My intention was to return from my Vietnam/Cambodia/Sumatra holiday and start blogging again. I'd have two weeks to write about all those adventures before I left for Borneo. I'm leaving today. If you've seen the map of my trip, I haven't finished blogging about that trip.
Instead I spent nearly every day in the past two weeks meeting my friends for a variety of catch-ups, dinners, birthday events and near dance-a-thons. I basically packed as much as possible into these past two weeks.
I leave in a few short hours to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, in the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo. Here's a map for the geographically challenged amongst you. You can also switch over to a map view and see where Brunei is. I'm going to try to pop over for a day because how often does one get to go to a sultanate?
My good friend Jen is going with me. She's the person I've known the longest in Indonesia. We are thick as thieves and it promises to be an epic trip.
When I return there will be blogs on Sai Gon, the Mekong Delta, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and a couple from this Borneo trip. That should give you something to look forward to. Take care in the meantime.
A good friend of mine moved to Jarkarta from the US a couple days ago and is having a bit of a rough go. He is also teaching English for the year and I was wondering if you'd have any suggestions for new arrivals in the area. He's been to Jakarta before but the reality of truly living there and with 3 disinterested roommates is a challenge. Would love to hear your advice and pass it on! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMariel - The inevitable meeting of what we all expect coming to Indonesia, the "tropical paradise" and what the reality is. I'm guessing he's working at an English First establishment. I started with one here in Jkt and have had a fair rant against them. Please pass on my blog site and if he contacts me I'll be happy to provide encouragement and guidance directly. Also he should look at a website called expat-blog.com. There are listings for both Jakarta and Java. I've arranged some meet-ups there. He can also find general information, classified listings, etc. I've cultivated a good group of friends and we always take newcomers as we all have been there and know how it feels.
ReplyDeleteA huge piece of advice is to know that life is a bit unusual right now as Ramadhan and Idul Fitri have just ended. Things are not as they should be but sill be returning to normal, well, normal for here, now that it's over.
I don't know how long he's been here but tell him to hang in there. It will take at least four months, if not more like six, for him to find a place and feel more at ease. I wish him all the best and would be happy to contact him.