Brunei

Brunei is a country the size of a small English county, sitting on the northern coast of Borneo, and it has been run by the same royal family for six centuries. The oil money is visible in the infrastructure and in the absence of income tax, and the country is quieter and more considered than its neighbours - alcohol is prohibited, the pace is unhurried, and the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, floating in its artificial lagoon in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan, is one of the finest pieces of twentieth-century Islamic architecture in Asia. The rainforest interior, largely intact, connects to the wider Borneo ecosystem.

Our guide is being written from the ground up, with the time this place deserves.

We are still gathering the notes that make a guide worth keeping: Bandar Seri Begawan's water village, Ulu Temburong forest routes, the mosque's visiting hours and the ambuyat restaurants where the national dish requires both instruction and commitment.