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On the Sungai Kianggeh waterfront just across the footbridge from town is the lively Tamu Kianggeh Market, an open marketplace which sells fresh food and vegetables from early morning onwards. The market is directly across the river from the Brunei Hotel.
Running along the waterfront are a series of permanent stalls, many selling bulk quantities of the pungent dried fish that is popular in the beef rendang dish so popular in Brunei.
Just beside the permanent stall and towards the bend in the river are dozens of stalls or various shapes and sizes selling fresh fruit, vegetables, chillies, fish, sweets and malay foods. Some stalls are large with plenty of produce, others seem little more than a villager selling a few baskets of eggs on a tarpaulin.
Many of the vendors are female and their bright head scarves clash with the multicoloured umbrellas that provide shade from the hot sun and the yellows, reds and greens of the produce on sale.
Prices are generally low…..a healthy sized bag of eggplants with a few chillies thrown in came to B$3 and icy cold freshly squeezed orange juice cost just B$1.
The Tamu Kianggeh Market is popular and crowds of people flock across the bridges to pick up a snack or some fresh fruit. People and their purchases arrive and depart by water taxi, doing a little shopping then zooming back across the bay to Kampung Ayer.
Someone filled up a canoe with fresh green coconuts and happily sped away, others just seemed to be happy to hang around and enjoy the crowds in an otherwise very much un-crowded city.
By mid afternoon the crowds have dwindled away and the sun is beating down on the few remaining vendors. You can still pick up fruit but the choices are fewer and the goods a little warm and frazzled.
If you are in Bandar Seri Begawan for a day or two and looking for a change from the city’s modern, orderly shops and supermarkets, the Tamu Kianggeh Market is a perfect change of pace and a good spot for a cheap lunch.
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