I’m guessing that Brunei is going to go down as the least amount of time spent in one country: Less than twelve hours. I didn't intend to spend such little time. It just happened that way.

I had taken a bus from Sibu to Miri, the closest city to the border of Brunei and got there at around three in the morning without getting much sleep on the bus. The damn S.E. Asia artic air-condition treatment. I never learn.

It seemed too early in the morning to start riding, and I was hungry, so I rolled into town to hoping to find a restaurant open. I came across two places on opposite sides of the street. How to make the decision? Three Malay girls wearing vinyl knee-high boots and sexy outfits exited a van that just pulled up. Why not ask them? Unfortunately, or fortunately, for me their "dates" exited the van right behind them. Still, I was sure they’d be well informed on where to get the best late-night grinds, seeing is that their likely line of work didn't involve the customary working hours. I followed them, but sat at different tables. The waiter wasn't able to speak English and they didn't have a menu, so I ordered simple: noodle soup and tea.

As I was eating a Malaysian guy about my age approached me. We got to talking and he turned out to be the guitarist for a band that was playing locally. A couple of minutes later, his friend, the bass player, came over and sat with us as well. They were good guys and I was bummed that I had to get on the road that day. It would have been a blast to hang out and see them play.

The streets were still quiet when I headed out. I love the mornings. Without the roar of cars and other vehicles, and the stars still sparkling overhead, it's such a tranquil peaceful time. And there is something incredibly magical about watching the horizon slowly light up as the sun. Nature has an astounding way of blending colors and applying just the right amounts in right places.

There weren't very many vehicles crossing the boarder that early in the morning, and I passed through quickly. I did however receive a shocked look in response to my answer to her question of where I was going. I had told her Sabah, on the other side of her country.

The main highway that runs east to west is mostly flat, and the few hills that it crosses over have very gradual slopes. It was smooth sailing. The one drawback was the location of the towns. They are located some three to five kilometers or so back off the road. It's a real bummer of a distance, having to ride an extra six to ten kilometers, when all I needed was to get more water. And the day had the temperature set on flame broil. I'm sure the water was coming out of me faster than I could drink it in.

It was almost ironic that there was a Ferrari parked in front of the first place I stopped at to get some water. Only in Brunei. Or, also in Beverly Hills, I guess. Anyhow, I’d spent a long time in impoverished countries, and the sight of a sparkling red Ferrari made a statement.

My intentions were to make it to Brunei’s free amusement park, and by noon I still had fifty km. to go. I found a good place to eat, and after I finished I killed two hours reading.

Why is it that it's at lunch stops that I meet the hot chicks, and not at the dinner stops? I kept getting flirtatious glances from the cashier. Damn.

An all day push on the road, and what did it get me? Nada! Zip! Zero! A guard at the gate tells me that the amusement park will be closed for the next couple of days. What sort of rubbish is that? The one damn thing I wanted to see in the whole country, and it's not bloody open.

It was close enough to dinnertime, so I went to grab a bite and weigh my options. I could stay in Brunei where there was little else of personal interest to see and expensive hotels; I could ride to Muara and take a ferry to Labuan; or I could ride to Limbang in Malaysia where the ferry would likely be cheaper. I wasn't all to interested in staying in Brunei any longer, so that wasn't much of an option. The question lay in whether it was it was worth the money saved by riding the extra distance to Limbang. Without knowing the ferry schedules, and being late in the day, I guessed that there wouldn’t be any more ferries leaving that day, which would mean that I'd have to get a hotel. I knew the hotels were much more expensive in Brunei, and Limbang didn’t appear to be very far from the border on my map. There were distance markers on the map between most cities, but unfortunately for me there wasn't between the border and Limbang. A guy at a restaurant told me that the border was around 20 km. away, and Limbang looked about the same, or less distance from the border on the other side. At five o'clock with a full stomach, I felt that I had 40 km. in me. Boy was I in for a shock. I crossed the border and was floored when I saw the sign telling me that I had another 47 km. to Limbang, with nothing in-between. I had already ridden around 170 km. I had no choice but to settle in and keep the pedals turning. After about an hour I had to stop and attach my lights. Soon after that the rain came, and it came in force. With the rain pounding down and no place to take refuge, I had no choice but to keep up a moderate pace in order to keep from getting cold. The rain intensity fluctuated, and there were short periods in which it let up completely.

I don't use an odometer, so I had to judge my pace by time. That night I judged that was keeping a pace of around 25 km. an hour. After two hours I should have reached the town, but there was nothing to signify that I was even getting close. I began to worry that the town was located off the highway and I had somehow passed it. I had no choice but to push on.

Thankfully the lights of the city came into view after a few minutes. I sighed in relief. As I rolled through the city I kept my eyes scanning the signs looking for a hotel. I wasn't in the middle of the road, but the car behind me kept honking its horn. I pulled into a gas station and the car followed. I had lost my patients, stopped and spun around to confront this irritating honking horn. It turned out that the guy was a cyclist himself and wanted to offer me a place to crash for the night. It was a really generous offer, and under normal circumstances I would have jumped at the opportunity to stay in a local's house. However, as it was, I was beat. I had started the day at around five in the morning, and it was just past eight in the evening. At that point I just wanted to shower, eat, and crawl in bed. I knew that if I were to stay at his house, he'd want to stay up and talk. I thanked him gratefully, but declined his offer.

The hotels were located in the next block and I got a room in a hotel chosen at random. I didn't really care what the price was. After I had showered and was on my way past the front desk, the guy behind the counter motions me over and shows me a few photographs of women and asks if I want him to call one for me. I had to laugh, and tell him I wasn’t interested. I learned later that Limbang is a “sin city” for the men of Brunei.

I overslept through my alarm and missed the boat to Labuan. I was really bummed at first because there was really nothing to do in Limbang, but I wasn't really in much of a rush, and it wouldn't hurt me to have a day of just lounging around.

I made it to Labuan the next day and then went on to Kota Kinablu. I spent a few days there exploring the jungle around Mt. Kinabalu, and diving off the small islands located twenty minutes by boat from the city. It’s not the best diving, but it’s cheap.

I flew back to Matt’s house and spent a few more days there before going off to Korea to teach English for a month. Matt I and I entered a XC race at Kiara, the area of trails near his house. For much of the race he and I were together, but on our last lap he got a flat. I ended up in 4th and Matt got 6th. I should have had 3rd, but I had a stupid crash just meters from the finish line.