From Seria in Brunei to Miri in Malaysia we passed a lot of "nodding donkey" oil pumps. We also saw a lot more foreigners here as they work for Shell Oil.
Miri was an unusual city. It had a new Civic Centre with a beautiful garden which looked like it was paid for by 'oil money'.
It also had a large Chinese commercial area and they were getting ready for Chinese New Year celebrations. The streets were lit up with red lanterns and there was a stage set up in the street for singers and dancers to entertain the crowds. Lots of shops had discounts and bargains. There were hundreds of boxes of Chinese mandarins for sale which we took to be a fruit you buy for good luck (or prosperity) at this time of the year. There were also shops selling paper money and burners to burn the money in , also for good luck.
This stall holder was outside the ticket office for the bus and did a roaring trade with the bus passengers.
