Equator Surabaya

... where were assembled about a dozen staff from the apartments!.........cleaners, receptionists, security staff, engineering + the manager and deputy etc. bearing gifts and flowers and armed with cameras.....see the result herewith!<br>Then after a lovely lunch and a fabulous spa visit, we got ready to go out for the evening, but didn't get very far.....on emerging from ...

... and peppers. The women were busy taking them apart and the thin "onion" paper flying around as well as dust made it very hard to breath and I had to leave shorty after going a few meters inside.<br><br>Took a Blue Bird Taxi back to the Surabaya Plaza and it cost me 20000. Blue Bird Taxi is supposed to be one of the most reliable. Everytime I took it the driver was very polite and seemed to take the "more or less" normal route to whereever I was going.

... Sarah and I, we celebrated Xmas Eve as a family with Santa hats, Beer Laos, iPod Xmas music and a fantastic night out at the bars of Luang Prabang. 13) Luang Prabang, Lao: Trekking in a Monsoon: Cory, Sarah, Mary and I spent the day completely drenched head to toe in a nonstop downpour along challenging hilly and muddy terrain amongst the amazing mountain ...

... Il roulait super vite et il semblait vouloir conduire plus souvent a droite au lieu de gauche. Il ne tolerait aucun vehicule devant lui. Quelques depassement "cow-boy". Par contre un language routier difficille a saisir pour moi mais qui semble bien compris ici. Alors nos revoicie dans le monde civilisee a Sanur (Bali) pres de la plage que nous irons voir plus tard. Yessssss! Nous sommes revenue a la chaleur et l'humidite qui semble nous suivre. Bisouxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx France et Rejean

... there are tables set up with specialties from different nations. I liked to think of it as around the world with carbs. All the food was excellent, I ate way too much. PHOTO_ID_R=3_fon.jpg Next, we have to prepare for the Parade of flags. There are 27 different nations represented as SIS. Each student comes up to the stage with their ...

... still counting our lucky stars and really enjoying it. watch this space for more updates - no photos though as the camera never recovered from the sea dowsing in Bali (snorkelling trip) and we have been advised not to buy in Indonesia (substandard goods apparently) so Viki is bringing us a new one from Singapore when she goes in November....or we will get one in Hong Kong when we visit Yasmin and Farook (and Gui)..... either way we will have one in time for Vietnam. lotsaluvmexxx

... bit lost trying to find the way there, but we eventually made it. I gave him an epic thanks for his generosity and bidded him farewell, assuring him that we'd keep in touch and giving him the bag of sultan tea I'd bought in Jogja. As we said goodbye, he warned me not to eat anything given to me on the bus, as it might be drugged &amp; part of a scheme to steal my bag. Noted. I needless to say did not eat any of the bus food. The bus ride was a sleepy five hours ...

... up and carry them halfway to the top and then would come down to fill up the next one. Once they get to the top they would combine the two loads together. I finally got to the bottom of the crater and discovered a lake behind the cloud of sulfur. I looked to my left and saw the workers extracting the sulfur from the ground with a long sharp metal pole. They were not wearing any safety equipments exposing their lungs, eyes, and flesh to the poison. Several feet in front of them ...

... jitneys that used to run in America. They are sort of a cross between a taxi and a bus: no set schedule, but they run pretty much continuously down the main drag, cruising for passengers. They were about ten cents apiece. It is also dirt-easy to hire a car and driver for an hour, day, whatever. There are drivers EVERYWHERE looking for work. There were also taxis at the airport. There are three times as many motorbikes as cars. They are ...

... and "not a world I would bring children into". Lighten up dude, you're bumming me out! Sure, big cities are polluted but what are you going to do? Impose congestion fees on people that can hardly afford to live; Western culture is slowly spreading its roots around the world but there's nothing you can do to stop it-the 3rd world want it and the 1st will gladly supply it. There's a lot of poverty but that doesn't mean ...