Indianna Beckett and the Temple of Borobudur

Ever since I saw a photo of the stupa atop Borobudur temple I've had it high on the list of places I wanted to visit in Indonesia, and a week ago (whilst travelling back from Perth - see previous post) I took the opportunity to divert to Jogjakarta to meet family and friends for a long weekend break.

The break started somewhat hectically when I landed at Bali airport and only had 50 minutes to get off the plane (I planned ahead and only travelled with carry-on), get through immigration (landing card already filled in), pass customs (oops - I forgot the 2 kg of bacon and 5 kg of cheese in my suitcase which necessitated a compulsory "donation" of $10 to the customs agent who told me to zip up and get lost while his boss's back was turned) and dash to the domestic airport (only a minutes walk away and I had already checked in for the next flight in Perth). Even with all that pre-planning I only made the gate by the skin of my teeth.

And so when I landed in Jogja I met up with Adam and Greg who were my travelling partners for the drive to Magelang where our hotel was. After three or four beers, some salty snacks and a breakneck drive through the dark we arrived at our hotel at 10pm. Most of the rest of our party had turned in so we three stayed up and had a few more beers and listened to the river, not 10m away, rushing by.

The next morning we were up with the larks. Actually it was the geese who lived by the river's edge who woke us up so we went up for breakfast. We didn't realise it when we arrived in the night that the hotel was built on a steep slope leading down to the river, so we were quite surprised by the hike up to the restaurant. Fully fortified by eggs, beans and hash browns plans were drawn up for a day at the hotel's adventure playground (tree-top walks, zip lines, archery, etc), lunch at a local restaurant in Magelang and a lazy afternoon by the pool (which was a washout because of the heavy afternoon rains).

On Sunday (day two) I had the longest lie-in since I arrived in Indonesia, waking up at 9:30am, a full 3 hours after everyone else woke up (by the geese again). As I struggled upwards/towards breakfast I met with the gang coming down hill. Rae ordered me to continue - saying that if I was going to have a lat morning I should at least have something to eat lest I turn into a hungry curmudgeon (my words, not hers) later on. I didn't complain. I can't remember what happened during the rest of the day but there was pool time, that I am sure of.

The reason for my memory being cloudy about Sunday was because on Monday we were up at 3:30am (before the geese) and in a bus at 4am heading towards the temple of Borobudur to greet the sun. If you don't know what Borobudur is then I suggest you check it out because I would rather extend this post with photos and not paragraphs of text.

Even though the upper terraces (aka Nirvana) - where the stupa were located - was out of bounds (which didn't keep us from climbing up and subsequently getting caught by security) it was a truly beautiful and amazing experience. I'm in love with the volcanic stone used to build it and the bell-like design of the stupa are stunning.

Following the Borobudur visit we all took a horse and carriage ride through the rural surrounds of the temple to see the how the land and people co-exist. Though not exactly thought provoking, the tour was very nice in its simplicity.

Indonesia might be a frustrating place to live, but I can't deny it isn't beautiful.

By the end of Monday I was a bit tired of the hotel at Magelang and because Dave, Angela and Paige were heading to Jogjakarta (Dave had a early flight on Tuesday morning) we decided to jump into their taxi and make a run for it. We got to our hotel (the 5-star Melia for a staggering $65 a night) at 8pm, put Oscar to bed and said our goodbyes to Dave who was moving from Balikpapan the next day. We really do hope to see you guys in Australia when you come over.

As for me, I had hoped for a lie-in in the morning so took an early night while Rae had a bath. Sadly we forgot that we were back in a proper city and the 5am prayer call woke us up. I secretly believe the geese had followed us down from Magelang to get their revenge for us waking them up on Monday morning. Rae and Oscar were a bit under the weather so we spent a lazy morning in the hotel, with a brief foray to the pool, while Angela and Paige caught up with the rest of the gang (who had travelled down that morning) and went to see more temples. I caught up with Adam at the airport that afternoon and we both flew back to Balikpapan together.

And that was the end of the trip for me. Rae and Oscar stayed behind with the other mums and kiddies, did some shopping and souvenir buying and I got to enjoy two peaceful nights back in the house. Until they arrived and my serenity was shattered. Oh well!

Air, Sea & Land

It's been a very busy week - on Sunday and Monday I travelled down to Perth for the Tuesday morning meeting at Eni, which I followed by a couple of other business meetings and a late night reporting my activity. On Wednesday I had to go to the airport early to make sure two crew members who were travelling out to the Saipem 10K made their check-ins, and then I had to hang around for my own flight to Karratha. From Karratha I flew to the 10K where I spent the night so that I could get a review of Geolog's service, as well as conduct an audit and review my own crew (Mark says "Hello dad"). Then it was back to Perth on Thursday night, and on Friday a follow-up meeting at the Eni office, with a meeting with our consultant immediately after. Afterwards I had to head straight to the airport to catch my flight to Bali and make a tight connection to Jogjakarta so that I could enjoy a long weekend in Magelang with family and friends. Which is where I am now. I'm exhausted so it's lucky we are at a really plush hotel on the bank of a beautiful river.

Happy Birthday To Me

Today marks the 10th anniversary of my 29th birthday, and is the first birthday I've celebrated outside of the UK since I turned 14 (unless you count my 28th which I spent on a rig in the Danish sector of the North Sea, which I don't).

On Saturday Rae pulled out all the stops to plan a great day out. It started with a lie-in when Rae got up at 7am with Oscar. I got up 30 mins later to have a cup of coffee, only to find she'd snuck into his bed while he was watching telly and fell asleep. I left her there until 830 and played with Oscar.

Then at 10 we went up to one of the malls to get some DVDs - Spartacus (Blood & Sand and Gods of the Arena), King's Speech, Tron: Legacy plus a stack of kids Tv shows for my mini-me. We were back at home for 12, and after a quick hotdog lunch (which I've been looking forward to for a week) Brent picked me up for a massage at Majesty, just down the road.

An hour and a half of traditional massage saw me relaxed and oiled up ready for the next phase: go karting! Yes, Balikpapan has a go karting track, and it is a well kept secret. We arrived at 3pm and waited for the group before us to finish up. By the time they were done at 3:30 all the guests Rae had invited - Brent and Arlene, Adam and Danielle (plus 3), Lee and Danielle with Brooke, Karl and Tonya (and William), Angela with Paige (Dave was offshore), Lucien/Tamzin/Mattias, Graeme and Susan and the Weiss clan (Adrian, Antonia and their 4 sprogs - had all arrived. The dads took the kids on a slow couple of laps so that they could get it out of their system early (this worked on all of them except for Oscar) before conducting the first qualifier (Brent, Lucien, Graeme and Lee), with Brent and Lee winning. A stewards inquiry was held after it was claimed that one of the cars was more powerful so we decided to draw lots for subsequent races. Some of the ladies had a go after that, with a few mums taking the more nervous kiddies for a couple of very slow laps.

Then we all chipped in and had our drivers race each other. That was probably the most highly cheered race of the day, with us expats shouting loudly for our own drivers and hooting those who had crashes.

The next qualifier was between myself, Adam, Karl and Adrian with Adam and I being the winners. We decided to have a rest at this point and let the older kids (Claudia and Alec) have a go. Oscar was having none of it so I popped him in my lap and belted round the track for 5 minutes, with him shouting "Daddy we go fast!" and "We in the lead" as loud as he could. He was loving it, and I can't wait for him to be old enough to take himself out on a go kart.

The final race saw the top 4 fastest drivers from the qualifiers (Brent, Lee, Lucian and myself) facing off. Brent drew the fastest car again (lucky #5), with Lee in the second fastest, myself in the one that had a strange sound coming from the engine, and Lucien in the nag. At the start line Brent and Lee held pole position, but they weren't concentrating on the flag so I managed to nip ahead of them on the first corner and gain an early lead. While Brent and Lee were busy battling it out they weren't paying attention to me so I carried on putting distance between us while poor Lucien was stuck pootling along like a granny on Sunday. I wondered if the boys were letting the Birthday Boy win, but Arlene and Rae assured me that the competition going on a quarter of a lap behind me proved that no-one was going to let me have an easy victory. Luckily for me I held on to first and crossed the line, though Lee had slowly chipped away at the distance between us.

The session ended just after 530pm and everyone dashed home for showers and a change before meeting up at Bombay Curry House at 7ish, where we all put in for a lavish spread. Adam and Danielle produced a bottle of white Chardonnay for me, and Lee and Danielle had a busty red. Considering the price of wine in Balikpapan ($30 for something you'd pay $10 at home) these were probably the most expensive presents I'd ever been given!

The day wound down at gone 11pm when the kids were too tired and fractious to keep up, and we all said goodbye to each other. Plans were made for the next day but they all fell through because there were hangovers to be nursed and hyper children to be contained, so each family opted for a quite day at home. Rae, Oscar and I popped over to the pool for an hour before a deluge sent us scuttling off home.

All in all it was a tip-top day, and thanks go out to all who attended - particularly my wife and son who put a great deal of effort into organising it.

Weather Change

We are currently in what is known as the rainy season (aka The Wet if you are Australian). Traditionally it rains all night and drys out during the first hour of the morning, leaving behind cloudy skies and a very humid atmosphere, and lasts from late October to the end of February. Conversely the dry period is just that - high temperatures, cloudless skies and very sporadic showers.

However for the last three years the rainy season has failed to materialise. The general climate pattern in the region has been unsettled (possibly disrupted by deforestation) and rather than light and long rain showers we now get sudden, torrential downpours. These have been the cause of extensive flooding, triggering mudslides, throughout SE Asia.

This weekend's weather is a perfect example of how random it has all become: Saturday was clear and hot (about 35C) while Sunday morning was overcast and mild (perfect for our bike ride in the hills) but in the afternoon a howling wind blew up, thunder and lightening all around, 30cm of rain fell in 30 minutes and a 20ft tall water spout was spotted off the coast. Today it is clear and sunny again.

McKFC Anyone?

Last Friday the expat community shook its head in wonder when the news that McDonalds had run out of icecream for McFlurry's and sundaes spread. Then there was a moment of shock when we found out that supplies of cheese and lettuce/onions/pickles had been reduced to nil. No worries we all thought, we can eat burgers. Our mood was soured yesterday when the latest update reached our ears: NO BURGERS!

Yes, that's right. The world's most famous burger chain had run out of meat patties! So instead of two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun a Big Mac now consists of special sauce on a sesame seed bun.

So what are they serving today? Fried chicken, fries and rice. This country rocks.

Another Taste of Civilisation

I have just got back from another enjoyable trip to Australia. It was nice being somewhere that I could understand all the conversations around me, and didn't have to stop mid-sentence to gather my thoughts and process my next response. Coming back was a culture shock - I transited through Bali where, thanks to the number of Australians in the airport, it was a 50/50 mix of English and Indonesian being spoken. When I got to Jakarta I was reminded that I was in a foreign country when I couldn't understand a word of what was being said.

Anyway, my trip was successful - three meetings in one morning. This is something that can't be achieved in one day in an Indonesian city due to the traffic. I was afforded some spare time to go shopping and so I stocked up on food (bacon and cheese mostly) and popped in to Tiffany & Co to buy a bracelet for Rae (one she'd lost in the robbery). I won points for that purchase :)

And even though I was surrounded by comforting sights and sounds, there was still an element to Australia that reminded me I was in a foreign country. During one of my shopping forays I spotted some some imported tinned Ayam foods (an Indonesian brand of food) and a book about living and working in Britain. Both are strange because in Indonesia we get imported Australian food, and in the UK we can buy books about living/working in Australia. I found it very perverse.

My next trip is scheduled for the start of march, and as it coincides with my birthday I'm hoping to take the family out with me and have a weeks R&R.

McBalikpapan

After months of speculation the Golden Arches finally came to Balikpapan. The hype was huge, as were the queues of people willing to wait an hour or so to get their greasy beef. The expat community was willing to wait even longer, and put off visiting the second McDonalds in Indonesian Borneo (an area roughly the size of France) for a week or so.

Rae and I were in the same mall last week and we decided to brave it and add another country to my McD count (15 so far). I was saddened to see that the Quarter Pounder wasn't on the menu but wasn't surprised at all to find that half of the food on offer was a combination of chicken and rice, the national favourite.

By and large it was a pleasant experience - I had a Prosperity Burger (marking the Chinese New Year), double cheeseburger, fries (exceptionally good) and a Coke while Rae had a blueberry sundae. What I can not condone is the local's practice of ordering fried chicken and sticky rice, rather than one of the half dozen KFCs or hundreds of cafes in Balikpapan. As usual it's all about status and the Indonesians want to have the prestige of being seen eating at an American (expensive) fast food (doubly expensive) restaurant (treble expensive).