Goodbye, Bali; Hello Sulawesi!

Monday, June 25, 2007--Ubud to Makassar

Last night I went walking in the dark and discovered many fireflies in the area where my room is. How beautiful they were in the night.

This morning, Sabine, a traveler from Belgium who is staying in another room came to visit while I ate my breakfast. She is a nice young lady, although a bit naive. She is here on her own, but friends will join her soon. She is doing a good job of getting out and exploring, although it is only her first trip to Asia and her first time so far from home alone.

The landlord has created a problem and asked my advice. After hearing versions of the story several times, I THINK I have figured out the true story: When Anna came yesterday, they promised her my room for a week at only 50,000 rupiahs per night. (I'm paying 70,000.) Then in the evening they got a call from a lady who knew about that particular room and wanted it for a longer period of time and would pay a higher price. So they promised it to her and started worrying about how to deal with Anna. They asked me if I knew Anna's present hotel so they could go and tell her. I didn't. Then they asked if I could help talk to her when she came. (The version to be told to Anna [and that they told me at first] was that these people had been there before and had left a deposit for today which the landlady had forgotten to post. Then they called last night to say they would arrive around noon.) Anyway, Anna didn't come before I left in the afternoon. So they had to deal with her on their own. They did take my advice and contacted a neighbor with a similar room and made arrangements to tell Anna it was available for her if she wanted it. I'm sure it was a mess.

I went walking on the ridge where I had been yesterday. It had such nice views, and I missed getting photos of most because of my camera battery going dead and my not having a replacement with me. Today, I visited again with one of the painters as well as taking the photos. I got back to the room at 13:00 when I had told the owner I would need my ride to the station (which he offers to everyone who stays there).

I got my bus to the airport and arrived with over 3 hours to spare. I read for a while and then checked in. I just happened to be seated on the place beside an interesting young guy. He is afraid of flying. His chest was really heaving as he breathed quickly and deeply. He even grabbed my knee at one point when we bumped a couple of times going through clouds. Most of the flight, he sat with his eyes closed and his lips moving.

Indonesian airlines are not known to be among the safest. In fact, several countries, including the U.S., have warned against traveling on them. But there is really no alternative to go from island to island without spending many hours or even days on ferries. The government supplements fuel costs, so tickets are less than $100 between destinations. One interesting thing I noticed was that there is a prayer card in the seat pockets. It had prayers that could be read according to religions: Islam, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, and Buddhist.

I got frustrated trying to find a hotel after taking a taxi into town. The one I had selected had only superior rooms available which meant a price above the limit I wanted to pay. I found a place at a reasonable price, but I am not happy with it. It is dark and it is old. It's fine otherwise, but I find it depressing to be there.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007--Makassar, Sulawesi

I awoke with a bit of a sore throat and with a stuffy nose and stuffy head. I hope I'm not taking a cold. It might just be allergies. Anyway, I am a bit sluggish. That just made me more depressed with the room. I decided to leave town, so I have spent most of the day making arrangements.

I bought a bus ticket to take me tomorrow to Tana Toraja (spelling?). It's a mountainous area in a remote part of this island where people bury their dead in unusual ceremonies. There are hiking trails. So it will give me a chance to be out in nature again.

After buying the bus ticket, I bought an air ticket to get me out of here on July 2. The plane will leave in the evening, so I will be able to take the bus back from the mountains and get off at the airport without coming back through the city. I like that, since I don't really find it that appealing. Unfortunately, I could only get an air ticket to the port city in Java rather than to the more artisitic city where I want to go. I'll have to deal with staying overnight or taking a night train once I get there, I guess.

Travel in Indonesia is not easy. Often, it takes 3 forms of transportation to go to one place. For instance, I have to take local transport to get to the bus tomorrow morning. The bus used to leave from the office in the city, but the local transport union got the government to restrict it to the outskirts so they could get money from everyone going there. Sometimes it is necessary to even go in the wrong direction at first because of the way transport is structured. For instance, people leaving from Ubud in Bali to go almost anywhere northward, eastward, or westward has to first go southwards to Denpasar, then take local transport across Denpasar to another station where a bus leaving for the other direction will depart. It makes it frustrating for a tourist who doesn't speak the language and who doesn't know the exact fare to pay for all the local connections.

For lunch today, I ate at a very local place. People share tables. It's a soup place. I got a bowl of broth with chunks of beef in it. On the table are everything else needed. I put some soy sauce in the soup and some chile. I squeezed some lime juice into it. Then I opened a woven banana leaf package of sticky rice and used the spoon to dip out some rice and then retrieve some of the broth. It was really very delicious. They served boiled, iced water for free. The meal cost about 50 cents U.S. The place is open 24 hours and had all kinds of people eating there, but more poor ones than any other kind.

Note: Internet connections will be expensive and slow in the mountains. If they are as bad and as expensive as I have heard, I may not post again until July 3 or 4, so don't worry if there is nothing here. If I am wrong, I'll be online posting as usual.