Blogs from Indonesia, Asia - page 524

I figured out this whole internet scheme. They charge you 500 rupiah/minute with a 10 minute minimum. The dial-up however loads about a page every ten minutes and before you know it, you've written 2 sentences, your page freezes and your back to square one. Their is moaning coming from the computer next to me..i think Crystal's computer is having a seizure. One day when we find DSL I can tell stories of small waves, volcano hiking and snorkeling on the reef...one day! Love you all!... read more

The bus from Ruteng to Labuanbajo took about four hours, and Jeff and I sat near the front, constantly readjusting our feet so as not to burn them on the hot engine that churned beneath the metal bus floor. A woman nursed a week-old baby in the seat in front of us, apparently traveling back home after a trip to the hospital in Ruteng for a C-section. (We learned this from her husband, who was clearly very proud of the fact, and made elaborate tummy-slicing motions on his own stomach by way of demonstration.) Nearby, a couple held onto their two young sons, both dressed in orange T-shirts. One of these boys was absolutely terrified of Jeff. Every single time he glanced in Jeff's direction, he burst into horrified tears and grabbed at his mother in ... read more

A few facts and observations about Indonesia... 1. The most expensive coffee in the world comes from Indonesia. It is called Kopi Luwak, or Civet Coffee, and is made from coffee berries which have passed through the digestive tract of the Palm Civet Cat. The inner coffee bean is not digested by the cat, and it is thought that the resulting coffee bean tastes better. So folks, Civet Coffee is coffee from a cat's butt. 2. Indonesians are crazy about iced tea. Plain, lemon, orange, iced green tea, even carbonated! Carbonated tea, whatever next 3. Once upon a time on Bali, there was no concept of art. All the striking "artwork" that was produced was functional, and nothing had ever been produced previously just for aesthetic value 4. There are four different greetings in Indonesian. Before ... read more

(continued...) You don't have to think about it to define it: it's the "grass is always greener" phenomenon. What you have to think about is how to change this phenomenon into one that's going to make you a happier, better person. Isn't that what everyone wants: to be happy? Ask anybody what the secret of life is and they'll either say "to be happy," to something that basically means "to be happy." So why are so many people just not happy with their lives? Sure some are, but many people are wishing or dreaming for something else, and usually blaming something about their current life for the reason why they're not as happy as they could be. You don't have to be sad, depressed, or miserable to 'not be happy'. I mean, my life is great, ... read more

So here we are, the start of our Asian adventure, our true travel love. Thankfully we’ve chosen an entry destination that’s as touristy as it gets, easing us into the changes required to travel in a less ‘developed’ continent. Kuta/South Bali We started here, in South Bali, the throbbing beat of the island, where the majority of people stay to either catch a wave or chill on the beach. It’s a pretty exciting place, heavily overdeveloped with everything a visitor could ever need or want; we wandered around checking out the myriad of shops and getting overly excited by the incredibly low prices of things. We also spent some time on the beach, where I rented a board to go give the surf a try. It turns out I’m really not very good, I don’t have ... read more