Bruneians are proud of their Kampung Ayer -- civil servants and professional workers still live there. The government has put in money into rescuing or replacing some of the older and decaying buildings, and has also built new facilities such as schools so that Bruneians can continue living there.

The houses are built on stilts. It is a funny sight to see -- the river flows under the houses. The houses are nothing more than wooden shacks and seem to lack any comfort from the outside: wooden shacks covered by iron roofs. However, they all have electricity, running water, sewer systems, televisions, and, quite often, internet access.

Every now and then they burn down. In that case, the house is not rebuilt. Instead the owner moves to a 'real' house on land.

Behind the central mosque, a walkway starts which leads you along the 'streets' (wooden planks across the water).