I’m falling into the habit of writing a diary instead of cultural anecdotes again. I may have to come back and do some editing. In the meantime, I’ll try to get it right starting here.
I’ve found that the Malaysians have a large tolerance for temperatures. When I’m sweating buckets in the outdoor heat, or walking through markets, the locals are calmly wandering around in long sleeves and trousers. Yet they’ll put the air conditioning up whenever they get the chance. The air conditioners in our hotel rooms turn our abodes into freezers instantly. When we took a ferry from Kuching to Sibu, the indoor area was air conditioned. Luckily we were warned and had our long pants and fleece jackets. On the deck a warm breeze created an ideal setting when it wasn’t raining.
We’ve come all the way up to Miri today and thankfully the bus had reasonable settings. In fact, it was luxury with more leg room than I’ve ever had on a bus. Brady gave the trip 6.5 out of 10, but I’d give it 5 points just for the leg room, which puts it up near 9 out of 10.
We’re splitting up from here. Mum and Brady will have New Year in a long house while I’ll head into Brunei. With all the money they have available, I am a little scared that the whole country will be air conditioned.