More pictures of the New Year Celebration.

More pictures of the New Year Celebration.

   We have spent a quiet day reading by the pool.  I think this idea of Silent Day is one we could all copy!  Part of the "belief" is that since the ogoh-ogoh have been burned, the world is clean and by being silent, Bali is telling the evil spirits that no one lives here.  The lack of sound almost makes it seem possible!

3 pictures for you

Offerings at the temple

Young girl "anointed" with rice

Procession from the ritual washing at the sea

Ogoh Ogoh and morning doves

This would never happen outside of Bali!  The entire island is "closed" today for the celebration of the Hindu New Year.  And closed, means just that.   All shops, businesses, traffic (including motorbikes to our relief), use of fire, use of electricity (except in the hotels and resorts), and even the AIRPORT are closed.  Everyone is required to stay at home between 6 AM this morning and 6 AM tomorrow....and this means us.  No one is allowed outside his/her home and this is actually enforced.  This special day is called a day of silence and it is  to be a time of reflection including reflection on what one has done wrong in the previous year in addition to learning to control oneself and submit to God.  Tomorrow some of the shops are still closed and according to the hotel information sheet some of the banks.  We are hoping the ATMs that were shut off last night will be turned on tomorrow....there is an exit tax we need to pay to leave tomorrow and we really do need the ATM to work!

So, we woke to peace this morning and the sound of cooing morning doves and no motor bikes.  Even though where we are staying is not in the heart of Ubud, there was road noise which is wonderfully absent.  So...an entire day where we are required to stay in the hotel grounds, there is a reduced staff who will provide us meals and we will e-mail, read, and begin the process of packing.  We are picked up tomorrow at 6 PM, will have lunch on the beach near the airport and are due to leave around 00:45, flying first to Seoul and then on to Chicago.  What an adventure this has been!

But about the Ogoh-Ogoh.  These are huge paper mache monsters unlike any we have ever seen. They are truly terrible looking and many  times they are doing terrible things, like killing babies, stepping on people, basically anything you can imagine.  They represent the evil spirits in the world and in us, are built in all the villages by the young men (no girls allowed), are financed by donation, worked on for months, and then are paraded through the villages on the night before Silent Day.  A platform is constructed of thick bamboo poles in a checkerboard fashion so that depending on the size of the statue 50 plus young men can fit into the framework and carry the monster.  For the tall ones there are men with long poles lifting the electrical wires out of the way.  But really fun was seeing the young boys between 5 and 10 carrying the lighter monsters and having the time of their life.  Cheering each other on, laughing,and over the top excited.

We also believe that this parade/celebration brought out every Westerner in the area and it was great people watching!!  The challenge of the night was pointing out the people we thought were "permanent" expat residents!  We watched a long time, sitting on a shop step, but finally left for a really good dinner and a walk back to De Menut.  We didn't stay for the end which is a huge bonfire during which the ogoh-ogoh are burned (clearing the world of the evil spirits) so that today the world basically starts over clean.

Tomorrow we have been told that people visit family members and apologize and ask for forgiveness as well as head to the beaches.

In the days leading up to Nyepi (the name for this entire celebration) we saw many temple ceremonies (from the outside, but the walls are only 4 feet high).  Men dressed in long white clothes with a head covering of various designs mostly white and the women in an ankle length skirt with beautiful lace tops...smaller versions for the children.  The women walk down the road and into the temple banancing on their heads closed baskets of food  for an offering to God and to receive a blessing.  After the temple ceremony, the baskets are taken home and are part of the feast the family shares today.  I am not sure how the now cooking prohibition is carried out regarding the feast - although I suspect the chickens we have seen go by in crates on the trucks for days play a prominent role.)  The priest sprinkles water on all of the people attending as they kneel and similar to our Ash Wednesday, kernels of cooked rice are placed on their foreheads and at the base of their necks. Life here depends on rice, so this seems VERY appropriate. We saw streams of people returning from "washing" a symbol of God in the ocean or the lake (depending on where we were), in the festival dress over the last few days and will not forget the sight.  For not knowing about this holiday when we made our travel plans, this has been a real bonus.

I should also mention that there are beautiful small offerings in front of every shop, hotel, doorway, and even in the taxi we hired for a day of sightseeing.  Every family has a temple as part of their compound which is visited daily and it is decorated with bamboo, ribbon, offerings for this holiday.  There are literally thousands of temples in Bali. and they receive the greatest attention and money from the family...not the homes --at least traditionally.  The vast majority of the people living in Bali are Hindu and we have been told there are lots of festivals, celebrations on a complicated calendar system (actually 2 systems and there are priests whose responsibility is to determine the appropriate day for each.)

Yesterday we went on a 7 hour bike trip which really was about 2-3 hours of actual biking with the vast majority being a down hill coast.  It is going to be painful to get back in shape!  But it was interesting.  We were in the countryside with lots of small villages, visited a family compound, rode through a rice field and learned about how that crop is raised, and for the third time visited a coffee plantation.  This time we did try the Luwak coffee (also known as poop coffee and supposedly the most expensive coffee in the world).  Thankfully we did not like it!  What a relief.  I am bringing home some ginger coffee, though, and will be happy to share that!

So it is time to head home and we are ready.  We will miss the wonderful flower smells and balmy air especially in the morning and late afternoon/evening but family and friends are beckoning.  We have had contact via e-mail with the friends we left in Sukadana and think of them and their work often and yet it seems far away  Thank goodness for pictures and memories!

Love to all of you!  And see you soon!  A few pictures coming soon.

Odds and ends post Borneo

We are spending a few days, post Borneo, in Bali so a few additional thoughts and observations:  

Coffee-- Indonesian coffee is ground to a fine powder and stirred into the hot water -- no filtering.  Some of  you know we brought our lexan French press which did make a big difference in the amount of grounds we actually consumed.  Here in Bali, they grow coffee and the most famous (and expensive) is Luwak coffee made from beans that have been eaten by a Asian palm civit, then excreted, cleaned thoroughly and roasted.  (most expensive coffee in the world).  Frankly, I am quite satisfied with the Starbucks I buy at home, so was not even tempted.  And I have had just enough "poop" experience this trip as it is.  Fermentation occurs in their gut which creates more free amino acids -- therefore less acidic.  

Snails-- They are everywhere.  This morning spotted one on the legs of our breakfast table and in Borneo, we had them in and on the squat toilet, the windows, the floor of the bathroom and boxes of toothbrushes (fortunately in wraps).

We had a great evening send-off with the Borneo bunch -- treated some 24 of the clinic crew to supper for all of $40.  We then got hugs from everyone, even the doctors for Lauri.  We will miss their laughter, ready smiles and afternoon "birthday" cappuccino's.  Their dedication is an inspiration to both of us.

Bali is beautiful with mountains, beautiful valleys, tiered rice paddies and a ton of temples (90% HIndu).  But... the traffic is horrible and the crowds (even though it's not peak season) are bad here in Ubud.  Guess we are ready to come home.  We will be here for Nyeti (annual Hindu celebration) where they totally quiet for an entire day to make the evil spirits think Bali is deserted -- everything stops (no flights, nothing open, you stay in your hotel).  That day is preceded by large parades in the evening of these paper mâché ghastly creatures that are being built as we speak and after the parades are burned.  We expect that to be fascinating.  Because of this Hindu event, the temples were a  mass of people praying and milling about yesterday.

And...just to make this Bali stay more interesting, we both got sick last night (who knows from what) and this after Lauri was crowing about how she managed to stay well throughout our time in Borneo, while the weaker member of the family had succumbed to tourista early on.  Guess there is poetic justice after all.

We had planned a bike tour today, but will delay that until tomorrow,  Then, a couple of more days and we are on our way home.  Thanks to all of you for your interest in reading our emails and blog.  Your occasional responses have been greatly appreciated -- especially after a night of battling ants.

Jim

Now, for the last interesting patient:

Now, for the last interesting patient: Earlier this week, we saw an elderly man with a history of diarrhea, some blood in the stools and, at the same time, discovered a bladder obstruction. A foley cath was placed and he returned today for follow-up. Much to our amazement, a rectal exam revealed an impaction of large seeds (he says only langsat, but we wonder about rambutan as well). Ilana and Ronald have been busy removing the impaction (I elected to defer -- have done more than enough over the years) and I am getting periodic updates. Even the orangutans, we noted, spit out the seeds -- don't know why this man decided to do otherwise. Is there a moral to this story?? Suggestions are enouraged.

Saying goodbye

Greetings everyone! This morning as we awoke there was a real sense that we really are leaving tomorrow.  And, unbelievably, it seems as though the 6 weeks has gone quickly.  At the beginning it felt as though time was very slow.  I guess we have finally somewhat adjusted and we REALLY like the people here..both the staff and the patients.  They have been the source of the beauty of this place.  We said our goodbyes at the 8 AM meeting and surprisingly I had to work to not get choked up. This does not mean that we are not looking forward to Bali and after that home, just that we have been in the company of great people with a vision of working for the conservation of the rain forest and its inhabitants which is really working for all of us.

So at the meeting we announced that "it is our birthday" and that dinner at the local noodle place tonight is on us.  The tradition here is that on your birthday YOU treat.  Jim has been having birthdays basically every afternoon which explains how is is so "old" :>) and the medical staff has been enjoying the iced cappuccinos   Today it is my turn with the dinner invite.  We will take our head and tail lights as it will be pitch dark as we head home on our creaky bikes.  And as we ride we will hear for the last time "Hello, MR"...rarely Hello,Miss from basically everyone we pass.

There was lots of talk (when we had some translation) this am about various meetings in Jakarta this month between Hotlin and Kinari (the founders here) and various possible founders for the ASRI program in general as well as the proposed building which is now being called a Community Health Center.  This new designation is in part to increase the potential for funding as well as probably allot more accurate as there will be a limitation on what services they can offer.  There is no X-ray here and getting it here, I think, will be a major challenge.  

I have continued to assist in the dental office and am almost an expert at handling the suction.  So far I have only gagged one patient one time  so Monica keeps saying that I am helpful.  I am learning the set up for the different kinds of procedures and am an expert at drawing up lidocaine/epinephrine  for all the tooth extractions.  Jim continues in his consulting role and has seen a number of very interesting medical cases lately.  The doctors have really appreciated his down to earth experience and ability to teach procedures.  They have had a really good time together and I believe he will miss the camaraderie   HOWEVER, we are both ready to be done with ants.  They continue to plague us, although they haven't been in the bed since we returned from the park .  Interestingly, the Indonesians do not have much arm hair while our supply is functioning as an early warning system for any unwanted movement on our body.  And then, of course,there is the paranoia  If you catch us suspending our dishes of food on little pedestals set in plates of water, you will know that we are confused about where we are.

So, we will be picked up at 5:30 AM tomorrow by a taxi which will beep outside the house and travel the 1 1/2 hrs to Ketapang for our 9:20 flight to Jakarta.  We have about three hours at the airport and then on to Bali.  We have learned that while we are in Bali there is a major Hindu festival called the Day of Silence.  This day lives up to its name with everything closed including the airport, everyone stays home, and is not supposed to use  electricity etc.  BUT at the hotels it is different and we can eat in the restaurant, swim, and have electricity.  This day is preceded by an event which sounds somewhat like Mardi Gras with huge parades with lots of constructed figures of some sort which are grotesque so that the evil spiirts are scared away. It should be really fun!

Rakus, the cat, is doing well and can jump amazing heights with her three legs.  She didn't appear this AM so perhaps that means she is straying further from the house.  Kinari arrives on the 17th and will take over care while Julia, next door will help in the meantime.  Cats here have learned to eat spicy food at least to some degree...and my Norwegian ancestors would be surprised at what I can handle now.  I think there have only been two meals when neither of us could manage the "heat".

We will miss the monkeys on the roof although not the resulting dust/debris from that thatch, the sound of our friendly gecko - even during the night- the early morning ride to the clinic with a clear view of the national forest - the cheery voices of the kids and the adults greeting us as we ride by and the great people we have met. We are over ready to not be dripping sweat most of the day, to have sit toilets and real showers, and for a change in food (especially Jim),and, of course, no ants (at least until summer).  Snow is sounding very good to us!

I have also been somewhat of an English tutor and am helping two of the staff with their essays for applications for Fulbright scholarships.  One of them asked me as I was preparing for the earlier English class if I was teaching the current progressive tense.  The what??  I've had to think about conjugating verbs etc.  Who would have thought.... 

Thanks for taking this part of our trip with us. Next stop, Bali

More pictures from Tanjung Puting

Pitcher Plant - carnivorous - thankfully too small to cause trouble

Tiana, our klotok.  We lived ala Downtown Abbey

Not the dominant male, but looks like it

Fwd:

Our Klotok with bednets...our home on the river for the weekend.

Our Klotok with bednets...our home on the river for the weekend.

Fwd:

What a great visit!

What a great visit!

This mother orangutan really posed for us!

This mother orangutan really posed for us!

Continued

 Just remembered that I forgot to explain why these animals are semi-wild.  All of the original orangutans were in rehabilitation for one reason or another (injury, orphans, etc) and then were released back into the wild.  There is ongoing controversy regarding the success of these efforts going back 40 years -- since many continue to return to the feeding stations are are less afraid of humans, has it really worked??  Some of the females have bred with wild males and more than 200 have been released back into the wild over time, so it appears to me that there is at least some success.

Upstairs/downstairs

It's Monday and the clinic is busy, as usual.  Our first case of malaria in a 13yo boy today -- from one of the islands.  Story is one of fever daily for a month, some malaise.  Exam reveals an enlarged spleen and pale conjunctiva.  Hemoglobin is 9+ and platelets down to 88k.  His thick smear shows lots of gametocytes (banana-shaped with the parasite inside --falciparum).  Will, nurse and lab tech both, had not had a positive smear for three years!!.  

The weekend was great, as we were picked-up by taxi at 5AM on Friday, taken to the airport in Ketapung for a 7:45 flight to south of there, near Kumai, where we again were  met by our guide for the weekend at the airport and escorted to the harbor in Kumai.  There, we boarded a klotok (long wooden boat with a crew of our guide, a captain, assistant captain, and cook -- all for the three of us from ASRI.  (Ilana, the new resident from Stanford was third).  The port of Kumai is actually fairly large and busy with ships carrying cars and people to Java and lots of commercial shipping as well.  The crew is mostly not seen and in the lower deck, while we occupy the upper deck, which is outfitted with a table, three chairs, some padded mats on the floor and a few pillows as well.  There is then a canopy over that upper space (which also serves as our bedroom at night).  At night, the push the table to one side, collapse the chairs, and put-up mosquito nets, inside of which are our mats/beds.  The stern of the boat has a "bathroom" with a sit toilet in one cubicle and a "shower" in the other -- actually, there was a shower head powered with a generator that we used once when the river water was relatively clean.(in the black river)

We then journeyed a short distance up the Kumai River and turned into the jungle with Tanjung Puting National Park on one side and private land on the other.  Initially, the jungle was mostly palms of one or another sort and we did see one orangutan in that section, but soon, the arboreal forest began and the river narrowed.  Shortly after noon, and our first great lunch, we reached the first feeding station and waited for the 3PM feeding time.  Fortunately, Dr. Birute Galdikas, the president of Orangutan Foundation International and researcher for the last 40 years, was leading a group from US AID on a tour for the weekend and we intersected with them several times over the next couple of days.  We have a picture of Lauri and her chatting at Camp Leaky.  The orangutans at the various stations, especially Camp Leaky, think of her as their "mother" and will walk directed towards her before moving slightly away -- neat to watch.  Apparently one of the females (she refers to her as demented), sat on Birute for an hour on one occasion.  That same animal was at the station during this trip with her 4yo infant. I almost forgot to mention that our guide had family tree for each of the females and all the subsequent progeny are given names that start with the same letter, so keeping track of various families is easier. We were able to observe these beautiful animals at all three stations:  they are considered semi-wild, but often do not visit the feeding areas for weeks at a time and there is actually an attendance book at each site where the rangers record which orangutans have visited each day.  At times they would come within a few feet of us -- a bit unsettling -- and we were told not to carry food or even water bottles that they might be attracted to.  Sometime soon, we will send a few photos.  

Camp Leaky was the farthest away, up the "black river" which was much cleaner and along a narrow, jungle canal , really gave us a sense of jungle travel.  So in addition to the "main attraction", we saw lots of probiscus monkeys, long tail macacs, silver leaf monkeys, lots of birds (hornbills, broadbills, kingfishers), one small crocodile.  Probiscus monkeys actually swim, but will wait for a boat to pass (keeps the crocodiles away) before jumping into the water from great heights.  Our guide was great, the food the best we have had, and sleeping on the boat really nice -- no falls overboard during the requisite potty trips at night.  And....no ants in our beds or on our feet all weekend.  Sunday morning, we arose at 4:30 and walked to a tower, built some years back to watch for fire, climbed to the top and watched and listened for the jungle to awaken -- no interesting sightings, but lots of bird and gibbon sounds.

So now, we are only three days from departure for Bali -- early Thursday AM -- with arrival around 4PM.  After doing battle with ants again last night after returning and this morning, we are ready to be done with them.  The cat seems to be doing well with her broken leg -- and no splint-- so guess we will leave well-enough alone.

I am sure I have forgotten some important details, but Lauri will add them, to be sure.

Jim

3 pictures for you

Harvesting stone after being cut by hand out of the hill

Carrying thatch for someone's roof

  Sunday karate on the beach

3 pictures for you

Our home's water pump

Sunset at the hotel

Monkey outside our house