Jungle Fever

Well, we were skeptical and expectations were very low, but we could not have ended up with a better holiday. Saturday we arrived in Banjarmasin, a small town in the south of Kalimantan known for its canal/river life. Things were a bit quiet because of Ramadan (getting lunch was a challenge) but we were able to see the major sights. Saturday afternoon we just wandered the city, but Sunday morning headed out to Cempaka, a town about 30 minutes outside Banjarmasin known for their diamond mines.
In the blazing sun, groups of 10 men mine for diamonds and gold. They find about one good diamond a month and the proceeds are split between them. It is hard to explain how hot it is and how hopeless this job seemed to us. There were just piles and piles of rocks and guys sitting in pits of water sifting through them. It seems like even finding one a month is a stretch. Shockingly only one guy tried to sell us some clearly fake gems and when we turned him down he was still incredibly friendly and seemed not to mind at all.
The next morning bright and early (5 AM) we headed out to the famous floating markets, which were incredible. For those of you who have been to Thailand, this is the same idea, but MUCH less touristy. This is a real traditional market that just happens to be in boats on a river. There were 2 markets, the first being a close one that was predominantly food stuffs. What makes this one cool are the floating cafes which you pull up next to and get coffee and tea and breakfast treats. They give you a long bamboo stick with a nail at the end to stab the snack of your choice, which was lots of fun and made it possible for me to ignore that my coffee cup was rinsed in the not so clean river water.
The second market was a bit cooler in that it was really a traditional market with everything from fruit to furniture and it was really bustling. We bought a strange new fruit - jeruk mentega which means butter fruit and looks like some kind of giant fuzzy tomato - and chatted it up with the locals. If you get the chance to have the jeruk mentega, you might not want to bother. It turned out to be kind of gross and the fuzzies gave me a little rash, but it is always fun to try new fruit.
That afternoon our friend Chad joined us and we all did a canal tour together to catch a glimpse of local life. The canals are less than clean, but as you ride along the river is filled with people bathing, kids swimming, women doing laundry and cleaning veggies or rice for dinner. The people were great, waving and yelling hello, kids jumping into our boat or hanging on; it was a great look at real life. The tour culminated at the Pasar Wadai (Cake Market) that is special to Ramadan. Stalls were set up all along the main river-way selling cakes and foodstuffs for breaking the fast. It is a great sight and there are all kinds of delish snacks that you can only get this time of year. Despite our day of eating, we of course indulged in some snacks ourselves and had a nice riverside picnic. Mostly it is just fun to watch people stuff their face as soon as they hear that call to prayer... ironically the anticipation is palpable.
Since things were pretty shut down and Kalimantan is known for its jungle, we decided that we could not be there and not do a jungle trek, so we hooked up with Tailah - the most recommended guide by Lonely Planet - and signed up for a 2 night 3 day jungle trek. Tailah was a great ambassador in the jungle and the trek really turned out to be the highlight of our journey, despite all 4 of us (Chad's wife Trish joined us on Tuesday) being completely unprepared without any rain gear or warm clothing.

Chad stayed in Banjarmasin Tuesday to wait for Trish and Howie and I headed to Kendangan, about one hour from Loksado, where the trek was to start. It is supposed to have a cool traditional market and Lonely Planet said it was a good place to stop on the way. Lonely Planet was pretty wrong overall about Kendangan - the hotel was gross, the market was nothing too special as markets go and there was nothing to do. But the stop was salvaged by this incredible pesta, party, where what seemed like all of Kendangan gathered in the city center, set off fireworks and just generally had a great time. It was quite a scene, with trees lighting fire left and right and the streets packed densely with people on motorbikes. It sounded like Baghdad from our hotel room, but we had fun.
Once in the jungle, the trek went from village to village, 3 hours the first day, 7 hours the second and 3 hours on a bamboo raft back to Loksado the third. The hiking was a bit challenging, with a few steep bits, but not too horrible. All along the way there are small villages where we were greeted with what seemed like everyone. Such beautiful faces, adorable kids and interesting stories.
Most of the villages are Dayak and they live in small communities harvesting the rubber and cinnamon throughout the jungle. Traditionally each village has a balai, longhouse, where anywhere from 10-20 families live together in a community style. The balai tradition is on the way out as small houses are being built in these communities (and after sleeping in one we know why... it is NOT quiet with animals underneath, children crying and zero privacy) but each village has a kepala balai, who acts as a village head. This is a lifetime appointment and these guys have seen it all. We ate dinner and slept in the balai and armed with kretek, clove cigarettes, and candy for the kids, we heard wonderful stories and really got to know people. We even brought some sparklers for the kids, which although in this giant house made of wood made us very nervous, everyone seemed to enjoy immensely.
It is hard to explain the stunning people and sights we saw. Tailah has been doing this for 30 years and knew everyone in every village. There was a lot of respect for him and clearly a trust that was passed on to us as his guests. And by the way, if you are looking for an ego boost, this is the trip for you. I have never been told I was beautiful so many times... and without a shower or a change of clothing for 3 days I am the first person to tell you I was not feeling too pretty.
The bamboo rafting back had some awe inspiring views and a few hair raising moments where I was sure our raft was going to flip and land the few things I had with me in the river. But, despite some rapids, a small dam made of rocks that our captains took down and some heavy rain, it was incredible and fun and a great way to end the journey.
This trip was a great reminder for us as to why we came out to Indonesia to begin with. The people were wonderful, the sights were gorgeous and it was just one great experience after another. The only thing it was missing, as far as I am concerned, was a monkey or two, but I am just getting greedy.

More photos at http://picasaweb.google.co.id/howieandhaviva/SouthKalimantan

Selamat Idul Fitri

We're headed off to Kalimantan for a week because the city (and most of the country) is shut down for the end of Ramadan holiday. We get two days off for the holiday and then are forced to take three more "mandatory vacation days," a concept that would never fly back in the States.

We're going to spend the week exploring the canals and river villages around the South Kalimantan capital, Banjarmasin. We're leaving for the airport momentarily and returning next weekend.

For those of you celebrating other, more Jewish holidays, we wish you a happy new year!

Ramadan's Shofar

You learn something new every day. On my way to the wholesale clothing market last weekend, I was stuck in horrible traffic (nothing new there) and, as I gazed out the window, I realized that the street was lined with drums, made mostly of brightly painted oil drums. Turns out I was not simply stuck on drum street (shops tend to be grouped like that, so to stumble on the drum area actually seemed normal) - these are special holiday drums, bedug.
Bedug are large drums used in mosques to mark the end of the long day of fasting. The shofar of Ramadan, so to speak. Traditionally this is a wooden drum with one or both sides covered with goat or cow hides which come from the slaughtered animals on Idul Adha. Today they still use the hides, but the drums are made from almost anything that can be made into a drum.As it turns out, I was actually near the goat market, which, out of convenience, becomes drum row this time of year. I think we might have to buy one of the drums… would not want those poor little goats to go to waste, would we?

Goodbyes, Puasa and Mudik

To kick of Ramadan, a couple weekends ago we headed back to the Canadian bungalows in hills outside Jakarta. There is not much to tell - we ate a lot of cheese, drank a lot of wine and Howie declared the weekend a success since he did not wear shoes until we got dressed to go back to Jakarta. This picture of our friend Gilles bringing us Bloody Maries by the pool basically sums the weekend up.This past weekend we staying in Jakarta for yet another goodbye party. This time for our friend Manoah, who is moving to Singapore. We know we will see him a lot, but this was a good excuse to get a lot of people together and have a good time (Manoah's specialty.) The night started with 30 people at an Italian restaurant and then we moved on to a karaoke place where about 10 more people joined. This was our first non-China karaoke experience and, to be honest, I am bummed it took us this long to participate. It was the double VIP room (VV.II.PP?), there were about 5 mics and the drinks were flowing. Everyone was singing and dancing and it was a great time. The songs ranged for fabulous 80s to the traditional and dangdut (a mix of Indonesian/ Malay folk, Arabic and Indian music which is as fun as it sounds.) Check out Howie's awesome new shirt as well - it was floral and stretchy!

In the midst of all this, it is Ramadan, which I have to say I really enjoy. Every day, the sunset call to prayer rings out thru radios in the office and half the office goes running into the kitchen. The break-fast of choice is a drink called kolak, which is a (sickly) sweet drink with bananas and sweet potatoes and various other bits. Howie loves it, I personally cannot think of anything I would less like to eat after starving all day. From there they move on to the savory or, actually anything they can get their hands on. Dates are also common Ramadan food and I had a field day with my friend Trish at the market the other day where there is just stand after stand of dates from all around the world.

But more than just watching people enjoy eating so much, I love the vibe in the air. There is a togetherness in the Ramadan puasa (fast) that I find unmatched in any other holiday. While it is only Muslims who are expected to fast, many people who are not Muslim fast in solidarity. The day starts with a "Selemat Berpuasa" (Happy Fasting!) and ends with a "Selamat Buka Puasa" (technically happy opening of the fast, which, I know, is confusing.)

For those of us who do eat, there is a solidarity around that too. Like smokers, we are confined to small areas where people hope no one is looking. There are curtains closed in all the restaurants, despite the "open" signs and, my personal favorite, is the serving of alcohol in tea and coffee cups. As if they are fooling anyone. And, no matter your religion, all day people talk about fasting, who is fasting, what time it over, what they are going to eat, and where they are going for the long Lebaran holiday that concludes Ramadan.

Mudik, the special word for traveling home for the holiday, is like the Thanksgiving trek home. There are no tickets anywhere anymore, buses, trains and planes are all booked out. The malls are packed with people buying special clothing for the holiday and anyone who gets you alone for more than 5 minutes asks where you are headed for the holiday. I love it. Even if we missed the boat and have no tickets anywhere for the holiday... but I will not get into that and ruin the holiday spirit.

Not just another Jakarta weekend

Since we have been spending a lot of time in Jakarta lately, we decided to make sure we make the most of it. Last weekend we packed in the Jakarta goodness starting with a goodbye party at the El Mundo - the Cowboy Ocean Latin Bar - which is as confused as it sounds. We are unclear on how these guys make any money since it was BYOB and even more unclear as to what they were thinking when they made the place. Either there was a lot of thought put into it, or none at all. The stuffed horse head over the door did make for quite a conversation piece though...

Despite too many gin and tonics Friday night, we got up Saturday morning and went rock climbing on the rock wall that is lirterally a 3 minute walk from our apartment. Howie and I have rock climbed before, but not for ages, but we both had a great time. The guy who runs it, Panji, is an X Games, rock climbing professional and incredibly patient and passionate about the sport. Watching him on the wall alone is enough make your jaw drop. This will definitely not be our last time at the wall, despite the amazing soreness in only hours.

Sunday I finally convinced Howie to try the hot stone massage that I have been raving about. No one has ever left disappointed and even though Howie is not big on massages, he too is now a believer.

You might remember our blog entry a year ago about the local Independence Day tradition of climbing greased poles that have prizes hanging from them. This year three friends and I decided to give it a shot at the mother of all pole-climbing venues, Jakarta's Ancol amusement park area, where organizers put up around 150 poles in the ground in a big field.

Teams came to the event from all over Jakarta and there was a giant stage with live music playing. We were the only team of foreigners participating and thus, drew quite a crowd.

While our team didn’t quite make it to the top, we felt victorious as none of us ended up in the hospital.

More photos at http://picasaweb.google.co.id/howieandhaviva/PanjangPinang/

HighEnd Is Officially Launched

Last night was the gala launch of our magazines. Actually, there was no mention of Haviva's magazine, just mine, but I let her come as my date. Yes, we've already published 5 issues, but I guess those didn't count.

The event was held at one of the top hotels in town and the highlight was a fashion show featuring "masterpieces" designed by 30 top designers specifically for the occasion. Haviva wore a lovely Florence Liem dress and shoes by Yongy Komaldi (who she's posing with). I wore a jacket designed by Lewi Saluadji.

Despite being held on Indonesia's Independence Day (and a long weekend) turnout was quite good and the night was a sucess, at least as far as we could tell.

Whirlwind Adventures

Last year at almost exactly this time, I was writing a blog entry about going home for Michal and Chad's wedding (Happy Anniversary guys!) and now I am writing about another journey home. This time there was nothing specific to celebrate, except the Cohens and Parnes all being on the East Coast, and it was more a whirlwind adventure that took us to 5 States in 14 days. We actually slept in 7 different guest beds...

We started in NJ on Long Beach Island where the Cohens - only 16 of them - gathered at a great beach house only one house from the beach. It was not the best beach weather, but Howie and I were actually excited for the cool evenings and breezes. It has been a long time since we have experienced that! Other highlights included a home run hit by me during beach wiffle ball (I am still gloating), some amazing grilled flat ribs ala Sharon Cohen and a family game of Saboteur where we had 2 saboteurs and 1 dimwit... the jury is still out on who the dimwit is. Shockingly, depite perhaps being one of the dimwitted, my mother actually wants to play again.

From there we went to Florida to visit Howie's grandmother. Florida was a bit more steamy, but it was great to see Grandma, 89 and still going strong. We stuffed our faces, took a couple swims in the pool and even did some shopping. Thanks Grandma! The trip was short, but packed with good Grandma time. Much better than just a meal or two had she schlepped up north to see us.



From there it was off to the real whirlwind of the trip which included these highlights:

Staying at Jodi and Reed's and meeting little Leo who was born about a month after our last visit.

Seeing a very pregnant Alyson, hanging out with Jacob at the park and getting "Wubba Wubba Wubba is a Monster Song" stuck in our heads.

Enjoying beers at Washington Square Tavern with Aliza who last year hosted us and our parasite. We were thrilled to be free of that little illegal immigrant this trip!

A Red Sox game that was my gift to Howie for his b-day and where luckily the Red Sox won!!

Meeting little Tessa Grossman, who was born about one year to the day of our departure last year, and having a great dinner with the adult Grossman's at the Franklin Cafe. (If you live in Boston and have not been there, check it out. Dinner was amazing.)

A trip out to suburbia to see the cousins who shocked us with how freaking big they have all gotten, as well as a trip to the attic for Howie to get his golf shoes. (No more excuses about not hitting those beautiful courses!!)

Checking out Michal and Chad's great new place in Arlington and having a really nice BBQ in the backyard with a yummy cake for Howie's b-day.

Hanging out with Howie's parents and, for lack of either of us having a home to hang out to, going to the Arsenal Mall and doing some good shopping.

A fabulous dinner at Pepe's followed by an awesome ice cream cake from Ashley's.

A trip to NYC that included a delish lunch in Central Park and a night in Brooklyn where we were introduced to white sangria. (YUM.) We got to even see Sheila in NYC, who will head to Germany before we get back.

A final relaxing weekend in Hamden where we were treated to brisket and weather that was so nice we spent the whole Saturday outside.

Sadly, we did not get to see everyone we want, but as you can see, we packed in about as much as I think we could. Thanks to all who traveled far and wide to see us, who let us crash in their guest rooms and to those who schlepped us around.

Our trip back was long but relatively uneventful, although our Stockholm to KL flight did make a strange detour that we realized later was to avoid flying over Georgia. The one real snag was coming home to the electricty having been cut off about 5 days before our return due to our negligent landlady. But we solved the problem and kept ourselves awake until 8:30 PM, helping to beat the jetlag. It was right back into life as usual here and the September magazine is chugging along. It will be a busy could weeks, but we will be sure to blog and let you all know about the Gala Grand Launch event Sunday. Should be a very entertaining event.


More photos here: http://picasaweb.google.co.id/howieandhaviva/HomeInJuly2008

Yet another mall...

Jakarta has an obsession with shopping malls, as we have mentioned before. The newest mall to open, FX, not to be confused with EX which is about 15 minutes down the road and owned by the same people, claims not to be just another mall, so Howie and I went to check it out.

There are two attractions that make this a mall worth flocking to: a toboggan that slides you from the 7th floor to the ground floor in 12 seconds and has a long line of Indonesian families eagerly waiting their turn and the Bali Deli which has long lines of white people waiting to ring up their very overpriced Western goods.

The toboggan is a giant twisting clear pipe the curls and dips and makes its way thru the center of the mall. They make you get all suited up (helmet included) and ride in this little cloth toboggan for the ride. Howie was lame and not in the mood to fight the long line so we just watched, but it looked like fun.

The Bali Deli is like a little slice of heaven. It is sort of like a Whole Foods where the produce is beautifully displayed, the meats and fish all look of the highest quality and the price tags add extra shock value. It is hard to appreciate how nice this is if you have not been here, but I still had to share my happiness with you.

FX also tricked us into thinking it has a Cosi, but sadly this is just a name knock off. It turned out to be Hong Kong style restaurant. What is worth looking at near the Cosi are these little meeting pods, each designed by a different interior designer. Meant for "a new kind of meeting experience." We were not clear on how much business gets done with the huge flatscreen showing VH1 and the karaoke that was blasting from the floor below. Oh well, we have been to a lot of meetings and not much gets done anyway...

More Batik for the Collection

This weekend we headed to Central Java for the wedding of one of our colleagues. A dozen of us from the office left on the night train on Thursday after work. (We would have gone on Friday but it's school vacation week and tickets were sold out.) After a nine hour train ride we got in to Solo around 2AM and went to our hotel.

On Friday, Haviva and I wandered the city, which is famous for its batik, looking for an outfit for the Saturday night wedding. Surprisingly, Haviva had more luck than I did, finding a modern-style batik top. My big problem is finding a shirt that has sleeves that are long enough but which wasn't made for someone 300 pounds heavier than me. Eventually I gave in and bought a rather tent-like shirt with plenty long sleeves.

Friday night we had dinner at the same fish restaurant that we went to in January - the one with the owner who took us to the market the next day. We had a great dinner and a nice time catching up with the owner. Saturday we had big plans to visit some nearby ruins but found it difficult to get up in time for an early bus due to the lack of windows in our hotel room. Instead we slept in and did some more wandering.

The wedding was scheduled for 7PM but we were clued in that there would be a family-only ceremony beforehand that we could watch. The actual wedding had taken place in a private church ceremony (it was a Christian couple) on Friday morning, so the rest was just for show. And quite a show it was.

The families were each decked out in their respective batik motifs and the bride and groom were dressed in traditional Javanese garb. We weren't quite sure what was going on, but it was all very cool.

The wedding as a whole was quite different from anything we'd been too before. For one, the bride and groom never left the stage area, well away from the reception. Guests would arrive, sign the guest book, drop an envelope in the lockbox and walk down a long reception line of family members until they reached the bride and groom to pay their respects. After that you proceeded out to the reception area, where you stuck around for anything between ten minutes and a couple of hours.

Our coworkers were there for litearally 15 minutes. They didn't even bother to eat, which was just silly. The food was excellent - especially the desserts. There were about a dozen food stations set up under a giant tent and there must have been well over 500 guests. The entertainment was traditional dancing, which was done by two women who arrived on the backs of men dressed as chickens.

Another fantastic tradition - at least we assume its a tradition - was that guests left with virtually anything that wasn't tied down. We're not talking flowers and centerpieces. People left with all the decorations, including melons, beans, eggplants, gourds, potatoes and our favorite, a bird cage with two birds in it.

Sunday we took the train back to Jakarta - a really impressive ride through rice fields and volcanoes.

Happy Canada Day!

Being members of the press AND having friends in high places at the Canadian embassy meant we got to work and play at the Canada Day gala at the Four Seasons. First Haviva and I wandered around looking for important-looking people to have our staff photographer take pictures of, then we sent him home and feasted on poutin and salmon. It was a lot of fun and a good excuse to wear our batik.

We're both in the market for another batik outfit as this weekend we're off to Central Java for the traditional wedding of one of our co-workers. We're taking the overnight there with a bunch of people from the office. Should be a good time.

Shaking and shimmying with the ladies

For almost a year now once a month (at least) I have been getting together with a small group of ladies for a some wine and good conversation. It is hard to meet people in this city and "ladies' night" has turned out to be great. It is all word of mouth and while there is a small core group, each time we seem to end up with at least one new person at the table, which is really nice. It is definitely I a night I look forward to each month.

Friday night we had a Turkish inspired ladies night at our friend Joya's place. She just got back from a trip to Turkey and it was Maiko's last night in town; she needed a proper ladies send off! To keep with the theme, we hired a belly dancing teacher for a little lesson (after we had a couple glasses of wine of course!) We all shook and shimmied for about an hour with Christine, our fearless leader who was patient with our various struggles. You would NEVER know I was gymnast at any point in my life since Christine had to keep reminding me to turn on my "other left". Belly dancing for the record is not as easy as it looks.

And, maybe just to take the attention away from our bad moves, somehow Joya's wig collection came out. It was a blast and definitely a ladies' night to remember!

Everyone is on the go

It is a transitional lifestyle we have signed up for here and this past weekend we headed back to Pelabuhan Ratu, yet again, for a farewell weekend for Maiko and Chad.

Maiko is headed to DC to meet up with her husband Adam and they are being posted in Zambia with USAID. Chad is leaving us for a new posting in Ho Chi Minh City with the Canadian Embassy. We are already hatching a plan to visit both of them at some point. We were never ones for direct routes anyway, what is a little stop in Africa?

We had to send them off properly, so back to the beach house we went. There was the usual playing in the waves, lazing in the hammock and a huge fresh fish dinner from the fish market Saturday night. The highlight was the Sunday morning breakfast mango tasting - Chad brought 6 kinds of mangos, put them each in a bowl for sampling and we all picked our favorites. I love mango season and as it turns out, my expensive taste extends to mangoes since I chose by taste the priciest of the bunch. Howie is sticking by his "this is ripe and the cheapest" policy.

We lingered as long as we could on Sunday, not wanting to head back to Jakarta and while others toyed with "calling in sick" Monday, Howie and I sadly could not even consider an extra day. This is print week at HighEnd. Even with Howie bringing the laptop and defiling hammock time by mixing it with work, we have still been pulling nothing shorter than 12 hours days.

It has been a long week, but a good one that included one more native English speaker/managing editor on our staff. He has already lasted more than the last guy (3 days was not a hard record to break) so we are thrilled!

June Issue Hits the Stands!

Oops, the End in HighEnd Teen turned out to be the same color as the gray detail in the background, but is readable in some lights... maybe thinking we are "High Teen" will make us more desirable in some circles. This I am happy to report, however, was pretty much the only negative comment I have heard so far.As for HighEnd, you tell us - do you think Miss Indonesia is wearing too much make-up? Is the sash distracting? Again, in the grand scheme most people are pretty happy, so if too much make-up is the worst of it, we are thrilled.

Sailing Away

We just spent another weekend on the Cecelia Ann, the same boat we took to see the amazing Krakatoa back in November. This time we headed for Ujun Kulon - a marine national park off the west coast of Java.

Half the boat was surfers, so the plan was to spend half the daylight hours surfing and half snorkeling. There was also some snorkeling near the surf spots so after the wonder of watching the surfers wore off, there were cool fish to look at. In case you do not know anything about surfing, I learned there is a lot of waiting involved. The perfect wave does not come as often as one might think.

Howie chose to spend most of the surf time as the official surf photographer - flopping around in his mask and flippers and snapping the surfers (with someone else's waterproof camera) as they tried to avoid him. I snorkeled and although I really wanted to surf, there was a bit more reef than I was comfortable with so I will wait again until Bali where the only thing you need to avoid is other people...

We ended up sailing to Krakatoa again on the second day since from the surf spot you could hear the booms - it was just too tempting to those who had not seen it before. I have to admit, the first time was much more amazing for me, but sailing in after dark and eating dinner beside the bubbling and glowing volcano was pretty freaking cool.Overall it was a great weekend. We saw some amazing fish and beautiful reef and the luxury of the boat with good friends and good food was quite a pleasure.