When I visited Sabang last weekend, I discovered than most Indonesian women swim fully clothed, including their head scarf (definitely no bikinis allowed!).
I started to wear my mansets (arm coverings - basically stretchy nylon material that you pull onto your forearm) this week so that I could expand my ‘public’ wardrobe a bit by wearing my short sleeve shirts outside the house. Very hot!
Although I am usually awakened by the sound of morning prayers from the local mosque, I have not actually seen many sunrises yet, but I have enjoyed several very beautiful and vibrant sunsets - here’s one I captured from my front porch…
The flowers here are beautiful as well, here’s one from the front garden…
My favourite foods from this past week are cap chai (stir fry vegetables), tempeh (fermented soybean cake), gado-gado (vegetables with peanut sauce) and ginger tea (which has a whole clove of ginger – lovely taste and smell!) – all of which are much better than the local A & W, Pizza Hut and KFC :-) I have also learned that in some parts of Indonesia, people eat bats and cow lungs…I have not had the pleasure of trying either yet, but I will let you know if I do!
I have started to take formal language lessons with a tutor – although I only know about 150 words, I can now explain where I live, understand where people are from, explain where I want to go (with basic directions), order common foods, buy things in a store or market and make polite conversation.
Much of Banda Aceh has been reconstructed since the Dec 2004 tsunami, but there are still many echoes of its impact. For example, I met an elderly lady who lives in the house below – sadly, she lost 6 of her 7 children and 22 of her grandchildren in the tsunami. When I mentioned to some local people that I was going on the ferry to Sabang last weekend, they shared how scared they are of being near the water and would not dare to go on a ferry or in a boat.
Thankfully, the Indonesian legislative election was quiet, but there are still a few posters around – and there will surely be more coming up as the presidential election is coming around sometime in July…
The adventure continues in Malaysia next weekend where I will be visiting Kuala Lumpur to extend my Indonesia VISA and meet up with some friends.
I haven't tried it myself, but some traditional Aceh cooking use ganja leaves as ingredients. If you do get a chance to try it, let me know how you like it! ;-)
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