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!!!