When we entered the hotel, we saw the office to the right. To the left was a set-up for an entire band, a PA system, several microphones, and a video projector. Dr. John loves music.
My roommates and I arrived many hours ahead of our other friends, so Dr. John showed us some of the local sights, including a Buddha statue from 1200 A.D., supposedly the oldest remaining statue of the Majapahit Kingdom.
The statue weighs 72 tons. The Indonesian government constructed the structure around it in 1992 to protect the statue from further weather damage.We returned to the hotel and met our friends. We had a short jam session with Dr. John. Then, after dinner, it was time to karaoke.
We ended up singing songs drunkenly until 3:00 in the morning (that was when we ran out of beer and whiskey). Dr. John partied with us most of the night. The music was mostly slow ballads from the 60s and 70s, and some bad 80s music, as well. Needless to say, we quite enjoyed ourselves, even after singing "Love Hurts" for the third time.Some of us woke up at 10:00 that morning; others slept until nearly 1:00 in the afternoon. After everyone was awake, we went in search of food. We ate at a little restaurant near the hotel; the bill for nine people was $5. Rowan also found a new friend.
Dr. John then drove us up the mountain to a waterfall. (He took us everywhere we wanted to go over the course of the weekend, and also drove around to pick up takeaway food orders for us. When we thanked him, he would say, "I am retired and a little bored. Not a problem.")At the waterfall, we had to pay admission. It is partly maintained by the government and is regarded as a spiritual place.
Of note in the second video is the girl in the lower left-hand corner as the video starts. Some people use the waterfall to achieve a meditative state. The water was extremely cold, but she sat there for over fifteen minutes. She was shivering in a way that could best be described as violent.
I didn't stay under the water for nearly that long.
After the waterfall, we relaxed for awhile before saying goodbye to Dr. John. We thanked him for his kindness, and assured him that we would return. And we meant it.
One of our friend's birthday was the following day, so we went out for Thai food when we got to town.
We entered the restaurant and were immediately bombarded by horrible, and horribly loud, live music. After the night of karaoke, we wanted no part of such aural disturbances, but we fortunately were able to sit in a slightly quieter private room of the restaurant.
Part of the meal included this crispy-fried critter.
The meal was okay, but not fantastic. One of the things you learn soon here in Indonesia is not to really expect anything to go smoothly. So I was only mildly surprised when the Thai restaurant told us that they were out of noodles. Later, we found out that they were also out of chocolate ice cream. A friend told me that one of the McDonald's here once ran out of french fries.The meal made me sort of homesick, since both Rowan and I thought that there is better Thai food back in Fairbanks, Alaska.
***
After work tonight, everyone was hungry. So when my roommate heard the metallic clang of one of the food guys, she ran out into the street and brought him back to our house.
He cooked us food on the road right outside our front gate. On his cart he had everything he needed to prepare one specific dish that is his specialty, in this case tahu tek.
Here, he is grinding a peanut chili sauce together. On the left is a burner with a wok full of tofu and potatoes.We gave him our plates and he dished us up, although he also has his own plates and utensils. You eat your food and then run the empty dishes back to him. It was delicious; far better than the much more expensive Thai meal.
***
After several weekends away from the city, we will be staying in Surabaya next weekend. Some friends are having a party, and we are also going to hit up a Sunday buffet that features all-you-can-eat Italian food and all-you-can-drink martinis.
This may be either the best idea ever or the worst idea ever. We will see.
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