My Asian adventure has now lasted exactly two years, and according to the tradition, I have constructed a GPS map showing all new locations where I have spent at least one night the previous year (and not visited the first year).
I have divided the map in two, one for locations in Asia, and the other for locations in Europe.
My Asian (mostly Indonesian) locations.
My European locations.
I guess it’s a wise idea to make sure my teeth are OK before I venture on Tour Europe 2009, so today I had my teeth checked cheaply at BDHC (Balikpapan Dental Health Center).
It cost me Rp 20,000 (USD 2) for the quick check, and Rp 150,000 for cleaning. No cavities.
In just 4 days the Gang of Four will embark on a much-awaited expedition to Europe, a continent in which I personally will set foot for the first time in two years. The other members of the the Gang are Astrid, Caecil, and Saras.
So on Wednesday we will first take a Mandala flight from Balikpapan to Jakarta, then (on the same day) a Luftwaffe plane to Paris via Frankfurt, thereafter catch another flight to Vienna, after first spending as much as four hours in Paris. After spending one night in Vienna, we will take a train (or bus) to Bratislava, spending two days in that city, then take another train (or bus) to Budapest. Two days later we will catch a flight to Oslo, Norway, staying two days, and then continue by train to Trondheim. Another two days will pass before we will go by car to the mountains in Valdres (with me as the driver), sleeping two nights there, and then continue on to Bergen, again staying for two days. Then the Gang will continue (still by car) to a small place called Bogen near Sandefjord, south of Oslo, and staying the last day there before catching a flight the next day from Oslo to Paris. We have scheduled two days in Paris before finally flying back to Jakarta on Luftwaffe on 29 August (which is exactly two years since I left Europe last time by the way). Then one full night in Jakarta before flying home to Balikpapan. And that’s it! The Gang of Four on Tour Europe 2009.
Our banana plant is now flowering. We planted it in January, so the process has taken 7 months.
Our flowering banana.
This picture was taken on 8 January, just after planting.
In January 2005, during a trip from Solo to Jakarta by car, I observed this poster on the wall inside a restaurant on one of our stops.
The gentleman depicted on the poster is Noordin M. Top, the suspected brain behind various bombings in this country, including the bombings in Jakarta earlier this month.
There is a reward of one billion rupiah (USD 100,000) to those who can find him, according to the poster.
Wanted: Noordin M. Top