Category: Borneo

What a good morning. Both Ezra and Viena woke up with smiles on. There is a math problem. If Viena wakes up happy 1/2 of the time and Ezra wakes up happy 1/2 of the time what a re the odds that both will wake up happy? We have all the ingredients for Borneo TOast so we made our last batch. Coco for coconuts in Borneo. Viena loves putting on the powdered sugar and Ezra loves soaking the bread in the Borneo Breakfast Bisque. We ate and cleaned up our mess and were out the door with our swimming suits by 8:00AM. We were planning to walk the path to the beach but Ezra found a stick with a rope attached to the end in the bushes. Ezra immediately thought fishing pole. I immediately thought coconuts. We noticed that one of the coconut trees has a rope attached to the top. You can pull on the rope, but not really hard, unless you attach the “fishing pole”. So we tied the ropes together and Ezra and Viena tried pulling on the rope to shake the coconuts out of the tree. I thought for sure the way Viena was pulling and the coconuts were swinging around that a coconut was going to fall. This would make for a great pinata substitute at a childrens party. Eventually my turn came around and two big green fresh coconuts came crashing to the ground and cracked perfectly so we could rush inside and salvage 99% of the fresh juice inside. My first time salvaging coconuts. Quickly out of the coconut and into the freezer. After our morning of cocOnut subsistence we continued on our beach walk. The sun was already warm. The waves in the ocean were small and fun for Viena and Ezra to play in. The pool was refreshing. We played a game where Ezra and Viena would climb on me and then gravity would take over and send them flailing into the water. The walk was hot but I knew what was waiting for me in the freezer – fresh frozen chilled coconut mana.

Ezra and the Elagadaytor. Ezra is the king of making up cool words for his toys. Elagadaytor – I guess a combination of Elephant Eagle an Alligator and something else. Let me know if you can figure out the other animal. Today we walked to the market early to buy a dozen eggs that came with 2 sturdy cardboard containers. Ezra and Viena biked home the groceries in their baskets. Ezra used some rope and made a train with the toy egg crates and then placed all his toys in the egg crates and toured them around the living room. He called his creation the Elagadaytor. When I tried to repeat the name he corrected me numerous times before I could say the word correctly – Elagadaytor. The rest of the day, we hid out inside from the days heat. I think I discovered why Ezra has ringworm fungi on his ear because the girls at the market are always touching his ears and smiling with Ezra and pinching his nose – but I do not see a ring on his nose, yet – that will be the clincher. Viena’s fever is history. Yay! Yippee! Yahoo! Let’s hope we will only have temple mosque fever from now on. I organized some of the photos on the computer. NIce to be able to look at times and years go by and then at the end I just think, “Wow, that is all!” I just summed up the last 15 years of my life in a matter of hours. All you are, are you photos – and I take alot of photos – and still not very satisfying, substantial. I need to start combining these photos with something else. Ezra and Viena entertained themselves all day with the toys and the cool space to play in. Because of the size, this place has been really good for Viena and Ezra to have their own space and play. My crock pot soup was still around so we ate the rest for lunch and dinner. Everyone really gobbled the soup up. The kitchen has been great. I with their were less flies. Even if you go outside to the porch to sit, the flies just pester your ankles and legs and that is not peaceful. The fly paper at the market is always stacked full of flies. That is what we need. Fly swatters are so violent. But if you were a fly, which way would you like to go. Stuck with 100’s of others or smashed instantly and individually.

Why is it whenever Ezra and Viena become ill, I fall behind in journal writing. Viena is fevery. Her second day.Not as warm as Ezra’s 40C but close to the 38C mark. Right at 100F. What do you do? Fevers in foreign countries are the worst. The whole episode of Ezra’s high fever has me a little fearful of these fevers – even though they are quite the natural body response. And passing the fever onto a brother or sister is also quite normal. I just hope Viena’s body can deal with whatever without needing to spike to 40C. Ezra has two fungi circles in his left ear. Ringworm? Who knows? Healthy children are a blessing. Ezra was running around jumping in the salt water tidal pond at sunset. So glad to see him full of

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https://oneworldtwokids.com/2012/07/27

We have been listening to the classical music all day long on the cable radio – a nice added feature of this place. Viena and Ezra are at the table making some sort of artwork. Even withall the many faults of this place in the area of sleeping comfort, I am going to rate this place as a WIN because of the value and because of how well Ezra and Viena has been (besides the 40C fever). I do not think Dwana would agree with me. We have the whole place to ourselves – big spread out art work – full functioning kitchen, A/C, – all for $30/day, with no hidden charges, and almost zero transportation costs this month. Ezra has bounced back. When Ezra has a fever, his body does not hold back. Today, Ezra, Viena and I went to the market to purchase groceries to make Borneo-French Toast for breakfast. Turned out pretty good. Might become another one of Viena’s favorites. Willy came over for morning tea. “This is a good life – if you don’t weaken” – Canadian proverb. And then there was the perfect sunset sequence … Ezra stepped on a yucca brach and starts screaming just as the full circle of the sun disappears over the horizon. A deep red-orange-red sun that I do not every remember seeing. But, maybe Ezra’s cries will help me remember this one. Sunset with children. As I carried Ezra back to the apartment – and he is becoming heavier (17 kilos), I went back down to snap some more phots of the ever-changing sun. The warm coastal breeze was keeping the bugs at bay. No water buffaloes. When I had returned, Dwana had mended everythin and Ezra was super happy creating some more artwork at the table. Thanks for the backup Dwana.

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https://oneworldtwokids.com/2012/07/24

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We were planning our first outing as a family in Borneo today. A simple outing to the local Lok Kawi Wilderness Park 15 km away. We were planning – but with children, plans only go so far. Ezra woke up with a slight fever and before the day was done around midnight, we had had our Borneo field trip – a trip to the local emergency room. Ezra was being seen at the loca ER for his high fever that had spiked to 40C (104F) around 10 PM. Yes, we could no longer wait and see with Ezra. Not this time. Our host Peter took us to the ER in Papar about 8km away. Thank you Peter. Ezra’s temperature was 38C (100.5) at the ER. They gave him some fever reducer and antibiotics for inflamed tonsils and some cream for the circular rash that had appeared on his back this morning. T he circular rash of unknown origin was what tipped the scales. I was thinking that the rash was ringworm when I discovered the nickel-sized circles, and with a combination 40C fever, I could wait no longer, and when Peter offered to take us, that was great. Thank you Peter. Being in a foreign land where you do not even know where the hospital is, or how you will transport yourself there, or how you will communicate at the hospital once you arrive … this is all scary stressful stuff … and all for a fever that might just go away by waiting, that most likely will go away by waiting. We tried giving Ezra a tepid bath and that decreased the fever to 39C. But thanks to Peter, we were able to not just wait and see and we were able to see someone at the ER for 50 Ringgits ($20). 50 Ringgits is the foreigner fee, Malaysians pay only 1 Ringgit (33 cents) for their ER visit. There were about 5 people in front of us and the facilities were open-air and clean. The medical professional was of the opinion that the circular rash was just coincidence. Ezra did pick up a kitten at the market about 4 days ago to pose with the local market girls. I tried to stop the photo shoot, but they were all looking at me with that look that said ” you are going to stop a photo shoot with a small boy holding a kitten posing with local Malay girls at the local market!” What type of Dad does that?

I saw three bald eagles just outside our window gliding low, but I was slow with the camera. They do not like to land and perch in the trees and prefer to glide on the coastal thermals, but their eyrie must be close by. One was an adolescent with darker wings. The tide was surprisingly high this morning. The beach was all washed out and sand dunes that have been untouched during our stay are being pounded by the rising tide. Viena and Ezra loved playing on their bridge which is a fallen tree over a wash area. The waves were the biggest we have seen, so we did not play in the water. Looking forward to walking during the low tide to see if any cool things wash up. We did not bike to the market today, instead we took a walk at low tide in the evening. I am still learning about this two-tide coastline – only one high tide and one low tide a day. I took the bikes down to the beach thinking that Ezra and Viena would want to zoom around on all the newly exposed sandy real estate – and they did – for about 5 minutes. Then they both ditched their bikes to dig in the sand. You can bring bikes and children down to the beach, but you can’t make ém ride. The low tide of the full moon exposed so much more of the beach and I was glad to see that the newly exposed sand was just that – sand – and not any left over rocks or pipes, or other ocean debris. A nicely sloped clean sandy shore. You never know, but now we know. Ezra and Viena both jumped in the water and played around. Other people were down at the beach for sunset as well as Willy the beach walker. We could see the water buffaloes in the far distance. The bugs did not seem to bad, but are always around. Motorbikes from the neighboring village cruise down the beach and the young boys practice their drag racing skills. No campfires. No frisbees. Ezra went to sleep all snuggly backwards on a comforter on the bed. I read to Viena as much as I could . I have been looking into Sri Lanka Accommodations. “This is a work room that gives you a headache!” -V “I like it better in here than out there!” – E.

Malaysia has finally sent us into a malaise. The guidebook is thrown away. My aspirations for excursions has dwindled to almost zero. I only want to stare out at the grazing water buffalo and the movement of the constant surf of the South China Sea. They have playgrounds without park benches, swimming pools without poolside chairs, and a golf course so overgrown you need to geo cache the holes. Today, we went swimming in the morning. the swimming pool is a short 5 minute bike ride and from the pool you can see the ocean waves and sandy shore through the beach trees. Sounds idyllic, but not. Something is missing, or something is added and contentedness is a difficult treasure to find here. Viena and Ezra wanted to play tag around the playground, but I had to explain to them that these playground sets are not built for a 80 kg American to be bounding around – barely supports their weights. Viena and Ezra have been loving their bikes. I only worry that they become so confident that they try to race or do as Viena did today – “Dad, I can ride with no hands!” not in Malaysia. Save those antics for when we are back stateside. I tried riding Viena’s bike and the bike is so lopsided. I hope that bike can last 10 more days. The waves are calming to watch from our closed bedroom window. As soon as I finish writing this entry, I hear a little boy crying for help. I pole vaulted out of bed and looked out the window and see an overturned bike near a palm frond and Ezra limping holding his arm. My Malaise shaken for this moment.

Both Ezra and Viena woke up early today, but the amazing thing about this morning, was that they both played so well with each other. The time was around 11:00AM before I heard some sor t of disagreement. A beautiful thing when they are playing in harmony together. They had dressed up some of the couch cushions in their own clothes and were directing them around like newly made friends. In the afternoon, Viena and I worked on her studies while Ezra went off to the art factory. For once the rains appeared in the early morning in the form of a storm. I wondered about the climbers on Kinabalu since the storm clouds blocked the sunrise. To bad we have our windows closed for bug protection, so the benefit of a fresh stormy breeze is not received. If only bugs did not exist of if we had screens on the doors and windows. I have not been on a run since climbing up Mount Kinabalu. My legs have finally recovered from that 6 hour stair step-a-thon experiment. I keep hearing Viena’s words, “Was it worth it?” We biked/walked to the corner market and took in our cultural experience of people picking up food to go for their Ramadan dinner. We do not see any other foreigners. We are the only ones. Ezra I am sure is tired of all the cheek pinching. And they actually do nose pinching as well here. Dwana ate some fresh fish and rice and I bought a couple more ABC drinks. On the way home we stopped and jumped in the swimming pool. The pool water is so warm, but this was a good way to end our day. Ezra fell asleep quickly.

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Well, I wish I could have fit a surfboard into my backpack. The waves looked that good. Viena’s small little styrofoam boogie board would split in two if I tried to ride some waves. Al they are missing is a little less brown. I was able to push Viena on a couple of waves. We played for 1/2 hour before she tired and needed to go back home. Ezra was coming down with Dwana so we did a handoff. The sandflies are pretty bothersome. If we could just exterminate the sandflies and clear up the water a little bit you would have a nice beach. Ezra has enjoyed diggin holes in the sand and finding shells. He found a 5 inch hermit crab shell that he wa proud of. Meanwhile back at the travelschool desk … Seems like the only entity that pays attention and sits still while I am trying to instruct Viena in “quantum Physics” are the flies. In the evening we hid from the herd of water buffaloes that were enjoying the Sabah sunset. Ezra said, “This is my best time!” We were hidden in the shadows of the beach trees and behind a small fence. The herd was large – about 30 with a couple of young babies. When the water buffaloes smell you that move their head up, otherwise their heads are down walking militaristically down the beach. No one else was on the beach. Just us and the water buffaloes. Fell asleep reading to Ezra and Viena.

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We had two guest come over during the rain storm this afternoon – one old, one young. The rains fell hard and fast as we were returning from our trip to the market. We stopped by little Maxi’s place and had been playing on the playground for only 5 minutes when the dark clouds unleashed. Maxi’s dad gave everyone a ride to our place while I rode Viena bike back. I am not going to be missing her bike. The bikes have been great. One of the best purchases of our trip so far. They always ride their bikes the kilometer to the market and on low tide we can zoom down the beach. Not any beach time today. Willy was having tea with Dwana when we returned and he spoke of his travels around the world that has led him to spending this part of his life in Borneo at 82. We painted with water colors today. Viena and Ezra have both been quite the artists lately and even had an art show a couple nights back. Ezra designed a coconut launcher shortly before he went to sleep passed out on the hardwood floor. The itch continues to be the over-riding factor diminishing our comfort. “How do you like ‘dem coconuts?” I filleted two coconuts yesterday.

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I caught the minivan into KK again. I am becoming a regular customer. Our minivan broke down just past our place and everyone had to sit by the side of the road and wait for the next minivan. Another 120 minutes to travel 30 kilometers. I picked u the computer and thankfully, everything is back to normal. That was one big water balloon. Instead of hopping back on a minivan to Papar, I decided to walk around KK. My bug find today was peanut butter and honey. When I was walking through the food market area, the winds and the rains showed up and everyone on the streets went running for cover. I took photographs of the different market areas and the waterfront area with all the big fishing boats. No problems on the way home. I rode shotgun. Dwana was at the beach with Viena and Ezra and the stormy brown waves were coming in. The current was flowing fast down the beach and was a little too strong to be playful. Ezra and I built a fort with a tunnel entrance.

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Viena and Ezra boogie boarded the waves of a Westerly swell of the South China Sea. Early this morning at 6AM I boarded a minivan heading towards Kota Kinabalu or KK as everyone says. The distance is less than 30km, but the travel time in morning traffic takes almost 90 minutes. I was able to find a computer repair place. Hopefully, they will be able to resurrect our water ballooned laptop. I scoured the city looking for boogie boards or kick-boards as the Malay say. I must have asked a dozen people before I found a department store. I really looked like a tourist as I was walking down the waterfront carrying two boogie boards. I walked through the waterfront markets that had all the fresh fruits and vegetables. I did not have my backpack so I did not buy much. I did drink a fresh coconut juice on my way back to the minivan. The outdoor open-air market is in a building the size of a football field. Crammed with fruits and vegetables, fish and meats. Barely room to walk around and most of the vendors appeared to be selling the same items. I was trying to find cashews but was unsuccessful. The bus ride home had a little less traffic, but the bus waits until all the seats on the bus are occupied before pulling out of the station. At home, we went straight to the beach and tried out our new beach toys. The waves were perfect for Ezra and Viena, 2-3 feet with a current that made the water a little more brown since the river mouth is in the West and the rains fell hard last night. The other day, the water was almost clear. They each rode about 20 waves before taking a break. The waves had a fairly decent break and could be ridden all the way into shore. I kept feeling something (fish) bump into my legs as I stood in the brown non-transparent water. Otherwise, perfect. The stormy rains finally fell in the afternoon and Dwana, Viena and Ezra were all excited with the change in weather and to go run around in their raincoats on the beach. I was not so excited and I briefly wondered why and then I remembered my time up on Mount Kinabalu. This stormy cold rain was their version of the rains of Mount Kinabalu.

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I saw a big jellyfish on the shore during my sunrise walk – about the size of Baby Iso at 6 months.As always, Mount Kinabalu was clear in the morning. I was dreaming of a way to take everyone up to the base of the mountain to give them a Kinabalu experience. Will it be worth it? That is what Viena asked me when I returned home from the mountain. Dwana asked, “Did you make it to the top?” Viena asked, “Was it worth it?” The value of worth. The value of things. We went on a 4PM walk down to the beach. Usually the rains are falling at four, but not today. Ezra took his bike, but the tide was too high to ride so he just walked. We had no intentions of jumping into the water, but that did not stop Ezra from bounding in with all his clothes and then Viena followed shortly afterwards. I thought we would need to turn around, but they were both quite content walking onward in wet clothes. They jumped and laid and played and jumped and Ezra even rode his bike straight into the salty waters of the South China Sea. That is going to be one rusty bike at the end of the month. I did not feel like parenting today so I tried as much as possible to run and hide out in one of the rooms. That would last for about 15 minutes. I sat and colored the Geography coloring book. I looked especially at Germany and Poland – that is where our 83 year old friend is from. He and I went on a walk today and he relayed his war-time stories of Germans and Russians and Brits and relocation. He was too young to fight in the war, but old enough to remember and live in the aftermath. He distinctly remembered the food that was served to him during his relocation process. Fresh bread and soups when they were starving. He has been to many of the places we have been – Brasil, Canada, but never to Alaska. He wants to see photos of Alaska and I promised to show him if our computer is ever functioning again. Dwana has knee effusion – water on the knee from Ezra’s impact. maybe she is feeling sympathy pains for Aunt Vicki as well. Dwana has not been sleeping well. Neither have I. The borneoian bugs have us concerned on where they are and where they are coming from. In the end, Dwana ended up sleeping in the tent. Good night – Sleep tight. Don’t let the Borneo Bed Bugs bite. I ended up placing a thermarest on top of the mattress and tried sleeping that way. I wish I could sleep with all the windows open so we can hear the nighttimewaves crashing – But no way is that going to happen!

For some reason, I am a day behind in these writings. I have been falling asleep with Ezra or Viena after I read to them. The climb up Kinabalu really exhausted my system. Viena and I went and photographed the sunrise this morning. We walked a little bit down the beach and just sat and watched the different clouds and different colors. We always need to be wary of water buffaloes (and I guess water balloons) as we walk down the beach. Viena pointed out the mountain and wanted to know how far I had climbed up. I showed her just below the “Donkey Ears”. Another day. Another time. I am glad for the opportunity of the attempt. We went swimming after breakfast. The nearby swimming pool is bigger and deeper, but still lacks lounge chairs. Not that type of resort. We played tag in the water and I chased Ezra and Viena around the edge of the pool. The water felt good on my aching leg muscles.Maybe I am having sympathy pains for my aunt Vicki who is 10 days S/P TKA. We walked to the local market. Ezra and Viena biked. Rain threatened, but did not down pour. All the food stands were set up for people returning from work. We tried a few dishes but nothing was really appetizing. Chicken. Noodles. Rice. Spicy stuff. Fish. Boba drinks. Fresh coconuts – those were good. We walked home as the sun set over the South China Sea.

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A good day to climb. Driving up to the Timpohon gate with my mountain guide we almost ran over a beautiful tropical colored green parrot looking bird in the middle of the road gobbling down a fresh worm. Little did I know this would be symbolic for my climb today up the mountain. The mountain is clear this morning. Onward and upward. I am the only one doing the one-day climb today up Mount Kinabalu. 7:30 AM and we started the climb out of the gate. the trail ascends up and up with big stair steps and few places of overlooks towards the mountain or out into the valley. The trail was through the jungle much like Taman Negara. We saw very few people in the morning. The only one joining us were the porters who were carrying up supplies for all the people who spend the night. The spendthenighters were probably climbing down from the summit as I was just beginning my climb. My guide Freddie and I made good time and arrived at the Lapan Rata guest house cafe before 10AM. The place was full of climbers eating their breakfast buffet for 45 ringgits. As soon as we arrived at Lapan Rata, the rains arrived. Heavy rains started. These rains were supposed to start at 1PM. If the rains continued, we would not be able to continue. The rains stopped and allowed us to climb another couple hundred meters up to the ropes section. And here we waited and chanted and hummed for 15 minutes until the blue skies appeared and the rains lightened and we agreed to climb on up the ropes. That lasted about 50 feet. The rock face was too slippery. We called the climb off and headed back down – remembering – the early bird gets the worm.

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https://oneworldtwokids.com/2012/07/05/11

I am on my own – off to climb the mountain – Mount Kinabalu. There is another world out there. The world of cold. I can not feel my fingertips. My hands are both numb. I am having a difficult time with finger dexterity – zipping my jacket, stuffing my backpack, and changing my camera settings. All of these cold induced traumas are happening, and I have yet to even begin my climb up to the summit og Mount Kinabalu. Climbing will happen tomorrow – weather permitting. The rains fell and the temperatures dropped. I thought I was walking around the trails of Cordova in the temperate rain forest. Why visit Cordova when you have Mount Kinabalu. The real difference is this. The rains of Mount Kinabalu happen every afternoon about one o’clock and then they are gone for sunset. The rains of Cordova have no end pattern. I was going to stay longer at the Timpohon Gate to acclimate, but I was really suffering in the rains. I was “suffering” as much as a dad who had been given a 48 hour mountain pass out of fatherhood can suffer. Today, I walked the Liwagu trail to the gateway of the summit climb. The Liwagu trail goes along a river. A cool walk with zero leeches. Maybe leeches do not like the cold. I caught the tail end of hikers that had stayed the night on the mountain and summited this morning. Even though the rains were falling, everyone looked pretty happy and satisfied. Amazing that I was sweating from the heat of the city of Kota Kinabalu and now I can not feel my fingertips.

Wonder where in the world we were a year ago?
https://oneworldtwokids.com/2012/07/05/10

Today I planted some seed to climb Mount Kinabalu. We will see what happens. We will see what grows. Ramadan has begun. I have not noticed much difference, but we are isolated here on the beach unless we walk to the market. Not a change in the children and the Muslim school seems to still be in session – because how can an adult try to meditate on life and Allah and trying to do better in life, with their children at home. First, send the children to school – then we can contemplate spirituality and the betterment of humankind. I walked out on the Borneo beach and took some photos of large cumulus clouds. So much depth and detail in the equatorial whiteness. No one else wanted to venture out. The 83 year old Willy was out walking though. We had a fly massacre in the house today. In all 20 flies met their fate. What a way to begin Ramadan. I have gone on many runs in my life, but never have I been prevented from returning home by a herd of water buffaloes grazing near the path that led home. I cautiously tip toed around them. About 20 of them. A couple really big ones with big horns and a few babies all grazing on the grass of the overgrown putt-putt golf course. As I write, we can still see the water buffaloes grazing on the grasses outside our window. We have a safari view outside our beachside window. I made a banana peanut butter coconut smoothie without a blender.

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Another beautiful Borneo sunrise and sunset. If I can receive those two gift each day I will be happy. Ezra woke up around 5AM, which was perfect to rouse everyone into an early morning sunrise walk. Dwana and I have determined that our children eat better in the wild. In the wild, there is less conversation about spilt drinks, dropped food on the floor, and general commanding tones that seem to follow when we all try to sit down inside for breakfast. So, I packed a backpack with water and breakfast items and off we go. We walked East up the Beach to see if we could show Dwana the Monkeys. She is not too fond of monkeys, but these are our first “wild” monkeys. Kinda like the wild dogs running loose. No monkeys, but we saw a water buffalo enjoying a bath. Later in the afternoon, we biked to the market for our 20 cent scoop of ice cream. We found a playground on the way back and played tunnel mouse tag. Having bikes has made a difference. Ezra is the leader and does not complain about any distance we go on pavement. I went on a run to the river mouth and saw 17 water buffaloes enjoying low tide. I am glad they were on the other side of the river. The new moon caused a really low tide. The sunset was shaping up to be a nice one. I came back to the house and Viena and I went back out past the grazing water buffaloes and had a great sunset on the beach. We saw a double rainbow. On my run I saw what I thought was a rather large monkey on the rocks but turned out to be a human. Funny, I do not expect to see people on the beach, must less climbing around on the rocks.

We have tents set up inside. Maybe we are just over-reacting. Maybe the mosquitoes are not entering the house through the A/C system. Maybe the bed mattress, sheets, and pillows are not full of mites, fleas, or bed bugs. This will be our little experiment. I must have over 100 small red bite bumps all over – mostly on my back shoulders and lower legs. They could all be No-See-Ums. Tyler warned me about the bugs near the beaches of Bali. But for us, in Bali the bugs were never an issue like this. Oh well. We have a quiet safe place with a small bug problem. So we bring out the tents and see what happens. Immediately, Ezra and Viena start play camping in the tent and telling “scarey” stories. They must miss their days or living in the tent. Today, we went to the swimming pool in the morning. Other swimmers were in the pool. Since today is Sunday, Malaysians who work and live in the city venture out here on the weekend to experience their “resort” apartment and enjoy the beach. I guess everyone was showing their resident card to the lifeguard, so I need to some how acquire one of those before we go to the pool again. Viena and Ezra enjoyed racing across the swimming pool. Viena and Dwana went home early and Ezra and I stayed and played with some big water balloons and then Ezra said, “Dad, I’m ready to go.” The sun was starting to heat up and I could have stayed a while longer. The pool is not like a pool in Maui, or Thailand, or any other “resort” pool we have visited. No chairs for laying out in the sun or shade. You come to the swimming pool to swim. Laying out in the sun in the conservative Muslim Malaysian envoronment with at least 100 apartment windows looking down on you is not my ideal place to catch some rays. When they built this complex, they cleared all the trees but left a single strand of trees at the sandy shore line that block the view of the beach and beach-goers from the apartments. So, if you want to see the beach or people on the beach you must be on the beach. And today, being Sunday, there were actually 30 people down on the beach. We biked along the beach during the sunset. The bugs were not bad. The water buffalo were on the beach as well for the sunset just wandering among the people. One of our best sunsets yet here on Borneo and the South China Sea. Pink, Blue Clouds and Venus even came to join the party just as the Sun left. Now lets try out those tents.

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Wonder where in the world we were a year ago?
https://oneworldtwokids.com/2012/07/05/7

I am missing the dancing show that is currently happening in the living room. One year ago, our living room was on 4 wheels. How things have changed? How things are still the same? The 4PM rains started a little early today and have continued throughout the day. The rain would feel fresher, but we tend to keep the windows closed late in the day because of flys and other bugs that might enter and bug us in the night. Ezra, Viena and I biked to the local corner market. We must have visited 6 or 7 of the small stores, buying a little something at each one. We found a store that had a coconut shaver that shaves our the insides of coconuts. Now, we have fresh coconut shavings. A coconut shaver will probably be the next trendy kitchen appliance that everyone will want to have in their kitchen. The rains fell on us, but we arrived home without breaking any eggs. Both Ezra and Viena have a good sense of direction and know where we live amongst these 30 apartment buildings – helps that were are at the end of an end unit. I woke up early this morning and snapped some photos of the sunrise. Mount Kinabalu wa so clear and I envied the trekkers who stood on the summit soaking in the sunrise this morning. The only othe person that walks the beach is an 83-year-old German/Canadian guy. I went back and made oatmeal for everyone. They were craving banana pancakes that I made yesterday. After the market, Ezra and Viena’s bike baskets were loaded down with groceries – the real reason I bought them bikes.

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Dwana and I went to the movies tonight while Ezra and Viena stayed home with the babysitter. Sounds great. We watched home movies or slideshows of the past decade and our babysitter was a television in the living room. I guess Friday night is date night. Pretty cool being able to see Alaska, California, Alaska and all the friends and family in photos. Viena and I went to the market to buy some fresh produce and some ice cream. We live about 1 kilometer from the market so we really had to hurry home before the ice cream melted in the heat. Today was Two-Buck Fridays, as I was able to buy a big block of chocolate ice cream and a big block of what I thought was vanilla ice cream. Think again! The vanilla looking ice cream was the flavor of the big stinky thorny stinky fruit that they do not allow on trains and should not allow as an ice cream flavor either. Plain wrong. Durian is the name of the fruit. I do not even think Ben and Jerry’s could doctor up that flavor. Right on schedule, the 4 PM rains showed up. This time we were walking/biking around the complex. We are all pretty bitten up but we can not tell what type of bug is doing the biting. Very few mosquitoes. Lots of No-See-Ums on the beach, but inside the house there might be something that is creating that skin itch with a small little mark to announce their presence. I guess I could do an internet search. These bugs might be the main reason no one seems to use or enjoy this beach. We will keep trying. Ezra and Viena had fun biking in the rain. I cannot wait to loCh back on these photos in ten years.

Wonder where in the world we were a year ago?
https://oneworldtwokids.com/2012/07/05/5

The rains fell hard during the sunset. Much different than yesterday’s out of this world sunset. This was our first hard rain in Borneo and Viena and Ezra went out and played in the rains. We had been caught earlier in a small rain storm this afternoon, but this was a big rain storm. During the small rain storm we were taking a small bike ride down the beach to investigate the Monkey Forest. After I pointed out Monkeys on the point, Ezra pointed out a monkey that was right in front of us on the rocks. The monkeys were smaller than the ones in Ubud and they were not interested in us. After the rains stopped, the bugs arrived in numbers. The little No-See_Ums were swarming around our heads. Luckily, Ezra and Viena were on bikes, but even with their added speed of the bikes, the bugs kept up with them. I do not think I have ever seen Viena bike so fast. There must have been 100 of them swarming around her wet hair. Borneo has been the worst place for bugs. This morning we finally made our sunrise walk. We were out the door by 5:30AM with stars still hovering in the sky. The morning was clear and the tide was high but we made the walk all the way down to the Western Spit. We found some sun and some shade and the water appeared cleaner. We saw some water buffaloes on the other side of the river. These water buffaloes were much farther away than the two water buffaloes we encountered in the darkness at the beginning of our walk and rumbled by in front of us on the sandy trail to the beach.

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We all went on a sunrise walk this morning. The morning was warm already, but the best time to walk. We were looking for water buffaloes and sure enough, we found them – following us. The beach has a nice soft sand and we sat down and had a picnic with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast. The group of three water buffaloes were very polite and went around us into the woods and when they came out there was at least ten of them and one had some pretty big horns. The water buffaloes went on down the beach and down into the ocean water. The waves are the perfect size for Ezra and Viena to play. I need to find a couple of boogie boards and we will be set. Ezra was biking and Viena was walking. I went on a run up and down the beach. I can run appoximately 1 mile in each direction on the sandy shores. Amazingly, I saw no one. I am not sure why with a village and apartment complex of 2000 – 4000 people, no one is enjoying the mid-day beach. At the rocky end of the beach I saw a monkey fishing off the point. I tried to go closer but he moved off into the jungle. Cool. Monkeys close by. We went biking to the swimming pool and walking to the market. the sunset was absolutely amazing.

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The soccer monster appeared today as I was taking a nap. I wish the entire episode was a dream, but his is my reality. I have not been feeling well. I guess my turn has arrived – started five days ago as a tickle in my throat in Thailand. Could be a product of all the dental work in Thailand. Could be just my turn. One of the videos that Ezra has watched has a little boy who is a soccer monster and turns other children into soccer monsters. Surely sponsored by AYSO. A soccer monster just goes around and kicks a soccer ball over and over and over again. Sounds cute … until the soccer monster is in your house and the soccer ball is being kicked over and over and over again into your bedroom door where you are sleeping off a cold from Thailand. I was the first one up this morning and was able to take a short walk along the beach for sunrise. I tried to wake the others, but no takers. The water buffaloes were there to greet me … and the sun. I am pretty certain that the mountains directly East of here are the mountains of the Mount Kinabalu range. That mountain is calling my name over and over again … not like a monster, but like a friend. “Come climb the mountain out of the heat of the lowlands.” We will see. I went on a bike ride with Ezra and Viena. They appear to both like their bikes. At the playground they have a small concrete “race” track – an oval of about 100 meters. Ezra loves riding around, but became too comfortable and did not see the broken concrete and crash … down he went – tough little guy. We have two paper books we are travelling with – “Thank You Logan” and “Mr Bump”. Ezra is our version of Mr Bump.