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Monday
7-09-09
Was JAMBO day. We cleaned the car,
changed engine oil and greased it, have it
inspected, organized ourselves for the
next day
when we leave to Paris.
Tuesday 8-09-09
next to our farmer house, high up in the Alps
TOTAL in every country we visited, here in
Italy
"When angels travel, the sun is shining". A
German proverb. To France, we took a
diversion via Italy, passed Venice and
Verona into
the northern part of the
Toscana. This lovely part of Italy presented
itself to us with rolling hills and
vineyards, villages and estate
buildings up
on the hilltops, small roads curving between
property borders. Grapes hung from vine
stocks, ripe, blue and juicy, ready
to be
picked.
small
roads hill up hill down
why not take one out of the picture?
In St.Vito we slept in a
camping place, which was actually a farm.
But the owner had toilets installed on the
campground and some
flat spaces available, where
we parked for the night.
Wednesday
9-9-09
Westwards we drove,
passing Torino, where Fiat comes from, and
climbed slowly but steady into the high
Italian/French alps
Somewhere high up in the
mountains was the border. "Vive la
France, Brunei and JAMBO are
coming. Greetings from my small but
beautiful nation to you".
The scenery was spectacular. brown the
meadows already, bare rocks in grey, black
and red. The road wound itself in
serpentines up,
twisted, as no snake could
be. We refrain from writing too much a
pictures tell more. Just enjoy looking
please.
In serpentines climbing up to the pass
through forest and above
What a GOD given
jewel present itself in all splendor
Allow your eyes to rest long
on these pictures. These are marvels of the
Alps.
The glacier melts high up
and the melt waters thunder in waterfalls
into the valley
Dear and honorable reader, we were moved by
these views, ands stopped wherever we could.
Now in Autumn many hikers are walking
the
meadows, some scale the mountains. Ski lifts
are idle now, but are serviced for the winter
season, when skiers from valleys on
both s ides come up to enjoy this snow sport.
Somewhere up we had reached the highest
point, the pass, and went down again towards
Grenoble the famous French ski resort.
Lifts
to the mountaintop
imagine 3 m snow, an ideal ski terrain
The road over the alps needed tunnels and
again viewpoints where
one could see the houses small as
matchboxes, deep down in the
valley. Stopping for pictures, inhaling not only the fresh
and clean air, but also the view and
scenery.
the road
cut through mountains
a village deep below
Passing Grenoble, we were on
the highway to Lyon. When evening approached
we searched as every day for a place to stay
and
found a camping ground next to the
highway. It was not the quietest of all, but
on the road to Paris.
Thursday 10-9-09
While we now travel straight through towards north and Paris, and
London, to complete our mission, we intend,
after coming back from
UK, to see some of it in more details. There are almost endless
highlights with no less than 32 world
heritage sites. It goes back in
history to the Neanderthals, when man hunted animals and made crude
stone tools, and some 35000 years ago the
homo sapiens,
now upright had larger brains and longer sculls. They were
artists too. In the Grotto de Lascaux one
finds a replica of the actual
drawings.. Mehirs and Dolmens on the coast in Brittany are
highlights of megalithic monuments.
our main sponsor with HQ in France
towards the Arc de Triumph
By 4:30pm we curved into the road of our
Embassy, a stone throw away from the Arc de
Triumph. This monument was build on order
of
Napoleon who promised
his soldiers after the victory of Austerlitz
in 1805."They will march through."
Behind high metal ornamental grill lies our
Embassy. Although we had been early,
the welcome was warm, and we were invited to
stay
in the residence of his Excellency the
Ambassador, which we gladly
accepted.
As there was time left we
immediately set out for a visit of
the Eifel tower, the symbol of Paris,
rising for 276 m
into the sky. This
steel structure, build by Gustave Eiffel an engineer for an Exhibition
in 1898, is held together by 2.5 mio rivets,
as there was no welding
those days back. He
must have been a genius. Each of
the four legs carries a weight of 2,750
tons. Engineers among us know, that
is about
the weight of 250 lorries filled
with10 cu yards gravel. On clear days
one could see from the third platform
72 km
"overthehorizon(.net)
two views of this engineering masterpiece
When we arrived there was,
we presume as every day, a long line of
visitors daring to scale the heights,
although by lift.
From the second platform at 115 m, the
view was already spectacular, but from the
third, in lofty 276 m, an amazing Birdseye
view in every direction open up. However
only, if you could hold yourself upright, as
the wind was blowing devilishly.
The flag did what she
liked, twisted and flew high up, turned
endlessly,
until I looked for, and got help by this
lady, together we
mastered for a photo. No
sooner we had accomplished this task, a
group of youngest saw us: "We are Malaysian,
you are from
Brunei?' "Yes, and we are here by car. "What???" . "We drove to
Paris all the way from Brunei." Hearing it,
there was excitement.
"I'm from
Sarawak and my mother is Bruneian." Said one
of the girls. Could we make a photo."
And so, high over Paris travelers
of foreign lands, came together for this "once in a lifetime
moment."
"Brunei Juga Boleh!..."
"Masta Eiffel" Without
him, we would not freeze up here
And there was this guy an
Austrian. In 1912 he show up at the Eiffel tower, proclaiming hat
he, like birds would fly
and glide like an
eagle over the roofs of
Paris. What he need, is just a take
off point, the higher the better. Initially
reluctant, the authorities granted
him
the wish and permitted as jump off point the
third and highest platform.
Newspapers were full,
speculations high, all wondered what a
miracle man this might be. When the very
morning arrived, he had a
backpack with him,
and he climbed up, followed by the gaze of
thousand spectators from below, awaiting the
event eagerly.
"He would fly in the wind gusts up
there, higher than any pidgin ever, perhaps
he sail as far as back to Vienna."
The press was
speculating.
Under the watchful eyes of an appointed
jury, he dressed himself with an overall, a
self tailored something, with sewed on wing
flaps stretching from the wrist down
to his worn out shoes, which by the look
indicated that they actually needed some
repair or
better still, replacement. He was
maybe an inventor, which as we know are
never rich. This morning, Herr Reichelt climbed the
baluster and with a 'halleluiah' accelerated
into the air. What do you think has happen
to the Austrian eagle? Sadly to tell, he
plunged to his dead. Well, maybe he flew to
heaven, only God (and he) knows. But this
story has a good news too. The
Austrian
eagle died of an heart attack
before he reached the ground. That indicated
the autopsy, performed afterwards. He did
not suffer
for a minute.
Views
from the top
The Tocadero
and Parc du champ de Mas
well planned and laid out. The city of Paris
Paris a truly wonderful city, is
occupied by over 2 million inhabitants
including many foreigners
of Arab and African descent, a
legacy of colonial
times.
When the Romans conquered it in 55 BC, it was
a small fishing village, inhabited by the
Parisii tribe. The Franks succeeded the
Romans naming the city Paris. During the
Middle ages architectural masterpieces were
erected, and in the Renaissance period,
under the rule of Luis XIV it
became immense wealthy The revolution of
1789 got away with the monarchy until
Napoleon
Bonaparte this brilliant strategist,
showed up on the page of history. He
proclaimed himself "Emperor of France" and
pursued his
ambitions to make France the
center of the world. Which, as history
proofs was a vision he could not accomplish.
The evening was approaching fast and
therefore, we
rushed back to the Embassy/residence, as the
hour of breakfasting was nearing.
In time we arrived and enjoyed a fine
Bruneian Malay
dinner with his Excellencies family, staff
and Bruneians, posted in Paris.
a
relaxed evening, with fine Ikan Tengiri baka
cooked by Datin Fatimah, "oh lala" (just kidding)
sambal belacan and a
pleasing atmosphere.
The guest room of his Excellencies residence
became our home for this night and the
"Sandman", provider of dreams, took me
soon
away into his domain of which I remember
nothing in the morning.
Friday 11-9-09
by 9.00 am we positioned JAMBO for the
"memory" photos. A proof of our
sincere devotion towards Brunei Darussalam.
One time is never enough, therefore more
photos, more of good remembrance.
His Excellency Dato Paduka Zainidi Hj Sidup
and wife Datin Fatimah, Pg Zamhadi and wife
Dewi, Dk Nurul Hidayah Pg
Hamzah( Third Secretary)
In front of the Embassy
What a present! Thank you Pg Zamhadi Pg Hj
Mahalee
and wife Mdm Dewi
Dear reader, we all know presents are given
often because, "we have to give something'
and then this gift without affection is
sometimes forgotten
somewhere in a niche or even an old shoebox.
Is it therefore difficult to give something
precious? Not at all for Pengiran Zamhadi.
He handed to us one of the finest
presents of all our kilometers, of
bumpy roads, and month of frightening
moments. An UNESCO
catalog just
published, which list all the heritage sites
of this world organization, locations worth
to protect and preserve, marvels of
mankind
and nature.
great
people
and JAMBO's journey admired
Smiling, he gave us this valuable gift, just
as if he would say, come one do not get
tiered, look how beautiful the world is. But
we
should remember that he bought this book
initially for himself and by all
indications, he is too a traveler by heart,
still restricted by his
duties though, but
that he value culture and achievements, that
no distance is too far for a pleasing view,
a moment enriching soul and
personality.
Blessed are these men who have the eyes,
character and devotion to see. And so dear Pengiran, we thank you both for
the
book. Whenever we study it, wherever we will
stop, it will be your gesture we remember. Your kind, unexpected thoughtful
present
given to us once upon a time here in
Paris.
"I'm not going there!" said I. "Don't
worry Yati, the
bones would not harm you". we had an earnest
discussion if we will see the
catacombs.
Hundreds, no, Thousands of sculls and bones
neatly staked one upon another remain here
in a temperate, humid climate
assuring their
existence for hundreds of years.
Now the owners long in afterlife already, have their remains
peacefully laying here, one next to the
other, perhaps the scull together
with
the arm bones of the archenemy who by all
visual accounts provided the bullet which
ended the meager life of a common
soldier.
And indeed there were
several sculls with small holes
indicating a rapid transfer into the
afterworld.
Why are they here you may ask. More people
died as there was space in graveyards. And
one day the decision was made to open all
old graves in the city cemetery, and
transfer the remains into ancient
underground excavations here, deep below
Paris.
The undertakers and their helpers
carried over 15 month at night the rotting
corpses and bones to their new location.
Whether the
owners approved of the transfer, we do not know, they could not be asked.
The workers must have been sweating and thirsty for a beer, as
these bundlers stacked bones resembling
a beer barrel..
"cheers" the bone beer barrel He got melancholic
Coming into the open again I immediately fought of any spirit which
may have attached to my body, cutting with
my hands through
the air in defending gesture like a Kong Fu Mama, and brushed
with flat hands my dress, anywhere I could
reach. Prompting Harun
to ask, if fire ants were biting me. "Well one never
knows" was all I said to him vague, not
telling of my silent prayer.
He asked and I remember the question: "If we compare eternity
with a lake and individual life as a bubble
surfacing, existing for a
short moment in the endless time, why worry?" "The
question is, are there too many human lives?
To few, eager to "make
something" out of the 50 conscious years, naturally in
relation to their abilities? Is life in
general only a chance?
Which divine plan is here behind?"
I could not answer. That is a matter of believe.
Sightseeing makes tiered. We drove to the camping ground next
to the Seine river, directed by our GPS.
Hotel de la JAMBO's curtains drawn close we slumbered into the cold
night.
Saturday 12-9-09
Today is sightseeing day; we will roam Paris, two among a
hundred thousand visitors from all parts of
the world.
How much we wish that our sponsors would be here too. The city is
just great. Sin Hup Huat, the company
providing the tiers, or
Sheik Abbas or Sheik Khalid, Sheik Jammaludin. NBT and the Islamic
bank, DST, Telbru all those who made this
trip possible. We
apologize as we enjoy the architecture that much. Paris is no
adventure destination,. except maybe the
"ring trickery' performed
by gypsies, to get some money. How? Well they pretend to find
a golden ring in front of the foreign
visitor, shiny already from
many trials, asking if this ring belongs to him. Insisting it must
be his, as it was just found where he stood.
Should the tourist be
dishonest and take the ring, a companion show up looking for it,
perhaps claiming it was stolen from him, or
worst there was a
necklace attached too. Tourists do not like trouble. He will
return the ring with some cash for his
"mistake." These gypsies hang
around tourist spots. We too were approached 3 times.
Watching them 5 minutes, the woman tried times over rimes the same trick on
innocent by passer.
here on the
place de la Concorde operate the ring gypsies
She try to tricky the tourists to take the
ring
The 3200 years old obelisk from Luxor was a present from Egypt's
Muhammad Ali to the French king. Easy to
give away, what
does not belong to you.
A few pictures from the Mosque de Paris will
end today's sightseeing. Build in 1922, in
Hispano Moorish stile she caters from
Muslims in the jardin des olantes quarters. She is the home of the
Grand Imam. The complex comprises of
religious, educational and
commercial sections, has a Turkish bath, a café, restaurant and an
oriental bazaar.
the minaret stands 33 m high
the prayer hall
The Moroccan influence is clearly visible. On the Minaret as well
as on the pillars holding the roof.
The patio a place for reflection
prayer hall another view
Dear and distinguished reader, if you are a
Muslim as we, be assured we do not promote
any religion here. It is just the
architecture
and the mystery involved, what
fascinate us and what we like to share it
with you.
A must to see is the cathedral Notre Dame.
Not only for us but for thousand visitors lining
up to get a glimpse of this gothic
masterpiece.
It is said that the Freemasons those days
back when chased by the church and
pope, build all the wisdom and secrets
of
Christianity into the cathedral. For the
one who knows to read it, is a book in
stone. For us humble and simple people, it
is only the
esthetic which is moving. There
are a thousand "why's" and no answer.
Notre Dame de Paris
main portal
The holy men rise above ordinary people,
including kings
This fresco shows the judgment day, when
good and bad deeds are scaled. The devils
take away the sinners.
The cathedral is a masterpiece of French
gothic architecture. Build on the site of a
roman temple, the construction begun in 1163
and
ended only in the middle of the 14th
century. . The cathedral holds several
relicts, among them the "holy crown"
purportedly the
wreath of thorn, placed on
Jesus head before he was crucified. Should
it be true? What an amazing thought.
There were hundreds of visitors on both
entrances waiting to go inside,
therefore we left without seeing the rose
windows, the most
renowned. In front there
is a bronze star set in a square. All
distances in France are measured from this
point. Paris has so much to
see, it would
take weeks until one has seen all
architecture and collections.
We did not had the time and went back
to our camping place, a 20 minutes ride by
the Metro.
Sunday 13-9-09
We left Paris early morning towards the
west, on the way to Brittany and later the
Normandy. For a brief stop at Chartres
Cathedral
we had to find the time and
diverted to see this jewel build the 14th
century. For the Christians among our
readers, it might be
interesting
to know, that the cathedral supposed to hold
the holy veil. The very one, which
Virgin Mary had worn when she gave birth
to
Jesus.
How did it come here? It was formerly part
of the Imperial treasure of Constantinople.
But was offered to the Roman Emperor
Charlemagne by Empress Irene when he
proposed a marriage in 802 AD. Since 876 AD
it is in the cathedral, a yellowy bolt of
silk
draped over a support, the focus of
veneration for millions of believers. The cathedral was build because this veil
survived a
catastrophic fire in 1194 AD.
Divine intervention?
Cathedral of
Chartres
detail
the interior, it cannot get better an old double doorlock
congregation
beautiful glass stained windows color the
incoming light
here one can clearly see it
part of the labyrinth
The mystery of the 13 m diameter
circle and the labyrinth in the floor.
We are to research further about the purpose
of this unusual
inlays' is said it supports
spiritual insight, walking labyrinth.
Leaving
Rennes behind and Redon we were nearing the
Morbihan coast and the mystifying Celtic
megaliths. Dear reader that is
1500 years before Christ. Here hundreds of
sacred burial sides were discovered and
unearthed. Collective tombs in enormous size.
description JAMBO and our journey is often the center of
attention
another grave
Carnac alignments, stones lined out
the meaning remains a mystery
a grave 3500 years old
inside inscriptions
grave entrance
markings and magical runes in the
granite stone
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so much to discover an
axe?
so little we know about
Carnac has the greatest
concentration of megalithic sites, erected
between 3000 and 5000 BC. That was during
the time of the
Egyptian Pyramids and
even before. Looking at them, there is one
perplexing question rising in my mind. "How
the heck" lifted and
transported these guys
back then, these Neolithic menhirs and dolmens? How did they do
it? Those days back there was no wheel
invented.
Monday
14-9-09
Crawling out
of our hotel de la JAMBO early, the
wind was blowing from the east. It was cold and colder still was
the "hot water
shower"
of the camping ground we stayed. But for
Euro 11.- one cannot ask for much. The
morning we continued to look at these
astonishing sites.
the broken great menhir never
erected lying
in three pieces
This
colossus came from a site 9 km away. How did
the Neolithic men move 280 tons? That is
280.000 kg.
The weight of almost 200 cars. There is no
explanation for it. Wondrous sites indeed,
here on the shores of the Atlantic.
Sitting here,
suddenly I recall, that
there was the
day in our journey, around the 20th of July,
when we started on the eastern shores
of this endless
landmass consisting of of Siberia, Western
Russia and Europe. It was in Vladivostok, where we begun our
expedition.
In the East , the Vladivostok
port, on the Japanese sea
in the west is France and Brittany, the
coast of the Atlantic ocean
Back then in the morning, the fog covered
the sunrise over the sea of Japan. And here
she sinks back into the Atlantic ocean, or
into
the underworld, as once the Egyptians
believed.
Sitting here now, endless Siberia,
the police, the anguish, the hardship and fearful moments behind, the North Cape
and all the
thousands of kilometers, I feel
relived that we accomplished what we had set
us as goal.
For us, the responsibility of
collecting donations is great. One has to
fulfill the cause to bring "Brunei to the
World" and make people
aware of our peaceful lovely and green Nation. Our promise made in
Brunei to our donors, hung over us
like a sword or the blade of a
guillotine.
Now, from the Normandy where so much blood
was shed to liberate Europe, we ferry to UK
and to our High Commission,
where
officially the first part of the journey
around the world ends. In October we return to Brunei to obtain visas and ask
again for
funds.
In the second part, starting
in ending January, we cross once more the
black mans land, traversing Africa
West, (if Gabon, now in
turmoil, permits) otherwise via east and Uganda,
before we turn to the Americas.
Without sponsorship we cannot continue
and have to abandon the "25 years
Independence Expedition". These
are worrying thoughts.
I only hope that our relevant Authorities
have the vision and see the need for
achievements. We have set Brunei on the
expedition
map somewhere in front, as not
many humans in recent history undertook and
succeeded in such endeavors.
For sure, no Malay
nor Muslim, nor a woman.
Will I have to knock doors again and beg for
support? I do not know.
But for the flight
back to Brunei by our RBA, we have to pay
already ourselves although we have begged
them for a sponsor ticket.
That is not a promising sign.
Although we slept 80% of all nights in our"
Hotel de la JAMBO" we have exhausted all
donations
received.
Looking at the sun reddish glow,
sinking into the Atlantic ocean,
I send a silent prayer up to ALMIGHTY, who by
all accounts
protected us and our journey.
Sometimes we experienced a feeling, as if a
positive force is present around us. Especially mornings
before we left into a
day of unknown events. Therefore, first and
foremost it is HE who receives our devotion,
prayer and thanks.
Then thanks
to all the donors, foremost TOTAL the French
Petro Multi, NBT in Gadong, who fixed JAMBO
on their expense, the
Islamic Bank Brunei, DST,
Sheikh Abas and Sheikh Khalid, the Sin Hup
Huat for our tires, the Malay who gave, be it a dollar or a
hundred.
Naturally also Sheikh Jamaluddin the Tourism
boss and The perm sec of Ministry of Education
Datin Paduka Hajah Afsah
who
permitted me to hold the motivational talks
and the many others who supported morally. RTB,
Rampai Pagi who aired live every
Sunday our progress
report.
TelBru for the satellite phone
and airtime. We smuggled your property successfully in and out of Russia.
At last we should not forget Indah Jadi in KK,
and there one engineer Mr. Chan, who
installed all the extras in JAMBO. His
advise was
valuable at all times. We remember him whenever we switch our
heating system on. Mostly here in France
where chilly winds reach
our bones in
minutes. There is Fauzidah Hj Mat
Noor who runs our small company meanwhile.
Thank you too. Member of the Women
Business Council and thank you readers who log in and spend their
valuable time on our web site. Thank you for
your encouraging
Emails and we hope our site is not boring.
Life without personal
achievements is meaningless and wasted. My
words are especially directed to the
youth. This statements
stands as rule in my life. Do your best with your abilities.
And never waste what you have, but give for
the good cause. Every action
will come back to you in the future, as a good deed or will haunt
you, me, everybody. If not in this life, in
our next.
Money should be responsibility. Hording and wasting or using
it for pride or worst, for devastation like
wars, will bring the culprit to the
fellow with the cloven hoof which we met in once back in Germany on the Hexentanzplatz.
Stones in long rows
for reasons, one can only speculate
gentle waves on the French Atlantic
Tuesday
15-9-09
After a stormy
night which made JAMBO shake in the wind, we
took the ferry from the Normandy to South
England. A 4 hours ride,
which we used
to update our web.
up to the ferry
looking back to Cherbourg, France
By 2 pm JAMBO rolled for
the first time on England's roads, and
on the English side now, that is on the left,
as in Brunei. The British
weather welcome us
with cold winds and cloudy skies. Good also,
at least it is not raining. We are on the
way to London.
If you dear reader like to know about our
"days in "Great Britain" you have to
click the UNITED
KINGDOM where our journey continues.
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