Bandar Seri Begawan is a national capital you’ve probably never heard of. The largest city in the small country of Brunei, the metropolitan area has less than 300,000 residents.
One of the most interesting features of the city is Kampong Ayer (literally, water village), in which roughly 10% of Brunei’s populatlion lives, in a handmade village on stilts over Brunei River. It represents a completely different kind of urbanism- stilt buildings connected by timber plank walkways- interconnecting between houses, schools, mosques, restauraunts, and a hospital. Electrical and water lines hang alongside the timber walkways and people either walk or take canoe-like motorboat taxis.
Images by Jonathan Choe
