I Heart KL

As the title suggests I really did enjoy my time in Kuala Lumpur. KL was my first stop on a month long excursion around parts of mainland Southeast Asia. My main reasons for heading to KL were to check out the Batu Caves (the site of the Thaipusam Hindu festival I’ve studied in various classes), eat a massive amount of Indian food, and to meet a wonderful designer who has recently designed some Star Wars inspired wayang kulit puppets.

It really was a nice city. Even if it was insanely hot (not as hot as Myanmar but we will get there…). My first day I opted to take the express train into the city from the airport even though they had a cheaper bus option. And boy am I glad I did since it started pouring the second the train took off. I would have still be wandering around trying to find the bus station. It was worth the extra $6. Plus is was very comfortable, cool, had free wifi, and only took 30 and not an hour and a half. The express trains drops you off at a main train station, KL Sentral, and then I hopped on another short tube ride to Masjid Jemak station which was a three minute walk to my hostel. 

I was staying in a hostel named “Back Home” in KL. It was a really impressive hostel. Big, comfortable beds, the best lockers I’ve ever seen in a hostel, air con, free filtered water, and a nice outside and indoor hangout area! It was top-notch. The staff was incredibly helpful as well and were able to help with directions and give recommendations. The hostel is in a great location too. I walked to most things I wanted to see (Chinatown, Merdeka Square, mosques, bars, etc) and anything a bit too far for me to walk was easily accessible from the Masjid Jemak station. I was quite impressed with the public transportation in KL. It was cheap, quick, comfortable, and effective! Made me enjoy the city so much more. I’ve missed big, bustling cities! Also effective bustling cities. Not Jakarta. 😉

After checking in I instantly made friends with one of the guys staying in my dorm room, Mike. He is from San Jose but has family in Honolulu because, ya know, the world is tiny. He said we was going out to grab a bit of food and head out to see a fancy bar with a great view of the Petronas Towers (KL’s most famous landmark) and invited me to come with. We walked around the neighborhood the hostel was in for a while and then decided to sit down in an Indian market area and have some curry and rice. It was pretty good curry. Not what I was expecting but still pretty good. After a bit more walking around we stopped off at the hostel to put on “nice” clothing to go to the fancy bar and we decided to do the 25 minute walk over to the Petronas Tower area and went up to the Sky Bar in the Traders Hotel. My martini was really good but very expensive at $8. You’re paying for the atmosphere and that view though so I get it.  Although I preferred the nice beers we picked up at 7-11 on the way home at under $2 for two. A bit more my price range as a backpacker.  We took our classy beers back to the hostel and sat in the nice courtyard for a while and then hit the hay. I had been traveling most of the day and Mike was heading out the next day so rest was needed.

The next day I woke up pretty early (6:30) to shower and make it down for breakfast at 7am. The hostel provided a free breakfast of toast, cereal and papaya with tea and/or coffee. The tea and coffee was free all day actually. It wasn’t the best breakfast I’ve ever had at a hostel but it was more than enough to fuel me up. Then I headed out on my way to Masjid Jemak station to pop a quick two stops over to KL Sentral and on to the kommuter train to the Batu Caves. It’s quite a nice and easy train journey. Plus a ticket there and back costs 4 ringgit or $1.08 and the last stop on the line is “Batu Caves Station” so you can’t even mess it up! When you get off the train you have the option to go into the Ramayana Caves first or walk straight to the Batu Caves. I decided that for about $1 I would give the Ramayana Caves a go since I’ve studied the story and seen several variations of the story in performance in several countries. It was just ok. An interesting use of a natural cave for sure but not something I’d recommend to everyone. You could just skip it and head straight to the Batu Caves. That’s what you’re there for anyways!

The Batu Caves are pretty impressive when you first walk up to them. The massive, golden statue of Murugan stands 140ft tall in front of the 272 steps that take you up to the main cave. There are also cheeky little monkeys on the way up the stairs ready to take any snacks you may have from you. I don’t suggest taking snacks up with you as it’s just asking for trouble on concrete stairs. Not a good choice. I enjoyed my time at the caves, people watching, checking out the 400 million year old limestone, getting in a work out, etc. Although I realized here how out of shape I have become in Indonesia. Since I don’t walk anywhere and the decent gym is a bit too pricey for me I am no longer in shape. Makes me think the 777 steps at Mt. Popa near Bagan, Myanmar might just be out of my grasp this trip. We shall see.

I then headed back to the hostel to cool down a bit and change shoes. I met up with Mike again and we decided to walk to an area he knew named Brickfields (that had really great Indian food) that was a 5 minute walk from KL Sentral. And boy am I glad I did! The food was so good I even went back a second time the next day. We walked about and settled on a place that looked quite full named Seetha Ram. It was amazing. I got a huge plate of vegetable naan with two curries and a chutney plus a young coconut drink for under $3. So. Damn. Good. Just really tasty. We then headed back to the mall because I was curious if I could find some breathable pants that hit below the knee for temple visits. I did! Hooray for the Australian brand Cotton On. They are most comfortable. Later in the evening I sat down in the courtyard and made friends with three other guys (Dutch, Brittish, Canadian). They were so funny and nice. I ended up going to a bar next door to grab a drink with them and hang out. But just one because I had to conduct an interview/meeting the next day.

The next day involved my interview (which was wonderful), walking around Chinatown, checking out a Hindu temple, walking around more, a nap, getting Indian food at Seetha Ram (again!) and then meeting up with the guys I met the night before to hang out and talk. We then walked over to the same bar to have a few cocktails and watch others be crazy. It was immensely fun and incredibly entertaining. 

The following day, the 26th, was my checkout and travel day. I decided to skip the free breakfast and get some sleep instead because us crazy kids were out till very late. I checked out, checked my bags, and then went near by for some really yummy Chinese food in a little hole in the wall place a few doors down. I had a very nice bowl of fish dumpling soup that hit the spot. Oh and a coke of course.  Then headed back to the hostel and soaked in the air con for a bit and used the free wifi. The Dutch guy I met was also heading out to the airport at about the same time so we grabbed our bags at about 2:45 and headed off to the airport.

And now I’m in Myanmar! I have a lot to say about Myanmar so far and I’m not even halfway through my trip. However, that will have to wait for another day.

Hugs and kisses!

*Note: I wanted to add photos to this but the internet is not having it today. So maybe another time.

Vietnam

Hello again friends and family,

I know I haven’t been wonderful with updating this blog. Part of it is I’ve been very busy with research and reading. The other part is there hasn’t been much to share. It’s not very interesting for y’all for me to write a new update once a week saying “I interviewed some people, I observed some people, I took notes and then I put those notes on my computer.” Plus, I don’t feel comfortable putting any of my findings up on the internet for others to read until I’m finished with my dissertation so there wouldn’t even be any information about what was in those interviews. It would just be me letting you know I had them. Not exactly riveting stuff. So here is the short update of the past few months: I’ve had a lot of interviews, I’ve done a lot of observation of puppets being made, I’ve picked up a lot of books to read, and I have learned a lot of things.

However, now I actually have a bit of something to update you on. I didn’t have a lot of things to do around the end of December, all of the craftsmen I work with were busy and most of my friends were as well. So I decided it would be a good time to take a solo trip to Vietnam. I’ve always wanted to go to Vietnam and since I had a week to kill it seemed like a wonderful trip to take. After realizing it would be a bit chilly up north and it would cost twice as much to visit Hanoi, I decided on Ho Chi Minh City as my first excursion into Vietnam. It would be warm, sunny (mostly), have tons of street food, and HCM has a very special coffee culture. We all know I love me some coffee. So I did it. In late October I booked a flight, booked a bed in a hostel dorm, got permission and waited. Then December finally came and I hopped on a plane to Vietnam.

Just for those of you who are wondering I did take Air Asia. I almost always take Air Asia when I am here. I took two flights: one to Kuala Lumpur and then a second to Ho Chi Minh City. Those two flights cost me less than one one-way flight to Kuala Lumpur on any other airline. Just to let y’all know Air Asia does have a really good safety record and before this flight they had never lost a plane. It is perfectly safe. Sometimes these terrible things just happen and to be realistic anyone has a much higher chance of dying from a coconut falling on their head than dying in a plane crash. Seriously, people have done the research. So don’t worry about me flying on Air Asia. Because I have a couple more Air Asia flight in March/April and I don’t want you to worry. So yes, on December 20th I hopped on a flight from Yogyakarta to Kuala Lumpur and then a few hours later from KL to HCM. My flights were fine except once I got to HCM I had to wait two hours for my visa. In order to get into Vietnam you need a welcome letter to get your visa and to fill out some paperwork and attach a 4×6 photo of yourself to the paperwork. I was told normally this goes very quickly but man this office must have been having a bad day. They had about 20 photos all over the floor of their office and they lost the paperwork of an entire French family while I was waiting. Including the welcome letter they couldn’t reprint because there were no printers in the area. Plus the ATM was broken and several people didn’t have enough US dollars to pay higher fees. Yikes.

I was supposed to have a car waiting for me from the hostel however two hours must have been too long for the driver to wait for me and since I couldn’t use my phone in the visa area I couldn’t even warn the hostel I would be late, late, late. Luckily my friend Spencer had already told me the two trustworthy taxi companies (Vinasun and Mai Linh if you’re curious) in HCM so I waited until I could grab one of those and had my tired ass driven to my hostel. I opted for a well reviewed hostel for this trip as I’m trying to pinch my pennies and it really is a good way to meet people when you’re traveling solo. I’m super pleased I chose Saigon Balo Hostel in HCM for this trip. I ended up in a room with the most wonderful people.

I was staying in the six bed dorm room and the other people who were there were just so fantastic. My trip would not have been anywhere near as amazing without the people in that room. For the majority of the time there was a girl from the UK, Kate; a guy from the UK, Dan; a guy from the US Fancy (yes, actually Fancy); and a girl from the US, Katie. They were so much fun the entire time. That room has quite possibly spoiled me for all other hostel experiences. The rest even agreed that out of their hostel experiences (which are far more extensive than mine) that this was one of the best. So after I showed up at the hostel I was exhausted from the flights and 2hr visa wait so I just talked it up with Kate and Fancy and then hit the hay.

For my first day I decided to get a lot of the sightseeing-museuming out of the way. I generally like to do museums by myself so I did this day on my own. I woke up and had my free breakfast up on the hostel roof, which had great views by the by, and then I walked from the hostel to the War Remnants Museum. It was a nice short walk and the weather was great for it. The Museum itself was interesting but hard to walk through. The Agent Orange room was specifically difficult. So was the recreation of the POW camps. Thinking of both American and Vietnamese young men and women going through what they did was horrible. This museum was, however, not my favorite museum dealing with difficult issues I’ve ever been to. I by far prefer the Peace Museum in Hiroshima. It discusses terrible and awful events but in the end focuses on what we can do to avoid these horrible measures in the future. I missed that part in this museum. Still worth a visit though, hands down.

After the museum I walked around the corner to visit the Independence/Reunification Palace. It was a beautiful building. I see why some people skip it though. I really enjoyed it but I, personally, like architecture, classic furniture, and history. My favorite part of this trip had nothing to do with the actual palace though. The day I went happened to be a day a bunch of students (I assume high school? They looked very, very young) were there in their cap and gowns to celebrate graduation. It was so cute to see them running around with balloons, taking photos, and just being adorable in general. My favorite part was when I was on the balcony of the palace looking out towards the front I saw five guys pick up one of their female classmates and toss her up into the air 3 or 4 times. They were having so much fun and she was so happy. It was just uplifting to see so much joy and happiness after such a heavy morning at the museum. After walking the palace I ended up behind the museum at a little cafe to have some Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk. One of many. Man, I love coffee. I spent the rest of the day walking around the city, checking out Ben Thanh Market, having pho at said market, walking more, having a super amazing banh mi sandwich (yes two lunches, don’t you judge me), and getting a feel for the area.

I then went back to the hostel in the early evening to rest up a bit. I met up with a few of the English boys who were in the hostel and we went out for a few beers and pool in the neighborhood. An hour or two later Fancy joined us and we went out to have some cheep beers on the street parallel to our hostel that is famous for drinking cheep beer while you sit on small plastic stools right on the street. An experience to be had in HCM, for sure. After the beers Fancy and I grabbed dinner (spring rolls) and watched a tourist have her purse stolen. That last part was not fun. She had a purse over one shoulder and someone ran by and grabbed it right off her shoulder and booked it. She screamed “someone stop him!” but no one moved! We were way too far away and behind a table to do anything but I was/wasn’t surprised no one else did a thing. She ran after him down an alley (maybe not the best idea) and about 45 seconds later another tourist followed her. That was an eye opening experience. I knew it happened, a lot, but hadn’t actually seen anyone get their bag stolen in a while. I always travel with a cross shoulder bag that zips all the way up for safety reasons. Not 100% safe really but nothing is anymore, is it? After that experience we were ready to go home and headed back to the hostel.

The next day I had set up to join a tour of the Mekong Delta. I booked it through the hostel which was nice for convince but apparently the $10 I paid was way too much as someone on the tour got it for $8 at another travel agency. However sometimes the $2 is worth saving time searching and time in the morning having to walk anywhere else to catch a bus. The tour wasn’t great. It was basically a forced shopping trip for tourists. We started the day by loading ourselves into a bus at 8am and being driven out to a workshop where the profits from crafts sold help those affected by agent orange. However there was no information about how the money was used or who it directly benefited or anything. It was just a store front. Plus we were only allowed about 10 minutes. An unnecessary stop really. Then more bus riding to visit a temple. The temple was lovely but again we were only given 15 minutes. So it was more like a sprint around the large complex than a time to enjoy a place of worship. After the short visit it was back onto the bus for us for a short ride over to the boat dock. We were then led to a small boat we would take around four islands in the Mekong Delta: Phoenix, Unicorn, Turtle, and Dragon islands. We visited two of the four for our activities. On one we went to a tea farm where we had a very small sampling of honey tea and then were asked to buy a bunch of things again. Then to a coconut candy place where we were asked to buy a bunch of things. We also went for a short small boat ride down some canals to a small area where we had local fruit at the end of the day. After the tea we went to another island to have lunch at a very strange restaurant/hotel/thing. We were given an hour-ish to eat and ride bikes or rest in hammocks. It was odd. The only parts I really enjoyed on this trip was when were were on the water. Being on the small boats was my favorite and even being on the larger boat was great. I felt like I was really seeing the area that way. On the small boats I even got to see some places where people in the area actually lived. That was what I wanted. Not a souvenir shop. However, with my time limits on this trip a tour was a much easier and really the only option. If I had weeks or months to spend in Vietnam I would have made my way down to the Mekong area and hired a local small boat to traverse the delta. Another day, another trip.

That evening was the 23rd and Christmas Eve night for the Vietnamese. It also happened to be the eve of Kate’s birthday. The hostel was great and threw a Christmas party for everyone staying in the hostel that might. I’ll write more about the 23rd, the party, and the following days in another post.

Aloha for now!

Still kickin’

Hello, all. Yes I’m still in Indonesia and I have been workin’ up a storm. Lots of reading, lots of researching, and basically lots of good stuff. I’ve made some lovely friends and am having a good time. There have been struggles and difficulties but all in all I’m happy here.

I’m still waiting for some official paperwork and things from people so until then no real research updates. I will tell you that I am having some lovely experiences with great people. Going out to eat, going shopping (mostly for groceries but some shopping for gifts), visiting fun places, etc. I even went to a leather making workshop the other day where I made all the makings of a leather purse. I just have to go back in a few days and sew the beauty up. I’ll post pictures then, when it’s all finished.

That is about it for now. I just wanted to let you all know I’m still here, still working, and always moving forward.

Hugs to you all!

All is well.

Hello, all. I know I haven’t updated in a while. Long story. To give a short description of that long story… I found out a while ago that a researcher had just left Indonesia who had completed a year and a half of research on basically my exact topic. I mean her research themes pretty much matched my proposal dead on. Sigh. She was very nice and I’m glad if someone is doing the topic, who isn’t me, it is someone who seems to care a great deal about the topic and the people. So that’s good… What’s not so good is I have to completely change topics.

As for me I’ve been researching up and down to make sure the new direction I take is the right one and NOT ALREADY BEING DONE. Sigh again. I really want to make sure it’s not only a topic I can do justice in the time I’m here but one I’m also passionate about. So it’s been a journey. So many emotions. So many articles. So many paths I could go down.

So that is why I have been absent. I’ll start up again soon but I still have lots to think about first. Then I’ll share some stories. There are some really good ones in there, so don’t worry.

There eyre have been many struggles but many laughs and good moments as well. Also, I purchased a giraffe to make me feel better.

New Friend

 

Random Thoughts

Seeing someone wear skin colored leggings as pants (which is just never ok, really, they are NOT pants.) with a jilbab (Indonesians use this word for headscarf) is a strange thing to see. Not saying you can’t do it… but looking 100% naked from the waist down seems to compete with the modesty of the jilbab in my opinion.

Buying stamps is expensive. Buying 200 stamps is really expensive.

I went 20 days without being called “mister.” Note: not an insult. A lot of times Indonesians will learn the word mister but not misses. So they mean it in a nice, respectful way.

In my opinion, if sparks are literally flying you shouldn’t be wearing slippahs (flip-flops for non-islanders).

I am getting better at dealing with my own issues with wanting things to happen quickly aka right away. Living in Hawaii for many years has helped with this. Kind of.

People here are very nice and, so far, don’t get frustrated with me when I can’t remember something and have to take a second to think of a different way to say it.

I’m starting to hate packing.

I really miss my Mr. Sunshine Kitty. I need some cat cuddles.

I cannot handle the nasal drip anymore. I wonder if I take enough benadryl if I’ll turn pink like a flamingo. Like that episode of Scrubs where the guy was orange.

 

Ok. Random thoughts out of my head and I feel better. Now to take on the next couple of days. Moving, unpacking, taking on that whole motorbike thing, printing out a bazillion (or 150) questionnaires, addressing 150 envelopes unless I can find somewhere that prints labels, a meeting or two, and off to the Festival Dalang Wanita 2014 in Solo!

Can’t wait for this festival. I am so darn excited. Hooray!

XOXO.

Culturally Awkward Ninja

That title is even culturally awkward isn’t it? Aw well… I’m not changing it. It’s part of who I am. Being as awkward as a giraffe in heels and a scuba mask. You’re picturing that now aren’t you? You’re welcome.

Anyways, as you can imagine moving across the world to a completely different country where they don’t speak your native language is just riddled with cultural land mines. I mean even moving to the UK where they speak, roughly, the same language would be a cultural kick in the arse. Now there are a lot of similar aspects culturally to Hawaii here. Time moves similarly. I think it has something to do with living the heat. You move slower when it’s this hot and most everyone finds that perfectly acceptable. It is understood. However, there are things here that I am slowly learning. I can read about cultural norms all I want but it is different to experience it. I had a taste of it when I lived in Salatiga but that really was only a small bite. Living here by yourself is a smorgasbord. Slang for one is a big issue for me. Slang is constantly evolving and as an outsider it just seems like a completely different language I have to learn. Greeting people is different here. Normally a handshake does well but it is an interesting game to guess how people are going to greet you. Driving on the left side of the road… well ya you can guess how that one is difficult. Here is hoping when I get back to Hawaii and get in RuPaul (the name of my car you creepers) I don’t head down H1 on the wrong side of the road. Not that it could make traffic any worse…

My point is here my mind is swirling. Maybe if I cared less my brain matter wouldn’t look like a Van Gogh sky but I do care and it does swirl. I don’t want to upset or insult anyone. From the taxi driver taking me to my destination or the professor who is helping me at my destination. So that is why I act a bit askew sometimes. Like the aforementioned awkward giraffe. So this is why sometimes I curtsy in restaurants. Yes you read that correctly. As some of you know I recently went to an establishment I enjoy to get some spicy tofu. As I was leaving I said thank you (in Indonesian) and did a cute lil’ curtsy. Why? I don’t know! I just don’t. Who does that? In Indonesia? I curtsied. Sigh. I then twirled around and walked away quickly. Maybe they didn’t notice? Ya… the entire restaurant didn’t notice the giant white girl they had been staring at half the time. Oh well. I was the strange girl when I walked in and I sure was the strange girl when I curtsied my way out of there. Ce la vie.

Motorbikes. That is another thing I’d like to talk about. Yes, we have them in Hawaii. We DO NOT have them like they have them here. They own the road. They by far outnumber the cars and there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. Also, mopeds in Hawaii follow strict laws or they get pulled over, right? Right. Here… I know there are laws and regulations for riding your motorbike. I don’t know all of them yet but by just watching them you couldn’t tell. It looks like this massive sprawl of motorbikes weaving every direction with no rhyme or reason. Similar to a mosh pit. Yet it works. Seems to work just as well as Hawaii if not better. Still scares the crap out of me though. However, less now. My first time here I didn’t really enjoy being on the back of a motorbike. After yesterday and today I am starting to really like it. It feels freeing. So hopefully that will transfer to when I’m actually in control of a bike. On Friday. Lessons are coming with the bike. Well, I was told there would be help. I’ll be fine. I think.

A fun thing happened today while I was out buying a backpack, the one I had in the states had had the full Manoa/Diamond Head/Maunawili experience and was falling apart, two girls stopped me and asked “Excuse me misses do you have a free moment?” They were two young high school girls who were interviewing tourists for their English class. How brave is that? They were pretty shy yet still able to grab my attention and ask me if they could interview me. I of course said yes. Who am I to deny a strange person in a public place asking for an interview? I mean I need to put strange people asking for interviews in public ju ju out there! So I said yes and spoke to them in Indonesian for a quick second and then they interviewed me in English for 3 minutes each. Yes, they both asked the same questions so I answered them twice but they were very sweet and even professional. Made my day. They even took me up to the backpack store they knew so I could get one. Then they were off to find more foreigners. I really hope they found some more nice people to talk to and that they get fabulous grades. My favorite question they asked was if I thought modern clothing styles had influenced dress in Indonesia. Note: all three of us were wearing skinny jeans. My answer was yes, obviously.

Today I also met with a very sweet girl who is going to be my translator for the upcoming festival I am going to. She speaks English just as well if not better than me, is adorable, and is writing her undergraduate thesis about gamelan. So it is just a lovely match. I’m so happy to have her working with me. She says she doesn’t want payment but she is taking payment darn it. She is wonderful and deserves it. I’m so glad to have her help me with this. It makes me feel so much more relaxed. My Indonesian is coming back in strange chunks. I always think I have a handle on a language until you drop me in that country. Then is takes its time to become natural again. This time it’s very odd. I don’t know if it’s the “brain fog” or what but the chunks are strange. However, there are chunks and they are growing. Things are moving forward and going well. I feel really great about this.

I’ve had a few landmark moments since I’ve been here. The first time someone actually spoke Indonesian to me the whole conversation instead of starting out in English because I was obviously not Indonesian, the first time I made it through a whole conversation without really thinking, the first time I felt really happy, but this one is the most important. I feel secure in my research right now. I know there will be ups and downs but this is incredibly motivating. No matter how lost I may feel later that can’t take away how secure I feel now. Plus I know now that I will feel secure again even if I do stumble and fall. Ah good feelings. I like good feelings.

Now to just not curtsy at this event…

Duck, Duck, Work.

I had a somewhat productive day today. Minus the late start. I woke up when my breakfast was delivered but ended up taking a nap. I feel so much better after I got those pills from the doctor but I am still a bit worn down. Several days of not sleeping well thanks to the phlegm titanic crashing into my throat and the screaming child that was here for a few days can take it out of a girl. So after my nap I did get up, shower, and head off to a coffee shop to take advantage of the faster wifi so I could download some videos off my cloud while I read with a hot drink. Two of those things happened… When I got to J.Co I realized that I had not uploaded the documents I wanted to read to the cloud like I wanted. Oh well.

Instead I did download two videos to watch this evening before I go to bed, emailed some people to hopefully set up meetings, searched for some articles, found a few news articles, and translated some small things. Let me tell you, emailing people to set up meetings makes me nervous. I’m not sure why. The worst thing that could happen is they say no. Then I could email someone else. I sure don’t ever want them to say no though. Also, I know there is a festival coming up I want to go to and I spent most of the day trying to find more information about it. I felt like Nancy Drew searching down Carmen Sandiego. I know where it is, the time, and one performer but I would like to know more. Doesn’t seem to be out there. Guess I will just be surprised.

After a few hours in the coffee shop the youths seemed to be out and about and smoking up a storm. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to smoking inside. It just sits. Doesn’t go anywhere. Not my favorite. So I finished up my green tea latte and headed out to grab a taxi. Sometime soon I will have my own motorbike but for a few more days it is taxi time. I got home and sat for a bit, had some bottled water, and handled some business before heading out for some dinner.

Mmmm duck.

Tonight I walked down a bit to a restaurant named “Quack Quack.” Guess what the specialize in? Pork. No just kidding, it’s duck. It was good duck too. I got a fried duck leg, white rice, some sambal, and some veggies. The duck was great. Very crispy. I will be back to try the other duck plates. Especially since the whole meal, including my coke, was 20,000 rupiah ($1.70). I see some more duck in my future. As I was paying for dinner the cashier lady informed me that the cook wanted to take a photo with me. A lot of the time I don’t really want people taking my photo. It happens so often that eventually you get a little sick of it. However, in this case the food was really good and I knew I wanted to come back. So what the hell. Plus there are probably more pictures of me floating around than I can count. From the “No, I’m toooooootally not taking a photo of you foreign lady” pics people take of me when I’m just sitting or walking around. After that I walked my foreign self home. Then I saw a martabak stand setting up on my way back from my early dinner. That is also in my future now that I know it is there and about when it’ll be ready. Martabak is a popular street food in Indonesia. It is a type of pancake. So yes, gluteny. So I’ll have to get it on a day I feel good and can take a bit of gluten. It’ll be worth it. This stand looked really good.

Now I am sitting in my apartment resting. I don’t want to push it. Meetings on Monday. Can’t be sick. Maybe some reading before I watch a video.

Night night.

Another day.

Today was the day of walking in a circle and spending money in said circle. Last night was rather rough. My throat felt like it was exploding. I’ve never had a sore throat like this. It felt like my throat couldn’t move. Like it was made of stone. Stone that could magically feel pain and was coated in phlegm. So that’s fun.  Then I had to sleep at a specific angle so I could you know… breathe and not choke. Those are two of my favorite things really and I like continuing to do them. After falling asleep I ended up waking up 2 and a half hours before my alarm because my new neighbors have a “special” little child. I thought the loud German guys were a bit of a pain. This kid running around at 6am screaming like a crazy person is much more of a pain. She was having fun. I was not. We will see how tomorrow goes.

I did end up eventually falling back asleep for a bit of a nap but because of that I ended up waking up, getting ready, and eating breakfast way later than I had originally planned. So at about 1pm I asked the front desk folks, who are very nice, about the doctor they had listed in their info book. They told me where it was and that I could just walk in, no appointment needed. So I headed out on the supposedly 5 minute walk. It was 10 but that was ok. When I got there I was told that the doctor only works 2 hours a day at that office and he would be in at 3. So my longer than expected nap was a blessing in disguise. It was 2 o’clock at this point so I went down the street to a Taiwanese dessert place and had a nice tea drink with tapioca pearls while I waited. I then headed back to Apotek K-24 right before 3. I was then number 2 in line to see the doctor. At 3:40 the doctor finally showed up. Didn’t seem to be a big deal at the apotek so I imagine that is normal. Now please note I was and am sick so I was and am very cranky. I didn’t show it but I believe if you’re only somewhere for two hours you shouldn’t be 40 minutes late. The doctor was able to see all 3 people that were there before he checked out, good thing there were not more waiting. He was incredibly nice though. He even broke down what was in each of the pills he was prescribing. So even being 40 minutes late I still say I’d recommend Doctor Paulus. He was kind, informed me of everything that was going on with my throat, was very funny and nice during the blackout that happened when it started to rain, and the whole shebang cost me 325,000 rupiah. That is about $28.50. For the doctor visit and both medications. The last pills I tried to purchase in the US, during the brief period I was insuranceless, were priced at $669.  No, I didn’t mess that up. Six hundred and sixty nine freakin’ dollars. Not including the doctors visit. Which was also very expensive. Sigh.

After the doctors I continued my circle walk. I went to grab some more money and then hit up a restaurant I know and like that was on the way back round the circle. I had some spicy tongseng jamur. A spicy curry-like dish sometimes made with goat but made with mushrooms in this version. It was very delicious. Give it a try if you see it somewhere.

That is about it for my day. I did stop by the store to pick up some snacks for later because I knew I wouldn’t want to go out again. Walking around took it out of me today. Stupid throat infection. Maybe after another night of good sleep + these pills will  make me feel much better tomorrow. At least I’m no longer contagious. Who wants to share some silverware? A straw? Let me lick your face? No? No takers? Fine. Your loss, bub.

 

Tootles, peeps. Hopefully no more “woe is me I’m sick” posts after this one.

Time to get down to business.

 

Gado Gado for the Win.

I had been here far too long to not have had my favorite Indonesian meal, gado-gado. So even thought I currently have more phlegm than Phlegm Mountain in Phlegmville, Phlegmtonia (seriously, it’s a lot of phlegm) I got myself off my butt and adventured out today.

Run!

Sidebar: Before you freak out (I’m lookin’ at you Momma and Grandma) I am going to the doctor tomorrow. The sore throat seems to not be allergies to pollution anymore. It is a different sore throat than I’ve ever had. So it is doctor time. If only it was The Doctor. If David Tennant is at the doctors office tomorrow I am not coming back. Ever. Sorry.  Don’t worry though, he can travel through time and space so it’s all good.

Back to food. I decided to look up a little place I had heard about that had decent food at nice prices. Surprisingly it’s in a bit of a touristy area and still has reasonable prices. It had good reviews and it is in an area of Jogja I don’t really go to so I figured what the hey. This time, the first weeks, are for me to rediscover Jogja and get to know the city. I should go all about. Even touristy areas. And for food? I’ll go pretty much anywhere. So I packed up my stuff, got a taxi, and headed out. The taxi driver I had this afternoon was just such a gem. It was the first time since I’ve been back that I had a full blown conversation with someone without really thinking about it. I needed that. He was just so nice and so much fun. I even wished for a longer taxi ride. When we got to the street he didn’t know the exact restaurant but he was determined to find it for me. Eventually we found it. He didn’t have exact change and offered to get out to ask the restaurant if they had change because he wanted to give me correct change. I said, no bub… you keep that extra change. He earned that 5,000 rupiah. Just by being so concerned about getting it to me, really. Could he have been playin me for an extra bill? Maybe, but you shut your mouth I choose to believe in him, you jerk!

Give me food.

Anywaaaays, I did eventually make it to Warung Heru. Obviously a touristy place because the whole menu is in English. I’ve heard people get all huffy when they travel about how they *huff* would never *huff* eat in such a touristy place. So before you say anything, I’m just not that hoity. I will eat wherever the food is good and the people are kind. Touristy location or not. And the food was good and the people were incredibly kind so boom. My gado-gado was so tasty. Normally I like the peanut sauce a bit thicker but it was so tasty I didn’t care. It was a nice amount of spice and the hot lemonade I ordered after my meal was the perfect combo to battle the phlegm. For those of you who don’t know gado-gado is an Indonesian “salad.” I use the quotes because a lot of people have told me they don’t see it as a salad but that is how it is always described to me. So deal. It is a mix of boiled veggies (aka safe for my poor tummy to eat because they aren’t raw aka washed with unboiled water) with a peanut sauce that I dream about. Common elements are also egg, tofu, and/or shrimp chips. It made me so happy. The right size, the right amount of spice for today (I could go spicier but for a nice relaxing lunch it was perfect), and the right price. It was a good amount of food for 25,000 rupiah. That converts to $2.18 USD. The women who were working the joint were also incredibly sweet. The owner, Ibu Wahyu, sat down when I was done to talk to me for a while since I spoke Indonesian. I forgot a couple words but most of it came out well.  Made me very happy to chat with her. It might have been because my Indonesian was coming back quicker or because she told me I was pretty 5 times in our 20 minute convo. Must have been the Indonesian. Ya. That’s it. We talked about Indonesia, how long I would be here, her son who is in a popular band I guess, and Hawaii. One woman was wearing a straight up Aloha shirt and the warung is next to an Aloha Hotel. I meant to take a picture but I was in a peanut sauce daze. When it was time to go Ibu Wayhu asked if I wanted her to call me a taxi and I said no I wanted to walk around a bit. Probably because I was just feeling so darn happy. I really felt happy today. Not that I haven’t been happy since I landed in Indonesia but today something just clicked. Despite the throat issues I am feeling happy.

Bask in the glory that is gado-gado.

So I walked down the road and got distracted by an antique store. It was a beautiful, beautiful store. Filled with old wayang golek puppets, typewriters, masks, tea sets, fascinating dutch safes, beds, chairs, pipes, looking glasses, just everything. The prices were a bit more than I was willing to pay otherwise I might have walked out with a dutch book of Charles Dickens’ stories from the early 1900s. Why? Because it was beautiful. The sales girl was also really nice. Talked to me about what I was doing there, why, etc. etc. She was cute. Then I walked a bit more and finally grabbed a taxi because the sky started to get taken over by dark swirling clouds.

This taxi driver was also really nice. He talked to me a lot in the taxi as well. Mostly about how I was probably not going to make it to the Ramayana Ballet than evening because it looked like rain. I agreed. We were right. It started to sprinkle on the way home and there was thunder by the time I hit my room. It was nice to listen to the rain and I will be here a year. I can catch the Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan Temple another day. Plus I was feeling a bit run down even after this short trip. I ended up settling down in my room and doing a little work and watching some American TV with Indonesian subtitles.

A photo from yogyes.com showing the temple in the background and the ballet.

Watching TV here is interesting. Reading the subtitles and hearing the actual words is a trip. Let’s just say they are not always translated 100% correctly. After some reading and TV watching is when I realized that I might for real have a throat issue and should go to the doctor. I was pooped and the pain isn’t going away. So I decided to order some soup from a Chinese place down the street. This was not so successful. The soup smelled like vomit I’ve had in the past. Probably because I had had something similar before I got sick last time I got really sick. So I did not eat it. I did, however, end up spilling a bunch of it on my bathroom floor. That was sure fun. Potato crackers (love crackers made with potato flour) and water for my dinner. The interwebs says crackers are good for phlegm because it gets it out of your throat. I call bologna.

So… now that I have started and ended this post with phlegm, you’re welcome, I think it is time for me to hit the hay. I had no idea it was already 11:30. Time flies when you’re trying to hydrate.

Goodnight, my loves.

Sakit.

I always feel a little weak when I travel. It takes a lot out of me. My stomach got hit hard my second day in Yogyakarta. So much so I didn’t leave the room and ordered soup to be sent up to me. I thought I made it go away. Maybe I did… however today something is back with a furry. I feel like crap. I hate that. I hate being sick at home but I at least know I can call someone if it gets really bad. I don’t have anyone to call here. Yogyakarta is my home base because its equidistant from people I know and need to work with but I don’t actually really know anyone in the city. I slept most of the day, ordered some soup from a restaurant near here, and have taken some advil and throat meds. My muscles hurt, stomach is a bit icky, and my throat is killing me. Hopefully I can make it to the apotek (pharmacy) tomorrow and get something more specific. I was going to do some reading today and that didn’t happen so hopefully those new pills will make me feel a bit better and I can get that done tomorrow evening.

Stupid immune system. Hopefully this is the last of it? Please.