Exploring

This weekend we were anxious to get out and about to explore our new surroundings.  Keith was looking for a national forest, but his only "map" was the satellite image from Google Earth.  As it so happened, we ended up stumbling upon several cool spots in our search for the perfect "nature trail" to hike.

The first spot we accidentally discovered was this beautiful lake with picnic areas, a walking trail, and a large, fun playground.  We were tempted to get out and enjoy some time here, but decided to save it for another day.

Keith let his nose guide him to where he thought the national forest would be... well, we turned off into a bunch of trees and headed up a narrow winding road that was reminiscent of the Road to Hana in Maui (another amazing place!)

Even though we didn't find the particular trail for which Keith was looking, we did find this trail...

We saw giant ants (and I mean giant... like 1 inch long!), red dragonflies, and LOTS of mosquitoes.  Some things don't change on the other side of the world!  

Next, we stumbled upon some beautiful gardens, the National Forestry Center, and a museum!

Terima Kasih means "Thank You" in Malay

This was the exit at the museum

Our last discovery (of which I didn't get any photos) was a huge recreation area with lots of hiking trails and an awesome playground for the kids.  By this time, however, the kids (and I) were tired and ready to go eat lunch, so we plan to return another time.

We drove back to Seria town, where we ate at a local fast-food restaurant called Jollibee.   It's kind of like a KFC, but instead of mashed potatoes, you get a ball of rice as your side dish!  Very Asian.

We had a great time exploring, and all of this was within just 25km or so (gotta get used to metric!)  Just wait until we really venture out into the Borneo jungle!!!