Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Feb. 27, 2007

Sabah, is one of two Malaysian provinces on the island of Borneo. We stopped in the capital of this province called Kota Kinabalu. This island too is covered with tropical rain forests. We did not have time, but you can take jungle treks to see hornbills, orangutans and many other amazing creatures. Elephants still roam wild in these jungles! Sabah has the highest peak between the Himalayas and New Guinea. It is called Mt. Kinabalu and it is 13, 450 feet high. It is a place of spiritual significance for the Kadazan people, who believe the souls of the departed reside here. The Malaysian ringgit is the currrency here. The exchange rate was $3.55 ringgits to $1 American dollar. We did all we could in the time we had here. There is not a lot of history here in their buildings etc... The reason, WWII. During WWII, the city of Kota Kinabalu was razed. The oldest part of the city now is vintage 1950's. Not very pretty. The area we focused on was the inside shopping stall market and then the fishing market. We had a fun day.
Welcome toKota Kinabalu! This is a picture coming into the port of houses on the river bank/ sea bank.

This is a picture of the port. There were just a few vendors set up at the port. Charles and Nicholas settle in for a 7 minute ride from the port to the shopping area.

We had just a bite of muffins and coffee/milk before we caught a bus so we headed over to the pastry shop upon our arrival. Look what they wanted us to eat!! These are the most unusual hot dogs I've ever seen. Here, they cut slices into the TOP of the hoagie type roll and fill it with their meat, cheese, lettuce etc...all their sandwiches look this way. They had put lettuce, mayo, and some cucumbers on this hot dog!


Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, they are everywhere! Nicholas' kindergarten teacher, 3 years back, Mrs. Sally Williams, would have to buy a second set of luggage if she were here! She collects pigs and would have a hard time deciding which ones to get for sure. We will try to get the perfect pig for her collection.

I saw this sign and tried to get a picture of it but the people working in the store were wondering what in the world I was doing so I did not try to explain. Vacancy, on this sign, meant Help Wanted. The sign went on to say, you must be 5' 2" tall, female, and two photos of yourself to apply!! Basically, they wanted cute girls in there. I don't think this would work at home!

Shopping has become one of Kathleen's favorite thing to do! Nicholas told Charles one day what he learned about shopping on this trip. " Boys have to wait on the girls while they shop, then they have to pay for all the stuff and then they have to carry the stuff!" Charles thought he'd grasped the idea.

Kathleen managed to find a cute skirt. Hair accessories are all the rage here. Every other stall had hair accessories. We had enough of the shopping stalls and walked to the fish, meat, vegetable market. People come by boat to shop. After two days of touring in the rain, it was hot and clear today but we managed to find an umbrella tree!!

Yeah!! Nicholas had to get out of the fish market, as the smells were very strong and stomach turning. We decided to get some air and found cold cokes!! As you look at the following pictures, don't be eating your lunch!!





Nicholas found a nice lady that we nicknamed the "noodle lady". All she sold was noodles. Many differnt types.

We found a Target! I don't think it is like our Target at home but it was nice to see.









The chicken butcher decided to nap. He was napping on top of the countertop where he cuts up the chickens! It was efficient use of space but probably would not please the health inspector!!

This little guy had all of his mom's purchases and was waiting for her on the sidewalk. He was trying to get into the toy she had gotten him. I guess Nicholas nailed it about the boys having to wait and carry the bags, it seems to happen in many cultures no matter the age.

Look at this corn closely. Do you notice something strange? The cloves of garlic beside them are almost the same size! This was some kind of tiny corn on the cob! Would not feed many at a 4th of July picnic!

Here we go into the unusual section of the market. These are intestines. They were displayed nicely.

These actually were beautiful These are fresh peppers. All looked really pretty in the baskets they were in.

These are organs of some type. Not really sure, but they were near the intestine section and very fresh looking. The smell however...YIKES!

Can anyway say chicken?? Chicken was the meat of choice and their were many stalls selling them. The only part of the chicken they did not have for sale were the beaks. All else was available. I think there was a two for one on the feet!

Enough shopping. Let's head back to the ship. We found the first class section of the bus. It was seperated from the rest of the bus and very nicely air-conditioned! It was probably the smoking section but it worked for our purposes and that was to cool off. The high today was in the 90's. The smells were in the 100's. We were ready to go back to our home on the ship. We actually were hungry!!

Look what we found to eat on the ship! It was burger day. This burger had about 50 pounds of meat in it! It was on display at the pool buffet. The things this staff can create are works of art! It was all real. Real meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, bun...the whole thing! Amazing.

This burger was made out of ice! I guess it was an iceburg-er!!

The kids convinced their buddy, Jay, to play ping-pong with them. He went easy on them. He has several ping pong trophies in his garage in San Antonio!!

What a beautiful way to end the day! We were watching the sunset from the cabin and all of a sudden it looked like the sky was on fire! A gorgeous sunset, right out of a travel brochure kind.




Tomorrow is supposed to be a day at sea. However, we seem to be early due to good currents. We may have a quick stop on an island called Palawan. It is part of the Philippines. A remote island to sun and snorkel. We will try to get good photos for the snorkeling and diving enthusiasts, as this is supposed to be a haven for such.

Muara, Brunei Feb. 26th, 2007

Welcome to Brunei, can we check you for fever? Yes, you guessed it, all passengers had to have their temperature taken in their ear before they were allowed access to this country! That was a first for us. Luckily, none of us had a fever, so they let us in. They have been testing here ever since the SARS virus came out! I did not ask if any passengers were declined. No news is good news!! Kathleen and Nicholas were not all that happy with the prodcedure but these two gals stood between them and meeting one of the richest people in the world! The Sultan of Brunei!! This country is wedged between the Maylasian state of Sarawak and the South China Sea, on the vast island of Borneo, the tiny sultanate of Brunei is unlike any other Southeast Asian nation. It has been ruled by the same family since the 14th century, it became a British protectorate in1888 and OIL was discovered here in 1929. Today, the oil is still flowing and for it's size, Brunei is one of the richest countries in the world. The people here get free medical care and free educations! There is no tax here!! Over 80% of Brunei is untouched rainforest. Hundreds of thousands of acres are yet to be explored for plant varieties. Who knows how many different kinds of cures for diseases could be in this dense vegetation! A much differnet feeling here than anywhere we have been. You'll see from the pictures. The population of Maura is only 60,000. That made it seem like a really small town!! The exchange rate was $1.6 Brunei dollars to $1 American dollar. The current Sultan is Brunei's 29th Sultan. He is Hassanal Bolkiah. He has ruled here since 1967. He runs everything here. He was once listed as THE wealthiest man in the world, having $40 billion dollars US. However, his extravagances are legendary and his personal holdings now are somewhere around $10 Billion US!!!! Much of his money has gone to his new palace. It has 1,800 rooms, 257 bathrooms, 10 elevators, five swimming pools a 110 car garage and air conditioned stables for his 200 throughbred polo ponies. The Sultan enjoys collecting things like, 350 Rolls Royces, eight jets and instead of buying his daughter a car when she turned 16, he got her an Airbus!! We did not get to have tea with him, darn it, maybe next time we will give him more notice and we will get some pictures of some of those bathrooms!! We had a great day despite not meeting the Sultan. I hope you enjoy our day as much as we did...

Are you really going to put that in my ear??

This is a mosque. They had speakers outside calling all Muslims to come in and pray. Then another shot of the mosque from the mall area.

Inside the mall, you can find Prada, Chanel, Versace, you name it. All the women wear wraps of all color and kind. I have no idea who buys all these other beautiful clothes, handbags, shoes and makeup!! Escalators in this part of the world are 10 times faster than the ones in the US. They get you there quickly. This mall was also ready for the New Year.
Do you notice anything different about this street compared to most places we have been? No cars, buses, bikes, motorcycles trying to run you over! We crossed streets without fear. That was nice. Charles and Kathleen were tempting fate by standing in this road too long though!

This is a shot of the non-busy street that looks out to the Chinese village on the water. Many peopple choose to live on stilt houses on the water. Connected by boardwalks. We decided the only real plus would be that it is probably cooler over there on the water. They all have little boats to ferry themselves across to the mainland. It is only about 400 yards across the river to get there.

Kathleen stated dancing in front of this Royal Regalia Building which holds the crown jewels of the Sultan. I did not know if dancing was allowed, so that was the end of that! Did not want to leave her in the Brunei jail!

There were two things the kids had never seen. A book mobile and a counter full of typewriters! The typewriters were selling for about $15 US dollars!! It was funny to see them. Has been a while for us too.

Look closely at the picture with Kathleen and Nicholas next to the stand with the green top. If you look above Kathleen's head you can see a picture of the Sultan. His face is on all their money and on most every street corner. We have been collecting flags and could not find one from here! Bummer. A funny thing though, every house, no matter it's size, had a national flag flying on it. It must be a law. Their flags were everywhere.




We saw this man making shoes! I guess some people's shoes do get taken from those mosques and they have to come here and get a pair made!

Whoops! Here we go again! They want our shoes. I got smart and put a pair of socks in my purse. The thought of being barefoot was more than I wanted. It was muggy and hot. I did not need dirty feet. Charles and the kids had socks on already.

They provided a stacking area for the shoes. This is the building where the jewels are kept. They do not allow pictures inside, so you have to make a trip here yourself if you want to see them!







You will never guess what this place is. Look carefully. What would at any given time $1.80 Brunei dollars exchange for in American dollars? ONE DOLLAR!!! This is their DOLLAR TREE!!!!! It was hilarious. We went in, looking for a flag and everything I saw was marked $1.80. It didn't take me long to figure out that I was standing in the middle of a dollar store on the other side of the world! The kids loved it. We picked up many items. Kathleen even got a pin for her collar that lights up and says " I love Brunei", how cool/redneck is that!!

Oranges are in abundance here. Oranges are a sign of good luck for the Chinese New Year.

This guy did his best to get us to go for a quick spin over to the Chinese village by water. After our last boat experience, we passed. He smiled a lot and was nice, but we managed to stay on land this time!

These ladies were waiting for their boat to come in! They had adorable children. A set of precious baby girl twins!

Are the drinks cold? Many stores have canned drinks but they are warm. Finding a cold coke is a big deal. This place had cold drinks for all of us! And straws. Somewhere along the way someone told Nicholas not to drink out of cans, he doesn't. He either packs his own or asks at the stores!!! I on the other hand am just happy to find a diet coke. Most places have coke light and that is NOT the same.









Excuse me do you speak English? We found these 11 year old girls waiting for a boat as well. They had been to a volleyball game. One of the girls spoke English very well. They were all WAY shorter than Kathleen and when I told that girl that Kathleen was 11, like they were, she was hoping Kathleen could join their team! They were very cute little girls.

It did not take any time to get them to start posing for a team photo. Very cute. Notice the granite sidewalks. This was the norm here.

This is a shot of an oversized page out of the Koran. The message is that as a good Muslim, you must travel to Mecca at some time in your life at least once.

It was overcast and rained some. Again, we did not take rain gear, as Nicholas got bad information again. Tomorrow we will be in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. We get there early in the morning and are only there a few hours. We will have a quick tour and do the best we can to send you some good photos. For the map lovers out there, we are at 5 degrees 32' 35" N Latitude and 115 degrees 08' 11" E Longitude. It is 80 degrees outside at 10:45 p.m. and we have 100% humidity! More tomorrow...we have heard that there are vilages with stalls of shopping that go on forever. We will try to mail some postcards from this next stop, they are suposed to have pretty stamps.