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I'm on a cruise ship heading to Malaysia.
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This is one of the decks that is so good for walking.
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These are the crew members that boarded on the last port. They are being told about evacuation procedures.
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It looks like someone isn't paying attention!
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They are being given instructions on how to get passengers safely into the lifeboats.
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We are being greeted by two Malaysian people as we arrived.
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They wore beautiful silk costumes.
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A view of the front of her costume.......
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And a view of the back. Very pretty.
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We are now in the city of Kota Kinabalu. Malaysia has thirteen states, and Kota Kinabalu is in the state of Sabah, which is located in the northern portion of the island of Borneo.
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After taking a tour of the city, we came to the Tanjung Aru Resort where we spent the afternoon.
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This resort is a major destination in one of the fastest growing cities in Malaysia.
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I can see why this place is so popular because it is so beautiful.
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I loved the palm trees, especially this fan type.
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The sign will tell you where you can find things. Sort of!
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I never found out what kind of fruit this was, but I thought it made a pretty picture.
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While we were at the resort, we had a delightful lunch, and this was our waitress.
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This is another one of the girls who waited on us. They were all so sweet.
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This really was like a paradise.
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This was a type of iris.
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They had all kinds of artifacts displayed on tables like this.
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This guy was selling ice cream and ice pops.
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Another beautiful type of flower that was all over the grounds.
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I took a little walk away from the resort so I could get this photo overlooking Kota Kinabalu. What inspired this photo was the contrast with the buildings and houses.
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While I was standing there, this airplane was arriving into the city.
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I was just hoping at this point that the airport was very close!
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After we left the resort, we walked around looking at some of these shops. Of course, I had to buy one of these T-shirts.
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It was so hot that I bought a couple of these dresses to wear.
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A little further on, we came to this small village where all of the houses/huts were on stilts. This was another great contrast photo with the minaret in the background.
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As we got closer, I began smelling something that wasn't too pleasant.
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Now I was beginning to see what it was.
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There is evidently no garbage system here. On the other hand, I guess there is: just throw it out the door!
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WOW! With the heat and humidity, the smell of this garbage was unbelievable. Almost nauseating. BTW, do you see that most of the houses have TV antennas.
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Many of them lived in boats like this.
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The river seemed to be the main transportation.
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There were no school busses here. They took their children to school by boat.
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This is the school, and as you can see, it too was on stilts. I wonder what they did for recess!
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We have left Kota Kinabalu and have headed south to go to Brunei, which is a sovereign state located on the coast of the island of Borneo. Borneo is the third largest island in the world, and it is located just north of Australia. It is also the largest island in the Malay Archipelago.
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These ground workers were everywhere. The place was immaculate.
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Brunei is about the size of Delaware. It is an independent sultanate and is wedged between the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. Besides these two states, Malaysia has eleven more states.
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We haven't even entered yet, and the place is already overwhelming.
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We had to go past several guard stations before we could enter.
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The last guard station before we could enter the mosque area.
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This guy didn't look too friendly!
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Considered as one of the grandest monuments to Islam in the whole region, the magnificent Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque is the brainchild of His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei.
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It is know locally as the Kiarong Mosque. It was built to commemorate the 25th anniversary of His Majesty's accession to the throne.
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The M0sque was officially opened on July 14, 1994.
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This shows the Golden Dome along with the Islamic architecture.
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This man is part of the "make sure this place is absolutely spotless" detail!
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A little pose before I get to the marble staircase.
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These stairs were magnificient.
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Of course, I just had to have my photo taken on the stairs. However, it turns out, NO ONE is to step foot on the stairs. Ooops!
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Next to the stairs was a view of the Golden Dome with a minaret next to it.
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There are several minarets surrounding the Mosque.
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I absolutely loved these lamps with the real gold on them.
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This shows the royal barge in front of the Mosque.
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This has to be my favorite photograph of the Mosque with it's minarets.
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It isn't hard to tell we have left the Sultan's grounds. It also doesn't matter where you travel, you will always see a Coke sign.
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Our next stop was the Royal Regalia Museum of Brunei. It allows visitors to learn more about the history of Brunei's constitution. You also get to see valuables previously owned by the Sultan and his entire family.
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The first thing you notice when you enter is the sign that tells you that no shoes are allowed.
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And here are our shoes! Can you spot mine?
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I had to take a picture of these cute little boys sitting there without their shoes. They liked having their picture taken.
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They were so cute that I had to get a close-up.
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One of my favorite items on display would be the grand royal chariot in the center of the museum. It was barricaded off from the public, but I was able to get it in the background of this photo. It was incredible.
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The royal crowns with the gleaming jewels just sparkled with the museum lights. There was a duplicate of the throne of the sultan used during state occasions and his coronation ceremonies. It was amazing. This is the display with ceremonial armor made of silver and gold.
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These are Payong Berwarna umbrellas used in the Sultan's coronation.
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Before we left the museum, I was able to get this one last shot of the chariot. It was just so magnificent.
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I saw this sign on a bus as we were heading back to the ship.
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Now we have crossed over to Kuala Lumpur. It is on the peninsula part of Malaysia. After another wonderful tour of the city, we were taken to this Hyatt Regency to spend our last afternoon in Malaysia.
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This afternoon was going to "pot" real fast! Okay...okay! I didn't say that!
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This beach along the South China Sea was beautiful.
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I just loved these orchids.
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Yes, that is a bar in the middle of the pool!
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As I'm trying to have a last pose in the South China Sea, the undertow just about took me down.
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I left my footprints in the sand as I said goodbye to Malaysia.
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