Random Photos

These are just some random flowers I thought were beautiful.

This creature was just walking across the street. All the bugs are jumbo size in Indonesia.

This baby monkey so cute! He was eating a nasty piece of banana.

This little fellow just stared at me the whole time I was taking pictures!

The Rice Factory

So this is what they do to our rice fellow Americans.  My uncle purchases it from the local farmers, hulls it, washes it, polishes it, and bags it.  Did you know there is not any broken rice in your bag?

I didn't.

It's removed during the bagging process and send to another factory to make rice flour.

Guci~Hot water Pool

This awesome natural hot water pool is one of my favorite things to share with Grace.  The weather is actually chilly and the water is relaxing and so therapeutic.

The Buddha comes out

In the middle of the town was a festival where the Buddha comes out.  These statues are brought from all over the area to be carried around in this red bamboo house.  All the locals stand in line for their turn to carry the Buddha.  They believe it will give them a special place in the afterlife.  Grace enjoyed all the piggy bag rides!

The Indonesian Beach house

This was a scary bridge to walk across.  Not sure if it was the thought of the  disgusting water or not knowing what was in the water that scared me the most. Half of the walk way didn't have a rail, so believe me when I say I held on for dear life. But it was so nice and breezy and the sunset was...breathtaking.

my o my...how a month flies by

The wedding was most definitely an event to see. I am so glad we were able to be here for Yoan and Andry's wedding.  The traditions in a Chinese wedding are much different than your typical American nuptials.  I know everyone is familiar with the red colors of a Chinese holiday.  During Chinese New Year, ONLY the children receive red envelopes with money from family members called an ong-pao.  Well you also get one when you get married from family and friends...no registry in this country! Right beside the guest book is a huge box with red envelopes to give your ong-pao.

Grace's part as a flower girl was not like a typical flower girl.  The actual ceremony is in the morning at a church.  But the party happens at 7 pm in a banquet hall draped with pink and white chiffon from the ceiling.

The stage, yes I said stage, has red traditional chinese decorations with furniture covered in gold fabric.  Grace's part was to hold the groom's hand as he walked down the aisle to meet my cousin with her bouquet.  There they are announced as husband and wife and Grace walked in front throwing gold shiny confetti on the ground.  She did great.

I will post pictures once we are back home but some of my facebook friends have seen our pageant hair and makeup. I am not sure I ever wore that much makeup for any one event. And the hairspray...can we say cotton candy hairdo.  I had to wash 2 times to remove all the hairspray. But it really was sooooo fun!

Well the visit is now over.  We are leaving on the train to Jakarta in 6 hours. Yesterday we made our last trip to Guci. Its a natural hot spring swimming pool in the mountains.  On the last trip Grace found 40,000 rupiahs on the bottom of the pool.  She is so excited she goes back and finds 10,000 more.  For those of you who don't know the exchange rate, its only $6.02.  But Grace doesn't care she is on cloud 9.  So yesterday she is determined to find some more money. With goggles in hand, she is off to the pool.  She found 5,000 more! We couldn't believe it.  Now she wants to know what she can buy.  I told her a couple of ice creams is about it.

So today we got our the last 65,000 rupiah massage for a while.  How many massage therapist do you know that would give an hour and a half for $7.22! Not too many. I have to say my muscles are a little sore from all the rubbing and massage this past month! Now back to the real world of cry babies and cavity bugs! I have to honestly say I missed my routine, my husband and sweet little boy! Will update all posts with pictures back in the states.

Finally back in Tegal

I didn't think I would be saying that...
Let me go back and update the trip.  Typing on an iphone is not very easy.

The last dive in Manado was beautiful.  The weather was great.  We only did 2 dives on the last day due to the flight schedule.  My cousin and I started having some ear troubles due to water not clearing.  So the day after diving we went to visit the town ENT.  I felt like I was in a clinic from Cider House Rules.  But he confirmed what we knew...ear infections for each one of us. 

The day we were scheduled to fly out of Manado we stopped at the local market area.  I have always defended my "peeps" saying they don't eat dogs.  Well guess what? They DO! Only in some areas. Many areas are not allowed to sell or eat dogs at all. But this area has a market to buy dogs, bats and rats.  All the animals are incinerated to remove the hair and then chopped up.  It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.  And I have seen some pretty disgusting things in my years as a dental hygienist.  I actually threw up outside of the market area. 

So after the market, we are on the way to Bali. One layover turns into 2 due to a canceled flight.  We have a party of 12 that manage to all get on another flight that is boarding now. We look like a Chinese version of Home Alone running throught the airport. Everyone is sitting on a different row.  I give Grace her boarding pass because of the seat number.  It actually has the boarding pass for the next flight stapled to the back. There is some confusion with another passenger's seat number.  The flight attendant takes Grace's boarding pass and doesn't return it.  Long story short, Grace doesn't have a boarding pass. She is crying because she thinks she will not be able to board the plane.  Thank goodness for E tickets! Now we are all on the final plane to Bali, but our luggage is not.  It does come in on the 1am flight. 

That night in Bali, we are listening to the band in the Hard Rock Hotel and having cocktails.  My cousin tells me there is something around my purse moving.  I tell her "you must have had too much to drink."  Well the next morning I am looking for something in my purse when something black with a tail is moving around.  Let me just say~ if you were asleep on my hallway...you weren't after that moment! I drop the purse and jump on the bed. My sister shakes my purse and a big black gecko runs out!! I am so glad I didn't see it on the plane.

Now its Friday the 24th and we are on a plane for Phuket, Thialand.  It is breath taking. We book 1 dive excursion off the main island.  The scenery in Phuket may be beautiful, but the diving in Manado is much better. We spend the next day swimming in the pool and shopping.  I am not a bargain shopper, just ask my husband.  So this kind of shopping is exhausting to me. But thanks to my mother we are able to buy lots of things.  We also go to a show called Simon Caberet.  It was a very interesting show about all the different cultures...Chinese, Korean, Japanese, American. The women are stunningly gorgeous. Skin, hair, makeup and guess what they are ALL or were men at one time.  Its a must see if you are ever in the area. www.phuket-simoncaberet.com/.

The flight home is uneventful except for the 2:30 am wakeup call to catch a 6 am flight. And the almost lost passport that was in someone else's bag! We spend one night in Jakarta before taking a train to Tegal.  This time of the year is busy in Indonesia due to the children being on a holiday.  So our group splits up to catch the train.  I am so thankful to live in a country wear most traffic rules are obeyed such as not sharing a lane with a motorcycle.  Traffic in the capitol is an absolute nightmare.  Imagine the worst city to drive in... now take away the redlights. The point is we missed the 4:45 train by 7 minutes.  I couldn't even understand what my mother, cousin and aunt were saying and I was stressed out.  Luckily there was room on the 7pm train.  Guess what~it was 10 minutes late!
So we finally arrived back in Tegal at 1:30 am.
12 planes in 24 days, 3 stamps in our passports and some really brown skin.