Following Doctor's Orders

Tuesday, July 17, 2007--Bogor

I went for my deep heat treatment on the ear at 10:00. Then I returned to my room and stayed there until dinner time. The doctor had told me to rest for two days. I napped much of the day. The new combination of medications makes me sleepy. I read some in a novel. I got some new neighbors next door, but I didn't meet them.

Even though I am in a deadend residential area, it is noisy. I have had to wear my earplugs the whole time I have been in Indonesia. There are many local sales people who travel up and down the streets. Each has his own distinctive sound to get the attention of people. One may bang a gong, another may play an electronic song, another may have a high-pitched continuous sound, etc. The residents know what is being sold by the sound, so they rush out when they hear the sound of the person they need to buy from.

I've been watching the soup-making procedures here at the street stalls. It's a nice process that would work well at home, I think. We tend to put everything together. The leftovers get mushier and mushier as we reheat them. But here, they make their broth and keep it steaming hot in a container. When one orders soup, they make it from scratch by putting things into the bowl--noodles that have been cooked and cooled, slices of raw cabbage, fresh bean sprouts, slices of fresh tomato, slices of cooked meat, etc. Then they put the broth over it all and add some seasonings from bottles. The broth is so hot that everything softens just enough not to taste raw any longer. It would be nice to keep some broth ready at all times and then prepare a soup quickly this way at home.

I went out for dinner to a neighborhood place. Unfortunately, the guy spoke no English and just offered fried rice. They all know that the tourists like that. So I settled for that. It was fine, but I would have liked to have tried something new. Maybe tomorrow....