Another blog…YAYY… Sept. 14 – October 20th.
Tuesday September 14th
Woke up at 6am to head to a small airport in Jakarta, to catch a plane to Pangandaran for 2 nights. This was no commercial jet. It was a tiny 12 seat Cessna with a one-propeller engine. Mark and I grabbed seats literally right behind the Pilots. The pilot was a young guy from Canada. We videotaped the take off because it was the first time we had been in a plane like that. The pilot controls the take off and landing; while in the air it is all done by computer. As we approached our landing it seemed as though we were coming in to fast and too steep, we could see the pilots every move and feel the planes response. We made a perfect landing at a tiny airport in Pangandaran.
We were told we could walk to the hotel, so we made no prior arrangements. It turns out this field is in the middle of no where and about a 20 minute ride to where we were staying. There was one English speaking lady on the plane with us, so James approached her and asked her to help them speak with someone to arrange a ride to their hotel. She obliged and called her husband to send two Ojek’s(motorcycles and driver) to come pick us up. It was our first ride in Indonesia. Mark snapped a few photos while we rode through small villages. We approached a small one lane Bamboo bridge that spanned about 80 feet across a mud brown river. The drivers continued right over the wobbly bridge. A few minutes later we arrived at Java Cove Hotel. We were expecting to be some of the only people there but it turns out about 300 other people thought it was a good time to visit here too. Do not ever travel anywhere in Indonesia during the end of Ramadan and the holiday of Idul Fitri. We checked in, and the young Australian manager led us to our room and told us where we may find a less crowded spot to swim, although she had never been there herself. We decided to check out the spot, it turned out to be a rocky beach that was inaccessible because it was below a cliff.
We returned to the beach in front of the hotel and decided to go for a swim amongst the hundreds of tanned Indonesians. Many of them had their shirts on, but we wanted a tan so we popped our shirts off and quickly became a spectacle on the beach as we were the only two white bodies. The sand was black, and it burned your feet to walk on the dry parts the sun is so hot. We got into the warm water and waded out a few hundred feet. We heard the term “bule”(white foreigner) mentioned numerous times and we were also greeted by a number of people. Some even wanted to exchange e-mails to be able to talk to someone from America.
The waves were perfect for surfing, but there were way to many people. Our plan to begin surfing quickly faded away. We walked back to the room and ordered some fresh made smoothies, then a little after went and had dinner. Back to the room for some sleep.
Wednesday September 15th
Woke up around 6:30am and noticed the beach was filling up regardless of the fact it was pouring and thundering out. We decided to sleep in. The rain eventually stopped around mid day, and the beach was much less crowded than the previous day, but still too crowded. Mark began Conn Iggulden’s Emperor series, now hes hooked. We went for a late swim around 4:45pm after the crowds left and spent the next hour enjoying our time amongst the surfers. We were very jealous we could not join them. Had dinner at the restaurant went back to the room and watched the classic movie, The Pest and went to bed.
Thursday September 16th
Woke up early to try and do some surfing before our plane ride back, decided against it, still too crowded. Had breakfast, talked to the manager and had to arrange a ride to the airport through Susi air, our flight provider. The driver was a little late so on the way to the airport he was honking the horn and driving around mopeds and other cars. Honking the horn in Indonesia does not have the same meaning as it does in America. They use the horn to alert motorcycles, other cars etc that they are there. It is also used to tell other drivers I’m coming into the lane. It is not used because you get angry at someone. We got to the airport, credit cards were not accepted so they let us on and told us to pay when we got into Jakarta. Same plane, same pilots, same experience. We were escorted to the desk where we paid, then went to go have some donuts at Dunkin Donuts.
Took a cab back to Nadia’s where we ate some dinner and watched the final episode of America’s got talent.
Friday September 17th
Woke up at 8am and got our things ready to go to Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta). Headed to the airport, had lunch there and waited for our flight. Got on the plane and had a 1 hour flight. We landed in pouring rain, so the company was giving umbrellas to each passenger as they exited the plane. Found a cab to take us to the hotel and he was listening to a mix CD with artists such as Britney spears, backstreet boys, bon jovi and the crap radio top 20 countdown. He was rocking out and loving it.
Arrived at the hotel and headed off to dinner. Nadia’s friend Angela remembered a great warung(small restaurant) that she had been to previously in Jogjakarta. After an hour or so of searching for said restaurant, the rest of the car held a coup and we voted to eat somewhere else. Her navigation skills were almost as good as Loras, or should I say Svetlana. We ended up stopping at some random place where we sat on the ground and had a great meal for 100,000 rp ($12) and there were 5 of us. Went back to the hotel to get ready for the night. Took a cab to Survive Garage, a little store with front yard set up for preview performances of the next 2 nights. Really cool artwork and lots of people smoking cigarettes, which is the norm around these parts, indoors or out. 2 Australian rappers (some of the biggest in Aussie) performed some freestyle as did a few Indonesian ones. Around 11 we headed back to the hotel, once back we ordered room service, chit chatted then went to bed.
Saturday September 18th
Woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. Poor selection, but it was a beautiful day out. We all headed to the pool, which was the nicest part of the hotel. Swam for a bit and jumped off this Cement dragon statue platform which was about 8 feet above the pool. After, Nadia, James and Mark went to the Sultans Water Palace. We hired a guide, but he was horrible. He led us to a Batik(batik is?) shop. After some bargaining, Mark ended up buying 2 large Batiks. We then headed to a small café by Becak (almost like a rickshaw, except the driver is behind you). Café Via Via had some great food and drink. We ended up having a discussion about Independent women, women taking the husbands last name and so on. Lets just say James and Marks views were not the same as the women’s.
For dinner we ordered room service again then headed out to the national museum to check out the Aussie/Indo hip hop festival. Checked out some of the acts, ErthBoy(aussies next big rapper, hes on youtoube) killed it. We met Matt, an aspiring doctor from Australia, who was on his way to an Island off the northwest coast of Australia where they were imprisoning any immigrants trying to get into Australia. Mark met a Indonesian girl named Valentina who wanted us to come to the club with her and her friends. After we exchanged numbers, she left and another girl came up to us and asked for our number. James at this point thought they were all prostitutes soliciting business. But turns out they were just being nice. Headed back to the hotel, James went for a swim, then to bed.
Sunday September 19th
Woke up had some crap breakfast again, because by the time we ate there wasn’t much left. Packed up our room and moved into Nadias, because Nadia’s 2 friends Maeve and Angela left that day. Mark and James headed for lunch at Café Via Via again. Food and drinks were delicious again. We were haggled by Ojek drivers but we could see rain was coming so we decided to wait for a cab. Sure enough 5 minutes in it started to pour. On the cab ride back Mark was busy texting with his new friend Valentina. Once back at the hotel, we booked our flights back to Jakarta.
Walked near our hotel looking for some dinner. Ended up stopping in all the T-shirt stores looking for some fresh gear. James got a few shirts. He even bargained in one of the stores where there is never any bargaining. He had 150,000 rp on him and the shirt cost 165,000 he told the cashier that and she discussed with her friend for a minute and they agreed to it. Went to eat at Steak and shake, a chain around that part of Java. It was cheap and good. Went to bed early.
Monday September 20th
Woke up at 4am, grabbed our packed breakfast from the front desk and waited for our driver and car to pick us up to go see the temple of Borobudur (google it), an incredible Buddhist temple. Supposedly seeing it at sunrise was spectacular, with our luck though it turned out to be misty. It was a large temple, with ornate carvings, and sculptures of Buddha on each level. Each level represented your path to enlightenment, with the top being enlightened. Some monks were praying at the top.
On the way back Nadia was haggled by some vendors and she bought a small souvenir. Headed back to the hotel and waited a few hours to be picked back up and transferred to the airport. Caught our flight back to Jakarta. Grabbed our things from Nadias and headed back to Ries’. Of course not without a shitload of traffic, and a lovely cockroach visitor in our donut box, Nice! Got back, unpacked, then repacked for our trip to the rural village of Ciseeng the next morning to teach English.
Tuesday September 21st
Woke up early, got ready and headed about an hour through bumpy narrow roads to the village. We were accompanied by Ries, and some of her cousins. Checked out the place, or rather the room we’d be staying in for the next week. Headed down the road to the school to meet the staff and introduce ourselves to the kids. Headed to lunch with the Principal and our traveling party. Ate at a Padang restaurant, you pick dishes from a case eat as much as you want and pay only for what you eat. Oh yea, and you eat with your hands. After getting back we visited more classes. The kids were happy to see us but extremely shy. Took a lot of photos and smiled so much our cheeks started to hurt.
After school let out we walked through the village to our humble abode. All along the way we were stared at and warmly welcomed by the children and adults of the village. We discussed ideas for teaching, then showered up in the outdoor bathroom where you dump a bucket of dirty water over yourself. Headed to dinner at another Padang restaurant. Once back we learned some Basa Indonesia with Ries’s Cousin Aan (Ah ahn). Went to bed in a steaming hot room filled with mosquitoes.
Wednesday September 22nd
Woke up after about 45 minutes of total sleep that night. Mark had about 35 mosquito bites. Had a breakfast of white bread, and then headed to the school to begin a full 7m-5pm day of teaching. It was a long and repetitive day. We realized that many of the kids had very poor English, and the books they were learning from were meant for 10-12th grade English students. Not 17 year olds who were on a 1st or 2nd grade English level. By the end of the day we were drained, and no longer wanted to teach. We discussed replacing the chalkboards with dry-erase boards. They did not have the money to replace 4 of them; Mark and I discussed it and donated the money to have 4 white boards put up in the classrooms. While we taught, little village kids would poke their heads through the windows and just watch. Upon the students leaving the classroom, instead of a hand shake they would take your hand and bring it to their forehead, nose or cheek as a sign of respect for their teachers.
Headed back to the crib, installed mosquito netting that the principal gave us. Then we were visited by the principal and his wife, who brought us Martabak, a traditional sweet peanut or chocolate pancake/cake type deal. After they left, we headed to dinner, came back learned some more Indonesian and went to bed, this time under the mosquito netting we brought for camping. Mark was emotionally upset because of the mosquitoes attacking him, not a’an or James.
Thursday September 23rd
Slept much better last night because of the mosquito netting. Slept in for a bit, but were awoken by the Kindergarten class that went on from 7-10 am. Slept some more, then did nothing till we had grade 11 English class from 3-5pm. We made the kids stand up in front of the class to read dialogue, answer question and get them out of their shy little shells. After class a student was playing basketball on the court. One of the12th graders told James to come play one on one. James was in khakis, button down and boat shoes, but he is not to be shown up no matter where he is. Got on the court, started playing and noticed all the eyes were on them. All the students, teachers and villagers were watching a Bule play one of their own. After James blocked a few of his shots and scored some of his own, amongst cheers from the crowd, he was sweating profusely. He told mark and another boy to come in to play 2 on 2. We played a game to 3 then switched teams. Mark and I vs. two 18 year old students. It was a good time for all involved.
Walked back to the house with kids following us. We couldn’t go anywhere without little kids following us or people saying hello. We felt like celebrities. There was a nightly Koran reading class below our room and the kids, aged 5-12 learned there. They all were excited we were there and wanted to learn more English, so we held an impromptu class near our door and taught them the body parts. They were adorable. After we went to have dinner at the same place. They gave us a fruit called Rambutan to try for free. Came back to the room and A’an insisted we learn how to do Shiatsu. He used James as the model while mark watched in enjoyment as James grimaced. After he finished, A’an insisted James try this on Mark. We both said it would never leave the room as it was uncomfortable to massage a friend, but for your enjoyment we have included it.
Friday September 24th
Slept in. For lunch we went to have chicken burgers, which were nothing like chicken. Went to class from 4-5pm. On the way to class, we passed by the kids we taught the night before. They were yelling our names. We quizzed them in the middle of the road, after they ran off smiling and laughing. We were accompanied by the principal’s nephew who is a translator. We made nametags with all the kids to learn their names. After class some students offered to drive us on their motorcycles back to our place to avoid the rain. Upon arrival we were welcomed by the impromptu class again, this time it was even bigger. Taught some more, then headed to dinner at the principals by public transport. It was just a van crammed with as many people as possible. Enjoyed some Egyptian Martabak and checked out pictures from class. After we went to his nephews home to use the internet. Then he took us back to where we were staying one by one on his motorcycle. No public transport after a certain time. A’an tried to get us to do more shiatsu but we politely refused.
Saturday September 25th
Woke up at 6am to get ready for school at 7am, ON A SATURDAY. Taught morning classes until lunch. While we waited for lunch, some of the students taught us words in Bahasa Indonesia while we sat behind the desks as students. After lunch we taught and sweated some more. The first class was uneventful and outside the open windows someone was burning trash. They burn trash to dispose of it here or throw it in the streets as they have no means to get rid of it. During the last class a few of the girls wanted to buy us lunch, we politely declined.
Before heading back to the room to pack up, we took a group picture, then we were asked to take a picture with a family who lived right across from the school. They invited us for coffee and snacks. Thankfully we had A’an to translate. Everyone has been more than welcoming to us. They share whatever they have. Much better hospitality than many of the bastards in the states. We packed up our things and waited to go back to Cinere. While waiting the kids found us again and we taught for a few minutes. Then finally headed back to Ries’s, where dinner and apple pie (Ries’ reminder of Larchmont) were waiting for us. It was a wonderful and emotional experience.
Sunday September 26th
Sunday was a relaxing day where we didn’t do much. After dinner we had some dessert, James ate almost an entire layer cake. We then taught Lisa, Ries’s niece what some items around the house were in English. Lazy day. Goodnight
Monday September 27th
Woke up at 6am to get ready for our first day of teaching at an elementary school near where we are staying, called Dharma Karya. We were picked up by the school car, already a much different experience than the poor village of Ciseeng. We arrived at the school to find the near 700 students aligned in rows, dressed in school uniform participating in the flag ceremony. When we stepped out of the car all of the students turned and looked at the two white boys walking across the yard. We were escorted into the head masters office where we met Pak (mr. in basa Indo) Din, One of the English teachers who would be our guide for the remainder of our stay.
We attended multiple classes, and noticed right away how well behaved and disciplined they were at such a young age. The younger students (grade 2 or 3) also had better English skills than the 12th graders of Ciseeng. Before entering each class everyone was required to take their shoes off and leave them outside. After introducing ourselves and playing a few games, the school goes on break for 30 minutes or so. We headed to the canteen (outside cafeteria) where we enjoyed fresh avocado and guava juices, and bakso (meatball) soup, along with chocolate martabak. We headed back to the classroom to teach the 6th grade bilingual class. We recapped our adventure to the students and then tested their listening skills to see what they could remember. Went to a 3rd grade classroom to end the day. On our ride back to cinere, we noticed 2 little kids naked peeing on the side of the road, apparently this is normal around here.
Relaxed for the rest of the night and prepared for another fun day of teaching. We like the kids and the school a lot already.
Tuesday September 28th
Woke up and headed to the school again. Started teaching a 1st grade class, we went over greetings and goodbyes, as well as introductions. We then headed to a 5th grade class to work on birthday greetings. We then headed to another bilingual class, introduced ourselves and opened up the floor for questions. They asked us many questions, some even involving whether we had girlfriends or were married. After, while James was in the lieu, mark was swarmed by tons of little children wanting to shake his hand and show respect for their new bule teacher. The gym teacher blew his whistle and dispersed the kids so we could enjoy our break time. Had some more soup and fruit juices. After the break headed back to the classroom to finish up story telling and questions.
We then headed to a 2nd grade classroom where the class was bouncing off the walls. We worked on teaching them the difference between singular and plural using fruits. After we had another break, during which a few students wanted to ask more questions, we allowed it for a few minutes then wanted to rest. After lunch we prepared a vocab list for the afternoon class that would consist of 4 students who would be in the school spelling bee. Before we could finish, about 60 students swarmed into the room waving notebooks and pens for us to sign their notebooks. We now know what it is like to feel like a celebrity. After our hands were cramped and sweaty we got back to preparing the vocabulary. The students came in and we challenged them with the words we prepared. Some were better than others, but they all tried very hard.
Headed back to Cinere, on the way back we were invited to Pak Din’s village about 3 hours a way, to see a waterfall and to take in more culture. After getting home we contemplated the offer over tea, and trailer park boys, an interesting Canadian show. Ate some dinner, then went to bed.
Wednesday September 29th
Woke up early and awaited for Ries cousin to pick us up to go to Ciseeng and Harapan school so our presence would be noticed as the government officials were conducting a review of the school that day. We spent the morning sitting around, feeling useless, we were tired and it was hot. Around mid morning the officials arrived and we went into the classroom. James thought that everyone was just practicing for the upcoming meeting, so he wasn’t very enthusiastic when talking, and found out later that it was the actual meeting. Whoops. After the meeting a group of female students were brought in and performed a traditional Sundanese dance, then another read a poem she wrote. After, we had lunch with the teachers and awaited our ride home. Nothing much went on for the rest of the day. Just hoping that the upcoming weeks would fly by, so we could start our traveling.
Thursday September 30th
Woke up and headed back to Dharma Karya, for our last 2 days of teaching. Upon arrival James was asked to make a short 3-5 minute speech, to all the teachers, faculty, PTO (similar), and visiting members of University among a few others. After teaching a few classes we got to enjoy a 1.5 hour break, and during this time James prepared his speech and ate some lunch. Around 11:30 the holiday celebration of forgiving each other for the past year began. The headmaster, a doctor and a few others all gave speeches. Finally James and Mark were called to the podium. James was the most nervous he has been in a few years. Standing in front of a crowd of 100 teachers, parents, officials and delivering a speech in his native tongue not theirs. He started the speech off on a light note to get a few laughs, and it worked. Explained our backgrounds, our adventure, why we were here, and our impressions of Indonesia and this school. It went very well thankfully.
After the speech, we shook everyone’s hands and enjoyed a large buffet of food for lunch. After the crowds left, we were forced to do a little Karaoke in front of the remainder of people. We sang Mariah Carey’s Hero. Not a song suited to our baritone voices. Got home to find Ries cousin A’an waiting for Ries to give her a weekly Shiatsu massage treatment. While waiting he offered to give one to mark. While mark suffered, James sat on the computer and relaxed. After dinner we tried a fruit only found in Indonesia, Durian. Mark didn’t mind it but James was disgusted by it. Ended the night by enjoying the Christmas special of the show It’s always sunny in Philadelphia. Made us want to get back to the states to enjoy this time with our families.
Friday October 1st
Woke up early to head to Dharma Karya to participate in their physical education class. It lasted about an hour, and consisted of dance aerobics, it was very odd. After sweating up a storm we took a break, and had some boiled banana, and sweet potato type of thing. After we headed to the 6th grade bilingual class and used the computer to sing some songs and practice listening. We also introduced them to the USA, the states, Grand Canyon and showed them pictures of our towns. A few of the students drew us some drawings. One was of us in the classroom, James, bald, and mark with read curly hair. The other was almost the same except this one was outside and it had the American flag and Indonesian flag together. It was very thoughtful. After we ate lunch in the library, where mark taught the children about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico through his friends production company, red bridge productions, who were creating a film about it. We were then split up and taught 2 separate classes. James was brought to grade 2, and mark grade 5. After we had a meeting with the head master, where he asked us our opinion of the differences in the schools here and the USA etc. We then took pictures with him and headed home.
Saturday October 2nd
After breakfast we began to catch up on our blog, we are slowly making progress. After lunch we were driven to Lion Air to pay for a few of our plane tickets. It down poured severely while there and the roads flooded quickly. We then went to go pick up Nadia, saw some monkey in the street wearing a dolls face, it was hilarious. One of those things you have to be there to appreciate. Sat in traffic to get there, then grabbed her stuff and sat in another few hours of traffic to get back to Cinere. For dinner we decided to eat at the mall and ended up getting McDonalds. This was both of our first times having fast food in a few years. After arriving home and checking facebook, James noticed that about 20 of the students wrote on his wall. Bad idea to give the children our facebook accounts.
Sunday October 3rd
Woke up around 5am to get ready to be picked up to go to the village of Sukabumi with Ibu Nina, Pak Din and his wife, who was 8 months pregnant. The village is 100km away about 60 miles yet it took us about 3 hours to get there. Once there we had lunch, on the floor traditional style. After eating we headed towards the waterfall we were supposed to go see. We passed large green tea plantations. Once there it started to rain and as we walked up we were stopped by rangers and were told we could not continue up because it was too dangerous. Headed back down to the ranger station and checked out some of the things we could have seen. Monkeys, black panthers, and leopards.
Headed back to Pak Din’s wifes house and had tea then headed out to look for Bakso soup. On the walk we were passed 3 times by 3 girls on a motorcycle, finally they stopped, waited for us to walk up then sped away. They came back again and finally talked to us. After we took a drive and found Bakso soup and headed home. On the way back we hit a mass amount of traffic. At one point mark and I went to sleep and an hour later we were no more than 1km away from where we fell asleep. It took us almost 6 hours to go 60 miles. Once back we were given 2 coconuts as a gift, which we gave to Ries. Ate a bit and went to bed.
Monday October 4th
After breakfast we took a ride with Ries’ niece Dewi to the post office. After we went looking for a tailor to make our suits. We then went to visit her daughter Ishma who was sick with a fever. Went grocery shopping for Ries, picked up a few pastries and headed home. Had some dinner and for dessert ate Mangosteen, another exotic, or is it erotic, fruit? It was very good. We helped another one of Ries’ nieces with her English homework. Bedtime.
Tuesday October 5th
Ries needed us to do a few errands for her. We borrowed a motorcycle, and with James driving, mark was on his 2nd Ojek ride. It was a fun ride to the mall, weaving through traffic and away from potholes, Mark did not find it as exciting as James. Got to the bank, no one spoke English so it was difficult to understand anyone. Filled out the paperwork and made a wire transfer for Ries. After we headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things. After unsuccessful attempts at finding celery and lettuce at a few different places, we headed home. Ate some lunch with Lisa and Zahra (Ries’ nieces, she has a lot of them). Met Ries’ childhood friend Dewi whose place we will be staying at for our first 4 days in Bali. Discussed renewing our Visa’s as they expire before we leave the country. After, James helped make Nasi Goreng (Fried rice). Mark prepared for his interview with Ashoka. Skyped Fatt Matt down in Florida then went to bed.
Wednesday October 6th
After breakfast, we headed out to the mall with Dewi to find English books. No books in English at the store, but they did carry computer, camera and sporting equipment. We picked up 2 basketballs for the school in Ciseeng. After arriving home, Dewi nicknamed Mark, Marv from home alone, because his hair looks like his after not being cut for 3 months. Ate some dinner listened to some 90’s music (ghetto superstar etc) and went to bed.
Thursday October 7th
Headed out to the tailor to get sized up for our suits, put our deposit down then headed to another tailor to pick up clothes Ries needed. Relaxed the rest of the day. After dinner, Mark James and Lisa were hanging out when an intruder snuck into the house. It was a bat. It flew in through the window and was flying around trying to get back out. Lisa was trying to hit it with a blanket, finally mark opened a window and it flew back out. It was a funny situation.
Friday October 8th
Happy Birthday Carrie. Talked with Ries’ cousin Aan about going back to Ciseeng and about visiting a waterfall. Went to a mall in Jakarta with Nadia, picked up some electronics and bought some pirated DVD’s. Bought a total of 33 DVD’s each less than 1 dollar a piece. Saw some guy walking with a few boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. We went on a hunt to find it, after about 20 minutes of searching we asked the information desk and finally found it. Bought a box to bring with us for our cab ride back to Cinere. Sat in a bunch of traffic, but what else is new. Ate dinner went to bed.
Saturday October 9th
Checked out the documentary The Cove, a must watch for all of you out there. Very moving. Decided not to attend one of Ries cousin weddings. Hung out around the house and relaxed. Good thing we didn’t go because on the way back they sat in about 4 hours of traffic. Mark helped Ries 99 year old step mom into bed with the nurse because no one else was around.
Sunday October 10th
James was asked to go to the traditional market with Ries. On the way there, they hit every pothole on the road, and even a motorcycle. No one was hurt, besides the headless and bloodied chickens that were on display in the market. What a smell. Once back guests started arriving for a family meeting. There were about 40 people in total. After the long meeting, which was spoken in Bahasa Indo, we left for Ciseeng to embark on another weeks journey of bathing in dirty water, using a squat toilet with no TP and eating with our hands.
Arrived in Ciseeng and unloaded our things. Mark, Lisa, James and Dewi played a little bit of basketball inside the house and did not realize how loud it sounded to the rest of the village. When mark went to go use the bathroom he ripped the door of its top hinge. All that rice has made him too strong. Set up our beds and tried to go to bed.
Monday October 11th
We woke up in pools of our own sweat, and had a total of about 1 hour of sleep between us. Mosquitos, scratching, digging, kept us up most of the night. Around 2am we heard a huge slam, like someone dropped a boulder on the roof. We didn’t find out what it was till a few days later. More to come with that story. At 7am headed out on a 2 hour van ride to a waterfall. Arrived, ate some food. Mark started to have blurry vision and was having trouble seeing. It passed quickly thankfully. Before starting our descent we were shown what a cotton tree looked like. They don’t have bushes here, their cotton grows on trees. We started our descent to the waterfall. After changing and submerging ourselves in the very cold water, we took a few pictures. The water was so refreshing, and it was probably the cleanest water we have encountered since being here.
Around mid afternoon we were told monkeys would start to show up. Soon after we were told this we saw 2 monkeys come out of the woods and start climbing up the riverbed. Mark was so excited he ran towards them to take pictures. Apparently they love the spotlight and the first 2 monkeys mounted each other and started to “monkey around”, if you catch my drift. And I am not talking about itching their armpits, throwing feces or swinging from trees… After a short cigarette break, they came right up to the people standing around and started rifling around looking for food. People started to give them crackers and bananas. Soon after, the rest of the family came up the river. Probably another 10-12 monkeys. Mark decided he wanted in on the action (not that action) and decided to throw a peanut shell at one of the babies, papa monkey did not like this. He chased after mark and tried to slap him on his shins, Marks cat like reflexes allowed him to come away unscathed. As we walked out the big daddy monkey was hungry and came strutting up to us right in our path, he looked angry, we all got scared and Rizki one of the students who came with us threw down his bag of chips so its attention would go elsewhere. It worked and we made our escape.
We took a lovely ride back down the mountain through pine forests. Once back we decided against staying any more in Ciseeng and wanted to head home. We signed our basketballs gave them to the school, packed the car and headed back to Cinere. Had dinner, discussed plans to go to immigration to renew our visas and went to bed.
Tuesday October 12th
Woke up and headed to the Immigration office in downtown Jakarta. James, Mark, Ries and Dewi. We ended up going to the wrong office, so we took a break for lunch, met Nadia, then headed to the other Imigrasi office. This one was also the wrong office and we were told we had to go to a different one that covered the area where Ries lived. It was something out of a Chevy Chase, National Lampoon movie. To late in the day to go to the other one so we headed to the mall to find a CD case for all the Dvd’s we bought, we also stopped and had some donuts at none other than, Dunkin Donuts. Apparently more than America, “runs on Dunkin”.
Wednesday October 13th
Dewi, James and Mark headed to the Immigration office in Tangerang, about 1 hour away from where we are staying. On the way we got a bit lost, asked for directions and ended up finding the place. We filled out what seemed to be the same form multiple times. After we went to go hand in the papers and as we went up they were going on their hour long lunch break. We decided since we were near the airport we would go refund 2 airline tickets in exchange for different flights. It turns out the secretary on the phone gave us wrong information as we could not get the refund done at the airport. We decied to have lunch and head back to Immigration before it closed. Made some photocopies then bribed the Immigration officer so our information would go through quicker and we would not have to return to Immigration 2 more times, we would only have to come back once, and it would be ready in 2 days. We left to go pick up Ries at the mall. We got lost on the way and stuck in more traffic, so she ended up taking a cab home. After dinner we wanted to get ice cream but it started to rain heavily, so Dewi made us Banana smoothies, Ini Enak Sekali! (That was delicious).
Thursday October 14th
First thoughts about how we would miss Ries’s nieces when we leave in a week. We have gotten close with 3 of them and they have turned out to be so nice, very funny and good company. 2 of them tried a combination of Bread, butter, cheese and mango for breakfast, odd tastes. After breakfast we began packaging Cd’s for Emma’s wedding. Mark was the ribbon man and James having no creative talent, hole punched, and put cd’s in envelopes. After getting through a grueling 300 cd’s , took a break for lunch. After lunch we planned on going to get ice cream with Lisa and Zahra. As we hopped on the back of their motorcycle it started to drizzle. Not a good sign. We sat down to enjoy some frozen yogurts. Soon we heard the pitter patter of the rain on the roof, which turned into what sounded like hail. The raindrops here are on steroids. The girls went and got the mopeds (how chivalrous we are) we lent them our rain jackets. We sped through flooded streets in the downpour, hoping that we would not hydroplane or skid out. We got home in one piece, changed out of our wet clothes and continued packaging the Cd’s. We got through 500 of them before we decided to stop for the night.
Mark was on skype and introduced Mrs. du Moulin to Ries’s cousin A’an, his wife and niece Lisa. After he presented us with souvenirs of the Harapan School. We were given a mechanics button down, and pair of the schools gym uniforms. After, he told us the details of our sleepless night in Ciseeng on Sunday Oct. 10-11. Upon arriving in the room, Mark noticed blood stains caked onto the floor underneath the wax on the floor. As we tried to sleep we both heard digging sounds, and the sound of people picking up rocks outside the house. Around 2am we all heard a loud slam (like a door) in the middle of the night, A’an asked if that was us, we replied no. He got up to see what it was. Nothing, so he went back to his room. When he was in his room he saw a shadow cross back and forth at his window. When he looked out the window it was gone, but as he layed back down to try to sleep he noticed it again. He took a look outside nothing, went back in his room and closed his door. When he woke up in the morning his door was partially open. He asked the owner of the house later that morning what the sound was, and the owner told him that there was something in the house, and that’s why it has been vacant for so long (he didn’t care to elaborate). We put the pieces of the mystery together, like the hardy boys and determined that the house was haunted. We were immediately creeped out, but glad we did not know about this while we stayed there. Ghosts do exist. Probably the reason we did not sleep. Plus we probably shouldn’t have been throwing basketballs off the walls.
Friday October 15th
Ries, Dewi, James and Mark headed into Jakarta to the 5th largest clothing mall in the world. Ries and Mark shopped for the wedding Batiks while James and Dewi, took public transportation to go refund the airline tickets at the main Lion Air building. After success we headed back to the mall and had lunch in the food court. After we saw the first black person we have seen in Indonesia, we ate some soft serve ice cream from A&W(they are big here, as is KFC), it was good. After going sandal shopping for the wedding party, and James making a baby cry we left the mall. We sat in traffic to get out of the mall. While sitting in more traffic Dewi surprised us with Jendol, an Indonesian sweet. Strands of sugar cane between 2 pieces of Krupuk(thin rice cake type thing), reminded us of cotton candy. After dinner and getting home we took a motorcycle ride to pick up our suits. Tried on our suits, and before we put them away we noticed our pants had the label “bule” on them. We ended the night by watching Pirate Radio, with Lisa and Zahra but we quickly turned it off when lots of nudity came on the screen and switched to a more appropriate, Toy Story 3.
Saturday October 16th
Before family arrived for another wedding meeting we had lunch on the back porch. Once the family arrived, we stayed in our A/C room watching movies all day. Word to the wise, do not rent or see Grown ups, it was not good. After dinner, Dewi, A’an, Zahra, lisa, James, and Mark went to get ice cream by motorcycle. After some good local ice cream we went to visit Dewi’s daughter who has chicken pox. Once home, Zahra and Lisa asked us if we would like to join them on Sunday morning and go to Jakarta’s amusement park. We ran the idea by Ries , as Lisa had a few classes in the morning. Good to go.
Sunday October 17th
Woke up around 6:15 to get ready to take the 1.5 hour motorcycle ride to the park. We first stopped at Lisa’s school to drop off her homework. We met one of her friends who asked us if we had any other American friends for her. Yes, back in America. We continued our journey to the Ancol Marina, this is where the park was. When we got there around 9:30 we found out the park didn’t open until 11 (Lisa told us it opened at 9:30). We waited around, bought our tickets around 10 and headed over for some pre opening festivities. Watched some dance and met a friendly Indonesian couple who wanted to take some pictures with us. Soon after another 2 women came up to us and wanted pictures as well. It was starting to get really hot and humid out. The UV index in Indonesia is 10+ extreme (according to weather.com). We started out on the swinging pirate ship, a little warm up for the better rides. Next, we waited on line for 2 hours to go on Hysteria, a ride similar to double shot in playland (The one that launches you up a few hundred feet then drops you down and back up again. The ride was worth it. We saw the pictures of our ride and the faces were priceless. We bought 4 copies of the picture so each of us could have one.
On the way to find lunch, Mark noticed there was barely a line for power surge. A ride which turned you upside down, flipped you in circles and made you feel generally uneasy. We all left, with dizzy heads and hungry stomachs. We sat down for some lunch, Mark finished off the Girls Nasi Goreng as they went to go pray at the mosque conveniently located in the parks grounds. Mark suffered a grease attack. After lunch we headed over to the big roller coaster of the park. It had 1 loop and 2 cork screws, it took approximately 1 minute. As we were getting on it started to rain. It was scary because we thought the coaster would derail in the rain. After we finished safely we went on the circular swing ride in the rain. We all left very dizzy. We headed to a water raft ride. On the way to the water ride, we saw that there was not much of a line for the roller coaster. We headed for round 2. We then went to the river ride which was not very fun but got you completely soaked. James put on his rain jacket and stood up in the raft so he would not get wet. When we got off we noticed there was no one in line for the roller coaster. We hopped on for round 3. When the ride finished, the operator told us all to stay in the seats as he was letting us go again because no one was in line still. We did this 3 times in a row. It was great.
We knew we could not end our day without going on the ride called Tornado(dufan tornado on youtube). There was no line so we got on right away, what a mistake. The ride brought you up high then spun you upside down, made all the blood rush to your head, then whipped you around a few times, lowered you down then repeated the process. We all left dizzy and happy to be off of the ride. We decided to finish our day on the log flume. On the way we stopped in to the mirror maze (boring) and finally the tippy house. All the floors were built on steep angles so it made it feel as if you were falling over drunk trying to walk. Being college graduates, we knew how to master this flawlessly. Just kidding, it made you really dizzy. Finally we got on the log flume, and it was a major let down, not fun at all, mark got thrown around and hurt his shin. We decided to call it a day, but not before we found some cotton candy. We got a jumbo stick and finished it all very quickly. Hopped back on the Motorcycles and started our ride back home. We got lost and the ride went a bit longer than expected. Upon arriving home, our knees were aching and our asses had taken a pounding. We did not want to go on the back of a motorcycle for a while.
Monday October 18th
That did not last long for James as today he went on a motorcycle ride to pick up the passports in Tangerang, another 1.5 hour long ride away on the back of a motorcycle. We made it in an hour, Dewi drives fast and weaves in and out of traffic like shes a motorcycle racer. At one point they were traveling 85km an hour, and were passing between 2 cars and there was just enough space for us to fit through, it was quite the experience. We arrived at Immigration, got the passports and headed to Lion air in Pondok Indah to get the refund in motion. After we headed to the Pondok Indah mall to grab another cd case and some ice cream. After more bobbing and weaving in and out of traffic we finally arrived back in Cinere. Mark organized papers and called Evelyn from Ashoka to discuss future collaboration. After dinner we went back by motorbike to visit Dewi’s daughter Ishma who still had chicken pox. Tried to cheer her up a bit. Then rode back home.
Tuesday October 19th
Woke up and watched episodes of Curb your Enthusiasm. Had some lunch, and finally got to meet Emma and her to be husband, Jonathan. Chit Chatted for a bit and finalized some of our plans for the rest of our trip. Had tea and dessert while we caught up and relaxed for the rest of the night. Our room is starting to smell like a college dorm as you cant really get very clean dumping a bucket of water on yourself for a shower everyday.
Wednesday October 20th
Today we were accompanied at breakfast by Emma., catching up on the past twenty years. Then we went for a run to start getting in shape for the climb of Mt. Rinjani. Checked Yankees.com only to see that the Yankees lost game 4. Lets go pinstripes! We spent a few hours catching up on our blog, and we are finally caught up. After dinner we went to the mall to get some ice cream and exchange some dvd’s. Then headed to visit Dewi’s daughter again and bring her some dinner. We also met her son. Came back and watched the movie the expendables. What a ridiculous cast, and some crazy action. Stallone all botoxed up, the Russian (from rocky IV), willis, rourke, schwarzenagger, li, statham, it was quite an interesting cast. 3 more days until the wedding and Bali!!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
I thought massages felt good?
Sunday September 5th
Apparently all over southeast asia there is a cock roach problem. We found that one out quite quickly. Bjorn told us we would get used to it. We went with Nadia to meet 2 of her friends, Grace and Julia. After some tea and crumpets we went to a Chinese temple in downtown Jakarta. It was an interesting place with extreme amounts of inscence burning. We then took a cab to the Dutch square. We saw some weird act of crazy Indonesian men. The head guy had put 2 others into a trance and they were being whipped with loud ropes, and the 2 boys were paraded around the circle eating glass for money. After it ended we went to Café Batavia, the supposed best café in Jakarta. We saw some of Graces friends who had just come back from drinking Cobra blood. They even had the video of the head being chopped off. Supposedly it was good for hangovers.
We sat around drinking tea for a few hours then headed back to Grace’s apartment in Kemang to have pizza. We also watched Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona. What an interesting and odd movie. After the movie we went to catch a cab. Once back we watched some British FX channel show called Peep show and went to bed.
Monday September 6th
James woke up early to go take advantage of the Gym Nadia had at her apartment. Mark tried to sleep in. We experience our first tropical downpour and holy crap did it rain. You can watch the rain move in and then the visibility drops to almost nothing. Streets flood easily, and traffic slows down. Tried to upload our photos to blogger again, but the website still did not work. Nadia made a lunch of pasta and meat sauce, we ate and watched Toy Story 2. We packed up our things and caught a cab to Ries’ house in Cinere. This ride should take only 35-40 minutes but with Jakarta traffic it took us 3.5 hours to get there. Mark watched a movie on his Ipod he was so bored. The cab total after 3.5 hours was only 170,000RP (about $18). If you sat in a cab in New York City for that long you would go bankrupt. Upon arrival we met Steve Woodhouse, Ries’ husband. He is a very funny man. We had dinner, and met some of Ries’ family who lives and works for the family. Ended the night talking about our future plans and concluded the night watching a few episodes of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This was Nadia’s first time and now she’s hooked. Goodnight.
Tuesday September 7th
Woke up late morning, had breakfast, which is prepared every morning for us. We then chatted with Ries about our next few months in Indonesia. Checked out some books on Indonesia, then went to lunch at a Thai restaurant in the mall near the house. In the mall’s here they actually have good food courts. Once back we talked about British and American slang curse words. Then Ries took us to the mall to do some food shopping. Walked around the mall for a little. When we entered the market we noticed a horrendous smell. It was the fruit, Durian. A fruit that smells horrible but supposedly tastes good. After we sat down for some fresh fruit drinks, where James tried avocado juice for the first time. It was delicious.
Wednesday September 8th
We woke up and took showers. Not a regular shower though. You fill a bucket with water from the bathtub faucet then take a smaller bucket and dump water over yourself. It is quite interesting. One good thing is when you get out of the shower, you dry off in no time. We unpacked and settled in. We then went to go check out the National Monument in downtown Jakarta with Nadia. The entrance was underground. The history of Indonesia was expressed through little exhibits that showed the reenactment of important events in history. Nadia said that they were made to make it seem as peaceful as possible when in reality there was much war. We then took an elevator up to the top where there were 360 degree views of the city. After we took a cab to a restaurant in the most upscale mall in Jakarta called Social house, where we met Nadias friends Maeve and Andrew. Maeve is from Australia and Andrew from Philly. Good food, and awesome ice tea’s. We went to try to go get massages but the place was closed for Idul Fitri, the end of Ramadan.
We ended up taking a cab to a bar called Caz Bar, where we played pool and drank some Bintang (Indonesia’s Beer). The bar filled up with greasy old expats and younger Indonesian women. A few of Nadia’s friends joined us and we drank some more, had some food and played lots of card games. It was pool tournament night so the place filled up, with people and cigarette smoke. It is still legal to smoke indoors at many places, straight up disgusting. Cigarettes are dirt-cheap here as well, about 3 dollars a pack. Bar tab ended up being about 3 Million Rupiah, oops. We finally left after about 8 hours. Stopped by Nadia’s apartment to pick up some things then went back to Cinere. No traffic at 1am at night, only took us about 40 minutes. Got home, grubbed some food, watched more Sunny and went to bed.
Thursday September 9th
Woke up and checked out a world atlas with ries while Steve made us his famous scrambled eggs. Internet is horrible here so we can’t finish our blog yet again. Headed back to Nadia’s for the day. Headed down to the pool, Mark forgot his board shorts so had to borrow her friends pair which were purple with numbers and letters on them, sort of like sesame street. We went to the gym to run before the pool. Never made it to the pool because it started to pour. James suggested we take the stairs back up to Nadias. 16 flights. Not the smartest of ideas we both almost threw up, but it was a good workout. We ordered lunch and watched a show on Sumo wrestling.
Once night fell, Ramadan finally came to a close. Fireworks were seen all across the city, and everyone was very loud. Took a cab back to Cinere. Ate some dinner, we are addicted to rice now. Goodnight
Friday September 10th
It was a rough nights sleep as the celebrations of the end of fasting, lasted all night. We both felt homesick for the first time today. Excited to start our travels here and then get back to the states. Met Ries’ cousins Aan’s and took a ride to his sisters house, where we met more family and had some traditional food. We also drank an orange drink which tasted quite similar to TANG. Left to head back to meet guests coming to Ries’ house for dinner. Her family started to arrive, we met many family members and chatted a bit. Steve set up a talent show, and Mark and I were judges. We were each given 100,000 RP to distribute amongst the best performances. After we played world trivia. Ate dinner after everyone left. Tried to blog again, but it still would not work. Both excited for thanksgiving already. Booked a plane and planned our trip to Yogyakarta. Watched Sunny and went to bed. Goodnight.
Saturday September 11th
9 years since September 11th. Time flies. Steve left in the early morning on a business trip until October 16th. We packed out bag for Nadia’s and went to pick up her friend Will who was just near Mount Merapi a volcano that was actively erupting. We went for lunch at social house and met up with some more of Nadia’s friends. Had breakfast then shopped around for a bit. Once back at Nadia’s we watched Jurassic park, then headed down to the pool. After we watched Australia verse New Zealand rugby match, it was brutal. Went over to graces for a pot luck dinner. A bunch of friends showed up, we played some games, ate some food and had some fun. Took a cab to this bar, where we spent about 2 minutes and walked right back out, it was not exciting. Goodnight.
Sunday September 12th
Woke up went to brunch at a restaurant called 99, much better than the crappy 99 in the states. Tried to go get a massage again, but the place was closed still. Went back to the apartment and hung out for a bit at the pool. James made an appointment at the 4 seasons Jakarta for a massage and body treatment. James had a 2-hour traditional Lulur treatment and massage, consisting of traditional herbs, a lemon honey body wrap, rose pedal bath and 45 minute massage. While James was on cloud 9 mark and Nadia ate pizza and watched the Jersey Shore. When James got back, we found the Yankee Ranger game on ESPN. We explained the game of baseball to Nadia. Then we researched tours to Mt. Krakatoa, They were way too expensive. Mark ended up finding the Giants Panthers football game. He stayed up until 3am, immersed in it. Goodnight.
Monday September 13th
Woke up and went to one of the biggest second hand markets in Jakarta. We lost each other numerous times because it was so large. The owners were all yelling for people to by there items. We found a material shop away from the market and found wool to buy so we can make suits for cheap. 25 dollars for 3.5 meters of material. After we headed to a restaurant called the Apartment. It was a restaurant where each different section was a different part of the house.; bathroom, lounge, kitchen, library (where we sat), living room. The food was very good. After we headed to a hair salon where we got hair crème baths. They washed your hair, massaged cream in then stabbing your pressure points with their meaty hands. All and all it was an interesting experience. We thought head massages would feel good but it was the opposite, that shit hurt. The boys waited for the girls to get pedicures and for their damn hair to dry. When we paid we saw on the bill that they charged us an extra $3 dollars to blow-dry our hair. Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
After we met Nadia’s friend Andrew for coffee we walked back in a light drizzle to the apartment. We ordered food into the apartment. After our failed attempts to go to Krakatoa and the jungle, we planned a trip to a little beach town called Pangandaran. This place supposedly was the best place to learn how to surf. Took a cab back to Ries’s, Skyped a few family members and went to bed.
Apparently all over southeast asia there is a cock roach problem. We found that one out quite quickly. Bjorn told us we would get used to it. We went with Nadia to meet 2 of her friends, Grace and Julia. After some tea and crumpets we went to a Chinese temple in downtown Jakarta. It was an interesting place with extreme amounts of inscence burning. We then took a cab to the Dutch square. We saw some weird act of crazy Indonesian men. The head guy had put 2 others into a trance and they were being whipped with loud ropes, and the 2 boys were paraded around the circle eating glass for money. After it ended we went to Café Batavia, the supposed best café in Jakarta. We saw some of Graces friends who had just come back from drinking Cobra blood. They even had the video of the head being chopped off. Supposedly it was good for hangovers.
We sat around drinking tea for a few hours then headed back to Grace’s apartment in Kemang to have pizza. We also watched Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona. What an interesting and odd movie. After the movie we went to catch a cab. Once back we watched some British FX channel show called Peep show and went to bed.
Monday September 6th
James woke up early to go take advantage of the Gym Nadia had at her apartment. Mark tried to sleep in. We experience our first tropical downpour and holy crap did it rain. You can watch the rain move in and then the visibility drops to almost nothing. Streets flood easily, and traffic slows down. Tried to upload our photos to blogger again, but the website still did not work. Nadia made a lunch of pasta and meat sauce, we ate and watched Toy Story 2. We packed up our things and caught a cab to Ries’ house in Cinere. This ride should take only 35-40 minutes but with Jakarta traffic it took us 3.5 hours to get there. Mark watched a movie on his Ipod he was so bored. The cab total after 3.5 hours was only 170,000RP (about $18). If you sat in a cab in New York City for that long you would go bankrupt. Upon arrival we met Steve Woodhouse, Ries’ husband. He is a very funny man. We had dinner, and met some of Ries’ family who lives and works for the family. Ended the night talking about our future plans and concluded the night watching a few episodes of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This was Nadia’s first time and now she’s hooked. Goodnight.
Tuesday September 7th
Woke up late morning, had breakfast, which is prepared every morning for us. We then chatted with Ries about our next few months in Indonesia. Checked out some books on Indonesia, then went to lunch at a Thai restaurant in the mall near the house. In the mall’s here they actually have good food courts. Once back we talked about British and American slang curse words. Then Ries took us to the mall to do some food shopping. Walked around the mall for a little. When we entered the market we noticed a horrendous smell. It was the fruit, Durian. A fruit that smells horrible but supposedly tastes good. After we sat down for some fresh fruit drinks, where James tried avocado juice for the first time. It was delicious.
Wednesday September 8th
We woke up and took showers. Not a regular shower though. You fill a bucket with water from the bathtub faucet then take a smaller bucket and dump water over yourself. It is quite interesting. One good thing is when you get out of the shower, you dry off in no time. We unpacked and settled in. We then went to go check out the National Monument in downtown Jakarta with Nadia. The entrance was underground. The history of Indonesia was expressed through little exhibits that showed the reenactment of important events in history. Nadia said that they were made to make it seem as peaceful as possible when in reality there was much war. We then took an elevator up to the top where there were 360 degree views of the city. After we took a cab to a restaurant in the most upscale mall in Jakarta called Social house, where we met Nadias friends Maeve and Andrew. Maeve is from Australia and Andrew from Philly. Good food, and awesome ice tea’s. We went to try to go get massages but the place was closed for Idul Fitri, the end of Ramadan.
We ended up taking a cab to a bar called Caz Bar, where we played pool and drank some Bintang (Indonesia’s Beer). The bar filled up with greasy old expats and younger Indonesian women. A few of Nadia’s friends joined us and we drank some more, had some food and played lots of card games. It was pool tournament night so the place filled up, with people and cigarette smoke. It is still legal to smoke indoors at many places, straight up disgusting. Cigarettes are dirt-cheap here as well, about 3 dollars a pack. Bar tab ended up being about 3 Million Rupiah, oops. We finally left after about 8 hours. Stopped by Nadia’s apartment to pick up some things then went back to Cinere. No traffic at 1am at night, only took us about 40 minutes. Got home, grubbed some food, watched more Sunny and went to bed.
Thursday September 9th
Woke up and checked out a world atlas with ries while Steve made us his famous scrambled eggs. Internet is horrible here so we can’t finish our blog yet again. Headed back to Nadia’s for the day. Headed down to the pool, Mark forgot his board shorts so had to borrow her friends pair which were purple with numbers and letters on them, sort of like sesame street. We went to the gym to run before the pool. Never made it to the pool because it started to pour. James suggested we take the stairs back up to Nadias. 16 flights. Not the smartest of ideas we both almost threw up, but it was a good workout. We ordered lunch and watched a show on Sumo wrestling.
Once night fell, Ramadan finally came to a close. Fireworks were seen all across the city, and everyone was very loud. Took a cab back to Cinere. Ate some dinner, we are addicted to rice now. Goodnight
Friday September 10th
It was a rough nights sleep as the celebrations of the end of fasting, lasted all night. We both felt homesick for the first time today. Excited to start our travels here and then get back to the states. Met Ries’ cousins Aan’s and took a ride to his sisters house, where we met more family and had some traditional food. We also drank an orange drink which tasted quite similar to TANG. Left to head back to meet guests coming to Ries’ house for dinner. Her family started to arrive, we met many family members and chatted a bit. Steve set up a talent show, and Mark and I were judges. We were each given 100,000 RP to distribute amongst the best performances. After we played world trivia. Ate dinner after everyone left. Tried to blog again, but it still would not work. Both excited for thanksgiving already. Booked a plane and planned our trip to Yogyakarta. Watched Sunny and went to bed. Goodnight.
Saturday September 11th
9 years since September 11th. Time flies. Steve left in the early morning on a business trip until October 16th. We packed out bag for Nadia’s and went to pick up her friend Will who was just near Mount Merapi a volcano that was actively erupting. We went for lunch at social house and met up with some more of Nadia’s friends. Had breakfast then shopped around for a bit. Once back at Nadia’s we watched Jurassic park, then headed down to the pool. After we watched Australia verse New Zealand rugby match, it was brutal. Went over to graces for a pot luck dinner. A bunch of friends showed up, we played some games, ate some food and had some fun. Took a cab to this bar, where we spent about 2 minutes and walked right back out, it was not exciting. Goodnight.
Sunday September 12th
Woke up went to brunch at a restaurant called 99, much better than the crappy 99 in the states. Tried to go get a massage again, but the place was closed still. Went back to the apartment and hung out for a bit at the pool. James made an appointment at the 4 seasons Jakarta for a massage and body treatment. James had a 2-hour traditional Lulur treatment and massage, consisting of traditional herbs, a lemon honey body wrap, rose pedal bath and 45 minute massage. While James was on cloud 9 mark and Nadia ate pizza and watched the Jersey Shore. When James got back, we found the Yankee Ranger game on ESPN. We explained the game of baseball to Nadia. Then we researched tours to Mt. Krakatoa, They were way too expensive. Mark ended up finding the Giants Panthers football game. He stayed up until 3am, immersed in it. Goodnight.
Monday September 13th
Woke up and went to one of the biggest second hand markets in Jakarta. We lost each other numerous times because it was so large. The owners were all yelling for people to by there items. We found a material shop away from the market and found wool to buy so we can make suits for cheap. 25 dollars for 3.5 meters of material. After we headed to a restaurant called the Apartment. It was a restaurant where each different section was a different part of the house.; bathroom, lounge, kitchen, library (where we sat), living room. The food was very good. After we headed to a hair salon where we got hair crème baths. They washed your hair, massaged cream in then stabbing your pressure points with their meaty hands. All and all it was an interesting experience. We thought head massages would feel good but it was the opposite, that shit hurt. The boys waited for the girls to get pedicures and for their damn hair to dry. When we paid we saw on the bill that they charged us an extra $3 dollars to blow-dry our hair. Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
After we met Nadia’s friend Andrew for coffee we walked back in a light drizzle to the apartment. We ordered food into the apartment. After our failed attempts to go to Krakatoa and the jungle, we planned a trip to a little beach town called Pangandaran. This place supposedly was the best place to learn how to surf. Took a cab back to Ries’s, Skyped a few family members and went to bed.
Hello Sweden!
Tuesday, August 24th
We got off the plane in frankfurt around 7am am. We breezed through customs with our United States passports, then watched as Russian and ukranian men were asked to step aside and searched. Thanks Obama. We then boarded a plane to Copenhagen, Denmark. Once in Copenhagen we hopped on the train to Malmo, Sweden. The train was a normal commuter train, but because Sweden’s railway system is much better than ours it felt first class. The seats were comfy and the train reached speeds of about 75-80 miles per hour. The acela fast train from Boston to Washington barely averages those speeds.
We arrived in malmo around 10am. We took a taxi cab to bjorns apartment to drop off our things. We headed to a small café near the apartment for a welcoming breakfast/lunch, then got settled in and took a nap. Bjorns mother arrived that afternoon, we all went to the center of Malmo and walked around the Malmo Festival, the biggest festival of the year. We walked around for a bit, checked out some of the sights, many different ethnic foods (ate smoked moose), lots of candy and some of the women. It really is true, tall, blonde and beautiful. We started getting hungry so we hopped in Bjorns mom’s car and drove to his cousins house. After some conversation, we went to a small restaurant on the water and had a good meal. Salmon and soft serve ice cream with hazelnuts. After, we went to the candy/movie store and headed back to the apartment. Instead of a movie we watched one episode of fawlty towers, “the germans”. (Don’t mention the war, I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it). Classic.
Wednesday August 25th
Today we had our first “real breakfast” of the past month. It was delicious. After we wrote a few e-mails to some organizations, we headed to the festival again, shopped around in some stores, picked up some new threads, and watched Brazilian samba dancers do what they do best. Bjorn then picked up his work car, and we drove around a bit then went to grab a bite at the best burger place in town. This was also delicious. James got in the habit of eating as much food as possible at each meal because he was deprived in Tunisia. After dinner we digested with a ride through the ghetto of Malmo, then headed home for the night. Goodnight.
Thursday August 26th
Around 12pm, while bjorn was at work, and the weather was nice we decided to head to Copenhagen. We took the train, and went to the main shopping strip. After lots of browsing we stopped to get some lunch. We ate at a famous smorrebrod restaurant. A typical Danish restaurant, fat men bursting from their button down shirts, and lots of beer. After we went to get some ice cream, and walk around the harbor, and visited some other sites. Headed back to Malmo around 6pm, Bjorn picked us up and we headed to dinner at Napoli’s Italian restaurant, where we enjoyed bruschetta, and pizzas.
Once home we decided to watch the men who stare at goats. For any Ewan Mcgregor, george Clooney, and Jeff Bridges fans, we caution you from seeing this movie, it was crap.
Friday August 27th
Made breakfast at the apartment, and tried to upload pictures to our blog but it did not work. Lora headed out to get her haircut. When she came back, she was a different person, eastern European, Svetlana. She cut her hair short and dyed it black. We were all quite surprised. Bjorn took a half day, and we took the train and headed to his Mothers apartment and summer place in a town 1.5 hours north called Bastad (pronounced “bostad” not bastard). Arrived at the apartment complex, where we had a nice pool and ocean view. We settled in, changed up and went to the beach to jump in the frigid water. It was cold! For dinner we ate traditional Swedish meatballs. We played some cards to pass the rest of the night. Gin rummy, 500 rummy and Hi Lo Jack. The boys headed out on the town, except since it was already fall in Bastad everything was closed by 11pm. Goodnight.
Saturday August 28th
Woke up, went to a small café where its traditional to sit outside under blankets. The café was on a large hill over looking the ocean and the city of bastad. The food was good and we had lots of company, bees. Took a drive across town, went to the spot where Bjorn and friends would cliff jump in the summer. We snapped some pictures, and lora tried to befriend a cow with some grass. It did not like eastern Europeans so it almost charged at her. On the way back we drove past old Swedish gun turrets, erected to watch for the Germans who never ended up attacking.
We went back to the apartment, met Bjorns little cousin oscar, played some American football and met the rest of Bjorns family. After showering we met up with the family had some snacks and went inside to celebrate our first crayfish party. You eat mass quantities of crayfish, sing Swedish songs and take shots after every song. James was unaware you were not supposed to take a whole shot, and ended up taking full shots after the first few songs. Good thing he was stopped. After everyone started leaving, Bjorns uncle started playing piano, he was able to freehandedly play some of “Piano Man” by Billy Joel, it was very good.
Around 11 we headed to Pepes the main bar in Bastad. It was closing night so it was crowded. We had a drink and hung out and eventually made our way to the dance floor. We danced with some cute women and heard some good saxophone. A transvestite also took interest in stalking us. After it got a bit too crowded for our liking we decided to head back home. Goodnight.
Sunday August 29th
After breakfast we were entertained by spike tv’s most extreme challenge. For those who haven’t seen it, I suggest you check it out. James, Mark and Oscar decided to go play some golf at a little par 3. They got through 10 holes before it started to pour. Bjorn and lora picked us up and we drove home via the beach. Yes, that is correct, on the beach next to the ocean for a few miles. Apparently it’s perfectly legal to do so. We made reservations at a pizza restaurant, and had some more good food. Per usual, we had our after dinner ice cream then watched some tv and went to bed. Goodnight.
Monday August 30th
Bjorn woke up early to head back to work for some important meetings. Lora, James, Anita, and Mark headed to have some breakfast in Torkov, a small, posh, port town. It was empty, so we went to the only place open. While we were sitting outside we were stalked by more things. This time it was a scene out of Alfred Hitchocks the birds. We had probably about 25 birds perched above us waiting to eat our food from our hands, not to mention the slew of bees that were happily buzzing on our sweet Danish’s. We took the remainder to go, and headed to the train back to Malmo. We scavenged for change as we did not have enough money for the train, luckily the train was late so it allowed us to pick some from the wishing fountain in the train station (just kidding). Got back to Malmo, stopped in to the grocery store to pick up some dinner supplies, and then Lora cooked us a meal of lemon chicken and assorted side dishes. Who knew she could cook??
Tuesday August 31st
Woke up and tried to publish our blog pictures, again blogger would not allow it. We wrote some more e-mails in hopes wed have something set up for Indonesia. After, James and Mark headed out to the mall by themselves. Shopped around and then walked around a bit. Lora and Bjorn were having a date night, and we realized we didn’t have a key to the apartment. We rushed back, thankfully Bjorn is a smart man, he left us a key and the door open. We headed back out and tried to look for Best buy to get Mark, or should I say Grizzly Adams a beard trimmer. Apparently James was seeing things when he saw it on the map because no Best Buy existed.
We then headed out for some dinner. We went to the main square in Malmo and looked around for a suitable restaurant. We ran into the happy couple on their way to eat at a restaurant called bastard(prounounced as it looks). After some chit chat we parted ways and we ate a the MooseHead restaurant. We had some good moose burgers. The heated patios were blasting on a 65 degree night, so we were sweating during our meal. Went to look for ice cream for our post dinner treat. It took us over an hour to find one. After ice cream we finished our blog (the Tunisian one) and went to bed.
Wednesday September 1st
Mark woke up and 4 months after beginning the book 3 Cups of Tea he finally finished it (great read for anyone looking for a good book). Got a response from Ashoka, and we replied, also sent in an application form for the International Humanity Foundation. Met Bjorn for lunch at a great restaurant called atmosphere. Bjorns cousin did the interior design. They had really great food. Walked around town for a bit, did a little shopping. Went to the mall again, browsed around and scoped out some chicas. Ordered some pizza for dinner, nothing like sal’s. Too lazy to go out to the bars so we hung around the apartment. Goodnight.
Thursday September 2nd
Had to wake up at 7am to do laundry. Went back to bed. Lora went to meet Bjorn for lunch. We went back to atmosphere and had the exact same lunch we had the day before, that’s how good it was. We then walked up town to Sicilias Gelateria, supposedly the best gelato in Malmo. Hung around in the square while we ate, saw a beautiful business woman (top 10 all time in James’ book) and fell in love. I’d be happy to be the stay at home dad so after proposing marriage…I mean, After finishing ice cream, we enjoyed our last walk through malmo. We walked back along the canal and headed back to Bjorns apartment. Headed out to take a dip in the frigid ocean. Mark, Bjorn and Lora went swimming while James played paparazzi. The platform was about 8 feet above the water, and the waves were big. It was a funny site watching Mark and Bjorn run off the platform holding hands all the way into the water. After a shower mark shaved his beard completely for the first time in months. He looks more like Rich everyday.
We then headed out to a sushi restaurant for our last supper in Sweden. Ate lots of sushi, had some good desserts and enjoyed good company. Went home, packed our bags and went to sleep.
Friday September 3rd/4th
Lora woke us up at 7am to say goodbye she had an early flight. Went back to sleep. We woke up to e-mail Ries and Nadia to make sure everything was all set for us in Indonesia. We ate left overs for lunch, made sure we were packed. We met Bjorn at the train station, as we were on the same flight from Copenhagen to Frankfurt. On the flight to Frankfurt, somehow we were put into economy extra, which is similar to business class. We got a meal and had tea. The flight was not full so Bjorn tried to come sit next to us but the stewardess kicked him out of the section, back into economy. We arrived in Frankfurt and said goodbye to him as our journey with him came to an end. We anxiously awaited our flight. 9pm came around and we finally boarded our flight. We asked the steward how much it was to upgrade to first class and he told us 9000 dollars. We headed to our assigned seats. James ended up sitting next to 2 Polish embassy workers, and mark 2 younger Asian girls. We got to watch the new karate kid and ate some wonderfully fresh and delicious airline food. Around the middle of the flight, mark heard a lady near him start vomiting constantly. She kept throwing up and one of the men sitting next to her was escorted somewhere else on the plane.
The girls sitting next to Mark, had asked for a glass of wine during the meal. They were clearly underage. They sat nursing the wine for nearly 12 hours and coughed and giggled after each sip. It reminded mark of when he was a child. Behind mark, an elderly lady fell while trying to go the bathroom. Marks instincts kicked in and he immediately jumped to the rescue and helped her to her feet. We had breakfast about an hour outside of Singapore. Arrived in Singapore(hellllo asia) and boarded our final flight to Indonesia. We arrived in Jakarta around 630pm where we were met outside by Nadia. It was hot and humid, but we were finally here. Took a cab to Nadias and had about 20 years of catching up to do. After talking with Nadia and her Australian roommate kerri we went to bed.
We got off the plane in frankfurt around 7am am. We breezed through customs with our United States passports, then watched as Russian and ukranian men were asked to step aside and searched. Thanks Obama. We then boarded a plane to Copenhagen, Denmark. Once in Copenhagen we hopped on the train to Malmo, Sweden. The train was a normal commuter train, but because Sweden’s railway system is much better than ours it felt first class. The seats were comfy and the train reached speeds of about 75-80 miles per hour. The acela fast train from Boston to Washington barely averages those speeds.
We arrived in malmo around 10am. We took a taxi cab to bjorns apartment to drop off our things. We headed to a small café near the apartment for a welcoming breakfast/lunch, then got settled in and took a nap. Bjorns mother arrived that afternoon, we all went to the center of Malmo and walked around the Malmo Festival, the biggest festival of the year. We walked around for a bit, checked out some of the sights, many different ethnic foods (ate smoked moose), lots of candy and some of the women. It really is true, tall, blonde and beautiful. We started getting hungry so we hopped in Bjorns mom’s car and drove to his cousins house. After some conversation, we went to a small restaurant on the water and had a good meal. Salmon and soft serve ice cream with hazelnuts. After, we went to the candy/movie store and headed back to the apartment. Instead of a movie we watched one episode of fawlty towers, “the germans”. (Don’t mention the war, I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it). Classic.
Wednesday August 25th
Today we had our first “real breakfast” of the past month. It was delicious. After we wrote a few e-mails to some organizations, we headed to the festival again, shopped around in some stores, picked up some new threads, and watched Brazilian samba dancers do what they do best. Bjorn then picked up his work car, and we drove around a bit then went to grab a bite at the best burger place in town. This was also delicious. James got in the habit of eating as much food as possible at each meal because he was deprived in Tunisia. After dinner we digested with a ride through the ghetto of Malmo, then headed home for the night. Goodnight.
Thursday August 26th
Around 12pm, while bjorn was at work, and the weather was nice we decided to head to Copenhagen. We took the train, and went to the main shopping strip. After lots of browsing we stopped to get some lunch. We ate at a famous smorrebrod restaurant. A typical Danish restaurant, fat men bursting from their button down shirts, and lots of beer. After we went to get some ice cream, and walk around the harbor, and visited some other sites. Headed back to Malmo around 6pm, Bjorn picked us up and we headed to dinner at Napoli’s Italian restaurant, where we enjoyed bruschetta, and pizzas.
Once home we decided to watch the men who stare at goats. For any Ewan Mcgregor, george Clooney, and Jeff Bridges fans, we caution you from seeing this movie, it was crap.
Friday August 27th
Made breakfast at the apartment, and tried to upload pictures to our blog but it did not work. Lora headed out to get her haircut. When she came back, she was a different person, eastern European, Svetlana. She cut her hair short and dyed it black. We were all quite surprised. Bjorn took a half day, and we took the train and headed to his Mothers apartment and summer place in a town 1.5 hours north called Bastad (pronounced “bostad” not bastard). Arrived at the apartment complex, where we had a nice pool and ocean view. We settled in, changed up and went to the beach to jump in the frigid water. It was cold! For dinner we ate traditional Swedish meatballs. We played some cards to pass the rest of the night. Gin rummy, 500 rummy and Hi Lo Jack. The boys headed out on the town, except since it was already fall in Bastad everything was closed by 11pm. Goodnight.
Saturday August 28th
Woke up, went to a small café where its traditional to sit outside under blankets. The café was on a large hill over looking the ocean and the city of bastad. The food was good and we had lots of company, bees. Took a drive across town, went to the spot where Bjorn and friends would cliff jump in the summer. We snapped some pictures, and lora tried to befriend a cow with some grass. It did not like eastern Europeans so it almost charged at her. On the way back we drove past old Swedish gun turrets, erected to watch for the Germans who never ended up attacking.
We went back to the apartment, met Bjorns little cousin oscar, played some American football and met the rest of Bjorns family. After showering we met up with the family had some snacks and went inside to celebrate our first crayfish party. You eat mass quantities of crayfish, sing Swedish songs and take shots after every song. James was unaware you were not supposed to take a whole shot, and ended up taking full shots after the first few songs. Good thing he was stopped. After everyone started leaving, Bjorns uncle started playing piano, he was able to freehandedly play some of “Piano Man” by Billy Joel, it was very good.
Around 11 we headed to Pepes the main bar in Bastad. It was closing night so it was crowded. We had a drink and hung out and eventually made our way to the dance floor. We danced with some cute women and heard some good saxophone. A transvestite also took interest in stalking us. After it got a bit too crowded for our liking we decided to head back home. Goodnight.
Sunday August 29th
After breakfast we were entertained by spike tv’s most extreme challenge. For those who haven’t seen it, I suggest you check it out. James, Mark and Oscar decided to go play some golf at a little par 3. They got through 10 holes before it started to pour. Bjorn and lora picked us up and we drove home via the beach. Yes, that is correct, on the beach next to the ocean for a few miles. Apparently it’s perfectly legal to do so. We made reservations at a pizza restaurant, and had some more good food. Per usual, we had our after dinner ice cream then watched some tv and went to bed. Goodnight.
Monday August 30th
Bjorn woke up early to head back to work for some important meetings. Lora, James, Anita, and Mark headed to have some breakfast in Torkov, a small, posh, port town. It was empty, so we went to the only place open. While we were sitting outside we were stalked by more things. This time it was a scene out of Alfred Hitchocks the birds. We had probably about 25 birds perched above us waiting to eat our food from our hands, not to mention the slew of bees that were happily buzzing on our sweet Danish’s. We took the remainder to go, and headed to the train back to Malmo. We scavenged for change as we did not have enough money for the train, luckily the train was late so it allowed us to pick some from the wishing fountain in the train station (just kidding). Got back to Malmo, stopped in to the grocery store to pick up some dinner supplies, and then Lora cooked us a meal of lemon chicken and assorted side dishes. Who knew she could cook??
Tuesday August 31st
Woke up and tried to publish our blog pictures, again blogger would not allow it. We wrote some more e-mails in hopes wed have something set up for Indonesia. After, James and Mark headed out to the mall by themselves. Shopped around and then walked around a bit. Lora and Bjorn were having a date night, and we realized we didn’t have a key to the apartment. We rushed back, thankfully Bjorn is a smart man, he left us a key and the door open. We headed back out and tried to look for Best buy to get Mark, or should I say Grizzly Adams a beard trimmer. Apparently James was seeing things when he saw it on the map because no Best Buy existed.
We then headed out for some dinner. We went to the main square in Malmo and looked around for a suitable restaurant. We ran into the happy couple on their way to eat at a restaurant called bastard(prounounced as it looks). After some chit chat we parted ways and we ate a the MooseHead restaurant. We had some good moose burgers. The heated patios were blasting on a 65 degree night, so we were sweating during our meal. Went to look for ice cream for our post dinner treat. It took us over an hour to find one. After ice cream we finished our blog (the Tunisian one) and went to bed.
Wednesday September 1st
Mark woke up and 4 months after beginning the book 3 Cups of Tea he finally finished it (great read for anyone looking for a good book). Got a response from Ashoka, and we replied, also sent in an application form for the International Humanity Foundation. Met Bjorn for lunch at a great restaurant called atmosphere. Bjorns cousin did the interior design. They had really great food. Walked around town for a bit, did a little shopping. Went to the mall again, browsed around and scoped out some chicas. Ordered some pizza for dinner, nothing like sal’s. Too lazy to go out to the bars so we hung around the apartment. Goodnight.
Thursday September 2nd
Had to wake up at 7am to do laundry. Went back to bed. Lora went to meet Bjorn for lunch. We went back to atmosphere and had the exact same lunch we had the day before, that’s how good it was. We then walked up town to Sicilias Gelateria, supposedly the best gelato in Malmo. Hung around in the square while we ate, saw a beautiful business woman (top 10 all time in James’ book) and fell in love. I’d be happy to be the stay at home dad so after proposing marriage…I mean, After finishing ice cream, we enjoyed our last walk through malmo. We walked back along the canal and headed back to Bjorns apartment. Headed out to take a dip in the frigid ocean. Mark, Bjorn and Lora went swimming while James played paparazzi. The platform was about 8 feet above the water, and the waves were big. It was a funny site watching Mark and Bjorn run off the platform holding hands all the way into the water. After a shower mark shaved his beard completely for the first time in months. He looks more like Rich everyday.
We then headed out to a sushi restaurant for our last supper in Sweden. Ate lots of sushi, had some good desserts and enjoyed good company. Went home, packed our bags and went to sleep.
Friday September 3rd/4th
Lora woke us up at 7am to say goodbye she had an early flight. Went back to sleep. We woke up to e-mail Ries and Nadia to make sure everything was all set for us in Indonesia. We ate left overs for lunch, made sure we were packed. We met Bjorn at the train station, as we were on the same flight from Copenhagen to Frankfurt. On the flight to Frankfurt, somehow we were put into economy extra, which is similar to business class. We got a meal and had tea. The flight was not full so Bjorn tried to come sit next to us but the stewardess kicked him out of the section, back into economy. We arrived in Frankfurt and said goodbye to him as our journey with him came to an end. We anxiously awaited our flight. 9pm came around and we finally boarded our flight. We asked the steward how much it was to upgrade to first class and he told us 9000 dollars. We headed to our assigned seats. James ended up sitting next to 2 Polish embassy workers, and mark 2 younger Asian girls. We got to watch the new karate kid and ate some wonderfully fresh and delicious airline food. Around the middle of the flight, mark heard a lady near him start vomiting constantly. She kept throwing up and one of the men sitting next to her was escorted somewhere else on the plane.
The girls sitting next to Mark, had asked for a glass of wine during the meal. They were clearly underage. They sat nursing the wine for nearly 12 hours and coughed and giggled after each sip. It reminded mark of when he was a child. Behind mark, an elderly lady fell while trying to go the bathroom. Marks instincts kicked in and he immediately jumped to the rescue and helped her to her feet. We had breakfast about an hour outside of Singapore. Arrived in Singapore(hellllo asia) and boarded our final flight to Indonesia. We arrived in Jakarta around 630pm where we were met outside by Nadia. It was hot and humid, but we were finally here. Took a cab to Nadias and had about 20 years of catching up to do. After talking with Nadia and her Australian roommate kerri we went to bed.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Quicksand
Finally a new blog. Our sincerest apologies for our lack of blogging over the past week or so. With the lack of internet in the Sahara desert in Tunisia, and traveling to Sweden, we haven't had much time to sit down and blog. We have some free time right now as we wait for lora (it has been the theme of our trip). We will recap the Desert trip in this blog.
Because it has been an issue uploading pictures to the blog we will be including a link to a site, Picasa Web Albums, where we will separate the pictures from each blog for your viewing pleasures. This site will also allow us to upload many more photos than possible if we were to do so on blogger. Ok enough chit chat, lets get down to it.
Sunday, August 15th 2010
We woke around 7am, amongst groans from marks still upset stomach, and baggy eyelids. We cleaned the house then hopped into our Renault Symbol, a small french car with a whopping 65 horsepower engine. We headed towards Kairouan. We visited the 4th holiest mosque in the Muslim world, which was said to have underground connections to mecca. The town is known for its carpet making. We read in our guide book that a specific process occurred when bargaining/buying a rug. We wandered around the narrow streets, and stumbled into the old governors house, which was turned into a tourist carpet factory. No one was interested in buying a carpet, but Lora's wandering eye focused on a carpet she liked. As carpets were rolled out, the bargaining began. Just as mentioned in the guidebook, we were given a 25% discount because we did not come to this place with a guide. Lora offered 50 Dinars for a 500 Dinar carpet. The man was instantly offended and started rolling the carpets up and told her not to "vex" him. This as described in the guide book was also part of the show. As we slowly tried to drag Lora out of the store, the price continued to drop as we walked towards the door. We finally left and as we walked down the alley, Lora complained how she wanted the rug, as the words barely left her mouth, the manager of the store came out and offered his "final price" of 210 Dinars. Lora countered with 180 but they could not come to a price. It was an interesting and fun experience for all involved.
Next stop for the day was the city of El Jem. Here we toured the Roman empires 3rd largest and best preserved Amphitheater. It held an estimated 30,000 people at capacity. For shows, gladiator fights, and whatever else the funky romans did. The site was incredible. We took many photos, and really enjoyed the architecture.
The next stop was in Mahdia, about an hour and a half drive to the east on the coast. After Lora's failed navigation in finding our hotel, we eventually stumbled upon it, and checked in to the Hotel La Mahdia. It was a nice place tucked into a quaint alley. We ended up having the only 2 rooms on the rooftop. As we decided our plans for the next day, we headed out to find a bite to eat. Ramadan creates an environment where its hard to find any open restaurants. We found a little restaruant where we had the joy of sitting next to a large italian tourist group. It was the highlight of our night....NOT (in Borat voice). On the way back from dinner Lora and Bjorn were verbally abused in Arabic, because they were walking hand in hand and wouldnt buy an anything from a a little street vendor. Long ass day=in bed by 10pm. Goodnight.
Monday, August 16th 2010
James woke up with swollen glands, and then a swollen blood pressure when breakfast was bread and Jam. We packed our bags, and walked around the Medina quickly. Lora, the scarf connoisseur that she is, found a scarf store, naturally. We waited for her to pick and choose what she wanted only for her to be ripped off by the scarf lady. She told us the scarves were 25 Dinar a piece, yet after a friendly smile she ended up charging 35 a piece. Scarves show no mercy, nor do the Tunisians. She bought them none the less and we left a little angry.
We then went to the beach to relax before a 5 hour drive to our next destination, Metlaoui. The beach consisted of many germans, men in speedos (some with half their ass hanging out), big beer guts flowing proudly, and some topless women. We had a nice lunch at a beach stand, then went to go shower off the salt. We couldnt find a shower, but we were lead to a bathroom. The bathroom was out of order and infested with cock roaches, and there were no showers. In Tunisia they use butt washers (like bidets). So we decided to use those to wash off. 3 Americans and a Swede spraying each other with a butt washer. It was an interesting sight.
We left Mahdia and started our 5 hour drive to Metlaoui. Along the way, Mark had to use the head. We pulled over and he peed near a field of cacti. Lora was intruiged by the fruit the cactus produced. We had eaten the fruit earlier in the week, its called a barbary pear. She decided that picking a few of them to enjoy on the ride would be a good idea. When we got back in the car she noticed she had hundreds of little prickers in her fingers. Bjorn came to the rescue and tried to pull them out, but in doing so he ended up transferring some of them into his own hands. Soon the prickers had caught onto us all. Everyone held a grudge with Lora for the next few days as the prickers lingered. Especially Mark.
We arrived in Metlaoui, a phosphate mining town, there was not much to see or do. Our hotel was the only one in this very poor town. It stunk of cigarettes, at least the rooms were somewhat decent, we couldn't complain for 25 dinars a piece, yet... Soon after settling in, James started to feel sick. Tunisia has not been kind to either of us, as one gets better the other gets sick.
For dinner we were sent across the street to an outdoor cafe/amusment park. They only served 4 saison(meat) pizza. We were the first ones there. Soon after, the Tunisian men flocked to their coffee and shisha posts for the remainder of the evening. We were the only foreigners in the town, as it is not a tourist location. Some kids took a quiet interest in us, soon after they began to badger us for dinars while we ate. Once back in the room we tried to brush our teeth, but our bathroom was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Cockroach and their kids. We were forced to brush our teeth in Lora and Bjorns bathroom. It did not have cockroaches but it smelled like rotten doodie. It was almost unbearable. Goodnight.
Tuesday August 17th 2010
After James woke up feeling slightly better, we headed to the Lezard Rouge. A scenic train, which brought you through valleys and canyons, ending at a phosphate mine. When leaving town, the local kids ran along side the train as the tourists on board tossed them coins. The ride was very scenic. On the way back, James felt feverish again and almost passed out. We headed to the pharmacy and picked up a few drugs to help James get better. We then drove to Tozeur, a town known for its brick architecture. We arrived mid afternoon, checked into a very nice hotel, where James went right to bed. The rest of the gang decided to take a tour to a town called Nafta, Palmaires, salt lakes and a fully intact Star Wars set from the first filming in the 1970's. Then they took a 4X4 Toyota off-roading, over rough terrain which lead to a mountain in the shape of a camel neck. Lora, Bjorn and Mark were accompanied by a Japanese tourist whose name no one could pronounce, so he told them to call him Fanta. For the first time in the tour guides life, he had witnessed a person fall asleep through the roller coaster of a ride, none other than our new asian friend Fanta. After returning, James felt up to getting a bite to eat. We found a very nice restaurant where we sampled typical tunisian cuisine, Cous Cous and Camel. Goodnight.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010
James needed more rest. While he slept, Lora Mark and Bjorn woke up at 6am to tour 3 old towns; Chebika, Tamerza and Mides. In Chebika they saw an oasis (an isolated area of vegetation in the desert, fed by a water source) and a river. It was a very cool river but the ambience was ruined by the amount of tourists and vendors at the location. In Tamerza they visited 2 waterfalls. The first one Mark and Bjorn stood under for a brief moment. On the way to Mides we passed Algerian border guards and the Grand Canyon of Mides. After Mides we went searching for the second waterfall back in Tozeur. Upon arrival Mark spotted a dressed up camel with a sombrero on. He knew he needed a picture. During mid shot, the camels owner ran screaming for him to pay 1 Dinar for a photo. Lora and Bjorn told Mark to hop on the camel for a photo op. When Mark hopped on, the owner made the camel get up, walked the camel in a circle then tried to charge 5 Dinars. Lora put up a fight, and slapped 1 dinar in his hand. He slapped the Dinar back in Marks hand who then threw it back at the owner. At the second waterfall, we all swam. Some of the people were taken out by the force of the water when they stood under it. When we got back to the hotel James was feeling better, the Tunisian drugs worked. We ate lunch at the same place we had dinner, again it was delicious.
After lunch we started our drive into the desert. Lora was behind the wheel so tensions were high. We drove through a massive salt flat on the way. Mirages were abundant. On our approach we noticed no cars were going the same way as us, all were leaving...interesting. When we entered Ksar Ghilane the paved road ended. We looked for signs to lead us to the camps, but none were of any help. We spotted a 4x4 tour group coming down the road and asked to follow them to the camps. The entrance to the road was a deep sand pit. The Italians we talked to, told us we could make it through. Bjorn gave it the old college try. He got about 1/4 of the way, then came to an abrupt stop. The Italians jumped into action, while the Tunisian national guard tried to help as well, but soon were bored and left. The Italians grabbed a tow rope and shackle and attached it to the chasis of our car. They pulled us through the sand for the next 2 Kilometers until we reached packed ground and one of the camp sites. Dinner was included in our stay. We ate dinner and booked an ATV trip for the following morning at 6am. We went to bed early as we needed to get up at 445am to watch the sunrise the next morning. During the night, James awoke the gang to admire the millions of stars visible on a clear night in the Sahara Desert. Many constellations were visible, it was the most stars we have ever seen. Goodmorning.
Thursday August 19th 2010
We awoke at 445am. Got dressed and took a walk to a dune where we could watch the sunrise over the Sahara. It was supposed to be spectacular but the morning was cloudy so we did not get to see it at its best. In no time the flies were at our exposed body parts so we headed back to the tent to get ready for the ATV trip. The 4 wheeled ATV's look so simple at first glance, but we or should we say James found out the hard way, that they were much more dangerous than they appeared. We started off climbing up and down the dunes, it was very fun. A little while after, James thought it would be wise to do a donut. (A word to the wise, do not attempt to do a donut with an ATV on a hard surface) As he mashed the control to the left the ATV went up on 2 wheels and James flew off horizontally through the air. He landed hard on his knee and wrist, snapping his watch band and cutting his knee up. He was lucky to come away from the accident with the injuries he sustained.
After surveying the damage, we hopped back on the atv's and continued to what was thought to be an old roman prison, about a 25 minute ride into the Sahara. From the prison you looked back on the Oasis, it was the only sign of vegetation as far as the eye could see. We walked around for a bit, James hobbled. We got back on the Atv's and headed back to camp. James received some first aid then we ate breakfast. After eating we packed our things and contemplated how the hell we were going to get back out, because we did not have anyone to tow us. The man at the front desk offered to drive our car out (he said he knew how) and hed have a friend come get him on an atv. He told us to drive as far as we could then he'd take over. Bjorn, having driven in the alps when living in Switzerland was prepared for the battle. He shifted the car in to gear and blasted through the sand, one deep spot at a time. Before we knew it the symbol (our car) made it through. The only problem on the way out was that the fine Sahara sand now covered us, the inside of the car and the engine, but at least we were not trapped. On our drive out (in paved road) mark spotted a beat up old car sitting on the side of the road and decided to take a few pictures. Look out for them in the album.
From Ksar Ghilanee we headed out to Matmata, a town with houses built into the hills as a means to self air condition and keep cool, and a previous site where Luke Sykwalker ate dinner with his aunt and uncle, in one of the early star wars movies. It was not as exciting as it sounds. We all bottle fed a baby camel, and lora got molested by the berber owner. We then drove to a town on the coast call gabes, which was supposed to be a nice place. When we arrived the town was disgusting. The people were gross, and nothing was open for lunch. We found an open bakery and we picked up a bunch of croissants and ate those and junk food for our lunch.
On the way to Le Kef, a 7 hour drive from gabes, ( We went from the far south to the northernmost part of the country) we played the guess who I am game for about 4 of those hours. We also played I am going on a picnic and we brought many things that will not be named on this blog. For those of you who do not know these games, the first is simple. A person picks someone and the others have to ask yes or no questions to eventually figure out who it may be. The second is simple as well. One person starts, they say I am going on a picnic and I'm bringing blah, and the next person says what the first one said and adds to it.. and so on.
We arrived in Le Kef at the hotel residence venus, it looked like a dump outside, but once we entered, we were greeted by 2 canaries and jasmine plants, and satalite tv. We checked in, and since no restaurants were open the owner offered to cook us up dinner. Typical tunisian fare but it was good none the less. We had his wife's own lemonade and fresh baked bread. We went back upstairs and went to sleep at around 9pm amongst smells of doodie from the sewage pipe running by our window. Goodnight.
Friday, August 20th 2010
Bjorn Mark and Lora woke up around 7am and went for a walk around the town, James decided to rest his swollen knee some more. They visited a fort which overlooked the entire city. It was closed but a guard opened each room for us to freely walk around in. In the main square, concerts are held almost every night.
We ate breakfast and headed to the city of Dougga. One of the largest roman ruin sites in Tunisia. It was starting to get hot, probably around 38 Celsius, about 100 degrees. We walked around the ruins, saw temples, a brothel(the ruins of it, mark and james were upset) and the capital. We got back in the car and headed to Bulla Regia, another town with roman ruins. On the way we stopped at a hotel and had lunch. We were only charged for 3 meals, so after we paid the bill we left quickly. When we got to Bulla Regia it was about 50 degrees Celsius, somewhere around 120 degrees. We decided to tough out the heat and walk around. We saw underground roman houses, also built to stay cool. We also saw a treasure house, mosaics (one of venus and one of Aphrodite and cupid which were almost in perfect condition). On the way back to the car mark decided to take a bit of the ancient marble. It was so hot that the sun tan lotion we had on would not even soak into the skin, it was bleeding out of it. Lora and Mark got some ice cream at the gift shop and we hopped back into the car and drove to our next destination, a hillside village named Ain Drahem.
The town is about 3000 feet about sea level. We arrived at the hotel Rihanna and checked out the rooms, they were ok but apparently there swimming pool was closed and it was expensive. We decided to check out a different hotel. When we arrived inside, we knew this was the place to stay. We were treated like royalty (it was only us and another family staying there). We were served a refreshing fruit drink then headed to our rooms to change into bathing suits to go swimming in their pool. After the pool we showered off and headed downstairs to the restaurant for dinner. We were served a 5 course meal. We had a spotless mountain view room with cold A/C, dinner and breakfast included for 60 dinars per night per person ($40). After dinner we lounged out and went to bed. Goodnight
Saturday August 21st 2010
Woke up and had some breakfast. We then headed to Tabarka a coastal town about 30 kilometers to the north. On the drive there, James was pulled over by the police. The police mistook James for a Tunisian and when approaching the car started to speak arabic to him. He was baffled that they could mistake his beautiful American face for that of a Tunisian. The rest of the stop went without incident. We drove around looking for a good spot to lay on the beach. The first one we chose was filled with tourists and a beached whale. Not literally, but an extremely large women who was walking around topless. Just Imagine a deflated hot air balloon draped over a person. Not a pretty picture. We drove down the beach a little ways and found a nice spot to camp out. We sunbathed for the afternoon then went to find a place to eat. After a lunch of fresh fish and a wannabe ray charles on the piano, we headed back to the hotel in Ain Drahem. Where we enjoyed another 5 course meal and a good nights sleep.
Sunday, August 22nd 2010
We woke up around 7am and went for a hike through the cork forest to a fort. Ain Drahem is known for there cork forests, and they produce alot of the worlds wine corks and other cork products. We learned that the cork may one day be in danger if the wine makers keep buying synthetic corks. They are cheaper and easier to make. Lets hope real cork is not phased out. At the beginning of our walk were were joined by 2 others. 2 dogs, brother and sister most likely. They followed us diligently for our entire walk. It took about 35 minutes to reach the fort, it wasn't quite hot out yet, but it was very foggy. After checking it out, we walked back to the hotel and had breakfast. Then while Bjorn and Lora got ready James took mark to the car to teach him how to drive manual. We putted around the parking lot for about 20 minutes. After a few stalls mark had the hang of it. James let him practice on a steeper hill and then let him drive about a half mile back to the hotel. We then headed off to the last stop on our journey, Cap Serrat.
Cap Serrat is a very small secluded beach town 30 kilometers off the main road. Some of the road was not paved so the driving was a bit hairy at times. The bumps were worth it. We were welcomed by clear blue waters and a fairly empty beach. We enjoyed the day in the sun, had some lunch at the only restaurant on the beach and headed back on the scenic route, to Lora's apartment in Tunis. The family who rented the apartment to lora brought us a Tunisian pasta dish and we had dinner, then relaxed before hitting the sack. Goodnight
Monday, August 23rd 2010
James woke up at 7am (he thought it was 8am) and walked to the bakery and market to try and pick up breakfast for everyone. After one unsuccessful attempt he tried again around 930. This time the bakery was open and he picked up some croissants for everyone. Once back Mark and James went to the market to pick up some veggies to make a pasta and zucchini lunch. James took a nap while the other 3 went to a glass museum and to return the rental car. Around 730pm we went out for our last supper. We met a few of Lora's friends and had a nice dinner. Before we were to leave for the airport Lora got roped into talking to the family before we left. Mark was then approached by the cousin and asked to exchange numbers and facebook information. Lora was still talking with the family as it approached 11:30. So we sent Mark down to get her out of there. Bad Idea, now 2 du Moulins were caught chit chatting. After about 15 minutes, Bjorn sent James in to do the dirty work. He went downstairs and told them we needed to go, he almost got roped in to the conversation as well but knew we had to leave. We said our goodbyes and hopped in 2 taxis to go to the airport around 12:30. We played cards while we waited for our 240am flight to germany, where we would take a connecting flight to copenhagen, Denmark then a train to Malmo, Sweden. We had a sigh of relief once we were on the plane and on the way out of the country.
Tunisia overall was a good cultural experience. The language barrier was difficult and it was hard to get used to as were the customs. The food was below expectations, and the breakfasts will not be missed. Sunny skies every day were nice, but at times it was too hot. We made the best of the situation though. Will we be back? James- "Absolutely not" Mark - "No". That about sums it up. As you already know we are in Sweden. Its almost midnight here so we will be getting some shut eye before posting pictures with this blog. Tomorrow we will post pictures and blog about our adventures in Sweden to this point.
We hope all is well in the states, and that Category 4 Hurricane Earl steers safely away from the Northeast.
Love,
James and Mark
Because it has been an issue uploading pictures to the blog we will be including a link to a site, Picasa Web Albums, where we will separate the pictures from each blog for your viewing pleasures. This site will also allow us to upload many more photos than possible if we were to do so on blogger. Ok enough chit chat, lets get down to it.
Sunday, August 15th 2010
We woke around 7am, amongst groans from marks still upset stomach, and baggy eyelids. We cleaned the house then hopped into our Renault Symbol, a small french car with a whopping 65 horsepower engine. We headed towards Kairouan. We visited the 4th holiest mosque in the Muslim world, which was said to have underground connections to mecca. The town is known for its carpet making. We read in our guide book that a specific process occurred when bargaining/buying a rug. We wandered around the narrow streets, and stumbled into the old governors house, which was turned into a tourist carpet factory. No one was interested in buying a carpet, but Lora's wandering eye focused on a carpet she liked. As carpets were rolled out, the bargaining began. Just as mentioned in the guidebook, we were given a 25% discount because we did not come to this place with a guide. Lora offered 50 Dinars for a 500 Dinar carpet. The man was instantly offended and started rolling the carpets up and told her not to "vex" him. This as described in the guide book was also part of the show. As we slowly tried to drag Lora out of the store, the price continued to drop as we walked towards the door. We finally left and as we walked down the alley, Lora complained how she wanted the rug, as the words barely left her mouth, the manager of the store came out and offered his "final price" of 210 Dinars. Lora countered with 180 but they could not come to a price. It was an interesting and fun experience for all involved.
Next stop for the day was the city of El Jem. Here we toured the Roman empires 3rd largest and best preserved Amphitheater. It held an estimated 30,000 people at capacity. For shows, gladiator fights, and whatever else the funky romans did. The site was incredible. We took many photos, and really enjoyed the architecture.
The next stop was in Mahdia, about an hour and a half drive to the east on the coast. After Lora's failed navigation in finding our hotel, we eventually stumbled upon it, and checked in to the Hotel La Mahdia. It was a nice place tucked into a quaint alley. We ended up having the only 2 rooms on the rooftop. As we decided our plans for the next day, we headed out to find a bite to eat. Ramadan creates an environment where its hard to find any open restaurants. We found a little restaruant where we had the joy of sitting next to a large italian tourist group. It was the highlight of our night....NOT (in Borat voice). On the way back from dinner Lora and Bjorn were verbally abused in Arabic, because they were walking hand in hand and wouldnt buy an anything from a a little street vendor. Long ass day=in bed by 10pm. Goodnight.
Monday, August 16th 2010
James woke up with swollen glands, and then a swollen blood pressure when breakfast was bread and Jam. We packed our bags, and walked around the Medina quickly. Lora, the scarf connoisseur that she is, found a scarf store, naturally. We waited for her to pick and choose what she wanted only for her to be ripped off by the scarf lady. She told us the scarves were 25 Dinar a piece, yet after a friendly smile she ended up charging 35 a piece. Scarves show no mercy, nor do the Tunisians. She bought them none the less and we left a little angry.
We then went to the beach to relax before a 5 hour drive to our next destination, Metlaoui. The beach consisted of many germans, men in speedos (some with half their ass hanging out), big beer guts flowing proudly, and some topless women. We had a nice lunch at a beach stand, then went to go shower off the salt. We couldnt find a shower, but we were lead to a bathroom. The bathroom was out of order and infested with cock roaches, and there were no showers. In Tunisia they use butt washers (like bidets). So we decided to use those to wash off. 3 Americans and a Swede spraying each other with a butt washer. It was an interesting sight.
We left Mahdia and started our 5 hour drive to Metlaoui. Along the way, Mark had to use the head. We pulled over and he peed near a field of cacti. Lora was intruiged by the fruit the cactus produced. We had eaten the fruit earlier in the week, its called a barbary pear. She decided that picking a few of them to enjoy on the ride would be a good idea. When we got back in the car she noticed she had hundreds of little prickers in her fingers. Bjorn came to the rescue and tried to pull them out, but in doing so he ended up transferring some of them into his own hands. Soon the prickers had caught onto us all. Everyone held a grudge with Lora for the next few days as the prickers lingered. Especially Mark.
We arrived in Metlaoui, a phosphate mining town, there was not much to see or do. Our hotel was the only one in this very poor town. It stunk of cigarettes, at least the rooms were somewhat decent, we couldn't complain for 25 dinars a piece, yet... Soon after settling in, James started to feel sick. Tunisia has not been kind to either of us, as one gets better the other gets sick.
For dinner we were sent across the street to an outdoor cafe/amusment park. They only served 4 saison(meat) pizza. We were the first ones there. Soon after, the Tunisian men flocked to their coffee and shisha posts for the remainder of the evening. We were the only foreigners in the town, as it is not a tourist location. Some kids took a quiet interest in us, soon after they began to badger us for dinars while we ate. Once back in the room we tried to brush our teeth, but our bathroom was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Cockroach and their kids. We were forced to brush our teeth in Lora and Bjorns bathroom. It did not have cockroaches but it smelled like rotten doodie. It was almost unbearable. Goodnight.
Tuesday August 17th 2010
After James woke up feeling slightly better, we headed to the Lezard Rouge. A scenic train, which brought you through valleys and canyons, ending at a phosphate mine. When leaving town, the local kids ran along side the train as the tourists on board tossed them coins. The ride was very scenic. On the way back, James felt feverish again and almost passed out. We headed to the pharmacy and picked up a few drugs to help James get better. We then drove to Tozeur, a town known for its brick architecture. We arrived mid afternoon, checked into a very nice hotel, where James went right to bed. The rest of the gang decided to take a tour to a town called Nafta, Palmaires, salt lakes and a fully intact Star Wars set from the first filming in the 1970's. Then they took a 4X4 Toyota off-roading, over rough terrain which lead to a mountain in the shape of a camel neck. Lora, Bjorn and Mark were accompanied by a Japanese tourist whose name no one could pronounce, so he told them to call him Fanta. For the first time in the tour guides life, he had witnessed a person fall asleep through the roller coaster of a ride, none other than our new asian friend Fanta. After returning, James felt up to getting a bite to eat. We found a very nice restaurant where we sampled typical tunisian cuisine, Cous Cous and Camel. Goodnight.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010
James needed more rest. While he slept, Lora Mark and Bjorn woke up at 6am to tour 3 old towns; Chebika, Tamerza and Mides. In Chebika they saw an oasis (an isolated area of vegetation in the desert, fed by a water source) and a river. It was a very cool river but the ambience was ruined by the amount of tourists and vendors at the location. In Tamerza they visited 2 waterfalls. The first one Mark and Bjorn stood under for a brief moment. On the way to Mides we passed Algerian border guards and the Grand Canyon of Mides. After Mides we went searching for the second waterfall back in Tozeur. Upon arrival Mark spotted a dressed up camel with a sombrero on. He knew he needed a picture. During mid shot, the camels owner ran screaming for him to pay 1 Dinar for a photo. Lora and Bjorn told Mark to hop on the camel for a photo op. When Mark hopped on, the owner made the camel get up, walked the camel in a circle then tried to charge 5 Dinars. Lora put up a fight, and slapped 1 dinar in his hand. He slapped the Dinar back in Marks hand who then threw it back at the owner. At the second waterfall, we all swam. Some of the people were taken out by the force of the water when they stood under it. When we got back to the hotel James was feeling better, the Tunisian drugs worked. We ate lunch at the same place we had dinner, again it was delicious.
After lunch we started our drive into the desert. Lora was behind the wheel so tensions were high. We drove through a massive salt flat on the way. Mirages were abundant. On our approach we noticed no cars were going the same way as us, all were leaving...interesting. When we entered Ksar Ghilane the paved road ended. We looked for signs to lead us to the camps, but none were of any help. We spotted a 4x4 tour group coming down the road and asked to follow them to the camps. The entrance to the road was a deep sand pit. The Italians we talked to, told us we could make it through. Bjorn gave it the old college try. He got about 1/4 of the way, then came to an abrupt stop. The Italians jumped into action, while the Tunisian national guard tried to help as well, but soon were bored and left. The Italians grabbed a tow rope and shackle and attached it to the chasis of our car. They pulled us through the sand for the next 2 Kilometers until we reached packed ground and one of the camp sites. Dinner was included in our stay. We ate dinner and booked an ATV trip for the following morning at 6am. We went to bed early as we needed to get up at 445am to watch the sunrise the next morning. During the night, James awoke the gang to admire the millions of stars visible on a clear night in the Sahara Desert. Many constellations were visible, it was the most stars we have ever seen. Goodmorning.
Thursday August 19th 2010
We awoke at 445am. Got dressed and took a walk to a dune where we could watch the sunrise over the Sahara. It was supposed to be spectacular but the morning was cloudy so we did not get to see it at its best. In no time the flies were at our exposed body parts so we headed back to the tent to get ready for the ATV trip. The 4 wheeled ATV's look so simple at first glance, but we or should we say James found out the hard way, that they were much more dangerous than they appeared. We started off climbing up and down the dunes, it was very fun. A little while after, James thought it would be wise to do a donut. (A word to the wise, do not attempt to do a donut with an ATV on a hard surface) As he mashed the control to the left the ATV went up on 2 wheels and James flew off horizontally through the air. He landed hard on his knee and wrist, snapping his watch band and cutting his knee up. He was lucky to come away from the accident with the injuries he sustained.
After surveying the damage, we hopped back on the atv's and continued to what was thought to be an old roman prison, about a 25 minute ride into the Sahara. From the prison you looked back on the Oasis, it was the only sign of vegetation as far as the eye could see. We walked around for a bit, James hobbled. We got back on the Atv's and headed back to camp. James received some first aid then we ate breakfast. After eating we packed our things and contemplated how the hell we were going to get back out, because we did not have anyone to tow us. The man at the front desk offered to drive our car out (he said he knew how) and hed have a friend come get him on an atv. He told us to drive as far as we could then he'd take over. Bjorn, having driven in the alps when living in Switzerland was prepared for the battle. He shifted the car in to gear and blasted through the sand, one deep spot at a time. Before we knew it the symbol (our car) made it through. The only problem on the way out was that the fine Sahara sand now covered us, the inside of the car and the engine, but at least we were not trapped. On our drive out (in paved road) mark spotted a beat up old car sitting on the side of the road and decided to take a few pictures. Look out for them in the album.
From Ksar Ghilanee we headed out to Matmata, a town with houses built into the hills as a means to self air condition and keep cool, and a previous site where Luke Sykwalker ate dinner with his aunt and uncle, in one of the early star wars movies. It was not as exciting as it sounds. We all bottle fed a baby camel, and lora got molested by the berber owner. We then drove to a town on the coast call gabes, which was supposed to be a nice place. When we arrived the town was disgusting. The people were gross, and nothing was open for lunch. We found an open bakery and we picked up a bunch of croissants and ate those and junk food for our lunch.
On the way to Le Kef, a 7 hour drive from gabes, ( We went from the far south to the northernmost part of the country) we played the guess who I am game for about 4 of those hours. We also played I am going on a picnic and we brought many things that will not be named on this blog. For those of you who do not know these games, the first is simple. A person picks someone and the others have to ask yes or no questions to eventually figure out who it may be. The second is simple as well. One person starts, they say I am going on a picnic and I'm bringing blah, and the next person says what the first one said and adds to it.. and so on.
We arrived in Le Kef at the hotel residence venus, it looked like a dump outside, but once we entered, we were greeted by 2 canaries and jasmine plants, and satalite tv. We checked in, and since no restaurants were open the owner offered to cook us up dinner. Typical tunisian fare but it was good none the less. We had his wife's own lemonade and fresh baked bread. We went back upstairs and went to sleep at around 9pm amongst smells of doodie from the sewage pipe running by our window. Goodnight.
Friday, August 20th 2010
Bjorn Mark and Lora woke up around 7am and went for a walk around the town, James decided to rest his swollen knee some more. They visited a fort which overlooked the entire city. It was closed but a guard opened each room for us to freely walk around in. In the main square, concerts are held almost every night.
We ate breakfast and headed to the city of Dougga. One of the largest roman ruin sites in Tunisia. It was starting to get hot, probably around 38 Celsius, about 100 degrees. We walked around the ruins, saw temples, a brothel(the ruins of it, mark and james were upset) and the capital. We got back in the car and headed to Bulla Regia, another town with roman ruins. On the way we stopped at a hotel and had lunch. We were only charged for 3 meals, so after we paid the bill we left quickly. When we got to Bulla Regia it was about 50 degrees Celsius, somewhere around 120 degrees. We decided to tough out the heat and walk around. We saw underground roman houses, also built to stay cool. We also saw a treasure house, mosaics (one of venus and one of Aphrodite and cupid which were almost in perfect condition). On the way back to the car mark decided to take a bit of the ancient marble. It was so hot that the sun tan lotion we had on would not even soak into the skin, it was bleeding out of it. Lora and Mark got some ice cream at the gift shop and we hopped back into the car and drove to our next destination, a hillside village named Ain Drahem.
The town is about 3000 feet about sea level. We arrived at the hotel Rihanna and checked out the rooms, they were ok but apparently there swimming pool was closed and it was expensive. We decided to check out a different hotel. When we arrived inside, we knew this was the place to stay. We were treated like royalty (it was only us and another family staying there). We were served a refreshing fruit drink then headed to our rooms to change into bathing suits to go swimming in their pool. After the pool we showered off and headed downstairs to the restaurant for dinner. We were served a 5 course meal. We had a spotless mountain view room with cold A/C, dinner and breakfast included for 60 dinars per night per person ($40). After dinner we lounged out and went to bed. Goodnight
Saturday August 21st 2010
Woke up and had some breakfast. We then headed to Tabarka a coastal town about 30 kilometers to the north. On the drive there, James was pulled over by the police. The police mistook James for a Tunisian and when approaching the car started to speak arabic to him. He was baffled that they could mistake his beautiful American face for that of a Tunisian. The rest of the stop went without incident. We drove around looking for a good spot to lay on the beach. The first one we chose was filled with tourists and a beached whale. Not literally, but an extremely large women who was walking around topless. Just Imagine a deflated hot air balloon draped over a person. Not a pretty picture. We drove down the beach a little ways and found a nice spot to camp out. We sunbathed for the afternoon then went to find a place to eat. After a lunch of fresh fish and a wannabe ray charles on the piano, we headed back to the hotel in Ain Drahem. Where we enjoyed another 5 course meal and a good nights sleep.
Sunday, August 22nd 2010
We woke up around 7am and went for a hike through the cork forest to a fort. Ain Drahem is known for there cork forests, and they produce alot of the worlds wine corks and other cork products. We learned that the cork may one day be in danger if the wine makers keep buying synthetic corks. They are cheaper and easier to make. Lets hope real cork is not phased out. At the beginning of our walk were were joined by 2 others. 2 dogs, brother and sister most likely. They followed us diligently for our entire walk. It took about 35 minutes to reach the fort, it wasn't quite hot out yet, but it was very foggy. After checking it out, we walked back to the hotel and had breakfast. Then while Bjorn and Lora got ready James took mark to the car to teach him how to drive manual. We putted around the parking lot for about 20 minutes. After a few stalls mark had the hang of it. James let him practice on a steeper hill and then let him drive about a half mile back to the hotel. We then headed off to the last stop on our journey, Cap Serrat.
Cap Serrat is a very small secluded beach town 30 kilometers off the main road. Some of the road was not paved so the driving was a bit hairy at times. The bumps were worth it. We were welcomed by clear blue waters and a fairly empty beach. We enjoyed the day in the sun, had some lunch at the only restaurant on the beach and headed back on the scenic route, to Lora's apartment in Tunis. The family who rented the apartment to lora brought us a Tunisian pasta dish and we had dinner, then relaxed before hitting the sack. Goodnight
Monday, August 23rd 2010
James woke up at 7am (he thought it was 8am) and walked to the bakery and market to try and pick up breakfast for everyone. After one unsuccessful attempt he tried again around 930. This time the bakery was open and he picked up some croissants for everyone. Once back Mark and James went to the market to pick up some veggies to make a pasta and zucchini lunch. James took a nap while the other 3 went to a glass museum and to return the rental car. Around 730pm we went out for our last supper. We met a few of Lora's friends and had a nice dinner. Before we were to leave for the airport Lora got roped into talking to the family before we left. Mark was then approached by the cousin and asked to exchange numbers and facebook information. Lora was still talking with the family as it approached 11:30. So we sent Mark down to get her out of there. Bad Idea, now 2 du Moulins were caught chit chatting. After about 15 minutes, Bjorn sent James in to do the dirty work. He went downstairs and told them we needed to go, he almost got roped in to the conversation as well but knew we had to leave. We said our goodbyes and hopped in 2 taxis to go to the airport around 12:30. We played cards while we waited for our 240am flight to germany, where we would take a connecting flight to copenhagen, Denmark then a train to Malmo, Sweden. We had a sigh of relief once we were on the plane and on the way out of the country.
Tunisia overall was a good cultural experience. The language barrier was difficult and it was hard to get used to as were the customs. The food was below expectations, and the breakfasts will not be missed. Sunny skies every day were nice, but at times it was too hot. We made the best of the situation though. Will we be back? James- "Absolutely not" Mark - "No". That about sums it up. As you already know we are in Sweden. Its almost midnight here so we will be getting some shut eye before posting pictures with this blog. Tomorrow we will post pictures and blog about our adventures in Sweden to this point.
We hope all is well in the states, and that Category 4 Hurricane Earl steers safely away from the Northeast.
Love,
James and Mark
Friday, August 27, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)