The tiny Islamic sultanate of Brunei, located between Sabah and Sarawak, is one of the smallest countries in the world. Our seven day Brunei tour begins in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB), where there are impressive mosques, excellent museums, and sprawling stilt villages. We also include a steamboat dinner with views of the illuminated golden-domed Omar Ali Saifudien Mosque and Brunei by night. We travel by speedboat, overland and by longboat to Ulu Temburong National Park where we enjoy a night walk, canopy walk, and a trek to Sg Apan waterfall where you can swim. Back in Bandar Seri Begawan we take a Proboscis Monkey Tour, a leisurely cruise through the mangroves in search of wild Proboscis monkeys. Our Brunei tour ends with two nights at one of the finest resort hotels in Brunei by the South China Sea, with pools, water sports, golf, spas and more available! 

Brunei – Heritage Tour, Stilted Village.  After breakfast in the morning, pickup from the hotel is at 09:00hrs in the morning for the Brunei City tour. This full day heritage tour of Brunei includes the open markets, a busy place where locals buy their daily products, some ‘ready to eat’ food, handicrafts, local herbs and medicinal plants.

The Malay Technology Museum has galleries on the Malays, ethnic tribes and their lifestyles. The Brunei Museum comprises of 6 galleries - Unique and priceless collection of Islamic arts, Malay lifestyle and wedding ceremonies, Oil and Gas, Natural history museum, Royal lineage, and Shipwreck treasure discovery.

Lunch will be at a local restaurant in town.

In the afternoon, we continue our heritage tour to the Jame Asr’ Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. This is one of the most magnificent mosques in Asia with 29 golden domes. Then it is on to the Royal Regalia Building, which was completed in 1992 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. It is filled with pictures of the Crown Prince, the full Royal regalia used during the Coronation, the Crown, the replica of the throne room, and numerous gifts from the state dignitaries.

We proceed to a boat ride to Kampung Ayer stilted village, and visit a house, where you can see the lifestyle of the locals. You will also have the opportunity to get souvenirs, as we will stop by a shopping complex.

Lastly, a glimpse of the Istana Nurul Iman - this is the largest residential palace in the world, and it is situated on top of a hill overlooking the capital and the Brunei River. We transfer back to hotel and the rest for the day is at leisure. (B,L)

Please Note: The Mosque is closed every Thursday, Friday and also on Brunei Religious holidays.

Ulu Temburong National Park.  The morning call will be at 4.30am and after a quick cup of tea/coffee, we proceed to the canopy walk for the sunrise view that literally takes your breath away. When the morning mist lifts you will see birds flying out to feed, hornbills soaring against the skyline and hear gibbons calling across the treetops.

After that, we return to the cafe for breakfast and proceed for a wet slippery trek to Sg Apan waterfall. Once there, you can relax and swim in the waterfall. We walk back to the chalets to clean up and rest and check out.

We return downstream to Batang Duri and continue to Bangar for the speedboat back to BSB. Here transfer back to the hotel. (B,L)

Brunei - Empire Town & Country Club.  Breakfast is included, and the whole day is free at leisure. You can either relax at the resort, take optional tours or explore the town further on your own. (B)

The Empire Hotel & Country Club

Muara-Tutong Highway

Jerudong BG3122

Brunei Darussalam

Tel: + 673 241 8888

Fax: + 673 241 8999

The Pre-Departure meeting is held at 5.30pm THE DAY of the scheduled departure date. The pre-departure meeting is held to discuss the tour itinerary in more detail, meet your crew and fellow passengers.

In each departure city we have named a joining hotel from where the tour will leave. It is your responsibility to make your way to this hotel. 

PLEASE ADVISE KUMUKA OR YOUR AGENT IF YOU WILL BE ARRIVING LATE AND ARE THEREFORE UNABLE TO ATTEND THE PRE-DEPARTURE MEETING.

In addition the Local Guide will check that all passengers have the necessary travel documents, insurance and immunization certificates for the tour. It is IMPORTANT that you attend this meeting. Please advise KUMUKA or your AGENT if you CANNOT attend this meeting.

All passengers MUST bring:

1. Passport.

2. Vaccination Certificate.

3. Travel Voucher.

4. Travel Insurance Policy.

In most of the hotels in Asia you may be required to deposit your passport at Reception. This is a perfectly normal practice and nothing to be concerned about. Just make sure that you retrieve it before when you check out of the hotel.

Your passport is a valuable document and you should exercise extreme care in keeping it safe. We recommend that you keep your passport on you at all times, preferably in a money belt that is worn under your clothing. We advise that you take copies of relevant pages in your passport and any visas that you may purchase in case of loss or damage. Your tour leader will require your passport details at the pre-departure meeting. Again, we recommend that you have a photocopy of all passport details, kept separate. Your passport must be valid for six months after the END of your tour, and must have one blank page for each country to be visited.

For detailed climate information see www.kumuka.com

Travel Tip: Always bring a lightweight, waterproof jacket and/or an umbrella even during the height of summer - this should prepare you for anything!

You might like to read up on the destinations that you are about to visit as these cities all have interesting sites and histories. We recommend a variety of guidebooks such as Lonely Planet, The Rough Guide and Insight Guides. All these publications have good general information as well as more specific country information that will help orientate you in the countries you visit.

Please use your discretion and be sensitive to cultural differences in the countries that you visit, in particular visits to religious buildings and when taking photographs. Your Tour Leader will advise you of any specific customs to observe.

Dress discretely, especially if you are visiting religious sites. For women this means skirts or long pants with T-shirt. For men, this means long shorts or trousers with a T-shirt. Always take your shoes off when entering temples or any religious site.

Borneo (Malaysia) is a Muslim country and local sensibilities should be respected. In the towns and cities baggy shorts are acceptable. When visiting local villages and long houses women must wear non-figure hugging tops and trousers.

Care should be taken to respect the conventions of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and other religious and ethnic groups, particularly in respect of clothing and footwear.

We suggest that you take into account the time of year you will be travelling, and pack accordingly to the season. Quick drying clothes are recommended, and at many hotels there are laundry facilities. Your tour leader will advise where laundry facilities are available.

Personal Effects:
Camera & film, Spare passport photos, Water bottle, Money belt, Torch, Sewing kit, Sunhat/ Sunglasses, Music cassettes /CDs, Books, Wet Ones, Soap to wash clothes, Writing materials, Swiss Army knife, Calculator, Personal toiletries, including tampons, Contraceptives, Insect Repellent, Sunscreen.

NOTE: If you wear glasses, it is advisable to bring a spare pair since opticians are uncommon. If you wear contact lenses you may find that climatic changes and dust can create visual irritation, therefore, it is advisable to bring a pair of glasses.

Malaysia is a multicultural society, with Malays, Chinese and Indians living side by side. The Malays are the largest community. They are Muslims, speak Bahasa and are largely responsible for the political fortunes of the country. The Chinese comprise about a third of the population. They are Buddhists and Taoists, speak Hokkein, Hakka and Cantonese, and are dominant in the business community. The Indians account for about 10% of the population and they are mainly Hindu Tamils from southern India, they speak Tamil, Malayalam, and some Hindi, and live mainly in the larger towns on the west coast of the peninsula. There is also a sizeable Sikh community. Eurasians and indigenous tribes make up the remaining population. Despite Bahasa Malaysia being the official language, when members of these different communities talk to each other, they generally speak English, which was recently reinstated as the language of instruction in higher education.

This language can be difficult for foreigners to grasp.  The same word can have 6 different meanings depending on the tone used to pronounce it.  However, we do try and encourage people to speak a few words of the local language, as the Malaysians will really appreciate the effort!  English is spoken in some of the places that we visit.

English will be spoken in the larger cities. You might like to take the time before your trip to read up on Malaysia and perhaps learn a few words of the language. Your effort will always be welcomed and it will make your trip all the more enjoyable.

Food is one of the highlights of any trip.

As in many South East Asian countries, rice is the staple food diet. This usually served with dried, salted fish, chicken, beef or pork.

It's not easy to find authentic Malay food in Malaysian restaurants, though you can take your pick of Chinese, Nyonya (a local variation on Chinese and Malay food - Chinese ingredients, local spices), Indian, Indonesian or (sometimes) Western cuisines. Satays (meat kebabs in spicy peanut sauce) are a Malaysian creation and they're found everywhere. Other dishes include fried soybean curd in peanut sauce, sour tamarind fish curry, fiery curry prawns and spiced curried meat in coconut marinade. Muslim Indian dishes have developed a distinctly Malaysian style. The variety of wonderful tropical fruits and fruit juices available is huge, and a strange sweet concoction includes endol (sugar syrup, coconut milk and green noodles) and is kacang (beans and jellies topped with shaved ice, syrups and condensed milk).

Vegetarians or those with special dietary needs can also be catered for however in some countries the type of food may be limited. Please let the Reservations team know your special requirements as soon as possible so we can do all possible to assist your needs.

The variety of food will differ, as you will be visiting a number of different countries. We try to ensure that you get the most experience from your Kumuka trip and one of the ways to do this is by trying local cuisine.

Pre-booked transfers - If you have booked an arrival transfer, please look for our representative who will be holding a sign with your name or Kumuka once you have cleared Customs and Immigration.

Making Your Own Way - The Meeting Point for your tour is advised at the beginning of this dossier. If you have not arranged for us to meet and transfer you on arrival and are therefore making your own way to the Meeting Point it is best upon arrival at to take a metered taxi. Drivers may want to negotiate a price before leaving the airport. Do not agree to this, insist that they switch on the meters and pay the amount that it displays when you arrive at your destination.

Under no circumstances are any illegal drugs allowed on any part of the trip. Anyone discovered in possession of any such drugs, will be asked to leave the tour immediately without question or refund.

Whilst on tour you will probably want to stay in touch with family and friends. There are several ways of doing this:

Mobile Phone – Before departing your home country check with your phone supplier to see if it compatible with the mobile phone networks in the countries that you are traveling to, and how much will it cost to use abroad.

Email – Internet Cafes are very cheap and popular, and you are sure to come across several during your tour. If you haven’t done so already, set up a free Google Mail, Hotmail, or Yahoo email account which you can then access from any computer. Internet Cafes will charge a nominal fee for using their computers. Within Europe some hotels charge a wifi connection fee and we cannot guarantee a wifi connection at all hotels we use.

Twitter – A method of communication that is rapidly gaining in popularity on the Internet especially amongst travelers. Twitter allows you to send short messages and update your friends and family with where you are on tour and what you are doing. Create your free account at http://twitter.com. Visit Kumuka’s page on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kumuka

Facebook – Very popular website that allows you to upload stories, get in touch with fellow travellers before and after your Kumuka tour, upload photos and videos to share with other travellers, your family and friends. To create a free account, go to www.facebook.com and then become a fan of Kumuka’s Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kumuka-Worldwide/26617121087?ref=ts

Postcards – The good ol’ fashioned postcard. But you will probably get home before the postcard does!

KUMUKA WORLDWIDE

UK OFFICE

Hillswood Business Park
3000 Hillswood Drive Chertsey KT16 0RS
Tel: 020 7937 8855 Fax: 020 7937 6664
Email: sales@kumuka.com
www.kumuka.com

AUSTRALIAN OFFICE