I got an acute attack of diarrhea last Sunday, on the way from Bandung (we were in Bandung from Saturday to Sunday), and I was forced to make a stop along the highway. At first the minibus driver refused to stop, but after I threatened to shitting down his bus, he finally stopped.
Jl Jaksa, Friday 12.
I bought myself a brand new camera yesterday at Ambassador Mall, a Canon PowerShot S95. I paid Rp 3,550,000 (USD 400).
My old IXUS 850 is hereby retired, and this is the last picture taken with that camera:
Canon PowerShot S95.
Since Caecil was in Singapore, I decided to make a quick trip to Yogyakarta, or Yogya, or just simply Jogja (there’s many spellings for this city…) last week. I flew on Lion Air (Rp 663,600 return trip).
And since the nearby Merapi volcano was extra active this time, I was rewarded with a rare bonus experience, for free!
Well, I stayed in the usual place in Prawirotaman (Mercury) from 27 October to 1 November. Prices are unfortunately steadily increasing, and are now standing at Rp 130,000 nightly for a room there. I think the place is in dire need of a plumber, because the second room I had (I moved from the downstairs room number 11 to the upstairs room number 14 on Saturday) had a really weird problem with the shower (the first room was also problematic though). When I turned on the hot water, it was almost OK (except for the water going in all directions), but when I afterwards turned on the cold water, the water pressure disappeared, with only a few drops coming out. So I was forced to shower using only the hot water. It became unbearable after a while, so I turned off the hot water, and used the few drops of cold water instead. Combining hot and cold water would only result in a few drops of very hot water. I learned the best method was to make a very quick shower with the hot water before it became too hot.
Anyway, the highlight of the trip was the ash layer that had materialized when I came stumbling out of the Republic Club on Malioboro street at 03:00 on Saturday morning. Merapi had erupted just two hours before, and there was a gray layer of ash everywhere, especially visible on the cars. I took a becak back to the hotel, and the becak driver was covered in ash too.
Apart from the ash experience, I came across some interesting characters during my few days in Yogya, among others a young Russian who could only speak Russian and a few words of English. He became impossibly drunk and wanted to ride home on his motorbike. He was put in a hotel room nearby after some failed attempts on his bike.
I also enjoy sitting at the simple Tante Lies restaurant in Parangtritis street, just outside my hotel. Tante Lies serves the cheapest beer (Rp 20,000 for a big bottle of Anker), and attracts some of the longest-staying foreigners here, for example this expat, whom I again met (for the third time in three years).
The ash disappeared after a rainfall on Saturday afternoon. Below a few pictures before the rainfall.
Ash on leaves.
Ash on car.
Becak driver using mask to protect against the ash.
The 1996 X-ray.
Recently I went to dentist Lucy to replace my old tooth crown, since it was starting to show signs of leakage, according to Lucy. Lucy is an old high school friend of Caecil.
I had the old crown removed on 18 September, and was using a temporary crown for two weeks before getting the permanent one in place.
I got the old crown in Trondheim, Norway, in 1997, after the tooth in question was smashed the year before. Interestingly enough, the glue which was used to keep the old crown in place was of the wrong type, according to Lucy. Worst case scenario, it could have caused leakage and decay much sooner.
The total cost for the crown replacement was Rp 2.650.000 (USD 300), paid by Caecil’s employer in full. I think the new crown is even better than the old one, and with the correct glue this time. Good job, Lucy!
On the right side is the old X-ray picture taken just after the accident.
Dentist Lucy.
Dental casting with the old crown still in place.
Dental casting with the old crown removed.
The 1996 claim, written in Norwegian.
Well, not much is happening here nowadays, I am still stuck in Jakarta, so I thought I would post a picture of these cute creatures in the mean time.
Observed at Seaworld Jakarta.
One pair of those legs belong to me. Dunia Fantasi, Jakarta.