Motorcycle Diaries

I noted the smirks on his friends faces as we left. Latter he explained that his friends were teasing him. They said that usually he stopped for sugar cane juice with them, but today he had a beautiful girl to drive around so they guessed not today.

I had noticed similar looks from friends-of-drivers in the last few days. I'd gathered that very few foreign women hire motorcycles around here. Most go for tuk tuks. Which makes sense. Most girls either travel with significant others or the way that they go to the bathroom--in flocks (I've never understood the flocking thing. I like peeing by myself thank you very much). And tuk tuks offer more space.

"Have you ever ridden on a moto-bike before?"

"Yyyess..." I said hesitantly. It was true. I had sat on the back of a motorcycle for a brief stint down a crowded street in Honduras, and zipped through traffic a few times in Taiwan. But I wasn't sure where this question was going. I was NOT willing to drive one if that was what he was asking. Especially not in Cambodia, where traffic laws were merely polite suggestions and the cardinal rule was if you can get away with it, do it, and if you can't you pay in blood.

"I thought so", he said, "Most tourists, they are scared to ride moto-bikes. But I think you are not scared."

Extremely pleased, but also surprised, I quickly took stock of my current situation.

It was true. I was practically riding like a local. Sitting behind my driver, feet gently resting on the foot pegs, one hand on my knee, the other, closed in a loose fist, laying just in front of his right hip. Not holding on, but in a position to counter balance any quick stops or starts. It's hard to imagine that just 5 days ago riding a motorcycle seemed a torturous last resort. Eyes half shut, arms wrapped tightly around my (different) driver, both hands twisted in his shirt, legs squeezed so tightly that they hurt when I finally got off from the deadly few kms down the road from the Siem Reap airport. Now my concern seemed so silly. Funny what you can get used to.

In my new found exhilaration I leaned my head back toward the sky and stretched out both arms. It's a bird, it's a plane, its a Clerky.

I have to say, I have never understood the whole motorcycle thing. Not that I haven't taken a risk or two in my life. But motorcycles always seemed like a needlessly dangerous way to get from point A to point B.

I think I am beginning to understand.

She ain't messing with no.....

"Some Cambodian girls, they don't like to marry young men. They like to marry old men. Do you know why?"

"Uh...money?" I said.

"Yes" said my moto driver as we sped along the bumpy dirt roads of Cambodia at uncomfortable speed. Would it kill someone to invent seat belts for motorcycles? "A lot of Cambodia girls like money. They want to date a rich man. So they have nice things and don't have to do too much. Not all of the girls. Just some of them."

"Yeah", I said. "That happens in America too. We call them 'gold-diggers'."

"Goal Diggas?"

"GOLD. Digger. Someone who is digging for gold. Looking to get rich. Gold digger."

"oh. ok. golD Digga"

"Yes. So next time tourists come and you are showing them around, and you want to tell them about Cambodian women, you can tell them that Cambodian women are gold diggers. They will know what you mean. Ok?"

"Ok"

Ahhh...educating the masses.

still here

hey. was going to update today but just too tired, and this internet is just too slow.

I'm in Cambodia. I''m alive and well.

Planning on flying back to Singapore on Aug 29th. Flying back to Detroit Sept 2nd.

Love you and miss you all and looking forward to catching up....

and spending countless hours in my own bed!

quick check in

Hi all. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe and sound and in Luang Prabang, Laos. WHICH I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!

I've got a bus to catch so I'll have to fill you in later. Must go trekking through jungle and swimming through waterfalls!

LAOS IS AMAZING!

Indonesian Adventures

I love Indonesia.

I'm not ready to leave. I don't even feel like I've explored the islands of Java and Bali properly, and there's still thousands for me to explore (literally).

I got very settled into Yogyakarta and was able to rest up and get over my stomach flu. I took a 2 day course in batik while I was recouperating and was able to make my very own small square of batik cloth (Batik = South East Asian method of creating artwork on cloth by putting wax on the cloth and dying it different colors). Naturally I made a design with a fairy and a tree, sun, moon, and swirlies =) And only burned myself once! Good god that stuff is hard to do. And soooo time consuming. Although my instructor told me I had "batik talent". =) I think I will never be able to bargain for it again now that I know how much work goes into it. I'm going to have to try to do some more when I have more time stateside.

I also got to see some of the most amazing runes.

I took a day trip to Borobudur, only a few hours away and one of the great South East Asian monuments. I think its also the biggest temple in Indonesia. I got there in the early afternoon and hiked around it until sunset. Truely unreal. Literally thousands of carved stone reliefs and hundreds of buddas--mostly hidden inside of hundreds of stone chambers. And what a view from the top! I will post pictures when I find a place and time to upload them.

I also spent an afternoon and sunset in Prambanan--a HUGE Hindu temple complex that once consisted of over 50 temples. Unfortunately an earthquake in 2006 reduced a great many of them to rubble and many that are still standing are badly damaged and covered in scaffolding. But still larger than life. And set to the background of an amazing sunset (It was a little cloudy in Borobudur, but clear and stunning in Prambanan). It was so beautiful and I was so awestruck that I thought I was going to start floating on air.

Yesterday I sadly left my headquarters in Yogyakarta (or "Jogja" as it is nicknamed) and bused out to Cemoro Lawang. It was an 11 hour bus ride! We got in around 8pm. Due to an unfortunate chain of events (long story that involves misinformation, places closing when they weren't supposed to, and several people lying to me...I hope unintentionally), I was unable to get money exchanged or go to an ATM before heading to Bromo, and there wasn't any banks nearby. I only had $28,000 Indonesian Rupiah (about $3 US dollars!). So I ended up skipping dinner. Which wasn't so bad. I ate whatever I had in my pack: Oreos, a Kitkat, some crasains. I saved the power bar for the hike. I had a cup of noodles, but no hot water. I tried eating it raw. Yuck. I've eaten Ramen noodle packets raw before, and they're pretty good (don't knock it till you've tried it). But Cup of Noodles, not the same. I think they were pre-seasoned. Ick.

And then I tried to sleep at 10pm or so, but some annoying European kids were hanging out in the hallway being as loud as hell. I was sooo annoyed. Damn kids! I felt like such a cranky old woman. Complaining about people (honestly probably not much yonuger than me) having a few beers at 10pm. In my defense however, I DID have to get up at 3am!! I was in Cemoro to see Bromo--a big, active volcano which looked much more like it belonged on the moon than on Java. And everyone said the best time to see it was at sunrise, so sunrise it was. And Bromo was still an hour's Jeep ride away. And then a 12 km hike.

I finally got some sleep and got up a few hours later and faced the challenge of dressing. I had brought one light jacket with me from the states. However, after never using it in 2 months, AND after confirming that no place that I would be going would ever be lower than 70 degrees, I left it (along with my laptop and some of my other belongings) in Singapore (I'm going to pick them up before I fly out). However, I had failed to look up the temperature at the TOP of the volcano. Bromo was supposed to be 4 C that morning (around 39 degrees F). Damn it. I basically ended up wearing everything that I had in my pack -- two pairs of socks, zipoff cargo pants over jeans, over underwear. A tank top, a tee shirt, another tank top, arm warmers, my one, light long sleeved shirt, a bandana, and my sarong rolled up around my neck like a scarf. =p. While I was not toasty warm, the get-up worked surprisingly well. I didn't freeze at all (the hike helped).

First I went to a look out spot for views of the sunrise over the mountains. Then I returned to the base to hike to the top of the crator. The views, sunrise, hike and the volcano were all spectatular, if a bit too crowded for my taste. But it was packed for good reason. Bromo is one of the most unreal things I have ever seen. If I blocked out the other backpackers, I could just about imagine dinosaurs roaming around the mountains, hills and volcanos of Gunung Bromo.

Covered in about 12 layers of dirt and dust and smelling like surphur, I got back to my hotel, showered and headed out to Surabaya. Or at least I tried to. Although I booked an onward bus to Surabaya that was supposed to drop me off at my next hostel, it seems there was some confusion, and/or they forgot about me and/or they ripped me off again (all of which happens when you're a little girl traveling solo and there's lots of groups of tourists clamoring much louder than me). Anyway, I ended up waiting for an hour for a bus that didn't come, and when I complained they put me on a public bus. Which was well and good except for it dropped me off at the public bus station 10 km from Surabaya with no ATMs or banks or money exchangers and I still had no money for a taxi (and hadn't had a proper meal in over a day). I was just about to get up the gumption to start walking into town, when one of the security guards took pity on me and came over and (after some explanation) helped me find the public buses to downtown. But even then, I didn't have enough money to go on the nicer bus (which cost $4000 Rupiah..or about 50 cents). However, after going through my pockets, purse, and pack, I was able to come up with $2500 Rupiah of coins--enough to get me onto the cheap bus. A rusty clunking thing that looked like it might have made an ok school bus about 30 years ago. But it worked and I had no choice.

In fact, once I was settled in, I had a great time. There was no AC, but it wasn't as hot today as it's been some other days. And yes it took over an hour to go the 10km but it was an interesting ride -- people playing music for money, and selling things. And I got to meet some of the locals who were quite entertained that I ended up on their bus. And if I still had to walk 4 or 5 blocks to find a hostel, at least I found one. And at least they had an empty room.

I have since checked in (promising to pay them tomorrow), FINALLY got to a money exchanger, FINALLY ate food (ok, it was KFC, but it was the closest thing, and I was ravenous). Am now pretending to be a guest at the Sharaton in order to use their internet (couldn't find a cafe).

All and all, I think my trip to Java was a huge success. Especially considering some close calls.

Tomorrow, Malaysia!

No Worries

Quick update in case the last post left anyone worried.

I have found a place to stay! Not only that, but I *LOVE* it. I may never come back. (just kidding, just kidding). The place is owned by an artist. He has a hostel, a restaurant and an art gallery. And I absolutely love his work. All three places are covered in it. I got the blue room. Muralled up in swirls and dolphins and sea turtles. His style is totally Dali meets tribal meets SE Asia and I'm in heaven. My room is really nice too. Normally I go for the diiiiirt cheapest. Which usually means shared bunks, no AC, and a gross, shared bathroom down the hall with a non flush toliet and cold shower. Here, since I had no choice, I have my own room, with a queen sized bed, AC and a private full bathroom. Granted the water was still cold, but who cares.

Good thing too. After I walked around the palace grounds for a few hours I was totally exhausted. Went back to the hostel in the afternoon and slept half the day. Feeling much better now.

I booked the room for 3 nights. I love Yogy and its in the heart of Java so it makes for good day trips. Then I'm doing a two day trek to Mt Bromo, then heading to Surabaya, from which I will fly to Malaysia.

It's going to be a busy week.

Java: More than a cup of joe

Bali was awesome. There are pictures on facebook and I will try to blog about it at some point. Perhaps when I'm back stateside.

I went back to Singapore for all of 3 days because I had to give my presentation on my research and attend the closing ceremony. Except I got back to Singapore and got really really sick. I don't know when I've felt so bad (figure skating regional championships when I was 14 is the only time that came close). So I missed all of it, and spent the whole time in bed. Finally went to the clinic worried that it might be Malaria, but the Doc said it was probably just a bad case of stomach flu. He ordered lots of rest and fluids. So what do I do? hop a flight back to Indonesia of course. I didn't mean to. Not exactly. See I already had a flight out for the next day, and I tried to cancel it, but after half a day on hold with Air Asia I got fed up and said screw it. So I threw my meager belongings into my backpack, turned in the keys to the apartment in Singapore where I've been living for the last two months, and taxied out to the airport.

I thought I was going to miss the flight for sure, but as it turned out it was running very late.

* * *
I stepped out into Jakarta and knew that I couldn't deal with it. The plane was inexplicably an hour and a half late. Then there was customs and visas and lines. Then there was the hike to the bus, all the while fending off taxi drivers hassling me. Then there was a storm. It poured. There was traffic. It took over an hour and a half to get from the airport to Jakarta. As I emerged from the bus to darkness, smog and pouring rain, cab drivers yelling at me to hire them, children yelling at me to let them hold umbrellas over my head for a fee, and men yelling at me because I was a woman, I decided I'd had my fill of the city. I ran across the street to the train station and bought a night train ticket into Yogyakarta.

My main desire for visiting Jakarta was the nightlife. It was supposed to have some of the best clubs in SE Asia. Huge techno powerhouses that opened thurday night and didn't close until monday morning (In my head, they look like the club in the Matrix II). But in my current condition, i could barely walk, and was definitely not going to be dancing the night away anyway. And while the rest of Jakarta seemed fascinating, it was not high on my list of things to see in my short time in Java. From the bus ride looked exactly like you would picture Jakarta would look: poor, dirty, crowded. skyscrapers and slums and card board shacks (think slum dog millionaire).

The train ride was ok. 8 hours. From 8pm to 4am. I paid for first class (still only $35 US) hoping to get a sleeping berth, but there were none. Still, it was air conditioned (freezing actually) and the chairs reclined a bit and I was able to sleep on and off. 3:30am came and I decided I'd better stay awake so that I didn't miss my stop. Around 4am, the train stopped. But no one got off. I looked around. No announcements were made. I was just about to get up, when the train started moving again. I decided it must not have been my stop. 30 minutes later, I decided it probably was. The next stop was Solo, I knew, which was about 45 minutes away from Yogy. I asked the man next to me, who confirmed my fears. Still, not the end of the world. Solo seemed cool and I could always get another train back to Yogy in the afternoon. around 5am we finally stopped. I got out at Solo. ...only to find out that it was in fact not Solo but Yogyakarta after all. Go figure.

I walked down to the backpackery center of town, down to a place I heard was good but the rooms were all booked for the night, and no one was leaving at 5 am. Still, they offered to let me sleep on the roof top. Which was really nice of them. Still a bit on the sick side, I really really wanted to lay down. I slept for a few hours, and went back downstairs. 8am but still no vacancies. I walked around to some other hostels. All booked. Maybe I should have looked at 4am. But what can you do. The first place said that I have dibbs if anyone checks out. In the meantime, I plan on exploring the city. Yogyakarta is the old-school-cultural center of Java. Full of markets and tuk tuks. They even still have a sultan! I'm going to visit the palace this afternoon. I figure if no beds open up, I can see if they'll let me sleep on the roof again. And if not, I can always take the train into solo and try my luck there.

Either way adventures are sure to be had!