Maybe My Ear Is Improving

Wednesday, July 18, 2007--Bogor

I spent a peaceful day at the botanical gardens. The entrance to them is just a short distance from where I have been going to the physical therapist for heat treatment on my ear, so I finished my treatment at 10:20 and walked on around to the gardens and entered them. They are such a peaceful place. They originally were the back lawn for the Dutch Governor General's summer house (which is now the summer house of the Indonesian President). But they started importing trees in the early 1800s and with assistance from the Kew Gardens in London, created a botanical garden with research facilities where they developed the crops that eventually brought a fortune to The Netherlands from Indonesia. They still do research there today. But the main thing is for people to just relax and enjoy the beautiful grounds. It's a huge area that takes a long time to explore. I spent 3 1/2 hours there, and I didn't see everything. I did take time to relax, though. And I had a nice long visit with Mike, the guy from my hotel in Jakarta who just happened to be there at the gardens, too, and crossed my path. (He's the one whose room I entered by mistake when I made a turn the wrong way after coming up the stairs.) He's a nice guy and an interesting one. He's about to become an actuary (a field I considered at one time when offered a job by an insurance company in Dallas) and is traveling before settling into the new job.

I spent part of the day worrying that my other ear might be getting infected. It seemed to feel strange and to pop some during the day. I never could tell for sure, however, so I decided not to deal with it as a problem until there was definite evidence.

Instead, I decided to celebrate my birthday a week late. After eating dinner at a local stall where I had what everyone else was eating--noodles in a thick, sweet soy sauce and a bowl of meatballs in broth--I headed to Pias which is known for its apple pie (and many other apple recipes including things like apple spaghetti). I ordered a small apple pie with ice cream and an iced cappuccino. There was a bit too much crust to the pie (and that's a complaint from someone who LIKES crust), and the apple filling was a bit dry. Without the ice cream, it would not have been very good because of being too dry. But with the ice cream, I found myself enjoying it. The iced drink was nice afterwards, too.

Thursday, July 19, 2007--Bogor to Medan

Well, my special dish from the doctor got lost somehow. My landlady didn't speak enough English. I had asked her to cook some rice and serve me part of it and for her to have the rest. Well, that never happened. And when I checked out today, she never said a word about my dish. Maybe she thought I gave it to her to eat herself. Too bad. I would have enjoyed trying it since it was made by his grandmother and is something you cannot easily find in restaurants.

I left my room earlier than expected and caught a bus earlier than planned. That got me to the airport quite early. The guy at check-in offered to put me on an earlier flight, so I took it. I left at noon instead of 14:00 and got to Medan at 14:15 instead of at 16:15.

I had selected a place very close to the airport as where I wanted to try to stay. But when I got there, I didn't like it. There were no private baths. And there was no private entrance. The house was a bit dark, too. So I continued walking all the way into the downtown area where there are many hotels. My second and third choices of hotels were more expensive than I wanted to pay (more expensive than I paid in Jakarta). I almost gave up like I did in Bandung when I left town rather than stay. But I found a place I can tolerate. It could be a bit cleaner; it could use a better mattress; and it could use some fresh paint. But it has a light strong enough for me to read, a TV with local programs, and a fan that will keep me cool enough.

I'll be here for two days, then I will head to a resort area a few hours from here. I'm hoping my ear will be feeling better by then. It seems to be a bit better today, I think.