Stuart

An old man who was wearing just a hollowed out Penis Gourd and a few feathers caught my eye, said 'pagi' and stretched out his right arm in order to shake hands. I stopped and put my right hand in his hand. He smiled, I smiled and he shook my hand, moved his hand and thumb around in my hand and kept shaking, shaking and shaking. Five or ten minutes later I managed to disentangle my hand, hoping I wasn't being rude by breaking off the greeting too quickly! The people of the Baliem Valley are a friendly lot. I'd been looking forward to this break. It seems a long time since I was able to take some time off work. We've been busy with a total rebuild and relaunch of the school in Cirebon. Papua ... read more

You'll notice on this blog some photos of tigers being led around by Monks at the so called 'Tiger Temple' near Kanchanaburi. This is a deeply controversial tourist attraction. Personally I found it quite disturbing and unsettling. Tigers are wild animals - its really not appropriate to have tourists queuing up to have their photos taken in close proximity to them. So, why did I go? I suppose I wanted to see the place for myself but I refrained from having my photo taken petting a tiger. Serious accusations have been made about the place and a number of tourist websites such as Kanchanaburi-info.com no longer recommend that people visit the place. Very serious accusations have been made about animal mistreatment and illegal trading and breeding programs. Care for the Wild International carried out an investigation ... read more

On Wednesday 16th of September when I paid my house maid her monthly wage I also gave her the THR (Tunjangan Hari Raya) as well. This is a one month bonus which is commonly paid to household staff and employees in factories and offices at the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan. When I paid her the bonus I also told her that she didn't need to come again till the 28th of September because I wouldn't be at home in Cirebon. Lebaran or Idul Fitri is a very important festival and holiday in Indonesia. My language school closed on Friday the 18th of September and didn't open again till Monday the 28th. It's an exciting time of year when Muslims travel around the country to visit their families. It is particularly exciting for children ... read more

It was 8.20 am. Music by Philip Glass was being played very loudly through speakers attached to a laptop computer. I was sat in just my boxer shorts in the front room of my new house in Cirebon, working on my lesson plans for school. I was disturbed by the sound of loud noises from outside. I turned down the music, wondering if the neighbours were objecting to my taste in music. Then I twitched back the net curtains and looked out of my front window. Standing outside my house was a little woman who was shaking the locked gate. So, I walked to my bedroom and got dressed. When I finally emerged from the house, the woman at the gate was holding up a piece of paper which had the words, “I work here”, written ... read more

A relatively new tourist destination, Dubai has gained in popularity in recent years. It is essentially a desert city with superb infrastructure, liberal policies (by regional standards), and excellent tourist amenities. Just 5 hrs from Europe and 3 hrs from most parts of the Middle East, the Near East, and the sub-continent of India, Dubai makes a great short break for shopping, partying, sunbathing, fine dining, sporting events, and even a few sinful pleasures. It is a city of superlatives: for the fastest, biggest, tallest, largest and highest, Dubai is the destination. Wikitravel. I spent just 3 nights in Dubai, the most liberal of the Emirates in the UAE. The city was a huge change after 4 months in the Horn of Africa. I flew into the city via Djibouti and Sana'a in the Yemen. ... read more