Kuala Belait literally means the mouth of the Belait River. Its name comes from Kuala meaning either confluence of two rivers or the mouth of a river, and Belait, the name of the river and district.



The national language of Brunei is Bahasa Malaysia, as spoken in Malaysia. English is also widely spoken.

It has a population of 350,000, nearly seventy percent of which is made up of Malays and indigenes from the larger ethnic groups like the Murut and Dusun the rest are Chinese, Indians, smaller indigenous tribes and expats.

The principal tourist sights in the capital are the minaret crowning the golden domed Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, which stands in the middle of its own artificial lagoon, affording a fine view over the town and stilt village. The ancient Tomb of Sultan Bolkiah, the fifth sultan, known as the singing admiral for his love of both music and conquest. The Royal Regalia Building in the heart of the capital is home to a collection of ceremonial objects, including the royal chariot and the jewel encrusted crown worn by the Sultan during his coronation. The Brunei Museum and the Malay Technology Museum showing traditional crafts.

Kampong Ayer is the water village on the outskirts of the capital, reputed to be the largest collection of stilt habitations in the world visitors can walk freely around the wooden walkways between the houses, which combine traditional architecture with modern facilities such as Internet connections.

The Brunei government is not really interested in promoting tourism here. If the nation is to attract more tourists, then Tutong and Belait districts should be developed. As for Kuala Belait, it is not a matter of its small population and it is just a stop over for Miri and therefore, there is no need to build it up. For goodness sake, Belait district is part of our beloved Brunei that should be equally developed so that Brunei people have more places to visit with their families and more tourists will be attracted to come here, stay longer and spend more money. Pull up our country to the standard of those small but prosperous countries like Kuwait, Dubait, Abu Dhabi and Singapore.