Brunei fruit market

I got to try some weird fruit today in the market. This one was pretty nice, I have no idea what any of these are called though.



This one was kind of stinky and slimy but oddly irresistible



These look like ripe dates but inside are kind of like a Lychee



This is like an Avocado but inside it looks and tastes like a butter flavored squash.

Brunei, the House of Peace

The main reason for me to visit Borneo is to go to Brunei, and the main reason to go to Brunei is, well I'm not really sure about that one. There isn't much to do here although I've heard they have nice jungle trails. They also have some pretty mosques to look at, including this one.

Another day another island - Pulau Labuan

In Kota Kinabalu I met up with the Watkins family and almost immediately we caught a boat to Pulau Labuan, a gateway and transit point for Brunei. The sea was so much calmer than the Caribbean so I didn't have any problems on the boats.



Coconut grater - hey I could use one of those!



I found a great veggie meal on the island for about a dollar.

AirAsia - Clark airport to Kota Kinabalu

AirAsia my 66th airline took me from Clark airport, an old US military base north of Manila, to Kota Kinabalu, in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.

Star Apple

I first tried a variety of the Star Apple in Jamaica but this is the first time I was able to cut them the right way so I could see the star.

Just a peek into the city of the dead

The Chinese Cemetery is a popular tourist attraction in Manila, but what I really wanted to see was the North Cemetery. Very much like Cairo's Northern Cemetery people have moved into the tombs here (not surprising considering they are nicer than some peoples houses). This place is definitely not a tourist attraction but rather an embarassment and I was turned away at the gate, told I needed a "permit" from "city hall" to be allowed to visit.



I might have been able to hop the wall, that's how the residents get in and out (the kids anyway) but I decided to settle for a few peeks inside.

At home in the city of the dead 2

These leafy suburban streets are actually part of one of the worlds more interesting cemeteries.



These are in the Chinese Cemetery, one part of a huge three part cemetery. The other parts are La Loma a Catholic cemetery, and North Cemetery (more on that one in another post). All three have elaborate tombs.



A typical tomb in the cemetery



You can peek into this one and see a toilet in the room on the right. It's typical that they have running water, flush toilets, and electricity.



There are even shops in the cemetery.

Street food in Manila

I eat here everyday, in fact as soon as I finish this blog post I'm going there. They sell fried bananas, plantains, and sweet potatoes.



I almost didn't have this because I wasn't sure what kind of meat was in it. I can't believe I almost missed out on it, it was awesome. A guy let me have a taste before I ordered some, he told me without any prompting "This is the number one street food in the Philippines". After that how could I not try it.



A shaved ice and sweet stuff desert. I've had something similar at the night market in Richmond.



Breakfast, down the street from my hotel. It's a good street for street food.

Mangosteen

I don't know where I first heard about mangosteen, probably in Myanmar in 2006. This is the first time I've seen it for sale though so I bought some to try. It's pretty expensive and there isn't much of it that you actually get to eat (the white part that covers big seeds) but it's really sweet.

Another day, another island - Luzon

In Rizal Park in the heart of Manila there is this giant relief map of the Philippine islands.