Frequently Asked Questions

Most ASEAN countries’ airlines fly into Brunei or transit through Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA), Singapore International Airlines (SIA), Malaysia Airlines (MAS), Air Asia, Thai Airways, and Cebu Airways are examples of some of the airlines to name a few. (The closest and cheapest link to Bandar Seri Begawan, is from KL and Singapore).

FROM BRUNEI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO HOMESTAY:

The journey will take approximately around 30 minutes from the airport to the homestay and a 5 minute drive to Poni Divers Dive Centre.

FROM MIRI AIRPORT TO HOMESTAY:

The journey will take approximately around 2 hours drive by car.

It only cost about BND$40 per night.

Yes, it will be cheaper by only BND$10 / night as we do not add much on top of our dive packages for the home stay and breakfast.

The costs of living in Brunei are relatively low while standards of living are relatively high. Meals can cost anywhere from BND$2 – BND$8, average BND$5. Public bus transportation is only BND$1.

The home stay facility is a comfortable and pleasant house 5 mins away by car from the dive center. Contrary to regular expectations, guests have often been more than happy with our home stay. Rooms are designed for 2 people, twin or double, with rooms also available for 4 people, 2 double beds. Facilities include: –

1. Common area with TV / DVD player
2. Laundry facility
3.  Kitchen (inclusive with microwave, fridge, mini oven, cooking stove, etc)
4. Free Wi-Fi
5. Game Board Set
6. Hot Shower
7. Dining area
8. Café / Convenience shop within 1 min walk
9. 5 mins drive to beach-side dive center

We Bruneians LOVE our food, with so many options and cuisine choices all you need to do is ask and we will recommend some of the best places to eat in town to suit any budget.

NEARBY $
SBB – across the road from the homestay, serving Ayam Penyet and local food
Red leaf – Chinese Restaurant in Muara Town, try the chicken mee sua here
Tat’s – Chinese Restaurant in Muara Town. Their Assam Curry Fish is a hit
Ayamku – Dave our Dive Instructor favourite joint. Local fast food selling fried chicken

LOCAL $
Aminah Arif – Feeling adventurous? Try Ambuyat, a sago based product which is a local delicacy in Brunei. Not to everyone’s taste.

MID-RANGE $$
Thiam Hock – serves the best fish head curry in town. Order the Wasabi Fried Rice and the Salted Egg Soft Shell Crab and you won’t regret it. Thye, our MD, favorite restaurant.
Royal Brunei Yacht Club – one of the few places in town here you can drink alcohol (if you brought some in) and order food. Members only club, $5 entry exclusive for Poni customers.
Nurwanita Layar Luncur – restaurant near Poni Divers serving authentic Thai food.

UP-MARKET $$$
Kaizen – by far the best Japanese in Brunei. With a huge menu to choose from, this restaurant located at the waterfront is a great choice for those craving sushi.
Pantai Restaurant @ The Empire – Brunei’s 6* hotel boasts an extravagant buffet at this beach side restaurant. Come early and walk the grounds and admire it’s grandeur.

Please treat our homestay as your own house for the duration of your stay. Feel comfortable but respect it and others around you. Below are a couple of house rules.

• To ensure we keep the floorboards squeaky clean for our guests enjoyment, we have a no shoes policy inside our home.
• Smoking is strictly prohibited indoors. Kindly smoke in the designated areas and be respectful of other guests.
• We kindly ask that you switch off lights and the A/C when not in use or leaving the house. Mother nature will thank you too.
• Feel free to use the kitchen but please clean up after yourself.
• Whilst we do a thorough clean between each guest stay, we kindly ask that prior to leaving, you clean and put away any dishes or kitchenware used and empty any ashtrays used.
• We all love a party as the next person, but as this is a shared house please keep the noise down after 9.30pm.
• Upon check out, please strip the beds and place dirty bedding and used