First week in South East Asia

We left last Wednesday and arrived in Singapore on Thursday. Singapore is really nice. It is incredibly clean and modern. The hotel we stayed in was really nice, just by the waterfront.

We went to Clarke Quay and Boat Quay where we drank pitchers of Tiger beer in happy hour. We also went for a boat trip up the river which was cool......worst driver in the world. It was quite funny because the driver kept pointing out historical buildings in Singapore and then would say.........'we are knocking it down and building a casino'. Everything in Singapore is like that......as soon as it looks shabby they knock it down and build something new in its place.

In the evening we went to the Newton Hawker stalls where they serve all kinds of fantastic food at market stalls. I had prawns the size of my head....it was amazing. I also had a coconut drink which basically is a coconut (but still inside it's green outer shell), with the top cut off and straw put inside. It was really nice.

On the Friday we went to Singapore Zoo which is a fantastic zoo. There are no bars or cages in the zoo, all the animals are separated from the public by moats. We also went into an area where you could get up close to the animals. There were butterflies flying around everywhere and lemars walking beside you.....we got some excellent pictures which I will post as soon as I can.

On Saturday we arrived in Brunei. I met a lady from work at the airport and she whisked me off to have blood tests and x-rays so that I can get my visa. I also went to see the school which is really nice. I've met a few of the teachers and they all seem really friendly.

I am currently staying in a guest house in KB which is at the other end of the country to my school. I am going to live with a teacher for the first week in Bandar Seri Begawan (the capital). Then me and Neil will move into a house in Jerudong (which is near Bandar) and Neil will commute to work everyday.

We've seen a nice house which we think we might take. I've also seen a nice car which I think I might buy. It's a Subaru Impreza, 1.6.

Brunei is nice. It's much less developed then Singapore.... in fact around 80% is jungle. The food is excellent.....I've had some very nice meals. The only thing I don't like is the bugs. My legs have already been bitten to shreds. We also saw this GIANT bug which is about 10 times the size of a large UK fly. It makes a horrible buzzing noise as well...yuk.

The weather is hot, but not as hot as you think. In fact in the mornings and evenings it is extremely pleasant weather. It has rained quite a bit. One minute it's sun shining and the next minute the wind picks up and the rain hammers down....and then it stops.

Anyway, feel free to post comments on my blog.

Take care

Julia