Me and Indy

Kir here - greetings to all from the special administrative region of Macau!

I arrived in Macau this evening after a day of air travel. My first flight today was fun, because I met a nice Canadian from Edmonton, and we sat together on the plane and hung out in Kuala Lumpur going through customs and getting our bags. His family is originally from Hong Kong, but he's fully Canadian. He's done 24 hour mountain bike races too, so we had lots to talk about! At the end of it all, we said goodbye and he invited me to email if I was ever close to Edmonton so that we could go for a ride. It was so homey! The second flight, from K.L. to Macau, wasn't as social as the first, but I finished the Readers Digest Condensed Book I had picked up in Lovina. That book was the dirtiest, moldiest, crackliest weather-beaten book I have ever read in my life! There were slim pickings for books in Lovina, and I took the old thing home to live out its twilight years - it has now died a peaceful death in a garbage can in the Macau airport.

Once in Macau, I rocked the solo budget travels!

No taxi or airport shuttle for me - I took the packed-full city bus to the hostel neighbourhood where Jon and I stayed last time - it was an adventure! I wasn't sure whether I was even on the right bus, and the driver didn't speak English, but he enlisted the help of a young student, and I was indeed going the right direction. I was the only whitey on the bus, and everyone was SOO helpful! The other passengers showed me where to put my bag, helped me put my pack back on when it was time to get off the bus, and were really concerned that I get off at the right stop. They showed me where to take the bus to the ferry terminal tomorrow too. People were really kind.

Macau today is sweltering, and by the time I walked to Jon and my street, I was dripping. I made a choice of character over comfort though, and headed for the non-air-conditioned San Va Guesthouse. Here's a quote from the Lonely Planet site about it - you can see why I chose it:

If you've ever dreamed of staying in a street where part of an Indiana Jones movie was shot, in a place that is an (unofficial) old brothel, then the San Va is for you. It's also about the cheapest and most charismatic lodging in town.

The San Va occupies a couple of very old terrace houses at the end of Rua Felicidade, otherwise known as the Street of Happiness because it was once wall-to-wall knocking shops. Many of the buildings retain their red doors and window shutters, even if the flesh trade has long since moved on to larger hotels. The San Va is undoubtedly historic but it's totally devoid of luxury. Instead, you get character in spades. The 1st-floor reception was, an English-free zone, and the wizened old receptionist responded best to fingers - one for a single, two for a double. Helpfully, though, an English-Cantonese cheat sheet was taped to the counter. The rooms are small with wafer-thin walls - we liked room 205, with a balcony. Bathrooms are rudimentary, and prices vary for internal facilities or shared - hot water is at a premium.

I'll take some photos of the San Va for you all later tonight and tomorrow. What a place!

After settling in to my room, I set off in search of food, and hopefully, an English menu to go with it. I found both at the restaurant where Jon and I ate last time - Dragon Mama. I ate a fine meal of curried duck noodles washed down with a Pocari Sweat (Asia's answer to Gatorade). Ahhh....

Right now I'm sitting in a sketchy internet cafe at the top of my street. Last time Jon and I were here walking through we quickly saw that there are no family filters on the computers in this all-hours establishment, if you know what I mean. I scanned the streets for other options and found none, so here I am. It's not too late yet though, so I think the internet activity is still "PG-13" at this hour.

I'm planning to eat a gelato - I passed a shop on my way here - and enjoy the Macau evening. It's hot, and my room, dating as it does from the 1930's, has no a/c. I will stay out and stroll for a while, and maybe go down to the central plaza Jon and I discovered last time.

It's great to be here - I'm really enjoying the change of scene from Bali, and the adventure of a new place once again.

I'm on my way home, and making the most of my long journey!

Kir begins two days of travel.

Kir went to the airport early this morning, to catch a 7:30am flight. I joined her there, after hauling myself out of bed and into the vehicle she'd arranged to bring us there.

Kir has quite a long trip home. She'll fly from Bali to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, wait for two hours, then fly from Kuala Lumpur to Macau. She'll arrive in the evening, and will stay one night, most likely in the nice small hotel we found on our way here.

Then, Kir must take a fast ferry over to Hong Kong, a 30 minute trip. She'll stay in Hong Kong for another night, and will wake up to catch a noontime flight back to Canada.

When all the costs are worked out, it seems like taking a direct flight from Canada to Bali costs the same as taking numerous other flights and sleeping in numerous hotels. Kir's now a hardy Asian traveler, so she'll be fine with the extra nights on the continent. If she were to do it again though, I'd wager that she'd choose the direct flight option!

So even though Kir's already left, she won't arrive in Canada for some time. Have a good trip Kir!

Surfing again?

I may live to surf another day. But I'm not sure.

I found a latex swimming cap at the store, and as Mom suggested, I might wear it in combination with my earplugs. This arrangement might seal my ears off enough to hit the water again!

But I have a bit of trepidation about getting back into the ocean. My ear is improving, and I can hear a tiny bit more out of it every day. I don't want to risk an infection, and I don't want to regret going out to sea with my earplugs and swimming hat, thinking my ears would stay dry enough.

I think I will try it out, and see how dry my ears can stay. I don't want to suffer through earaches, doctor appointments and surgery like Carol has, just because I couldn't stay out of the water.

Going to Lovina a few days ago was good respite from the surfing scene of Kuta. It was easier not being able to surf when every shop wasn't showing a surfing DVD, and there wasn't a board shop and ding repair garage every thirty feet.

Lovina is on the north coast of Bali, and takes between three and four hours to drive there. While we were there, the vibe there felt a bit like Sauble Beach might a few days after Labour Day Weekend, the unofficial end of summer in Ontario.

Most of the stores and restaurants were still open, and a few people were around, but the summer energy was missing. Storekeepers seemed desperate to make sales, and the bracelet and souvenir dealers on the beach hovered too close and too long, wishing to sell their goods to the remaining tourists.

Apparently Lovina has suffered from the Bali bombs of 2002 and 2005. There's been a 40% decrease in tourists (according to one of our drivers) in Bali, meaning less people make the three hour trek to Lovina.

The major attractions at Lovina are dolphin watching and diving. Whenever you step out on the beach, locals approach asking to take you dolphin watching or snorkeling in their boats. In Kuta, the beach sellers will ask you once to buy something, but then usually don't return if you don't purchase. At Lovina, the sellers (and their friends) would constantly return trying to sell their goods, even after numerous 'no thank-you' comments.

It must be a hard life, being a beach seller. I tried to understand that while I was there, but it was quite annoying not being able to step onto the sand without being canvassed.

Here are the local boats that offer to take you dolphin watching or snorkeling, or even fishing I guess, if you wanted to tag along. I wasn't interested in dolphin watching, so I never took the salesmen up on their offers.





I really enjoyed Lovina, despite the constant barrage of sales pitches. I would return again. When I do, I hope things have picked up for the Lovina area, so the sellers won't have to try so hard to make sales.

Ahh, Lovina

KVD here again...

Here are some shots from our last side trip to Lovina. Like you can see in the photos, it was a really relaxed beach town, where traditional fishing still goes on.





It was a great trip. After five days on my own, I was happy for Jon and Nathalie's company!

Kir's Mountain Bike Pics

Kir here!

Some of my most vivid memories of this trip are from my three mountain bike rides: the touristy downhill (the one where I got a little lost!); the epic Batur Crater Rim Ride; and then an off-road, REALLY quick redux of the touristy ride, downhill in basically the same Kitimani to Ubud area in central Bali.

Here are some photos from my rides, and some photos from the internet of the same terrain, for the parts when I didn't have my camera with me.

Kintamani is in the central mountains of Bali. It's the area where all three of my rides started. This shot was taken at the edge of the village of Kintamani at the start of the Batur Crater ride. You can see how misty it was at that elevation that day!



Here's a shot of the classic view from Kintamani down into the valley below. I saw this for the first time the day of the touristy ride:



Here's an action shot of me close to the end of the third ride, approaching the outskirts of Ubud. Those are rice fields beside me, and there's a river down the slope to my left.



Here are some internet pictures of the crazy Batur Crater ride. The first two show the bike track, and the third shows the view from the crater - sorry they're small!







After we descended from the crater rim, the transition section before the lava flow looked like this - cliff face views from below, with single and doubletrack skirting small farms:



This last one is me riding across the lava flow from the last explosion of Mount Batur volcano:



Amazing rides!

Heading up to the North Country

No cold wind in my eye though. Haha...if you get it, you get it. If you don't, you don't.

So I'm not too happy about my ear, but in the grand scheme of things it's not that bad. I did some internet research (never a good idea for medical issues...you always read the worst things) and it says a punctured eardrum often heals on its own. Carol said the same things, so that's good.

I must make sure it doesn't get infected though, so I'll wear my earplugs a lot, maybe even when I'm not swimming. I might be able to rig up some sort of bathing cap headband that can cover my ears and keep the water out, enabling me to surf. We'll see. I don't want to take a gamble and end up in a worse place though.

For now, I'm heading up to the northern most part of Bali with our Swiss friend Natalie, where we'll meet Kir. It'll be nice to get away from the beach for awhile. This beach, anyway. We're going to Lovina beach, where the sand is volcanic and black, and where dolphins swim.

So, I'm heading north for a few days. I've got my coolie had for shade, and some fresh socks. And my earplugs.

Forced into retirement

Booooooo. It looks like I'll be retiring from surfing for the time being.

When I bailed on the big wave a few days ago, water got smashed into my ear. I was not wearing my earplugs.

I saw a doctor today, and he says there's now a tiny hole in my eardrum. This is disappointing, because the nurse i saw a few days ago said it was fine. I'll trust the doctor on this one.

He said it's important to keep it from getting infected, so I've decided to stop surfing as it could make it worse.

Now, my schedule is wide open for the next two weeks, and I'm not quite sure how to fill it. There are book stores all over the place here, so that's good I guess.

Wear your earplugs everyone.

Ride of a Lifetime

Kir here...

While I was still at home, I made plans to do some "real" mountain biking while I was in Bali. I found a solid company called Bali Trailblazers run by an ex-pat British girl, but thought I might find a cheaper local company once I was here. After a few days in Ubud, I realized that, as their website says, they truly are the only company in Bali offering intermediate cross-country riding here rather than tourist day-trips, with "no experience necessary."

On Tuesday I headed out with one guide, Ramang, and one back-up driver, Made (Ma-DAY), on the Batur Crater Rim Ride, the company's classic day ride. Here's a GPS of the route:



I knew the ride was going to stretch me out from the start - we started on asphalt, and my guide was riding pretty quick around the twisty bendy descent to where the singletrack began. At the end of the asphalt, he pointed and said, "We're going up there!" I thought I must have misunderstood because I didn't see any trail. Then Ramang started up a big hill through tall grass, with only the hint of a footpath through it. I followed, and that's where the epic adventure began!

The trails we rode aren't dedicated, maintained mountain bike trails like we would have at home, but are a network of old footpaths between mountain villages. To make the trail routes originally, the guides went riding in the area with a GPS, and then recorded where the footpaths were. They tried to find as much singletrack as they could, but had to use old broken asphalt roads sometimes to connect the singletrack sections. No other bike tour companies use these trails, and since mountain biking isn't too big a sport here, local riders didn't seem to use them either. We didn't see too many people at all - farmers on foot with machetes once in a while, and that's about it...

The ride was absolutely amazing. I don't have pictures of the most spectacular parts of the route because I had to concentrate on riding the trail, and couldn't stop to take photos. You can see that the trail goes along the volcano's crater for about 10k. On the rim, I could see the land sloping down to the sea on the left, and then an almost sheer drop on the right, down to the valley, with the Mt. Batur volcano rising up. I never thought I would ever see scenery like that in my life, especially not from a mountain bike.

The ride itself was challenging, especially riding the rim. There were pretty high winds, and it was pretty narrow in some parts, with maybe a metre or so on each side before the drop-offs. The vegetation along some parts of the rim ride was really tall grass, which made the trail hard to see and blew in my face a lot. It was really exciting! Like you see in the GPS, the ride was a descent, so there were lots of downhills - fast ones!

The surface along the rim was gravelly and rocky in spots, with ruts. My heart was in my mouth as Peter's coaching automatically popped into my brain: "Hold on to your bars and leave the brake alone...", "Look as far ahead as you dare...", "On stuff like this, it's safer to go fast...", "Your bike wants to go straight, don't micromanage..." What an intense and wonderful experience. My arms were shaking from the impact of riding over rough terrain and from nerves, and I crashed once when I tried to brake too hard on the first or second hill.

The terrain and riding surface along our route were pretty varied. We rode steep asphalt sections, singletrack skirting farmers' fields and rice paddies, rural double track beside palm trees and cliffs. The last section of the ride was really interesting - we rode for about half an hour across the lava flow from the last eruption of the volcano. Riding lava flow was a cross between riding a continuous rock garden and a really bumpy dirt road - lots of rocks the size of your fist, but compacted together by big trucks that go out onto the flow to get the rocks for construction. Lots of little ups and downs in that part, and I was about to crack and ask for a break when we came to the end!

What a trip. Riding in Indonesia is probably like surfing here was a few decades ago: barely anyone does it, there's no one else on the trails, and the scenery is magnificent. Bali Trailblazers did a great job arranging the ride and guiding - really professional and friendly.

I had a stupendous day, a life experience I will never forget.

Ka-Chunk! (checking in!)

I don't have much to write, since I haven't done anything terribly different for the past few days. I like it though...I wake up, head to the beach, have a surf, read my book, eat something, maybe surf some more...



I did do something interesting today, actually. I biked to the airport to change my ticket. I could have gotten a taxi or shuttle bus, but I decided to do it on my own steam. It was only a few kilometers, and didn't take too long. The Kuta streets were clogged, but I was able to just ride right by all the stopped cars. I would wager that I wouldn't have saved any time by getting a taxi.

I've now got my ticket sorted out, and will leave Bali on August 8th. I'll have spent almost a month here by the time I go! I can see how the Aussies staying at my cottages can be here for three months. It's such a nice existence.

I'm waiting for a breakthrough with my surfing. The waves are pretty heavy though, so I'm a bit nervous of them! Tomorrow I will seek out waves that don't pack as much punch, and will be a bit easier to learn on.

I'm wondering if I should see more of Bali, or just stick around here. I just don't know. I like it a lot where I am, doing what I'm doing. Hmmm. Maybe on the weekend I'll plan my next move.

Starting on the July 30th, there is a pro surfing tour stop at Uluwatu. All the pros will be in town, and hopefully the swell will be good. Free shuttles will be going from the surf shops, so I'll take advantage. Not that I know too much about pro surfers, but it seems like something to see while I'm here. There hasn't been a pro surfing event in Indonesia since 1996, so people are excited.

That's all from here...have a good day everyone!

Cremation Season

In Bali, there is a time for everything, "good days" for performing both everyday tasks and special religious ones. This year, July and August are the good season for cremations. In March of this year, a member of Ubud's royal family died. He was cremated in a huge community ceremony on July 15. Many common people were cremated with him, in a joint ceremony held in another part of town.

Here's a photo of the huge ladder used for the "pallbearers" to climb up to the cremation platform to get the ashes down afterward. The cremation platform for the royal deceased was so tall and heavy (it weighed in the tonnes) that it took 150 men to carry it. Hydro lines had to be taken down so that the platform could pass through the streets. Here's a photo of the giant ladder at dusk (on the left, beside an entrance to the Ubud temple courtyard). It is about three stories high, and made of bamboo.



I arrived five days after the huge cremation festival, which packed the streets of Ubud with Balinese and foreigners alike. I came in time for a further step in cremation ceremonies though. The people in the top photo and the one below are carrying the ashes of their loved ones down to the river to be scattered there. This procession was like a long parade, right down the street where my guest house is.



To finish off, here's a picture from the "front yard" of my guest house. Every morning, the family who runs my "b & b" sets out tea on my verandah, and then when I get up I have my breakfast there. It's fresh fruit with varying types of bread - toast with honey yesterday, and french toast this morning. Ahhh...

The boys in the photo are trying to get a kite up in the air - kites are really popular in Bali - just look up and you'll almost always see a few flying!

Solo in Ubud

KVD here...

On Sunday morning I left Jon in Kuta for a solo adventure in the Ubud region. Ubud is the cultural centre of Bali, and is located in the central highlands of the country. I've seen many amazing sights since I arrived.

When I first got here, I found a place to stay and explored the city a bit. After that, I went to a Legong Dance performance at Ubud Palace, a community meeting place and open-air stage in downtown Ubud. What an experience of sound, colour, and movement! I found it a more intense experience than seeing a really great play in Stratford. I'm planning to go to another performance tonight, one called a Lecak Fire Dance.






My first full day in Ubud I went on a "nature walk." Actually, it was a community farming walk, but that was good for me too. Our guide was from the countryside originally, and knew a lot about farming methods, plants, and regional knowledge. Here's a photo of a woman processing rice. She's beating the rice to make the grain fall out, and then the stalks are used for making thatch or feeding the cows.



Here's a photo of women cutting rice in the field. There's a communal work system here in Bali, so they are all helping with the harvest. All work is done according to the Balinese calendar, which is a religious tool by which people pick the auspicious days, or "good days" to do something. Cutting of rice is supposed to start on a Sunday according to this calendar. These women started to cut on Sunday, and continued to work on Monday, when we saw them.



Our countryside tour took us to a "legendary" spring, where people go to bathe and drink for its healing properties. It is supposed to give a man children if he can't have them, and help with other health problems. In the river beside the spring, we saw a Bali Aga man (a "primitive", according to our guide) trying to set a trap for a crocodile. Our tour continued with a little drive to Lebih Beach, which is famous for its fishing boats and fresh seafood. The sea was really rough when we were there, so no boats were out on the water. They were all pulled up on the sand, like this one:


We ate a delicious feast of fish dishes - fish soup, fish satay, fish in a banana leaf, served with rice and greens. Really tasty! I drank "es campur" for the first time - a mixture of shaved ice, condensed milk, coconut, and fermented fruit. It was delicious, and a little dangerous to eat, according to the guidebooks. I braved the dangers of Bali Belly and truly enjoyed the drink.

Our tour continued to see three village workshops and shops: a painting gallery, a place where fabric is woven and dyed, and a silversmith. Here's a shot of a woman weaving a piece of cloth by hand. The work was so beautiful, and I bought a woven bedcover in purples, reds, and yellows for my bedroom back home.



What a day it was - I got back to my hotel really tired, a little sun-touched, and crossing my fingers that the es campur and raw coconut milk wouldn't interfere with the epic mountain bike ride I had planned for the next day.

Birthday greetings from Bali!

Happy Birthday Carol...wish you were here!

Sauble on steroids

Here are some beach pics I took last night around sunset. It was a Sunday evening, so the beach was a bit more busy than normal. This is Kuta beach. When you've seen all the pictures, you'll agree it's like Sauble on steroids!

I spend most of my time on this beach, but a bit further away from all the busyness.

(My ear is still feeling a bit plugged, but it doesn't hurt. I can hear out of it a bit more than yesterday, so hopefully it's on the mend. The nurse at the clinic said it looked OK to her. I wore my plugs surfing today, and it worked out well.)



There are a set of soccer goals that are permanently on the beach. Sunday night has an official game, with two Bali teams competing. It was four-on-four plus goalies. The action was OK, but everyone kicked the ball over the net all the time, so I just watched for awhile. The nets are smaller, and people play in bare feet.



Here is some surfing action. The conditions would have been described as 'flat' yesterday, but there was still enough surf for having fun. The swell returned today, making the waves pretty savage! They're super heavy so not too many people got out there today on high tide. I went out, and surfed the white chop again, and am getting pretty good at standing up on command.



There are lifeguards stationed up and down the beach. This shot is at low tide, showing the ever-vigilant surf patrolman. Notice all the people!





If you're a swimmer, you'll also be safe at Kuta Beach! From drowning, anyway...but you'll never be safe from the lifeguards and their swimwear choices!



I think a few things came together to get all these people at the beach...nice weather, low tide, and a Sunday evening sunset. Whatever the reason, look at them all! I don't mind being part of the throng...I enjoy it actually. Possibly China has prepared me for crowded places.



Both tourists and locals come down to the beach, and most everyone has a good time. Today I walked further north up the beach, where there are a lot of expensive beachfront hotels. Those people weren't having fun...they were just laying in the sun and looked miserable. I'm glad I'm where the action is, and not where people are boring.



And, a few pictures of the sunset.



You can make out all the surfers in the lineup, waiting to catch a wave. Everyone bobs in the ocean behind the waves, until one of their liking comes along. It's bad form to snake a wave from someone else, so only one person surfs a wave at a time. Sometimes friends will take off together, but it's very impolite to steal someone's wave, making them bail to avoid a collision.



I hope to get a sunset surf session in tonight. The waves should be smallish, and the light will be sublime. It'll be fun, and I might find some waves I can practice on, instead of surfing the white chop again. Who knows though...the ocean changes all the time, depending on the swell and tide.

So, that's Kuta Beach. It is full of tourists and people selling things, but I like it! I enjoy being on the beach for most of the day. I have found a hat Dad would be proud of, and I hide from the sun as much as possible. I could rent an umbrella on the beach, but I just find a tree to sit under instead.

A few recent pictures

This is Jon checking in with a picture post.

After I blogged yesterday, I decided to go out and have another surf. I ended up getting hammered by two waves in a row and got water in my ear. I wasn't wearing my earplugs because I often talk to people in the water, and also because my ears have been OK with surfing for the past five days.

I paddled into a wave that turned out to be way bigger than I thought, and I didn't have the experience or skill to ride it. I bailed, and got pounded twice...the first time pushed me underwater, and the second pounding spun me around and around once I was down there, holding me under for a while.

Water got forced into my ear, and I came to the surface all dizzy, with my throat hurting. I tapped out after that, but not before getting worked by another big wave that I tried to ride into shore. Ouch. It's normal to have big wipeouts, and part of the learning process I guess. It's so painful though!

So, I'm taking the day off today because my ear is acting up Carol-style. Hopefully not as bad as hers though. The doctor flushed it out, but I don't feel an improvement. I will give it some more time.

I won't surf today, and will hide from the sun. While I do that, I'll post some pictures from the last few days. Kir will have posted some similar ones already.





Here is Kir and I with the monkeys at the Uluwatu temple. Kir got nervous and threw her whole bag of bananas to the monkey on the left. He didn't share with the approaching monkey on the right.





Here is my shot of the cliff-top temple, along with a shot looking away from the temple. The temple is on the southern tip of Bali. It's important to not fall over the cliff, since the next piece of land you'll hit is Antarctica. If you don't hit rocks on the way down, of course.



We also went to Padang-Padang beach, which has one of the world's best (consistently breaking, consistently big) left handed tubes. A boat crashed into the coral really close to the wave, but the wave is OK. I didn't get a picture of the wave, because the tide was out with no swell, so it was flat when we were there.





The boat has been there for six days, and there are plans to tow it off the reef when the tide is right. Apparently it was an illegal fishing boat that Greenpeace activists were searching for. These days, it's not very difficult to find.

Those are all the pictures for now! Remember to click them to make them bigger, especially the scenery ones.

My routine

This is Jon.

I figured I might as well let you know my daily routine. It's quite nice, and I enjoy it.

In the morning, I usually wake up by 7:30am. I have a tide chart, and depending on the tides of the day, I either rush to get to the beach, or I take my time. High tide is the best for surfing, so I aim to be in the water then.

Our little cottage provides breakfast, so I eat a banana jaffle and drink Balinese tea before I leave for the beach. There is a crew of 50+ year-old Aussie surfers that are staying there too (their stays range from four to six months!) so we usually chat with them over breakfast. They tell tales of what it was like surfing Bali twenty five years ago, and like to give me tips to help me learn.

After breakfast, I make my way to the beach. Kuta Beach is about a ten minute walk away, unless we cut through the grounds of a large hotel. It has two pools and lots of rooms, so we just walk through the back gate and pretend we're guests. It spits us out pretty close to the beach.

The Aussies from our cottages talk about wanting to snake the hotel's breakfast buffet, while Kirsten is into copping a swim in the pools. I think both are possible, but I'm partial to the food option.

At the beach, I pick up my surfboard. I rent it from some Indonesians who have a stand set up, and I have paid for a week in advance. I use the board when I want, and when I'm not surfing, I leave it with them. I also leave my backpack there, so it's safe. The Indonesians are with the boards all day, and don't mind customers leaving their stuff.



My board is an 8'2" mini-mal. That's the length and type of the board. It's one step removed from a nine-footish longboard, which is what most people learn on. I've been cutting my teeth learning to stand up, and finally I've got it. Not every time, but most times. I'm still surfing the white foam/chop, and will try to surf a real wave when they're not too big.

The surf was huge yesterday...guys were getting barreled at Kuta, which doesn't happen to much. The waves were overhead (which means that when you're surfing inside it, the top of the wave is above your head) and heavy, so I didn't go out to them. I stayed closer to shore and practiced standing up, riding the white foam.

I surf for an hour or two at a time, then head back inland. I leave my board, grab my book, and read in the shade. I used to read in the sun, but now my nose is peeling, so I've taken to finding shelter. I also eat an early lunch of rice, eggs, and vegetables which I buy from a warung ten meters away from the surfboard stand. it cost one dollar, and fills me up.

After I've read enough and eaten enough, I head to the surfboard stand again. The same people hang out there, both Indonesians and foreigners. There's usually someone to talk to or hang out with, so if I'm up for it, I do. Often I'm not up for it, so I take a stroll along the beach.

I spend most of my day at the beach, alternating among surfing, reading, and walking about. At sunset, I usually find myself at the surfboard stand again, and Kir is usually there too. Kir and I agree that a Lake Huron sunset is superior to a Bali sunset, no matter how famous they are here.



After the sun disappears, we'll go somewhere for supper. Sometimes we'll go with Natalie, our friend from Switzerland. She's learning to surf as well, so it's fun to swap tales of our achievements or blunders from the day.

After that, Kir and I usually find something to do until it's good and dark. Then I go home, read some more, and then fall asleep.

It's quite a nice rhythm. I enjoy being on the beach, and I enjoy trying to get better at surfing. Peter, one of the aging Aussies from our cottages, likes to remind me that it's all about having fun. This is good to remember when I keep getting pounded by waves and find myself getting frustrated.

So, the times are good here in Bali. The guidebooks and other people I've talked to don't really like Kuta, since it's really commercialized and everyone is trying to sell you something.

I don't mind the Kuta atmosphere. Many people speak English, and I stop and chat with storekeepers and random others sometimes. I have rented a hundred year-old cruiser (Kir posted a picture of it a few days ago) so I trundle around on that, going where I need to go.



Carol, you must come here soon, since you can't be here now. If I can afford it, I'll come with you. You'll like it...it's great here, and I really want to come back. It'd be nice to have you along on this trip though!

Mountain Biking

KVD here again...

Yesterday was a magnificent day for me. I had my first experience of mountain biking in Bali, and it was wonderful. I went on an organized tour, and I really didn't know what to expect. In the end, it was, as the Aussies say, "brilliant."

I was picked up at our hotel early in the morning, and we drove for about an hour and a half into the centre part of Bali, which is more lush and tropical than the south, where we're staying. I was in a group with two families of Australians and a Balinese guide. Our first stop was at a small farm set up for "agrotourism." We saw vanilla, cocoa, and coffee plants, and many more. We had a nice stop to enjoy some of the drinks made at the farm, and I sampled some Kopi Luak coffee! If you don't know what that is, google it or watch The Bucket List movie! The farm had a little shop where I bought perfumed oil and coconut body lotion - yay!

From the little farm we went to a restaurant with a verandah overlooking two of Bali's volcanoes. It was a spectacular view - lush valleys, a crater lake, the volcano crater in the distance, and lava rock. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera! As we ate our breakfast of fried bananas and tea, the drivers got our bicycles ready outside. Then, it was time to go.

What an amazing ride! It was a 30-k descent through country roads, paths, and a few busier streets. We passed rice terraces and coconut palms, and many small villages. In all the villages, the children would run into the street to greet us, and shout, "Hello!" from their houses. We rode over unhusked rice drying in the street, past little boys swimming and adults working in the fields, and past a temple magnificently decorated with yellow, white, red, and black. There were beautifully arranged piles of fruit and flowers as offerings, and lovely fabric decorating the statues and flying as flags in the air. What a sight it was! I got to see the rural part of Bali for the first time, and I absolutely loved it.

Our ride was eventful - two little crashes (not me!), and one lost rider (me!). I was the strongest rider in the group by far, so I would get way ahead on the descents and then climb back up to meet the others. One time I missed a turn, and the support truck had to go after me and find me! That was a pretty fun part too, because I was riding behind the support truck to meet up with the other riders, on a continuous steady climb, trying to catch the slow-moving truck.

The scenery and the experience of riding were so amazing that I've decided to head out of Kuta for a few days to explore the region more. I'm going to stay in Ubud for a few days and do some more mountain biking, walks, and hiking. I'll take pictures so that you can see this beautiful area!

Oh, I've posted the photos for my last several blogs now, so check them out!

Ulu Watu Temple

Kir here again, your foreign correspondent in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia.

You heard a bit about our last day trip from Jon a few days ago, in his blog about the mal-development (we thought) at Dreamland Beach. After we left Dreamland, we headed to Ulu Watu Temple for a change of pace and some culture. Ulu Watu is a temple to the Hindu gods of the sea. The real attraction here is the temple's stunning location on a cliff overlooking the sea. Here's a close-up of the temple building that you can see on the edge of the cliff in photo above (in the first photo it kind of looks like a tree).


We couldn't go inside the temple, because only worshippers are allowed there. There are a few other rules for visiting the temple too, and both men and women have to wear a sarong (like a long wrap skirt). They hand out rental sarongs and waist wraps at the entrance. Both our guide and the people at the temple entrance warned us about a pest species that is overrunning the grounds: monkeys! There are signs up all over to watch your cameras, earrings, glasses, and hats, because the monkeys will steal them! Here's a close-up of some of the many monkeys we saw:


We saw a few little monkey skirmishes, and even people patting them - disease alert!! The monkeys made some little kids cry, and we kept our distance from the little creatures. One big guy came running up to me, and I thought he was going to jump up on me, so I screamed and threw my entire bag of cut-up bananas at him to keep him at bay!

The monkey pesks were nothing though, compared to the beauty we witnessed from the temple grounds. Isn't it magnificent?

Dreamland, Bali

Today Kir and I went on a day-trip to Dreamland beach. It's about a half-hour drive from Kuta, where we are staying.

To get there, we hired a driver and car. For 35 USD, he would take us where we wanted to go, wait while we did what we wanted to do, and take us back when we wanted to leave. It's the way things are done here, and the price we paid is the going rate.

Most surfers base themselves in Kuta, and rent a motorcycle with surfboard racks. Then they ride wherever they want to surf that day. Kir and I are not comfortable renting motorcycles, so we hired a driver instead.

Dreamland was the place I had originally wanted to go when I was planning this trip. It has a good beach break for learners, and also a reef break further out for more experienced surfers.

My surfing guidebook mentions something like "There is a very good vibe at Dreamland. There are many warungs (food stalls) to eat at, and many cheap places to stay nearby. You can rent boards and accessories here too. The beach is very popular with European learners and sun worshipers, and all-night raves happen on the headland during full moons. Don't trip over the cliff!"

Towards the end of my time in China, different opinions about Dreamland started appearing in my google searches. News of a big hotel being built right on the beach, news of the warungs being torn down, news of the once pristine beach being ruined. It was hard to find a reliable source though, so I didn't know what to expect when we got there.

The land has been owned by Tommy Suharto for some time. Tommy Suharto is the son of the loathed Indonesian president/dictator Suharto, and is very rich. He started the whole project, which would include a golf course and luxury resort. He built the gate, and paved the access roades. Then the Indonesian economy tanked along with the rest of Asia about ten years ago, so the project was put on hold.

It's now been re-started.



This is the gate to the new resort. These are impressive Balinese Hindu statues.



The beach is still there, and is beautiful. Today was the lunar high tide, so the waves were pretty big, crashing close to shore. The beach break would have been unsurfable, and there was no reef break out further on account of the tide.

We then looked for the warungs and surf shops. To our disappointment, they had been torn down. It was really depressing. Only the foundations remained, along with various reminders of what used to be here.





Evidently there was a surf school, a Dr. Ding who will repair your board, and various cafes and other warungs. Now, all that is on the beach are abandoned beach chairs, and remnants of walls and foundations. It was like being in a really depressing ghost town.





The whole vibe was not "good", like my guidebook said, and there was no sign of the legions of European sun worshipers and learners. A few tour buses were unloading their charges when we were leaving, but I think that was an exercise in tradition. There is really nothing to see there anymore.



Of course the beach is still there, and if you only look out to sea and forget all the construction happening twenty meters behind you, I guess you could have a nice experience. It's not just about the experience though. It's about a rich person coming in with development ideas, and ruining everything. The local character is gone.



The warungs were kicked off the beach, and given space on a concrete pad along the path towards the beach. The looked depressing. We ate at one, and talked with the local guys hanging out close by. Above is a picture of the path leading to the beach. You can see the hotel being built, the beach in the distance, and the lane of banished and relocated warungs.

The locals thanked us for coming, since very few people come these days. They said the warungs were displaced eight months ago when construction started back up again. We mentioned the whole beach area looked and felt very sad, and they agreed. They expressed hope for the time two years down the road when the construction would be finished, the resort would open, and the people would come back to Dreamland beach.

Dreamland has turned into a nightmare.

For some other opinions on Dreamland, you can go the following sites.

Here's a complete story from the Bali Times. Click here.

This site gives some background on the whole issue. It must have been written before the construction started again, because the author talks about sipping beer in a warung, and renting boards. Click Here.

This site talks about the warungs being destined for the garbage heap, and the new spot along the river where they'll be given spaces to sell their food. Today we saw the new warung road, and no beachside warungs. Click here.

We weren't depressed all day though, since we went to other places afterwards. We explored the cliff-top Uluwatu temple, and checked out the famous Uluwatu and Padang-Padang surf breaks to watch the surfers. I will post about those places later.

Picture test

This is a short post to see if I can post pictures. Kir says they load too slowly, and eventually the upload is aborted. We'll see how it goes.

Yep, looks like it worked OK. I'm one of the only people using a machine at this particular internet cafe, so maybe that has something to do with it.

This is a shot taken a few days ago, after my first full day at the beach and in the water. I'm tired and sunburned. I got my hair cut the day after I took this picture, so it's not too accurate anymore!

Gas, Food, Lodging

Balinese "Gas Stations":





Or, with gas prices what they are, you can rent a Chinese-made bike like this one, which Jon wants to rent!



Food - a beachside food cart, or "warung"



Lodging:



Our new home, where Jon and I share a brick bungalow with a thatched roof for about $5 a night each, which includes a breakfast "jaffle," which is like a grilled cheese sandwich with banana inside instead of cheese.

Commerce, Bali-Style

Here's a photo of a beachside surf rental shop like the ones J and I get our boards from. Working at one of these would be a sweet deal!


Here's another shot of Dreamland Beach, which Jon blogged about. Beautiful, and empty of local people.


And here's a shot of one of the hundreds of market stalls along the streets and lanes of Kuta Beach, all selling classy, high quality merchandise like what you see in the photo!


So far I've bargained for the following buys: surfing lessons, beachside pedicure and shoulder massage, adapter for my camera's battery charger, Thai fisherman's pants, gauzy shirt, fake Louis Vuitton flip flops, sarong to lie on beachside.
Buying something here is like a battle of wits: the seller starts high, buyer goes low, and ideally you meet somewhere in the middle. It's quite an experience for the uninitiated, as the first quoted price is often over-the-top. For example, Jon paid about $2.50 for a pair of fake Oakley sunglasses where the seller opened with an offer of about $130.00!

You Don't Stand Up, You Don't Pay

Another KVD guest blog...

This morning Jon and I hit the beach early. Yesterday, Jon met a few Indonesian guys on the beach, and had chatted with them about renting a board. Jon is rocking the locals scene here - people come up and pester tourists really aggressively here to buy things, but since Jon's so nice, he doesn't ignore them, and then once he says "no" a few times they usually start smiling and get into a nice chat together. Here's Jon with Mama Puket, a really funny beach massage lady he's made friends with. She kind of reminds me of Aunt Julita!



So he made friends with these surfer guys yesterday, and we went out to see them this morning. They have a little post set up on the beach near the McDonalds, where they hang out with their boards stood up, available to rent. He bartered for his board rental while I arranged for my first ever surfing lesson!

My teacher was Yam Yam, and he's from Sumatra, another Indonesian island. We started out on the beach, and I practised my pop-up a few times. My board was a real longboard, not a special beginner board, so he waxed it up and then put it down on the sand. I practised pretending to paddle, and then doing a kind of push up and jumping up onto my feet on the board. After that, we hit the Indian Ocean! We went into the white chop, which are the little waves breaking near the shore. He'd pick a good wave and tell me, "Paddle, paddle!", give my board a push from behind, and then I was on my own, trying to pop up and ride it. Here's a picture of me and Yam Yam:



I have a big smile on, mostly because I DID IT!

I could stand up, and rode a few waves almost all the way in. Most tries I got up and then fell a few seconds later, but by the end I was popping up most times I tried, and I even rode a few waves all by myself, without my teacher giving me a push. Woot woot!! Surfer Kir!

Here's a photo of our front yard - isn't it beautiful? On the right you can see a stone post, and it has religious significance, but I don't really know what yet, since I don't understand Balinese Hinduism too well. Well, at all, actually!



I do know what these are though - they're little offerings. You see them all over here, mostly on the curbs and sidewalks, but other spots too. They're about the size of a CD case, and they're made out of flowers and rice and usually a Ritz cracker in a woven leaf dish. It's not considered bad to step on them accidentally, which is a good thing, since they're everywhere!



We're having an amazing time here!

Kuta Bali

KVD again...

So we're planning to stay for three days here at Kuta Beach, a Wasaga or Grand Bend-like town with a great beach, crazy traffic, pestering vendors, and (as I sadly found out this morning), unscrupulous money changers! Jon told me to always be the last one to count my money, but I SWEAR I saw it all on the counter...then when I got back to the room and counted it, a bunch was missing, and all I had bought was a bottle of water! Oh well, lesson learned, that's why they say to only do it at the bank.

Today I'm looking forward to checking out the beach, eating some good food, swimming in the natural pool that's part of the cottages where we're staying, and getting used to this crazy little beach town! I'm going to leave my surf lesson for tomorrow since I'm already overstimulated enough in Kuta just chilling out! I've got the lay of the land figured out I think, so I don't think I'll get lost on the way to the beach like we did last night...

Our first sight of the beach at Kuta was in the moonlight last night. J and I sat on the sand in the moonlight for a bit and listened to the sound of the surf, and watched the waves get bigger. It wasn't all quiet and peaceful though - a lot of the big clubs and bars are beachfront, just 50 metres or so from the water, across a really busy road you have to dash across.

So Kuta is kind of a developing-country-style-Grand Bend, if you can imagine that. And no worries, the only sign of the terror attacks from a few years ago is the stone memorial on the main street. It was very moving to see it and read all the names on it and where the people who died were from. I want to post a photo of it later if I can. The people who are most interested in the memorial, I've noticed, are the tourists from other parts of Asia. That's who I see looking at it most, and leaving things, and taking photos of their families around it. I guess it would be like Americans going to Ground Zero in New York.



But no more heavy talk! I'm off to find food and my brother!

KVD in Asia: Guest Blogger Episode 2

KVD here...

When we left you last time, we were in Hong Kong, the former British colony turned mecca for the new economy: insurance companies, banks, electronics, telecom, and...great Indian food! Jon and I spent our last day in HK on a mission for a special Sony cable to connect my camera to the internet so I can download photos to this blog. We went first to an electronics store, and from there to the HK Sony Service Centre and eventually a spare parts warehouse in an outlying area of the city. Luckily we were well-fed before the journey - we ate a great meal of Indian food on the ground floor of the Chun King Mansions, another sprawling rabbit's warren of flea market stalls, guest houses, and ramshackle factory rooms and offices close to where we were staying. The mission took a few hours, so by that time we were ready to take the ferry over to Macau.

Macau is another former European colony, whose control was transferred from Portugal to China about ten years ago. Like Hong Kong, it's a really interesting combination of old and new, east and west, Europe and China. Where in Hong Kong you have efficiency, good government administration, and thoughtful city planning, in Macau you have Portugese architecture, a city square with a fountain like the ones through Latin America, lots of bakeries and candy makers, and a city known for its good times. In Macau the big business is casinos and gambling. Here's a photo of Macau buildings - the tall lotus-flower-shaped gold one in the background is the Gran Lisboa Casino.


Jon and I stayed close to the Old Macau city centre, in an interesting neighbourhood full of bakeries, candy makers, small hotels, and (as we saw when we went out to get breakfast early in the morning), prostitutes. Here's a pic of our neighbourhood.


Jon got us a great deal on a luxe (after HK) room in a small hotel on a quiet street by breaking out his Mandarin bargaining skills. The staff liked us because of Jon's Mando, and when Jon left his wallet in the room when we left (not the important wallet, but it did have his driver's license in it, the housekeeper chased us down about five blocks to give it to him at the bus stop.

We left Macau in the morning for our journey to Bali, Indonesia: taxi to the Macau airport, flight to Kuala Lampur (Malaysia), Malaysian immigration, check in to Bali flight, eat at the McDonalds at the airport, Malaysian immigration again, flight to Bali, buy Bali tourist visa in the airport, Indonesian immigration, Indonesian customs, and finally hotel shuttle bus to our room, a little Sauble style cottage with Bali architecture and a beautiful pond in our courtyard.

So here we are in Bali! I'm writing this from an internet cafe right down the street from our cottage, while Jon checks out the look of the beach. More on Bali in my next post!

Mui Wo, Hong Kong: Nirvana!

Kir and I travelled to Mui Wo on Lantau Island, Hong Kong yesterday. I brought Kir here because Carol and I really enjoyed it when I was there for a race a few months ago.

Carol...it's too bad you are not here with us. We could have re-lived race memories, and enjoyed Lantau again!

We walked a bit past the ferry terminal, and found a place to rent bikes. We paid 25 HK dollars for the day, which is about $3.75 CAD.

Mui Wo is my idea of the perfect place to live. There is one main street where buses and cars can drive, but other than that, it is all small concrete sidewalks and thin alleys between rugged looking houses.

Since there is no room for cars, everyone rides their bikes! Bikes were parked outide all the houses, and none were locked up. People had rickshaw bikes to ferry their kids around, instead of station wagons. The whole town had a sleepy feel, and I loved all of it.

The area just outside the ferry terminal was pretty rural. There were small farms scattered about, punctuated by the odd cluster of houses. And small streets and bikes everywhere!







Carol and I went to Discovery Bay for my last race, which is another no-car community on Lantau. It's populated by expat bankers and other wealthy individuals, and reminds me of Whistler. But it's all fabricated and fake, while Mui Wo is old, authentic, and just plain awesome. If I ever become really wealthy, I will buy a small house, learn Cantonese, and hang out with the bike-riding locals all day.

There's a beach there, and some old foreign looking hippie types biking about. I get the feeling Mui Wo hasn't changed too much over the last fifty years, other than the bikes now have hand brakes. It has a laid-back, rustic feel that I loved. These hippies probably loved it twenty years ago for the same reason, and haven't left.

The elderly Cantonese locals played Ma Jong, and young kittens sat on roofs, yawning lazily as I biked by. Birds chirped, people waved to us, and I loved all of it. There must be a tourist season here, but Kir and I missed it. We had the sleepy villages all to ourselves.

What a great day. It may have been the time I was there, Kir's familiar company, the fact I was happily finished teaching...whatever the reason, Mui Wo is one of my favourite places anywhere. The clouds cling to the mountainside, bikes are everywhere, and people are friendly. It is the embodyment of a perfect town for me.

I must move there!

Last China pics

Jon here.

I took some pictures before I left China, and had some left over. I'll post the stragglers here.

I was out and about in the GZ shoe district a few days ago, and I began to wonder. If I happended to own a shoe factory here, what would I do with the shoes I couldn't sell? What if I had some that didn't have a mate, or others that weren't worthy of the sale rack?



Then I realized...I would just dump them in the street, and let the street sweepers clean them up! It's a great idea, since it means I don't need to pay to dispose of them, and you also don't have to worry about transporting my garbage anywhere. It's so easy to just open the door and toss them outside! Someone else will worry about after that. Don't throw your garbage in my backyard, but I'll happily toss mine out the front into the street.

A good thing is that some people were able to get some free shoes. There were no mates, but a few people were trying on different sizes and models to find two that would fit.



Mom, I remembered to get sand for you. Here are some shots of where it came from, at the fake beach. This beach was a good place to bring the kids to play, since they entertained themselves very easily.





And last of all, I took a picture of the Yihe shan (mountain) where I did all my hill training a few months ago.



This is also the road up to the pagoda restaurant, so there are cars driving up and down it all the time. Notice the guard at the bottom...since the road isn't wide enough, he communicates with another guard at the top, to make sure cars go only one direction at a time. He also directs lost drivers to where they want to go.

Goodbye Yihe! I'll see you in a month to pick up my luggage.

Good Times in Mother Kong

This my first ever blog, and the latest in a long line of "firsts" from the past few days. Let me tell you about a few...

I've now been closer to the North Pole than I ever imagined I would be. My flight to Hong Kong was epic - we flew northeast (it seemed) from NJ, up over Labrador, the Davis Strait, Iqualuit, Greenland, and the North Pole! So we went over the top of the globe and then came down over the north of the ex-USSR - I don't know what it is now but maybe Siberia? Then over northern China, Beijing, and into Hong Kong. The flight took fifteen and a half hours, the monotony of which was broken for me by a hiliarious movie, Run Fatboy Run, some addictive logic puzzles, and a spike of adrenaline to my entire nervous system when we hit turbulence over Russia somewhere, and the plane bounced around like on the first episode of Lost, right before the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. I was relieved to touch down in Hong Kong, and even more relieved to see Jonners in the crowd of people in the arrival hall, towering above all the Asians, waiting for me as I came out of the baggage claim. Here's a picture of the Hong Kong skyline.


My next challenging experience for growth (haha) was at the Mirador Mansion, where our "guest house" is. Our guest house is more like a cluster of rooms in a sprawling, slightly run-down highrise which is full of lots of other guest houses, garment factories, shops, and small apartments. We are on the 12th floor. Our room is tiled all in white (floor, walls, and ceiling), with a blue all-in-one bathroom where you can shower as you are sitting on the toilet and spitting your toothpaste into the sink. Here's me in the room!


As there is a lot of open air hallways, stairways, and a courtyard far below, the effect seemed to me like being inside a suspended white tile shoebox far, far above the ground. And as some of you may already know (memories of the train bridge in St. Jacob's), I am really, REALLY scared of heights.

I fell asleep my first night in Hong Kong feeling like the city was getting the best of me. But I didn't let it keep me down. I breathed deep, prayed for a safe trip (out of our guest house in case of fire, at least!), imagined calm moments like riding my mountain bike at night through the forest or Big P giving me a hug (shout out to you, Peter!) and convinced myself that the good times would be waiting for me the next day. And they were...




This is Jon and I on Lantau Island, where Jon did his adventure racing earlier this year. We crossed over on the ferry this morning, and the first thing I noticed was that the place was full of bikes. We were hopeful that we could get in on the bike action, and sure enough, found a place renting them. We jumped on our matching Merida Pinkys (which seemed to be a famous brand on the island) and had an amazing day exploring the island. Our bells and brakes were well-used, and so were our legs by the end of the afternoon.



This is the base of a beautiful waterfall, with lush tropical plants all around, and strange little inch worms covering all the flat surfaces. I discovered the inch worms by accident when I put my hand down on the stone fence and it came away covered with moving creatures!

We toured around on our bikes for the afternoon, checking out a Buddhist temple, another waterfall, and little villages in the mountains. It started raining pretty hard, so we took a break by the covered gate to an unoccupied villa up in the hills. Here I am, waiting for the rain to let up a bit.



It was a great day. In the end, the rain kept coming, so we just rode around in the rain, which made the descent back to the beach a slick adventure. Jon had great style on the way down - good form, confidence, and no wipeouts on the corners. I made it down as well, but with my foot out a few times and more screaming brakes (got to remember that the back brake is on the left, not the right!). It was excellent. We finished off the day with a treat that reminded me of home - a dinner of curried chicken casserole as tasty as the curried beef brisket from our favourite Chinese restaurant in Waterloo.

So here I am, in Asia at last. After a rocky start to our relationship, Mother Kong has become my friend!

Guest Blogger

Here at jvd in China, I always aim to bring the best content to my readers. With that in mind, I'd like to introduce a guest blogger. In the coming weeks, she'll be checking in occasionally, bringing diversity and an added measure of creativity to this space.

Our guest blogger is an esteemed colleague of mine. She spent her formative years in Stratford, Ontario, then went on to take her undergraduated degree at the University of Guelph. After that, she completed law school at the University of Victoria, and has since been called to the bar and started her own law practice.

Despite her busy schedule, our guest agreed to fly to Asia, all in the name of bringing variety to this space, and expanding the breadth of content on jvd in China.

It is with great pleasure that I introduce Kirsten!

*golf clap*

Kirsten and I will both be posting here in the coming weeks, when time and internet connections allow. Stay tuned!

The future of this space.

Tomorrow I leave GZ to meet Kirsten in Hong Kong. We'll then go to Indonesia together, and try our luck at surfing in Bali.

I don't know what the trip has in store, so I don't know if I'll update this blog with Indonesia details. It may depend on finding time, as well as solid internet connections.

So, watch this space, but not too closely, for updates on our Bali experience.

That pretty much does it for 我不懂:jvd in China.

Thanks for all the comments, encouragement, and most of all, for reading. I've had a lot of fun writing this blog, and I'd often fall asleep thinking about paragraphing, word choice, and ideas for new posts. I wouldn't have enjoyed writing it so much if nobody was reading it.

Goodbye from China!

My Umbrella Shop

Now that my teaching contract is over, I find myself between vocations, jobs, careers, and pay-cheques. With that in mind, it's important that I figure out a way to earn a living.

Instead of going back to Canada, I'm going to open an umbrella shop here in China.

There is no better thing to sell. People in China (Guangzhou, at least) love their umbrellas. I can't think of an item that people use more than an umbrella, other than maybe their socks. Most people have multiple pairs of socks, but only one umbrella. This market could explode anytime!

People in China love to keep the sun off their faces, since they value a clear, white complexion. There are ads for both men and women's face whitening cream that show people with pale white faces. These people are successful in buisness and at finding attractive friends.

In my opinion the Chinese value a white face, as opposed to a dark tanned one, because it signifies wealth and status. A clear, light complexion means you're not a farmer working the fields, or a labourer working in the city, toiling outside and battling the hot sun every day. Instead, you're inside your air-conditioned building making a lot of money. So, many Chinese carry umbrellas around to shade their faces from the sun.



I thought of this great umbrella idea as I was out and about today. It was a very sunny and hot day, and you could see white fluffy clouds in the sky. Guangzhou is usually pretty socked-in with smog or haze, so when the sun comes out in the summer, so do the umbrellas.



If you don't have an umbrella, you can just use your bag of diapers to shield you from the sun. That's why my umbrella shop will be great...so many people want umbrellas, but don't have them! They use them in both the rain and the sun, so I'll have buisness all year around.



Even if you don't have a large diaper bag, a flattened cardboard box will do, or a paper shopping bag. You could even use the advertising flyers that people always hand you on the street. I'll sell these items alongside my umbrellas, in the event that customers are more comfortable using them and would prefer to avoid buying a real umbrella.



My umbrella shop will have a mobile kiosk division that can travel around to wherever the sun is shining, or the rain is falling. It will be small enough to bring on the bus, since there's a little-known need for umbrellas geared toward indoor use.



When it's raining, I'll sell my umbrellas at bus stops. When a foreigner comes by and asks in broken and accented Chinese how much an umbrella costs, I'll tell him 120RMB. Of course I'll be trying to cheat him, since anybody knows that the particular umbrella is not worth more than 15RMB.

Oh-oh. My dreams are dashed. I just realized that the kind of umbrella shop I want to open already exists. Not the kind with mobile divisions and selling diaper bags...just that kind that tries to cheat foreigners when it's raining.

I pushed the thoughts of my revolutionary umbrella shop out of my mind...I don't think it's as novel an idea anymore. I'll return to Canada instead of trying my luck at commerce in China.

With no umbrella shop dreams and no desire to stay in China, I figured I might as well walk around and take some pictures while the weather was nice.



Here's some of the Guangzhou skyline. The big building on the right is the tallest building in town, and at 80 stories, is Asia's tallest all-concrete structure. My favourite building is the bright one on the left, pretty much only because it's yellow. Remember, Guangzhou has the world's 19th best skyline which you can read about here.



I cruised by the ping-pong park again, and got a better shot illustrating the all-concrete table construction. The woman on the left is playing in heals and a dress, and having a great time.



The Chinese are the world's best nappers. I wish there was a website confirming it, but I'm pretty sure it's true even though there's not. They can sleep anywhere! Here are three people sleeping in the shade at the ping pong park.

Awhile ago I saw a guy napping on his bike, under a tree in the middle of the sidewalk. He had his kickstand down so the bike was fairly stable. His head was resting on a box strapped to the rear rack, he was sitting on the seat, and had his legs propped up on the handle bars. And to think I whine about my hard, lumpy mattress.

So, no umbrella shop for me. I think I'll head back to Canada instead, and maybe stop in Bali on the way.

It Is Finished!

This is my 100th blog post. This milestone in blogging corresponds with a milestone in my teaching career...it's over!

Today was my last day, and it went well. It was another Parents Day, but this time I had parents sitting in on all my classes, not just my main morning class.

In the past I have played games and done crafts with the kids on Parents Day, but today I just did a lot of review. In the last month the children have been able to understand questions and answer on their own, so we spent a lot of time simply chatting.

We talked about what penguins eat, what sharks eat, what the children like to eat, and other simple things relating to the pictures I had. Two children can answer "How do you spell RED?" even when I cover up the word, so I made sure to showcase their skills as well.

Guo, my co-teacher, was very pleased with the way my morning went. She said the the parents saw that their children know "more the English" and it made them happy.

My afternoon classes, where I only teach for half an hour a day, didn't go as smoothly because those kids don't know as much English. I have to pour more effort into filling the alloted time, and today was no different except there were parents watching me sweat it out. Ok, I'm not giving myself enough credit here. But I do seem to check the clock a lot more during my afternoon classes than I do in the morning.

My day didn't end without drama either. One of the parents insisted that the school put on a big graduation do for the oldest class, so the school complied. This family had been kicked out of the rival kindergarten across the street (Future STAR! Kindergarten), because that school didn't want to deal with the family's outrageous requests anymore.

Our school already had a ceremony planned, and the regalia ready. It seems that the planned ceremony wasn't good enough, so the school brass scurried about to give it more flourish. The parent said that the kindergarten across the street had a government official handing out the diplomas to the six year-olds, so why didn't we? Unfortunately, nobody could be rounded up on a few hours notice.

Earlier, this parent had also told the kindergarten that they should be documenting the last week of school with a video camera. A Sony Handycam was rounded up, and different teachers took turns following the graduating class around with it. Very odd.

The ceremony was to be put on in the basement right after my class, and at the last minute I learned I had to teach my class down there too. This was to save time and effort for the parents and children. I would have to teach on the small stage, where I'd need to project my voice. This would change the whole classroom dynamic I'm used to, and it would be important to display adaptability.

When I got downstairs, I was ambushed with cameras on tripods, big bulbs bathing the stage in camera-friendly light, and lots of people hanging around waiting for me to start teaching. Fish bowl! I was on display, and the cameras were rolling. I would need to display more adaptability than I expected.

It frustrated me at first, but then I reminded myself that it was the last half hour of the year, so I shouldn't get too worked up about the whole situation. I ended up having a reletively good class with the kids, not worrying about the audience. We played a short game at the end of class, and the kids loved it. If nothing else, now the parents know that their children enjoyed having class with me all year.

A few children hugged me as I packed up my bag and said goodbye, including Alina who is featured in the top picture of this post. She insisted I wear her mortarboard in the picture, and I didn't argue.

Yoyo (female, unlike the Yoyo in Carol's class) came up and said "I love you!" as she hugged me goodbye, which was really nice. I was surprised to hear that, since I only teach those kids for half an hour a day!



After I was done, I sat back and watched the ceremony. It was good, and I'm sure the kids and parents enjoyed it, politician or not.

My day (and year) being done, I went back upstairs and waved the remaining children goodbye. There was really no emotion for me, other than being very truly happy that I had finished my year.

I was happy not only because I wouldn't have to teach again, but also because I remembered everything it took to get to this day. It was a long and difficult road, but one that I'm proud to have travelled.



Here's Jimmy. For the whole first symester he sat in his chair and stared at me like he was in a coma. At the beginning of this second semester, he started smiling and seemed to enjoy school a little bit. He still didn't say much, and didn't seem to understand much of what I was teaching.

Then one day out of nowhere, he got up out of his chair in the middle of a numbers lesson, grabbed a toy dinosaur off the shelf, and said "This is a dinosaur!" and then went and sat back down. Amazing! Oh Jimmy. After that, he began participating in class as much as possible, and loved to demonstrate his English to me.



Soon, all my kids had gone home and only teachers and stragglers remained in the school. I was still in a really great mood, so I started grabbing babies like a campaigning politician. And like a campaigning politician, I made the babies cry.

Actually, it was only one baby, Ms. Lie's. She's the principal, and her baby was born around Christmas. It's a girl and is at the school a lot. It generally never cries, excpet when big foreigners hold it!

When Ms. Lie left the school, she thanked me for teaching and told me I did a good job. She said all the children enjoyed having me teach, and she appreciated all I had done. That was nice.

That was my day. Afterwards, all the teachers went out to KTV (karaoke) and I agreed to go with them, even though I knew it would mean multiple hours spent listening to Canto-Pop and Mando hits. I figured it would be an appropriate bookend for the school year, since Carol and I attended KTV with the same teachers back in September. We were invited out the night before the first day of school.

I have now taught 189 of a possible 191 school days. No more days to go. It is finished!

Pictures With My Kids

Today was sunny and hot, so our class went to the fake beach to play by the water. It turned into a photo session, as it was the last official 10am-11am play time that I would have with my kids. Tomorrow is another Parents Day, so there will be no scheduled play time.



Here is a class shot before we hit the water.





The kids enjoyed splashing about, and it was good times. I ended up with very wet shorts, and had to change when we got back to the school.







Carol's class was at the beach too, so here are some pictures for you, Carol.

When we got back to the school, Guo took pictures of all the children, one-on-one with me. She's now compiling all the pictures she's taken throughout the year, and filing them under each child's name. The picture collection will be given to the parents tomorrow, the last day of school. Very thourough, Guo.



Here is an out-take from Cherry's picture. I like this one, even though I'm not looking at the camera.

Today at the beach, all the challenges and struggles I faced this year seemed like a distant memory. It was great to be having fun with my kids, and it felt great to know that I am just about finished the school year. What an accomplishment it has turned out to be for me!

I won't emote or opine about this whole teaching experience in this post. I'll save that for this weekend, when school is officially over.

One more day!

Two to go.

189 teaching days down, only two to go. The full school year contains 191 teaching days.

I have a near-perfect attendance record. One day in the first semester I did not teach because I was in Hong Kong getting my working visa. Another day in the second semester I didn't teach since I was bringing Carol to the airport.

187 (189 - 2) times I have woken up, wearily shouldered my teaching bag, and plodded down the stairs from my apartment to my classroom.

187 times I have walked into my two year-old class and wondered how I was going to fill the next twenty-five minutes.

187 times I have wondered if they're going to serve chicken breast in the cafeteria. I have been disappointed 186 times. One day, it all came together for me...it must have been a cooking mistake. The chicken was dry instead of oily, and I didn't have to de-bone anything! It was glorious.

187 times I've triumphantly returned to my room, dropped my teaching bag on the floor, and been satisfied with another completed day.

Two more days of teaching!

I've finished 98.95% of my teaching contract. If I was running a 10K, I'd have only 105 meters to go. Bring it home stong, Mr. Jon!

Guangzhou's Softer Side

Guangzhou has seemed like a pretty rugged and raw city to me, since I moved here. The city's either dusty and hot, or wet and dank. I figure that's why everyone seems agitated all the time.

Cars don't wait for pedestrians to cross, they park on the sidewalk, they drive on the wrong side of the road. People spit in the street, on the bus, and in the hotel pool. They also seem unable to have normal conversations that don't devolve into yelling matches.

It could be the nuances the Chinese language, I don't know. But it seems that many people enjoy yelling at eachother instead of talking. Last week I took a taxi back to the school after one of my attempts to sort out my plane tickets. While driving past a big line-up at the gas station, I asked the driver if all the people wanted more oil.

I don't know the word for gas, so I just said oil, figuring he'd know what I was talking about. I said something like "Niga duo ren yao jia you ma?" That means "Do all those people want more oil?" I guess I was hoping he'd say "Duay...jia you tie guay la. Duo ren." Which would mean "Yes, more oil is expensive now. Many people."

Instead, he began shouting at me "BU SHI JIA YOU! BU SHI JIA YOU! SHI QI YOU!" Which means "It's not oil! It's not oil! It's gas!" To emphasize his point he began to agressively thump his steering wheel. Easy there, Big Shovel. It's just a question.

My impression of Guangzhou has been that it's an unfriendly city, with most of its 10 million Chinese inhabitants being agressive A-types, like the taxi driver. Of course that's not true, but it seems like it sometimes. It seems like most people rush around and push people, unless they're yelling at them. They've always got somewhere to go, and want everyone out of the way.

It was much to my surprise when I came upon this ping pong park last week. It seemed to be good times all around. Here are some pictures. They're not fantastic, because I was feeling pretty conspicuous as the only foreigner there. I think I rushed my pictures as a result, since I felt a bit embarassed and touristy taking them. They came out blurry, but you can still get a pretty good idea of the set-up.





It was about 10pm, and there were tonnes of people enjoying the evening with a game of ping pong! The tables are big slabs of concrete painted green, including the net. Since the net is the same piece of concrete as the table, the balls are constantly bouncing all over the place.





There was a badminton section as well, with just as many people enjoying that. There were between eight and ten nets, all strung up in a row.





Also, there were many games of cards going on, with nobody yelling at eachother. People were playing, others were looking on, and it seems like a great atmosphere.

This ping pong park presented me with an alternative and softer side of Guangzhou. It had probably twelve tables, and they were all full. Girls in frilly dresses were playing, grandparents were playing, and young ping pong rock stars in jerseys were playing. Some people held a paddle in one hand, and a cigarette in the other, and most were laughing and enjoying themselves. It was fantastic.

In the badminton area, every court was full, with people waiting on the sidelines for their turn. The people waiting were just having a relaxing time with their friends, and enjoying a cool evening.

I hadn't seen Guanzhou residents really enjoying life too much since I came here, but now it's nice to know they're capable of relaxing and having fun with their friends.

I would love to have a ping pong park near the school, and show up every night to see who's there and up for a game. It'd be so fun. One Chinese guy was keen to speak English, and in the course of talking with him, I learned that he and his friends meet every night at the ping pong tables, as long as it's not raining.

That's what Canada should have...ping pong and badminton parks. Maybe they have them in Vancouver and Toronto's Chinatowns. I might just seek them out. I don't think Canada has any similar set-up, for any sport. I can't think of anywhere other than the pool tables at a bar, where you just show up and look for a game.

Canada could learn from the Chinese and set up ping pong parks. You don't need a lot of space, and who doesn't like a good game of ping pong?