The landscape of Kuala Belait has changed so much in the last couple of years.

Driving around this town these days is quite exciting – new multi-storey residential blocks everywhere!

With so many expats in this oil and gas town and very little housing options due to the restrictive land policy, it is only fair that those with money are allowed to build apartments – for those who has no money to build or even buy their own.

Now there are comparatively more housing choices at more decent rental rates – and those expats whose housing allowances are not $5000 and above will no longer have to contend with renting some backyard-house-extension or above-shoplot-units.

These expats may still not be able to display their modern outdoor furniture but at least coming home to their rented apartments will be much nicer (maintained compound) and easier (no need to compete for parking with shop-goers).

Just the other day, my husband suggested that we display all the cameras we have had over the years.

You must think we make it a hobby to collect cameras?

We do have around four to five digital cameras (and maybe two camcorders until the last one broke a few years ago and never replaced) and most of them still work I am sure. It is just that, once we upgraded to a DSLR (still only one), the others were quickly forgotten and now left lying somewhere, gathering dusts.

I mean, how can I not love the (still one) DSLR that we have, no matter how basic it is now compared to all the new ones in the market, when its “sports mode” suits my style (read : shooting while in a car) nicely?

In fact, many of my favorite photos are those I took when we are driving around.

So much so that I am sometimes at lost at what to shoot when I am in not in a compose-and-press-the-shutter-now mode!

There are family members who are on their way to 11°C Taiwan and 1°C Canada.

Yes, just one operative word : COLD!

I have not been anywhere below 20°C for ten years (and I don’t count artificially-freezing Singapore’s Snow City).

Fortunately we are able to enjoy a little (natural) dip in temperature when we go to highlands like Kundasang (gateway to Mount Kinabalu) and Patau (gateway to the cold-straight-from-Crocker-Range Mahua Waterfall) back in Sabah.

We have not been to Kundasang for a few years though, as the whole place is becoming expensive, crowded and no longer as cold as it was many years back when putting on socks to bed is a MUST.

We went to Patau recently for a short getaway and although it is also no longer a must to sleep with socks, this quiet kampung has its own special charm.

Simple houses with rustic furniture, the friendly natives with their singsong dialect, the green paddy field right in front and blue hills and mountain beyond.

And the most important factor for me – no big buses of crowd that drown out the sound of nature.

A certain take-note message received this morning had me going through a lot of sites to find a certain movie to watch in full – online.

But as fast as I found the right site, it was also quickly removed and my progress status at this time is – FAILED.

It’s not that we do not want to spend that $6-$7 that it cost to watch a movie in a cinema but there are various legit factors why learning how to download videos from youtube is a useful skill.

Such as, the movie is not being shown in “the cinema near you”.

Or that the movie is so old that nobody even cares about it – but you.

Perhaps you just want to watch a little snippet of the movie before you decide to watch the whole thing elsewhere – and a trailer just does not cut it.

As for this particular attempt, I have given it up and will therefore only look for the book.

When deciding on a hotel room for us – our must-haves include swimming pool/bathtub AND spacious room.

That was our issue with the hotel that we stayed at for a short holiday recently.

Promised to be a 65 square metres, I booked and paid for one of their Executive Double room at a rate that was within the range of other branded hotels in town. But despite the professional welcome – a note complete with my name and the extra baby cot that I requested waiting in the room – I was not happy with the room because it was half the promised size!

The kind of size that is fine for a couple but will make my kids go crazy from not being able to move (without hitting anything) AND drive us mad from trying to suppress their natural tendency to explore, somersault and cartwheel – within 5 mins flat.

Fortunately before we anything was broken or anyone was hurt, they upgraded us to a much bigger room.

Sigh, gone are the days when any nice hotel room will do for us.

I can foresee a much harder time choosing hotel rooms that fit our needs (and budget). A two-bedrooms apartment with living/dining room or kitchen (plus stove and stainless steel sinks) is probably our only options in two years time!

In the meantime, any room we choose has to be big enough – as in my family-speak – for at least one complete cartwheel.