Brunei

Brunei is a tiny parliamentary sultanate on the island of Borneo, surrounded and in one place divided by Malaysia. Almost half of its population of 400,000 people lives in the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan, with the rest scattered across a territory slightly smaller than Delaware. The palace of Sultan Hassanal Bokiah, whose family has ruled Brunei for over six centuries, is arguably the largest residential palace in the world, and the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is widely regarded to be one of the most spectacular mosques in Southeast Asia. Visitors to the capital can also take a water taxi to the village of Kampong Ayer, which is situated in the middle of the Brunei River. Outside the city, the countryside includes tropical rainforest with many plant and animal species not found anywhere else in the world.

Language: Malay     Currency: Brunei dollar