Brunei and Malaysia

My first trip to a Muslim country was interesting. Right from the start, I could feel a strange tension in the air. Mind you, not from the locals, but emanating from me. I was tense, particularly around men. You see, although everyone was extremely pleasant in Brunei, most of the men would not look me in the eye. I tried not to take it personally, but it was difficult. So after getting a cab to take us to the hostel (it was after 6 p.m. when we landed and thus extremely difficult to commandeer a taxi after sunset) we headed to the open market on the blocked off street right outside where we were staying. The only thing we bought was a head scarf for me, so I could visit the mosques. Its black, which most Muslim women wear during the daytime. Don't ask me why this is the chosen color, considering its extremely hot, while the men get to wear white, but then again it seems like women endure more discomfort than men in general. Anyway, the woman at the market was extremely nice and I had a lot of fun trying on various kinds, in the end I opted for a very easy one piece head scarf, so that I can just pull it over and not worry about it coming undone and exposing my hair.

Here it is, beautiful eh?


The next day we got up and headed to the large open air market where fruit, vegetables, and fish of all sorts were sold. The fish was by far the most fascinating item, with dried fish of all sizes, live eel, and pickled fish and many more being sold. I tried to take many pictures of all the colors, as I tried to be respectful. It was a bit difficult too to maneuver around the stands and umbrellas, particularly when they are at a height suitable for a 5 foot 2 inch populous!

We then headed to the large Mosque in town. It was under construction, but we went inside and took many photos around the moat outside. We then wondered over a bridge to a separate area of the city where homes were high on stilts. It was beautiful and sad at the same time. From one vantage point I could see the enormous golden Mosque in the background while the foreground was full of decaying and dilapidated homes. I had always heard that the King of Brunei was until recently the wealthiest man in the world, so I was disappointed to see the level of poverty in such an oil rich nation. Clearly the oil money does not reach the citizens.



I however, did benefit from the oil in an indirect way. At Immigration in the airport Jack and I were waved through as US citizens while citizens of other countries had to wait in a really long line. We figured it must be because of trade relations and oil importation. It was a refreshing outcome, considering right now Americans do not get many perks abroad (bad exchange rate, etc.).

We then took a public bus out to the Palace, so we could walk around the enormous structure and gape (at the parts we could see at least) at its grandiosity. The trip did not produce the desired affect. We ended up just talking about his harem of women inside and how all that money could be given to his people.

Anyway we wondered to a small cafeteria style place for lunch, where Jack nicely pointed out that I was the only woman, other than the servers, in the place. (So that's why there were so many men staring!) I chose not to notice, I was too engrossed in the Patriots game on the t.v. - it’s about the only one I've seen this season too, although we didn't stay for the whole thing. We left to visit a second and larger Mosque away from downtown. This Mosque was simply stunning, getting better and better as we made our way upstairs (after dutifully removing shoes and donning a black robe).

It is gorgeous.


Then, just as prayers were about to begin, which we had to leave for, we realized we probably missed our only bus back. You see it was 6:00 and things just don't run past then. So we booked it to an intersection where we waited and waited, then caught sight of the magnificent sunset before running again for the small purple bus we saw coming from the other side of the road. It was madness.

The next day we were off for Kuala Lumpur and another Muslim country, but by then I was excited and my nerves had gone. Brunei and Bandar Seri Begawan turned out to be one of my favorite spots.

Kuala Lumpur, however, turned out to be my least favorite. Right from the start our trip was dirty, smoggy and hectic. We booked the cheapest option from the airport to the city, a bus called the Star Shuttle, direct to Chinatown. We were dropped off just as it was starting to pour! With my rain coat safely in the hotel in Darwin, I broke out the poncho. We had a run for it, but ended up sitting in a dingy restaurant, happily eating some curry and rice, waiting for the rain to stop.

We checked into Westover Lodge (sounds Western doesn't it? Ha-ha.) and cursing at the fact that the air-con rooms were really only air-con in the hallway from 10 pm until 8 am., mind our room did come with a tiny hole in the upper wall where a fan, conspicuously placed, blew any cool air into it, we headed out to buy a phone card. You could say that this is where our troubles began.

We bought a phone card for 10 ringgits and tried to use it on the payphones. There were about 50 payphones in the mile or two around our hotel, and I could swear we tried them all. But the problem was that the phones required some change to work, and when they didn't, and they all didn't, they took our change. We then realized the phone card had been eaten up by one of the pay phones and decided to buy another. Another 10 ringgits. Here's where we got genius. We went to a 7/11 (they are all over the place there, sort of like a third world Starbucks) and tried to use the free phone for calling cards. This worked, at first. Then the phone system wouldn't unregister our card, so that any number of calls made on that phone would take credit off our card! I was upset. This is where genius turned into true idiocy. I argued with the people in 7/11 for an hour, a whole hour!, before Jack mentioned that we were arguing about 3.50 USD. Wow. So this is what being stingy really means. Yikes!

We sadly left the 7/11, feeling really embarrassed and got food in the Chinatown market. I was tired and really really hungry. My food of some sort of vegetables, rice and unappetizing meat did not make me feel much better. But the atmosphere did. I was happy to be there, sipping my watermelon smoothie and taking in the crowd. As we walked back to the hostel and took photos of the mosque a block away I was optimistic.

The next day we headed to the National Mosque, where we could not go in because it was prayer time, and really happy not to don the black headpiece, we took a short jaunt up the hill to the Museum of Islamic Art. The building was impressive alone, not to mention the array of the Qura'an and script work. Islamic writing is striking, especially when placed on golden pages with meticulous care and craft. Beyond the Qura'an, jewels and cloth displayed was a room with models of famous Islamic buildings. It made me excited for the day when we can visit Damascus and Uzbekistan, not to mention the Taj Mahal. The buildings are certainly impressive, and it made me wonder if they are a sort of idol themselves, like great Catholic Cathedrals or Buddhist Wats. I left thinking that it’s such a shame most Muslims and Christian and Jews do not have more respect for one another. In the end we are all suppose to live in similar manners when you cut out all the cultural traditions. The lessons in the Qura'an, the Bible and the Torah are similar. Peace. Love. Respect. Humility.

Our discovery after a long walk up a further hill that the National Planetarium was closed was disappointing, so we explored the Orchid and Hibiscus Garden instead. Quaint is the word I'm looking for here to describe it. Because it was hot, extremely hot, we sat in the garden and talked about the roses and lavender at our wedding while we planned a garden in our heads (well I did most of the planning) for the future. It was relaxing. Then a popsicle and a large bottle of water later, we headed back to the city for a night of madness attempting to find an internet cafe.

The next day we traipsed around the city, taking photos of their Twin Towers and gawking at the masses of high-end stores. I was really unimpressed with the city, it seemed crowded, loud and really dirty. Combine this with all the hair wrenching, nail biting traffic scenarios, mainly because of what Jack and I deemed the biker mafia (everyone there seemed to ride either that or a scooter), and the fact that I really hadn't slept because of bugs in the bed, and I just wanted to go home. Or at least to a clean hotel.

But alas, that was not in the cards. Instead we wondered around a street looking for the Laos Embassy. They had moved locations, apparently without informing anyone or updating their website. We did have word that they had stayed on the same street, so we wandered in the rain, after a taxi driver ripped us off, before we discovered it was closed. The street became our haunt the next morning before our flight out in the afternoon.

The highlight of the day, and indeed our time in Kuala Lumpur, was seeing Jack's former roommate Anthony. He's from Kuala Lumpur and was able to show us around a bit that night. It really was a shame he was out of town for the first few days of our visit. We ate some funky, puckery, horribly smelly, yet oddly yummy fruit and another type that was smaller, more delicate and delicious, named the King Fruit and Queen Fruit respectively. We caught up on all of our travels and left marveling about all the wonders that lay in Borneo. When we go back to Malaysia, who knows when that will be, scuba diving will most certainly take precedence on our list of activities.

Our trip the next morning to both the US Embassy and Lao Embassy went smoothly, geeze was it nice to be in US territory again for about a second, and we finally made it to the small airport which would take us to Koh Samui in Thailand after a subway, train, and taxi ride - oh the wonders of travel. We were thrilled to leave.

Next up: Thailand!

Changing Plans in Southeast Asia

I just want to inform you all that our plans are changing a bit. We are now in Malaysia, after spending a few days in Brunei. Our plan had initially been to travel over land to Thailand and up towards Bangkok, stopping along the way to scuba dive. However, recent developments in southern Thailand, including the murder of 8 Thai soldiers a few days ago by rebels and the recent bombing in the Yala provice (right where we would have crossed into Thailand) have made us change our plans. If you want to read about it, visit the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7188654.stm

We now plan, I think, to fly. Although a lot more expensive, we seem to have fewer options now. It just goes to show that you can never be too safe or set plans in stone on these kinds of trips.

We will be in southeast asia for the next six weeks, hopefully visiting Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam before heading to the middle east. We'll try to keep everyone posted.

Meeting Boghans - Traveling Aussie style

So our huge Maui Camper van turned into a home of sorts for at least 10 days. We were able to put our clothes away in the cubby holes and cook our own meals. Plus we had a great time just traveling the way Aussies do on summer vacation. We left Sydney on the 26th and spent that first night in a rest stop on the side of the road. It was an interesting experience, we were attempting to do what all the posters on the side of the roads say and "not sleep and drive." Odd? Yes, but effective. We got to Jack's other first cousin's house that morning and geared up for a day of sight-seeing in Lake Cathie (pronounced cat high). We drove down Ghost Rode, named so because of the white trees, and up to a lookout on the highest mountain, or hill, in the area. We had some fine fish and chips while we chatted with his cousin Fiona before heading back to her place and napping before dinner.



Dinner that night was wonderful. We ate lobster and prawns again (seems like a true Aussie summer meal) and pulled crackers to celebrate (my first time pulling real cracker with a present inside). What we were celebrating I do not know - but it was close to the new year and I think they were left over. It was great to meet his family, especially his great aunt Joan, who shared some wonderful photos of Jack's grandfather as a boy.

The next few days were spent walking on the beach, fishing in a lake system in a small metal boat (Jack did the fishing, I just watched really), and visiting a zoo of sorts called Billabong Sanctuary, where we walked with kangaroos and petted koalas. We also saw wombats and cassowaries (small versions of Ostriches really). It was a lot of fun, but seeing them all in the wild was much better. On Ghost Road the night before we saw a a whole bunch of wild kangaroos - jumping really high and fast to get clear of the lights from the car, it was crazy.



We then headed up the coast towards Lenox Head and Byron Bay which were packed with tourists! We stopped at other places along the way in the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, just as a storm was headed our way.
Here is a break in the clouds!


We made it to just north of Brisbane for New Years, where we spent an incredibly rainy night in our camper van. We pulled to the side of the road, near where fireworks were supposed to go off, to cook our Indian dinner and open our beers. The rain was pouring down and the fireworks were cancelled. So we headed back to the camp site for the night and spent an absolutely lovely evening drinking Champagne and playing games. It was so much fun, and the perfect was to celebrate an anniversary for us - we've known one another for four years, having met New Year's Eve 2003.



We then spent the next few days traveling up the coast, avoiding the rain when possible and attempting to site see. We made it to an Aboriginal Cultural Center near Rockhampton called Dreamtime. Although mentioned as one of the best in the country, we were a bit disappointed with the lack of overall information on Aborigines. Despite that, we had our share of didgeridoo playing and boomerang throwing - I was quite good :)

Before we got to Townsville, where we met up with our friend Josh again, we headed out to the Whitsundays for a couple of days. It was gorgeous there, and no rain. We took a boat out to the reef for an afternoon and went snorkeling. Although Jack and I expected much more color in the coral, the fish were fantastic. Plus it got us riled up for our scuba diving lessons in Thailand. We've decided that when we go back to Australia, it will be to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef.

We then spent a few days with Josh in Townsville and got to see the school where my friend Jackie teaches and their new home. It was splendid. I have to admit, there is no way I could live in Townsville, being in the tropics and extremely hot all year, but it was great to see their home there and the life they have together. We also got to experience Josh's fabulous cooking and share our experience with the Boghans!

So in Melbourne Jackie told me all about Boghans. Which, as she described it, were simply sketchy people who tended to have rat tails or mullets. I didn't really understand what she meant - that is, until I saw some for myself. It was in one of the many camp sites we stayed at along the way. This particular one was perfectly nice, with a pool, Internet, laundry and an outdoor grill. I first noticed the family because of the cute kids (I'm a sucker for cute kids) who happened to all have shaved heads except for the tuft of hair at the bottom (i.e. mullets). Then there was mom and dad: mom held a baby of about 18 months and dad was wearing boots, cutoffs and a flannel shirt (also cut off). I was suspicious. Then, without warning the mom got into the pool and started breastfeeding her 18 month old! Right there! I was convinced - these were the infamous Boghans. Josh agreed they must. So there it is folks.

After our trip to Townsville we flew to Darwin for a few days, where we tried to relax, take long walks, and went to see some Crocs!

In between we took in a movie and stocked up on items we would not be able to find in south east Asia. I think we were both ready to move on and travel by bus, plane, and boat again!

Now onto our 7 weeks traveling in Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, etc.

Opera and the Harbor

Perhaps because it was the holiday season, I was missing home more than usual. Although I've wanted to go to Sydney since a couple friends of mine in college studied there, I couldn't get too excited about it. The first day in town we walked all over George Street, Circular Quay and The Rocks, went to a lovely dinner. But I couldn't get over the fact that Christmas was supposed to be cold, with snow and everyone bundled up going Christmas shopping. That was until Jack took me to the Sydney Opera House!

The Opera House is more than you can imagine. Its gorgeous. Not only is the story of its construction amazing, but the structure itself is phenomenal. I tried to take as many pictures of the curved roofs and slanted walkways as possible. [enter photos here]

Jack, knowing how much I like Christmas carols, bought us tickets to the opera house holiday show. It was fantastic and I was blown away by the acoustics. The singers and musicians don't use microphones, the sound bounces off the wood in such a way that they don't have to. However, because the sounds takes a few seconds to come back to them, they placed plastic rings above the musicians which capture 40% of the sound and directs it back to the players in real time, so that they can hear what they are playing. What an interesting idea. Plus, the music was fun and you all know how I love to sing. Even though they made jokes about the Christmas barbeques and sang a few bizarre carols, it immediately made me get more into the Christmas spirit.

After the show we ran, literally, for the harbor and our ferry to Watson's Bay where we were meeting Jack's family (Jane, his first cousin-once-removed, and her family). Watson's Bay was stunning. On the way over we got to see amazing views of the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House, plus all the boats in the bay. Then once there we took a walk along the water and beach and saw a beautiful little fishing spot taken up by some Asian families which just happened to be alongside a nude beach (really Jane described it to me as a couple of older men who were always fishing naked). Strange combo, but interesting nonetheless. Then we went out to dinner with them to a pizza parlor close to Bondhi Beach. It was such a pleasure spending time with them that we readily agreed to visit again for Christmas.

Christmas Eve we left our Y Hotel (YWCA hostel) to spend a wonderful two nights in the Sheraton on the Park. We decided to celebrate with a warm, comfy bed and a huge shower! Then we went to Chinatown and the Anglican Cathedral. If you don't know, my family has a strange, but lovely, Christmas Eve tradition based on the movie "A Christmas Story" in which a family's Christmas dinner is ruined when neighbors dogs eat it. So, they all go out for an nontraditional meal where they are sung "Deck the Halls" with a fa ra ra instead of fa la la. Funny stuff. Since about 15 years ago, my family has always gone to eat Japanese food in celebration. So, because or token Japanese restaurant ended up being closed, Jack and I went to a Chinese restaurant before going to the Cathedral for service. The service was splendid, complete with a boys gospel choir. Growing up Catholic, I found the service refreshing, void of the more formal sermon and readings. Plus, something about church has always made me really happy and relaxed, the perfect way to celebrate giving and the holiday spirit, whatever your personal beliefs might be.

A few days before we had spent a rainy afternoon in Darling Harbor and gone shopping on George street for stocking stuffers, so we had ample ammo for our Christmas morning surprises. I got Jack the typical goodies: a Toblerone, some games and small toys, a kangaroo boxing pen, bursting jelly babies (starburst flavor), etc., and he got me the most important chocolate items, including mints, and a toothbrush! Without the decorated stockings we improvised with some of Jack's socks, and yes they were clean. We then opened our two gifts: mine a hat/scarf combo made of possum and cashmere; his a pair of binoculars that he wanted, before heading to our family's for Christmas.

Christmas with the Rothschild/Dickson gang was interesting. I have never eaten shrimp with their heads still on before, but I braved it all in the name of an Aussie Christmas, and boldly ate my lobster and prawns. I don't know if Jack or Jane, Nigel and Simon would agree it was that bold, but I thought so. At least they all kept major chuckles to themselves. We had a lovely day, again taking a walk and enjoying their company. Simon just got into Penn, so we hope to see more of him at the family Thanksgivings over the next four years.

Our Sydney adventure ended as Jack and I picked up our enormous camper van on Boxing Day, the 26th! We headed out to start our road trip, traveling like the locals in the summer heat.

Pictures coming!

Melbourne and Melvin

On December 15th Jack and flew from New Zealand, where the temperature was cool and balmy at times, to Melbourne, where the Australian summer hit us like a ton of bricks as we stepped off the plane. We were there for a few reasons but our main one was to see our friends Jackie (nee Melvin) and Josh. I had gone to school with Jackie in Boston and, as she's now married to an Aussie and lives here with him, I rarely see her.

Our plan was to meet them in Melbourne on the 16th and stay for a few days before heading to Sydney for Christmas. Although they live in Townsville, they were headed to Josh's family in Tasmania for the holidays, so Melbourne was the perfect spot to meet. We took a really late flight into Melbourne, got in a cab and headed to the hostel I booked online for the first night when just Jack and I were there. The "plan" which quickly turned into a failed plan!

We got to the hostel around 1 am. Drunken 20-somethings packed the streets on their way out to clubs and bars to find soul mates, or maybe just a mate for the night. Among the crowded street was the hostel, completely postered up and geered for the young, hip crowd. We were just looking foward to sleep. But that was not in the cards. We finally managed our way inside when the night attendant told us that our room had been double-booked and proceeded to give us $10 for a cab to another, far away, hotel. We tiredly walked outside, made our way with our large backpacks and travel ware to the corner, hailed a cab just to be told that it was only a few blocks away and we could walk. Not what you want to do at 1:30 am. But we did it anyway, until I was tooo tired to face the 20 some-odd blocks it turned out to be! So we finally got into a cab and made it to our new hotel. Whew. The rest of the trip was far more enjoyable than our early morning stroll amongst the puke and hussy filled streets.

We met up with Jackie and Josh the next afternoon and headed out in search of a belt for Jack and a dress for me. Obviously with so little packing room we had not planned for a nice night out with friends. That night we were going to a fancy dinner on a train that toured the city, called "Meals on Wheels." Our attire of fast drying clothes and Keen sandals would not have done. So we went to Target! I couldn't believe they had Targets here, but thanks to globalization, they did. After a successful shopping trip, we headed to the Melbourne Gaol (that's Jail in the USA).

The gaol was fascinating. I learned about Ned Kelley and all the unfortunate people who had to spend time there, any amount of time. Unfortunately none of the four of us remembered to bring a camera; so as they treated us all like convicts, making us form lines and putting us in the holding cells that they used until the 1990s, we have no proof of it. In the beginning however, the police officer looked at us all and picked a person to role play who looked like he/she would never be in a jail. That person was me. I just look that innocent. (Don't laugh.) We each got a card with our crime on it, mine was larson with the intent to kill, Jack's was indecent exposure! It was all in good fun.

That night we got all dressed up and headed to dinner. And although my shoes garnered a "nice 'fancy' shoes Joyce" from Jackie, they had to do. It was great to spend time with Jackie and Josh, getting to know him better especially as the night wore on. We went to the casino afterwards, just to drink and watch the ridiculous Christmas show. It was a good night.

We got up fairly early the next morning. Thanks to Josh and Jackie, who went to pick up the rental car, we got to sleep in later. Then we all headed to the Great Ocean Road. We saw beautiful passages, like Route 1 in California, and the 12 Apostles, but most importantly we saw koalas in the eucalyptus trees. They were adorable. And its completely true that you want to hug them on site, but the ones that don't grow up in petting zoos really aren't friendly.

The next two days were spent visiting all the Melbourne sites: the skytower, the museum, the aquarium, an Anglican cathedral and walked all over. It was a lot of fun. On the 19th we said our goodbyes and were off to Sydney.

In retrospect, I think I liked Melbourne most out of our Aussie city adventures. It certainly was nice, with milder temps than the rest. Even though the Great Ocean Road was a fly haven (flies literally swarmed us as we got out of the car to see the sites) the city was quaint. I think Jackie and Josh's decision to move from the tropics down that way is a great one! Hopefully you'll get lots of visitors in a couple of years, Jacks.