Holiday Inn Bandung

... there around 12:15. I tell the lady that I have a reservation for 1:00 and give her my name. She replys that the bus is not yet there and she will call me when it has arrived. I wait and meet a few people at the station. Around 12:55 I go and ask if the bus has arrived. She tells me that it will be another 15 to 20 minutes. Around 1:10 I ask again at which time she tells me that my name is not on the reservation list and the bus is full ...

... don't need the tourist office to do that, I can just get a taxi myself!!! Being that the mosque is just beside I decide to visit it. It is quite impressive in size and has some nice stain glass. Quite interesting to see the life and day to day activity going on just under the arches of the mosque.

I dropped in at My Moritz Hotel to check out what tours they are ...

The van picked me up closer to 9:30 and then had to pick up others so by the time we left it must have been around 10 am and arrived in Bandung around 2. I had asked to be dropped off at the Hotel Kedaton but I felt that 455,000 was a bit steep for the room they showed me. It looked more like a 325,000 room and also there was no wifi. I left my bags ...

Learned about the earthquake on Sumatra via email from the US. We didn't feel a thing and the locals don't complain to their guests, I guess.

We;re off to Bandung today. Very slow day, waiting for our ride. The route takes us thru Puncak Pass, a resort area for the locals. Its elevation makes it refreshing, but the traffic is a horror. On weekends it is so bad that commercial transport, like our mini bus, has to bypas it and take a long way around.

Today I was a bit bored and waiting for Yudi to get back to give me a lift to the bus stop to get to Bandung. When Yudi arrived I did go to Bandung, which took a couple of hours. From here I had to wait to get the night train to Yogyakarta. The overnight train was a nightmare I barely got any sleep as I was sitting next to somebody so I couldn't stretch out my legs out and sellers got on the train every hour, shouting out to try and sell food, which really ****** me off. Eventually ...

... shaken down. And I have to admit, the lesson I learned from the beef soup made the Ciater conflict conclude in a more satisfying outcome for me. The Popeye pic is for my friends fom Chester. I saw "The New Popeye" on hotel TV, broadcast with Popeye speaking Bahasa Indonesian. He has a son, and he was bicycling with litttle Popeye. They were both wearing bicycle helmets. I guess spinach only takes you so far.

... hostelleja. Ensimmainen ihan aseman vieressa oleva paikka oli aika hurja, kadut oli kun sodan jaljilta ja se hostelli oli oli kans muutaman vuosikymmenen vanha, sen lisaks vessois oli squattivessat ja Raffi ei ollu hirveen innostunu, enka makaan kylla. Lahettiin seikkailemaan kdaulle ja paadyttiin Moritz-hotellille paikallisen ohjaamana. Huoneet ei ollu paljon paremmat mut lansimaalaiset vessat ainakin loyty ja hotelli itessaan oli paremmassa kunnossa. Huone fanilla ...

... on your lap. The only nasty surprise was my Saturday morning shower. I turned the water on, had my morning wee, got undressed then stepped under the shower... It was not just cold, it was FREEZING! The toughest bit was after I had lathered up and had to get back under the shower, it was a real test of my manhood. I think Brisbane City Council could possibly take notes, don't ask people to have short showers, just give them cold water and tell them to take their time ...

... to think that their life is full of giggles day in and day out, nor am I arrogant enough to think that all of this happiness was because of the meal we provided. But I think the lesson to learn is that we often take our own problems too seriously, and forget to be thankful for all that we have. Also while there, I got a gig. Yep, I've been invited back to teach English. I suppose it isn't surprising that the English teacher at the nearby school hunted me down ...