Braving Borneo

Finally I arrived, a mere 3 ½ hours later than planned (thanks a lot, mister VIP).  Only 1 day in Brunei so this robbed me of 15% of my time!  Part of travel though: take it as it comes and make the most of it.  Right after getting to my hotel, I headed out to the night market.  This was one of the key “to do and see” items on my list, and also my plan for dinner.  Which, as you look through the photos, you’ll realize was rather adventurous.  Remember the Survivor weekend, Mom, and the spin-the-wheel of death-by-strange-food game?  Now I know what you do with chicken feet to eat them – BBQ, of course!

So I wandered around the market, asking people if I could take photos and prying them for information on the contents of their

stands.  After having a taxi driver who spoke perfect English and employees at the hotel who speak English very well, it was a good reminder that even in a former colony and well-developed Sultanate, your average Bruneian speaks Malay, or Iban, or Tutong, or Chinese.  Or whatever, as per musings in my last entry.  But not necessarily English.  Nonetheless, I was greeted with friendliness whether I bought or not, and people made a huge effort to try to answer my questions and tell me about their wares.

Dinner?  Well, it comprised of three different banana leave wraps (nasi lemak – rice in banana leaves, I guess).  One with rice and beef (says the vendor), one just with rice and sweet paste of some kind, and the third with rice and “fish things”.  I probably should have guessed it, but was horrified to take a bite of wrap #3 and taste my nemesis anchovies – this was not a good thing as merely the smell of those little buggers is enough to make me ill for a day!  Thankfully, the other half of my dinner was a bag full of rambutans, so I quickly peeled a few and ate them FAST.  Problem solved.  Total price for my dinner of nasi lemak, rambutans and water:  $2.50

After my visit to the market, I walked back to the hotel, despite hotel staff encouragement not to – they wanted me to call for a car to pick me up.  (Jill, why is it that wherever we go, hotels think we shouldn’t be walking around on our own – remember the horrified looks in Moshi when we insisted we did not need a guide?)  On my way, I went past Brunei’s largest mosque, which looks stunning all lit up at night.  This mosque has 29 golden domes, 4 minarets 58m tall and space for 4500 worshipers.  And is not far from my hotel, which was a bit unfortunate at 4:30 am when the call to prayer songs woke me up.

Now – on into the center of Bandar Seri Begawan!  Lots to do and see in my                    remaining hours!

we are perhaps all used to having flights delayed due to inclement weather conditions, technical issues, crew members missing, and the like.  My flight to Brunei today is delayed due to VIP movement on the other side.  That is, someone very important in Brunei has decided to travel today, and therefore the airport has been closed off to all other air traffic for 2 hours.   So – once again I’m hanging out in a lounge.  Which gives me the chance to share my experience hitherto with asian service and my confusion about languages, nationalities and countries.

Let’s start with that – although the final conclusion is really quite simple, this morning I was rather boggled by the manicurists.  There I was, having someone working on my hands while another girl worked on my feet (yes, I tipped them for taking on such a daunting task) and they began chatting with each other.   I naturally asked which language they were speaking and to the answer “Mandarin”, followed up with an innocent:  “oh, so do you come from China or from Singapore?”  They giggled and answered then deadpan, “from Malaysia.”  Now, I’ve been dutifully reading in my Borneo tourism book and I had to ask…”um, shouldn’t you then speak Malay?”  They giggled again and shook their heads.   That was my answer.  And really, it is about that simple.  This part of Asia is such a melting pot, that you can’t really create simple ratios like we tend to grow up with, such as Germany = German, France = French, US = English.   In Singapore, there are 4 official languages (English, Tamil, Malay, and Chinese) and the situation isn’t that different in neighboring areas like Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.  In most of these countries you’re likely to encounter any number of people with heritage from one of the other countries.  So it’s commonplace to hear all different languages in all different configurations – and very often an amalgamation of several tongues at once.

Regardless of which nationality or language I’ve dealt with so far, it’s been paired with first rate service.  T he concept of service here is still one based on what seems in western countries to have become antiquated notions that the word derives from “to serve” and basically means performing duties or tasks in order to satisfy or fulfill someone else. that “someone else” being the customer who is therefore by default “king.”   My flight delay for example: obviously, Singapore Airlines has no influence over the travel decision of VIP in Brunei travel. Nevertheless, I was informed by 3 different airline employees, all of whom profusely apologized for the delay.  In addition,  at check in, I was presented with an official letter of apology and an invitation to eat lunch at the airlines’ expense to help ensure my comfort during the wait.  I politely declined, indicating I would just proceed to the lounge to get a cup of tea.  Once in the lounge, I realized the invitation for lunch still exists – there is full buffet replete with various curries, noodle dishes, rice, vegetables and so on.  In addition to the standard lounge food and snacks that you find everywhere.  Okay, no champagne like in Lufthansa lounges, but that is simply a cultural difference rather than a lack of providing comfort for their customers.  Why do so many people really like Asia?  Plenty of answers to that question, and I think this service mentality is certainly one of them.

let’s start today’s post with a question: does anything beat Indian hospitality?

Everything with my trip went fine – the A380 lived up to expectations (quiet, very smooth flying) and I had an empty seat next to me, so a bit more space to sleep.  And I laughed through Rock of Ages, enjoying the 80s music and all the memories it conjures.

Upon arrival, the immigration official was unimpressed with a lack of “address while in Singapore” filled out on my card.  He was very friendly though and agreed that if I provided my friends’ telephone number, that would be good enough. And on exiting baggage claim, I easily found Pooja waiting for me – I should have known better than to question the arrangements!  We had a lovely afternoon enjoying snacks, tea, and later drinks in the Casa Mohan, which is beautifully decorated for the Diwali holidays and has a great view out onto the Singapore Strait.  Pooja managed to get me linked up on the phone to a good friend who REALLY knows cameras, and by the time we met up with him and his wife for dinner, he was toting a new zoom lens and filters for me.  not bad, to shop via phone and have it delivered over a wonderful indian dinner! And we finished off the day with a 1 hour foot massage – heavenly.  Why exactly can’t you get a massage at 10pm every where in the world?  I mean, there’s hardly a better time to enjoy that kind of relaxation.  And with that, this weary traveller is off to bed and tomorrow: heading to Brunei.  (that is, after pedicure, manicure and lunch!)

do I have all the right things?  did I pack too much?  and why exactly don’t I have a super light-weight duffel bag with wheels?

half of my suitcase is dedicated to my travel pharmacy and gear for the mountain climb – the other half (minus space for my regulator/dive computer) has my clothes.  so not a lot, really – but the suitcase still feels really heavy! they will love it when I step onto the boat transfer will all my stuff; hope we don’t sink in the middle of the jungle somewhere.  Worse case, I might start unloading ballast as I go.  Store a few things after the mountain climb instead of taking them with me, donate a T-shirt to the local needy, use up ALL my bugspray and  sunscreen really fast and then brave the elements.  any other great ideas from some of you?

last night I was feeling nervous about saying goodbye to my loved ones and heading out alone into the the unkonwn – sitting here in the lounge enjoying a last glass of champagne (I’m thinking Borneo will be a bit like re-hab with pretty much no alc far and wide, but plenty of action to prevent you noticing it’s missing), the nervousness has been replaced by excitement.  or exhaustion.   Just got back from a whirlwind 40 hour trip to Paris today, had 4 hours to get home, unpack/repack, finish things up for my absence and get back to the airport.  So it’s a well-earned last glass of champagne!  And in 30 minutes, I’ll be on the flight to Frankfurt, where I’ll transfer to my connecting flight.  And my connecting flight is already an adventure without even being out of Germany yet:  this marks my first journey on the A380!  Looking forward to see if it’s all it’s hyped up to be.

So, I’m on my way!  Next post likely to come from Singapore, hopefully from friends Ajay and Pooja’s  house, assuming they got my message with arrival time.  otherwise it’ll come from Singapore airport, wondering where to spend the night….

Some of you know that I have been a bit of an excel freak since about the age of 16 – so of course my trip is completely planned in a spreadsheet.  To get things started, I’m doing a quick and dirty paste here and will pretty it up as we go.  Right now, just trying to get everything settled, packed, and ready since I’m flying out tomorrow and only have about 3 hour stopover at home on Wednesday before heading off to Asia.  Truthfully – I’m feeling like I may have planned things a bit too close at the moment.  And I’m a little nervous about the upcoming solo trip – been a while since I was completely on my own in a new part of the world!  Sure it’s going to be great, once I get my travel legs back.  But anyway, I’m off to get my packing done and here’s a preview of the trip plan:

7 Nov        Depart Stuttgart:  movies, books, sleep on the plane – probably back in row 46 or something

8 Nov        arrive Singapore and visit friends!

9 Nov        travel to Brunei: wander around Bandar Seri Begawan, dinner at a night market

10 Nov      excursion to Ulu Temburong, water village, evening flight to Kota Kinabalu

11 Nov      departure from hotel at 7:30, head to Mt. Kinabalu. Climb up the mountain to the Pendant Hut, attend briefing with Via Ferrata guide, dinner and a few hours’ sleep

12 Nov      Depart Hut at 2:00am for summit bid; complete Via Ferrata “walk the torq” route and then descend to HQ in the early afternoon

13 Nov      Travel to Sepilok to visit the Orangutans, transfer to Lower Kinabatangan River Sanctuary for afternoon river jungle safari, dinner and then night jungle walk

14 Nov      Morning river safari and then travel to Semporna

15-17         Boat to Mabul Resort on 15^th, then 3 days diving around Mabul and Sipadan

18 Nov      Lounge in the sun until the travel starts – back to the mainland, transfer to Tawau, flight to KK

19 Nov      Sleep in!!!   And then mid-day flight through BSB to Singapore

20 Nov      Relaxed day with friends in Singapore and then start the long journey home- likely back in row 46 again

Flights are booked, itinerary defined, and departure date approaching. But right now I’m in Malta and heading out to catch some afternoon sun – I’ll post the plan for Borneo asap. It’s going to be an exhilarating endeavor!