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