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Written by Ron B
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Friday, 17 October 2008 |
Kupang, Timor - first impressions The plane approached over Semau Island and the western end of Timor. The airport is 15 Km to the east of Kupang. First impression as we drove to Kupang - it is very rocky and arid, and the town of Kupang is spread out. We stayed at the house of our friends which is in Osmok, halfway between Central Kupang and the ports. The house is on a hillside looking across palms to the beach and Kupang Bay. |  Our Friends' house where we stayed |  View of Kupang Bay | We got to enjoy the beach bars where you can easily meet some expats and tourists. This one, Pantai Laut Resto, is a new name located where a well-known Bar (Teddy's) was. Teddy's has moved into a nearby hotel. The guy in the photo on the right is selling locally woven rugs called ikats.
|  Pantai Laut Resto - beach bay |  Selling Ikats in teh bar | | Behind Pantai Laut Resto is an inlet with a rockly wall. Two holes have been cut into this wall, and we were told that the Japanese tunneled these during the 2nd World War (around 1942) as safe parking for their small submarines. The photo on the right shows some fo the local fishing boats nearby - quite different from fishing boats in Bali. |  Submarine parking near Pantai Laut Resto |  Fishing boats near the beach bars | L'avalon is another beach bar a couple of kilometres east, and it offers free internet access - so I kept going back for that reason. The photo on the right shows the beach view from L'avalon, and you can see one of the big speakers out there that is providing the music.
|  L'Avalon Beach Bar |  Beach View from L'Avalon Bar | Kupang is spread out a bit, so you need transport. There are taxis but no meters, so you negotiate often by time - like you figure you want him for 2 hours while you go shopping and grab a meal, then you negotiate a price for that. Alternatively, there are bemos which are highly decorated with window stickers and colorful flashing lights. They also have huge speakers under the passenger seats and can really boom like a disco as they move about.
|  Inside Kupang Bemo |  Bemos on Roti Island | |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 20 October 2008 )
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Written by Ron B
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Thursday, 16 October 2008 |
 View from our bedroom in Kupang | A Sudden Onset of Severe ...
We were staying in Kupang, and from our bedroom we could see across Lontar palms to the bay.
Then, one morning I was hit with diarrhea with no warning - none of the usual rumbles and pains. Then next day muscle and joint pains and fever. The joint pains were worst, so that by the 3rd day I felt like an arthritic cripple.
On the fourth day, I got to the Internet and looked up Dengue Fever. The description left no doubt that this was my problem. The good news was that it should all be over in a week - so just 3 days to go.
| On the fourth day, I got to the Internet and looked up Dengue Fever. The description left no doubt that this was my problem. The good news was that it should all be over in a week - so just 3 days to go. And this is how it was - on the 6th day the symptoms were fading. So it was an interesting episode that tended to make our Timor visit slower paced than we had planned - but it still was very enjoyable.
|  Dengue Fever in Wikipedia | |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 18 October 2008 )
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Written by Ron B
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Sunday, 31 August 2008 |
Wedding for Linda & Prana"Aceh Wedding Party" announced the e-mail from Prana, and went on to give the address in Pamulang Barat. So I thought Pamulang was in Aceh and started looking up travel information for Aceh. But I was on the wrong track - Pamulang is near Jakarta, but the wedding was planned to be in an Acenese style. Below is a Google Earth map and the invitation - click for detail. The map shows Linda Gallery in Pamulang where the wedding was held at the bottom, Jakarta Airport at top left, Amaris Hotel where we stayed in the middle, and Central Jakarta indicated by the cloud of markers north of our hotel. |  Linda Gallery on a Google Earth map |  Linda & Prana Invitation - 1 |  Linda & Prana Invitation - 2 | We had got up before dawn in Makassar (about 4am Jakarta time) to catch an early plane from Makassar to Jakarta. A taxi from the airport got to Pamulang without too much trouble, but then finding the correct street took some trial and error and phone calls. The first photo below below shows Linda Gallery with a canopy erected between the house and the street. This meant that at times the ceremony spilled onto the street interrupting the flow of traffic. Prana led a small procession of family and friends from nearby the Gallery to the front entrance where they were receieved by family and friends of Linda. People in the procession carried gifts including a beautifully bound Koran, some money in a presentation frame, and fruit. |  Linda Gallery with street side canopy |  Preparing for the Procession |  Prana leads the procession |  Gifts include fruit ... |  And a Koran |  and Money ... |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 October 2008 )
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