Well, we forgot again. Even after teaching our Sumatran guide and driver about lapin, lapin, on the morning of September 1, we forgot again. I have many wishes in my back pocket that I’d make if I ever remember to say lapin, lapin (rabbit, rabbit) first thing in the morning on the first day of …
Author Archives: janie.weeks
August 24, 2026 – Moving on Again
First, in my posts, I have been very flattering to this part of the world. We enjoyed its combination of grit and beauty, and the chance to see people from different cultures living side by side. We marveled at the proximity of the jungle and the city. But of its amazing qualities, there is one …
From Jungle to Big City
We have a pot of dark purple dried beans with little African spiced beef sausages simmering tonight. They smell good and summery. . . almost like home. I made some coleslaw and sliced some red onion. Now, if only we had some cornbread. There is no cornmeal here. I want to tell you about this …
Gift of the Day
Certainly not every day, but quite often there is a gift of the day. A special one. Maybe it is a doe with twins feeling secure enough to walk nearby; maybe it is a brilliant red cardinal that reminds you of your dear mother who’s long passed; or an oriole that migrated hundreds of miles …
Borneo, A Wealth of Wildlife
August 10, 2026 We tried not to be disappointed that we did not find them on our Kinabatangan River safari last week; we did see plenty of animals, though: crocodiles, Proboscis monkeys, gangs of other monkeys, and hornbills, but yes, we were a bit let down about not finding elephants. A few days later, while …
July 31, 2026 – Safari in Borneo, Malaysia
Borneo is famous for being one of the only two places in the world where Bornean orangutans are found. A different variety of these apes lives in neighboring Sumatra, but Borneo is also home to other exotic creatures. Animals like elusive pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, gibbons, and rhinoceros hornbills are common to this country, and …
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July 20, 2026 – Borneo! Yes, Borneo!
I don’t know; maybe I was expecting jungles, palm trees, sandy beaches, and grass huts, and in some nearby places, that image is accurate, but Kota Kinabalu is a city, a bustling one with between 500,000 and 700,000 people. During the 130 years that Borneo was a British colony, this city was called Jesselton. The city …
July 16, 2026 – Farewell to China
At home, or at Cody’s house, I should say, Stan and I have a map of the world. It is brown in color with all the countries of the world depicted in black outline. When we travel to a country, we can scratch it off, and a color emerges. We’ve visited over 80 countries, but …
July 14, 2026 – We did it!
Figuring out how to see the Glass Bridges at Gulong Gorge was a challenge. The thought of spending roughly $400 on a highly promoted excursion just did not sit well with us. We did a little AI research and garnered the courage to do it ourselves . . . a DIY excursion. We did it, yes, we did! We took metros to …
Guangzhou, China – July 11, 2026
I added the date to this post’s title because I’m on a mission. I will explain later. En route from Manila to Borneo, we were required to change planes in Guangzhou. We decided to stay a while. We’ve visited Beijing in NE China, Shanghai in SE China, Chengdu and Xi’an in Central China, so why …