Jungle walk and beer bathing ceremony.

"John is the Hare today" , said his wife, Retno Duewel. "We have to be there early", she said. John Duewel (an American guy) has lived in Indonesia for over 25 years and speaks fluent bahasa Indonesia. The two of them have been the core of the expats community in Semarang, Retno being the mom of the "family" and John "the daddy". Retno corrected me by saying "the grand daddy" .....

Time flies. I met them 11 years ago when my brother-in-law, Jati worked at Patra Jasa Hotel in Semarang. The hotel facilities were constantly "sold". Part of it was because of his connection with the expats community. John and Retno were already active then in building the international community in Semarang.

I hopped in their car, and my driver followed us. Destination: the teak forest of Boja. About an hour drive out of Semarang, westbound. Though the road was rough, it was worth it. About 40 people met in one spot marked with Bir Bintang Van and its umbrella. Bintang is an Indonesian popular brand of beer which the expats have been loyal to, especially for this outdoor event which happens every Saturday.

The group of runners/walkers are divided into 3 categories. Short, medium, and long distance. I chose the medium since there is nobody in the short category. The "weaklings" like myself were let start first. But it didn't take long for the other group to pass us. The rain made the dirt path slippery, but I love the sound of the rain on the wide leaves of teak forest. Every once in a while I turned my head around to check if there is still someone behind me. The overcast, the deep forest, and the clock soon turn the daylight to dark. When I saw no one else behind me for about 10 minutes or so, I knew I had been the tip of the tail. I sped up and continued to follow the paper trail which sometimes made a Y on a split path to confuse the hashers. I was lucky that I took the right path ( I meant the correct path, which happened to be the one to the right).

I soon heard "tarzan's yell". I couldn't yell back but someone saw me from the hill and waved at others. The first greeting as I stepped on the asphalt road was a huge black scorpion, tail up in the air, claws ready to jump at me. At first glance it looked like a toy that someone had dropped, and I had thought of picking it up. At this time I was joined by Andang, Aping, and Mickey. They had fun with the scorpion.

The group was now gathered at the beer stand and John the Hare was to give a beer bathing ceremony to newcomers in a much fun chant. Every member bears a naughty name that the Hare gives him/her at the confirmation ceremony. The name given to me from 11 years ago was Red Light District, but John gave me a new name...... sorry my mom would not allow me to say it for it is in her language, bahasa Indonesia.

Children in a Pub....... only in Semarang.

After spending 4 months in this town, I finally joined the 'evening get together' of the international/expatriates community in Semarang. The group meet on a Friday evening (usually) at On On Pub which is tucked comfortably behind the legendary hotel (a Dutch heritage, Belle Vue Hotel) now called Hotel Candi Baru.

The Pub has changed, not only its name, but also its general ambience. Years ago, the pub was a place for singles to meet other singles or "singly" doubles who wanted to meet singles or other singly doubles.... and no children. Apparently the scene was getting too much of a "friendly" scene for the quiet neighborhood that the pub was getting "noises" from the not so agreeable neighbors. On On Pub was then sold to a group of people within the expats community and changed the ambience to be family friendly with dinner menu catered to those accustomed to international (mostly european) flavours.

It is indeed a great idea to provide a home for those who are far away from home, to meet and hang out together... and those cute children .... I have not seen them sipping beer.... just yet.

Java and The Water Buffalos

For hundreds of years, this is how the Javanese cultivate the soil in preparation of rice planting. The Water Buffalos (locally called Kerbau/s) are still used to do the hard work of soil prep. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago with a group of friends (all city residents) who had never been to a rice field, let alone dipping their feet into the mud.

New York City Tour

October 1 - 5, 2010
No matter how often you go to visit New York City, until you take the double decker tour, you won't experience New York in the historic sense! If you go there just to get your business done, forget it. You will only be exposed to hotels, restaurants, offices and hit the airport. My suggestion: take a half day (once) and get on that bus ! You will be able to get on and off at various places, such as the Central Park. Spend your bucks and sip pretty the delicious coffee served in a china cup 'n saucer at that famous hotel ..... what's the name ? You know, the most celebrated hotel in Central Park ?

Sure you can learn the history of New York by reading books, and then you drive around yourself to see where those places are. But there's nothing like a story being narrated as you are looking at it.

Also, take the Liberty Island tour. Don't have much time ? Just see it from the boat. Seeing Manhattan from the Hudson river is fascinating too.

Departing Cozumel

March 25,2010
Departing Cozumel.

The ferry ride was easy. We had to drop off our car rental at the airport then take a taxi to the ferry terminal. To find a taxi at the airport is not easy for most mini buses are only for tourists or reserved for groups. When a taxi dropped off another passenger, we asked the driver if he could take us to the ferry terminal. He said "no, I am not allowed to," he said. " You will have to walk to that road to catch taxis". The road he was pointing at was about 500 yards and it was raining. So we went inside the airport to find out how we could get into one of those tourists buses. Apparently the "transportation business has been monopolyzed" by these white buses assocations. But, we managed to purchase a ticket from them to drop us off to the ferry terminal. Took 30 minutes to the mainland, Playa Del Carmen, where we were approached by people offering car rental, and massages. Negotiated with taxi drivers while dragging 3 suitcases is a bit of a challenge.

Cozumel, Mexico

March 20 - 28, 2010

We found a nice condo where we stayed for 3 nights 4 days in Cozumel. The people in Cozumel practically relies on tourism, mostly the cruises that stopped here. We found an eatery inside a local market by the beach that served some Indonesian dishes. I asked them if the owner is Indonesian. They said that the reason they served the Indonesian dishes was because some crews of the ships were from Indonesia and had taught them how to make simple dishes such as nasi goreng, ayam goreng, ampela goreng, sate, gado gado, and a couple other dishes.

The second day we rented a boat. It was a bit windy and cloudy. The temperature was not warm enough for me to snorkel. Mitch went diving, and I opted to take pictures while sitting pretty on the boat.

The last night on the island: We did a taco hopping, enjoying lingua tacos, barbacoa, and consome with garbanzo beans.

We took the ferry to Playa Del Carmen where we were to meet up with people from Mitch's office at the Secret Maroma Beach Resort. Dragging 3 suitcases while negotiating with taxi drivers were a bit of adventure. We only saved 2 bucks, but it was fun. The secret is obvious. If your destination is Secret Maroma Beach Resort, they are not going to give up their price for they figured out if we can afford the resort, we can afford their regular price.

The resort is absolutely awesome. Right on the beach. All you can drink of any beverages from so many bars around the property, and 5 different restaurants: one on the beach, one by the pool, and 3 in the main building. All you can eat lobsterss......!! Mmmmm yumm. We really indulged in the room service for typical hotel would charge extra. As the name represents, they can keep your affairs discreet. There is a delivery "opening" where they can put your order in the box without being able to see you. They would open the outer door and put the food and drinks inside the counter box. As soon as they closed the door, someone would call us to let us know that the food has been delivered. Each and every time.

From our side, there is also a door, which gives us access to the counter box. Your privacy is highly regarded here.

A weekend in New York City

February 27, 2010.

We took another red-eye flight for this weekend getaway from coast to coast. The taxi ride from La Guardia Airport took about 20 minutes. New York was cold, snow piles were every where on the curbsides. But New York is New York. Always busy with tourists.

We stayed at the French Quarters, a guest apartment (so they call it). It's a small boutique hotel in the Manhattan area. Well appointed rooms, with its restaurant on the second floor. Depending on the location of your room, and what night of the week you are staying. The restaurant, which is also a bar, turned into a busy night club on Saturdays, and the noise goes on till after midnight. Just about every other address on this street is an ethnic restaurant, it's really convenient from where we stayed. We never needed a taxi except to go from and to the airport. We walked five blocks to the theatre district, to see "West Side Story". Great Show ! I highly recommend it, especially to those who had come from a different culture, and have now adopted the American way of living. It's entertaining, and learning to understand other culture.

After the show we continued on our night walk towards the Time Square. It brought back the memory of about 5 years ago during a Christmas vacation. My husband and I had had Christmas dinner at Tavern on the Greens (unfortunately it's been closed now). We walked to the Rockefeler Center the next day, then spent another full day at the museum. The day before New Year's Eve, we dedicated it to a day of culinary experience, and learned about Little Italy. Every year on New Year's Eve, I see the cheering crowd around Time Square on TV, and thought to myself, I'll make it one of these days.

But five trips later, I once again ended up being there during a regular day.