Karen's Dangling Conversation

One of our stops was to Lombok Island, Indonesia.  Lombok is probably what Bali was like before they put in an international airport and our guide told us that Lombok is building an international airport to open next year, so look out Bali....I predict that Lombok will be the new Bali!  So I won't bore you with the ships tour, it was okay but when we finished the half day tour Brad hired our guide and a driver to take us to see the real Lombok.  We wanted to see the villages and how the people live and taste some of the local cuisine. It's kind of the place to hang out and weave. Really beautiful! Everywhere we went I was drawn to the children, they are so beautiful! Dress Up! Apparently a fashion statement in the making........ Brad had to have a hat like his! Our driver and guide First stop was a weaving village. This was not a touristy set up at all.  This was a real little village where all the women weave to help support their vil...

WE STOPPED AT SEMARANG ON THE ISLAND OF JAVA IN INDONESIA.  FROM THERE WE TOOK A 3 HOUR BUS RIDE TO THE COMPLEX OF BOROBUDUR.   A FIRST FOR US WAS TO HAVE A POLICE ESCORT.  OUR PARADE WAS FILLED WITH FOUR BUSES AND PEOPLE ON THE SIDEWALKS WOULD WAVE AT US AS WE WENT BY.   THE CITY ITSELF WAS SHOCKING TO ME.  EVERY SQUARE INCH WAS TAKEN UP WITH EITHER HOVEL OR HOUSE DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOKED AT IT.  PEOPLE EVERYWHERE.  SHOPS AND STORES LITERALLY LINED EVERY STREET AND EVEN THE ROADS THAT LED OUT OF TOWN,  WERE LINED WITH FRUIT STANDS.  THERE WAS SUCH A MIX OF BUILDINGS, SOME WERE VERY NICE AND NEW, SOME MADE FROM BRICKS AND SOME WERE JUST A LEAN-TO WITH CORRUGATED STEEL SUPPORTED BY BAMBOO POLES.  I SAW INDUSTRY EVERY WHERE FROM FURNITURE CRAFTSMAN TO LUMBER YARDS THAT HAD PILES OF BAMBOO, TREE TRUNKS FROM VARIOUS TREES, STICKS, BRANCHES.    ALL NEATLY PILED.  LOTS OF MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOPS....MAKES SENSE BECAUSE TH...

Today we spent some time in the beautiful city of Kuching Sarawak on the island of Borneo in Malaysia.  We set off in the morning to see the Orangutans.  We took a tour bus out to the rainforest where there is a preserve for the nearly extinct Orangutans.  In this preserve they teach them to care for themselves and get them ready to be released back in to the wild when possible.  We arrived in time for the first morning feeding, a supplement that they provide to ensure that they all have enough food to eat.  We saw several, about 8 in all including 2 mamas with their babies.   In the afternoon we took a shuttle into town and spent some time exploring the many shops and of course checking out the local food.  We found some fun buys, the Malaysian ringit was $2.80 to $1.00 american dollar and so everything seemed very cheap including the food.  We ate at a local cafe for about $7.00 which included 3 large noodle dishes and chicken fried rice and two...

Subways are such an interesting slice of humanity.  Nearly everywhere we travel we spend a lot of time on subways, because it is a convenient and inexpensive way to get around.  It is a great place to people watch and the subway says a lot about a city....without ever saying a word.  So it was on one of our evenings in Singapore. When we arrived in Singapore it was 2am in the morning there.  Our cab driver was particularly talkative and friendly and he let us know that Singapore is a very safe city.  He said we could feel comfortable walking around at this time of night anywhere in the city.  He said crime is so low in Singapore it is almost non-existent.  I was amazed, knowing that it was not the same in America.  There are plenty of places in my hometown of Seattle that I would not feel at ease in during the day, let alone at two in the morning.   We thanked our cab driver for his advice but we did not take him up on it that night as we ...