So I'm writing this post on my tablet (best buy ever) from the hot, hot island of Borneo! This trip has been way more of an adventure than I ever imagined it would be.
The trip started with 2 days in Jakarta visiting old friends and doing some fun shopping (Forever 21, cheeeeyeah!). Then on Saturday, we got on a plane to Kalimantan - the Indonesian part of Borneo. We were warned that it would be hot here, but I was so not prepared for HOW hot. The equator runs through the coastal city in which I'm staying, and the house we're staying in is still in the process of being built, so no air conditioning yet. The only furniture in the whole house is a kitchen table and 2 beds. And we've got 5 people sharing the space!
Our hosts were considerate enough to buy air mattresses and fans, but the electricity has been sketchy at night. If it's off for more than a minute or two, I'm already sweating through my pjs. Literally. Hot, hot heat. It is unbelievable. I'm really embracing the siesta culture. Three hour nap during the hottest part of of the day? Yes, please. Too bad I'm on the wrong side of the world for siestas.
Fun fact. I did a load of laundry yesterday, and I got a tan in the less than 10 minutes it took me to hang it up. Tan lines, folks. Blazing hot.
I have a friend back on Java named Jess who is from this city. Yesterday I got to meet her entire family! They picked us up and took us to their tiny church on the third floor of the Prudential Insurance building! It was a tiny, crowded room and the floor was very shaky, but it was really neat to be able to gather with this group of believers in this part of the world. I just kept praying we wouldn't all crash through the floor to the offices below...
Jess's family took us out for delicious noodle dumpling soup for lunch. The place they took us to was also famous for their chocolate shaved ice! I've never even seen shaved ice in Indonesia, much less CHOCOLATE shaved ice! It basically my new favorite food. We mentioned to them that we were planning to go visit the equator and to do some other touristy things this week.
So this morning, they showed up without warning, ready to show us around! After 10 frantic minutes of scrambling to get ready, we were in the car, ready to go. We tried to go visit the Dayak cultural museum, but it was closed. The Dayak tribe is the biggest in this area, and after talking to Jess's mom, I learned a TON about this tribe. They are extremely discriminated against by other tribes and also by the Indonesian government. I think when I get back, I'll have to write a big long post about the Dayaks. But I still have a lot to learn.
After our initial museum disappointment, we decided to go the equator instead. So here are some pictures of that.
Um, just kidding. I don't know how to insert pictures where I want them on this tablet. So there may or may not be a picture compilation of me at the equator monument somewhere in this post.
There might also be a picture of a plate of food, so let me explain that. After the equator, we went out for a traditional Dayak lunch. It was buffet style, so I piled my plate with food. Then my more cautious travel buddies started asking what the foods were as they went through the line. I maybe should have done that first, because I had just served myself generous portions of dog, snake, and "the contents of a pig's stomach". So that was great. But at least I got lots of vegetables! And yes, I cleaned my plate. Everything tasted delicious! It's just the textures that I sometimes have trouble with...
So that's been our time so far. I'm sure many more adventures are yet to come, and I can't wait!
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