One month in...

So we have been in Brunei as a family for one month now and we are getting slowly settled. At times it does feel more foreign than the Falklands, with cultural & language differences and what with being a whopping 8 hours ahead of the UK. But we are fortunate to have mostly sunny weather and some very good amenities to occupy our time whilst we are here.

On Sunday morning we drove to the beach, got drinks and snacks at a coffee shop and had a picnic under an umbrella beside the sand. Felt like cheating after all the hiking and the like involved in getting to the sea at the last place!

We then sat on the beach while Woozles built sand castles and paddled, then we spotted a jellyfish so we hastened out of the water and off for a jaunt down the sand.

At school last week W was involved in Tijar celebrations (as part of the Hindu faith observed by the Gurkha children) and we visited a temple to see Ganesh the elephant and other statues. She was amused to have to take her sandals off and wash her feet before entering the temple. Back at school W had a henna tattoo and made some chocolate and coconut treats as well as salt dough candle holders which seem to have the primary function of distributing glitter around the house.

Driving back from school today we saw the troop of monkeys (long-tailed macaques) grazing on the grass verge. They seem well adapted to the built-up environment, even able to cross the road safely in very busy traffic! Will try and get some photos of the monkeys, hornbills, and maybe even a monitor lizard (huge!) in the near future.

On the home front, we have bought a few knick knacks to make the place homely but the real settling in will hopefully occur later on this week or next, once our boxes arrive. Come on people, hurry up and find our container - the ship is in!!!

Wheels of steel

Took ownership of our new car today; a slate metallic grey Mazda saloon. 'When in Rome...' and all that. So once we adjust to the indicator being on the opposite side of the wheel and stop wiping the windscreen furiously at every junction, we will be sorted!

On the subject of wheels, it was decided between Woozles and myself that she is not ready for the school bus yet. I had thought 3 was a bit young but the minibus does cater for pre-school children (we live approx. 5 miles away from the site). She seemed keen to go on it and dashed on board with her chums and her backpack, but when the doors closed and the wheels started turning I could see her lip start to wobble and tears flowing. So I will be taking her for the school run, at least til the end of this term when we can review it.

We have had two quite severe storms since we arrived, with thunder, fork lightning and torrential rain. When we woke up on Sunday morning (I hadn't slept a wink anyway but miraculously Woozles had not even stirred) the road was covered with water, the drains were full and it had stopped just shy of our patio (phew). So maybe the next requirement for transport will be a dinghy!

***Warning - May cause bitterness if digested in the Falkland Islands***

Just back from a trip to the local market with some helpful neighbours and what a fantastic experience it was. A massive selection of fruit and vegetables at very reasonable prices and fresh and firm to boot!

I have decided to try a new fruit each week so yesterday we had had star fruit with our ice cream for pudding. Today I have bought some rambutans (red, spiky fruit the size of golf balls with fleshy inner part) for the next trial. I bought a bunch of celery for the first time in 2 years. I tasted things at stalls without a clue what they are. I got a quarter of a watermelon for the equivalent of £1.75. They had foods which seem extremely exotic such as bunches of ferns, dried fish and terrapins as well as all the run-of-the-mill produce like garlic, onion, ginger, apples, bananas, lettuce, peppers, chilli, aubergine and myriad other things I couldn't identify!

Next stop is the plant market to see if I can get chilli, pepper and thai basil plants to grow at home ...

Hello from 'sunny Brunny'!

We made it! After two extremely long-haul flights, one hiatus in UK (including having a few issues sorted out), we have arrived in sunny Brunei (or Brunny as a certain someone's Grandad has re-named it).

Our new house is lovely; spacious and cool with air conditioning in most rooms. It has tiled floors and a large patio at the front, which are typically adorned with lots of decorations in our street - so I am off to buy some plants later in the week to make our house feel less naked! We have got a modern big 3-piece suite from the stores so it is starting to appear more like a lived-in dwelling but it is going to be another 6 weeks or so before all the pictures, throws, rugs, lamps and nick-nacks arrive. We have truly been gypsies for a large portion of the year, just have to make sure the perks of overseas living make up for being without our comforts.

The climate at first inspection is gorgeous and warm. Not had much rain at all yet (and NO wind!). It did get a bit overpowering yesterday lunchtime when we were out and about but being very careful not to burn or overdo it. Mozzies of course are all over me any time I am out near sunset (the others blissfully unaffected of course). There are lots of white birds pecking about on the grass which may be ibises, and at tea time hornbills come to roost on the trees across from our patio. Have already seen a troop of monkeys when we went out the other day which was lovely. Not seen any snakes yet but I remain constantly on the alert (terrified).

People have been very kind, looking out for us, offering to lend things we need (including a car!). There are more people here than in the Falklands (obviously) but the community spirit seems equally strong.

Food-wise things are fine, we have had some very nice takeaways and started filling up the cupboards. The thing that seems to be most lacking is dairy produce so I am glad I spent 2 weeks in the UK eating deli items now!

Woozles is booked in to visit her new pre-school tomorrow and starts properly on Thursday so she is excited about that, even asking if she can have a sleep-over there!

Overall we are settling in well and I think we will be happy here. We went to the pool on base the other day and I saw a small boy playing with an ipad whilst in the water. I thought 'I've seen it all now'. More to follow soon...

Signing off from the Falklands ...

Well that's it, we are going offline on Thursday ready for our journey back to the UK and onwards after that. It has been a good posting here in the South Atlantic and we have enjoyed lots of aspects of it, like having family time, relaxed pace of life and small community. But I would not be easily persuaded to come and live here for good, the wind is simply exhausting and the lack of stimulation can be a bit strange at times. Plus the distance from friends and family can make a person feel a little excluded from their loved ones.

One of the last trips around the islands was to Saunders Island at the weekend with Grandma where we saw 3 species of penguin, black-browed albatrosses and lots of other bird life. Now I feel I can say I have been everywhere I want to see here. Been there, got the t-shirt, big tick! So in the words of Mr Tumble, it's time to say TTFN, ta-ra, bye bye, arrivederci!

Last chance saloon

Our penultimate month here in the South Atlantic and we have been hastily trying to see the remaining places on the visit wish list. So we have been to Stanley as a family for one last time and photographed all the iconic tourist attractions that line the road into town. Some of them are inserted below to give you an idea of a typical trip to the capital for us and thereby thoughtfully saving you the expense and hassle of a flight out here!

Sunrise before setting off, light glinting on the Land Rover roof.

Roadworks, Falkland style. Hard to imagine another country where the main highway between the international airport and capital is gravel with pot-holes.

Minefield sign showing one of the many minefields still lining the main route

Boot Hill, a ritual whereby I believe people leave a boot on a stick as a memento of their stay.

Totem pole showing lots of varied destinations and the distance.

A taste of Yorkshire as you reach the top of the hill.

Not sure I will miss the 35 mile drive as it is the noisiest, bumpiest most dangerous thing in our aged Defender but perhaps next time I am stuck in a traffic jam I might look back fondly on the days when the only impediments were sheep!

The craft fair last weekend was a success, we raised over £100 for the new polytunnel cover, which has now arrived and waiting installation, I have already handed over coordination of the venture, which is a nice relief. I was interviewed for FITV at the fair, which was a bizarre experience to say the least. Some young lad turned up with a small camera, panned about a bit, asked me if I would talk about the event, but with no pressure, adding 'nobody watched it anyway'!!!

Today we have been to Volunteer Point so I could finally see the fluffy brown baby king penguins.

It was a good day out apart from woozles needing use of a paper bag en route after some unnecessary aerial acrobatics in the helicopter. Still, 13 degrees and only a breeze meant the weather couldn't have been better for the time of year so at least there was no complaining about the cold wind.

The next blog entry may well be the last one from the Falkland Islands and then we will begin our new adventure in the tropics (need to check if Brunei is south of the equator but pretty sure it is!).

Things are still savagely busy in our household with packing ready for removals the week after next and preparations for the Craft Fair next week (I cooked up the notion of having cake and plant stalls to raise money for the polytunnel to get a new roof) but the weather has improved, we have had a week of clearer, milder days with no blizzards so the woozles and I have been on a couple of trips including a ride on a boat to Pandoras Point and Sniper Island today which was excellent. We saw seals (including one we christened the 'Big Bad Daddy' up above in the tussac), penguins and a cheeky cormorant hitched a ride on the roof of the boat, saving itself a bit of exertion!