Stores, Malls or Markets in Brunei

The largest shopping mall in Brunei is the majestic Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex in the capital. This is a breathtaking piece of architecture with ample parking for visitors and houses a wide array of upmarket boutiques and shops.

The biggest mall in Brunei, but, virtually nothing BIG to offer.

There are shops, both native products or handicrafts and electronics, toys stores, groceries.

Designers stuff is not a pop-culture in Brunei so you won't find much.

Even if there's not much to buy here, you can still enjoy the amenities - there are good restaurants and fastfood chains, coffeeshops - and the Kampong Ayer and the huge mosque are around the mall.

There are times that you're the only person walking along the collonaded walkways featuring a majestic view of the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque.

There is one shopping mall in the capital. It looks fantastic, glitzy. But the shops inside are nothing special and there is not much to do. But since you are in the city, it doesn't hurt looking around there. In the basement they have a good supermarket where you can buy lots of goodies. In the departmentstore in the mall you can buy some souvenirs, etc.

On Fridays, among the stores within the Tamu markets in the Brunei Capital (opposite the Brunei Hotel) and Chinese temple, you will find a little store that sells old Bruneian antiques such as coins and bronze cannons. Worth a visit if you happen to be there on the day.

If you are craving for an airconditioned shopping experience, go to Yayasan (in Bandar) or The Mall (the Gadong commercial district, 10-15 mins away).

The Mall also has cheap movies for around B$3.50 pp.

Most shops/super markets hold a vast quantity if foreign goods, including luxury goods. I went into one Bandar Seri Begawan supermarket where just about everything was Swedish. I found very little that could be called local goods. The closest would be Malaysian longyis.

What to buy: A very boring place for buying mementos or any thing local to bring home. It is a bit like Kuwait - the locals go overseas to buy cutlery and fridges and generally seem bored with what is the original homegrown material culture.

Some really cheap designer clothes esp jeans and shirts, good quality (same as western clothes).

What to buy: I paid 40 BND for a pair of Diesel jeans! Still going strong today! I bought quite a few nice shirts as well and a very cheap pair of Camel pants.

What to pay: More exspenive then MBK but quality is very good!

This departemtn store sells certain interesting and expensive products such as crystals and italian indoor fountains. It shows how wealth this country is. Remember this is a "NO Pic" sign in those areas as I believe visitors would like to capture such expensive items in their camera.