Local Market

Ever since we moved here, I've been doing all of my shopping at SupaSave grocery store.  It's close, it's expat-friendly, and it's familiar.  It's also pricey, so I've been wanting to go to a local market.  I had heard about local markets, but I wasn't sure of the hours, location, or what to expect.  This past Friday a friend invited me to go along with her to the market in Seria.

When we first got out of the car, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it smelled like a carnival or state fair, with fried food scents wafting through the fruit stalls.  That somewhat comforting aroma was quickly replaced, however, by the nauseating odor of dried fish.

Dried fish in a bag, anyone?  

There were other strange-looking fish things at this stall, but I had to breathe through my mouth, and even then I was feeling sick, so we hurried past before I could take any more photos.

There were also MANY vegetables and fruits that I had never seen before, and still don't know what they are!  I tried to ask what they were, but the people thought I was asking the price.  "One Dollah" was a common response to my queries.

A little ways down from the dried fish stall was the "fresh" fish stall.  

When you see fish lying out on a table in 90 degree weather, 

with flies swarming all around,

 it doesn't exactly make you want to have fish for dinner! 

How about some squid??

In the end, the most adventuresome I got was to buy 

some rambutan, a little spiky red fruit. 

 I also got onions, potatoes, and celery for our Thanksgiving feast.

There is an unexpected section where they sell pottery, glassware, and decor.  

Check out the leafy green vegetable on a sleigh...

A wide selection of Asian vases, tea sets, and buddhas...

And finally, I could have even gotten a Christmas tree...

I will go back another day and buy more fresh fruits and veggies.   It is definitely cheaper than buying them at SupaSave!

BORNEO TROPICAL RAINFOREST RESORT

This past weekend, just after moving into our home, we took a mini vacation to the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Resort in Malaysia.  Sounds promising, doesn't it?  


First, a geography lesson.  When people hear Malaysia, they may think of Peninsular Malaysia, where Kuala Lumpur is located.  Malaysia also has 2 states across the South China Sea on the island of Borneo: Sarawak and Sabah.  The Borneo Tropical Rainforest Resort is located in Sarawak, about a 2.5 hour drive from where we live in Brunei.


This was our first experience crossing a border.  We had to stop on the Brunei side to fill out some paperwork with our car engine number and other important information like that, and then we were stamped out of Brunei and followed the arrows into Malaysia.  Well, we attempted to follow the arrows.  If only I had a picture... But just imagine an arrow painted on the pavement, and then 20 feet in front of that arrow another arrow pointing in the opposite direction.  If 2 cars were following the arrows, there would be a head-on collision.  Lucky for us, we were the only car on this particular road!  We knew we wanted to go through Miri, so we just kept following the signs in the correct direction for Miri.  As it turned out, there was a reason we were the only car on the road.  Those crazy arrows actually ended up leading us completely past Malaysia immigration.  Since we managed to bypass immigration, we didn't get our passports stamped "in", and realized we were now illegal aliens in a foreign land.  Maybe they need to tighten up security, you think?  No gates, no guards, nothing kept us from bypassing immigration!


Fast forward to the Resort...


2 hours later, we arrived at the grand entrance to the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Resort, presented our reservations, and were allowed through the gates.  After 15 minutes of driving up and down and around the rainforest on a rocky road (Harton cleverly said we were driving on ice cream... Rocky Road... ha ha!), we finally reached the actual resort.  If you are thinking of some lush, tropical paradise with a large pool and fruity drinks, think again.


There are 2 ways to describe the place:


1. A charming, rustic getaway nestled in the heart of Borneo, surrounded by the natural wonders of the rainforest.  Gourmet dining buffet allows guests to sample bountiful local cuisine at every meal.


2. A hot, humid, 1-step-up-from-camping cabin nestled amidst the mosquitoes, giant ants, tarantulas, and bats.  Good luck finding something to eat amongst the fish head soup, squid noodles, and what the heck is that egg dish at the "yes, this is your only option for every meal" buffet.


Let me be honest.  I had a killer headache most of the weekend, I hate being sticky and sweaty, and my idea of fun is NOT trekking through the rainforest with a crying 18 month old, while my head feels like it's going to explode from the heat and exhaustion, and I'm stuck carrying a heavy bag of 6 towels and swimsuits (which I so brilliantly packed since we were to end the tour---which I thought was on a tram, but turned out the tram was just to drop us off for a 2 hour hike--- at the waterpark.)  I just could not get into the spirit of it all.  Maybe if my head wasn't pounding, I could have enjoyed it a little bit more?  The kids and Keith had a great time though!  


As mentioned above, the tour ended at a small "water park", which turned out to be perfect for our kids.  I enjoyed it too because it was the only time I got to cool off, and the slides were pretty fun too.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the water park because I didn't want to get out of the cool water!


Some other highlights for the family were a night walk to look for tarantulas, a zip line which Natalie loved, fishing, hiking, a small kind of zoo with chickens, goats, and peacocks (random!), and a waterfall.  Another family from BSP met us there, and they have 6 kids, so of course our kids loved playing with their kids!


We survived the weekend, and on our way back we stopped at "Mr. Ho's Fine Foods" in Miri, where the kids (well, Natalie and Harton) ordered ham and cheese sandwiches.  They scarfed them down and said it was the best food they've eaten in weeks!  Maybe we should take them to Malaysian buffets more often so they'll appreciate "normal" food!


Now, remember how we circumvented immigration when we arrived?  Well, we got held up trying to get out of Malaysia.  Keith played dumb really well, and finally the lady just said, very sternly, "SIR... you HAVE to go through our immigration next time you come into Malaysia!"  (Dumb Americans!)   She stamped us in AND out, and sent us on our way.  Whew!


Now for some pictures...  

 Eating with some of the Schaumann family

 Landon, what a trooper

 Keith, Natalie, and friend Tyler

 Natalie on the "Flying Fox" zipline

 Keith on the Flying Fox

 Lacy with some local gongs

 Harton

The whole crazy group

When I look at the pictures, it looks pretty fun.  Maybe it will be like childbirth... down the road I will only remember the good parts, and I'll find myself returning over and over again.  But, there are many other places I want to visit before we return there!  Singapore, Thailand, Bali, Australia, Hong Kong...  Stay tuned!

Holding My Breath

I have to type very carefully and hold my breath, or I just might lose this amazing, miraculous internet connection that we finally (have!!!!)  Seriously, it's been a battle to get it, and we've had it for snatches of 5 minutes here and there, so I may not even get to finish this entry.


UPDATE!!!!


Only 2 1/2 months after arriving in Brunei, we are in our permanent house!  We moved in last week, to a 3 bedroom in camp.  I love the location, the jungle view out of our wall of windows, and the natural light.  I will really love it when the boxes and packing paper are gone, and things are put away.  Right now it's chaos!  And random things are missing... like the front wheel of my jogging stroller, and all of the bicycle locks.  


Just 2 days after moving in, we took our first mini vacation to the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Resort in Malaysia.  I think it deserves its own post, so "to be continued"...