Jul
26
2010

Big Trouble in Little Brunei

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Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei

Click.

I didn’t think anything of the harmless photograph taken of the busy street corner. A green sign with Arabic beneath advertised “Jalan Sultan” – the street name. Behind the sign was a Dairy Queen – the first and only one that I have ever seen in Asia. Dairy Queen is an ice cream / fast food chain found in nearly every small town in America.

As I lowered the viewfinder of my camera from my eye, a man with a two-way radio and uniform was standing toe-to-toe with me.

“Excuse me sir, you must follow me.” Smiling and friendly enough, but it was obvious that he was serious. I’m no longer a travel greenie to even advanced scams like the false police officer gig.

I decided to stand my ground.

“Why?”

“Please let me see your camera.” My scam defenses were now in full-alert. There was no way that I was handing this stranger – no matter how much he smiled – my SLR camera. The words “piss off” were just forming on my lips when he surprised me with what came next.

“You have just taken a photograph of a US Embassy.”

I glanced at the credentials hanging around his neck – he wasn’t joking. A sense of dread began creeping around the back of my neck. Grizzly bears, komodo dragons, poisonous snakes…I would rather face all three together in a head-to-head death match than to tangle with the insane, paranoid juggernaut that is American bureaucracy.

I had been in Brunei – the smallest country in Southeast Asia – for less than 24 hours and found myself innocently standing in deep $#*#.

Never loosing his friendly smile, he raised the radio: “This is 14, I have the suspect for questioning.”

Here we go again…

(Read more…)


Posted in Borneo, Brunei |
Jul
22
2010

Back to the Forest

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The tiny red ant had the strength of a centipede as it buried its pincers into my foot.

Nothing new, especially while trekking through a Southeast Asian rainforest.  In a place with so much diverse life – much of it in the form of biting insects – I considered myself fortunate to find only a small red ant making such a fiery pain shoot through my foot.

Fortunate or not, there is still a pecking order to be maintained.  I reached down to end his life for picking a fight that he obviously couldn’t finish.  As I removed my Keene sandals, I found a much bigger surprise…

Leeches.

(Read more…)


Posted in Borneo, Malaysia |
Jul
20
2010

Recommendation

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Time to take a break from my rambling about myself and Boreno.

I don’t do recommendation posts too often – and no, this isn’t paid! – so this is personal.

I was approached out of the blue by a reader named Tyler Niccum, who happens to be one hell of an artist.  He sent me a link to his graphic novel Hinterlife, which is totally free to download.

His book, which is 259 pages mostly consumed by incredible sketches of his life and vagabonding, became my companion on a couple of rainy, no-WiFi nights in the national parks in Sarawak, Borneo.

The book is an autobiography of sorts, starting with his parents, friends, and their reactions to his decision to travel.  Give it time – my favorite parts were when he rides the rails and starts tramping around the US.

Tyler writes: “Who are we as human beings?  Are we mere witnesses to the gears of the world? Or are we participants?”  Love it.

Hinterlife is brutally honest and personal, even detailing fears, first kisses, victories, and letdowns.  Download it for free, keep it on your laptop, and enjoy flipping through the artistic illustrations of a vagabond’s life.

You can get Hinterlife in PDF form (free) from Tyler’s blog:

http://nohearing.blogspot.com/


Posted in Ramblings |
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vagabonding © Greg Rodgers - Please don't steal my stuff!