survives not through nostalgia, but through practical modern upgrades combined with tradition.

What stays with many visitors is not a single landmark, but a mood: the slow pace of river movement, the balance between old and new, and the sense that this is not a museum but a living place. Standing on a narrow walkway as a water taxi passes inches below, it becomes clear that Kampong Ayer is not simply built on water - it is shaped by it, day after quiet day.