Brunei Darussalam useful information

Hello there,

After more than one month here in Brunei , it is time for me to review this moving and give my impression for this country.

I you need some informations wiki is one of the best and you can check this link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunei

Useful informations :

Yellow pages :

On this web site you will find some useful information

http://yp.com.bn/

Real Estate :

We check and discuss with three real estate but only one was good and efficient : http://www.lyrealestate.com/

The different price for rental :
-House unfurnish between 800 BN to 1200 BN (400 to 600 Euros).
-House fully furnish between 1000 to 3000 BN (500 to 1500 Euros)

The houses are really big and you will have a lot of square meter.

Cars :

Brunei Darussalam is tax free country and for cars , it is really cheaper compare to europe , so just an example :

Hyundai Santafe in France : 30.000 Euros and more with some options you reach nearly 40.000 Euros. In Brunei Darussalam around less than 20.000 Euros , the difference is huge and crazy.
To buy a car you need a employment visa and a local driving license (easy to obtain , and if your personal driving license ask your embassy to provide the official translation)

Second Hand cars

This link hereafter seems to be reliable here in Brunei

http://jus1motor.blogspot.com/

Food and groceries

Brunei import most of the products , but basically you can find everythng , even some French or western products with a reasonnable price.


Life in Brunei Darussalam

After one month i have a better idea about the country the local customs.
 
Alcohol is forbiden for sale  but for non-muslim you can bring some with some limitation.

Brunei is very peaceful , for people  who are looking for rest and a peaceful : it is perfect.

I manage to find RC Control shops for plane and also a field with an Association : is great.

Wildlife

Every three days now , we have monkeys in our garden , last time all the family visit us and i guess i have to buy some food just to introduce myself and
perhaps have a kind of communication (Hehehehehe!) , so bad each time we forget to take some picture from our local visitors.


School :

Education is really relevant here in Brunei , the system is base on UK standard .

You can find also 3 international school


Healthcare :

Healthcare system is very efficient and very important free of charge. you can find some private clinic. One Hospital located in Bandar seri Begawan : RIPAS hospital . Well equiped and high healthcare capabilities.

Administration and paperwork :

Very efficient , but careful it depends a lot the staff you have in front of you and sometimes some employees doesn't speak English .
For visa if you are coming from Europe there is no major issues , but for long duration visa or employment Visa you need a assignement letter from your employer .

For yourself you need to fill the form 23 and for your dependant form 25 (Employment visa generally for 2 years max).
You also need 2 pictures (IC format)and passport copy either.

Local IC is mandatory to subscribe some services , like internet , mobile postpaid and i am sure many more. BTW it is really easy to get a local IC .

-Fill a form in ministry of immigration , national registration Dpt (Ground Floor) and the fee is 20 BN.
You don't need to bring a picture , they provide the facility for you.


Internet and telephone

-Telephone : Only one provider : TELBRU , so sorry i use mostly SKYPE but it seems to have no problem . Price is OK

http://www.telbru.com.bn

-Internet , basically 2 local providers

-Telbru with speed between 364 to 1 Mb , this is the provider i use and no complain, my access works perfectly without any problem. Really easy to subscribe , but same you need a letter from your employer to subscribe . the price is little bit high compare to Europe price. I can use SKYPE without any problem.

-Go Broadband , the one i use at first at the office , the provider is new and not so reliable to be honest . The price is also very high.

-Hotspot and Wifi : you can find a lot of hotspot nationwide , working well

-Mobile : same two providers .

B-mobile not so much informations and DST TELECOM The one i use.
To be honest nothing special , not so reliable and they seems to have some technical problems sometimes. DST Telecom network is a 3G+ access, for browsing and email the speed is really efficient. Price is very high either , and worst is you use prepaid. To subscribe to prepaid not a big deal but for postpaid , same you need a employment visa + a letter from your company.

We are really happy to be here , the life is so great and peaceful , we are also very close from Thailand , Malaysia and many more countries , so
easy and quick to go: for example to KL and have some fun.

Bye bye for now