TravelStream™ news feed for member slamgeesh on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/slamgeesh en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:47:39 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216683360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216683360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216683360/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:47:39 -0400 Indonesia 2008

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Togean islands, Indonesia

7/8/08

It may seem like I disappeared off the face of the earth, but in fact, I was very thoroughly perfecting my beach bum skills. But let me begin where I left off last time..I flew to Sulawesi, Makassar, spent one night there and took an 8 hour bus to Tana Toraja, where life after death does perhaps exist. Torajans are known for their elaborate funerals and burials. My first day I took a local bus that let me off at the end of a little dirt road, where I walked about 20 minutes until I reached a mountainside, with coffins hanging outside of a large cave opening. Inside skeletons and skulls were spread out carefully, usually with some belongings such as reading glasses or something special from their lives. People from the village are buried here, small babies are often put in hanging graves in the trees surrounding the area. The noble people of the village are not buried in the caves however, their bodies are taken up to the top of the mountain and buried there, but replicas of their bodies are carved extremely intricately out of wood, then painted and are then dresses in their actual clothing and displayed together out above the cave opening on a porch. Every night a keeper comes to board them in and every morning, the doors are opened again. I met a guide while eating dinner one night, and he invited me to a funeral ceremony the following day. The funerals last days, and I was there on a day where the family was receiving guests. The young man who died had been quite influential, and hundreds of people came to see the family, some all the way from Borneo and Papua. Every guest brought a gift: pigs being one of the best gifts to give, or if you have a lot of money, a buffalo. Sacrifices are a very big part of the funerals, and I had made sure the day before that I wasn't showing up on the day of the sacrifices, where sometimes up to 40 buffalo are slaughtered and many many pigs. I heard from a few other tourists who had shown up on the day of the sacrifices...not for me. Pigs were brought in hanging upside down, their feet tied to two bamboo sticks, carried by two men usually...and then were taken to be weighed; apparently each gift is recorded by the family. I have come to the conclusion that "Charlotte's Web" was not a popular book in Indonesia. Toraja's traditional houses are very unique, the roof like a tower and then scooping up on either side, some say like the horns of a water buffalo, or like an upside down boat. Rantepao was the town that I was staying in, green and very lush. The young guides there were amazing, they not only knew everything about every ceremony, they each must have spoke at least 3 or 4 languages fluently. From Toraja I had decided to go to the Togean Islands, which were quite a trip to get to. A ten hour bus ride turned into a 14 hour bus trip because of numerous flat tires, getting stuck in the mud because of a down pour etc...made it to Tentene at about midnight, sopping wet...in a hauling truck because my bus left me off somewhere on the side of the road and I had to hitch a ride the rest of the way. From Tentene I took a small bus to a turn off for Ampana -our wheel fell off as we were going around a corner and we had to look for it in the forest for a while, ended up catching another ride in the back of a pick up truck instead. I decided to get off at a road junction to Ampana and try to get a ride there rather than going to the next city called Poso and then turning around again, because although Poso has been safe for the past 2 years or so, there were some problems there before and I was hearing mixed things about it. I was immediately surrounded by a group of guys that would NOT leave me alone for about 2 hours, until I finally caught a ride with a car. Thankful to be on my way and not on a bus, my relief soon turned to frustration, because the driver completely ignored me when I asked several times to slow down-in Indonesian. We drove SOOOOO fast, and I'm pretty sure there were some animal casualties as a result. FINALLY made it to Ampana, feeling really frustrated with just about everything, but to make up for it I ate one of my favorite meals so far in Indonesia at a small vendor on the side of the road, so my frustration lessened. :) The next day I left Ampana on a little boat, and 7 hours later I was in the Togean Islands, on the island of Kadidiri. There are three places to stay on this island, and not only did I stay at the absolute cheapest of them all, I'm positive that anyone who stayed at the other two, were missing out immensely. There were three little bungalows at my guest house called Lestari, and the other two were occupied by an Aussi couple in their late 50's and an Italian guy. For about $7 USD/day, I stayed in my bungalow only meters from the ocean, and ate 3 DELICIOUS meals (included in the price),every day. Lestari is family owned, really basic;no electricity in the bungalows, but a little solar panel in the dining area that lit up the space every night. Two daughters were there during the time that I spent there, Ana who is 9 and Teteng who is 16. Both girls were so sweet and I became very fond of them...Ana would do my hair every morning and practice her English on me. My days consisted of writing (reached my goal of finishing-almost- 3 songs!), snorkeling in the morning, having badminton tournaments, reading in the hammock, and attempting to help in the kitchen in the evenings in order to learn some new recipes...pretty rough I realize, but some one has to do it. :) I had only planned to do this for about one week, but.....plans change. After one week I was already feeling like part of the family, and I really had no reason to leave. We'd go out with the father, Aka, at night and go fishing with him. Unlike the other 2 guest houses, we didn't have to pay extra to go snorkeling in the mornings, it was included in the $7...and the coral was beautiful. Blue spotted sting rays, sea snakes, blue, yellow, purple fish, and reefs that stretched on forever. I fell in love. The Maluku Sea is very calm also, and feels more like a great lake than a sea. I was curious to go to another island and do some hiking, so we took the boat for two hours to an island called Una Una. We went snorkeling the first day, and saw 3 or 4 huge turtles. Aka, who usually spear fished with us while we snorkeled, could spot anything. Over the weeks, I had gone from praying that I would not see a shark, to secretly hoping that I would catch a glimpse of a reef shark, (just a little one) and on this day I did finally see a black tip reef shark about 1 meter long. We were in pretty deep water in between 2 reefs, and the other 2 people were ahead of me when I spotted it, so I didn't look for too long before swimming to catch up. My theory is that if I'm swimming with other people, they'll get bit first, although I didn't really feel like testing it out-or sharing my theory with the other two. We set up camp on the beach that night, after an intense down pour, and cooked our fish and rice over the fire. I had brought my little sleeping bag with me, and for the first time on this trip, I was very proud of my over packing. Mauro, is one of those backpackers who boasts about the fact that they travel for months with just a tooth brush and one change of clothing, but as I slept peacefully, warm and cozy in my bag, he hardly slept at all and he begrudgingly admitted to me in the morning that he wished he had brought something warm. Ha! Sometimes is pays off to be the one who packs the "just in case" stuff, even if it is heavier. The following day we began our trek to the top of the volcano Una Una, which soon turned into the hike from hell. Aka had done the hike once before, but the guides, 2 local boys from the village, took us on a very different "trail." The first two hours were as expected, but soon we were in the thick of the jungle, climbing on our hands and knees. I had to take off my shoes because it was too muddy and they wouldn't grip, so I was climbing in my bare feet, COVERED in mud. It was so damp and wet, that even the trees that looked stable enough to grab a hold of, would fall down because they were rotten inside. I felt like amazon woman, in my bare feet, knocking trees over. There were areas where we had to use rope to get up and down because it was far too steep to climb. Just to add some more fun, I got my first migraine headache of my trip, so I was feeling extremely sick to my stomach. By the time we reached the top of the volcano, none of us could have cared less about some steam coming out from the ground. In total, we hiked for almost 8 hours, me with my head throbbing, Mauro with a rash from his shorts, Aka muttering under his breath that he would never do this hike ever again, while the two guides effortlessly skipped over the slick slabs of rock, cigarettes dangling from their mouths.
I celebrated my birthday in Kadidiri, nothing special, although I think the fact that I was with such a cool family in one of the most amazing places, is pretty special. I took a night ferry on Sunday to Gorontalo, and then a shared car to Manado, where I am now. I struck up a conversation with one of the older men on the ride to Manado, turns out he was a logistics manager for a huge mining company in Papua called Free Port. He is retired now and collects insects, particularly butterflies. We exchanged phone numbers and today he picked me up from my hotel and took me to a little town outside of Manado called Tomohon, which is beautiful and full of flowers., where we ate lunch. He also funds several schools in Sulawesi, and has four students from surrounding islands boarding with him and his wife at their house. We stopped by his home before he dropped me off and he showed me a few of his butterflies he has collected. I cannot even describe how stunningly amazing they were. Butterflies are something I keep meaning to mention in my letters but keep forgetting. There are such beautiful ones here, and BIG! Sometimes I have to look twice to make sure it's not a small bird, but they are everywhere and the colors!
So that in short, has been my past few weeks, although I wish I could better describe...everything! It's overwhelming and I often forget to mention things. I have about one more week left of my trip, I'm thinking I may go to Bunaken Island tomorrow..but we'll see. I was woken up this morning at 4 am by a Scottish guy sleeping in the room next door, I heard him talking on his phone and realized that something was wrong. I went out into the hall and he came out near tears, having just received a call from his sisters that his mom had a stroke and was in the hospital and to come home right away. Everything was closed because it was too early and he was too stunned to think of what to do, so I helped him pack and get a taxi to the airport. He only just got to Indonesia 3 days ago and his mom had driven him to the airport....the moral of this story being: everyone be careful and take care of yourselves!! I don't want to have to come home early. :) And yes..I will be safe too.
Love to you all!
Daphne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216683060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216683060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216683060/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:46:25 -0400 Indonesia 2008

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Komodo National Park, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

6/6/2008

So...I left Senggigi on Monday after having an amazing feast the night before of fresh fish with the french girl that I met (less than $3), and met up with my group who I was to be on the boat with to Komodo Island. There were 16 of us! 4 polish, 2 americans, 2 italian, 2 french, 2 swiss, 3 sweedish, and me. Note...I was the only one traveling alone and not as a couple or in a group. We took off from Lombok on our boat; an old rather tiny boat for 16 people, and 5 crew members. It was beautiful being on the ocean, I began to relax into the feeling of being on a boat for four days, and I fell asleep to the sound of the waves. That is, until 3am, when the helicopter engine was turned on and we began our early morning start. It was still pitch balck out, all of us sleeping on mats in a little loft area on the top of the boat, when the real fun began. Our boat began to rock and sway, but not in a calming manner. My mat slid accross the floor so that I lay smooshed up againt the swiss couple, then back again to the side, where I began my very intimate relationship with the one piece of wood that I could grip onto so as not to flop around the loft. The boat felt like it was going to tip over, and I thought we were all going to drown in the Indian ocean with no life jackets or radios. Needless to say, I was not going to fall back asleep, and found comfort after a couple of hours, with the one of the sweedish girls, who was sitting up and holding on tightly to a pole near the ladder to our sleeping area. I have never been so happy to see the sun come up as I was that morning, and with the sun, the sea became completely calm once again. I shakily climbed down to the deck, the young guys looked and me and laughed, asked me if I wanted a cigarette. The difference between our days and nights, were, excuse the pun; day and night. In the days we stopped at some of the most amazing beaches, found little paradise snorkeling areas and ate fresh fish and fruit, then night would come, and my fear of getting swallowed by the Indian Ocean herself, terrified me. The second night, the sweedish girls and I decided to sleep down on the deck, thinking that we wouldn't be tossed around so much, and also, we had a theory that if the boat tipped, you'd be trapped in the sleeping area upstairs. We found some life jackets near the engine room, and yes-I slept all night in my life jacket, wedged in an area less than one meter long, so that I wouldn't be moved around. Now, I realize..looking back, that perhaps I wasn't thinking very rationally. I know that boats don't just tip over..usually, but in the dark, waves pulling our boat in every direction, my fears most definitely got the best of me. The third day, we reached Komodo Island, went hiking for an hour or so, and saw one exceedingly large Komodo, at least 3 meters long. The next morning, we went to Rinca Isalnd, also part of the Komodo National Park, and we saw at least ten or more dragons. We hiked for about 2 hours, and came accross a water buffalo near death, and the Komodo that had injured it, watched carefully from about ten meters away. Apparently, a dragon will bite and injure a buffalo or pig or deer, and the bacteria in its saliva will poison the animal slowly, they often wait for up to one week until their prey dies, then feast. It was quite amazing, I could have stayed for days just watching them-and when they walk, or more like lumber along, you see just how powerful they really are. From Rinca island we ended in Labuanbajo, and spent one last night on the boat, ANCHORED. Yesterday I woke up at 5am and left the boat, walked out and caught the one and only daily bus to Bajawa-an eleven hour busride. An older lady sat next to me for a couple of hours and struck up a "conversation", that is, she would look at my lonley planet prase book, and ask me questions. She was really sweet, asking me all sorts of different things, my love life being the main focal point. Was I single? Did I have a husband? Was I alone? No man? Not even a prospective boyfriend??!! I answerd every question as best as I could, and she would be silent for a few minutes, looking in the book for a better way to ask me the same question. I saw her looking up phrases under the section for relationship problems, such as, "I don't think this is working," and finally she looked up at me very seriously and said, "Are you seeing someone else?" It was a long bus ride, but at least I had some laughs, and a good picture of her and I on my camera. So today I am going to stay here in Bajawa and go to the hot springs which are very close. When I got here last night it was raining, it's high up in the mountains, so it is quite chilly as well-and I had the most fridgid shower I have ever taken, and the electricity went out in the middle of it. I am really looking forward to a hot shower! Tomorrow I am off to Moni, the base of 3 lakes that apparently change colors and are supposed to be spectacularly beautiful, then I'm thinking I may go to the island of Sumba-so long as I don't have to sleep on the boat, but we shall see. :)
Love to all!
xo Daphne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216165080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216165080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1216165080/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:40:07 -0400 Indonesia 2008

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Togean islands, Indonesia

My last week has been beautiful, I left Manado and decided to go to Bunaken Island. I stayed in a little homestay recommended to me by several people called Danielle Homestay, in a very sweet little bungalow right on the beach. Although this island did not have the same charm as the Togean Islands, the coral reefs here are amazing, and rated as one of the top ten dive sites in the world. My first day out snorkeling, I saw a the biggest turtle I have ever seen, the biggest tuna I have ever seen, and a beautiful reef shark. Every day was an adventure in the water, colorful corals and even more colorful fish. My last day on the island, I went on a day hike with the dive master who's from Germany, and we took out a canoe and paddled around, ate at the house of the owner of the boat, and waited out a thunderstorm on somebodys front porch in the jungle on the way home.. I flew to Jakarta yesterday, and decided to treat myself to a massage today, 2 hours for about $23, and a really really good massage. I'm pretty sure if I lived here I would get a massage...every day. :) So I leave tomorrow morning, sigh, and just when I'm getting into the groove of my traveling. I already have my next trip to Indonesia planned out however, this will not be the last time that I'm here. So before I get really stupidly sappy, because I am feeling slightly emotional, I will stop. When I get home and actually read the manual for my camera, I will send an e-mail of some photos, so until then.....much love.
xo Daphne
"Develope interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music-the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people. Forget yourself."
Henry Miller


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1213227240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1213227240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1213227240/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:35:49 -0400 Indonesia 2008

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Bajawa, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

6/11/08

*No I wasn't one of the divers who was pulled out by a current around Komodo Island, I've had many e-mails asking if I am ok:) That happened 2 days after I had left Komodo.
oh..what a week. :) Flores was a really a cool island, and the people were exceedingly friendly, not to mention very different looking than other parts of Indonesia. I saw the curliest hair there EVER, and very dark skin and almost African features. It is said that in the western part of Flores, physically, people are more Malay, and the other parts of Flores, people and more Melanesian.
So, I did not make it to the hot springs in Bajawa. My guide, a young guy from my guest house drove me on a motor bike, to a small traditional village called Bena, about 30 minutes outside of Bajawa. It was a beautiful day, we drove through bamboo forest of bamboo soooo thick, through tiny villages where I was a minor celebrity to the tons of children running out to say hello or give me a high five. The village of Bena consists of tall thatched roof houses, two rows of them facing one another, and in the middle, these odd tomblike structures made of stone where ceremonies and sacrifices are held. Each house had a male or female figurine on the roof, and the doorways are decorated with buffalo horns and jawbones which apparently signifies the family's prosperity. All of this is surrounded by huge green mountains, and valleys. Stunningly beautiful. On our way back from Bena to the hot springs, passing through another little village, a little girl about the age of 2 or 3, ran out in front of our motorbike, we swerved to avoid her, and both of us fell off the bike. I was up right away to the little girl, making sure that she was ok-yes she was-just a few scrapes. I didn't even notice that my foot was cut. I was taken to the "hospital", where I envisioned being stitched back together with someone's sewing needle, and was taken into a living room and sat down. A crowd of about 20 people gathered to watch me and my foot, as I was cleaned and bandaged up. I was a bit shaken up, but my guide was beside himself, apologizing for "failing to keep me safe", apologizing to my parents and my brother and sister, pleading that I would still come back to Indonesia after this "accident." I was so busy consoling him, I hardly had time to feel the pain.
From Bajawa I took the bus to Moni, where I went to Kelimutu-the lakes that change colors, but unfortunately, it was really foggy, so we only saw the green lake, which was still very pretty. Moni is a sleepy little town, mostly just rice fields and a few houses, I did find a bookshop that a Dutch man who lives there has in his house. I went with high hopes of trading my book for another good book, but Daniel Steele had taken over, so I ended up with a trashy mystery. I met a very nice couple-the only other people at the guest house, he from England and she from Denmark, who I ended up joining to see, or not see, the lakes at 4:30 in the morning on motorbikes. I've been very fortunate to have met so many nice people along the way, who I often have dinner with or trade ideas for where to go next. From Moni I took a public car, which was about $1 more than the public bus, thinking that this would be much more comfortable. There were nine of us, somehow, and a woman, apparently 98 years old, who was very fragile and sick the entire 3 hour journey. And a goat tied to the roof. My plans changed very quickly, from wanting to take a ferry to Sumba, to deciding to go to Sulawesi sooner. I met a young guy who had just come from Sumba, a fascinating island with a very interesting tribal culture based on a religion called Marapu, and he had really liked it, but said that getting around was difficult, especially if my Indonesian wasn't better. so I decided to go to Mamere and take the ferry (Pelni) to Makasar, Southern Sulawesi. The day I arrived in Mamere, I found out that the boat was going to be docked for another 2 weeks, so I went to a small village outside of town, thinking that I could possibly get on a cargo ship. I took one look at the ships, and thought, NO WAY. They were just as small as the ship I had spent nights gripping the side of around Komodo and Rinca, and you would have had to pay me to get on another one all the way from Flores to Sulawesi. So I booked a plane ticket to Bali for the next day in the evening. That night I ate my dinner-chicken and rice- and proceeded to get insanely sick all night and into the next day. A very nice Dutch couple had a room near mine, and brought me water and checked in on me, thankfully, there were HUGE rats at the guest house I was staying at, and it was the one night I decided to be really cheap and have a bathroom outside of my room-very bad decision. I'm not sure how I managed the plane ride, but I got to Bali last night and collapsed into bed for ten hours. I am feeling much much better today, although not 100%. Falling off the bike and then getting sick, my body is thoroughly unimpressed with me. I leave on a flight tonight to Makasar, and I have every intention of of getting a massage today before I leave. Besides being sick, I am well! I am feeling very content on my own, and am really excited about Sulawesi. I think it's going to be really interesting, and hopefully by being there, I will manage to avoid the large amount of tourists that come to Bali. I'm already planning the places I will have to go on my next trip here :) 2 months is NOT enough time here at all, Indonesia is HUGE, and fascinating.
Love to all!!!
xo Daphne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1212276180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1212276180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1212276180/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:28:30 -0400 Indonesia 2008

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Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

5/31/2008

Hmm..where to begin. So the last I wrote, I was in Yogyacarta in Java, which is a really cool city. There are horse and buggy taxis everywhere, the horses dresses up with beautiful ornaments on their bridles and in their manes. For a big city, it had a really mellow feel to it, and to correct my last email when I said that Kratan once had sultans, it still does. I walked around the palace with a guide that is free with admission, who also told me that he has a collection of over 5000 traditional puppets at his home, some of them hundreds of years old. I did not go to a puppet performance, but I did go to a traditional dance performance in this beautiful small outdoor hall, which was pretty cool. The costumes and masks were amazing, and the band was great, the dancing seemed to me almost a martial art, movement wise, very slow and calculated, the hands and the feet arched just so. On my way home, a young Indonesian man started a conversation with me, just as all my other conversations had started, harmless and polite, but it soon became apparent that he was not going to leave me alone and that he was going to follow me the rest of the way home...and I had a little warning bell in my head; this is how I met the next part of my trip. There was a group of young English guys getting some food at a vendor on the side of the road that I had passed, so I turned around and invited myself to join them until I was no longer being hassled. A few hours later I was at a dance club with a group of about ten backpackers, mostly from Europe, but also Canada and California, at a masquerade party. Go figure. The dance music here cracks me up, it's often American pop songs, only in either Indonesian or with different lyrics...so I'm singing along to a song I know, and realize I'm singing a completely different set of lyrics. After one more day in Yogyacarta, I flew to Bali with some of the people I had met that night, stayed in Kuta beach for a day...and decided it is definitely not my scene, too crowded and just too touristy. We rented motorbikes and drove to a temple called Pura Petitenget, which was quite beautiful because it is right on the coast and the views are stunning, and there are very curious monkeys everywhere. From here we went through Ubud and took a 4 hour boat ride to an island called Gili Trawangan, one of three islands called the Gili Islands. Beautiful. Turquoise waters and white beaches, and a nice mellow night scene. It takes about 3 hours to get around the entire island, there are no cars or motor bikes, just bicycles and horse carts. I went out snorkeling for only twenty minutes or so, I didn't chose the best place to do it, but I did see two beautiful turtles. I am here in off season right now apparently, and it is really quiet in most places, June and July and supposed to pick up and be much busier. I'm happy to be here now, although booking certain things such as hiking with a guide or going to certain Islands, is more expensive for only one person, and better with a group. So we stayed on Gili for 3 nights, and today I parted with my new friends, and am on the road again solo. I took a slightly unsettling boat ride to Lombok, a fairly large Island, and only about twenty five minutes from Gili, and then piled myself and my stupidly large backpack onto a motorbike with a driver, and drove to Senggigi, where I am now. We drove up to the top of a mountain, the windy road lined with monkeys, and the forest so green and lush...breath taking. Every trip that I've gone on, has a couple of those moments where you feel so happy and content with that very moment, and although my goodbyes this morning were bittersweet, I had one of those "moments" on that road today. We came down the mountain, and passed a mosque, rice fields on both sides and at least ten or more kids running through them flying kites...a favorite past time here. I have one more day here, and then I am off to the Island of Flores and then on a boat for four days, going to Komodo Island to see...yes- you guessed right, Komodo Dragons. I had not even planned to come over to this part of Indonesia, these Islands are known as Nusa Tenggara, but isn't that how it usually works. I'm happy to be here, still very beachy from Gili Island, as even the shower water is salty, sad to say goodbye, but excited to be back on my own. I met a French girl today and had a very interesting conversation about traveling as a woman solo. It's difficult to explain to many of the travelers I see, they are usually either in couples or solo men, but it is a different reality for a woman to travel alone here. My alertness is at its highest, and at times I feel like I have eyes in the back of my head. I feel safe here for the most part, but trying to decide whether I can go on a hike that I should be able to do by myself, or if I should get food because it's already getting dark, becomes frustrating. I see western girls wearing shorts and tank tops, but they are in groups or with their boyfriends, and I do notice the way people look at them. People here cannot fathom that I am traveling alone..."ALONE? JUST YOU? NO BOYFRIEND!!??" I hear this at least once a day, but regardless, people here have been very helpful and kind to me. Speaking of dark, it is just after six and already the sun has gone down...and I have a dinner date with the French girl I met today, so I'm off to have a hopefully freshwater shower, then food. Love to all. xoxo Daphne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1211648040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1211648040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1211648040/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:29:56 -0400 Indonesia 2008

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Bogor, Java, Indonesia

So I left Jakarta the day I wrote my last e-mail, and took a train to Bogor, which was a short but airconditioned and spacious ride. I found a really sweet guesthouse right on the river with a beautiful little courtyard and plants everywhere, and a pet rabbit (all white and loved being rubbed) who was free to run around who belonged to one of the little girls of the family, and was fittingly named Milky. I stayed there for two nights, slept very well and am feeling pretty normal today. I went to the Botanical Gardens, which really were beautiful minus the garbage, and have decided that I am going to build an orchid house one day..and live in it. There were tons of little trails off of the main road leading to fountains with benches to sit on, little archways...a nice escape from the city. There's also a palace that you pass on the way to the gardens that was once the summer palace for a Dutch governor, and on the perfectly groomed acres of lawn out back, are hundreds of white spotted deer. It seems that there are not very many tourists around..and when I say that I mean I have met one western tourist so far. I did meet an older indonesian man who is a police officer from Kalimantan who was visiting Bogor, who didn't speak any enlgish, but somehow we managed to have a conversation that lasted for more than an hour. He took a picture of me and the next day after I came home from the Gardens, he had printed out the photo somewhere and placed a copy for me on my door before he left, with his address where he and his wife live in Kalimantan. People are friendly and are more than willing to be my friend, but when I met Tomas from Belgium yesterday, it was as if I hadn't spoken for years. I had invited myself to eat with him within the first sentence...it was nice to hang out with someone for a few hours whom I could talk with about my plans and not have to do sign language with. On that note, I am going to look at Indonesian language classes today, because people here should not have to appologize for not speaking english better, it is me who should be getting better at my Indonesian. I am in Yogyacarta as of this morning, and what a trip. I left last night at 5:30 pm, and got here this morning at 6:30am. First mistake I made was taking a van, and not a big bus or the train. Next mistake although it was not my choice, was puting me up with the driver in the front seat. Very bad idea. Driving in Indonesia is like many other places in the world: terrifying, and anyone who has been lucky enough to have me as a passenger, may know that I have a slight case of backseat driving, but last night..I turned backseat driving into an extreme sport. And my gasps and hands flying up to my face, prooved to be a great amusement to all of the men and the driver in the van. I tried to sleep, but like a moth with a lightbulb, I could not take my eyes off the road. I don't know how we did it, but we did make it here without a head on collision, or even a scratch on the bumper. I have to hand it to drivers here, it is almost like an art to watch the maneuvering it takes to get from one place to another. I decided that while I may not pray five times a day with the call to prayer, being woken up by it every morning at 4:45, must count for something. So today I am going to wander around and go to the Kraton, a small city within a city where the sultans once lived, and I plan on taking myself to a performance tonight..either a puppet show or a traditional dance. Not sure where I'll be off to next, but will keep all posted. xoxoxox Daphne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1211437020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1211437020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/slamgeesh/1/1211437020/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:24:50 -0400 Indonesia 2008

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Jakarta, Java, Indonesia

Today is my first full day in Jakarta. I flew in yesterday at around 1pm, and a family friends sister picked me up in Jakarta, which was really nice. It's not that it's so hot here, but the humidity is so heavy, and while I am trying my best to be respectful by wearing my long pants and shirts that cover my arms, I fantasize about wearing shorts and a tank top, or nothing. I disovered a way to cool down last night by accident, when I was in bed trying to sleep and my wet tee shirt I had washed earler fell on me....and I thought, "aha!" So every hour on the hour I seemed to wake up, and I would walk to the sink, drench my t-shirt, get back into bed and lay the tee on my head or eyes or wherever...it felt amazing. I bagan to pack up my things this morning, because I am planning to leave Jakarta today and go to a smaller village not far away called Bogor, where there is supposed to be amazing botanical gardens. While I was packing my backpack that is already extremely full and heavy...I looked at my fleece and jacket and hiking boots, and decided to either burn them or send a package home. So dad..sidenote..there's a package being sent to your house. What was I thinking?????? I am actually using the internet at the post office right now, and I wish I could show everyone see how cool the process of packaging my stuff up was...in short, it is now on it's way wrapped in the material of an old rice sack and hand stiched on the sides by one of the men. Pretty cool actually. Well this is going to be a short e-mail, i need to get back to my now lighter backpack and find my way to the bus or train station. Until nexttime......:) Daphne
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