July 1st - Borneo

Not exactly the heart of darkness here.  Got whisked through customs when I landed because I'm a hasher.  Half hour ride in a hash van with a Malay guy missing a lot of teeth - same age as me - who told me that there were a lot of girls at my hotel.  I haven't seen any yet.

Everyone here seems very friendly.  But it's even more humid than Singapore; and I've managed to pick up a cold.  :-(  But after going to a Chinese medicine store and a 7 Eleven, I finally found a pharmacy where I've picked up some cold medicine with an antihistamine that seems to helping to alleviate some of the nasty symptoms. 

After I'm done blogging I think I'll get my hair cut.  I don't really like myself in short hair but comfort-wise it'll help.

Anyway, yesterday, after arrival and going to my hotel, I headed off to the main venue to register.  Got all my shirts and such.  It's 10:30 in the morning the next day now.  Around 1:00 the red dress runners gather.  That's always a hoot.

I made it to the post office this morning to find out about sending things home.  No problem.  But I now need to find a place to get a box to send things in.  No Container Stores here. 

Let's see, my hotel.  Kind of divey.  My window looks out on an auto mechanics shop.  And at night the metal awning outside my window pops as it cools.  I didn't know what the hell it was last night when it started!  Then, the reception people are kind of a trip.  There's only a guest register, handwritten, no computer records.  When I asked where an ATM is he sent me to a store about 1/4 mile down the road.  But there's a bank right next to the hotel, maybe just two doors down.  When I asked about laundry he said they closed at 5.  Again, about 6 doors down from the hotel, a laundry, open till 6.  I asked him to mark on a map where we were and he spent such a long time...for such a little map...

This place doesn't open till 10.  But maybe tomorrow if I get the chance, or perhaps Monday, I'll upload some photos.