Bisanta Bidakara Surabaya

As well as having our good friends Yasmin and Farook staying from Hong Kong, we also had 2 amazing surprises on our 40th (!)<br>After tennis and a swim, I was just emerging from the shower, when I heard David answering the door .... I just threw on a pareo thinking it was the house boys coming in to clean, and scurried past the hallway into the lounge, glancing at the front door ...

Today is my last day in Surabaya, I have purchased my train ticket to Semarang. Prices are still up and I had to pay for the full fare to Jakarta. The ticket for executive class from Surabaya to Jakarta is 440,000. I am told that the prices will be going down on October 4th!!!

... in the morning, being cautious not to step on landmines laid during the days of the Khmer Rouge. 8) Siem Reap, Cambodia: Temples of Angkor, First Day: With my tuk-tuk driver, Li, I made my way away from the center of Angkor to the phenomenal 1000 Lingas in the Siem Reap River at Kbal Spean and the finest and best preserved carvings of Bantay Srei. We returned ...

... plus ni avancer ni reculer. Une chance, le brave Rejean, a pris la situation en main. En fait il a du me pousser pour que je continue. C'etait vraiment pas drole. J'ai eu vraiment la frousse. Sur la crete a 4 pattes, Rejean a bien rigoler dans mon dos parce-que je ne pouvais plus me relever meme si le sentier est revenue a presque normal. Nous avons pris un repos pour regarder le couchee du soleil sur le pourtour du grand cratere. Nous avons refait le 8 km pour revenir, il ...

... where I didn't know anyone, would be such a good time. It made me feel lucky. People helped me get dress and let me borrow everything from lipstick to dresses to jewelry. The expat community is just filled with wonderful people. It feels like a treat to talk to each one of them, especially because most of them are european. It doesn't feel real right now. I just got my visa for the Kingdom of Cambodia and it made things feel ...

... make a pathway around the perimeter. This is where the work started to get hard. Essentially, we were shoveling bricks and our various heavy rocks. All the students stepped up to the plate. We were sweaty and dirty by the end of this activity. After the perimeter was made, we were rewarded with a 15 minute break. I wasn't quite sure that I could take another couple hours in the heat. It was wonderful because I realized no one was complaining ...

... explained the various symbolism of the building's design and paint job. I don't remember much of what he said, but I'm sure it was quite informative. A fifteen minute drive from the mosque sight lead us to the Qubah, Surabaya's Arab quarter &amp; marketplace. Now this was interesting. After plowing through a covered marketplace that I swear was airlifted from Old Jerusalem and nibbling on some yummy Iraqi dates Ary bought from a seller there, we arrived at ...

... huge chunks of yellow sulfur. I reached the main office and I saw one of the workers weighing his load. I asked him how much it weighed and he told me 92 kilo or equal a little bit over 202 lbs. I asked his name and he told me Pak Asjati. He told me that he has been doing for over 20 years. I asked him how much he would get from this load, "550 rupiah per kilo," he said. Thus, from this backbreaking labor he would receive 50,600 rupiah or about $6. These chunks of sulfur are ...

... it was more like 8hours! But it was like our local bus: stopping to pick up people the whole journey. In Surabaya we were in the evening, maybe around eight. From the bus station we wanted to go to train station to buy tickets to Yogya the next morning. Of course we got scammed already. After negoatiating with a taxi driver he promised us a lift to station for 30 000rp but once there we gave him 50 000rp note (as we had no small money) and he ...

... one so far!). During our the rest of our time in Candidasa, we went to see a volcanoe which last errupted in 94 which was cool, and some gardens. We also visited the oldest village in Bali- v impressive to see how the locals live and I also saw a pink chicke (no idea how they did it though). When we decided to leave, Gary made us feel quite guilty, dont think they get many customers on that side of Bali.........