Indonesia-We had to get the hell out of there

We really liked the Indonesian people who we met who were not associated with tourism.  Universally friendly, most liked to laugh a lot, and very kind.  The problem we ran into is we just hated the lying thieves who were associated with the tourist activities.  We have traveled a bit and we are used to people trying to cheat us, but it was the worst in Indonesia that we have seen.  We ended up with a choice, take a trip that was supposed to cost $8 each but they were demanding $60 each, or leave early.  We left Indonesia two days early and headed to Thailand. 

On the way out of town I ended up chatting with a remarkably nice old man.  I met him on the street.  He had a bakery and he showed me around for 20 minutes just to be kind.  I really think this is the Indonesian culture.  I told him of my problems and said all the tourist say the same thing.  He said it was killing tourism and made him sad.

Flabby, Middle Aged and Exotic

A couple of strange things that surprised us;

The kids were so excited to see foreigners.  I guess they do not get tons in some areas and more than once a group of kids stopped us and wanted to have their picture taken with us because we were so exotic.

Another surprise to me was the concern about bombs, especially around Jakarta.  I was really surprised that cars were inspected and you had to walk through a metal detector (which was turned off) to go into the mall.

The final surprise was what was on TV...Christian broadcasting.  Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country. With all of the religious turmoil in Indonesia, I really did not think they would tolerate this.  I wonder if we would tolerate a station whose sole purpose was to convert people to Islam in the US.

Treking for Orangutans

We traveled to Bukit Lawang which is famous for having a large population of wild and semi wild Orangutans (semi-wild because many had been reintroduced from captivity). We did a two day trek into the jungle trying to spot the Orangutans. We saw about 7 or 8, a few with babies. Pretty cool experiences.

The hiking was a bit more than Sandy counted on, but I have to admit she held up really well except for the posibility of this rock face which does not look nearly as steep and slippery as it actually was.

Climbing up this ridiculously steep side of a mountain using the vines was a first for us.

Indonesia- Temples

We like temples and visited Borobudor, a 9th century Buddhist temple.  

Also visited Prambanan an old Hindu temple.  As impressive as this was, it would have been amazing to see when there were literally hundreds of these temples in the same complex. Unfortunately, earthquakes and villagers taking stones to be used on their foundations left only a handful for renovation.

Bali Highlights

The highlights for us in Bali were some of the temples and a botanical garden. The beaches are supposed to be great, but there was lots of rain and we are not beach people anyway.

My favorite was Tanah Lot, a temple in the sea.  It was really beautiful

I also liked one of the Royal Temples...beautiful, no hawkers and no tourists.

The incredible tiered rice paddies seemed to go on forever.

We love botanical gardens, especially in tropical areas. I think one tree had the biggest leaves I have seen anywhere.

An Interesting Hotel/Project in Bali

We stayed in a hotel which was part of a foundation to provide an education for poor kids.  The kids would not be able to study anymore, so a family set up a foundation that provides food, housing, an education, and work experience to about 100 kids.  When they finish, they have a high school certificate, very good language ability, and actual job experience.  The hotel had one person who was both the headmaster and the manager and the kids did the rest of the work.  They were ridiculously enthusiastic and really happy to have the opportunity.  A great project I think.

Bali- The corrupt first day

Bali has offered both the best and worst a vacation could.

Our first full day out and we went to an old and supposedly interesting temple.  After the wave of  high pressure sellers, we got to the ticket window and the guy tries to cheat me on the entrance to the temple.  Does he think I do not see the big sign with the price on it or does he think I can not count?  His friend tried to tell me he was confused about the money.  I guess I have had too many of these jokers try these things and I told him what I thought of his efforts.  I got all of my money back and did not go in.  Our driver told me what I already knew, this was a scam they try all the time.  First attraction, never made it inside, left irritated.

Undettered, we headed to the second place when the police began waving cars to the side of the road.  I asked the driver, "Is this some sort of check?" He grabbed 10,000 rupiah (a little more than a dollar) and got out of the car.  He got back in a minute later and told us the police have road blocks all the time.  Everyone pays them a bribe or they find something to detain the driver, the car, or both.  He told us a story of a time that they caught someone trying to steal a pump from a home in the community.  The people grabbed him with the pump in his hands.  They called the police.  BIG MISTAKE.  The police came, made a report and took the pump as evidence.  They agreed to return the pump as long as the people paid them.  It turned out to be cheaper to buy a new pump than to pay the bribe the police demanded to return the pump they stole.

We ended up going to a couple of nice temples and a beautiful botanical garden.  We ended the day in our hotel where they were putting on a reasonably marginal show.

As you might guess, after day one we were somewhat disappointed.  Day two was much better.   More about that later

Bali/Thailand Here We Come

Heading off to Bali for a bit and Thailand....3+ weeks in total.  Yes it is good to be a teacher.