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We arrived in Indonesia, in a secluded lovely cove
on the eve of the referendum in East Timor (Timor Timor they call it as
opposed to Indonesian Timor.) We were very apprehensive at any local
craft. We have no weapons other than a machete and a club. I resolved
that in any tense situation my mouth would provide more concrete
protection than our arsenal. I've been known to drive people away in the
past. The local fishing boats took absolutely no interest. Not even to
come and see if we wanted some fish in trade for who knows what. We
calmed down a bit. Next stop was Rinca Island, home of a national park
with Komodo dragons (just East of the island of Komodo.) These are large
lizards. Up to 4 meters. That is a big lizard. We saw a couple about 3
meters. They have been known to attack humans, but no one seemed too
bothered. No one except all of us tourists. We took a tour with two
other boats, both with kids. A total of 7 adults and 7 kids. Not too
conducive to spotting timid game in the jungle. We did see some dragons
in the wild, but we saw the most just cruising around the park
headquarters looking for chow. We learned that the rangers biggest fears
were from the poachers. These nasties come to hunt the deer on the island
and have no worries about knocking off a couple of rangers in the
process. When the rangers hear the boats coming at night, they douse the
lights and run off into the bush to hide. The poachers then toss a stick
or two of dynamite into the park HQ to dissuade any aggression from the
authorities. Lots of corruption, very nasty.
Indonesia is a very poor country. The people,
while constantly in your face, are very friendly. They are always looking
to make a buck or two, and will try hard to get a very good price. They
yell to you as you pass the stores and at the real tourist spots, they
will try anything to get you to take hold of their wares. At one famous
lookout in Bali, overlooking 4 volcanoes, they run to your van as you get
out and start yelling prices. Ridiculous prices. The trick is to get you
to stop and hopefully take hold of the item, then they will not take it
back, they just carry on trying to agree on a price. One woman showed
Emma a fine carved elephant and said "Free! Free!" The story goes that
they then say that they don't understand the language, of course it
couldn't be free. I wanted to test it but we never did.
You bargain for everything in Indonesia.
Everything. We got used to it and did very well. It is fine to say no,
or to ignore the sellers, if you actually want something it is absolutely
expected, almost required, that you will argue strongly against the
price. You can normally tell when you have reached the real price. They
get angry, you get angry, and then agree. Then all is happiness. "Come
again tomorrow." At first that was hard, I was still worked up, ready to
continue insulting their ancestors, and they got all nice. We checked on
our prices with the locals that we got to know and found we were doing
very well. Normally paying the local price. In Kalimantan, on Borneo,
where we were a real curiosity, there was always a crowd as we bargained
for things in the market. It is hard to tell someone that you simply
refuse to pay 6000 rupia (about $0.80) for a kilo of peanuts. Or that a 30
minute taxi ride for 5 should in no way cost as much as 30,000 ($4). But
we got used to it.
The food was excellent. Very healthy and fresh,
lots of veggies and spices, and very cheap. Douglas and I had a breakfast
one morning: two big plates of food (a mixture of rice and noodles,
vegetables, with a satay sauce) and drinks for $1.20. Another time 6 of
us ate a big lunch, lots of different dishes, with drinks, for $14. I
could go on and on, a little obsessed. Needless to say, I enjoyed the
economy and quality of their food.
We visited the island of Lombok and had a day tour
in a minivan. Driver and guide for the day for the 5 of us Margaritas for
$40. We saw some wild monkeys and were dropped off at a couple of places
to buy things. That turned out to be a rip off. They took us to a
weaving factory and a pottery factory where we were expected to buy stuff
in the show room. Later we got them (had to be very insistent) to take us
to a local market, where we bought some of the exact same merchandise for
about 1/4 of the factory price. So much for cheap factory outlets!
After Lombok, we went to Bali. We stayed at a
marina in Benoa, a big dirty city. We stopped there to check in and get
food and in the process had my camera and three lenses and our video
camera stolen. More accurately, they were simply not returned after
leaving them in a taxi. After many frustrating calls to the company we
let it go. The locals earn about $75 a month, so that gear represented a
pretty good find. We hired a driver for two days and went on an overload
trip into the country, visiting lots of temples and rice terraces and
eating great (cheap!!) food. If I told you how reasonable the cost of the
two day adventure was, you'd think I was obsessing.
After Bali, we went to the island of Borneo, the
top half is Malaysian, the bottom half is Indonesian, called Kalimantan.
We went there specifically to visit an orangutan reserve, one of two
places in the world that are taking orphan orangutans and trying to
reintroduce them to the wild They were very impressive animals. So
human. We went to several feedings in the jungle where the ranges bring
masses of bananas and yell for the orans. "How do you call them?" "You
yell their names. MARIA! KING!" It was impressive but felt a bit too
staged. Still Maria put on a nice show by jumping into the crowd (with
babies clinging on) to grab a backpack (ours!) and try and run off. We
found it at least as entertaining to watch a couple of adolescents playing
around some garbage cans. They looked a bit guilty at first, then ignored
us. One was rocking on this metal structure basically bending it apart.
The others were wrestling over a coke can. Typical teenagers. At one of
the stations there is a tame gibbon monkey that is a real hoot. His name
is Michael and he comes down the dock to meet the boat. He is then on the
boat trying to get into the galley. We fed him peanuts and had a lot of
laughs. He accompanied us on a jungle walk. Running up and using arms
and bodies for swinging. Often clinging to your neck for a ride. He was
a bit wild with the kids. Seemingly threatened by Emma and then later
attacked both Douglas and another boy. Must have had some bad
experiences.
The animals were only one feature of that river
trip. We had our own boat, with captain, cook and assistant for three
days The food was incredible. Normally 6 or 7 dishes each meal, satay,
greens, a rice dish, spicy noodles, fried chicken, fresh fruit. It was
fantastic. We over ate each meal. Didn't want to insult the cook by
leaving too much food. The crew was great. Lots of laughs. They worked
very hard and played hard. We stopped way up the river where the water is
clean and they were a hoot. We all played (another boat with two yacthie
families aboard) with this old canoe, capsizing each other. They were
forever throwing each other in, great fun. Sarah talked the guide into
doing some authentic Dyak dancing one night and it turned into a real
party. They are muslim so do not drink alcohol but that does not stop
them from partying. They played horrible disco songs for a couple of
hours and we all danced on top of the boats, with several jumping into the
river to cool off. ("What about the crocodiles you said were here?" "Oh,
with all of this noise, they will have left the area.") It was a
fantastic trip that we will never forget. Such a treat to be on a boat
with no responsibilities about cooking or navigating.
Food shopping in Indonesia is an experience. You
can go to a very modern supermarket, or to a local fresh market. Being
the economically minded people we are, . . . The markets are a mess. Food
on the ground, or on tarps, or broken tables. Tarps overhead to try and
direct the torrential rain, mud everywhere. Raw chickens, fish, dried
fish, vegetables, cooking food, pots and pans, clothing, toys,
everything. It is interesting, as most of the locals are muslim and very
clean. When it rained on our river trip, they all got out and showered,
and hand washed their clothes at least daily. When we got to the clean
part of the river they went nuts, seemed to be always soaped up and
cleaning. But the markets are a mess.
The locals were intrigued by the kids. Always
wanting to touch them or stroke their hair, or just talk. Lots of
smiles. Bronwen has been handling this like a member of the royal family,
smiling and very receptive. Douglas and Emma have taken a little longer to
accept it, but are doing well now.
After Indonesia, we stopped at Singapore. We were
not going to stop there initially, but had an engine problem (a bent
propeller shaft) that we wanted to deal with. It turned out to be a great
stop. Not a cheap city, but a very modern and clean city with absolutely
everything for sale. We were in the market for cameras and we came to the
right place. There is a place called Sim Lin Square with 7 floors of
electronics and video gear. Everything from electronic organizers to
cameras and computers. We bought two cameras and a video camera and a new
hard drive and lots of software. Every day we went in to town as soon as
the boat projects were happy and comparison shopped all day. Back at the
boat by 10-11 PM and crash. Three days. Meanwhile the shaft was expertly
repaired at a fantastic little engineering shop. We ate at the local
"hawker" centers. These are your basic food courts, but with noodles and
rice and satay and fresh fruit juice instead of Pizza Hut and McDonalds.
Very good and very cheap. All three kids now eat spicy food by
preference. All the years of "Well, that is what we are having. It is
your choice if you eat it or not." Have paid off. We learned a lot about
shopping in Singapore. No prices are marked anywhere. So bargaining is
the name of the game again. Much more civilized bargaining than
Indonesia. With so many shops competing, it is easy to find the good
price. We started in the little street shops where I was told by our new
found teacher (a shop salesman)"In Singapore, there is one rule: 'the
customer always looses!' If you only ask price, you will loose!" (I
think Tod L told me the same thing once.) He told us some of the tricks
that his neighbor shop keepers used, which we then tested to our great
entertainment
The city is incredibly clean and tidy. Excellent
busses and subway, very well laid out and easy to use, and cheap. This
all comes at the cost of few personal freedoms and a very high cost of
living for the locals, but great for us.
The shipping around Singapore was incredible.
Crossing the lanes in Margarita is like crawling across a 6 lane
interstate. Nerve-wracking. The radio is constantly full of chatter and
official comms so that trying to communicate with a specific ship was
unrealistic. We did it at night which is actually easier, because you can
more easily see the direction that a ship is headed by observing their
running lights than by looking at the shape. It is very important to know
if they are coming straight at you or are directed even 10 degrees away.
Radar is nearly useless as there are so many targets, Douglas counted over
100 at one point.
That is all for now. Time to make dinner. The
kids are all great. School is going very well. Bronwen still spending
about 6 hrs a day, D about 3-4 and Emma a bit less. The graders (us) are
way behind on D and E, B sends hers in. They are great help on the boat,
we often forget how lucky we are until we talk to one of the many couples
out here sailing.
Neill and the gang from Margarita.
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