Despite having its fair share of tourist attractions, tiny Brunei seems to be best known to the outside world for the fact it is almost impossible to buy alcohol there. And although there are a number of loopholes for visitors who can't do without their daily snifter, this seems to be enough of a discouragement to keep visitor numbers low by regional standards.
Stay at the sprawling, palatial Empire Hotel and Country Club, for example, and you'll have its pleasant stretches of beach, golf course, pools and other generous facilities, if not to yourself, then at least shared only with an agreeably small number of fellow tourists. Its restaurants won't serve you anything stronger than what's offered on their extensive lists of 'mocktails', but you're welcome to bring your own duty-free beverages along, for which no corkage is charged. Fortunately, Brunei has about twice the alcohol allowance of most countries: two litres of spirits per non-Muslim person.
A short drive to the Malaysian border can also be made up to three times a day to stock up from duty-free shops and furtively opened car boots on the other side. So know before you go and Brunei makes for a pleasant, crowd-free holiday destination with full hangover potential.
One of the sultanate's best attractions is its area of virgin rainforest, a favourite destination for various local groups, such as team-building parties from Brunei Shell Petroleum and the British Army Jungle Warfare Training School. (The British army still maintains a Gurkha battalion and a flight of helicopters in oil-rich Brunei, which was a willing part of the British empire until 1984).
The best place to explore the rainforest is Ulu Temburong National Park, about two hours from the sleepy capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. The first leg is by public boat to the town of Bangar in Temburong District, which is geographically separate from the main portion of Brunei. Setting off from Bandar's public pier, these small vessels come in various forms, from sleek fibreglass models to rougher, homemade-looking wooden boxes. But all seem to have one thing in common - powerful engines.
My vessel squeezed 12 passengers below deck, an unlikely assortment of Indian clerical types, produce-laden fishermen's wives, schoolchildren and an Englishman who resembled a junior civil servant on some minor but essential diplomatic errand. These communal vessels tilt and weave speedily through striking mangroves inhabited by proboscis monkeys and monitor lizards, then briefly touch the ocean before motoring back to inland waterways and down the Temburong River to Bangar.
From here it's a 10-minute bus ride to Kampong Batang Duri, from where outboard-powered temuai boats, which resemble canoes, speed upwards through the rapids towards the park headquarters. This portion of the trip takes about 30 minutes and is a mildly thrilling blend of reverse white-water rafting and speed boating.