Bandar Seri Begawan in 3 days

Ulu Temburong National Park (the "Heart of Borneo" — the 500 km² national park in the Temburong District of Brunei: accessible only by speedboat from Bandar Seri Begawan: the journey from the capital involves two legs (the fast speedboat through the Brunei estuary mangroves to Bangar (the Temburong district capital), then a longboat up the Temburong River through the pristine lowland dipterocarp rainforest to the park headquarters): the most pristine rainforest accessible as a day trip from any Asian capital city — the Temburong rainforest has never been logged and has been under royal protection since the Brunei Sultanate designated it as a protected forest reserve in the early 20th century): the canopy walkway (the aluminum walkway suspended between the emergent trees at 50m above the rainforest floor — the canopy layer where 90% of the rainforest biodiversity occurs: the canopy walkway gives the closest possible view of the dense mat of orchids, ferns and vines that cover every available surface of the emergent tree crowns), the Temburong River (the clear-water stream at the park headquarters — the water is drinkable directly from the stream and the deep pools are ideal for swimming), and the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus — the most extraordinary looking primate in Southeast Asia: the endemic Borneo proboscis monkey with the pendulous nose (the males develop a large, pendulous, banana-shaped nose): the most important wildlife species in Brunei: visible most easily at the mangrove edges at dawn and dusk from the speedboat).

The Temburong River longboat journey (from Bangar to the park headquarters — the 45-minute journey by shallow-draft wooden longboat up the Temburong River through the pristine lowland dipterocarp forest (the "dipterocarp" — the Dipterocarpaceae family: the dominant trees of the Southeast Asian tropical rainforest: the enormous trees (60–80m tall) with the two-winged seeds that helicopter down in the fruiting season): the Borneo biodiversity visible from the river: the Oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris — the black and white hornbill with the large yellow casque on the upper mandible: the most commonly sighted hornbill species in Brunei), the long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis — the "crab-eating macaque": the macaque that washes its food in water, the most commonly sighted primate on the Brunei waterways), and the spectacular male proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) leaping through the mangrove trees at the river edge), the pitcher plants (Nepenthes species — the carnivorous plants of the Borneo montane forest: the pitcher (the "pitfall trap" — the elongated pitcher-shaped modified leaf that traps and digests insects and small vertebrates in its digestive fluid)).

The return speedboat journey from Bangar to Bandar Seri Begawan through the Brunei Bay mangrove system (the most extensive mangrove forest in Brunei — the mangrove (the Rhizophora, Avicennia and Bruguiera species that form the characteristic prop-root and pneumatophore structures at the tidal edge of tropical coasts): the Brunei Bay mangroves are one of the most ecologically important coastal wetland systems in Southeast Asia (designated as an ASEAN Heritage Park): at dusk: the fireflies (the synchronous firefly (Pteroptyx tener — the firefly of the mangrove trees of Southeast Asia that flashes in synchrony (thousands of individuals flashing simultaneously in the same tree — the most extraordinary natural light display in Southeast Asia): the firefly trees of the Brunei mangroves are one of the best places in the world to observe synchronous firefly flashing)), and the monitor lizards (the Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) — the largest lizard in Southeast Asia (up to 3m length): visible on the mangrove mudflats at low tide.

As dusk settles on the Temburong mangrove tributaries, thousands of fireflies (Pteroptyx tener) synchronise their flashing in the nipah palms along the riverbank — one of the most extraordinary natural light shows in Southeast Asia and a phenomenon that requires pristine mangrove to survive. The longboat moves slowly through the darkening river as the fireflies build into pulsing columns of light. The phenomenon peaks between 19:00 and 21:00 but begins building from sunset (~18:30).

Istana Nurul Iman (the "Palace of the Light of Faith" — the official residence and the office of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei): the largest residential palace in the world (by area and by room count: 200,000 m² floor area, 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, 200 car garages (the Sultan owns one of the largest private car collections in the world — estimated 7,000 vehicles including hundreds of Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Bentleys), 5 swimming pools, a banquet hall that accommodates 5,000 guests simultaneously, a mosque with a capacity of 1,500, a helipad for 5 helicopters and the stabling for the Sultan's polo ponies): built in 1984 at an estimated cost of USD 1.4 billion (the most expensive palace construction in the 20th century): designed by the Filipino architect Leandro Locsin in the Bruneian Islamic style (the golden domes, the Islamic geometric ornament and the Malay decorative motifs on the most enormous scale of any modern building): the palace is open to the public for 3 days per year only (during Hari Raya Aidilfitri (the Eid al-Fitr celebration at the end of Ramadan) when the Sultan receives thousands of visitors in the audience hall): exterior views available year-round from the road.

Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque (the "Mosque of the Friday Prayer of Hassanal Bolkiah" — the mosque built in 1994 to mark the 25th anniversary of the reign of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah: the largest mosque in Brunei (capacity: 4,000 worshippers, with the surrounding grounds accommodating an additional 2,000): the 29 golden domes (the number 29 represents the Sultan as the 29th Sultan of Brunei), the 4 minarets (each 58m high), the Italian marble floors and the elaborate Islamic geometric tile work: at night (the mosque is illuminated by the most extensive architectural lighting installation in Brunei — the 29 golden domes glowing against the night sky make this the most photographed building in Brunei after dark and the most distinctive landmark on the Brunei skyline after the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque's single golden dome).

Brunei Museum (the most important museum in Brunei — on the banks of the Brunei River): the Islamic Arts Gallery (the collection of Islamic art assembled by the Brunei sultanate over 500 years — one of the most important collections of Islamic art in Southeast Asia: the Quranic manuscripts (the hand-illuminated Quran manuscripts from the 16th–18th centuries, with the most elaborate gold-leaf and ultramarine illumination in the Malay Islamic manuscript tradition), the Islamic ceramics (the Chinese porcelain imported via the Spice Route to the Brunei court), and the traditional Malay weapons (the keris collection: the keris (the asymmetric Malay dagger with the distinctive waved blade (the "dapur" — the blade shape) hammered from the layered "pamor" (the nickel-rich iron meteorite + iron composite that creates the distinctive "woodgrain" pattern on the blade surface: the meteoritic pamor iron was the most valuable metal in the Malay world before the colonial period) and the handle of horn, ivory or carved wood)). Malay Technology Museum (adjacent to the Brunei Museum: the traditional Malay technology of boat-building (the Brunei "binalu" (the proa sailing vessel of the Brunei Malay fishermen)).

Kolo mee (the Bruneian dry noodle dish — the Bruneian adaptation of the "kolo mee" (also "kon lō mee" — the "dry tossed noodle" in Cantonese): the thin egg noodles (cooked al dente, then tossed in a sauce of pork lard (in non-halal versions) or chicken fat, soy sauce, sesame oil and the "char siu" (the Cantonese red-roasted pork or chicken in the halal Brunei versions) and the wonton (the pork or shrimp dumplings): the Bruneian kolo mee is one of the most celebrated versions of the Southeast Asian Chinese noodle tradition (the legacy of the Chinese Hakka and Cantonese immigration to Brunei in the 19th century): most common at the Chinese kopitiam (the "coffee shop" — the informal Chinese-Malay café that is the most important breakfast and lunch institution in the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia). Brunei kueh (the Malay rice-flour sweets: the "kueh lapis" (the steamed layered rice flour cake), the "ondeh-ondeh" (the pandan-green glutinous rice ball filled with palm sugar that bursts in the mouth) and the "putu piring" (the steamed rice flour cake filled with palm sugar and grated coconut)).