Mel The tourist cafe here produces some vegetarian versions of Indonesian food, so I am having that tonight. Lydia is getting a pizza which they also produce there. We bought an assortment of Indonesian snacks after sun down last night for today, because there would be no way to get them anytime before 4PM today, and we wouldn't want to have a junkfood deprived Sunday. Mel There are a number of dens of inequity(AKA tourist cafes) in the town. When me and Lydia walk past them, the owners greet us enthusiasticly. They recognise us as potential customers, by the absense of headscarfs and our foreigness. These dens of inequity are just about tolerated by the locals, so long as it is all kept out of sight. Well, that is the case most of the time. In ... read more

Mel We are staying in an old colonial house, once owned by the Dutch(I presume). We have a lovely double room with bathroom, for just 7 Euros per night. I got a bad impression of Sumatra yesterday, when first person we met was a tout we fell foul to, and I am relieved and glad that such an experience is turning out to be not the usual. As far as I know, the bus ticket he sold us was OK, but we did pay 6 times what we should have for lunch at a very shabby restaurant. I wouldn't have bothered with eating there, if I knew that the prices didn't match the surroundings. Lydia liked the food there, so I suppose it can be considered an over priced treat for her. I gave the tout ... read more

Mel I ran out of internet time yesterday, so here is the continuation of our getting here. The tampon situation: It is when the customs find things like tampons, contraceptive pills... In some countries these things don't actually exist, or are very rare, and in those countries the customs and security are almost always men. In Indonesia there were a few women there, but they only seemed to take a very minor role in the security checking, as if their hiring really is tokenism. I really would expect to have done a crime or be highly suspicious in some way, before going through the interrogation that the 3 male customs officers brought all foreigners into a room to go through. At least we were herded in, rather than having to be in there individually with those ... read more

Mel We are now in Kuala Lumpur. Lydia started puking this morning, and puked into plastic bags a number of times during the bus journey. I hope she is well by tomorrow, because rollercoasters and puking don't go well together. We are meeting tomorrow at the rollercoasters, in the Times Square shopping center, to have lunch while Lydia goes on the rollercoasters, or insists that is way more exciting than the rollercoasters and has lunch with us instead. Lydia lost and found Mel Yesterday, was one scary experience. Lydia was playing on the roller coasters in the Times Square shopping center for ages. I thought nothing of it, because she loves them, until the lights were being switched off and customers being thrown out. I stood there for around 10 minutes longer, waiting and ... read more

Mel Hopefully, the guesthouse rooms won't be as ridiculously hard to get when you get here. But here are some tips. The cheapest you can get is a single fan room with shared bathroom. Try to get one in the following guesthouses, in the order listed below, because that is also the order of best value. If you are arriving early in the morning, and you can't get what you want, ask them to keep the first one that becomes available. If none becomes available, then just take the best value one they can offer. All these guesthouses are on the same street as the Gecko bar and are beside each other. Most/all on the rest of the street are more expensive. The order: The Merry V Guesthouse The Green Guesthouse(it now has a sign outside ... read more