Final days
Almost time to go...
We found the missing kampong. If you go around the car dealership you can get to the village. So it's there just kind of hidden from view.
I learned that they have been cutting down breadfruit trees to make way for buildings and such. They used to be everywhere and now they are scarce. It now costs RM4/kilo when you used to be able to just pick them off the tree. Along the same lines lumber is getting very expensive. They mostly use hardwoods (teak, mahogany, etc) but they have been mostly cut down now. It sounds like they have done some replanting but it takes a long time to grow these tress. So most new houses are made with bricks and concrete. To build a “typical” Malay house is now too expensive. Sigh...I guess people never learn.
Yesterday we had lunch at Aina's oldest sister's house and supper at the youngest. That makes everyone now. With 2 days to go. Got to see most of the nieces and nephews but not all. A couple are away at boarding schools and such.
Did some last minute shopping and business today. We tried opening a bank account here. The plan being that we would deposit a little money in there every month so the next time we come back we already have spending money. Or if there were an emergency and someone needed some cash, they could use it too. Unfortunately we can't without one of Aina's family being cosigners, so will try again tomorrow with Kim. Along those same lines. An ATM machine ate my card today. So the sign says “Contact any Maybank office...”. We crossed the street and inquired about it. “Oh we are sorry, we don't control that one. You need to contact the Maybank at the old airport. Oh and they don't check them everyday.” Great. 48 hours before we leave and we need to retrieve an ATM card. Knowing how things go here, I have my doubts. Keeping my fingers crossed.
When we were at Aina's oldest sister's house, we went driving and saw their NEW house. It will be nice once it is finished. The way they build here is different. They work on the house until they run out of money and then everything stops. They save up and then start again. They think they will move in in about a year. That way has it's advantages. When they house is done they already own it free and clear. The problem is that the longer it takes the more it costs. I guess both the way we do it and the way they do it has pluses and minuses.
Too bad Shawn left when he did. We told him about the big bugs they have here but he never really got to see any. Again yesterday when we were driving around we stopped at a couple places to pick up food (of course) and at one stop there was a praying mantis. It was almost the size of my hand. The creepy thing is, it followed me. If I weaved back and forth in front of it, it copied my moves. As I walked around it, it kept turning to face me. It even walked at me a couple times. It was very unnerving. Then the girls came over. It still followed me mostly but in one case it actually lept at Sita. On seemed to. It certainly seemed to be not afraid of us. It was fascinating to get close to this bug. Examine it up close. But not too close, his front arms looked dangerous.
This morning I walked over to the 7-11 to get Coke, and bread. Along the way I saw a grasshopper about the length of side of my hand from the tip of my little finger down to the heel of the palm. One big grasshopper. I don't think I would want to hit that when I'm on the motorcycle.
We are all about ready to go home I think. It's always fun to travel but funner still to get home. When we get to San Francisco, we are gonna check to see if we can catch the earlier flight home. If so we will be home at 7:00AM on Thursday not noon. So Ron Fry if you are reading this, we will call from SF to see if you can pick us up. :-)
Sita has taken scads of pictures. I'm finally warming up to digital cameras. I didn't like them at first but now am thinking of getting a really nice SLR digital. They seem to go for about $700+ so it will take awhile before I save up that kind of money but it will happen. Anyway, as I have been saying lately, when I get a good connection, I'll post pictures.
It's been a good trip. My batteries seem recharged. When I get home I will be ready to tackle some projects I've been just picking at. My room, learning C#, HTML, CSS, Java Script, etc. The house in general needs painting and so on and so on but I'm ready for it now. I just hope I can keep it going for a while.
I seem to have lost my stolen Internet connection. Well ok it seems to come and go. It did hang around long enough yesterday to let us get our bills paid but that was about it. I might have to do some war driving and see if I can find another connection. :-) Or try using the computer downstairs. They seem to have their Internet connection working again here at the house. Either way I'll post this when I get connected.
That's it for now.....
We found the missing kampong. If you go around the car dealership you can get to the village. So it's there just kind of hidden from view.
I learned that they have been cutting down breadfruit trees to make way for buildings and such. They used to be everywhere and now they are scarce. It now costs RM4/kilo when you used to be able to just pick them off the tree. Along the same lines lumber is getting very expensive. They mostly use hardwoods (teak, mahogany, etc) but they have been mostly cut down now. It sounds like they have done some replanting but it takes a long time to grow these tress. So most new houses are made with bricks and concrete. To build a “typical” Malay house is now too expensive. Sigh...I guess people never learn.
Yesterday we had lunch at Aina's oldest sister's house and supper at the youngest. That makes everyone now. With 2 days to go. Got to see most of the nieces and nephews but not all. A couple are away at boarding schools and such.
Did some last minute shopping and business today. We tried opening a bank account here. The plan being that we would deposit a little money in there every month so the next time we come back we already have spending money. Or if there were an emergency and someone needed some cash, they could use it too. Unfortunately we can't without one of Aina's family being cosigners, so will try again tomorrow with Kim. Along those same lines. An ATM machine ate my card today. So the sign says “Contact any Maybank office...”. We crossed the street and inquired about it. “Oh we are sorry, we don't control that one. You need to contact the Maybank at the old airport. Oh and they don't check them everyday.” Great. 48 hours before we leave and we need to retrieve an ATM card. Knowing how things go here, I have my doubts. Keeping my fingers crossed.
When we were at Aina's oldest sister's house, we went driving and saw their NEW house. It will be nice once it is finished. The way they build here is different. They work on the house until they run out of money and then everything stops. They save up and then start again. They think they will move in in about a year. That way has it's advantages. When they house is done they already own it free and clear. The problem is that the longer it takes the more it costs. I guess both the way we do it and the way they do it has pluses and minuses.
Too bad Shawn left when he did. We told him about the big bugs they have here but he never really got to see any. Again yesterday when we were driving around we stopped at a couple places to pick up food (of course) and at one stop there was a praying mantis. It was almost the size of my hand. The creepy thing is, it followed me. If I weaved back and forth in front of it, it copied my moves. As I walked around it, it kept turning to face me. It even walked at me a couple times. It was very unnerving. Then the girls came over. It still followed me mostly but in one case it actually lept at Sita. On seemed to. It certainly seemed to be not afraid of us. It was fascinating to get close to this bug. Examine it up close. But not too close, his front arms looked dangerous.
This morning I walked over to the 7-11 to get Coke, and bread. Along the way I saw a grasshopper about the length of side of my hand from the tip of my little finger down to the heel of the palm. One big grasshopper. I don't think I would want to hit that when I'm on the motorcycle.
We are all about ready to go home I think. It's always fun to travel but funner still to get home. When we get to San Francisco, we are gonna check to see if we can catch the earlier flight home. If so we will be home at 7:00AM on Thursday not noon. So Ron Fry if you are reading this, we will call from SF to see if you can pick us up. :-)
Sita has taken scads of pictures. I'm finally warming up to digital cameras. I didn't like them at first but now am thinking of getting a really nice SLR digital. They seem to go for about $700+ so it will take awhile before I save up that kind of money but it will happen. Anyway, as I have been saying lately, when I get a good connection, I'll post pictures.
It's been a good trip. My batteries seem recharged. When I get home I will be ready to tackle some projects I've been just picking at. My room, learning C#, HTML, CSS, Java Script, etc. The house in general needs painting and so on and so on but I'm ready for it now. I just hope I can keep it going for a while.
I seem to have lost my stolen Internet connection. Well ok it seems to come and go. It did hang around long enough yesterday to let us get our bills paid but that was about it. I might have to do some war driving and see if I can find another connection. :-) Or try using the computer downstairs. They seem to have their Internet connection working again here at the house. Either way I'll post this when I get connected.
That's it for now.....
posted by Warped at 12:17 AM
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