Incredible Indonesia

Just want to document a few things that really stick out in Indonesia for Alex and I that we want to share with all of you at home. These are some of the things that are difficult to incorporate into a story or weave through a random blog entry so we discussed it and decided that just simply making a list and discussing a few memorable/stand out things would do the trick.

1) The Durian
As you know, Indonesia is a strange and beautiful place with everything one could possible want to satisfy one's craving for food, activities, religion...everything. One food that sticks out is a fruit called the durian fruit. Wikapedia describes this fruit as follows:
The durian (pronounced /ˈdʊəriən/)[2] is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family[1][3] (although some taxonomists place Durio in a distinct family, Durionaceae[1]). Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit can grow as large as 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.
The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia.
Now, being the adventurous girl that I am, I decided I wanted to try this fruit at some point. It peaked my curiosity when I saw stickers with a picture of this fruit and NO DURIAN written on them all over the Singapore tube system. In Singapore, you get fined $5000 (Singapore Dollars) if you have eaten this fruit and then ride the subway. While here in glutinous Bali, we found a Gelato Bar that served a Durian flavoured gelato and so I had a tiny spoonful to taste it and boy was it horrendous. It went straight to the back of the throat and lingered there for hours. Alex made me eat a pack of mint Mentos to try and cover the odor, but it was to no avail...This also came after I ate the worst dessert in the history of the world...see number 2...so I was not feeling very good last night, needless to say.

2) Bubur Injin
This is a local Balianese dessert that is very popular and disgusting. I have provided a picture of it in the photostream so have a look. I wanted to be daring and try everything, as who knows when we will be be in Bali again...and Alex did a great job of supporting me and motivating me to be brave and try it. She ordered a delicious homemade chocolate cake with fluffy cream icing and ice cream on the side. My warmish black rice pudding came out half way through her cake eating and what a huge disappointment in presentation, but I will NOT judge a book by its cover. I tried to imagine the banana chunks swimming by in the coconut milk and palm sugar covering a large helping of sticky black rice as an Indonesian delicacy that few got a chance to try. I think that is most likely because they avoid it like the plague. I got a big ole helping of it on my spoon, ensuring that I had a banana, some sugary milk and some of that tasty looking rice on the spoon and dug in. It kind of tasted like warm, sweet dirt with a hint of banana extract. Not the best, but most of the local Indonesian desserts are not my favourite. Not to worry though, I washed that tasty morsel down with a tablespoon of Durian (see number 1) so I was just fine.

3) Marijuana
Now don't be getting yourself excited. There is NO drug doing in this country...not just because it is not good for your mental or your lungs, but also because it is not worth the jail sentence that hails down upon anyone involving themselves with drugs...even the tiniest bit of recreational dope usage! When you get your Visa to enter Indonesia, they actually have the following words written on the Visa that is stuck inside your passport: "We punish anyone suspected of using drugs with death." This is enough deterrent for anyone...except the 2 young (19 years old and 24 years old) Australian girls who were caught (we think set up) purchasing a tiny bit of recreational marijuana off an Indonesian boy and were sentenced to 20 years in jail. Unlike in Britain, when one gets a 20 year sentence, one serves the entire 20 years. It is terrible and so sad for them, as that is their lives over...bless them and all for nothing! Please do not fear, we are both anti-drug and are having too much fun to even contemplate anything of the sort!

4) Tattoos
Minus the obvious fact of how every single person in the whole of Indonesia has told Alex, "nice tattoo," or, "cool tattoo lady," there are 1,000,000,000,000 tattoo shops here in Bali and scattered around Indonesia in general. I mean, you can get a tribal tattoo in a hut in the middle of the jungle for crying out loud so you can imagine how many tattoo shops there are. There is one shop that kind of sticks out more than the rest and I think that is due to the man who was handing out cards detailing the shop and the artist that gives tattoos on the shop. He described this man as an artist and the best around ad stated that he does the best and cheapest tattoos in Bali. You have to make an appointment and he will only open the shop for appointments, as he will get "beat the fuck up" (direct quote for effect...sorry Sue) by the other tattoo artists in the area due to his low prices. He has a Facebook page and displays his tattoos there for all to see. Of course he immediately came up to Alex trying to get her to come to the shop for some ink, but I am ever the skeptic so I asked him what tattoos he has on his body by this fabulous too good to be true artist. He told us that he has a pair of underwear tattooed on his buttocks and penis and it is a dragon, to which I said, "I bet the ladies love that." He then proceeded to tell us that when one is getting one's penis and buttocks tattooed a special cream must be used to ensure that the penis stays erect and that you don't poop yourself. He described this to us for about 5 minutes (the longest 5 minutes of our lives) and we just stood there...silent...looking at each other...knowing exactly what the other was thinking...FREAK! How do we meet these people. He then walked off and we talked shit about him for the remainder of the evening.

5) DVDs
Oh my G-d. Where do I even begin...the DVDs...they are EVERYWHERE! You know the ones that are illegally dubbed or recorded int he theatre that you can buy on the streets of London...3 for 10 pounds? Well, they have actual shops set up like Blockbuster Video with bright white lights that reflect off the cellophane plastic wrap with all of the bootleg copies of millions of movies, CDs and television series and each one is only 10,000 Rupiahs ($1.20 or 70 pence) and they have deals too...like buy 100 get 80 for free. It is like Disneyland for movie/music lovers and I have been mesmerized by these shops. Alex, being the sensible one with money and just the simple fact that we are travelling for another 8 months has been intervening and helping through this tough time, as I sat down in one of these shops the other night with a pen and paper writing down all the movies/cds/TV series I want to buy and figuring out how many I can get for free and how much money I would spend overall. She let me go through this process and then we went for dinner and discussed it seriously and I had to choose between buying 100 bootleg DVDs of going mountain biking through a mountain peak in Bali and white water rafting on a spring water river after monsoon season in Bali or buying the DVDs...So of course I chose the DVDs...just kidding. We leave to mountain bike tomorrow and white water raft (Jill, I will let you know who joins us in our raft) the next day...but they do call to me...those DVDs...Meelllliiiisssssaaaaaaaa....come and bbbbuuuuuuyyyyyyy us....we llllloooooovvvvveeeee you.

6) Sushi
It is an addiction...our obsession...we cannot seem to break free. We would overspend everyday (and sometimes do) to feed this disgusting habit. We need help. All of you must intervene and put us in that show...Intervention...where a third party comes and you set us up to meet you at a hotel room to have the Intervention and then send us away to a clinic for sushi addicts. Not much more to say about that, but please try and understand what the fish tastes like here right next to the blue/green ocean. The water is so salty and cold and the fish so tender and fresh...you would be an addict too...we can stop anytime...seriously...it's not a problem...help us...please.

7) The mullet...well Indonesian haircuts in general
The mullet is making a comeback folks and Indonesia is single-handedly bringing it back...well Indonesia and all of the mountain people in North Carolina (Jill can attest to this one). We have seen some spectacular haircuts on our journeys, but none as amazing as those here in Indonesia. We have taken some snaps of our favourite styles and we will post them for you all to rate yourselves and chose your favourite. There is the classic mullet that is business in the front and party in the back, while others tend to take it that little extra step and dye it blond with some black bits shining through. There is also a litany of the long scraggily locks blowing in the breeze that require a bit of coconut oil treatment, but men here do love long hair...we think it has to do with the fact that rock and roll fashion is all the rage and long hair/mullets/long side burns with shorter hair on top is very stylish at the moment.

8) Mentos
The Freshmaker. We thought these were Mexican/Spanish candies, but they must be Indonesian, as you can find them everywhere. And, in every single possible human flavour in the world. We just ate a Rainbow pack which had flavours such as watermelon, cantaloupe, grape and strawberry. Yummy. They really do hit the spot and offer that much needed sugar high when one has been out in the sun for too long. They also help cover up flavours stuck in the back of one's throat such as black rice pudding or Durian. We think that they are our new favourite candies and all of you should buy a pack to support the Mentos stock, as they have offered us no end to pleasure and sweet joy over these past 3 months. Maybe the Mentos corporate director of sales will read this blog and send us out a lifetime supply of Mentos in every flavour. Come to think of it, maybe some Japanese Sushi chef will read this blog and send us a lifetime supply of tuna rolls and salmon nigiri...mmmm...sushi and mentos.