Pictures, pictures and more pictures

Hey folks!

As promised, here are the pictures from my trip. I divided them up into country groups and so they aren't exactly sequential (I was in Malaysia then went to Brunei and the went back into Malaysia) but that's okay.

Here are the pictures from Singapore.

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Here are the pictures from Malaysia.

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And here are the pictures from Brunei.

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I hope you enjoy the pictures and the last blog entry for Malaysia should be up sometime soon!

Have a wonderful day!

Ryan

An all-American dinner

Hi!

I've added two new addition to my house in the past few days. I am now the proud new owner of a blender and a grill. I have thoroughly enjoyed buying blended drinks from the market and have also taken advantage of the abundant supply of fresh fruits and eat fruit after nearly every meal. I also have an ready supply of ice too, but that's less important. I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and am now able to blend my own fruit smoothies from the comfort of my own home. In the past few days I've made at least eight smoothies from pineapples, bananas, mangoes and oranges (and several from a combination of those fruits). I've also realized that I can buy ice cream, milk and chocolate sauce and given that I'm the owner of a blender I can make milk shakes!

The grill was more of a spur of the moment buy induced by my desire to have a bake potato. Ovens are hard to come by and I thought a grill might work. As soon as the idea popped into my head, my mind went crazy and all of these other culinary ideas emerged and soon I found myself needing a grill. So today, on my way home from school, I bought one and some charcoal. I was going to grill tonight. The menu was this: a grilled honey pork chop, roasted potatoes and corn-on-the-cob. It was fantastic. The whole process was wonderful. I got the coals going right about the time the sun started to set and so as I was cooking the sun was setting. The weather was perfect and the birds were chirping and the smells were wonderful. It was so perfect and felt so American (and I was proud of myself) that I took pictures. It took about an hour to cook everything and then I enjoyed the fruits of my labor and it was incredible. It never felt more like summer and this will happen again in the near future. Oh and I was drinking a banana smoothie while I was grilling. :-D

Later!

RM

P.S. I then had a milk shake for dessert.

Very secure security

This post is follows a somewhat different thread than most. I've recently found that my secure online accounts (i.e. online banking, credit cards online etc.) are so secure that I can't even access them. I don't know if others are experiencing this, but I've found that most of this institutions are adding an additional feature to their security - a password and user name is no longer enough. You must now answer a security question that is randomly selected. Now, besides the added inconvenience of having to go through this additional step (which isn't that inconvenient), I've encountered another problem - I can't remember my answers. I've now been locked out of my checking account online access twice and my credit card account once because I can't remember the exact answer that I gave when I originally answered the questions. I find myself asking if the answer to the question about my first car was simply the make (Impreza) or if I included Subaru too. I just find myself at a loss coming up with those answers. Some are easier than others. It's these tricky ones that I get hung up on and then have to go through the whole ordeal of calling the company and proving that I'm who I say I am and then they open the account. I hope they don't keep track of how many times you're unable to access your account because I have a feeling it's going to happen again. I guess that's the beauty of living in an electronic age.

Until next time,

RM

I'm home

Morning.

I'm home. I've returned from my trips around SE Asia and and now back sitting in the comfort of my own home. There are still a few stories to share from the last few days of the trip and of course there are pictures to post, but that'll come in the next few days. For now, I'm off celebrating the Thai New Year and will report back on that sometime soon.

RM

The Sun. The Moon. The Mountain

As I sat down to write today I thought it interesting that I ended my story of climbing a cliff with a cliffhanger. I hope you all found that as funny as I did.

After reaching the lodge we literally didn't move further than 5 m the rest of the night (that is until we went to sleep). We had a wonderful table right next to the buffet dinner. Yeah, they had a buffet dinner which was incredible. It was expensive and the food wasn't that tasty, but after hiking all day it sure hit the spot. Perspective - this buffet cost 33 ringgit while a normal meal costs in the vicinity of 5-6 ringgit. However, all of the food that I've been eating in the price range of 5-6 ringgit wasn't hauled up a mountain on the backs of porters and then cooked in a kitchen that was brought up that same mountain in pieces on the backs of porters in a building that was built from material hauled up the mountain on the backs of porters and helicopters. I didn't mind the little surcharge as I had just climbed that mountain with a small 1 kg pack and wouldn't like to do it again much less with a 20 kg pack strapped to my back. Our conversations and dinner carried us through the afternoon late into the evening or at least that's how it felt. By about 6:30 we were dead tired and struggling to stay awake but forced our prideful selves to stay awake until at least 7:00. We did and then crashed. The morning came quickly enough sure enough a 7:00 bedtime doesn't seem so early when you're awake at 2:00 am. It had been rainy and quite dreary in the evening and there were rumors of rain in the morning so the first thing I did as I popped out of bed was stick my head out the window and check for stars. I was greeted with the most brilliant sky I could have imagined and having prepared myself for the worst, I was overjoyed by this sight. Putting on all the clothes I had (and that wasn't much), I headed to the dinning hall for a quick bit to eat before venturing out into the 5 degree Celsius weather. It was cold and crisp, but the moon was full and the stars were shinning. I couldn't have asked for more. We set out and initially had donned our headlamps but as soon as we came out of the trees they were quickly stored away and we walked along the granite face of this towering mountain by the light of the moon. It was truly an incredible sight. The moon was bright enough that it lit up the clouds and the mountain peaks making for a breathtaking view. And know I know why they tell you to give yourself plenty of time to make the hike in the morning - it's not because it's dark or that you might be tired or that there is rough terrain, but that you will spend more time taking in the vistas than actually climbing. The landscape could vaguely be described as a moonscape with us literally walking across a granite slab. They same that this is a mountain where trekkers are able to feel like mountaineers and I agree with that statement (just wait until you see the pictures and you'll agree as well). We timed our ascent perfectly and right as the first rays of light appeared on the horizon we were on the summit. It was frigid. The temperature had dropped several degrees and there were the ever-present winds which reduced the temperature further but we had only one things on our mind - the rising sun. The sun cast its rays across the summit illuminating the paths we had just walked across and slowly the landscape changed. Crossing this barren landscape in the dark reduces your overall picture of the place to rough outlines - shapes in the distance. The suns light cast a new perspective and the clouds ceased to glow in the moonlight and began to pick up the pick and orange hues of the rising sun which shot out across the horizon. The sun rise had occupied so much of my attention that I neglected to turn around. A need to change my position to a more comfortable one saw me swing my head around away from the sun only to be greeted with yet another incredible sight - the setting of the moon. And there I stoop, 4095 m above sea level with the rising sun over my left shoulder and the moon setting over my right shoulder. I hardly knew where to point my camera. There are few words which can express this event and the sights that I saw without evening beginning to mention the personal satisfaction one felt after conquering this beast of a mountain. It was truly a unique moment. I sat there savoring the moment for as long as I could before beginning my decent. The sun had fully risen into the sky and it's ever-changing position continued to illuminate different parts of the mountain revealing more and more of the mountains secrets which it had concealed in the moonlight. Even though I was retracing my steps back down the mountain, each step was a new one and each sight one which until that moment my eyes hadn't set sight upon.

The descent took no time at all and before I knew it we were back at the lodge. We ate some more breakfast and took a rest before heading out to conquer the final leg of this mountain. We headed off and re-traced out steps down the mountain. Any one who has done any hiking will agree that the ascent is more challenging mentally, but the descent is much tougher on your body. Until I started down that mountain I was fresh as a daisy but once I reached the bottom I was dead tired. We reached the headquarters and headed straight for the restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful lunch and then climbed aboard a bus and headed back into town. I should add that the last kilometer or so I walked with several young girls from the UK, Simon (also from the UK) and Cori and Matt and we talked about candy for a good 30 minutes or so recalling out favorite childhood candies and comparing which ones were available in the US and/or the UK.

I reached KK and hobbled into the guest house and checked in and ran into Greg and Marilyn. We had know that our paths would cross again in KK and it was good to see them again. The four of us (Greg, Marilyn, Simon and I) had dinner and then Simon and I crashed. The next morning I was out the door early in the morning to catch my flight to Kuala Lumpur and that's the subject of the next entry.

RM

Land above the clouds

I promised that I would write again soon and I have fulfilled that promise - however, the hot weather and the promise of an air-conditioned internet cafe was more of a motivating factor than any other.

My trip up to the top of SE Asia should first be recounted in short simple sentences (as I feel that adds to the significance of this event). I climbed Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the tallest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea making it the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia. It stands at m 4,095 m ( or 13,435 ft). In 24 hours I hiked 18 km with an elevation gain of just over 2000 m (and elevation loss of 2000 m on the way back down). I feel that suffices.

My journey began in the morning as I grabbed my bag and headed out the door. I left my larger pack at the guest house and without it weighing me down I bounded across town. I reached the bus stop and boarded a bus grabbing a window seat and settled in for the 2 hour trip up into the mountains. I feel it's appropriate to mention that at this point my altitude is roughly 0 m above sea level. Of we go and the first part of the journey passes without anything of interest. I'm drifting in and out of sleep when I open my eyes and catch a glimpse of something which appears out of the ordinary. I sit up and peer out the window for a better look and as we come around another corner this huge mass rises up in front of me apparently out of nowhere. I follow this mass skyward and see it disappear into the clouds. I continue to arch my head backwards and shortly I see this massive object reappear above the clouds. Finally, I saw the top. I was a bit conscious of my lack of exercise the past several month and while I didn't doubt that I would make it to the top, I wondered in what state I would be in when I did. This image of a mountain piercing the clouds did nothing to boost my confidence. We stopped at a small little rest area complete with food stalls and a view of the mountain where I purchased my lunch and took in this impressive giant. Arriving at the national park headquarters at the foot of the mountain, I jumped out and began jumping through hoops. There was a substantial list of things that one must do before climbing the mountain: purchase a entrance ticket to the national park, make a reservation for lodging on the mountain, pay for insurance, pay for a climbing permit, find a guide etc. All in all, it took about 30 minutes and 232 ringgit to jump correctly through all the hoops. I had found my guide (and two other people with which to share him) and we were off. My group consisted of myself, Victor (the guide), Kim (a girl from S. Korea) and Simon (a guy from London). I had my guide, my insurance papers and my bag of M&M's so I was set and we headed off. The national park headquarters is at about 2000 m above sea level and so it was 95% uphill. I had a spring in my step (and surprisingly that lasted until the last 2 km) and bounded up the trail and before I knew it we were halfway to the lodge. The atmosphere on the trail had to add to my enthusiasm as there was the overwhelming sense of camaraderie. People going up would encourage those they met and people on their way down would provide bits of encouragement and insight into the climb as well as relate how beautiful the sunrise on the summit was. Hiking filled the day and what a wonderful day it was. As we climbed up into the mountains and gained elevation, the vegetation changed and it got significantly cooler. I had anticipated a very sweaty climb and had bought several kg of water and was pleasantly surprised to find that while I worked hard climbing, it was cool enough to keep my body temperature at the perfect level (i.e. no sweat). Along the way we even saw the famous pitcher plant (think a flower shaped like a pitcher which catches bugs and insects in that pitcher) and as we climbed high enough we mingled with the clouds and were refreshed by their cooling mist. Climbing on we reached 3600 m and the lodges. I stumbled into the lodge at about 3:30 and checked in. As I was on my way to the room I spotted some familiar faces. I had run into these Americans from Alaska when I was in Brunei. We had traveled out to this mosque separately and where stuck out there waiting for a bus. We ended up getting a ride back to the city from a nice man passing by and went out separate ways. But our paths crossed again at 3,600 m up in the mountains of Malaysia. Matt and Cori where there names and once Simon arrive the four of us along with a scattering of other folks spent the afternoon and evening shooting the breeze in this lodge which was very reminiscent of a ski lodge.

I'd love to continue, but I've hit my hour mark and feel I should leave. It's also much cooler outside now and the streets of Chinatown are beckoning. I feel bad leaving you in the middle of the story especially with so much more to tell, but that's what I'm going to do.

Until next time,

Ryan

A short note...

It's finally coming to an end. My month of traveling is almost over. I've reached my final destination (Kuala Lumpur) and am here for a few days before heading back to Chiang Mai and eventually Lampang. I could tell you that the time has passed by quickly but that would be an understatement. I could tell you that I've learned a lot but that would be presuming too much (one can only hope I've gained small nuggets of wisdom on this trip). Anyway, the trip is not over yet and there are still many stories to recount and many more to be had. That being said, I don't at the moment feel up to the task of recounting my expedition up Mount Kinabalu and my recent trip to Melaka. I've successfully passed an hour here in the Internet cafe out of the oppressive heat of the city and am ready to venture back out and explore the wonders of Kuala Lumpur. I'm sure I'll find myself in here tomorrow during the heat of the day and will begin to recount those adventures then.

Until then I hope you have a Happy Easter Sunday as it is Easter Sunday here. I had forgotten about that until someone mentioned it not too long ago.

On a similar note, I'd like to say Happy Birthday to my sisters. Kali turned 17 on March 27 (I called her and tried to talk to her but she wouldn't answer her phone...but I did send a card) and Taryn turned 23 (oh my!) on April 6 (yesterday). I tried to call Taryn too, but couldn't find a pay phone compatible with my calling card. And I'm realizing that the details surrounding my calling my sisters is of little interest to anyone (including them) and will again wish them a Happy Birthday and move on.

Bye.

Ryan

Alcohol and chocolate

Hi!

I last left off on my last day in Brunei. I awoke that morning and savoring the last few precious moments in the Sheraton, I ended up leaving the hotel late and got to the bus station a half hour late. But I had all day to travel and nothing was lost. I got to where I had to go without any trouble (partly thanks to a friendly man from Brunei I met the other day) and while waiting for the bus met Mah. Mah is from Malaysia and had come to Brunei on holiday for a few days. He is originally from penisular Malaysia but is currently living in Kota Kinabalu. And so, seeing as that was where I was headed, we spent the day traveling together. He is a dentist specializing in oral surgery and is working off his required three years of government service. In exchange for a degree, he gave them three years - not a bad deal. But they can place him wherever they like, hence he is far from home in Borneo. We got on the bus and headed to the ferry. The trip was divided into three parts - bus to ferry, ferry to Labuan, ferry to Kota Kinabalu (from now on referred to as KK). Labuan is the connecting point for this journey and is a part of Malaysia so I went through immigration in Brunei and again in Labuan. Labuan, being an island and a semi-autonomous region, is a duty-free haven. Alcohol and chocolate are sold at very cheap prices and as a result many people flock here to purchase them and there are stores selling only alcohol and chocolate on every corner. Labuan is also a historic city of sorts as this is where the Japanese mounted their invasion of North Borneo during WWII and where the Allied forces began their campaign to liberate Borneo. Mah and I headed to a WWII memorial and graveyard on the island and spent a bit of time there. I've written about the war on several occasions and have spent hours reading about the events and stories from that time period. It's very interesting to be in these places - places which have such significance yet are seemingly unmentioned in American classrooms and seem so far from reality. But there is something very real in walking through a graveyard passing by the graves of Australians and Britons, many of whom were my age or younger. It was also interesting to speak with Mah about WWII and his impression of thees events in Malaysia and throughout the world. He said the Japanese invaded Borneo because of its vast oil reserves which were necessary to sustain a larger invasion of the Pacific.

Coincidentally enough, Mah had a friend working in a government clinic across from the hospital. He had mentioned that he had a friend on the island (one of the advantages of being placed by the government at different clinics throughout the country - you have friends throughout the country) and was surprised to see that the cemetery was across from the clinic. We met his friend and got a tour of the clinic and then had lunch together. Mah's friend gave us a ride into town where he bought a few bottles of whiskey and I some chocolate. I was tempted to buy some wine, but given that I was on my way to climb a mountain I thought it better to go with chocolate. Plus, I'd been resisting the urge to by M&M's for a while since they were so expensive but here they price was reasonable so I indulged. We boarded the ferry and 3 hours later I was in KK.

Mah gave me a lift to the hostel and we made plans for dinner the following day and then I was on my own to explore yet another new city. I checked in and hit the streets running. I ran across some kids hanging out on the boardwalk along the harbor and after returning their shouts of hello struck up a conversation and ended up spending about a hour just hanging out on the boardwalk with them. They would try to show off in which ever way they could. Some would showcase their dance moves while others their diving skills (several of them were swimming in the harbor and were jumping off the boardwalk) and others would continuously speak to me in English. It was a blast. Before I knew it the sun had set and I was starving and they had to run home so we parted ways and I had dinner on the boardwalk at a little cafe. Night market walking and an ice-blended fruit juice finished out my night and I was off to bed.

The next day came and went without too much to write about. I spent the morning at the museums in town and the afternoon at an orangutan sanctuary outside of town. I could write about the orangutans but I've lost my motivation and there isn't much to tell. As Borneo is developed the orangutans are displaced and many young orangutans find themselves without parents or lost and are rescued and brought here before be transferred to the larger sanctuary on the other side of the island.

I did have dinner with Mah and he drove me around town showing me all the sights. As we were driving I saw a sign for the Observatory Tower and thought that would be neat. We went and the "tower" turned out to be a patch of dirt alongside the road where you could park your car and have a view of the city. And that's it. I'm sure more interesting and exciting things happened, but at the moment they are eluding me and for that I apologize.

RM

A Birthday Celebration like no other

Evening.

I'm behind. It's very simple. I am about 3 days behind in writing about my trip and while I wished to be on top of things I'm actually quite surprised that I'm as caught up as I am.

On the morning of March 31, I woke up and jumped out of bed and headed to what can only be called a stadium (it resembled a stadium in several respects but in others was quite different). As I arrived thousands of others were poring into the stadium to celebrate the Prophet Mohammed's birthday. This was a treat. I didn't realize that this was going to happen until I arrived in Brunei and to be in a predominantly Muslim country for this celebration was just a wonderful coincidence. I arrived and found the most colorful gathering of people I've ever seen. The stadium was mostly full of men and boys - there were few women to be seen and I don't know where they went and why they were not there. The men were dressed in their more traditional dress with long flowing clothes of various colors with a sash tied around their waist. Only pictures can do it justice as I'm not a master of description so again you'll have to wait for those. The Sultan of Brunei was present as were many members of the government and royal family and they led them in several religious chats and rituals and then the Sultan led the group in a 4 km long walk around the city. While the ceremony was occurring there were large breaks and there were many people milling around and it proved to be an excellent time to meet people. I met an older gentleman and we chatted about the holiday, it's meaning, what was happening and other assorted things. I then ran into a group of kids and had a blast with them. We just chatted and talked about soccer, sports, school, life and just laughed. This group had to run and get ready for the parade, but they opened the flood gates and I was then bombarded by group after group of kids wanting to chat and take their picture with me. This lasted until we heard a tremendous explosion - it was the cannons being fired. We stopped horsing around and went to watch the cannons being fired. Pretty neat. Then the march got into high gear and I peeled off and headed back towards the hotel to catch it as it passed. There isn't much to describe except that it was just a massive wave of people matching along the road. I then headed into the hotel to beat the heat and emerged later in the day to go to a shopping mall outside of town. Now, this is an interesting transition. Prior to living in Thailand, I would have avoided malls while traveling for the simple reason that malls and malls and don't tend to fall into the category of new and exciting cultural adventures. And while they aren't new and exciting cultural adventures, they do provide insight into the culture. My time in Thailand and my going into malls has allowed me to begin to create an understanding of this relationship and so I'm trying to extended that in Brunei and Malaysia. Plus it's the only place where you can walk around in air-con. I bought some DVD's which will be a treat to watch when I get home (The Pursuit of Happyness, Click and Happy Feet). I then wandered over to the second famous mosque in town (again, I stopped at the mall because it was near the mosque and gave me something to do during the heat of the day). Getting to the mosque proved a bit tricky as it involved crossing many lanes of traffic during rush hour with no pedestrian crossings, but again, my time in Thailand has prepared me for such a task. The mosque was beautiful - very different from the other one (much larger and more ornate, but less visually stunning). Getting back into the city I grabbed dinner and called it a night - but not before I took a dip in the pool.

The next day I headed into the jungle. Well, not really, but that's what I like to tell people. Brunei is steps above other SE Asia countries in preserving their forests and one of their states, Temburong, is considered by many people to be wholly covered by jungle. While that's not true, it's not too far from the truth. The best way to get there is by boat (which adds to it's appeal and remoteness) which winds through mangrove forests. The ride was the highlight of the day. There is a national park in Temburong that attracts many tourists, but it involves several methods of transportation and is quite expensive. So I headed to a park just outside of town and went for a hike and came to a lookout where one could see off in the distance a tiny peak standing above the rest - that small, tiny, insignificant mountain is the 4,100 m peak that I'm climbing tomorrow. It doesn't seem that small any more. I made my way back into town and while I was buying my ticket I met a man. We met and spoke English. We chatted and found out about each other and once he found out that I was living in Thailand he started to speak in Thai. So for the next hour or so we spoke in Thai. Now, this man isn't Thai. He is Malay who grew up in west Malaysia and has since learned to speak Malay, English, Chinese and Thai (and he speaks all fluently). We just chatted about lots of different things switching between English and Thai. We got back to the town and he offered me a ride back into town and I accepted. He found out that I was going to Malaysia the next day and insisted on stopping at the bus station and finding out everything I needed to know about catching the bus to the ferry and so we did that and he dropped me off. He was a very nice and very impressive guy and I'm glad I met him. I hit the hotel and then the Royal Regalia Museum which needs no explanation and that was my night. I packed and watched a movie and hit the sack.

And that wrapped up my time in Brunei. It was a good stay - not what I expected but it was good. The vacation part of this trip dominated my time there but since I was staying in the Sheraton I felt that was okay. It's been interesting balancing traveling and being on vacation as they sometime contradict each other, however, I feel like I'm done a decent job. I've got to catch you up on my journey to Malaysia and my day today, but I'm running out of time. As I alluded, I'm climbing a mountain tomorrow (Mount Kinabalu - the highest peak in SE Asia) which should take two days and should be a blast. I'll report in when I get back.

Later,

Ryan

7-11

Okay, I know that I've been in Thailand too long when I find myself longing for a 7-11. In Thailand, they are everywhere - you can't go anywhere without finding a store located conveniently on every street corner. I go there to buy snacks, drinks, top up minutes for my phone and I go nearly everyday. Now, while I've been traveling there has been a severe lack of 7-11's and I find my convenient store needs going unmet and I have to search out places which sell drinks and the like. It's terribly discomforting (both that I have to look and that I'm missing 7-11). Any who, just had a minute and thought I'd share that.

I'm out to explore and should be on later to continue the stories from Brunei. Hope all is well.

RM

Oil, Surpised Thai's and Luxury

Well hello again.

Greetings from Malaysia. I'm now back in Malaysia after a short stop in Brunei. My trip from Kota Bharu to Brunei was filled with the typical hurry up and wait pace. I got up in the morning and quickly went to the market to buy several things before going to the airport early to check in and wait. I boarded my flight (which was an hour late) and then hurried through the airport to catch my connecting flight to Brunei. I was presented with an expensive obstacle as my flight were in different terminals and the only (quick) way between them was a 50 ringit taxi ride (now 50 MYR is more than most hotels for the night). I raced between the terminals and to the check in counter only to wait for an hour as this flight was also delayed. I then flew to Brunei and got out of the terminal and raced to catch the last bus into town. They stop at 6 (my flight was supposed to land at 5:00 but didn't arrive until just before 6) and I just missed the last bus so I had to catch a taxi which was 25 Brunei dollars (again, more than a night in a hotel). But at long last I arrived at the Sheraton and was stress-free for the rest of my time in Brunei. It was a wonderful reprieve from the previous week and a half traveling and the confines of my house. It was carpeted and it wasn't until I step onto the carpet in my bare feet that I realized I missed carpet (my house is tile). The bed was imaaculate (I have a nice bed, but nothing like this and far above the flea-biten mattress I slept in the night before). There was a TV with HBO and the Discovery Channel. And the pies de resistance was the little love seat and chair. In Thailand, these are made of wood and it's darn near impossible to lay back and relax in one of these. It was hard to motivate myself to get out of the room (but of course I did venture out as there were many things to see). I did spend more time in that couch that I care to divulge. Simply wonderful. Again, I have to extend a big thanks to my parents for this wonderful treat.

I hit the town running the next morning and was off to the Brunei Museum to brush up on my knowledge of Brunei and Borneo. I didn't exactly get what I was looking for. The museum was fabulous - a worthwhile trip, but it didn't provide much context (or did it?). The museum has two galleries - an Islamic gallery and a Oil and Gas gallery. Now, looking back on it I realize that this is a wonderful synopsis of the county, albeit a narrow and simple view of the country, but an accurate one. The Islamic gallery was amazing. I was introduced to Islamic calligraphy in Singapore and was stunned by it's brilliance and beauty. The Q'uran was transformed into a work of art and each passage was written in a beautiful script and the pages were decorated with incredible drawings. It far surpasses any Chinese calligraphy I've seen and the Chinese are widely known for their calligraphy. The Oil and Gas gallery was much less stunning, but just as informative. It talks about the history of the oil and gas industry in Brunei and the methods of extracting oil as well as it's formation and location in the country.

I had taken a bus out to the museum and was waiting for the bus to pick my up and a car stopped and offered a ride. I was waiting along side the road with a couple and we got into the car. A few minutes later, the couple started to talk and I understood what they were saying (and it wasn't in English). They were from Thailand (Chiang Mai, actually) and were on vacation. I turned around and struck up a conversation and despite their quick reply to my initial question you could tell they were very surprised to hear Thai coming out of my mouth. We got out near the center of town and had lunch together at a little market and chatted for a while before parting ways. It was a simple and ordinary meeting and it just so happened that I spoke Thai and we had a wonderful conversation. It's hard to describe the sensations that I felt as I was having this conversation but the easiest way to describe it is one of disbelief - that I could be in a country that speaks mostly Malay (which I don't speak) and be able to hold a conversation with someone in a language other than English and the widely spoken language. I don't know. Maybe it's not that special - I have conversations like this all the time in Thailand, but there was just something different at that moment being in another country that made it all that much more special.

I spent the afternoon walking through the famous water villages. Brunei historically developed along the river in villages that were built above the river on stilts. Many people have moved inland, but there are still numerous villages and communities that exist wholly above the water - schools, mosques, homes, stores, fire stations etc.. I wandered through one on the boardwalk and it was very neat - a village above the river. It was wonderful to explore and I met several children who followed me through the village and led me to their school. The sun started to set and I made my way back into town to watch the sun set on the beautiful mosque in the city. It's golden domes reflected the sunlight and it was stunning. I don't think any of my pictures do it justice, but they at least convey in part the incredible scene (those will be posted as soon as I get home). The sun set and then I wandered around the mosque at night and took more pictures of it illuminated. Again, a very stunning sight. A stop at the night market for dinner and I headed home to my heavenly bed and HBO.

I fear that if I go on, I'll put too many of you too sleep. I guess in some respects I miss having a 30 minute limit - it made me much more concise. There is still more to write about - I had two more days in Brunei and more adventures and stories and then a wonderful day today, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Until then,

RM