Sintang

Freddy and I took a night bus on Thursday to Sintang, about 10hrs. Freddy knows a family out there and has stayed with them before, super nice people. The dad is a general in the army, mom is a teacher, daughter goes to high school. The parents didn't speak a word of English, so I communicated the best I could...Freddy speaks pretty good Indonesian.

First day we went to the house of the dad's extended family where they were preparing for a wedding in a few days. We went on an expedition to cut down some bamboo trees (for cooking vegetables or something?) and to see Mt. Klum (not sure on the spelling). 5 of us sat in the back of the truck, but the road got so bumpy it was easier on the body just to stand and hold on to a railing. Mt. Klum looks exactly like the Chief in Squamish, kind of cool. On the way back it started POURING rain (rain season here)....we couldn't have been any wetter in the back of the truck. We had a blast though! Stood up holding and screaming from time to time....the rain actually hurt. People would see us from the side of the road and as usual would yell "hey mister!!" and wave frantically. As usual we'd wave back...and I'd yell "hey mister, kodak, kodak!!" hahaha, love it. Man, that was fun. When we got back to the house we were sopping wet.



Now, from what I've seen in Indonesia the women are very reserved, dress very moderately etc. At this house there seemed to be more women than men, and they were all in the back cooking, telling jokes, being loud, Grandmas, Aunties, Moms, etc. When we got back to the house we didn't have our shirts on (keep them dry) and the ladies starting hooting and hollaring, it was hilarious! The family gave us dry clothes, coffee, and hot food. I've noticed Indonesian people to be very inviting and welcoming, very generous. I gashed my finger (surprise surprise) pretty good on some bamboo and it wouldn't stop bleeding. I've never seen this before but they covered it in coffee grounds and wrapped it up. It actually worked, hasn't got infected and is starting to heal up.



Next day Ungoon (the daughter) wanted Freddy and I to see her school, I had no idea what I was in for. We got there and the whole class was waiting for us, they started cheering and wanted us to sit in two desks at the front facing the class. We introduced ourselves (most of them understood a bit of English) and told them where we were from and what we were doing in Indonesia. They had a ton of energy and asked a bunch of questions, we asked questions too. The whole thing took about an hour, actually was a lot of fun.



After that Ungoon's aunt and uncle took us out (by Indo standards I think they were rich) for lunch to a boat that was a restaurant - awesome food. Then we went swimming in a pool for a few hours, then off to a bakery for some goodies! They pretty much spoiled us. The family we stayed with was unbelievably nice, only one thing I found weird: I would graciously say thank you in Indonesian language, and the mom would correct me - "terimah kasih MAMA" (thank you mama)...kind of weird.

We took a day bus back to Pontianak so we could see the country side of Borneo Indo, really beautiful. We couldn't get a big bus so we settled for a little bus. Everyone smokes on the bus, including the driver who holds the wheel with his knee while lighting his cigarette. The worst part about it was there was no bathroom on the bus....and I have a bladder the size of a little girl....AND I drank hot chocolate, coffee, and water before getting on the bus. I had to ask the driver to stop, had to pee right beside the bus. 45 minutes later I had to ask him to stop again, ahahaha, everyone on the bus was laughing at me :)

Freddy and I bought a bus ticket to Kuching Malaysia (11hrs), then we're flying to Kuala Lumpur. To fly right from Pontianak is expensive, especially because on top of the airport departure tax there is a special astronomical tax specifically for foreigners.

I've had an awesome time in Indonesia. I'm glad I got to experience such genuine culture in Borneo Indo, experiences most tourists don't get. I've found Indonesian people to be unbelievably hospitable and welcoming.