John and CB Go to Indonesia

Many apologies for the lack of recent entries.

Last Wednesday was the holiday Hari Raya–the Malay New Year.  Since it’s a public holiday in Singapore–and no one works on public holidays–John and I decided to go on an adventure.  To Indonesia.

I met John at the Singapore cruise center with one small black suitcase and of course, my polka dot tote bag.  We were ready for action.  You can see Indonesia off the southern coast of Singapore, so it’s not a distant journey.  In fact, it only took us one hour by ferry to get there.  Our trip was very easy.  We got off the fairy, immediately caught a cab, and went to our hotel.  The Novotel Batam.  As we approached the hotel, we were stopped by the security guards.  They checked in the trunk of the car and then used a mirror at the end of a long pole to check underneath the car.  I thought they were looking for stow away people (how that would have worked, I’m not quite sure).  John later informed me they were checking for bombs.  His suspicions were confirmed when we had to pass through a metal detector to enter the hotel.  At least we knew we were safe. We were in for the night.

The next morning, we woke up and discovered that the restaurant was serving a buffet breakfast–complete with Western dishes!  We hadn’t had a western breakfast since we moved to Asia–we were thrilled!  There were eggs, pancakes, donuts–all things we didn’t realize we love until we didn’t have them!

After breakfast, we were off to explore the town.  First, we walked to  Harbourbay Centre, what was supposedly a busy tourist hub.  When we arrived, everything was closed for the holiday.  We were anticipating lots of delicous seafood (my cab driver on the way to the cruise centre in Singapore had recommended it), but came up empty handed.  Instead, we stood at the edge of the dock and looked out over the water.  The amount of pollution was unbelieveable.  The rocky shore was peppered with cans, wrappers, and plastic bags.  It looked nothing like postcard perfect southest Asia.  We then looked up and saw a very interesting sight–very nice houses in the background, with poverty in their front yards.  It was a stark contrast.  John and I couldn’t help but want to solve all of the world’s problems right then and there.  This was a moment I’ll never forget.  Moments like these make me thankful we’ve made this journey to Asia.

After taking in the scene, we looked to the left and saw an incredible structure–a cruise ship on land.  Actually, it was a hotel designed to look like a cruise ship.  It was so cool, we decided to have lunch there.

After lunch, we went to the Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre (we thought of you Caroline and Matt!)  Nagoya is a Japanese name that was given to the area when the Japanese took it over during the Second World War.  The shopping centre was very different the malls in Singapore.  Pirated purses, electronics, and other items were everywhere.  In fact, I found a “Burberry” purse that was priced at 500,000 rupiahs (about 50 US dollars).  Keep in mind, all of the prices are extremely negociable.  John was comparing this mall to some of the malls he had visited in China and assured me that the salespeople would claim the bags were real.  So, of course, he tested them.  When he asked the sales lady if they were real, she laughed in his face and, before giving him an answer, went to tell her friend who promptly came up to John and began laughing also.  You could see the “stupid American” look in their eyes.  It was HILARIOUS!!!!  John was a bit defeated in his quest but glad that the sales people were honest.

We had a very interesting and educational experience during our twenty-four hours in Indonesia.  I have never felt so white in my entire life.  Nor, have I ever been the ONLY white person in an entire mall (with the exception of John).  People were saying hello to us, just to speak to us.  One kid even pointed to us and said, “Look Mom!  White people!”  Almost as surprising was how willing they were to be our “taxi service.”  We were warned by the Customs Officials at the ferry centre not to get into any cars but taxis.  I was thinking to myself…uh…ok…it’s like the whole “don’t talk to strangers” bit you get in the first grade.  Boy, was I wrong.  As we walked down the sidewalk, at least half of the cars had drivers hanging out the window to see if we wanted rides and the passengers already had the back doors open.  It was quite the sight.  Also, about half of the vehicles on the road with motorcycles.  Many of them with four people.  Including two children without helmets.  You know how I feel about that one.

I’ll leave you for the day with one final anecdote–our trip back to Singapore.  We boarded the ferry at the ferry centre as per usual.  We were on the upperdeck, enjoying the night view of the Singapore skyline and the wonderful ocean breeze.  All of a sudden, we saw blue lights behind us.  Yes, our ferry got pulled over by the Singapore Ocean Police.  The engines suddenly cut off and the police boat docked with ours.  On came two policemen who forced their way into the Captains’ quarters.  We had no idea what they were looking for or when we would finally get back underway.  The ocean was dark and all we could see were the lights of the city in the distance and a few cargo ships anchored at sea.  More police came on and let themselves into the front room of the boat.  What could they be looking for?  In Singapore, the penalty for drug trafficking is death, so this could have been a pretty intense search and seizure.  After about ten minutes, the blue lights turned off and we were on our way back to the city.  The police boat left without incident.  It was an interesting end to an interesting trip.

We can’t wait to get back to Indonesia and hopefully try out some of the beaches it’s famous for.  But, Batam was a great experience.  We wouldn’t trade it for the world.

More adventures coming soon!