Blogs from Timor, Indonesia, Asia

Vcera Este pred spankom mi dala vcera cs neaky krem proti komarom, vyzeralo to ako pletove mlieko (sacik johnson&johnson) V noci som sa par krat zobudil na zvoniaci mobil resp na ofuky zo stropneho ventilatora. Postupne vsetci zacali odchadzat az som tu ostal sam s otcom ale ten furt spal. Po nasi goreng smer gps suradnice co mi poslala dnesna cs. Poslala aj fotku domu ale to bolo fotene za tmy tak nepouzitelne. Cestou si este fotim stvrt kde byvam, vsetko zelene domceky. Zbadal ma miestny, nech fotky zmazem, tak dve fotky teda zmazane. Neskor sa dozvedam, ze to tu je armadna stvrt. Prichadzam na suradnice, tam skola. Zacina porovnavanie domov, ani jeden sa nepodoba. Obieham cely blok, nic. Pred policajnu stanicu kopa uniformovanych, ukazujem fotku domu, hovorim meno. Posielaju ma za skolu. Tu mam stastie, ... read more

Indonesians, I have concluded, must be big fans of Einstein, whose theory of relativity is put into practice here on a daily basis. Yes, time is relative in Indonesia. And the further you travel from the centre, the more relative it becomes. In Indonesian they call this phenomenon, jam karet, which literally means rubber time, as in indicating the elasticity of time in these parts. Now I have had some experience with the elasticity of time, as it is a phenomenon not exclusive to Indonesia alone. It is only in the western world where the rubber of time has petrified, elsewhere it has retained some of its pliability, to a lesser or greater degree. In Banda my PELNI boat, which is the national shipping line of Indonesia, was only one hour late in leaving, corresponding to ... read more

In Indonesia it is as if everyone smiles...and in West Timor laughs and waves. If you are in a car it is like being the Queen. As you drive pass everyone, yes literally everyone, who sees you are a Westerner, smile and wave and shout 'How are you, mister'. 'Leko-leko' I learnt to reply in the local Dawan ('I'm fine') as I smiled and waved back. A smile goes a long way when there is no common language. The Timor smile. Think Batman's Joker on a good day. To travel Timor you have to have to accept that most locals will chew the ubiquitous betel nut. This leaves their teeth, lips and gums stained red (black in places) and the streets sprayed with red spit. It is completely a way of life in Central West Timor ... read more

Hadn’t it for my friend Nina’s persistence, I would not have set my foot in this tiny, idilic island of Alor. This was my second dive in a year after Raja Ampat early this year and I have not gone diving frequently in the past few years. It is also my first time taking underwater photos using my brand new Canon Powershot S110 camera, and I must say the result was not so bad for a beginner! When people asked me where Alor was, I had no idea where it was located exactly until I got into the plane and saw the map. It is actually located on the north of Timor island. I did my liveaboard trip in 2003 around this area but didn’t reach Alor (it went all the way to Maumere and Ende ... read more

So Flores is over and done with for the second time. I had a rough start, couldn't find any birds at all it seemed, but it picked up marvelously and I not only found a Giant Rat but also "cleaned up" most of the birds I still "needed" (I dislike that word "need" but its a birders term, so when in Rome...). The only ones now missing are that pesky hanging parrot, Weber's lorikeet, Flores scops owl, Flores hawk-eagle and variable goshawk. The tally of "new" birds was still low -- only 21 for the whole month to date in Sulawesi and Flores -- but that is what I was expecting because I've only been covering ground I already covered in 2009. I took the bus from Riung at about seven in the morning, getting to ... read more