Just reflecting

We are driving home from Penang and it is raining. The jungles are giving off steam. It looks like clouds floating in the hills. We are driving through mountainous terrain. There are plantations along some places but it is mostly tropical jungle.

I had the first blue skies in Penang with bright sun. Since we have been here there has been a diffuse haze. We are told that it is open burning season in Indonesia. And the haze is the pollution from those fires.

Kin Kin is driving and we are so grateful for this. First of all they drive on the left side of the road, which I don't think I could get used to. Second they have a very loose definition of lanes. The lines on the road are merely a suggestion and as Tim put it, a waste of paint. Two lanes will often have three cars across with a motorcycle on the edge. And people are very relaxed about being cut off. I have only seen people get angry a couple of times and that was in Penang. Most of the driving considered normal here would end up in a road rage fueled shooting. The motorcyclists are dare devils. They weave in and out of traffic like bike messengers in new york city.

We are also grateful for our hosts Cynthia and Desmond who drove us all over the island in the last 24 hours. They kept saying we need more time in Penang and I agree. I need 2 weeks to explore and another week to sleep on the beach. You two live on a beautiful island and I just might be able to give up the seasons to live there. Know any tech jobs open????