Continuing Travels in Indonesia

Today was a great day. We got to do a tour of a temple about an hour out of the city called Borobodur. It was a beautiful place to see. We had to get up at 3:45 AM to catch the bus that would take us there for sunrise. In the end the bus was late and we didn't get to see the sun come up but it was still very pretty. This afternoon we went to a pool with the Janzens and played in the cool water. We are really having a good time here. Next week looks like it will be pretty packed. On Sunday we will attend church with the Janzens and then on Monday we will hopefully be joining up with a group they know that is doing earthquake relief. That may be a two day thing, we aren't sure yet. We are also going to join Rinus one day at the University and Sheralyn in her English class. That should be fun! Thanks for all the encouraging comments and emails! We will do our best to bring back some of the warm weather when we return... :) Here are two more emails that I wrote the last couple days before I got online to post them...

Well we have now finally arrived at Rinus and Sheralyn’s house and it is wonderful to be with English speaking people again! After our time on Gili Air (which in Indonesian translates to Island Water) we got to spend 3 days at a resort on Lombok. The resort is fairly cheap for what you get and it was very nice to have freshwater showers and flush toilets again. The resort has a pool and lots of restaurants and shops all around it. We even got to a little Internet shop where we posted from last time. We really enjoyed our time there as well and if any of you are looking for a great place to go for your vacation the getting here is the expensive part. We were paying $12/ night on Gili Air for a little bamboo hut on the beach (think like camping but one step up) and that included breakfast and then about $3 each for meals like fresh fish, rice, sautéed vegetables, chicken and so many other good dishes. Then for a posh resort we were paying about $50/night. The fish that we have tried so far is Brown Snapper and Barracuda, which were both very tasty. The locals do a lot of BBQ so both of those dishes were right off the BBQ on to our plate. One night we ordered pizza and the waiter politely told us that if we wanted pizza that was okay but we would have to wait because they had to light the fire for the wood fired pizza oven.  We waited and it was worth it.

Our flight to Java was a pleasant surprise in fact the day was filled with pleasant surprises. For our travels within Indonesia, Rinus arranged everything. We had no idea what airlines we were flying or anything from island to island. When we got to the airport we asked around before we found the right counter to check in and when we did it seemed pretty normal. Well we must have looked lost because the guy behind the counter called a lady over to personally escort us to the right gate. Well as she was leading us she took us into this little room off of the main waiting area. In this little room there were beautiful plush couches, free drinks and snacks, and games and TV. We were a little shocked before we realized that the tickets Rinus had bought us were first class. We were enjoying the wait in our little room when we also found out that they would come and get us when our flight was starting to board. That was also nice because the announcers often have such strong accents that it’s hard to tell what is being said over the intercom. When we got to the plane we also found that first class seats are… well they are amazing. I’ve never sat in such nice airplane seats and John could barely reach the seat in front of him even if he stretched his legs all the way out. That is a pretty big deal for someone who usually can’t sit strait in planes because his legs are too long. It was so good to see someone we recognized on the other end this time and Luke and I became good friends instantly. We’ve really enjoyed the time spent hanging out with the Janzen family and are definitely looking forward to the next two weeks that we will spend with them.  Rinus has shown us many pictures of the sights to be seen in the local area and it looks like there will be plenty for us to see and do while we are here. It continues to be almost unbearably hot here and we’re not on the beach anymore so my cooler attire is no longer appropriate. I’ve never had sweat soak through a pair of jeans before but I have now .

Anyways, We love you all and thanks for all the emails!!

John and Andrea


We have now been here with Rinus and Sheralyn and the boys for a couple days and have been enjoying our time immensely. We have gone shopping at a local shopping area, been to the South Coast, went out for coffee and bought a McFlurry for 5,000 Rp (about 60 cents), which was wonderful! Today I plan to head out with Sheralyn and do some shopping. We shall see if I actually buy anything but there is so much to look at here. If I had a shoe fetish I would be in heaven because there are so many cute flip flops (jandals) here made of so many different materials that we don’t use back home and some really cheap also. I bought one pair of flip flops here for 10, 000 Rp (about $1.50 Canadian) but they are pretty standard cheap flip flops like what you would find back home. I bought them because my flip flops were giving me blisters and I gave them away to a local who didn’t have any…maybe they will give him blisters too, who knows.

This morning Sheralyn and I went for a walk to the local fruit market and bought some fruit. We bought grapes, bananas, apples and Snake Fruit. Snake fruit has a scaly skin that looks like snake skin and is a dry fruit that isn’t really possible to compare to another fruit. I’m not sure that I liked it but it was fun to try something different. Rinus and Sheralyn have a mango tree in their backyard so we have been enjoying picking and eating fresh mango’s here on a regular basis also. While we were gone John took care of the boys who are enjoying building all kinds of Lego things with him.

One of the funny things that has happened to us since we’ve been here is that our bodies, in adjusting to the time change, have decided that it’s bed time around 7 or 8 PM. As I am writing this it is almost 9 PM on Thursday evening in Alberta but it is almost 10 AM on Friday morning here in Indonesia. When you go to bed at 8 PM waking up at around 5:30 – 6 AM isn’t all that difficult, it just seems weird. It does kinda make sense because that is approximately when the sun disappears and reappears. We have a good laugh when we feel so very tired and look at the clock and it’s 7:30.

One final adventure that I will tell about is that after our time at the coffee shop yesterday we had to catch a becak home. A becak is a Pedi cab type of transportation, or a guy with a tricycle that has a seat in the front for two to sit while he peddles behind you. It cost 10,000 Rp to ride for about 15 minutes home. It was very interesting as they don’t go on the sidewalk, they are right in the midst of the traffic so there are cars and motorbikes all around you and the seat wasn’t actually big enough for John and I to sit comfortably so I had to sit a little sideways. It was an adventure.
That’s all from us

Love John and Andrea

Indonesia...

These are two emails that I wrote that I didn't get to send as we didn't have internet for the first little while. I wanted there to be pictures but we are having trouble getting them there with public internet. We will post them later...Enjoy

We’ll we have not been anywhere lately where there is internet so I am writing this email before I will be able to send it. We arrived safely in Indonesia with all of our luggage and were so tired that the issue with porters who steal your bags and then want you to pay them for “carrying” it was almost enough to push me over the edge. After a great supper meal and a good sleep and wonderful
breakfast I was feeling a lot more human again!

We are very much enjoying our time here on Gili Air and I can’t think of another place that is more peaceful and idyllic. There is no vehicles, no industry, just people and ocean waves crashing on the shore. It is ridiculously hot here and clothing seems to be excessive. I have taken to wearing sarongs and loose shirts or the sarong as a dress as it is much cooler that way. Even at night it is so hot! Last night it got a bit windy and was a little cooler but just enough to feel
comfortable. The locals all had long shirts and long pants on and said it was
cold. We got to talk to one guy the other day that said that he had never seen
snow but some tourists had brought a post card of a snowy scene and he thought
it was beautiful. He laughed and said that it’s all about perspective. North
Americans think that white beaches with palm trees are the epitome of beauty and
they think it is normal and think that our snowy white wonderland is more
beautiful. He of course took a long to time to communicate this to us, as he
didn’t speak English very well.

Our little hut that we are in is wonderful. It is two levels and the bottom floor is completely open except for the bathroom. It has a small table and a couch that is screened in. It’s all made of bamboo and the walls have woven grass for wallpaper. The upstairs is the bedroom and a patio. It is all very nice!

Anyways, I’m about to go snorkeling now. Who knows when I will actually get to send this but know that we are having a great time!

Andrea (and John too!)


Today was a very interesting day. We have been having a great time here. I cannot think of a better way to completely relax and just veg than to be here. It is so relaxing. We found a place with Internet on the island and it was fairly cheap 15 minutes for 5000 R (which is about 65 cents) however it was really slow and so we only sent a short email to our parents so they would know we were safe. We really
love it here. The people are so fun and interesting. It’s an ongoing debate of
what is the nicest way of telling the merchants that we are not interested, in
what they are selling, that we already have a hotel, that we don’t need a ride,
that we don’t want a cold drink… It just goes on and on. They tell very
interesting stories and even bold face lie to you. I’ve been enjoying just being
around them and seeing their life.

The part of the day that was interesting was snorkeling. For about $10 you can go on a guided snorkeling trip to the three islands. The part that caught my eye was the sea turtles. We booked a trip even through I had found that I did get a little sea sick just snorkeling on our beach the day before. I took some gravol before we left but to no avail I woofed every cookie I had for the benefit of the fish. Word from the wise, it is not easy to throw up underwater… anyways I finally asked to be taken to shore as I could not take it any more. Needless to say I don’t think I will do anymore snorkeling. Unfortunately I really was enjoying all the things you get to see
underwater here. I did get to see turtles before I went to shore as well as many
other fish of so many colors, shapes and sizes. John has been snorkeling every
day so far. He loves it. We also got a chance last night to take a traditional
horse cart ride. That was very fun and sometimes scary. I thought for sure the
cart was going to tip or we would lift the poor little pony right off the
ground. To explain what I mean a horse cart is a one-axel cart pulled by a
little pony and the cart is held from tipping over by attaching to the pony.
With three people in the back of this cart it pulls really hard on the horse.
The roads here are just sandy paths so the ride was quite rough also. At one
point we drove off the road and onto the beach and the beach was much smoother
than the road…for a while.

Tonight we are going out for supper with some people that we have met here; two girls from Germany and two girls from Holland. Poor John will be outnumbered but oh well.

Love
Andrea and John

I thought it would be good to write things down as we go rather than try and remember later so those were two takes of our time on Gili Air. :)

Andrea

Singapore...

Well we have now arrived in Singapore and have tried to trick our bodies into believing that the 2 hours of sleep we got at our stopover hotel was actually a whole night because now its the beginning of a new day! This is especially hard as I am so tired and hunrgy...but I am in Singapore on my way to Bali this morning. By this afternoon I will be in my little hut on the beach relaxing and feeling the sand between my toes. Mmmmmm sooo good. Our long flight went well, Singapore Airlines is definately a good choice for anyone looking for a good airline. We especially enjoyed the steaming hot face cloths they brought around a couple times. They even give you a toothbrush with toothpaste, socks and good meals too! It was however still very long. Even with 80 movies plus TV to choose from. My back and legs were sore by the time we stopped. My ankles even swoll up a little. John is fairing a little better than i am right now. He doesn't seem to be tired yet and said it's hard to believe that we'd actually been up for more than 24 hours straight.

I think the coolest part of the flight was that we didn't just fly accross the ocean we actually went up the coast from San Francisco over Canada and then accross where Alaska and Russia meet. We saw amazing views of the mountains up there and I got to see Russia, Japan, China etc. Pretty cool. Well there is a digital fair at the aiport in Singapore and we'd like to take a look around before we have to go to our gate so more from us later...

Andrea

Just another sunny day in California :)

Yup, that's right... we're in California. Only the San Fran airport but California no less. I was warm when we got off the plane. We had a 5 hour wait between our flights which was enough time to figure out wireless internet in the airport and send out a couple emails, post on our blog, and eat super greasy pizza. So far most everything has gone very smoothly other than our frazzled start. Our alarm clock did not go off this morning so instead of waking up with plenty of time we woke up to Mom Gall knocking on our door wondering if we were ready to go. I was so upset I was shaking my whole 2 minute shower (I refused to start this trip without a shower) and hardly managed to eat any breakfast. We made it through security and to our gate with a few minutes to spare, which was enough to calm down my nerves a bit. I really don't like flying... It's just not my favorite... Ask me again after this next flight, then I'll tell you how I really feel about flying :)

Anyways... Indonesia coming soon to this blog! Ciao..

1 Day and Counting!!!!

AHHHHHHHH! Only one day left on our native soil... John and I are both nervous and restless. We slept pretty good but John got up pretty early because he couldn't sleep and I woke up thinking through all the different stops on our flight and stuff that I had to remember. I think I dreamt about it all night.

We've had a really good time at home...

Mom and Dad Wiebe thanks for letting us stay in the camper and giving us heat :) Mom thanks for helping us sew those little cases for our computer stuff. Joel and Richard...stay out of trouble!

Mom and Dad Gall thanks for all you did in helping us get ready to go and thanks for letting us spread out all over the entire basement! Peter sorry you didn't get to come with us, I can't imagine why you'd stay in Canada...Oh right you'll be with Mel, never mind... :)

Heather, Candace, Corissa and all my other dear friends here thanks for still loving me and being wonderful even though many miles separate us. I love you guys!

To all our Qwanoes friends and family we miss you! Keep us in your prayers and let us know how things are going throughout the coming months!

For the next few days I'm sure we will be without internet. Please pray for us as we travel. We will be visiting 6 Airports and 4 countries in the next 3 days. Pray for safety and that our luggage doesn't get a better vacation than us somewhere else. Pray that we don't get delayed or miss any of our flights and that all goes generally well for us! We'll post again as soon as we can with pictures I hope!

Bye Canada...