Incredible photos show the gritty, floating 'water village' on stilts that houses 13,000 people in Brunei, a tiny Southeastern nation of unimaginable wealth
Brunei is a tiny country on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.
Thanks to its oil and gas reserves, it's one of the richest countries in the world, with a GDP of $77,000 per capita.
Source: International Monetary Fund
Its wealth is on full display in its capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan, where glittering mosques and extravagant architecture appear around every corner.
Source: Business Insider
This is Kampung Ayer, or "Water Village," a floating settlement that's home to an estimated 13,000 of the city's 27,000 people.
Source: Academy of Brunei Studies
The floating village doesn't just contain thousands of homes. There are also mosques, schools, restaurants, police stations, and a fire station.
Source: Business Insider
People get around — carefully — on a series of interconnected wooden walkways.
Source: Business Insider
And they also get around by ubiquitous water taxis, which take people back and forth from the mainland for a fare of $1.
Source: ASEAN Information Center
The use of water taxis earned Bandar Seri Begawan the nickname "Venice of the East."
Source: ASEAN Korea
The village's infrastructure is built to withstand pummeling rains that fall during Brunei's monsoon season.
Source: Brunei Weather
The history of Kampung Ayer goes back centuries. At its height in the 1500s, the village stretched into neighboring Indonesia and nearby Philippines.
Source: Southeast Asia Globe
In modern years, the village gained electricity, phone lines, internet access, and even satellite TV.
Source: Southeast Asia Globe
In many ways, the floating village resembles any of its terrestrial counterparts. Street signs mark the intersections of boardwalks, for example.
Source: Business Insider
Newer, two-story houses in the village cost about $45,000, and older houses sell for just $4,000, according to the Southeast Asia Globe. Property is only available to Brunei residents.
Source: Southeast Asia Globe
In wealthier parts of the village, the interiors of houses are lavish and extravagant. Airbnb started operating in the village last year, allowing foreign visitors to stay in the traditional houses.
Source: Southeast Asia Globe
But in some of the poorer sections, houses and walkways are in disrepair.
Source: Southeast Asia Globe
The wealth and extravagance of the mainland stands in stark contrast to the reality of most residents of the village.
Source: Business Insider
A once-thriving fishing and crabbing industry has declined in recent years because of pollution and quarrying, according to the Southeast Asia Globe.
Source: Southeast Asia Globe
And as modern technology makes Brunei's capital more accessible, many village residents have flocked to the mainland. In 1971, 136,000 people, or 60% of the entire population of Brunei, called the village home, but now that number is down to 3%.
Source: Southeast Asia Globe
Officials in Brunei are hoping tourism can help revive Kampung Ayer and bring new jobs.
Source: Southeast Asia Globe
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