Outside our windows...

Because Bandung weather is mild and we have no AC, our windows are open at all times. Unlike at home where our AC blocks the noise outside, we hear a constant variety of sounds night and day. I wish I had a tape recorder to capture them. I don’t, but I'm going to try to give you a little idea of what goes on outside our apartment every day.

Below our bedroom is a steep hill so we are often waked by motor scooters. At least two climb the hill each morning for the 4 a.m. prayer calls and they are very loud as their drivers need to "gun" them to make it up the steep hill.

A couple of hours later we wake again to the smell of smoke from people's trash burning and roosters doing their thing. They crow early in the morning and intermittently throughout the day. Cockfighting also occurs on weekends. Kids talk and laugh as they climb the hill and they get excited if they see Ronnie, yelling out “Hey Mista!”

Finally we are nearing the end of rainy season (though it still rains a part of every day or night) and heavy rain is another sound we have become accustomed to. Because of the hard plastic material that covers the patios, the sound of falling rain is multiplied many times over! It is difficult to hear the TV over the sound of the loud rain!

Below our balcony and off to the left is the Secapa military practice range. We often hear the cadence of drums early in the morning, along with the soldiers shooting their guns in target practice. Though this can go on for hours, it doesn’t unnerve me like it did early on.

We gave away our birds so we could come here and we’ve both missed their company and their beautiful songs. But Indonesia is home to many wild birds and their songs drift through our windows every day. I could not find their particular songs online, but Ronnie was able to mimic the sirit cunguing and an unknown bird for me.

We're also use to the sound of cicak (lizards) inside the apartment on a nightly basis, and as the end of rainy season approaches, the cicadas are in full symphony. One side of the church we attend is open and the minister's voice competes with them as he delivers his message.

Unfortunately, there have been sounds of construction the entire time we’ve lived here with an apartment below us finally completed (workers hammered away an entire 2-story concrete stairway) and a second unit has been built on the other side of us. Hammers and saws are a regular part of each day, and sometimes they can get to be a little much!!

The hardest sounds of all to get used to are the prayer calls. These occur several times a day over loud speakers from the many mosques throughout the city. It is quite frankly an eerie sound when they are all going at the same time. Often a young child’s voice is in the mix. It is impossible to make out what is being said. Truthfully, they sound more like a bunch of sick cattle rather than men praying. This sound cannot be escaped without the use of ear plugs (night) or really loud TV (day). I did find one call online; keep in mind it is broadcast through a loud speaker and multiplied many times over. It's hard to really imagine without actually hearing it for oneself.

UPDATE (not related to sounds) The mystery barf on our porch each morning has finally been solved. It was not a devil (Dadang) or a monkey (Aisah) or a resident dog (me). Rather it was a fruit eating bat! The problem was easily remedied by leaving the porch light on all night. And last but certainly not least, after trapping 16 rats in our attic, our landlady finally took our complaints seriously and hired a pest control company to evaluate the situation. Just as we suspected, holes on the outside of the building were allowing them access. We're hopeful we've seen the last of them!

Traffic as Usual

I guess if I had to describe Bandung traffic in a word, it would be chaos. The streets are shared by regular cars, motors (we call them scooters), trucks, becaks (pedicabs), pedestrians, men pushing carts and people just trying to cross the street on foot. I know I have talked about this before, but it truly is something to behold.

I asked Ronnie how he would describe the traffic here and his reply was "they are all going the same way, and you don't want to get in front of them. And the biggest one always wins."

Without red lights, you might wonder how anyone ever makes a turn. Well, they do make turns and the way they do it is inch. by. inch. You have to convince people that you are turning and that they should stop because you are coming through. Motors trickle between cars like water moving around stationery objects. They sometimes knock your side mirror or occasionally scrape your car.

Drivers honk, but usually not out of rudeness so much as just to let another driver know they are there. Perhaps because Muslims are not supposed to show anger or any type of outward emotion, I never observe anyone cursing at another driver or throwing them the finger. They just patiently work it. And though we used to get honked at a lot with our previous driver who seemed to have a problem picking a lane, we have yet to get honked at with our new one. Speaking of lanes, we sometimes wonder why they exist at all, as they rarely seem to be  observed. We are constantly amazed that we don't see more accidents! In that sense, I would have to save that Bandung drivers are very good!

If there is an accident, it is always the fault of the larger vehicle, no matter what. Most accident payments are worked out right there at the scene. Ronnie's associate Pak Dwi (Dept. Head at ITB) says he does not carry insurance except when his car is brand new. The person with the money pays. Period. Of course if you are white and American, you are "rich" and you pay (regardless of who is at fault). These are just some of the reasons we chose not to attempt driving here - we certainly didn't want that liability.

It's scary the first time you ever try to cross the street as a pedestrian. That is a learned skill too. Even young girls will venture across traffic alone, looking for an opening while at the same time holding their hand out to let motorists know they are crossing. Somehow it all works. Amazingly well, considering the number of people on the streets at any given moment.

Now that you have an idea of what the streets are like, remember that this is rainy season. I'm talking torrential downpours, and often flooding. This of course does nothing to help the traffic move along.

It's funny the things you see people carrying on their motors. Unfortunately, traffic is such a constantly changing scene and I am rarely able to see something and snap a photo before it has changed. I know I've mentioned before that it is common to see 4 persons riding on a motor and occasionally we do see 5. We actually saw 4 kids and 2 adults (count 'em, that makes 6!) on one motor. Amazing...


I guess the weirdest thing we've seen in traffic was a ram riding on a motor. Not driving, mind you, just riding. It is common to see heavy loads of various things - building materials, boxes of goods, many bottles of water or propane and pretty much anything one can imagine. The other day I saw a man carrying an infant in one arm and driving one handed.



Getting stuck in traffic is never a boring proposition, as there is always such interesting things happening around you. People watching in Bandung is always interesting and watching the Indonesians as they go about their daily rounines is never boring.

The rare red lights in the city (usually located along the freeway) are spots where sales people and entertainers congregate and perform for a few cents. Traffic is heavy at all times of the day. I always wonder where on earth all these people are going? Being stuck in traffic really doesn't bother me because there is always something interesting to see out the window. What you see is people doing any and everything and there is always something interesting about that!

The condition of most roads is exactly what you'd expect - pot hole after pot hole.

The Lazy Side of Lombok

Ronnie hiking Mt. Rinjani

view from the top

our hotel

Sengiggi Beach

So while Ronnie spent 2 days burning calories to climb Mt Rinjani, I stayed behind and got our money's worth out of the resort. I had spent literally hours researching a place to stay, and it turned out to be directly across the street from the Sheraton where the conference would be held. Very handy, and also might I add that the Sheraton is badly in need of remodeling and the place I chose was over-the-top in terms of "niceness." I had read at least 50 reviews of the place (not kidding) and only 2 words remained in my head - tarantula and centipede. I tried to console myself that I would see neither, and besides this place was light years ahead of the 20 year since remodeled Sheraton rooms.

It always feels good to know you've done your homework and the place looked exactly as pictured. What they failed to mention is the very cicaks we were getting away from in Bandung actually have relatives here in Lombok. Not only do they have relatives here, one of them lives in the bedroom and another lives in the living room. Sigh... And not only that, there were ants. LOTS of ants. Ronnie killed a mosquito on the wall and within literally seconds there was a spider and ants all over it. Let me skip ahead and say that the cicaks are even worse here at the Sheraton and one lives behind the mirror in the bedroom. Not to mention I counted more than 20 (one at least 7" long!) on the walls as we walked from dinner to our room last night. It all reminded me of the Proverb about lizards in king's palaces. No matter how nice you try to make it, if you're in Indonesia, there will be cicaks.

The first day we were here I spent some time walking and taking photos on the beach. I had been warned about the beach "hawkers" and they were every bit as bad as I expected. A firm wave of the hand and "no" (several times) usually does the trick. The sun was shining and Ronnie swam in the Bali sea. We both enjoyed it.

The next 2 days it did nothing but rain while Ronnie hiked and I entertained myself at the resort. I had wanted to take a tour but the weather just wasn't cooperating. However, the sun finally came out yesterday and I got to visit a Sasak Village (more on that in next post) so I was happy!

This post is just a glimpse of the beach in Lombok where we've stayed.