Blogs from Kalimantan, Indonesia, Asia - page 8

Hello All, I am settling into life in Bontang. I know where to buy my groceries, how to work my washing machine, and where to find drinking water at school. As in orientation, my days start at 6am. School begins at 7, and many students are there until 5 or 6 in the evening. My days end anywhere from noon to 5pm. At school, I have been introducing myself to classes and observing lessons. Students have asked me about everything from my opinions on global warming and the upcoming presidential election to my favorite Indonesian food and impressions of Indonesia. The other American in my town got asked what she thought the first time she tried rice. That is, the student did not know we have rice in the US! What we consider personal questions in ... read more

Good day to you woodland folk and to the army of the traveling gypsies. So word on the street is that I am back in the land of the shield, spear and William Webb Ellis trophy-hooray, yippie, goodie, (another happy excited word goes here)!! So the word is indeed true, but I don’t know what it is doing in the street. I am home and happy to see the family and the few friends that are still actually residing within the borders of our beautiful country. I will be here for another 6 days before I jet off again to Australia for three weeks for a family holiday, my life really isn’t fair at the moment, for others that is. No it should be a really sweet time with the family and I am so unbelievably ... read more

Itabornelainen valtavayla on syvalta sisamaasta kohti Samarindan kaupunkia ja merta mutkitteleva ruskeavetinen Amazon-tyyppinen joki, jonka rannoilla on mielenkiintoisen nakoisia tolppien varaan rakennettuja kylia. Pari yota vietin Muara Muntaissa ja siina valissa moottorikanooteilla kavin Mancongin perinnekylassa, jonka laitamilla on viela jaljella pienia rippeita entisista mahtavista sademetsista. Muuten kaikki puut on jo hakattu ja poltettu aikaa sitten...... read more

Derawan Island group off Berau Kalimantan Paradise how long. We arrived at Derawan, the main island in the group and went first to stay at Lestari losmen, As others have commented the best rooms are over the sea on stilts, rooms up the back not so nice and pretty stuffy. There was a long walk to the toilet at the back which didn’t go down to well in the middle of the night. Main problem for us was that there was a Polish Dive operation staying there next door to us, they were nice people and we became friendly with them they run tours from Poland at budget prices both to Derawan and Papua. Staying 3 months in each and moving all there kit in the middle of the season. The problem was that there room ... read more

Tanjung Puting My reason for visiting Kumai is Tanjung Puting Nationalpark, a junglearea on the other side of the river. It was declared a gamereserve allready in 1935, and got its nationalparkstatus in 1982. It has suffered from weak protection and a lack of ruleenforcing, but it has avoided destruction. Yet. So far luck has been better than the action. Now it seems that authorities to some extent have started to recognise the areas big biological value. Here is mangrove-an extremely important vegetationtype-did you know that even life on many big coralreefs need mangrove? Their offspring often have a lifestage in the shelteringmangrove, beside-it hinder erosion. Here is swap and wetland. The jungle itself is one of Kalimantans biggest remaining patches of jungles of its kind. The park cover 3040 squarekilometers, but it only reaches 30 ... read more