Livin 1st World Style in Indonesia

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The only challenging part about our stay in Indonesia was getting to where we were trying to go. When we left Sydney we first flew to Singapore. In Singapore we had to switch airlines which meant we had to go through customs, pick up our bags, take the train to the other terminal and then board our flight. That flight got us into Jakarta around 10pm and our flight to Pekanbaru, Sumatra was not until 7am. When we were buying our tourist visas there the officials noticed I was from Texas. They got very excited and asked me about Walker Texas Ranger and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Yep, those are the two things us Texans, especially those of us from Austin, are most proud of. Anyway, after customs there we got a room at a close hotel for about $50. A short scary cab ride later we arrived at the hotel and found it to be by far the best accommodation we have had the whole trip. It was too bad we had to wake up at 4:30 AM and go back to the airport. We then took the hour or two flight to Pekanbaru. When we arrived, thankfully, Beth's uncle Bruce was right there to meet us. He had transportation all arranged so finally we could just sit back and someone else was in charge. It was a little while before the bus left Pekanbaru to go to Duri, our final destination, so Bruce took us around lovely downtown Pekanbaru a bit. We went to a standard mall which was basically your standard street market except in one building, a couple stories tall. We also went to the new nice mall and surprisingly enough it was not bad. As Bruce pointed out though, there were a ridiculous number of cell phone store and it really makes no sense at all how they can all be in business. Anyway after a few hours of that we took our Kijang (type of minivan/suv thing that Toyota makes and everyone there drives or rides in) to the local Chevron camp to meet our bus. We boarded the bus and then it was time for the three hour ride of your life. Bruce warned us to just not bother looking out the front while we driving because it is too much for us Westerners to handle. It was only about thirty minutes into the ride when I saw a huge lumber truck on it's side (not a rare occurrence apparently). After two hours though was when it really hit us and by it I mean a truck. That's right we were in our second car accident of the trip. Luckily this time we we're at fault and we were in a bus so I barely felt it but oh man the truck that rear ended us was messed up (see picture). Eventually we made it and then began one of the best weeks of our trip.

When we arrived we were greeted by Deborah, Erica, and Karina, Beth's Aunt and two cousins respectively. They welcomed us into their home and what a home it was. Really it was just like being home. It was such a welcome vacation from hostels and constant movement. They were worried that we would be bored because during the day the girls had school and the adults had to go to work. They couldn't have been more wrong. It was awesome. We were there for four week days and Beth and I managed to fill every free moment. I did a ton of journeling, blogging, reading, and drum practicing. It was great. The best part about it was that we were in a home, a real home, and they even had internet and a computer that we could just use, whenever. That sounds so basic but man I have been missing that. I really am addicted to having a computer and internet access. That wasn't all we did though, not by any stretch of the imagination. Every moment when there wasn't work or school had some activity scheduled. Their social calendar was literally packed.

On the first night we arrived, Wednesday, there was a gift exchange to go to but Beth and I passed because we were just beat. To the best of my memory we didn't do anything Thursday night either but I don't have my journal in front of me. Anyway, Friday is when the fun really began. The first thing we did that evening was go to see the girls' school Christmas play. It was exceedingly cute. Next there was an opportunity to sit on Santa's lap over in the computer lab. Beth and I passed but Deborah couldn't help herself. I'm not sure if anyone else partook. Next we moved on to the camp doctor's house. He was having a big wine tasting party with food and dessert. It was great. A highlight of that party was getting to check out the doctor's recent acquisition, two clouded leopard cubs. Apparently some guy was coming through the camp trying to sell them as tiger cubs. The doctor recognized them as animals that should be protected and bought them off the guy to, literally, keep them off someone else's dinner plate. The clouded leopard in not yet endangered but just the next step above, critical or threatened or something. That of course means basically that give it some time and they'll be endangered. Unfortunately though finding a home for them has proved far more difficult than initially suspected. We count ourselves as fortunate for getting to see them and hope that they find a new home soon. That pretty much finished off Friday but as for the weekend we were just warming up.

Saturday began early because we planned to go on a hike out in the jungle and wanted to do it before it gets too hot. I should note though that even at 7am it was 80 degrees and 98% humidity, or so. Beth however wasn't feeling all that well so we instead just walked down the road to the Bird and Butterfly park which is just a little park and junglely area inside the camp for the residents. After the hike we had some free time. I got to go to the camp store, called the Commissary, and see that they basically don't sell much. Really, they buy their vegetables, meats, and even alcohol from people that drive around the camp and sell it out of their trucks. That afternoon Beth and I also got to accompany Bruce and Deborah outside the camp to go check out furniture stores. That was an experience. The furniture was obviously very nice because it was all made from those great quality tropical hardwoods that you aren't supposed to buy because it contributes to deforestation. I can guarantee though that the trees there are going to get cut down whether you buy this furniture or not. Apparently during the dry season the air is so choked with smoke from the slash and burning of the local forest that everyone had to wear dust masks inside. Anyway, there are a lot of other problems to solve in Indonesia besides not buying the local handicrafts before anything will change.

Saturday night, Bruce and Deborah hosted a party at their place. There were apparently a lot of people in town consulting or something with some of Deborah's work and because there really isn't anywhere to go or anything to do at night on the weekends for us white folk they had a party at the house. I had a great time there. I spent a large portion of the time talking to a guy from east Texas of all places and when Deborah put on the Lyle Lovett he was in heaven. It was really odd how many Texans I met at the camp. I met another couple that had lived in Austin for many years and were planning on moving back to Westlake. Also, the principal of the school was a Longhorn. Although the party went until late we all still managed to pull ourselves out of bed by 6:30 am to be part of the big rice drive. Well not all of us. The girls had friends spend the night and therefore cleverly exempted themselves from participation. Anyway, with a car full of 6 people we set out following the small cargo truck overfilled with rice. We they proceeded to drive around the village and distribute fifteen 10kg bags of rice to fourteen different Christian churches. There were two other much larger trucks and groups of people doing the same thing in other parts of the village. Eventhough, Beth and I didn't have any part to play in the whole thing it was still really nice thing to get to be part of. Of course that wasn't all we did on Sunday. Around 3 or so there was another Christmas party to go to. This one was over at the boss's house and man were the dessert snacks there delicious. I ate way too many. That pretty much finished us off for the weekend.

Monday evening was quite possibly one of the most entertaining times Beth and I have had on the entire trip. That evening we goto participate in the weekly Hash run. No, this does not involve any smuggling of illicit substances. Hash runs apparently originated from a bunch of English expats sitting around in Singapore with nothing to do but drink beer. They figured that they needed to find some way to exercise as well as drink beer though so they invented the hash run. The run basically consists of everyone meeting up at a given time and then boarding the bus to drive to the start of the run. You then find a trail of shredded paper and run along trying to follow it. The paper is not constant and you go down false routes and dead ends and have to back track. All the while you have to yell "On on" or "On paper" when you have the trail. Our run was through the village so just imagine the scene. There are a bunch of white people in running shorts, tennis shoes, and head bands running through the village yelling things trying to follow intermittent trails of shredded paper. It was hilarious. After the run there is plenty of singing and strange ritual associated with it that I won't bother going into but just think rugby songs. I can't believe we weren't doing this in college. Apparently they have hash runs in cities all over the world so Beth and I are gonna check it out when we get back to Austin. I am sure they have some in SoCal. They have one in SF.

Tuesday was our last night in Duri and perfectly inline with this being a vacation to American life from our backpacking trip, the activity for the night was going to the girls' softball game. After watching the game, which was extremely close thanks to a 7 run come back in the top of the sixth and final inning, we ate hot dogs for dinner. It was perfect. We were sad to leave in the morning. Our time in Duri was terrific and we're so thankful for Bruce, Deborah, Erica, and Karina for welcoming us into their home. Karina especially since she let Beth and I take over her room. It was awesome to get to hang out with all of them. That is especially true for me since apparently due to some legal proceedings I have recently gone through these people are now my family. It was great to get to really get to know them or at least start to anyway. There are so many stories and experiences that they as well as the other expats shared with us that I should be writing about in here. They range from hilarious situations that have arisen because of the different bathroom customs, to very heartfelt like the story about the math teacher and her husband getting their rings, to absurd like Indonesian far to worker friendly labor laws, to tragic stories of loss. I have recorded everyone in my journal though so I have them and will be able to share in the future.

One thing I have to mention though is the most amazing invention ever. It comes in the form of a racket about the same size and shape of a badminton racket except the handle and neck is large enough to accomodate a few D cell batteries. What is a racket like this used for you ask? Well some genius figured out how to put a bug zapper in to racket form thereby making mosquito killing one of the most entertaining activities ever. When you hit them they literally vaporize.

On Wednesday morning we said our goodbyes and began the incredibly journey to Kuala Lumpur which while it had many legs was not at all difficult because of Bruce's arrangements for us. It started with a Kijang ride to the Duri camp bus station. We then took the bus about two hours to the Dumai camp. Next we took Kijang to the harbor to catch the ferry but first we had to stop and get our harbor pass. We already had our tickets but you just always have to stop at the company that issued your ticket's office in Dumai to get a harbor pass before you can go. After sitting around the ferry terminal for a couple hours we boarded our ferry. This was a large ferry and was absolutely packed. And yes we were the only white people on board. The ferry ride was three hours. There was some confusion about paying some landing tax upon arrive in Port Klang (pronounced Klong) but after throwing enough bills at the people they let us by. We then waited in a small stuffy and sweaty room for 20 minutes while to go through customs. Luckily we didn't have to open our bags to be searched. They are packed too full so it is a nightmare every time we have to open them. We eventually go through all that and after changing some money we walked across the street, ignoring all the cabbies trying to give us rides, to the train stop. We bought tickets and boarded the train about 30 seconds before it left. After the 45 min or hour long train ride we arrived in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, the central train station. From there we took a fifteen minute cab ride to our hotel and because Kuala Lumpur has the cheapest five star resorts in the world that hotel was the Crown Plaza, and we had a suite.

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Photos

Accident #2
Glad we were in a bus when this guy hit us

Bird and Butterfly Pard
Didn't see many birds or butterflies but the jungle was cool

The Bilodeau Pad
How nice does this place look?

An Nice Indonesian Pad
Looks pretty nice right? I hear the inside doesn't make the cut. Power and plumbing are optional and it's on a dirt road.

Bruce's Magic Bar Mix
How can you go wrong with Saltimbocca, peanuts, Karos light corn syrup, red wine and Lt. Blender's Margarita in a bag? I had beer.

On On!! The hash run
Can you find the things that don't fit in this picture?

Me and 3 hotties
Taken a 6am this is Erica (left) and Karina (right). Somehow we managed to never get a picture with Bruce and Deborah.

Comments

[anonymous]

Nice story about Sumatra Aaron. People like your Uncle Bruce and Aunt Deborah are what makes it easy for us traveling oil field trash to visit places like Duri. On the next Saturday after the party at Bruce & Deb's I got to watch Westlake play in the Texas 5A Div I football championship (they didn't win but it was a great game anyway). I'm looking forward to hearing about more of your trip. On On ... East Texas Guy