First Impressions of Singapore

I arrived in Singapore after three years of living in Indonesia and I must say it is quite overwhelming. Life in Indonesia is slow, small and dirty. In Singapore, it is like stepping into a gigantic amusement park run by Walmart. Just about everything at street level and most stuff below is either shopping or eating. I'm talking an entire city of it! It is also a weird mix of English, Indian, Chinese and Malay cultures. You see people that are clearly one of the ethnic groups and a million westerners here as well. I really like that since it means people don't stare and if I stop someplace, the person next to me doesn't feel compelled to find out who I am. Anonymity. What a beautiful thing.

A couple of odd things: The hotel that I am staying in has to date back to the British colonial rule. The elevator is barely big enough for three people and has the gated doors that you have to slide back and forth. The fire hoses look like something out of a movie from 100 years ago. Kinda fun.

Last night as I was walking home, they started shooting off fireworks to test them out before the independance day celebration in a couple weeks. It was very eery because it sounded like we were under attack. The booms would echo off the walls of these enormous skyscrapers. I saw the lights in the sky though so I wasn't very worried.

I went here with the intention of buying a laptop and even have the model picked out. I found it in a few places but they are asking a significant amount more than I am willing to pay so I will probably leave here without one.

I'll be here till Friday I think so I'll try and update you more later.

Finishing up in Bandung

I've been sorting through all the stuff I left behind to see what stuff I want to bring this time. It is amazing how much stuff I don't really need anymore. Most of the things that I still own are clothing and toiletries. Most of my books I shipped home (by the way mom and dad, three boxes should be arriving soon). I've got everything finished up and I'm ready to go except for my exit permit which, like usual, is taking until the very last minute. I've got to check in a minute to make sure that my passport is ready since I am leaving tomorrow morning.

This will be my first time in Singapore even though I've been in Indonesia for three years. Most people go all the time but I've just never gotten around to going. I'm excited because there is so much shopping and good food. I plan on gaining back a few pounds while I'm there. I've dropped quite a bit since school got out.

Back in Bandung

It was great to get back to Bandung again. I rented a car and driver to drive me from the airport in Jakarta to Bandung on the new toll road. It has cut the drive time from over four hours on a good day (seven on a bad) to around two hours when there is no traffic and not much longer when there is. It was fun to whiz by all the old curves that used to take forever and give you nausea.

It seems that everything here has changed in the two months I was gone. That may be because I'm now used to living in Banda Aceh. Some other major road projects were finished that has really changed traffic a lot. There is also a bit of a fuel shortage so lots of people aren't driving. This has resulted in people driving faster and lots more people getting killed.

Everything seems to look newer and cleaner than when I left. I guess this is because of the state of Banda Aceh and Meulaboh after the tsunami and being used to that now. It is good to be beach though and see all my friends.

New Job

By the way, I have a new job! I sent out a newsletter to everyone but it is official now so I can announce it. I'm the new Livelihood Project Manager for Samaritan's Purse and I officially start on the 5th of August when I arrive from Singapore back in Banda Aceh. I'm really excited to be working this job with a great organization.

A morning full of events

This morning a few guys and me decided to go climb a nearby mountain. Seems easy enough, huh? Well, we took off down the road and after about an hour we were getting close.

The first thing that happened was that this young woman driving a motorcycle decided to turn right from the left side of the road without signaling or looking or anything. The motorcycle in front of me just missed her but I plowed right into her. She was knocked clean off the bike and her bike kept going a ways and ran off into the woods. I managed to keep my bike up and stopped on the side of the road. Everyone turned out all right and there was only some minor damage to the bikes. After talking with her parents and helping them with some medical costs we were on our way again. Hopefully that is one indonesian who will look before entering a major freeway now. Seriously though, that has been the source of more near accidents for me than all other causes put together. When Indonesians turn left off of a road they slow down and get all the way over to the right side and then just fly across without looking or signalling. Same the other way. They also just fly out into roads from cross streets without looking. I'm suprised more aren't killed.

Anyways, eventually we made it to the base of the mountain where there is a military base so we stopped to ask permission to climb the mountain. They told us we needed to go back up the road and report to a mobile brigade so we did that. Unfortunately I was under the mistaken impression that passports are for entering and exiting COUNTRIES and in Indonesia they are for mountains as well. I got a thorough grilling for only having a copy of my passport and not the original and for not having reported to the police in Banda Aceh yet. Talk about freedom of movement. Oh, he also scolded me because I should have know because it is the same in America. We have to carry around our passports and report to the police when we arrive in a city. When I corrected him that it isn't like that in America he didn't get much happier. Eventually he let us go with stern orders to report and always carry our passports with us. I guess next time I decide to climb a mountain I won't forget my passport.

We did find some hills to climb which was almost as good. Turned out to be rather fun after the rough stuff in the morning. I'll be leaving for bandung in the morning so that will be a great break.

How orange is red?

I love a country where traffic lights are optional depending on traffic. Between my house and the internet cafe there are four lights. Coming here today all four were red but I just went right on through. No one batted an eye. Not even the policemen standing at two of them. That reminds me of an Indonesian joke.

There was a guy who ran a red light. A policeman pulled him over and asked, "What's the matter? Didn't you see the red light?" The guy replied, "Yeah, I saw the red light but I didn't see you."

YAE

This morning around 9 local time there was Yet Another Earthquake. I'm not sure how big it was but it shook a little. I'm going to stop reporting them unless they are powerful enough to knock me to the ground or cause a tsunami.

Another Climb

Tomorrow (Friday) me and a couple other guys are going to go climb a mountain... just because it is there. I've been trying to pick a mountain while they have been in Kuala Lumpur getting a new visa. There is a beautiful volcano not too far away and some mountains near it. At first I wanted to climb the mountains but apparently that is where all the GAM (local freedom fighters) are and it is a little too dangerous. Okay, how about the volcano? It is the polise training center to combat GAM. I think we'll try the volcano since they hopefully won't shoot us.

Upcoming travels

I've got to leave the country at the end of this month. I have to go to Bandung first for a week to get an exit permit. It is totally Indonesia that I have to get an exit permit and that it takes a week to get it. Oh, and if I'm waiting on them to finish it when my visa runs out, I have to pay the penalty for overstaying my visa. Then I will be going to Singapore for a few days to get a new visa. It will be my first time to visit Singapore which is incredible seeing that I have lived in Indonesia for 3 years and have yet to get there. Can't wait. They have a Taco Bell, Subway Sandwiches and many more western restaurants. All I have here is a KFC and they only have chicken and rice. I'm leaving Banda Aceh on the 24th, leaving Bandung on the 31st and arriving back in Banda Aceh on the 5th of August.

It's Official

Over the three years I've lived here in Indonesia, I've seen just about everything being hauled around on the back of a 100cc motorcycle. I've seen refrigerators, matresses, entire stores. Yesterday finished off the list. I was behind a guy carrying a kitchen sink. That makes it official. I've seen everything being carried around on a motorcycle, even the kitchen sink!

I promise a job update by the end of next week. I'm waiting on things to become official.

Presents from Singapore

Some friends just came back from Singapore on a visa run (having to leave the country to renew their visa) and they brought me a bunch of goodies. I got a Subway Sandwich (first I've had in three years!) and a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, also from Subway. They also brought Apple Jacks and Golden Grahams cerial! I enjoyed a bowl this morning. So good!

Back from Sabang

Sabang was great. The island was covered with old growth forest and surrounded by tons of coral and fish. I drove my bike there and took a ferry across. On the drive to the beach I saw several troups of monkeys, two huge (4-5 feet) monitor lizards, giant fruit bats and wild boars. I stayed on the beach for $1.50 per night in a little bungalow. I snorkeled the first day and did two dives the second day. The fish were amazing here.

This island is only 200km from the epicenter of the earthquake and is very near to Banda Aceh where the damage was the worst in the world but only 12 people died on the whole island. This is amazing if you go there because of how many people are near the beaches. They said it was because the island is surrounded by deep water so the waves didn't really have time to form and because the were tall hills surrounding the island so you only had to run 5 meters to get out of the way.

Another great place to visit in Sumatra. Wow.

Vacation for a while

I'm headed out to Sabang which is on Weh Island just north of Banda Aceh. I decided to take a vacation for a few days so I am going to head up there. I'm not sure what the internet is like there so I may be out of contact for a few days. Hopefully I can get some good diving and snorkeling in while I'm there. As usual I will be bringing my video camera to record it for use later on, maybe.

Housing situation

For the last couple of weeks I had been staying with a friend who had a house rented through the 10th of July. On friday as I was on my way back from Meulaboh, i got two smses (text messages on my phone) at the same time. The first one I opened up and it was my friend saying that he was giving the house back to the owner that day and that I needed to move out. The second one was another friend who said he was leaving for the US and needed someone to watch his house for a month. Amazing! So now I've moved in to the second house and out of the first. I plan to stay there until I go back to Bandung at the end of this month to renew my visa.

Back to Banda Aceh tomorrow

I'm headed back to Banda Aceh hopefully tomorrow. I still don't have a flight confirmed for tomorrow morning but hopefully I will be able to go. I hope to get some more news soon about getting a job but things move slowly with money around here.

Life in Meulaboh

I'm staying at the UN base camp which is where the guys are that are running the internet cafe here. If you want to know what it is like, they have made a cool website with lots of pictures. Many of these pictures are similar to the trips I've made recently. Check it out.

The Blombergs in Sumatra

Helecopter to Meulaboh

I got a call from a potential company last night asking if I wanted to fly down to Meulaboh to check out the area and see if I would be interested in working there. I accepted the flight for early this morning but it was delayed due to bad weather. We eventually made it out and I was able to see most of the road from the air that I took by bike last time. I got some great video of it and will add it to my trip video. Now I'm here in Meulaboh for a few days and will be checking things out...

Quake in Central Sumatra

There was an earthquake last night as some of you may know. It was located pretty far away. I thought I felt something but wasn't sure. Come to find out this morning that there was a 6.8 last night. Nothing around here though.

CNN story on earthquake

Happy Hari Kemerdekaan

Happy Independence Day all you Americans out there. It has been non-stop parties out here for the last couple of days. I went to one Friday, Saturday, skipped one yesterday and have another tonight. Things will probably slow down though after the 4th. It is fun to enjoy the holiday with Americans and non-Americans. Enjoy the weekend!

Reflections on the trip

Overall my trip was an incredible experience. I’m very glad I did it although I wouldn’t do this one again. I would do a different part of the world though. The roads in general were very good and traffic was very light across Sumatra. There was a part near Larat that was pretty bad and another part between Bukit Tinggi and Danau Toba that didn’t exist. There were usually potholes in places and occasionally sections that were bad but usually I was able to drive between 25 and 50 miles per hour. The reason I had to go so slow was because of all the millions of turns through the mountain. There were some flat stretches that I went a little faster near the coast. You know how they say that after a while of riding a horse you get used to the saddle and it doesn’t hurt so much anymore? I’m still waiting for that to happen. I still get pretty sore after about an hour.

My favorite places
I had two favorite places on the trip. The first was Bukit Tinggi which was absolutely awesome with lots to do and buy. Great places to stay. This would be my first choice for the backpacker looking for lots to do. The second was Danau Toba which was secluded and quiet. If you are looking for a place to get away and look at beautiful sceneries, this is your place. I enjoyed both.

Most challenging part
The most challenging part of the trip was between Meulaboh and Banda Aceh since that is where the road had been washed away by the tsunami. As I wrote about earlier, I almost didn’t make it at times and I definitely didn’t have the right kind of bike for the trip. If I were to do this section again I would get an off-road bike with high wheel wells and I would take less stuff. I read in the paper around that time how the road had become impassable and trucks weren’t making it through. I can vouch for that. The two miraculous things (and I don’t talk about things like that lightly) that happened were first when the guy gave me water when I was almost at the end of my strength with dehydration and when a guy came by near dark when I was about to pull over and pitch my tent for the night. He was going to Banda Aceh and showed me the way for the next 5 hours and even showed me to my hotel.

Things I’m glad I brought
I’m glad I brough my boots that Arvin gave me for my birthday. They are high quality military boots and not only did they protect my feet the whole trip and made the journey bearable but they also made all the military guys think I was a general so they left me alone. Thanks a ton dude! I also am glad I brought my biker pants that protected me when I fell and kept all the dirt and water off. Finally, maps really helped even though I had lost my primary and backup maps by the last day. They were highly worth it

Things I didn’t use
My tent and sleeping bag. I’m glad I had them though for emergencies. My spare inner tube, patch kit and hand pump. Again, I’m glad I brought them. Didn’t use my first aid kit either. All that stuff weighed a lot but was necessary none the less.

Things I wish I had
Gloves. By the third day my hands were burnt to a crisp from the sun so I went out and bought some. Very useful.

Stats
3500 Km (2200 Miles)
120 Liters of gas (32 Gallons)
$30 for all the gas
Fastest speed – 120 kph (75 mph)
Number of times I fell down – 4. Once seriously and had to fix my bike. The other three on the last day when I fell in thick mud but didn’t do any damage since I was almost standing still.
3 ferry crossings. Two across downed bridges and once from Java to Sumatra.
7 hotels and about a billion pieces of chicken. Beef is hard to come by in Sumatra.

Animals I saw on the road
3 monkeys
2 monitor lizards
1 dead boar
0 sumatran tigers
0 elephants
More farm animals than there are in all of Idaho and Montana put together. (Interesting to note that they all like to cross the road near dusk)
Oh, and I killed 1 chicken. (No I didn't eat it!)

The first week

Well, officially the first week is not over but I wanted to fill you in on what I've been doing so far. As soon as I arrived I got busy meeting people and running around getting settled. I've met about a million people and been invited out to eat for almost every meal. I'm just now starting to slow down a bit and have time to think about what is going to happen. Right now I've got at least two good opportunities for jobs up here but they are both waiting a couple of weeks for approval and funding. Both of them are very good fits for me and the people are very interested in hiring me. I'll let you know more when I know.

I don't know if I've written about it but I've got my bike mostly fixed up. When I got here it was in pretty rough shape from the long trip. Both rims were bent pretty bad from the billions of pot holes I hit going too fast. The brakes were completely gone. The engine needed an oil change and tune up really bad and the entire bike was caked several layers deeep in mud. I've since washed it up, replaced the brakes and gotten a full service tune up and it is running pretty well. The only problem left is that the wheels are still pretty bent. You don't really notice unless above 60 Kmph though so it isn't so bad around town. I'm going to try and get it fixed this afternoon.

I'll write more about my trip when I get my notes out and get to a computer again.