Congklat (chong-klat)

It sounds like the Indonesian word for Chocolate actually, but I'm not writing about food this time... Congklat is a very popular game in Indonesia, and in fact, all over Asia. Although it is also sometimes called Congkak, or Congklak, which means ‘cowrie shells’ (because those are used as playing pieces), it is thought that the name is derived from the ancient Malay word “congak”, which literally means “to count”… this makes complete sense given the nature of the game itself.

During our visit to Bema traditional village in Flores, Sigit and I came upon this lovely group of ladies sitting around chewing betelnut and playing congklat while shooting the breeze. Some of these are Sigit's pictures, some are mine.

Broken ribs...

Martin didn't get very many days wakeboarding before he pushed the envelope a little too hard, and (possibly) broke a rib, which layed him out for the better part of two weeks! I can't imagine how painful it must have been to actually keep him from the water!

Martin being silly one night we had spare ribs for dinner:

Indonesian Bathrooms

I have previously written about the squat toilet, as inspired by a sign on how to use a ‘western’ toilet in a mall, but when I got home to Canada I realized that I haven’t written about the Indonesian bathroom in general…

In coastal area villages, the bathroom is still basically an outhouse built out over the water (river, lake, ocean):




But in most areas aside from these, bathrooms in Indonesia tend to have a few things in common other than the squat toilet:

The MANDI

Most bathrooms do not have showers (except in modern homes and hotels)… so there is a MANDI. A bak, or tub, which is filled with water, and a scoop (gayung) used to scoop and pour water over your body with one hand while desperately trying to scrub and lather with the other before the next scoop has to be taken. The ‘mandi’ is one of the reasons I was thinking of getting my hair chopped off in the first few months in Indonesia (the other, as you can imagine, is the incessant heat)! This scoop also serves as the 'flush' for the toilet.


TILED SURFACES

The entire bathroom is tiled, from the floor, the bak, right up to head-height…. This is because of the bathing style of splashing everything everywhere… there are no limitations imposed by a shower stall or bath tub… no, no, you just rub-a-dub-dub on the floor! This is a somewhat liberating experience, but the toilet paper (which isn't traditionally used by Indonesians, so isn't normally an issue) usually ends up a soggy mess!




The BIDET

Only in fancier homes and hotels, but in most public toilets. Always fun for a laugh the first time a westerner tries to figure out what that extra knob or button is for while looking for the flush – usually ends up as an impromptu shower! The more complicated the system, the funnier the outcome! Since this hotel HAD a shower, it was easy to know what the extra spray nozzle was for!

Home again, Home again, Jiggity-jig!

We're BACK ON CANADIAN SOIL!!!

Transit in Taiwan... although we didn't have a long stopover, there was no lack of eye candy in the Taiwan airport! We enjoyed the free massage chairs most of all!



aaahhhh...


We arrived in Vancouver to a simple and painless customs process, and my cousin David waiting to pick us up! Although it was already about 9pm, of course it was still light out (something I haven't experienced for 2 years, and for Martin, a completely new phenomenon in his life!)

Since being at the cottage at Christina Lake, BC, our primary activity has been wakeboarding and waterskiing… Martin, of course, is a natural. He got up on the second try on the first day – faster than anyone else ever has in our experience!

gearing up:


he got right up the second try! (you can see our cabins in the background):










of course, Martin's learning process wouldn't be complete without a few wipeouts and faceplants!


But, boy do we ever wish we had a set of those massage chairs here at the cabin now!!! It’s a whole new set of muscles that have lain dormant for a little too long!

Papuan Food Explorations

Papuan food explorations:

During our time at the Danau Sentani Cultural Festival, we had the opportunity to try a few Papuan 'specialties'...

Papeda - in fact I have tried previously, is made from Sagu (Sago) flour. Sagu is the traditional staple carb in Papua although it has come to be replaced by rice. In this state, as Papeda, it is akin to glue - bland, with no flavour; your classic tummy-filler! Definitely not a stand-alone meal! Depending on what it's paired with, it can be edible and worth a try... especially , as a dumpling in a yummy fish soup/curry, and to learn the proper serving technique (see Cecilia below).





Bagea - Sagu Cookies - also made from Sagu flour (below)... quite tasty this time, but when I tried them previously they were hard as rock. They had to be dipped in tea before eating; so i was told AFTER chomping down on one the first time, and a quick trip to the dentist!





Ulat Sagu (Sagu Grubs) – offered in the form of ‘grub kabobs’


Siput Danau (Lake Snails) - in my enjoyment I forgot to take a picture... but just as delicious as escargot!

Matoa - a fruit, also endemic to Papua. Not my favourite (it tasted a little too similar to durian to me!?).

Danau Sentani Cultural Festival

My last mini-holiday in Indonesia (complete with my Indonesia holiday buddy, Cecilia) was to attend the first ever Danau Sentani Cultural Festival in Papua. It was an absolutely incredible experience, and certainly worth the expensive plane ticket from Sorong to Jayapura (provincial capital)! This was the first time I had been to another area of Papua, and the short visit only convinced me of one thing: the need to return!

I think my festival pictures will tell more than words, enjoy!































Of course, since the 'koteka' (penis gourd) is used only in mountain tribes, we didn't see any authentic ones, but in the souvenir shops there were many for sale; we thought this one was most-interestingly shaped!


One evening we went into Jayapura (the provincial capital), and we even got to meet Michael, the runner-up for this year's 'Indonesian Idol' (akin to American/Canadian Idol, except Indonesians are really fanatical about it)! He was one of the stars of the show.


We were staying at the best place on the whole lake as far as we were concerned! We were even able to access the festival site (several kilometers away) by boat instead of walking and using public busses in the insane heat!

Flores
The Land of Flowers

...or The Land of the Tube People, as I came to affectionately refer to it during my holiday there in May.

There are a few things synonymous with the island of Flores in Indonesia: the textiles, the flowers, and of course, the tri-coloured lakes.

My 'Tube People' reference has to do with the textiles and the temperature! After two years of living in coastal Indonesia (average temperatures easily over 30C during the day), I found it COLD in Flores (albeit not unhappily so!). Of course, I was mostly visiting the mountainous areas... because that is where my friend Sigit, another CUSO volunteer, lives! But it's not just me, and my newly-adapted coastal blood, Flores really is quite chilly! So... people use their fabulous thick, tightly woven sarongs as full-body wear to keep them warm.




Getting to Flores was an adventure in itself... because there are no direct flights to Bajawa (the small town in the central mountains where Sigit lives), I spent an enjoyable overnight in Kupang, West Timor. Next morning, bright and early, I report for my flight to Bajawa, with only a handful of other people... because that's all the plane can seat; we're flying in a small twin-engine with a 1-2 seating configuration! It was really windy, and the pilots were struggling to keep us steady... I think they were quite stressed, as they were smoking throughout the entire flight - no kidding!



There is only a curtain between the cockpit and the cabin... there was no doubt... I'm just not sure they didn't open their windows to ash as well!? Anyway, after THE craziest landing I've ever had (which entailed a literal hop, skip and jump, as well as breaking SIDEWAYS down the runway!) we deplaned... I swear I saw the captain kiss the ground!



Straight from the plane we visited the natural Mengeruda hot springs, which were perfectly relaxing after the hair-raising flight! (The beer Sigit brought helped as well!)


I was lucky to visit Sigit at a time when he had lots of field work to do; he works in Eco-tourism for the Ngada Regency, so his 'work' was my 'vacation'! We spent a lot of time on his motorcycle, blackie...



... and I really experienced WHY Flores is called 'the cape of flowers'; it honestly feels like you're driving through a gigantic wildflower garden!







I got to see an amazingly-varied amount of the island considering I was there for less than a week!


We went to Aimere on the South Coast...





Riung and the Seventeen Islands Marine Park on the North Coast...






The traditional village of Bene...



... and I made a side trip to some of the traditional weaving villages, and had lovely visits with the ladies...

I also got on the road at 4 am for a solo motorbike ride up to Kelimutu National Park, the home of the tri-coloured lakes... when I got there my hands were frozen around the handlebars and had to be pried off... luckily the hike up warmed me up, and there was a gentleman at the peak serving tea... aaahhh.



Visiting the lakes was a religious experience in itself, but of course, to top it off, I was joined mid-morning by a group of nuns and a priest (who also happen to be working in Sorong). I actually spent the entire morning up at the lookout, just hangin', reading, visiting with the unique characters that happened my way, and enjoying the colour changes as the sun rose higher in the sky... by the time I left, the middle lake appeared to be an opaque, chalky robin's egg blue.



I chose the perfect moment to come down from the summit, because it was about to be turned from my peaceful respite into a MAJOR party! As it turns out it was the continuation of a religious holiday and it included a 'pilgrimage' of sorts to this lake. So, as I was getting ready to leave....



I was also lucky enough to meet Sigit's good friends Mama Mia and Pak Lawrence; at their house I was introduced to the Florenese tradition called 'nalo' (the gathering, eating, drinking, and discussion of friends and family). Nalo inevitably involves 'moke'. I thoroughly enjoyed both the Nalo and the MOKE!


Moke is actually a mildly(?) alcoholic. It comes directly from a specific species of palm tree (below), and with no distillation or processing whatsoever it is a cloudy whitish liquid. It has a very unique, possibly acquired, taste!



Traditional ceremony in Narualsdkjf


I got stranded in Flores for an extra night by a plane breakdown (as Martin says, better before take-off than somewhere over the Flores Sea!)... but made the best of it, and went wandering around Ende, finding myself in my favourite situation... the market...


... and like almost everywhere else I've been in Indonesia, I am a bit of a star, gathering a fan club wherever I go... oh dear, what a let down it will be to be back home in Canada where I'm just another regular Canadian! haha!