More than just a boat ride

A private water taxi operator on his way to pick up passangers

This is what I think of every time I get on one of these perahu tambangs (water taxis). Sometimes affectionately known as flying coffins, these long wooden water crafts weave in and out of Kampong Ayer and under the stilted houses at blazing speeds. The image of water taxis roaring up and down the Brunei river is synonymous with Kampong Ayer.

These vessels are still made in the same traditional way as their forefathers used to practice although there is the danger of it becoming a lost art as less and less Kampong Ayer youth prefer to undertake water taxi operation as an occupation.