Hey there stranger!

I know, I know! It's been over 3 months in fact...long time no see! How ya been?

I apologize for the long absence. Between all the trips we have taken in the last several months and a general feeling on my part of not wanting to sit in front of the computer, I have not found the time nor the inclination to write. I will try to give a brief summary of our life since April, and then we can move on to the here and now.

The family dressed in traditional Indonesian batik for C's end-of-school-year concert

In April we took a fabulous trip to Western Australia. We spent a few days in Perth and a few days in Margaret River, an area south of Perth that is well known for their wine production and nice beaches. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm during the day and cold and crisp at night. We thoroughly enjoyed all the fresh air and good food that W. Australia had to offer. Our activities in Perth included walking around the city and parks, visits to playgrounds, walks on the beach, and petting koala bears and 'kookoorooroos' (that's kangaroos in LC-ese) at a wildlife park. Farther south we did much of the same - beach walks and playground visits, walking and shopping around Margaret River town, and a visit to a winery. I would have preferred more time at wineries, but unfortunately I was outvoted. All in all a very good trip!

A few observations about Western Australia:

- it's very pretty and wide open and lovely, in a barren and solitary-like way

- food in restaurants is ridiculously expensive, and we never figured out why

- they are brilliant when it comes to playgrounds - there was even a playground at the winery!

- they make excellent wine

- Perth is the most isolated city, and it is closer to Jakarta than it is to Sydney

- Perth feels more like a big country town then a metropolis

In May J and I took a long weekend to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. We went to Losari coffee plantation and resort in Central Java. We had an absolutely wonderful time enjoying the quiet and relaxation and cooler temperatures. The resort is in a beautiful setting and has a lovely spa, a beautiful lounge and reception area where they served afternoon tea, and a bar with a pool table where I am happy to say I beat J twice! I also enjoyed my first al fresco yoga session one morning overlooking the fog wisped (I realize wisp is not a verb but it should be!) mountain. It was another successful adventure!

Losari Coffee Plantation and Resort

Our latest voyage was our longest - 7 weeks back in the US. This trip was our home leave so J was able to join us for 3 weeks of the trip, and his work paid for our flights in business class. The trip over went much better than it had the previous year. The fact that LC is a whole year older made a huge difference, and we were able to get him to sleep more easily and he was entertained for quite some time by videos. The worst part of the trip back was in Dallas when we ended up with an 8 hour layover instead of the 4 hours we had planned. We had to carry both sleeping children onto the plane to Florida because they just couldn't stay awake any longer. While this delay really sucked at the time, in the end it might have been an excellent mishap. As a result of the delay we didn't get the kids to bed at J's parents' house in Florida until 11 p.m. And so, they slept through the night! And they slept through the night every night afterward, so jet lag was not nearly as challenging as it could have been.

The view of sunrise from the plane as we neared America

While in Florida we relaxed and ate a lot of ham and did some shopping. And then we went to Disney. Unfortunately for us J was sick for most of that adventure, although he isn't much of a Disney aficionado, so he was quite happy to get out of as many Disney activities as he could. The rest of us however had a marvelous time! My SIL and FIL did an excellent job of planning the trip, so we stayed in a nice hotel on the park grounds, ate meals in good restaurants, and even enjoyed a 'character breakfast' when Mickey, Goofy, Lilo and Stitch came around to our table to hug the kids.

We spent the most time at Magical Kingdom, where we enjoyed a couple parades, went on several rides and walked and walked! We also went to Hollywood Studios and Epcot, which is my favorite, although we didn't spend very much time there. Unfortunately the heat was horrible - incredibly hot and humid and far worse than it ever is in Jakarta! But aside from that we had a really great time, and it was so fun for me to enjoy Disney with my children and view the wonder through their eyes.

From Florida we headed to Washington, DC where we lived before moving to Indonesia and where most of our friends live. The weather in DC was absolutely perfect, and once again we walked all over! We revisited the Air & Space Museum and the Natural History Museum like we did last year. Although C is still interested in dinosaurs, he didn't seem to enjoy the Natural History Museum nearly as much as he did last year. However, he still really liked the planes and spaceships at Air & Space. We also enjoyed a morning at the zoo and it was wonderful as always. This year we also included a tour around the memorials and monuments. J and I really enjoy doing this, and the kids were quite tolerant. We ended up walking for miles, or at least it felt like it, and incredibly C walked for much of it.

In front of the capital building

At the Roosevelt Memorial

After spending most of the week in DC we enjoyed Independence Day weekend with our good friends in Silver Spring, MD. As always we had a fantastic time catching up and relaxing with our dearest friends. On July 4th our hosts cooked an amazing slow-cooked pork dish which still makes me salivate, and LC burned his finger on his first sparkler - a successful Independence Day if you ask me!

Unfortunately mom was too busy taking a photo to realize LC was just about to burn his finger

C, aka Spiderman, with a sparkler

Wisconsin was our next destination. J stayed for our first week and then flew to NC for work, and then finally back to Jakarta. The kids and I stayed in Wisconsin for a total of 1 month so that we could have more frequent and more relaxed visits with my family and friends. We were fortunate enough to be able to spend the month in our dear friend's unoccupied yet furnished house so that we weren't living on top of my mom the whole time. Of course this meant I had to do some cooking and cleaning for the first time in 2.5 years, but it was well worth it!

C's 5th bday party - party #1
As you can plainly see, LC loved C's cake!

J pretends to be an East Coast big city snob, but really he's a Cheesehead at heart

The weather in WI was mostly horrendous, considering that it was supposed to be the warmest time of the year. It only reached 60F a few days and rarely made it to 80F. This threw a wrench in my plan to spend a great deal of time at outdoor concerts and at our friend's lake house, but it was also a nice change to have cooler weather. We spent a great deal of time at playgrounds and eating ice cream, visiting with friends and family, going to children's museums, going to movies and doing some shopping. I also had the opportunity to catch up with a few long lost high school friends, make a weekend trip to Minneapolis, and enjoy a small town parade with my extended family. All in all it was a successful trip and my belly is nicely full from all the cheese, beer, ice cream and brats that I stuffed into it (have you noticed the pork consumption theme of the trip?...).

And then the dreaded day arrived, the day when I would have to fly back to Jakarta for 36 hours alone with a 2 year old and a 5 year old. The saving grace of the trip was that we were able to take the direct flight from Newark to Singapore (at 18 hours it is the longest flight in the world) on Singapore Airlines in business class. And this is a huge bonus I fully admit. It made it much more manageable, and in the end really benefited everyone. Because, if it hadn't been for those nice seats that allowed us all to get some decent sleep, my children might no longer be alive. The trip was quite tolerable until the last 4 hours of the 18 hour flight and the 4 hour layover in Singapore. By the end of that long plane ride LC was jumping all over the place, creating make-shift slides wherever he could, screaming at every diaper change, and just plain acting like an overtired 2 year old boy. And then the layover in Singapore, which was 240 long minutes of hell. I couldn't get us on the earlier flight back to Jakarta, so I was stuck with 2 kids who were exhausted and who had had enough of each other. They were at each other the entire time and I was minutes away from losing it. Fortunately, before I lost my last screw, it was time to get on our last flight and the boys slept the whole flight back.

So all in all it was a successful trip - I didn't strangle my kids, my belly is full of pig meat and cow milk of various forms, and my lungs are once again a pretty pink color from all the lovely fresh air!

And now we're back in Jakarta and the jet lag has mostly subsided. Five days after we returned we held another birthday party for C with all his friends, then LC started back at school, and C started kindergarten, and riding the bus!, at the Jakarta International School. We have dived back into our life here and we will continue to be busy with the many trips and family visits we have planned for this next year!

Photos from March

I have half written a post about a couple recent trips I took to Singapore, but in the mean time I thought I'd post a few photos of the boys from the last month or so. Hopefully I'll get the Singapore entry posted this week as well, because we're headed to Perth on Sunday for one fun-filled week!

The following photo was taken a couple weekends ago when we went to Taman Mini, an amusement-type park that is about 20 minutes from our house. In Taman Mini there is a cable car, a bird park, reptile park, aquarium, transportation museum, examples of different housing throughout Indonesia, and other activities. This photo was taken while we were waiting for the train to take us around the park. Notice the sweat drenched hair plastered to their heads?


Here is C and LC posing with their "friends" during their tea party. They were very sweet with all their friends and made sure they all had an equal share. And no, there is no special reason why C is wearing a Spiderman costume. Why be regular old C when you can be Spiderman?! Our friends in DC may remember that C absolutely refused to wear a costume for Halloween the year before we left the US (he was almost 2.5 then. He was supposed to be a cowboy but was a Packer fan instead since his coat happened to be a Packer coat). Now we've gone to the other extreme - we have trouble getting them off him!



LC takes a 2 hour nap every afternoon. C no longer takes naps (except on very rare occasions), but some Sundays J and I are desperate for a bit more sleep. This photo was taken on one of those Sundays. When J and I awoke from our nap, this is what we found in the playroom. It is probably difficult to see what's going on in this photo. It's basically a car/airplane/dinosaur/Ben Ten convention. It was miraculous that C played on his own for 2 hours straight without coming into our room even once, and here is what kept him so busy. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall to hear what conversations the cars, airplanes, dinosaurs, and Ben Ten characters were having!


We took the following two photos today. Both C and LC love their rain boots. And here they are modeling them - C is hamming it up for the camera while still in his PJs and wearing his fireman rain boots, and C is showing off his baby belly and bumble bee boots (and trying to push C out of the way in order to get some food from Dad).

This morning we drove about 1 hour outside of Jakarta with some friends. Here are some of the kids on their way to feed the ducks. We had a great time enjoying the open space and getting out of the polluted hustle and bustle of Jakarta. While there we visited some cows and sheep and fish, walked around the orchid and orange orchards, and had a nice picnic. It was a very nice day and we realized we need to get out of Jakarta more often!

School Days

My baby started school last week. My baby who isn't such a baby anymore is now going to C's school, to the Toddler class, and I can't quite believe it. The last year and one-half has really flown by. It seems like just yesterday we were in Singapore enjoying our temporary existance - J was far from work and on administrative leave, C was getting to play and do a lot of fun things and be with his dad a lot, and I was reveling in the honeymoon period of having a brand new sleeping baby and being blissfully high on hormones. And now he walks and talks and plays with all of C's toys, and goes to school.



Getting in the car on his first day of school...he couldn't wait long enough for me to take a photo!

I was with him part of last week and he definitely seems to enjoy it. How could he not being surrounded by loads of new toys and activities and children his own age?! He was a bit too impatient with circle time and had trouble sitting still (big surprise!), but otherwise he really did a good job. His teacher is Miss Ani, who was also C's teacher when he first started at this school. LC is only going 3 mornings/week, which is plenty for me right now. I have to admit I'm having a bit of separation anxiety myself... The house was so quiet this morning! I do welcome having 3 mornings/week completely child free, but it will also be an adjustment.

Having fun playing with all the new toys

Eating, one of his favorite activities, with his new friends

Developmentally LC continues to soar. Physically he is in the 95th percentile for weight, and 50th for height and head circumference. He doesn't seem to have quite the big noggen that C has, but close, and he certainly makes up for it everywhere else! He loves being active and trying to do everything that C does, including jumping from anything he can and running everywhere. Verbally he seems quite proficient, as he understands just about everything in both English and Bahasa Indonesia, and has quite a large oral vocabulary as well. He tells us to "sit here" and "go car" and the most recent additions to his vocabulary are octopus (octpus) and please - 2 good additions if you ask me! He's a bundle of joy and fun and is definitely the cutest 1 year old on the planet. He also might be the king of fits, but fortunately and thankfully they don't occur too terribly often.

So both my boys are in school. I can see why parents of older kids say that it goes by so fast - it feels that we're on a speeding train that will never slow down...

Finally...Cambodia

The peanut gallery is growing restless for this post, and since this gallery consists largely of my family I'd better listen up! You know though how much more daunting a task is when it's large...it's been difficult to get this post started. We spent an amazing week in Cambodia in October with J's parents, and we saw and did so much it's difficult to find the time to describe it all.

I am sensing I am becoming a bit too cavalier about the packing routine. "Oh, it's just 5 days in Asia...not a big deal. Yes, it's with 2 small kids and yes, it's an international trip, but it's just 5 days and it's a relatively short flight". Um, yeah. Well, you can probably guess that this arrogance was a hindrance when the day before we were leaving it took me hours to pack and I ended up forgetting quite a few necessities. Serves me right, I know.

The flight did go smoothly however. We changed planes in Singapore and had enough time to eat and let the kids romp. Singapore airport is a great airport. It isn't massive, but it has plenty of shopping and restaurants, as well as a kids play area. It is easy to find one's way and the growing familiarity is comforting. We met up with J's parents there. They were coming off of a massive Asia cruise (visit their website for details of their adventures) that conveniently ended in Singapore. They had already been to Indonesia to visit us so we thought it would be fun to go somewhere in Asia where we haven't all been. If you know J's parents and their love of travel, and you know our love of travel, you may guess that this doesn't leave us with a whole lot of options. It was between Cambodia and Malaysia and obviously Cambodia was the winner.

We flew directly from Singapore to Siem Reap, which is the nearest town to the Angkor temples. I found Siem Reap to be a surprisingly nice town - one that still holds some colonial romanticism while still being obviously Cambodian. From what I understand the town has grown exponentially in the last few years, filling up with numerous hotels to accommodate the growing number of tourists. I'm sure to frequent visitors the town is worse for wear because of it, but to me it didn't seem to have a bad effect. Or maybe I just wasn't there long enough. There were several good restaurant options, a nice new museum, some shopping, and it was easy to get around. All in all a good town. And this being our first stop in Cambodia, this is where we discovered how delicious Cambodian food is! We ate very well while we were there and I'm wondering if there's anywhere in Jakarta where I can find a Cambodian restaurant...

The highlight of this part of the trip, and really the whole trip, were the temples of Angkor. If you've heard of them, you probably heard they were amazing. And simply put, they are. There are some 1,000 different temples (all generally known as "Angkor Wat" or Angkor temples, but Angkor Wat is actually just one temple. Angkor is derived from Sanskrit and means city) which were built between the 9-13th centuries. The temples are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are the #1 tourist destination in Cambodia.

The first thing I noticed about Cambodia was how nice their airports are. I suppose I was expecting them to be more like Indonesian airports (run-down and uncomfortable) because Cambodia isn't a rich Asian country, but instead they had wonderful style and were very clean and updated. The day we arrived we had little time left in the day to do anything other than make sure our hotel's room A/C was fixed (Cambodia is very hot and humid!) and go out to dinner. And this was fine with all of us as it had been a relatively long day (as traveling with 2 small kids can only be...) and we knew we had a big day ahead of us.

The next morning we started out relatively early in order to get a jump on the heat. We met up with our guide who would show us some of the temples over the following 2 days. We knew that 2 days only to see the Angkor temples was not nearly enough; however, we doubted that our kids' patience levels would last any longer. And, we weren't sure ours or J's parents' would either given the heat and humidity. In the end we were all satisfied with 2 days as we were able to see 6 major temples and our kids didn't hate us at the end of it.

Our first stop was the south gate of Angkor Thom, which means "the great city". It is an enclosure for the Bayon temple. The south gate is entered by way of a bridge with many statues lining the bridge on either side. The gate is enormous and beautiful, and it was brimming over with tourists. And while it was really gorgeous, we didn't stay long because it was so annoyingly full of tourists. So we walked through the gate and met up with our car on the other side, and headed off to our first major temple of the trip - Bayon.

The Bayon temple was built starting the end of the 12th century. It was built as a Buddhist temple and is famous for the faces on many of its towers and its abundant bas-reliefs. Bayon temple is impressive and amazing, and is a must-see for any visitor to Angkor temples. However, it was also the most taxing temple and the hottest - there were few opportunities for respite from the sun and there was quite a bit of climbing. There were also a lot of tourists, so it was very crowded. We also tried putting LC in the backpack carrier and unfortunately he wasn't a great fan. So between the heat, the physical exertion, the crabby kids and the equally annoying tourists, it was one of our least favorites. And this is a shame, because it is definitely considered to be one of the very best temples.

From the Bayon we walked a short distance to see another structure (the Royal Palace?) which we decided not to explore, and also the Terrace of the Elephants. This monument is a 360 meter long sandstone wall covered with reliefs of life-size elephants that date back to the end of the 12th century. We (just me and J's dad) didn't spend very much time here because the rest of the family was back in the air-conditioned van and we were growing jealous. So we took a fairly cursory stroll by the wall and then took sanction in the A/C as quickly as possible.

After a short drive we reached our next destination, Preah Khan temple. This ended up being one of my favorite temples, mostly because there were so few tourists there, there was a nice long shaded walk to get to the temple, and the light in and around the temple was amazing. Unfortunately the kids were restless by this point and weren't very interested in exploring the temple, but they were happy to sit outside, eat bananas and charm the Cambodians.

Preah Khan, which means the sacred sword, was built as a Buddhist temple, monastery and center of learning in the 12th century. It is a large complex of buildings and corridors and land. It is set deep in the forest and there were gorgeous old trees everywhere, and the light diffusing through the trees and into the corridors was mythical. The flooring was uneven and a bit treacherous for J's mom, so she stopped part way through and instead had a very pleasant conversation with a Cambodian man. J stayed back with the kids most of the time, so J's dad and I were left to explore the temple for the group. It took us a while, but it was well worth the journey.

After visiting Preah Khan we headed back to Siem Reap to grab lunch and a nap. The necessity to allow LC to have a nap every afternoon proved beneficial to all of us - the heat and humidity along with physical exertion tired us all out, and we all crashed in the afternoons.

Once we all recovered from the morning and were well fed and rested, we left for the piece de resistance - Angkor Wat itself. This magnificent temple must be considered the temple of temples, for it really is extraordinary. Angkor Wat, which means pagoda city, was built in the first half of the 12th century as a Hindu temple and is the largest complex at Angkor. For far more detail and photos, including a couple nice aerial shots, click here.

To reach Angkor Wat you have to cross a huge moat, which is really more like a lake. The immensity of the temple seen from across this "lake" is humbling. Once across the moat you enter through an opening in an enclosure that encompasses the entire complex. You then walk on a stone walkway for several hundred meters to the temple itself, which consists of a 3-tiered pyramid and central shine. There is much to describe when speaking of Angkor Wat - many beautiful bas-reliefs, tall stone towers, numerous causeways and steep stairs, beautiful light and shadows. However, it is a place to be felt, not described. The photos above may help you get a bit of that feel for it though, I hope.

(I am starting to loathe having to write this post, so I'm afraid I'm going to try to wrap this up quickly, which means I'm going to skim over the rest of the trip. Sorry, but I started this 1 month ago and now it's 2009 and time to write something else!)

Our second day of temples included a long drive out to Banteay Srei and Banteay Samre, and in the afternoon a visit to Ta Prohm. Banteay Srei was beautiful - red clay and intricate beautiful bas-reliefs in every nook and cranny and facade. Banteay Samre was the least interesting temple we visited; however, it was also the least populated so it was also beautifully quiet and serene. I checked it out quickly, but mostly my mother-in-law and I stayed outside with the kids and tried to relax from the heat.

Banteay Srei

Our final temple was the favorite of the group. It was amazing. This is the temple that was featured in Tomb Raider. There are huge trees growing through the roofs of the temples, and roots draping over the sides. It was also towards the end of the day and a storm was coming in, and the whole atmosphere felt otherworldly. It was built in 1186 but was not well maintained. As such over the centuries the surrounding forest moved back in and has taken root, literally. For me, the result gives it a far stronger spiritual presence and a feel unlike any of the other temples.

With our visit to Ta Prohm, our temple exploration came to a close. The following morning D and I fit in some more shopping to the market, and then in the afternoon we all left for Phnom Pehn. We arrived in the evening rush hour, and felt like we were back in Jakarta with the endless traffic and roar of motorcycles. We made it to our hotel and found that it was very centrally located, within walking distance of the Royal Palace and a row of nice restaurants. We filled our 2 full days in Phnom Phen with a visit to the Royal Palace, a tuk-tuk ride around the city, some more shopping, lots of walking, lunch at the Foreign Correspondents Club, and dinner at a wonderful tapas restaurant. We had a nice time in Cambodia's capital, but I wouldn't recommend it as a tourist stop. In retrospect I'd rather have spent those 2 days in Siem Reap or another place in Cambodia, or in Singapore.

Before bringing this post to a close, I want to talk a bit about the land mine victims and other victims of Pol Pot's regime. One of the main reasons to go to Cambodia is to learn more about this time, to go to the Killing Fields, etc. Unfortunately we weren't able to visit any of these historic places, as we were afraid that they would scare C. But we were still surrounded by some of the effects of this time period, by seeing limbless men and women trying to make a life, the poverty, the organizations that have popped up trying to provide these victims with aid. Many of the street musicians we saw were landmine victims, and there were many children roaming the temples and streets looking for handouts. Some of the shops we visited were organizations formed to employ mostly victims in order to provide them with a living. One of the shops we visited is part of the Tabitha Foundation. The site is: http://www.tabithastore.com/, and they had a huge selection of crafts for sale. Many of their products are made out of hand-made Cambodian silk, which is exquisite. Another Cambodian organization I've heard of is Riverkids, and they also have online shopping. Their site is http://riverkids.myshopify.com/ Please consider both organizations the next time you need to do some shopping.

And if you ever have the opportunity to visit the Angkor temples and this beautiful country with fantastic food, you should definitely take it!

Happy holidays!

Ho Ho Ho!!!

C has been so much fun this x-mas season. He's singing x-mas carols, talking about Santa daily, writing letters to Santa, counting down the days until x-mas, etc. He was excited for tonight, x-mas eve, to sing songs and leave cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer. And of course he is beyond excited for tomorrow morning (and J and I fear the early hour the morning may start).

I have a feeling with him that the Santa ruse won't last many years. He's already asking so many questions about Santa and x-mas eve - why does he go down the chimney? will he still come even though there's no snow? how does he fit all the presents into his sack? - that I guess he may figure it out early. I hope he doesn't, but he's too smart for his own good sometimes. I already think that next year we'll need to make sure to wrap Santa's presents in all different wrapping paper; I can just imagine him asking us how the gifts from Santa and his family are wrapped the same.

LC on the other hand doesn't have a clue. But I'm sure tomorrow morning he'll have a grand time ripping open the presents and playing with all the new toys. Unfortunately he has no patience whatsoever though so I'm imagining some temper tantrums as we wrestle with the god awful wrapping manufacturers cement their toys in.

And now J and I need to finish wrapping a few gifts, fill the stockings, and have a night cap.

Wishing you a lovely x-mas eve and a very merry x-mas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or whatever you may be celebrating this time of year)!

Climbing Krakatau

The adage "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" popped into my head last weekend. I thought of this as I was hot and sweaty and dirty and tired, and climbing up the side of an active volcano. Because, if you live on the ring of fire, why not climb an active volcano?! If you're surrounded by volcanoes and scraping tectonic plates, why not tempt fate just a little bit more.

So that's exactly what we did. We joined a group of friends for a long weekend out of Jakarta, about 4 hours southwest of Jakarta on the west coast of Java. We spent the weekend at a sailing club on a peninsula called Tanjung Lesung. The beach was pretty nice, quite a bit of coral but plenty of sand for nice walks and sand castles. The water was also quite calm so C was able to play in the ocean by himself, which he seemed to really enjoy. The lodging at the sailing club was very, very basic, and overpriced in my opinion. But it was roomy and the open air restaurant had good food and was a lovely place to sit and relax, have a cold beer, and lose yourself in the sound of the ocean. The place was also extremely quiet and we didn't have to listen to traffic or the mosque for 3 glorious days. There were also huge grounds, and C and LC had a fantastic time running around and exploring.



On Saturday morning 8 of us headed off in a speedboat for Krakatau; we left the children behind as this was definitely a non-kid friendly outing. The boat ride there took about 1.5 hours. It was a bit choppy and most of the way I was fantasizing about big boxes of Dramamine. Fortunately though none of us lost our breakfast and we all recovered once we landed. One of our friends on the boat is a geologist so lucky for us we heard some history of Krakatau and lava and magma pipes, etc. Krakatau was quite striking, to say the least: an island fully consumed by a volcano and as barren as a desert, with hardened lava at it's base, rising out of the ocean 100 miles from land. Knowing its history made it even more amazing.

Anak Krakatau

Actually, Krakatau doesn't really exist anymore - it blew itself up in 1883. The explosion was heard as far away as the island of Rodriguez, more than 4600 km away (and is the loudest sound ever recorded), and sent up ash 80km high which fell on Singapore 840 km to the north and on ships as far as 6000 km away. In the explosion most of the island fell into the ocean, which sent tsunamis to Java and Sumatra, destroying 165 villages (Lonely Planet). Before the explosion Krakatau was estimated at 2000 meters above sea level with a radius of 9 km.

What remains of Krakatau today is about 1/3 of the original island, called Pulau Rakata, and Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau. Pulau Rakata distinctly shows visitors just where the rest of her broke off (see below) and is covered in heavy vegetation. Anak Krakatau is the growing, active volcano you see above. Anak Krakatau has been growing out of the sea for the last 80 years, and regularly belches smoke, ash and lava. Rumblings from this volcano can be heard in W. Java, 50 km away. It is about 200 meters above sea level and has a radius of 2 km (wikipedia).

Pulau Rakata

We boated through where the mighty Krakatau once stood, and it was hard to imagine there once stood a volcano there 2000 meters high. We circled around Anak Krakatau, seeing the crater from where smoke and lava emits, and seeing where the lava spills into the sea. The boat landed on the eastern side where there's vegetation. Our group hiked up the side of the volcano, which was HOT! The sand is grey/black, and the intense heat emanates both from the sun above and from the sand below. The steep gradient, the heat, and the sand made the hike challenging, although mercifully not very long (1/2 hour). We couldn't hike all the way up the volcano; it is too dangerous to get too close to the crater. In the end it was worth the climb, but it wasn't exactly "fun" while we were doing it.

The crater on Anak Krakatau

Midway up the volcano, looking out at Pulau Lang

J's legs after the climb, covered in black sand

After the hike we had a picnic lunch and then the boat took us over to a nearby island, Lang (I think) for snorkeling. It felt great to get into the water after the sweaty, dirty hike. The snorkeling itself was fine; the coral was nice but we only saw a few interesting fish. Then it was time to return back to Java. We had been warned that this stretch of water can be rough and that we'd have to return a bit early because it was expected to be bad. But none of us was quite prepared for the crazy 2 hour journey back. The boat was constantly hitting waves that sent it airborne before crashing back onto the sea. We all had to continuously hold onto the boat for fear we'd be thrown out. Many of our friends' rearends were sore for days afterwards. We were also all wet the entire ride home from the sea spray, and our friends in the front of the boat had to stand most of the way so their backs wouldn't get broken. We were actually enjoying about the first 15 minutes. It was just so crazy and ridiculous and we were all regularly crying out "ohs!" and "ahs!". But then we hit a wave that sent us sideways and suddenly it stopped being so fun. I never felt like we we were in danger, but I was very happy that we had a good, sturdy boat and experienced drivers, and that the sky was clear.

All in all it was a great adventure, but definitely only a once in a lifetime experience.

USA visit - first half

I think I just have to catapult myself into this daunting task of writing about our enormous trip. And it really was enormous, in every sense of the word... From the long, oh so very long flights over and back, the feelings of exhaustion, the number of people with whom we visited, the number of activities, the amount of fun we had, and did I mention the exhaustion? It really was an enormously fun trip, but we definitely won't do this more than once/year.

The trip sort of got off to a bad start. We took a night flight from Jakarta to Tokyo, but no one slept well so by the time we arrived in Tokyo (8 hours later) we were all already exhausted. Our layover in Tokyo was 6 hours - far too long and in the wee hours of the morning. J and I were able to take a shower in Tokyo though so that helped to revive us bleary eyed parents. The flight from Jakarta to Dallas (12 hours) would have gone fine except that the kids slept at completely different times, so we never really got a break from the kids. One of us always had to be "on", and the other one who should sleep couldn't really sleep. After a few hour layover in Dallas, where we had to go through immigration and where J got pulled aside (he's such a criminal you know) for having been to Indonesia, Philippines, and New Zealand all in one year (a certain red flag evidently), we were off on yet another plane to Minneapolis (2 hours). By the time we arrived in Mnps, we were beyond exhaustion. My poor father, who drove 2 hours to pick us up and who was excited to tears to see us all, had to wade through unintelligible conversation in the airport and a completely passed out family of 4 on the whole drive to Eau Claire (LC never woke up from when he fell asleep on the airplane, C made it about 3 minutes into the drive before he fell asleep, and J and I made it about 5 minutes...pathetic).


And this whole trip was in business or first class. I know, I know. Totally and completely spoiled, I KNOW! And yet it was still quite miserable! I can't imagine how much worse it would have been in coach. And no, we're not able to afford first class tickets to/from Asia. J racked up a ton of miles for his job and first class actually isn't much more than business class, and yet it's soooo much nicer: 5 course meals on real china, ice cream sundays that they make by your seat, Bose headphones, real quilted blankets, and of course chairs that fold completely flat to make a pretty comfortable bed. It was so awesome. This will probably never happen again, and it was almost glorious. "Almost" glorious because the damn kids ruin things every time! :)

C enjoying his first class seat

The kids and I stayed in Wisconsin with my mom for over 2 weeks, but J had to go to NC for 1.5 weeks of work (but his ticket was paid for so we couldn't complain too much). J stayed long enough in Wisconsin to get over the worst part of the jet lag and to help me get the kids over the toughest parts. He also stayed long enough to celebrate LC's first birthday party. My little love is a one year old already, I can't believe it! We had a very nice party for him and my dad and mom and cousins and second cousins and aunts and a friend from Peace Corps all came to help us celebrate. C seemed to have a good time playing with his second cousins (is that what you call them - they're my cousin's kids...?) and we had such a nice time catching up with family. My father's side of the family lives mostly in Wisconsin and I try to see them every time I go "home" to Eau Claire. They are a really incredible group of people and I always enjoy spending time with them.


LC blowing out his bday candles with a little help from his big brother

The weather was perfect the entire time we were in Wisconsin. It rained only once and otherwise it was sunny skies and in the 70's/80's. I couldn't have asked for better weather. We were quite busy during our 2 week stay. I thought we would do a lot of relaxing and this would be our "down" time, but instead we had a lot of people to visit with and there were a lot of activities we wanted to do.

Once we took a couple days to rest after our flight, we went to the farmer's market. I really miss farmer's markets. This has been surprising because in every other developing country I've visited or lived in, going to open air markets/farmer's markets is a part of life. I fully expected that we would be buying all of our produce from open air markets here. Instead, we get everything from the super market. I also did a lot of indoor shopping during our visit. Every time the kids took a nap and some evenings after they went to bed, I'd race around town trying to get some shopping done. We can actually get just about everything in Jakarta, but not in one place and not always for a good price. Plus, we can't get American medication in Jakarta and most of the clothes are made for tiny Indonesians. It's a bit cruel to go shopping here and find you're an XL, when you're really a S or M! So, instead of spending days driving through horrible traffic in Jakarta to get some of the items on my list, I saved it up for our visit to the US. And although this was still time consuming and ate into my relaxation time, it was a lot of fun. I went to Target like 10 times, it was awesome. I'd practically give my right arm to have a Target in Jakarta.

Before J left for NC we were able to take in a Cavaliers baseball game, the Eau Claire home team. The games are very quiet and hometown, and perfect for 2 small kids. C enjoyed running around the stadium and playing with the new camera his Peepa had just given him, and LC had fun "walking" up and down the stairs and charming the other attendees. And they even watched the game once in a while... C also got to go to his first circus! We had a great time watching all the performances, eating cotton candy and slushies, and going on pony rides. C's favorite performances were the acrobats and the motorcycle show. I thought he might be a little scared of the whole thing, but he was instead enraptured.

A main activity during our stay in Eau Claire was to spend as much time as we could outside. This included many walks around my mom's beautiful neighborhood and several visits to playgrounds. One of the things we hate most about Jakarta is the lack of green space in the city. Neighborhoods do not have community parks and playgrounds like many communities in the US do, nor do streets have sidewalks or any public green spaces. And with 2 young kids and 2 parents who really enjoy walking around outside, this is a problem. Fortunately we live in an area of Jakarta that has 2 outdoor playgrounds and 2 indoor playgrounds within a 5-10 minute drive of our house. The downside is that we have to pay to use them, but at least they're really nice (the outdoor playgrounds have water features like slides and sprinkler type equipment). But still, I really miss just being able to take a long walk in a quiet, peaceful, and nice smelling area (Jakarta does not smell good), and then to stop at the free playground on the way home. Therefore, while we were in Eau Claire we made sure to take a lot of walks and to visit the wonderful and free playgrounds that dot the city.


As part of our quest to be outdoors, we also went to a few outdoor concerts. This was among my very favorite activities during our visit to WI. The university puts on free concerts every weekday at noon during the summer, and again a couple times in the evening during the week. So we would walk over (my mom lives a block from the university) and plop down on a blanket, listen to some good music, and let the kids run around. Another venue, Phoenix Park, opened up a few years ago and they also hold evening concerts during the week in the summer. These free concerts are very well attended and there are a lot of families there. Many of the young kids go down to the area just in front of the band and dance and play with bubbles, etc. And C, being the Leo that he is, joined them in the fun. He's a pretty good dancer too! There is nothing even remotely like this in Jakarta...

C enjoying an outdoor concert with Peepa

We also spent a day at our friend's house on a small quiet lake about 45 minutes north of Eau Claire. The lake doesn't allow motorboats so it is so wonderfully quiet and peaceful. We took a canoe out onto the lake and looked for frogs on the lillypads, and just enjoyed the beautifully fresh air and peacefulness. I've grown up most of my life knowing these friends of my mom's, and they are among my absolute favorites. It was a glorious day to spend all day with them relaxing by their lake.


We also spent a lot of time visiting with a few of my friends from high school who either still live in the area or came home for a visit. It's amazing to think we've been friends for 20-25 years, and that we still enjoy eachother's company so much. And speaking of long friendships, I also got to see friends of my family who I've known since I was about 7 or 8. I love meeting new people and making new friends, to learn about their experiences and their lives, but there is something so special in being able to maintain friendships for so long and to have such history with people. I value these relationships so much and feel so lucky to have these people in my life, and that they're willing to make the effort to maintain a friendship with me despite my seeming desire to live so far away! And of course, it was wonderful to spend so much time with my parents and for them to see their grandsons as much as possible. We had a fabulous time together. And my brother even flew out from Washington state for a weekend. C and I hadn't seen him since C was 4 months old, so that was a very special weekend. The most important reason for this whole visit was to reconnect with our loved ones, and I'm so glad we did. It took an amazing amount of effort, but it was well worth it.

I still have to write a post about the second half of our visit when we went to Baltimore and DC. Who knows when that will happen, but hopefully it won't take me over a month like it took me to write this one!