The Train Ride

Day 8, January 18

As said we were supposed to meet at 6 for breakfast. Bonnie and I were ready. We texted the newly weds with no response. We went to eat and then texted them again from the dining room. Still no response. We ate our breakfast, which was excellent. You could get just about anything you wanted for breakfast. If you went hungry it was your fault. If they wasn’t something that you liked you were too picky. Breakfast was a feast. It’s too bad dinner wasn’t as good last evening.

When we got back to the room I called Finanda. Seems they had just gotten up a few minutes before my call and were panicked about missing the train. At about 7:15 there was a knock on the door and Finanda said it was time to go. We finished packing up and we were out the door. Rizcky had gone down before us and a “bell hop” appeared to take our luggage for us.  We went down in the elevator and the bags soon followed. Rizcky had finished checking out and Finanda went to get a taxi. I told here the nice young man that got our bags would take care of that for us. He did and we were off to the station. Oh, just in case you didn’t get that part Rizcky and Finanda didn’t have breakfast at the hotel. Bummer. After checkin at the station Rizcky went off to find some breakfast for him and Finanda. He came back with two back of stuff but one contained water. We went up to the platform and shortly the train arrived to whisk us off to Jogjakarta.

The train was pretty standard as trains go. The seats unfortunately are vinyl. But the air conditioning works well, sometimes too well. With the help of a railway employee we were able to get one pair of chairs turned so they faced one another. I told Rizcky that I now didn’t have a foot rest and he got this shocked look on his face. Finanda then explained to him that I was just kidding.

We have been on the train now for just over two hours. The scenery has been village after village. There have been great expanses of rice fields. The fields are in all stages from being prepared for planting to probably be read for harvest. Often it looks like there are miles of rice fields. The are all being attended by hand. It’ quite easy to see the farmers in the fields working the land. The rice fields are interspersed with slow moving silt laden rivers. The rivers are brown as the dirt around them but still the life blood of the drainages they serve.

The railroad played Iron Man III on the train. The quality wasn’t very good for some of it but it was entertaining anyway. Finanda and Rizcky watched Life of Pi on my computer. All of this activity helped to pass the time on the way to Jogja. The scenery still consists of rice fields, rice fields, and rice fields. The rivers are getting broader as we get closer to the south coast of Java and approach Jogjakarta. Supposed to be “warmer” in Jogja than in Jakarta. Hope not but it is what it is.

We were picked up from the airport by a friend of a friend of Rizcky’s. This person also let us use his vehicle. They took a while to find the home stay place we were in on Monday night but they finally tracked it down. It is out of the way and quiet except for the birds and the lizards. Haven’t seen the lizards and the birds are very illusive. The name of the place we are staying is the Mango Tree Dipudjo Homestay.

After we checked in we lounged around for a while and then went to dinner. It was local eatery by a river. The place was called Lesehan Sayidan. Lesehan literally means no chairs. There were not chair so we sat on carpet around the table. Food was very good though a little spicy for Bonnie. I didn’t enjoy sitting on the floor because my knees are bad. But I was able to get by.

We then went to a place that is mildly entertaining and a good way to get exercise for the evening. Went to Alun-alun Selatun to ride a group bicycle. The one we were in was a five passenger even though there were only four of us. These things are really heavy and it took all four of use to make it around the 1/2 kilometer route. The are lit up crazily with some have insects, birds, dinosaurs, and many other things. They all play loud music so it is kind of entertaining.

We then went to the Semesta Cafe for hot chocolate Finanda and Rizcky had hot chocolate. Bonnie and I had and iced chocolate float with vanilla ice cream. The chocolate is very tasty. I would recommend it.

From here we went back to the homestay. We spent some time with Rizcky and Finanda and gave them the cards from church and our family. We turned in around midnight. Hope we all sleep well.

Sorry, no photos for today. Guess we didn't take any.
 

Wedding Day

Day 7, January 17

Finanda

We got up early, well not too early when compared to when we have been getting up, but early just the same. Went down for breakfast and were checked out and ready to go by 7:30. We have a pick up at 7:30 for wedding ceremony. Initially Finanda thought we shouldn’t go to the wedding ceremony because it might make us too tired. We told her we would do whatever she wanted. A little later she decided we should go to the ceremony. She wanted us there.

We were actually overjoyed because we wanted to be there. The ceremony was done at the Islamic Center in Bekasi. It’s the same place the reception will are held. Finanda got to the center at about 6 AM in the morning to get ready. When we arrived we were taken to see her and she was exceptionally beautiful or should I say more beautiful than ever. We said hello to her and her family and then were ushered off for the ceremony to start. The beginning brought the two families together outside the mosque where they would be married.

Rizcky and Family

The groom arrived in traditional garb and was escorted up to the entrance by his parent and family members. At this point there were official greetings from the Imam at the mosque and from officials of the families. We were all standing in the sun, with the temperature int the 80’s and the humidity at about 100%. It was very warm. Just how humid was it. Let me explain we were in the car about 15 minutes to get to the Islamic Center. The air-conditioning was running and it was a little warm but comfortable. When we got out of the car is felt sweltering and my glasses immediately fogged up and I couldn’t see a thing. It was like at home, in the winter, but the condensation was not frozen.

Bonnie and Finanda

So the greetings were said and the pictures were taken and finally we were off to the ceremony. Everyone filed in with the groom and Finanda followed shortly after every one was situated. Did I say how beautiful she was? Both Finanda and Rizcky knelt before a low table and the ceremony began. Again there were greetings and the invocation of the presence of God in there marriage. There were chants, vows, and much I did not understand. The marriage booklets were completed and signed and the wedding was over. The people present in the mosque greeted the bride and groom. Once the greetings were done the married couple went off somewhere. I have not asked where they went so can’t say more.

From the ceremony we went to the reception hall. Breakfast was being served but we had eaten before we arrived so didn’t partake. There was a reception line of men and women, men on one side and women on the other to greet guests as they arrived. The reception line was made of relatives and close friends. There was a place for people to sign in, pick up a party favor, and leave an envelop. There were to different favors to choose, a glass with the name of the bride and groom and the date or a token to get you picture take by the photographers that were shooting the wedding.

Bride's Mom and Dad

This still  was pretty much a waiting game until about 11:30 when the bride and groom arrived in the hall. The food was still being put out along with beverages for all of the guests. When happy couple arrived pandemonium broke loose. Everyone wanted their time to be with Rizcky and Finanda. The line to greet them and their parents was very long and densely packed until the reception was nearly over. There was great qualities of delicious food. All types of Indonesian food you could imagine. Another opportunity for me to taste new things. Some I liked, some I didn’t, and some were so-so. We had a great time. Bonnie and I were celebrities as well. Because of our light skin and Bonnie’s red hair many people want to have their pictures taken with us. I joked with Arief that we should set up a booth and charge 50,000 rupiah to have you picture taken with the westerners.

The Lovely Bride

Finanda and Rizcky stood up the whole time during the reception and graciously greeted everyone that came to them. The got no rest and no opportunity to eat. But they were really troopers through the whole process. Everyone attending seemed to have a good time and enjoyed the food, music, and pictures. Soon it was all over. The hall was empty except for a few and the cleanup crew. Finanda and Rizcky went off to change clothes and get ready to go to the hotel in Jakarta.

The Happy Couple

At about 2:30 PM we left the reception hall and headed back to the Amaroosa Hotel. Finanda and here mom wanted to go through the cards so they could divide them up and begin the process of saying thank you and paying the bills. There were a lot of cards. Only a few were opened and most contained money for the bride and groom or for the family. The process of paying for all of the festivities will be left for another blog at another time.

At about 4 PM we left for the hotel in Jakarta. The ride took about an hour since it was Sunday. If it had been a week day the ride could be as long as two hours maybe longer. I’m glad it was Sunday. On our way to the hotel Rizcky wanted to stop at the train station to trade the vouchers in for tickets so it wouldn’t have to be done in the morning. The taxi then took us to the Hotel Aryaduta. This was be far the most posh place we have stayed in so far while here. The room was spacious. There was a writing desk with materials to us and a bank of plugins for all types of devices including cat5 cables. The hotel has been around a few years but was still in the luxury category. I only had two complaints, we did not get a nonsmoking room (not the hotels fault) and the toilet area in the bathroom was a little cramped. All things considered it was an excellent room. Thank you Rizcky and Finanda.

Couple and Sisters

We decided to get together for dinner at 7:30 that evening. We adjourned to our rooms and Bonnie and I got things situated. She did some reading and I did some writing while we waited for 7:30 to roll around. At the appointed time we rapped on the newly wed’s door. Finanda answered and said they decided to pass on dinner. So we went down and had a very expensive (by Indonesian standards) and mediocre meal. It’s too bad I was hoping for better.

The Crowd

We went back to the room. Bonnie turned in for the night and I did some writing and made sure the electronics were either charged or charging before I went to bed. I turned in around 10:30 probably the earliest night of the trip for me. We are to meet for breakfast at 6 in the morning.

Bandung Technical Institute

Day 6, January 16

Breakfast at the Tune was not much different than the last few days. It has been consistently good during out stay. The staff has been very nice and helpful. Would stay here again in a heartbeat.

We checked out of the Tune Hotel in Dago, Bandung, Indonesia this morning. We will be off to Bekasi last today to prepare for the wedding on Sunday. Arief had to tutor some students in physics this morning from 8 ’til 11. After we checked out and had the hotel store our luggage for us we sat around and waited for Arief.

At about 11:30 Arief arrived and we were off to tour the Bandung Technical Institute. The campus is large with a mix of new and old buildings that ahead of their time when they were constructed. Went up on the roof of one that was relatively new and got a nice view of the city and some of the surrounding country side. There was a super hero club initiation going on and it was fun as we moved around campus to various things the students were doing for entrance into the club. It looked like it was more or less a scavenger hunt. One interesting feature of the university is there are many more motor cycles on campus than automobiles and the parking areas reflect this relationship.

From the university we went on to the bus station by taxi. Bus fare for Bonnie and I was 180,000 rupiah. Not bad for a three hours bus ride. The bus left about 15 minutes late. The bus center in Bekasi is in the Hypermall. Our hotel, the Amaroosa, was right next door to the mall. We walked. Along the way we were asked at least 5 times if we wanted a taxi. It was very interesting because they didn’t ask Arief if he wanted a taxi on Bonnie and I.

On our way to dinner in the Hypermall we stopped and got Bonnie a phone case for the phone we bought before we left Anchorage. The case cost 60,000 rupiah, $4.30. The same case in Anchorage would have been $30. So there are bargains in Indonesia other than the hotels and food. So now it was off to dinner. I was little dubious of having dinner in a food court at a mall but we did it in Seattle with good results so why not? We ate at a place called Cobek Penyet. When we walked in we were the only customers. However, Ariefs friend assured him the food was very good. We ordered our dinner and it indeed was great. Bonnie thought her’s too spicy but she was able to eat most of it. So far my experience has been that the Indonesian food is wonderful.

After dinner strolled around the mall for a while and then returned to the hotel. Finanda’s brother is supposed to pick us up at 7:30 in the morning so we need to be ready.

Museum Day

 Day 5, January 15

Day number 3 in Bandung. Same morning routine as previous days. Rise, morning stuff, and write while Bonnie does her exercise. Some days I write more than others. Also putting reviews on TripAdvisor for hotel, attractions, and eateries. I use the reviews so seems only right to some of my opinions out there for other to see. Some people actually find them useful.

Breakfast was pretty much the same this morning with the addition of little omelets. They were tasty. Breakfast has been very good during our time here. We were again supposed to meet Arief at 8 AM. Alas, it was not to be. He had texted pictures to me for your time together yesterday at about 7 so thought he would be here but he laid down and fell back to sleep. We did our best to keep busy while we waited.

Upon Arief’s arrival we took a taxi to the the Geology Museum. This is a place I was very interested in visiting. There was a problem. The museum is closed on Friday. We did tramp around on the grounds. If the grounds are any indication of what is inside this is a place to go when you come to Bandung, Indonesia. There was a display of early oil technology, a number of displays of petrified, and a basalt sculpture that was just beautiful. There was a display of the three different types of rocks. This building yard is more informative than many full museums.

From here we walked over to the Indonesian Postal Museum. As a stamp collector this was interesting for me. I enjoyed looking at all of the memorabilia, including post boxes, scales, and vignettes of postmen from decades past. And of course there were stamps. Stamps from all over the world that were very accessible to the general public. This is not a museum for everyone but I had a good time.

Saung Angklung Udjo is an Indonesian cultural show. There was dancing, music, and puppetry. The puppet show was a demonstration of how the puppets are used to tell a story. There are the good puppets and the evil ones. The puppets fight and of course good wins over evil. The demonstration was brief but in reality the stories that are told with the puppets take hours. Then there was singing and dancing by the children. They also played the Angklung during their singing and dancing it was quite enjoyable. After the children were finished Angklungs were distributed to every member of the audience. The master then proceeded to teach us how to play songs following simple directions from him and his son. With good direction we were actually able to play a Beatle’s song and another which I forgot the title. Near the end of the show about 10 people used banks of Angklungs to perform one of Queen’s greatest hits. It was a very interesting musical demo. As the last hurrah the children came back out, sang a song, and then proceeded to bring members of the audience down to the floor to dance with them. A good time was had by all.

We had dinner at the Cisangkuy Market. It was quite tasty and very inexpensive. Since this was a day and a half ago I don’t remember what anyone had to eat. I only remember it was delicious and they only take debit cards.

After dinner we went to see the movie, The 5th Wave. I had seen previews in the theaters in Anchorage about this movie and I wasn’t impressed and didn’t expect to go see it. Well turns out the movie was quite good and we saw it a week before anyone in the States. It won’t be released there until January 22.

Exploring an Old District

Day 4, January 14

Woke up this morning generally refreshed. We are supposed to meet Arief at 8 AM in the lobby for the day’s adventures. We got down to breakfast at about 7:40. Certainly was not a traditional US breakfast but was still filling and quite delicious. There was curried rice, baked chicken, little strips of something. bok choy, fried tofu, juices, coffee, tea, and many other things. On TripAdvisor people complained about the food but not sure why.

Supposed to meet Arief at 8 AM and here it is almost 10:30 and we haven’t heard from him. Hopefully nothing is wrong. Suppose we will find out later. We decided to go and get a SIM card for the extra phone we have. The front desk called a cab for us and we were off. We asked the driver to wait for us and he actually helped us with the purchase. I’m really glad he helped us out because the lady we were working with understood no English. The purchase was made and tested. All seems to be well with our new Indonesian phone number and internet account. The cost for 2 GB of internet access and a huge number of minutes and text messages, $6.53. All can be renewed for the same price. I think the US carriers should get a message from this.

Shortly after we got back to the hotel we did hear from Arief. He was up very late working on an assignment for his classes at the university and over slept. We finally got together just shortly after noon. We went to a historic district in downtown Bandung. Many of the building dated back more than 100 years and some back to when the Dutch were the country of “ownership” for the Indonesian archipelago. Some of the overhead electrical lines dated back for some time as well. Indonesia has been occupied by the Dutch, English, and the Japanese. Shortly after the end of WWII Great Britain granted independence to Indonesia.

In 1955 there was The Asian-African Conference the link is to the 2015 commemoration of the conference. Many nations from Asia and Africa got together to discuss the colonialism that was still widespread on the two continents in the 1950s. We went through a museum that is established on the site of the conference here in Bandung. Once a week the children in schools in Indonesia still recite the 5 points that we established during the conference.

At about 2:30 we had lunch in this area. We ate at The Kiosk in an area of town called Braga. The very cool thing was the menu had pictures so you could see what you were ordering. You maybe couldn’t tell what it was but at least you could see what it looked like. I had a beef dish with white rice and was absolutely wonderful. We also had an appetizer that was delicious. Bonnie and Arief had the same dish, chicken, rice, and something else. Both said their meals were very good as well. Three meals at the outrageous price of $9.

As we walked back in the direction of the hotel to hale a cab it struck me that there are a lot of motorcycle and scooters in this city. If all of the motor "bikes" were cars no one would be going any where. The "single" passenger, two wheeled vehicles take over the road.  Single is in quote because I have seen as many as four people on one bike. This evening I even saw one holding the bridle of a horse and leading it while riding the bike. There are parking lots full of cycles and scooters as well as hundreds maybe even thousands parked on the roadways in orderly rows.

Once we got back to the hotel I found that I had a text from Melanie checking to see if we were okay. Didn’t even know there was an attack in Jakarta. So we turned on the TV to get some news on the situation. I also made a post on FB so that people who might be concerned about our safety would not worry about us. Once we got caught up on the news we did a little TV watching, the end of two movies. Bonnie took a nap. Then I did some writing on this document and messed with the phones some.

Arief called at 7:30 PM asking about dinner. So the three of us went to a place called the Lawangwangi Cafe. Not the greatest meal we have had in Indonesia but the view was fantastic. There was a panorama of the city below and in the distance. Pictures turned out badly so you won’t see any.  The view in the daylight must really be fantastic and very green. The meal was okay but not as good as lunch and certainly a lot more expensive. I say expensive but it was a little less than $11. I had a

The taxi ride on the way back to the hotel was uneventful. Of course, that’s the way taxi rides are supposed to be. We will meet up in the morning to stroll around the University Arief attends and then go to a cultural event at 3 PM. Have no idea what it will be.
dinner, Bonnie had soup, and Arief just had a milk shake. But the view was spectacular.

Speaking of taxi rides, once again by US standards taxis are cheap and probably the best way to get around if you don't have a guide. The hotels are great about helping you with taxi rides. The "blue" cabs in Bandung are metered so they won't jack up the price on you.

I will come back and edit this putting in links and pictures as soon as I get things together.

Trip to Bandung

 

Bonnie on the Bus

Day 3, January 13

Woke up at 6:30 this morning. Not much of a sleep but then it usually takes a few days to get accustomed to the time change. Had the alarm set for 7:15 but we were both up and moving long before then. We met Arief for breakfast at 8 and had a very delicious meal with a wide variety of foods. I had and omelet, spicy beef, curried chicken, noodles, tater tots, and a mess of other stuff. I should have taken a picture but I forgot.
Went back to the room to get things organized and discovered I had left my headsets on the plane from Tokyo. Spent more than an hour at the airport trying to get some information and all we came up with is a phone number. So will call that later today and see what happens. Hope I can get them back. Bonnie was able to get hers back when she left hers on an Alaska Airlines  flight. Anyway Arief booked us tickets on a minibus to Bandung, Indonesia and we left the airport at about 12:30. We have been in a couple of parking lots called freeways since then but now are moving just fine. Started raining about 1 PM and that should be pretty much a daily occurance. Bonnie is trying to nap as we roll along. It’s supposed to take about 3.5 hours to get to Bandung. We shall see.

Don, Bonnie, & Arief at hotel

It took us four plus hours to get Bandung. Not to bad considering the traffic and that it rained much of the way. Along the way we saw the cone of an extinct volcano, many terraced and non-terraced rice fields, and a whole bunch of tree I had never seen before. So the scenery was very interesting but difficult to photograph because of the rain on the windows. Bandung is quite a bit higher elevation than Jakarta so it should be a little cooler here. But Arief said it rains here more so there are always tradeoffs. We will have a quiet evening at the Tune Hotel (it’s a chain in SE Asia) and Arief will join us for dinner at about 9 PM.

We went to Cafe Halaman-Ho for dinner. They had live music that was too loud to carry on a normal conversation. The music was fine but just too loud. Bonnie had fried rice, I had noodles and chicken, and I’m not sure what Arief had, but he seemed to like it just fine. Dinner and beverages were 165,600 rupiah ($12). Very reasonable and tasty. Went back to the hotel for some rest and decided to meet at 8 AM in the lobby. Good night all.

Getting There Was Not Half the Fun

Day 2, January 12

No luck getting on first or business class, damn. It’s not really a different day for us but we did cross the international dateline. Spent 11+ hours on flight from LA to Narita, Japan. Now we go from Narita to Jakarta, Indonesia. This flight is 8 hours. We left a little late and had a headwind so we arrived in Jakarta about half and hour late. Turns out they changed their immigration rules. You now don’t need a visa if your stay is less than 31 days. That saved us $50. We will actually be going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on this trip so will actually be here less than 30 days and then back again. So immigration was easy and customs just took X-rays of our carry on bags on the way out. Finanda Hafizah was waiting for us on the other side of the customs wall. She is such a wonderful you woman. Arief Purnomo was also waiting for us. Finanda brought her whole family along (her brother is taking the picture) and it really made us feel special to have so many people meet us. We have reservations at the J Hotel and Arief had already called the shuttle from the hotel so they were waiting for us after our reunion with our exchange son and daughter. The hotel for overnight was just fine. I will posted a review on TripAdvisor.

Jakarta, Indonesia with the Gang

  

It's Off to Indonesia

Day 1, January 11.

We actually started on Jan 10 but only just before midnight on the 10th. Trip to LA was uneventful. We did get upgraded to first class on the flight from Anchorage to LA. That was nice. Had two drinks and a chicken salad. Got free digi-players as well. Check-in with American was easier than I thought it would be. Going through LAX was pretty painless except for the lack of sleep. Bonnie is feeling poorly this morning. I think it’s a combination of the stress in getting ready for the trip and the lack of sleep on the red-eye to LA. She is lying on the floor in the terminal right now trying to get some rest. Would be nice if the rest of the day was a first class day as well. We will see.