A typical Weekend at Soroako!

A couple of days after arriving in Soroako I went to see if the Kroll's were back from vacation. They were not but I discovered that my friend, Jan Staal, who I had met on my first trip to Soroako lives just two doors down! So I paid him a visit and met his lovely wife, Jen. This was late Saturday morning. They invited me to join them on Sunday for a trip out onto Lake Matano by raft. Who was I to refuse!

Next morning I arrived and met up with Jan, Jen and their friends Susan Capstick and Nera. I had met Susan's husband, Ron, on my previous trip. Susan and Ron are just over half way through a 3 year secondment from Sudbury. Here is Captain Jan in command of his magnificent vessel!

That is Jen on the left, Susan in the middle and Nera on the right.












We sailed across the lake to the small village of Nuha which is locally famous for their basket weaving, especially ones that look like a pineapple (like the one in the middle on the right). Very nice!

After our jaunt through the village looking for basket ware (something was purchased from each of the four vendors we came across!) we then moved down the shore a ways and stopped for a swim, some kayaking and lunch. Here is the gang as we get things ready for lunch.

The water is warm, and very clear. No trepidation on my part in jumping in! Even though quite cloudy that day I still ended up with some sunburn. Even my back which was only exposed for about 15 minutes, when not in the water, is a nice bright pink colour now.

And here I am in Jan and Jen's kayak.

Yes, life can sure be hard sometimes in this business, but somebody has got to do it and for once it's me!

Back in Denpasar, Bali - January 2008

My journey back to Indonesia began on Sunday, January 20th with me departing Thompson. From there I flew to Winnipeg, then to Vancouver, Hong Kong and finally Denpasar, Bali, where I spent the night. My friend Selvi has a cousin, Adek and her husband Ben, who live in Denpasar. She contacted them to see if they could show me around. They were unavailable but arranged for Zakwan (pictured here to the left, standing on Kuta beach) to be my personal driver and guide.

During Christmas I picked up a Lonely Planet guide book for Indonesia. Based on its recommendation, rather than staying in the Nusa Dua area, as I have previously, I stayed at the Ramada hotel on Kuta beach. This is a short drive from the airport where I was met by Zakwan. Kuta beach, in my mind is far superior to the beach over on the east side at Nusa Dua! Plus there are many shops available, something not present in the Nusa Dua area.

One of the sites Zakwan showed me is the Peace Monument shown in this next photo. This is located on the site of the bomb blast that killed a large number of tourists a few years ago. As you can just barely see, their names all marked on the tablet in the centre.








Adek and Ben have a small jewelry shop and there are many other shops in the Kuta area, all within walking distance of the hotels. The Ramada, while not quite as nice as the Conrad Hilton it is still a very nice place with swimming pool and is right on the beach. One of the shops I passed was this one. Note the carvings with characteristic Bali motifs. But what really caught my eye was the authentic portrait of ... a north American Indian! Outside another nearby shop were two large statues of NA Indians! Not exactly what I was expecting to find here.

For the very first time I went for a swim in the Indian Ocean prior to going to bed. That too was quite the experience in that the water is very warm!

On leaving Denpasar I had a good view of Gunung Agung, the largest of the volcanoes that are present along the north-east side of Bali.

To come - life at Soroako!