Tuban East Java Day 9

TUBAN EAST JAVA DAY 9

Nothing could wake me up this morning, finally I got some sleep. Today we had to leave Tuban and go back to Jakarta. We had the morning off so we could take a walk in the surroundings. We passed a school with so many happy children; happy to se foreigners, happy to speak English and happy to discuss soccer of course. Back in the house we once again we packed everything and went to Surabay 2-3 hours away. The flight back to Jakarta went well and the hotel Amaris was still there, with its desirable WiFi in room, I spent hours in front of my computer…..

The house in Tuban

Tuban East Java Day 8

TUBAN EAST JAVA DAY 8

The prayer from the minaret is unreasonable, started once again at 4 o’clock and kept on for a time long enough to definitely wakes me up. At least the temperature is nice at that time of the day and we had also planned to go the market at 6. When we were going to the market I realised that the transport was by motorbike, without a helmet. On a small road trafficked with a massive mix of pedestrians, bikes, motorbikes, cars and trucks.  I could not believe it; I never use my bicycle without a helmet in Sweden, under conditions not comparable to this. But I had to accept the fact and there was no problem to survive the 3 km to the market. The visit was nice and I also survived the 3 km back to our village. We spent the rest of our stay talking and looking at all the fabrics. I bought some fabrics and cotton yarns and I also got some of their own cultivated cotton. While the other studied old fabrics and patterns I had an English lesson with the small girls at the centre, we had a nice and funny time together before we had to leave the village. In the afternoon we went back to the beautiful house in Tuban and we had the time to take a walk to the city centre of Tuban before we had to go to bed. 

Tuban East Java Day 7

TUBAN EAST JAVA DAY 7

I woke up 4 o’clock by the prayer from the minaret and there was no chance to go back to sleep within at least half an hour, and after such a long time I never got to sleep again. After breakfast we went to a batik centre outside Tuban  for a two day visit there. Tuban is such a nice city and East Java differs a lot from Flores. Much more cultivation fields, people are biking and only a few of them use motorbikes. The centre was situated and has all the facilities from growing the cotton, spinning, weaving and the batik processes. Also here we got familiar with the people involved using a combination of Inge as translator and other ways to communicate. In the afternoon when the temperature had decreased we went for a walk in the village. Wherever we went people were talking to us and showing us different things of interests and tried to find out what we were doing in the village. After dinner we gathered in the garden with women and discussed the centre with a mix of languages, Indonesian, English and Swedish.

Flores Day 6

FLORES DAY 6

Today was the day to leave Flores for Surabaya and Tuban on West Java. We had the morning off; a walk on the beach, swim in the pool, breakfast with juices and packing of course. I felt a little sorry for leaving Flores and Nita village and all the women working there. But we will come back, and that will be so exciting now, when we know more about everything. Inge and Alfi came by car at 12 and thereafter we went to the airport, and what we did now was that Flores airport was the place of the day. It is hard to describe Flores airport but it is so charming, far from all fancy airports around the world. And the security check is just enough... After a while we realized that our flight was delayed, and that we have to wait around four-five hours in this small and very hot airport. It is just to relax, find something to occupy your time with, such as writing in the diary you never have the time to write, start to read the book brought all the way to Indonesia and so far have not opened, or just reflecting life and the time at Flores. Finally we could leave Flores, go to West Timor, Bali and finally to Surabaya several hours later than expected. From Surabaya we went by car to Tuban and where we arrived after midnight. We were invited to stay with a friend to Inga, in a lovely house with a little garden near the city centre of Tuban.

Security control

Bagage Drop

Check in Desk

The Gate

Flores Day 5

FLORES DAY 5

Yesterday night I was exhausted after a long, long trip, jetlag, everyday cultural change experiences around Flores and hot temperature, so this night I slept well. Today we had a day at Kaliwiti Beach resort and the only task was to prepare our presentation at ISEND. First of all we jumped into the pool for a swim, really nice. We had breakfast on our veranda, fruit salad and mango juice and a nice sea view, who could ask for more? We also had a walk on the beach before we went to the open-air restaurant for some lunch and work. I must say that we were really hard working all day and just before sunset we took a little walk, then more work and some dinner. We finished the day in the pool, slow swim in the hot water with the stars and the moon above our heads.