Saturday, April 30, 2005

of toilets, trains and toxic gases

Now Pete will undoubtedly be cross at me for making the site too 'toiletry' (his word - surely something you use to brush your hair or teeth?)... but I can't let an opportunity pass to have a mini rant about the state of Indonesian toilets. I'm not talking public toilets - which seem plentiful (unlike India, where folks let loose in the streets) and in reasonable condition (unlike China where there were no doors and maggots).

I'm talking about the ones in our hotel room (our room in Bandung has the WORST hotel toilet I have ever seen). Think: corroded green bathtub of the sort you might see in the council house of a Glaswegian drug addict; hot water that doesn't work; a sink that drains onto the floor (also never been cleaned). Enough. Perhaps I expect too much from a hotel room that costs only fractionally more than a dinner for 2 at a bus station cafe?

And now my next observation, trains. Obviously they are maintained by the brother of the toilet cleaner (ie. no one). The 'Eksecutif' class cabin we took from Yogyakarta to Bandung (home of the Asia-Africa Summit - fascinating - at least to Pete, but I think that says it all) had a door that refused to shut/open, confounding ALL 57 PEOPLE who went to the loo during the 7 hour journey (I know because I was sitting right in front of it); and windows cracked into glass spiderwebs 2 feet in diameter. At least the volcanic mountain scenery was spectacular.

And that brings me nicely to my final theme. We went to a volcano today. Yes, another one (there rather a lot of them around here). We went in a taxi because we both had claustrophobc paranoia at the thought of cramming into yet another Bemo - but that is another story.... On arrival we were told we could not visit the number 2 crater because it had been emitting TOXIC GASES for the last 2 weeks - in fact the whole area was evacuated and closed down for a week just last week. Apparently linked to the crazy volcanic activity that has been going up and down the fault line after the tsunami of December. How exciting is that!?

Anyway, we're moving on tomorrow to Bogor - home of Botanical Gardens (another not to be missed, tip top tourist attraction beckons). Perhaps you can sense in our increased posting frequency a direct correlation with the underwhelming siteseeing on offer here!

Friday, April 29, 2005

salamat baggi

Yes, finally I've cracked the Indonesian for 'Hello'.

Now, after nearly 8 months in Asia, almost everyone (the dragon in the Bangkok hotel being the exception that proves the rule) is exceedingly friendly and anxious to chat. We have a fairly standard conversation with everyone. There were days gone by when the British were famous for things other than football - doubledecker buses, colonialism, Lady Di, fish and chips etc - but these days it's merely just the Premiership. And the conversation goes something like this (at least 20 times a day..)..

Hello. Which country?
To this we usually answer England. No we're not trying to deny or hide Courtney's Canadian heritage, it's just a lot simpler and besides most of them have never heard of Canada and we'd only end up having to explain it as part of America..
Ah, England, good country, Michael Owen, David Beckham.
Yes, well done. You like football? Which team do you support? Manchester?
No Manchester anymore, I like Chelsea.
At this I usually launch into a lecture along the lines of how they should support their local team and not choose a team just cause it wins thing. And if they are going to support a team because it wins things, then they should at least stick with it and not change when they no longer win as many things as they used to.
No, no I like Chelsea always. You like Chelsea?
The response to this is to roll the eyes and decry, no, we like Crystal Palace (even Courtney has taken to describing them as 'our team' - a crucial and pivotal step towards achieving that ring on her finger anytime soon!). You know?
For most of the last 7 months the words 'Crystal Palace' have resulted in a nonplussed look and I'd then demonstrate by holding one hand as high as possible and saying 'Chelsea' and then the other as low as possible and indicating Palace. But recently there has been more of a flicker of recognition. At least 50% of all respondents reply in the affirmative.
Ah, Crystal Palace. Which player?
Well, do you know Andrew Johnson? (a mime along the lines of not having much hair usually does wonders here)
Ah, Andrew Johnson? I know, I know. Who else?
At this we usually pack up and leave, figuring the chances of anyone knowing Danny Butterfield and Fitz Hall are pretty remote.

The life of a traveller..

Elsewhere we've moved onto Java. To Yogyakarta which is very hot and I can't spell it. And ,in rapid succession we visited 3 new entries in the top 10 most underwhelming tourist attractions ever visited.

First up was an underground water complex which didn't have any water and resembled a Barratts housing estate (and about as interesting). Number 2 was a silver village. Expecting a quaint little backwater full of pretty little silversmiths, instead we got a nondescript street with a couple of junk filled shops. Even standing in the doorway of a workshop with our best gormless WeAreWesternAndWantSomeoneToShowUsRound faces didn't have the usual effect. And the third and final entry was a supposed coloured lake that looked like every other uncoloured lake I've ever seen. And it smelt.

Countering this we did visit a volcano crater that was definitely the real McCoy. Smoke billowing from the top and with water bubbling inside the crater. And we had the whole place to ourselves. Was it worth the 5 hours and 4 different buses necessary to get there? On balance, it probably was (plus we did get to see the not coloured coloured lake).

And in another trip first, our hotel used letters instead of numbers to identify different rooms. Continuing the descent into middle age I found this so 'interesting' that I took a photo. I'd send it into Esther Rantzen and the That's Life team if the programme was on still..

sheep Posted by Hello

unobtrusive local plumbing Posted by Hello

smoke #3 Posted by Hello

levitating Posted by Hello

bubbles Posted by Hello

smoke #5 Posted by Hello

smoke #7 Posted by Hello

hotel alphabet Posted by Hello

coloured lake Posted by Hello

bus driver and conductor - another unexplained rest stop? Posted by Hello

big temple Posted by Hello

borobudhur bells Posted by Hello

temple cleaning Posted by Hello

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

portsmouth 4 southampton 1

My turn at the helm... so for those that need it, a little relief from football (although apparently even my mum caught Palace - Liverpool; so maybe everyone has now been converted). You might think we'd taken the year off to watch Palace in the Premiership from the way things have been going lately!

Anyway, after the idyllic Gili Air we were off to Ubud - the 'cultural' capital of Bali tourism. I guess that's to differentiate it from the coastal surfer resorts and to encourage people to turn their backs on the beach and head inland to visit. The idea is wander around in the irridesent green rice terraces, see a few Hindu temples and ceremonies (which seem to happen daily) and shop for authentic Balinese style arts and crafts. Check, check and check. Ubud was my dream destination - nice easy walks (no steep hills or altitude) with art workshops cum galleries scattered around the countryside. hiking plus home decorating, if you will. And yes, Auntie Sharon, I bought MORE wicker baskets.

After the Bali bomb and the tsunami Bali is seriously short on tourists and the result is very, very cheap holidays for those who do venture here. Pete and I had a lovely hotel with pool for less than 7 quid. For anyone thinking about Indonesia - go, go now!

As if to prove that Ubud was indeed paradise, we also managed to watch half the football and have, in Pete's words 'THE BEST MEAL in Indonesia' (his emphasis). Now, food in Indonesia can generally be summed up in two words 'fried' and 'rice'... so to be THE BEST FOOD in the ENTIRE COUNTRY is not the high praise it might initially sound. We have been living on 2 absurdly small portions of fried rice topped with a fried egg daily. For me not a problem as I am usually guilty of overeating anyway - but Pete has been suffering. He is not a man to do small portions (are any of the Wylie boys?). So the best meal ever: 2 avocado chocolate shakes (yes, he drank 2 on his own), a huge plate of 5 different veggies cooked in coconut and chilli, a generous portion of beef curry (also with veg) and one small dollop of rice (it's not a meal without rice). He even stormed the kitchen at the end, scaring the crap out of the 3 teenage girls staffing the place and insisted on having the recipe for the avocado shakes!

Middle age beckons (oh yeah - and wait until you see the photos of the hat he bought).

batik walls Posted by Hello

avocado juices Posted by Hello

ducks Posted by Hello

letting sleeping dogs lie Posted by Hello

coconut refreshment Posted by Hello

oranges and lemons Posted by Hello

palace v liverpool (the goal, artistic licence required) Posted by Hello

palace v liverpool (the powercut period) Posted by Hello

back from school Posted by Hello

another country, another rice field picture Posted by Hello

gorge - eous Posted by Hello

shopping Posted by Hello

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