Java Wildlife

So, instead of finishing off EIW things like I should be, I am here blogging about today.

Actually, let's start with last night. All over our kost, the office, and Jakarta, there are little lizards. They are cute until they dart across the room really fast and startle you. They tend to hang out in the common areas, where it is warm and humid, and not where there is AC. See Exhibit A:

(pictures to be posted once I can get a good view of one of them).

Not so cute when they are in your bedroom and hiding behind your bed. Luckily (or so I thought), we have the aforementioned super cat, ready and able to catch lizards. That is, if she can see them. Needless to say, Erin and I had to scare this little guy out form behind the bed before the cat would take notice of him. Then, she was so intense, Erin wanted to try to save the lizard by grabbing him and putting him outside my room, but he was way too fast for us. Finally, the lizard was low enough on the wall that Mundo could jump up and knock him off-right onto my bed. Then, she ran out, and the lizard seemed to have disappeared!

Or did he? I went off to see where Mundo had gone while Erin lizard-hunted under my bed. Mundo had gone into Erin's room, and when I saw her, she jumped up and ran away, but I saw enough of her to see the lizard in her mouth! She got him! Except I saw what I thought was another lizard, this time a baby, in her room! I ran to get her, and she walked over to it--only to discover it was not a baby, it was a tail, still wiggling even though detached (apparently as a defense mechanism the lizards can attached them easily at will)?

Luckily our shrieks summoned Dewi, our roommate, who mustered up a broom and dustpan and disposed of the tail. The lizard escaped Mundo and sat as far away from her as possible, tail-less, and Mundo continued to give it the death stare. It was quite the adventure.

This morning, we got up and left at seven for Bogor, a small city about an hour to an hour and a half south of Jakarta. We spent most of the morning in a gorgeous botanical garden called Kebun Raya with about half of Jakarta's population--many people went there to picnic for the Muslim holiday.

The highlight of the park should be a corpse flower, or Amorphophallus titanum, which attracts flies for pollination by smelling like a corpse. Unfortunately, it only blooms once every four years (!), and we are in a down year. Perhaps we will return in 2013 for its appearance?



We also had some (mediocre) Middle Eastern food at Ali Baba and some (surprisingly) excellent apple pie at Pia, a little cafe in the city. We attempted to get to a wayung puppet workshop before we had to leave, but it began pouring, and we decided to head home--which was a good idea, because it took us almost three hours with the traffic.



One more work day this week, and then to Borneo in the evening!

Commissions and Italians

Today Erin, Laode, Julia, and I met with representatives from KOMNAS HAM, the Indonesia Human Rights Commission. It went well and they are excited to work with us on out human rights training. One of the highlights of the meeting may have been the opportunity to try a fried banana--Erin loved it, I thought it was so-so (maybe it is me just being a little sick of fried things).

After work, Erin, Julia, Hugh, Stevan, and I went to Trattoria for some Italian fare. Erin and I split a delicious pumpkin ravioli and pizza with some vegetables and spiced meat that I cannot remember the name of. I also tried a delicious smoky beer that I also cannot remember the name of. Close by, delicious, and only a little expensive (whole meal was under $20, cheap by US standards but expensive in Indonesia!)--we will probably be back!

Whirlwinds!

Back from Penang last night. Possibly Bogur tomorrow night for the holiday Wednesday. Booked ticket to Borneo Thursday night; back on Sunday, though still need to book return tix.

Penang in a flash:

-SO MUCH GOOD FOOD
-Kathy is a fantastic tour guide
-The Pearl of the Orient is beautiful and delicious

More later, I hope!

Super Steak makes the Jakarta 100!

(Though I don't know what qualifications the judge has)

And, my back is in some stealthy pictures taken by the owner:

Super Steak!

Thursday Thoughts

Not much of note today, besides Erin and I almost being attacked by a bat on our walk home--the little guy would not stop flying towards our heads! Erin bravely defended us by swinging her Total bag around and around--priceless.

I also tried a new food for lunch: Gulai Ayam. Delicious, but a lot of work getting the scrawny chicken meat off the bone!

And, new resolution: say what you think. Case in point: when inquiring about booking a tour in Borneo, I found the same hotel they wanted to give us has a promo with Air Asia--buy two nights, get the third free. I told them, they reduced the price, and it looks like we will book on our own! I as thinking if I could play around it to try to get them to go lower, but I just told them the situation, and it looks like it will work out.

Same deal with the Krakatau tour last weekend: I would email one tour operator and say, hey, your competitor just quoted me this--can you beat it? And Thommy said he could, so he got the job. One and done. These are bargaining examples, but should extend to real life, right? Just say what's on your mind, and perhaps you can work something out!

36 hours until....

Penang!

Beware the poison of gases!

Note: Slight Poison of gases (actually, just sulfur) rising from the non-visible caldera at the top of the volcano)

Internet is actually working at home (it hasn't been for the last few days, on and off) so I will try to blitz out the weekend:

5 AM departure Sunday. Oof. Got a text from out tour guide at 4:20 AM that he was already here! Double oof. Left for the three hour drive, making a few bathroom stops, before we arrived in Carita and had a coffee (instant with hot water, yum) and getting on the boat. Hit some traffic, as they are re-doing the highway with some intense heavy duty cement that will virtually never need to be repaired, though it is taking ofrever to put down.

The closer we got to Carita, the progressively worse the bathrooms. First, squat toilets with no toilet paper. I packed some, so fine. Then, squat in a closet in a quickie mart. Okay, a little bizarre, but I an deal. Finally, at the "coffee shop," aka warung on the side of the road/lean-to shack, the owner led Julia and I through the shack to the back.

"Where is the toilet?"
"Here."
"Di mana?" ("Where?")
"Di sini." ("Here." Points again at stone floor.)


Do you see a hole? Neither did we.

She motions that we should use the floor, and just use some water to, er, dilute whatever we produce. Julia went first, and I followed, squatting on the floor while a rooster in the yard and a fish in a bucket (probably that night's dinner) looked on. It was...an experience.



We boarded a small "fast boat" with two crew members and a captain, and sped off to Krakatau. The current active volcano is actually Anak Krakatau, or "Child of Krakatau," as the original one blew itself up in 1883 with the loudest bang ever recorded on earth (they heard it in Australia!)



View of a remnant of the original Krakatau from Child of Krakatau, which rose from the ocean in 1927 and has been growing ever since.

The island was an eerie gray color (it looked like the moon), with vegetation clustered at the bottom, thinning out and disappearing as you reached the area where ash settles from the top. It was a short hike up to the first level (as far as you can go safely), but took a little while due to the thick ash--your feet just sunk in like quicksand.

We spent a while hanging out at the top, taking some pictures, looking at the sulfur stains, and enjoying the gorgeous views of the Sunda Strait.

Next, we boarded the boat and went to one of the neighboring islets to enjoy a picnic lunch. We were told to beware meter-long lizards that emerge from the trees and try to steal your food, but fortunately (or unfortunately for our curiosity) we didn't see them.

After a quick swim and exploration around the black sand beach, we were off to snorkel just off the coast of the same island. The coral was a bit damaged, but we did see a few interesting specimens, such as some fluorescent purple-tipped corals and ones that looked like giant mushrooms. Hugh and I even spotted a blowfish, though he wouldn't expand his spikes for us! We also saw some blue and yellow pinstriped fish, a long fish that looked like a tube, and every color imaginable (Alexis, help me out with some names here!)

The day was beautiful, and though the ride back to Java took a while and was rather bumpy because the wind had kicked up some waves, we still had huge smiles on our faces.

And then, we were punished. Jakarta traffic is as bad as they say. It took us 6 hours to go the 142 km back home. We slept a little, but the stop and go was not conducive to naptime. With time though, we will laugh at that part, and only remember the beauty of the Sunda Strait. If you want to go, I highly recommend Thommy, our tour guide, at Krakatau holiday. He was very knowledgeable, they were so nice even though their day was so much longer than ours, and he has some really neat tour options. Get out of Jakarta and DO IT!

Monday, I was so tired I slept straight through the call to prayer (though Erin and I have determined it is actually quieter--maybe a speaker broke? No complaints!). After work, we attempted to find Trattoria, and Italian restaurant, but ended up back at Plaza Senayan for dinner and had a nice, though pricey (by Indonesian standards) dinner at Portico.

Tuesday, Erin and I went to the bookstore after work, she to pick up a language book, and me, to find the first book in the Buru Quarter, a series about a man living on Java in the later nineteenth century. The bookstore was small, but had an adorable coffeeshop inside and not a bad selection. Periplus is the name. We were going to get takeout from the Mexican restaurant in the same shopping center, but after the waiter offered us half-price happy hour margaritas (about 4 USD each), we decided to stay and gorged on fajitas, chips and salsa, and enchiladas. Not the best I've ever had, but not bad for Jakarta.

Internet was out when we got back, so I had to postpone this post until today, though I did finish reading my first Indonesian-authored book, They Say I'm a Monkey by Djenar Maesa Ayu. Extremely transparent with her metaphors of sex, adultery, and the hypocrisy of Jakartan society, her short stories are absolutely beautifully written, even after a round of translation. A quick read, and highly recommended.

My roommate Atik,who so kindly agreed to post a couple of letters for me, returned home to tell me that her office post service told her it would cost FORTY TWO DOLLARS for each letter to go to the states. Um, no. I will buy the recipients presents instead. She is going to try the Indonesian Post Office today to see if they are any better--I sure hope so! She is so sweet, as I would never have been able to figure it out on my own.

I finished the last season of Glee this AM while working out, and after work, Erin and I made a Total trip to get some groceries. She, feeling ambitious, bought some tempe to fry, and when we got home, heated up the oil, and was in the process of chopping some garlic to go along with it when the oil burst into flames--turns out, one burner gets REALLY hot, too hot for a thin wok. The kitchen filled with smoke, and Erin survived, but burned her hand. Hopefully she will be okay, and won't have a battle scar. Luckily I came prepared with everything, including her favorites, cortisone for the bug bites and neosporin for the burn. Poor Erin. The beginning and the end of her cooking foray. I made some pasta, and am looking forward to trying the ice cream I got later tonight...(Haagen Dazs is over $10 for a PINT so I am going to try "Wall's").

Caught up! Though still lacking a Cambodia post, I know. Maybe tomorrow...

Weekend in Java

I'm embarrassingly behind here. Doing so much, don't have time to write about it, then the more behind you get, the less time you have...the cycle perpetuates. So here goes:

Friday: Dinner at a "steakhouse." Meaning, some guy's house, where he happens to serve steak. No, really. Two weeks ago this was a nice house close to our office. One week ago, he opened for his inaugural night, and buys a bunch of steaks, chops a couple vegetables, throws them on his grill, and gives you a choice of three sauces to put on top. Not the biggest steak I've ever had, but pretty delicious, especially for a nation where steak isn't at the top of most menus. Oh, and this fresh Black Angus cost $10. Not bad at all. Throw in a couple of cold Bintangs, and it's officially Friday night. The entire French expat scene (or at least twenty of them) joined us in this guy's driveway for the meal, so if he's already this popular, this "restaurant" might actually turn into something. He might get sick of people traipsing through his living room to get to the bathroom, but I'm sure he'll work it out.

After dinner, Brian invited us to his birthday party at his apartment. We met his wife and their friends, and caught a glimpse of his adorable 4 month old daughter. For quite a bit less then my New York rent, he lives on the 9th floor of a high rise, with a balcony that overlooks Jakarta, airtight security, gym, pool, laundry, etc. Makes you want to become an ex-pat. Unfortunately because of my "curfew" (the gate is locked at 11 PM unless someone waits up for you), I had to leave before the candles were blown out on the cake so I didn't see what a true Indonesian birthday cake looks like.

Saturday, I went out first thing to try to find coffee. There is a Cafe de Vienna very close by, but it is unclear where the store is--the sign is above another sign for a ballet studio. However, I bravely walked into the lights-off-possible-ballet-studio to find a woman in a headscarf watching TV. She seemed slightly surprised to see me, but gave me a menu when I asked, which included iced coffee. While she was making it, I flipped through the menu and found three pages of different sausages--bratwursts, bacon, and so on,under the heading "pork sausages." I tried asking her if these were actually pork, but she didn't understand, so I decided to come back and try a different time. The whole place was a bit bizarre, and I am quite curious where these sausages come from, but it could be a nice way to bring myself out of pork withdrawal.

Skype failed me as soon as I finished explaining New York cheesecake with oreo crust to Alex and his mother. After finishing our conversation over the not-as-exciting gchat, I met Julia to go to the antique market, but while I was waiting for her, Hugh shows up on his way to go to a coffee shop he's been promising to show us for weeks. So once Julia arrives, we head to the mall (of course) where it is located, but by the time we get there, we are starving, and go to a place to get lunch instead. We decide to eat at this slightly Italian-looking restaurant called Pizza e Birra (Pizza and Beer). While Julia had two delicious looking iced cappuccinos and two delicious salads, Hugh and I order what we though (and what were described as) veggie and cheese calzones.



We get this: while it make look beautiful, it is actually very thin bread with some tomato sauce and an onion here and there smothered in sickly sweet balsamic vinaigrette. Not many veggies for a secret garden" pf vegetables. Oh, well. Probably will not be returning for the beer pong tournament.

After picking up iced coffee from Anomali, we finally headed out to the Jalan Surabaya antique market. Imagine a street with one side wall-to-wall small shops, alternating a few kinds: brass objects, wooden carved objects, china antiques (plates, vases, etc.) and batik/cloth/etc. Unfortunately for Julia, they ALL sold coins, and once she expressed interest in coins once they swarmed her like flies wherever she went. "I already bough coins, thank you" had absolutely no effect. I tried bargaining as hard as I had been warned to (literally sometimes cutting the price by a factor of ten) and it worked somewhat for me--I found a couple of beautiful hand painted brass teapots I wanted as a decoration, but the shopkeeper wouldn't budge on price. The next guy I tried wouldn't budge either for just a plain brass one, and I moved on. Five minutes later, he comes running down the street, lowering his price. I ended up going up 5,000 rupiyah (less than a dollar), and got it, though it wasn't as nice as the hand-painted ones. I tried shopping for some military antiques for my dad, and I'm glad I didn't buy anything--the items they told me were Japanese were upon further research actually Soviet. Anything for a buck, these guys.

We finished the day at Senayan City to get Julia some hiking shoes for Sunday and for sushi. Two groups of students asked to interview and take pictures with us, which I'm starting to get used to, I supposed (still think I should start charging!). We returned to Sushi Tei to get some sushi for dinner, and lo and behold, who walks by us but Hugh. Seriously, all roads lead to Senayan City. WE picked up some food for the long day ahead and headed home to get some sleep for our 4:30 AM wakeup to go to Krakatau Sunday....

(to be continued....)

This actually happened.

My co-worker, who has done extensive work in prisons with terrorists and former terrorists:

"This mujaheddin I know SMSed me to say that he is very happy about the verdict. He spent 14 years in a Central Java prison for terrorism crimes." He went on to explain that many mujaheddin in Indonesia disagree with Bashir and are celebrating his imprisonment, as one of the clerics who interprets the jihad in the wrong way is now out of the way, and so their versions can thrive.

He also laughed at me when I said "caliphate." Apparently the English translation is nowhere near the Arabic pronunciation.

Terrorists texting anti-terrorism crusaders to celebrate the imprisonment of other terrorists? This really did just happen.

Catching up!

Sorry for the radio silence, readers! I got back from Lombok early Tuesday morning and have been laying low since, working on some human rights research and figuring out how to present the country's views on women's issues in five pages or less for a report due later this month.

Tuesday I met Julia, our newest intern, and zombied my way through the day until finally getting some sleep that night. Wednesday, the interns all wet out for a nice lunch at Cali Deli--Vietnamese sandwiches being a nice break from Indonesian food! Their Black Magic iced coffee (Vietnamese coffee, condensed milk, ice, and sugar) is fantastic, though overpriced (we aren't in America, folks!).

Julia and I adventured to Little Tokyo for dinner to get sushi at a place her friend recommended. Unfortunately, their menu was in Japanese, so not even my paltry Indonesian skills could help, and I'm not even sure what one of the sushi rolls I had contained. The food was decent, though extremely overpriced, and finding the location in a maze next to Blok M was interesting. Sticking to my 1 USD gado gado for lunch for the next few days.

The big question of the day is: what is the next adventure I have desperately been searching for day trips or weekend trips from Jakarta, and there really aren't many less then 3 hours away. It looks like Hugh, Julia, and I may attempt a day trip to Mt. Krakatau on day this weekend, if we can figure out how to rent a driver for the day to take us to Carita, the launching off point!

Kari and I finalized our plans for Penang next weekend (woohoo!), where we will finally meet the travel goddess Kathy who has dispensed numerous pieces of advice to us. For some reason Lion Air, one of the acceptable-to-fly-on Indonesian airlines, will not take either of my Visa cards as payment, but after a quick transaction with Hugh, I now have a plane ticket time (as well as a copy of his credit card information....heh heh heh!)

Kari and I were all set to visit Bangkok her last weekend in Asia (nooooooo), and I had even gotten the go-ahead to take a day off to travel, when Brian noted that the Thai elections are coming up, and the last two elections have actually resulted in mass riots as well as political parties taking over the airport and suspending flights for a few days. He told me to check the date of the election, and lo and behold, our planned last day there was the same day. So long, Bangkok. Now considering: Borneo, Phuket, Manila, Bali, anywhere else we haven't yet been to...suggestions welcome!

So that's pretty much it. Today's mosque singing includes a duet, but not a good one. That is what I am listening to as I write...boy oh boy I am glad Ramadan will coincide with the end of my time here. Tomorrow Julia, Hugh, and I are going with Stephen/Steven, our South African consultant, to an Indonesian friend of his's house/restaurant for some steaks and beers. My stomach is already excited. Talk to you all soon!

Jaded so soon?

Lombok is beautiful, there's no doubt. Though I haven't been to Bali yet, I might be able to believe that Lombok is more beautiful and less crowded--the amount of tourists I saw certainly didn't match up to the number of beachfront hotels and tourist restaurants I passed while there.

However, though I'm new to SE Asia tourism, I have to say that my last two weekends have turned me off of it a bit and made me want to turn to the least "authentic" hotel I can find in Hawaii.

Today was a gorgeous day, and the driver I hired for the day (okay, I will admit that is a luxury I can't afford in the states) picked me up at 8 AM for the drive to Kuta. When I mentioned that I'd like to stop for a coffee, he took me to a beachfront cafe where I had a traditional Lombok coffee--finely ground beans with hot water poured over them (don't drink the dregs!). Interesting, but I like my coffee minus the chewiness!

We then took an two hour drive through Lombok to Kuta's next-door neighbor, Tanjung Aan. An absolutely beautiful beach with mountains and rocks ringing it, Tangjung is less crowded than Kuta. I settled down to enjoy the beach, only four other people on the entire thing, and felt like this is what I imagined Indonesian beaches to be.

Not so soon. After five minutes of peace, the stream of hawkers began. Throughout my four hours there, they came in chunks--I'd be in peace for an hour, then five or six in a row would hassle me. It doesn't really matter how many times you say no, or goodbye, or in what language; they sit next to your blanket and stare at you for a few minutes after you stop responding, perhaps to guilt you into buying something? I'm not really sure. This would have been bearable if not for the gang of six or seven young boys (age 6, about?) that surrounded me, also early on. I said a friendly hello and goodbye, and returned to my book, but they started making huge balls of sand (think snowballs, but with sand), and throwing them and small stones as close as possible to me without hitting me. No amount of SELAMAT JALANS! could make them go away, so I picked up my stuff and moved 20 feet down the beach. They got the hint after that.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

After a morning like this, though, it was hard for me to relax long enough to really enjoy it. I can't complain about a day in paradise, but I have to say that I've had better days. I was toying with the idea of a surf lesson, and maybe I should have gone that way? Or maybe it is just the traveling alone as a woman in a Muslim country thing hitting me? I'm not sure what I could have done to feel more comfortable.

We left around 2:30 and drove 10 minutes to Kuta, where I had a delicious lunch of stir-fried squid at the Full Moon Cafe, though I continued to be hassled throughout lunch to buy the fake pearl bracelets offered by girls who said it was to support their schooling. After Cambodia, I don't fall for that one.

My driver dropped me off at my current location, the Griya Asri Hotel in downtown Mataram, which I picked for its proximity to the airport. MISTAKE. The hotel is fine (what you would epect for $20/night), but they tried to charge me 60,000 rupiyah for the hotel car to take me to the airport tomorrow morning, when a taksi ride from Senggigi, the beach, costs less than 50,000. The whole reason I picked this location was to save some time and money, right? Nope. None of the staff speak Engish, either, so they actually ordered me a taksi to take me to the airport tonight, an hour after I checked in--leaving me wondering why I would check in at all if I am leaving for the airport tonight?

All in all, a beautiful day ended up being a bit frustrating. I know that I am the bule here (foreigner), and it is up to the Sasuk (ethnic Lombok people) to do what they wish, and we should adapt to it. But on an island that is trying to grow its tourist industry (brand-new international airport slated to be finished next year), it is not as welcoming to the Western tourist as I would wish. Perhaps if I was a bit more of a risk-taker, or if I was with friends or family, this wouldn't bother me as much. But in a strange city in a strange country it all feels a bit ominous and makes you want to pay for the beachfront Sheraton Hotel, where at least they speak English and literally pay the hawkers to stay away from their stretch of beach.

I know that in a few days when I'm sitting at my desk I will forget the bad parts and remember the good ones, but I wanted to write this to remind myself and you that Indonesia's beaches may look like a blissful paradise in pictures, and accommodation may be cheap, but there are a few cons, as well.

I'm going to eat the Nasi Goreng I had to order twice (and I still received the wrong thing) before crashing for my early flight. See you in Jakarta!

PS Coming up next--the disaster that was me not knowing how to eat a soft-shell crab. Sigh.

Fearless

I'm writing this post sitting on my hammock outside my bungalow in Lombok while listening to some T-Swift. This is my third night watching the absolutely gorgeous sunset, but I wish I had someone to share it with besides the French guy I don't know watching it from the bungalow next door.

This side of Lombok is completely different from Mataram--the main road can be noisy when an ojek screams past, but for the most part the loudest noise is the crashing of the waves against the seawall just 20 yards away.

I went for an early walk on the beach this morning before being picked up for my "Gili Explore" tour, during which I was only bothered once, and the hawker got the hint fairly quickly, though he is still convinced my name is Sandra. Don't know where he got that from. The very nice young driver took me to Perema's main office, where I paid and had a really good instant coffee-I'm going to have to get myself some of that mix! I then boarded a boat with nine Indonesians, some sort of collection of brothers, sisters, and cousins, who made a few words of conversation with me and obliged me by taking a couple of pictures. I started to get anxious, though, as only one of them was wearing a bathing suit and no one else besides me clutched a snorkel.

After an hour-long boat ride to Gili Trawagan (sp?), they all disembarked and I was confused. The boat driver finally caught onto my confusion and explained that they just wanted a lift to the island; the rest of the snorkeling crew were going to join us from the island. A nice (and beautiful) young Dutch couple and two middle-aged Aussie men got on the boat with snorkels and fins and all was well again!

We snorkeled for thirty minutes off the coast of each island. The snorkeling at Gili Trawagan was tough--the current was strong and I was so afraid of being swept to sea that I couldn't focus on the fish! Luckily, at Gilis Meno and Air, the current was much weaker and I saw a ton of fish--zebra fish, little neon blue guys, beautiful rainbow-colored fish, long skinny fish that looked like pipes, and a couple of turtles! My brand new mask leaked terribly, and I switched over to one of their masks for the last dive, which didn't leak once--so much for buying my own gear!

The boat dropped us off on the Air mainland for lunch, where I had my usual mango juice (what am I going to do when I get back to the states and can't have fresh mango smoothies every day?!?) and some delicious seafood cap cay (pronounced chap chai). I walked up and down the coast for a little, and the boat dropped me off at a different bay on the northern part of Lombok The same driver from the morning appeared out of nowhere from the boat and dropped me off at my door.

All in all, a lovely day (made better by some preemptive Dramamine. However, I still struggle with solo traveler's anxiety: did I sign up for the right thing, with the language barrier? Is this boat safe? Will my room be broken into while I am gone? Will I be in any of my pictures? This opportunity is fantastic, but I've realized more and more it isn't just the experiences you have, but the people you have them with, that take trips like this one from great to fantastic. I've found it almost paralyzing sometimes to to try to plan activities and travel for myself when I have no idea how it will turn out. Hence, the Taylor-listening and post title. Cheesy, but I think "fearless" is really becoming my theme for the summer: not worrying about what may go wrong, but being grateful for everything that is going right. In that vein, here I go with some sappy shoutouts:

-To my family, I miss you, and can't wait for our OBX trip when I get back. To my extended family, I am so sorry I will miss you all at the cape.
-To my friends, I miss you all in New York, DC, and around the world.
To SSSLY: can we please please do a sssly spring break or winter break or summer break or something now once we are all back in the states?
-To my new work colleagues, thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn about your wonderful country, and for sending me to Lombok!
-To Kari: I admire you for being fearless as well and being fearless with me! Here's to Penang and Bangok!
-To Erin: thank you for making me forget to be lonely in Jakarta! Here's to a future trip when we are actually both around the same weekend!
-And finally, to Alex--thank you for listening to me babble on skype about anything and everything, and for your love and support for me while I'm on the other side of the world. I miss you more than anything.

Love and miss you all! Off to Kuta in the morning, perhaps for a surfing lesson as well? Pictures to come once I return to Jakarta!

Interruptions

I called this interruptions because as I was about to post, the internet went out again. Sigh. It’s a wonder there is internet at all here, for free, so I shouldn’t complain. The training has been going well, though I haven’t been able to understand much. I am going to do some post-training interviews tomorrow, hopefully with Nita’s help in translating, to get some feedback and talk Literally as I was writing this, we got word that they finished early today. So, looks like we will have to make some phone calls next week! Will definitely need translation help!

So….three days on Lombok! This brings me to my next observation/complaint/puzzlement: SWF traveling alone. I haven’t really been scared or felt unsafe as of yet, but I have felt overwhelmed. Many of the tours I want to do require minimum two persons, and will operate if you have one person, but you have to pay as if there were two. Furthermore, there really aren’t enough tourists to be able to count on the tour having a couple of people already that you can tag along with. Hopefully when I arrive at my next hotel tomorrow they will have some ideas for me. I also have been musing on what to do with my things while I snorkel—can I leave them on the beach? Maybe if I rent a snorkel they will hold onto most of my stuff, minus a towel and flip flops, until I am done? This is hard! And it will be impossible to get any pictures of myself!

If anyone has any tips on traveling alone (or traveling alone through Indonesia!) I would love any advice you have! Missing the US and how much easier these things are (though not the prices).

Contradictions

The one thing I’ve really come to understand about Indonesia is that it is a country of contradictions. Every island is chock full of great beauty, but there are absolutely no environmental protections in place, in terms of sewage systems, pollution controls, garbage pickup, land planning—the list is endless. Living in Jakarta I’ve seen what years of this can do to a city, and it saddens me to walk and drive around Lombok and feel like in 30 years the smog will obscure the view of the mountains.

In the same way, Indonesia’s people are full of contractions as well. I am here to attend a women’s leadership training sponsored by common ground but conducted by KPI, a local NGO. Besides the trainer, Nita, and I, the rest of the KPI women and all of the parliamentarians and government workers save one are in headscarves, long sleeves, and long pants. I can’t help but wonder why these women complain that men will not take them seriously, yet they let their religion tell them what they can and cannot wear or show in public because of the same men. While she is controversial, I do look at Megawati and think that she achieved possibly the highest level a woman could in this country, that of president, and she didn’t wear a headscarf (and she still complaints that men don’t take her seriously). I wanted to stand up, and although only half of them would understand half of what I was saying, say to them, if you really want to be empowered, wear what you want, not what a man in a mosque tells you to. Perhaps I’m looking at things incorrectly, but I don’t have the courage to ask them flat out (nor would I embarrass SFCG by doing so).

Anyways, I started my day at 4:30 AM. conveniently timed with the first call to prayer I wake up for everyday by accident. I had called BlueBird the night before, and at five on the dot, he rang the doorbell-I was actually surprised, considering the cabs always seem to get lost. I had my first experience with a domestic Indonesian flight on Lion Air, which I didn’t love as the plane seemed older than my parents, and loved even less after Nita told me she didn’t need to use an ID to pass security.

(I fell asleep—the rest of the post to be continued when I have a better internet connection…)

Working backwards...

The easiest thing to do is to start off describing Kuala Lumpur (affectionately known by locals, and Kari, as KL). We slept in the latest we had in a few days (mmm, maybe until 6 AM? still too early to get another delicious breakfast) and went to the airport via our last tuk tuk ride with Chanty--we asked if we could grab some coffee onthe way and he took us to the cart he knew we liked right outside the gates of Angkor Wat, so we got one last view of the temples, as well.

Note on the Siem Reap airport: there is in fact coffee, croissants, and free computer access right at he gates. We were able to check our e-mail for the first time in 48 hours, and both found out that a clinic we had applied to had sent out e-mails for another set of interviews to be held Monday (this was Sunday morning). Kari and I sent about the same e-mail to them pleading for some flexibility with the times and the methods (Google Voice, which ended up failing on me, and a time NOT in the middle of our nights), and we both ended up getting interviews Monday right before bedtime.

Also had a fantastic e-mail from Annie, a classmate I have yet to meet at NYU but an Indonesia expert and wonderful travel adviser. I cannot wait until I visit some of the place she's described!

Upon arriving in KL (which I already loved for their fantastically easy and free visa process), we took a bus for 8 RM (mm, about $2.50) into the city center, then went to the hawker's market, where I picked up a few great souvenirs, ate some delicious chinese-malay food, preemptively fortified ourselves with coffee, and got ready for the Batu caves.

BUT THEN: reason number 2 why I loved KL even more: there are giant lockers in the central train/bus/transit station. YES. We dumped our backpacks and accumulated goods in one and caught the commuter train to the Batu caves just north of the city. These caves are beautiful on their own, but are also a pilgrimage site for Hindus in the city and beyond, and have statues that we might consider gaudy on a front lawn in the US, but they admire, as well as temples and (of course) souvenir shops.

There were two other highlights of the trip, though: first was a woman in a burka using an ipad to see the caves (we guessed she didn't have enough peripheral vision to catch everything through her veil)--I can't even used words to explain. Second was two adorable girls, probably fifteen and thirteen or so, traveling with their father, who clearly adored them and took numerous pictures of them. They laughed at us as we shied away from the monkeys that were crawling everywhere, and I (having heard from my mom numerous times how she hates never being in the pictures because she is always taking them!) offered to take a picture of all three of them. After numerous gestures and lots of nodding, he finally understood what I was asking and I took one. The older girl then asked where we were from; we said America, and asked her the same. "Iran," she said shyly, then added, "you know you are beautiful, right?" Kari asked her to repeat herself because both of us were unsure that that had actually just happened, but it did, and she shyly turned back to her family and they continued down the steps.

Both of us wanted to yell WAIT after them and spend the rest of the day with them--what is it like to be a teenage girl in Iran? Can you wear shorts and t-shirts there (they did that day)? WILL YOU BE OUR FRIENDS???

But we didn't. I wish those girls the best of luck with everything, and I hope my picture turns out well!

And wow, this is only about half of KL and doesn't include 12 hours of temples, the silk farm, or the floating village, but it is past my bedtime and I still need to research Lombok! Until tomorrow!

BACK...but not for long!

So I took copious notes (and over 500 pictures) over the last few days, and I can't wait to share everything in this space. But as I have an interview tonight, a skype date tomorrow morning, and leave (for my internship!!!) for Lombok on Thursday, time is of the essence. The highlights of today include:

-Riding DAMRI, the local bus, from the airport to Blok M (the closest mall to the kost)--a mere 20,000 rupiyah (the same price as a cab from Blok M here, and also about $2.50) (if you are ever here, DO IT)

-Getting told in a meeting at 2 PM I might have the chance to attend a LIW (women's empowerment project) in Lombok, and finding out 2 hours later I will not only attend, it is THIS WEEKEND

-Testing out Google Voice and calling the parentals for the first time!

-Avoiding smelling my laundry from this weekend...

-Learning how to count to one thousand from my wonderful roommate Putti (I was born in seribu sembilan ratus delapanpuluh enam-may not have the spelling down but I can say it)!

More later, I promise!!!

Finally getting out!

My second work week has concluded! (well, sort of--today is a holiday, Assumption, and tomorrow is not, but I will make up the time next week).

It has been a whirlwind since Brian, the boss, got back from his trip to Sri Lanka. As I had been warned, he is full of ideas, and as soon as I dive into one, he comes up with something new and with a closer due date! I love that my workload is filling up, although I am wondering when I will squeeze in the time to meet the Indonesian lawyers from different NGOs Ari sent me contact information for.

I also finished the terrible journal competition! I don't know how it turned out, but fingers crossed I will get onto one, and if not, I'll start looking for a term-timer internship for next year.

So I am off to Cambodia, computer-less, for the weekend with Kari; we also plan on exploring some of Kuala Lumpur and the Batu caves on Sunday. I don't plan on sleeping much for the next four nights, but that is a small sacrifice to make to visit two new countries over one weekend.

I leave you, readers, with a view of my lunch, mi goreng ayam (indonesian chicken and noodles). I've been trying to pull new dishes off the internet and from my Eat Smart in Indonesia book, but he cuisine here is very regionalized, and while Jakarta is a mixing pot of sorts, some dishes are only readily available in certain areas.

Until Monday!