After canceling our tour to Ulu Temburong National Park, I assumed we’d miss out on seeing the Temburong Bridge. Fortunately, it was included as the final stop on one of our paid tours, giving us the opportunity to see it after all.

The Temburong Bridge, also called the Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien (SOAS) Bridge, holds the title of the longest bridge in Southeast Asia, stretching 26.3 kilometers across Brunei Bay, linking the Temburong district to Bandar Seri Begawan. This significant infrastructure reduces travel time between the two regions to under 30 minutes. Prior to its opening, travelers from Temburong had to endure a 45-minute boat journey across the bay or a two-hour drive through Malaysia’s Sarawak region.

Upon its public opening in March 2020, the Brunei Sultan praised the bridge as “the most prominent symbol of Brunei’s national modernization.”