Indonesia, Borneo

Borneo, September 2013

George has visited Borneo with Jørgen. Borneo is the largest island of Asia and is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world.

He started out in China Town in Singapore.

George then took a longboat into the rainforest.

George dipped his feet in the river and was well treated by the small garra-rufa fish, that nibbled his feet. The fish is nicknamed Doctor Fish.

George passed a Malay fishing village that was built on stilts right on the river bank.

George went deep into the jungle and found the head hunters' longhouse.

George was at a plantation where pepper was grown.

George visited the Taman Negara National Park and avoided getting attacked by the wild animals.

George went trekking and followed the Santubong Jungle and Summit Trek and made it to the top of the Santobong mountain 800 metres above sea level, where he had a great view of the jungle.

From the summit George enjoyed the view of the South China Sea.

Brunei

Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, Sept. 2013

George has been fortunate to get a tour of Brunei with his friend Ben.

They went to see the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. The royal Islamic mosque is located in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of the Sultanate of Brunei. The mosque is considered one of the most beautiful mosques in the Asia Pacific and a major landmark of Brunei. The mosque is built in an artificial lagoon on the banks of the Brunei River at Kampong Ayer, the "village in the water".

George at the Kampung Ayer, the Water village is an area of Brunei's capital city Bandar Seri Begawan that is situated after the Brunei Bay. 39,000 people live in the Water Village. This represents roughly ten percent of the nation's total population. All of the Water Village buildings are constructed on stilts above the Brunei River.

George visited the magnificent Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, which is considered one of the grandest monuments to Islam in the region. It is known locally as the Kiarong Mosque as it is situated in Kampong Kiarong, a few kilometres from the capital. The mosque was built to commemorate the 25th anniversary of His Majesty's accession to the throne, and was officially opened on the 14th of July 1994, so it is fairly new.

George went to see the e-Government of Brunei. E-Government describes the use of technologies by the government to help the citizens, business and even government employees in their access of government services and information. In the e-Government vision, the public can submit their applications electronically via the Internet and mobile phones, available 24 hours a day. This minimises the time spent queuing and submitting forms at government buildings. The services delivered must be easy to use, navigate and most importantly intuitive.

George went to the Prime Minister's office, where he had a meeting at the Prime Minister.

George also attended a royal ceremony at the Royal Palace Istana Nurul Iman. The name Istana Nurul Iman means Palace of the Light of Faith. Upon completion, Istana Nurul Iman, became the largest residential palace in the world and the largest single family residence ever built. The palace contains 1,788 rooms, which includes 257 bathrooms, a banquet hall that can be expanded to accommodate up to 5,000 guests and a mosque accommodating 1,500 people. The palace also includes a 110-car garage, an air conditioned stable for the Sultan's 200 polo ponies, and 5 swimming pools. In total, Istana Nurul Iman contains 20,000,000 m² (21,152,782 square feet) of floorspace.

Here George is checking out the menu.

And at the dinner with the Royal family George enjoyed the beautiful plates

George had enjoyed his visit to Brunei. It had been a some long busy days and on the way home George needed to refuel.

Australia, WA

New South Wales, Australia, August 2013

George continues his tour of Western Australia. Here he is at the Meckering Earthquake Display. At 10.59a.m., on 14th October, 1968, the small town of Meckering, about 130 km east of Perth, was destroyed by an earthquake. Twenty people were injured, but incredibly, no one was killed. Although the Meckering earthquake was not the largest in WA’s history, it was certainly the most significant in term of damage done. It caused ground rupturing nearly 40 km long, some of which is still to be seen today. The maximum heave was 2.4 m, max vertical displacement was 2.0 m, and the maximum strike slip movement was 1.5 m.

In Jennacubbine which is in the wheat belt of Western Australia George was warned about fumigations. Fumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. First recorded in 1848 as “Jenacubine”, with Jennacubbine being adopted in 1889. The town was established as a siding on the near by railway line in 1902, when it had a hotel, a general store, two other shops, and eight houses in the main street. A Catholic church was constructed in 1905 and was used as a school until 1911. By the 1960s, all that was left was the hotel, the general store and one house. In 1970 the more than 100 years old general store was burnt to the ground, in a late night fire.

Here George is with his ride.

Australia, NSW

New South Wales, Australia, August 2013

George has added another George to his list. Together with Darryl, George has visited lake George just outside the Australian capital Canberra . “Lake George, one of the world’s oldest lakes, is shallow and has a history of dramatically fluctuating water levels, despite being closed with no outlet. Originally there was no lake at all, and water drained from the Great Dividing Range west to the Yass River. That was before geological uplift, five million years ago, which formed the Lake George Range — a natural dam blocking the creeks.”

George also visited Perisher. Perisher is the largest ski resort in the southern hemisphere. it is located in the Australian Snowy Mountains. The resort is accessible by road and by the Skitube, Australia’s only underground rack railway.

Australia, WA

The Border Run, Australia, August 2013

George has joined an Australian motorcycle club on their annual Border Run. A 1,000 km drive from Perth to the border of Western Austalia and Southern Australia. George was riding a BMW r1200GS.

The first stop on the way was in Corrigin, where they have a dog cemetery. This unique resting place came about because of the death of Strike, which was Paddy Wrights best mat., when he asked for a place to bury his dog.

Alan Henderson then buried his dog alongside, and built a tombstone. He then cared for other graves sites that followed there after.

George also visited the Pioneer Museum. Here he is in front of a model of a Clysdale horse that helped with the clearing and cropping of the area from the start of 1900.

Here George is photographed with BULLY and RECKLAW, two members of the club. They are standing at a plaque that celebrates “The Holland Track”. Pushed through the bush by John Holland for the gold rush arriving by ship to Albany, then travelling by horses to the goldfields, saving two weeks on their journey.

The rocks are at a campsite called “The Breakaways”. The colours are due to the iron oxides being washed away by rain.

It is called The Breakaways due to the falling overhead ledges. George did not pass the signpost.

George also tried Australia’s longest straight road which is 90 miles long.

Here George is admiring a Kondole, which is the aboriginal name given to the Southern Right Whale off the south Australian coastal waters.

George came all the way to Nullarbor Plain, which has It name from the Latin Nullus and Arbor meaning no trees. The aboriginal name for the plain is Oondiri, which means no water.

George is expecting a little bit of Australian wild life crossing the road for the next 92 km. Apparently the camel will pass first, followed by the kangaroo and then finally the wombat.

HereGeorge has reached the coast,. He hoped he had spotted a Kondole, but it proved to be an Australian Sea Lion.

- Believe it or not, our George has visited 11 of these cities. A fantastic photo!

George checking the map of The Eyre Highway from Ceduna to Eucla.

Ceduna Penang Mundrabilla Cocklebiddy Eucla

George stopped at the Widgiemoolta Roadhouse, which had a map of the coast explaining about the wildlife.

And finally George made it to the Southern Australian SW/ Western Australian WA border