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If I don’t start making a record of my stay in Singapore it will disappear into the mists of time. (Otherwise known as my lack of memory) I arrived one week ago today, at 3am, and sent the desk clerk at Raffles into a fit when he asked how long I was going to stay - "three weeks if I like the room, one night if I don’t". I was given a suite temporarily, and the next day a room overlooking the Palm Court - best rooms in the house for $45/night! (There is a severe glut of hotel rooms at present). My routine is 10 laps in the pool folowed by a buffet breakfast - bacon, eggs, tomatoes, baked beans, potatoes, toast etc. (That is unless the meals of the previous day make breakfast an excess!) The food has been a significant part of the experience, Singapore being a relatively clean, ordinary city, and work occupying the non-sleeping non-eating hours. In fact I just took a moment and recalled all the meals of the past week! Singapore is noted for the variety and quality of its street stalls, and I have had an excellant guide in Stephen Huen of the local office. He has orchestrated the meals, which consists of ordering several items from different stalls in an area that may contain 50-100 stalls, each cooking their own speciality. These collections of hawker stalls are located all over the city, outdoors and inside buildings. So far the most notable meal was cuttlefish (baby octopus with little 1" tentacles), fried oyster in a type of omelette, and beef in a herb soup. Others included a fine Malay noodle soup. The Satay club, where I have gone twice for supper, is a series of stalls where satay is cooked over small hibachis, served with hot peanut sauce and fried rice or noodles. Other meals have been Szechuan, Thai, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Sumatran - a marvellous mixture of tastes. Tonight we even stopped and had a durian, the notoriously foul smelling fruit that the locals adore. Hotels strictly ban the fruit from the premises because of the odour. I found it a strange texture, like custard cream, but not unpleasant once you got past the smell. Enough of food, Stephen spent the day driving me around Singapore. I think we covered the entire island from Tiger Balm gardens to Changi prison. Between all this I have arranged for the three weeks following this hard travail - trips to South Sulawesi (foster child Nurhayati), Bali (passing through rest break), Lombok (funerals), Jakarta (business) and Malaysia (turtle watching).

Finally got the tickets on Saturday. One error, they had us going right to Tarajaland on the Sunday, hope I got it straight! Still have not settled the bill however! Went to Bukit Timah nature reserve on Sunday, walked up the highest hill in Singapore and sat as the monkeys played in the trees above. Not much other wildlife, butterflies and birds, none of the king cobras that are supposed to live there also! After well received presentations to Telecoms and Dept of Lands, went to Kuching in Sarawak (Malaysian state on the north-west of Borneo) Spent two days giving presentations to Dept of Surveys, Telecoms and SESCO (Electric). The general manager of SESCO had the biggest office I have ever seen! Back into Singapore at 10:30pm, a quick pack before heading out to the airport again to collect Shirley, who will now assume diary duty...

We were picked up at 4:45 am(!) for our 6 am flight to Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi, where we arrived at 8:30 am. We were met by a PLAN representative, Annie, and a driver and then driven to Jeneponto (south of Ujung Pandang) where Nurhayti and her family live. The drive, on good roads until the last few miles, took 2 hours. Near her home we picked up her social worker and the manager from the local office. Nurhayti (14 years old, in 2nd year of junior high school), her father, mother and 2 younger sisters were waiting for us. We stayed 1.5 hours during which time everything had to be translated. Nurhayti’s father could not understand what jobs we had so that we could afford to spend money on them. Her mother couldn’t imagine the cold in Canada and how we could manage without eating rice every day! Also we don’t have any animals, which seemed strange to them - they have 2 water buffaloes, which cost $150-$200 U.S. A much prized possession. Their house, on stilts, was rustic, but clean. A back area for cooking. There was an open file for cooking, water pots nearby - the water had to be carried from the local source. Rice was also there, along with a couple of chickens wandering around. 2 bedrooms and a bed in the main area, where there are a few chairs and 2 small tables. Shoes are not worn in the house. There is a storage area above the ceiling for storing rice and corn. The animals stay below the house. The house has a wooden floor, with a small space between the slats - the water will drain out easily during the rainy season. Nurhayti was very nervous and didn’t say much - our gift of paper and pens was probably not a good choice - a pair of cheap earings would probably have been better. We were given green coconut to drink and eat - quite good. No-one in the family had any though. We then went outside and took some photos - the poloroid photos were appreciated but not as exciting as they were at Dil’s last fall. The drive down and back was quite interesting - near the ocean, salt was harvested. Saw some "gas stations" with gas in small bottles. Dropped into the local PLAN office where Tony signed their guest book and wrote some comments. I was requested to take a poloroid of a local man and 2 girls, which I did. Checked into our hotel, the Makassar Golden in Ujung Pandang, the capital of South Sulawesi - a first class hotel. Had drinks and a small lunch. We then went out for a walk - up the coast to see the sailing vessels (the Bugis schooners). We were talked into taking a pedicab -very small seat, not wide enough fo the 2 of us to sit side by side; one of us had to sit 1/2 on the seat. We were taken to another place where they have Bugis schooners, also kids fishing for crabs. We walked along the side of the ships, then over to the "housing area" -slum-type dwellings. At this point, we were mobbed by a lot of kids, many with home-made wooden guns. They were the first group that asked for money, but weren’t too bad. Walked back to where our pedi-cab driver was waiting; he then bicycled us back to our hotel, through the market. The round trip on the pedi-cab cost us $2, probably way above the local rate. These pedicabs are used for transporint goods and people. Our guide for tomorrow phoned us soon after we got back to the hotel; Tony met him - apparently we are not in the Toraya Cottages in Rantepeo. Tony complained as our voucher was for this hotel. Supper in the Indonesian restauant in the hotel (as opposed to the French restauant) and to bed. Nice bath first; I felt very dusty. Hot today but not unbearable. Nurhayti would like to work for the government; that would be a better job than teaching. We were shown her report card - nothing spectacular but average. She goes to school diligently, according to her mother.

Breakfast in bed at 7 am. We were both still asleep! Checked out of the hotel and waited in the lobby for our guide to pick us up. We have a small van, a driver and a guide to ourselves. Drove to the local tour office where we left our air tickets to be re-confirmed. Drove from Ujung Padang to Rantepeo, stopping for photo stops - fish ponds with view of limestone mountains, dried fish beside the road. Numerous villages, some with horsedrawn carts. The large salted fish were grouper and cost 5000 rp. ($3). Stopped at Pare Pare for lunch -very thirsty by this time even though we had had some water on the way up. After lunch the road got worse - twisty, narrow and in places very bumpy. Made a few photo stops - scenery, gate to Toraja, cloves drying. Arrived at our hotel, the Misiliana Hotel at 5:50 pm. Weather cooler but not too cold, so far. Went for a walk, beer and tea in the hotel bar, then walked part-way into town but it was getting dark so we walked back. Supper at 7 pm and early to bed. Some pine trees in the area, as well as tropical trees.

Roosters up and making a racket at 4-5 am. Managed to get back to sleep after, though. Breakfast at 8 am, off on our touring at 9 am. Drove to Buntao, where there was a funeral in progress - the 4th day. The road to the village was very rocky and uneven. We arrived at the right time (we were lucky); soon after we got there, the coffin was lowered down from the house and carried to a field. On the way it was shaken up and down, to get rid of bad spirits. Then a group, originally men but later women and children, held hands and danced and sang around the coffin. Some of the family also gathered around the coffin, inside the circle. Some of the women draped themselves on the coffin. They used to get a woman to cry throughout the funeral but don’t these days. Around the central house containing the coffin are built rooms for the guests, sometimes 2 storeis. The rooms are numbered, and as the guests arrive they are assigned to a room. Their gifts are registered, forming an obligation for the deceased family for some future funeral. If we had arrived while the guests were being introduced, we would have had to give something but would let them know that it was a gift, not an obligation. After a while, the coffin was put on a truck, especially decorated for the occasion. A loud speaker had been set up. A protestant funeral service was now held, with the minister wearing a jacket! On a couple of occasions, a group of women sang, also through the microphones to the loud speaker. One of the locals was taking photographs throughout, presumably for the family. The coffin and half the village then drove off, headed back to the original village of the deceased. We then went to Kete Kesu where we saw typical houses and grain storage barns, shops and the family graves - the headman of the village was in a mausoleum-type grave; a concrete structure with a statue of him in front. He dies in 1986 (born 1912) and his funeral was in January of this year. He had been working for the government and didn’t look 74 when he died (old for this part of the country). We also saw some graves cut into the rock, some that were hanging graves but had rotten and fallen down to the ground. Skulls and bones could be seen in the rotting coffins. We then drove back to Rantepao for lunch - bean soup, rice, sate, maize cakes and a vegetable dish. (Restaurant Rachmat). After lunch we drove for about an hour south to Suaya where we saw 2 balconies of Tau Tau outside cave graves. The right hand has the palm up to receive the good gifts; the left hand has the palm to the right to sweep away the bad gifts. We headed back to Rantepeo, stopping at another grave site - this time it was for young babies who have not yet got teeth - they are put, sitting up, in a tree (perhaps a banyan tree) which has been hollowed out. A curtain is put in front, made from the fronds of another tree. Plenty of bamboo in this area. Our guide had to sign a book at both the places after lunch, starting our names and nationality. Apparently this is for the government. We then drove back, past the hotel, to Karasbik where there are tradional-style houses arranged in a horseshoe, around a cluster of megaliths. The megaliths are simliar to a small group that we had seen earlier in the day. The megaliths had been carried here many years ago from another part of the country. The traditional buildings with square legs are used for houses; the grain barns have round legs. We then asked our guide, John, to take us to Rantepao and leave us there. He protested and said he must wait for us but we finally convinced him not to. Walked aound the town, took a pedicab to Toraja Cottages (the best hotel in town, where we were supposed to have stayed but they didn’t have room) - hard work for the pedicab driver, a long 3 km for $2. we had a drink there (nice hotel), walked back to town and then another 3 kms. or so to our hotel. Wanted a bath but the water was cold! Supper, then hot water was available so had a bath and washed my hair then.

A rooster started at 1:10 am! The rest of the night was fairly quiet, probably due to the fact that it rained most of the night. It started raining again before we went to breakfast, disappointing since this is not the rainy season. Drizzling when we left soon after 9 am. Our driver, who is Muslim, had to go to prayers first as today is a Muslim holiday. Drove to Nanggala where we saw 14 rice barns and a traditional house. Also a number of bats hanging in a tree. We then walked for a while to see an older house, which is not lived in anymore and is starting to fall apart. The owner of the 14 rice barns lives in Ujung Pandang and his labourers live on the land. John, our guide, inquired about a thanksgiving ceremony today - it is to be later this afternoon so we will be back. Drove back, toward Rantepao, to Marante - stone and hanging graves and bones in a cave. Many bones to be seen in coffins falling apart. Took a Poloroid of John, our guide; he was upset that a grave was in the photo so Tony offered to take another one of him later - this will be done tomorrow as he has a spot picked out. Drove back through Rantepao to Sigunte where we went into the upstairs of a traditional house - 3 rooms, 2 of which are very small. This house was not lived in anymore; the next door house had a very pleasant sitting are in the front on the ground gloor. On our way to Sigunte, we were asked to take a poloroid of Hassan, our driver, with the hills in the background. Back to Rantepao for lunch, again at the Restaurant Rachmat. Drove back to Nanggala, where we walked for 1-2 kms. to arrive at the site of the thanksgiving ceremony. A church service was in progress so we walked around, saw a gamw of S. Sulawesi volleyball (takro) being played - small ball, hit with head and legs. We were then invited to sit on a group’s covered platform - some childred were sitting in front on a bamboo mat. I took 3 poloroids while we were there - one of the children, one of a teenage girl and one of the women in the stand. We were given sticky rice to eat - we had a small sample. They had to show us how to open the bamboo up, not try and dig the rice out from the end. Near the end of the church service, a man came around collecting money from the people outside; the church was packed and there were a lot of people outside. The church service ended and is is now lunch time (2:30 pm). We were invited to have lunch with the group in the next stand. Not that we needed it! We were given plates and took small amounts of some of the food. Some of the people use banana leaves for plates. You eat with your fingures. There was plenty of food - lots of rice, dishes of chicken, some kind of meat, vegetables, hot peppers. Warm bottled water to drink, also tuak, a rice wine which was not bad. After lunch, there is a dish of water in which you wash your right hand, and air dry. The food was then gathered up and put in containers to be taken home. The drums started beating so we went to a large area in front of the church. The next item on the adgenda was a auction - many pigs heads, half pigs, rice in bamboo, a crudely carved lamp with a beer can for the container for the fluid (this was donated by an old man) and a couple of flat baskets. Laughter during the auction. The auctioneer had a loud-speaker. The drums were then brought out and played - 2 sets of dances; 3 girls in the first and 6 in the second one. During both dances, money was put in a pot in front of the dancers. I put 500 rupies in both times and felt very big and tall - these people are short and slim. At times while the girls are dancing, a man would dance behind them -he also got money. The money from the auction and the dances go to the church. We were the only foreigners in the village. We then walked back to the van which was waiting for us - the inside had been cleaned of all the red mud we had collected during the ceremony during the morning. We drove a short distance, then picked up 12 passengers. No-one would have sat next to us, so I invited the woman in the group to sit next to me, which she did with a girl on her knee. Dropped these 12 people off in 3 groups. John was offered a bamboo tube of rice by one group, which he refused; the last group gave Hassan, our driver, 3 tubes of rice, which he took. Back to the hotel, hot bath and to supper.

Off at 8:3am Cloudy but not raining. Drove south to lemo, one of the largest sites of cave graves. Unfortunately very few Tau-Tau left-some were stolen so the families have taken them inside ter houses. Walked around the area, saw a farmer catch an eel in the rice fields, walked out to a nearby vilage where we saw rice being threshed, a spotted buffalo (worth much more than the black or albino buffalo). Drove further south to a site near Makale where there were some cave graves and a full row of Tau-Tau. Then drove back through Makale, past a pond with lilys on it, to Londa where we saw coffins in caves. We hired a local boy with a kerosene lamp to take us into the caves. Some of the coffins are fairly new-one was from April 1987. On some of the coffins skulls are lined up, apparently the local children do this for effect. Sometimes they get red dye and put it in the eye sockets. Drove back to Rantepao where we went to the animal market-lots of buffalo and pigs. A large pig costs $30. The small pigs are carried in holders made of palm-I lifted one and Tony took a picture. In return we took a Polaroid of the owner-he seemed pleased but did not expect it. At the market we recognised a man from the village where yesterdays ceremony took place. Also had some snakeskin fruit the women were selling. The skin is like that of a snake, the inside rather sour, certainly different. We then wandered around the food market-another Polaroid of a girl selling peppers who originally did not want her photo taken. Polaroids seem to be a novelty here, they keep looking at the black side rather than the photo side. Quite often they wave it in the air in order to dry it (no longer needed with the new films). They are very happy with the photos once they see them however. Lunch at the same restaurant-this time it was full of tourists. After lunch we walked through a few shops in town and bought a small plaque-we decided a miniature house would be too difficult to pack. Drove north to Sadan where there were a number of handicrafts, mostly materials of various types, for sale. Then back to Palawa where there were many shops outside the houses, one of the more touristy sites. The many houses and rice barns made it a good place to visit. Then drove south, back to our hotel and were dropped off early, just before 4pm. We could have gone to the market in Rantepao or anywhere else, but we were just as happy to get back and have tea and beer sitting outside our room. Went for a short walk to the village behind our hotel before hot bath and supper. Completed writing postcards.

American breakfast in the coffee shop, then checked out of the hotel. A representative of the S.Sulewesi travel agency met us at 9am - we are confirmed on tomorrow’s flight to Bali, not today’s! Finally John arrived and we went to the Garuda office - the best the manager could do was to put us as #1 and #2 on the wait list (there are 10 on the wait list). There is space on the flight to Surabaya but not on to Bali. City tour - fish market, saw some large turtles and fish, orchid and sea shell place, chinese temple and fort. Then to the airport where we convinced John to leave us - there is nothing he can do; we just have to wait and hope. We were given boarding passes right away. Had a snack in the restaurant and went throught to wait. When everyone was on the plane, there were a few empty seats! The flight even left a few minutes early. When we got to Bali, the pilot flew almost directly over the volcanoes - a good view of it. After we arrived, Tony phoned our transfer people - they had expected us later - on Saturday the plane arrives at a different time. They arrived in 10 minutes though and drove us to our hotel outside Ubud. There are 2 seperate bedrooms per cottage - each cottage has a kitchen and 2 staff. Also one swimming pool for every 2 cottages. We can get supper here but have to order it the day before so that the cook can go and buy the food. Had beer and tea outside on the balcony area, overlooking a valley. There are a couple of Dutch lady teachers in the other room of the cottage, NO electricity - kerosene lamps. Hot water is solar heated. Walked up the street to a restaurant, also overlooking the valley. Walked back in the dark, with the help of our small flash-light. Sat outside on our balcony for a while, had a luke-warm shower and to bed by 8:30am. Weather fairly cool, for the tropics; we certainly don’t need an air-conditioner.

Swam at the hotel, short rest, then took a hotel car to a temple that we had been at earlier this morning, only without temple sashes we could not wander around. In the morning they had been preparing for a festival so we had hoped it would be in the afternoon. However we found it would be in 3 days, at the full moon.

We were met at the ferry by our guide, Clay. (He is a native of Lombok, and is albino) and his boss from the local travel agency. We were driven straight to our hotel, the Suranadi Hotel, in the hills, about an hours drive from the ferry. We upgraded to one of the cottages ($5) That gave us a colonial-style porch to sit on. Had lunch at the hotel after declining the 1/2 day tour we were supposed to take. We then walked to the temple just outside the hotel, the Suranadi temple, a Balinese-type temple. We managed to take 6 polaroid photos there. Also saw the sacred eels in the pond, they can be coaxed out of hiding with hard-boiled eggs,

We then went to the Mayura Water Palace, where there is a Balinese temple in the middle of a lake, with a walkway out to the temple, as there is at Amritsar. There were water lilies in the large artificial lake.

On our way to Kuta beach we stopped at Praya so that our guide could pick up our box lunch. We also stopped at a local village a few kms from Kuta beach. Very arid country, sometimes it does not rain for 3 years. We went inside a local house, a woman was weaving, an old woman was selling scarfs; we bought one for 1000 rupiahs (67¢) A man was also inside, rocking a baby. We asked the old woman if she wanted her photo taken, she got very excited, tried to do up her blouse (unsuccessfully), put her arm around me and smiled for the photo. I was so much taller than her, I crouched down but still looked large in the polaroid that Tony took. He then took a photo for us with the regular camera. I do not think she had seen a Polaroid before and did not expect us to give it to her. We must have made her day with our purchase, judging by her reaction.

We then arrived at Kuta beach which was almost deserted. We walked along the beach for a while, followed by about 10 children, some completely naked, running in and out of the water. Clay had let us go onto the beach by ourselves, too, the first time he hadn't been hovering around us all day. We sat for a while, 3 of the girls sang for us, and tried to sell woven material and shells. Tony finally bought a shell for 100 rupiahs (~7¢) and then took a polaroid of her - at first she didn't want him to take it. I don't think they had seen a poloroid before either. We then walked back to our lunch spot and were given our box lunch - cold hamburger and fries, hard boiled egg, banana and lichee juice. The children and dogs gathered around us while we ate. Neither of us had much of the hamburger!. The left-overs were picked up by someone from the village. We were supposed to stay at Kuta until 2:30, but we thought we were supposed to be back in the village by 2:00, so we were ready to go. No-one said anything, but there was a lively discussion in the front, presumably trying to decide what to do with us for the rest of the day. Drove back to town, a few kilometres from town the van lost power and we came to a stop. It took about 5 minutes to find and fix the problem, a broken wire.

Next was Lingsar, a large temple complex north of Narmada, fairly close to our hotel. There were a couple of women making the offerings of flowers in palm leaves. There were also offerrings of sticky rice. The temple is unique in that it combines the Balinese Hindu and the Islam Wekta Telu (3 times moslem) in one complex. Outside we had a seven-up. There were anumber of fighting cocks in the courtyard.

We then walked back, through the local market, to the area of the fighting. Two men from the audience "volunteer", put on a head-scarf and waist-band, and take off their shirts. They fight for three rounds, armed with long rattan staves and small rectangular shields made from cow or buffalo hide. They hit each other with the staves, rather painful I suspect. There was a small section at the front setup for tourists. We saw more tourists here than we did all day. These contests are only held in August. The fight is stopped if anyone gets hurt, after one contest the "doctor" checked out a cut in someones head. Also, if the scarf or waist-band come off the contest is stopped until it is replaced. There is a certain amount of psyching-out and dancing around by the contestants. After a few rounds we left, the policeman making a path for us through the crowd.

Then to the travel agents office, where the boss wanted to take us to an antique shop - we declined. We then drove to Gili Air Island, through a mountainous route with jungle surrounding. Lots of monkeys along the road. To get to the island we took an out-rigger canoe, along with several other tourists. The beach at Gili Air was very nice, no children bothering us. We both went for a short dip, I thought it was cool, Tony didn't. Lay on a mat in the sun for a while, had parts of our lunch which was the same as yesterday. To drink we had tea from a carton, a strange tasting drink.

Went down for breakfast at 6am, after a noisy hour of roosters. The local tour company boss was already waiting for us - the van that we had been using had broken down so he was taking us to the airport. We noticed that the time on our tickets had been changed to 12:10 pm from 8:30am and the flight number changed, but he assured us that we were on the earlier flight. After a piece of toast and tea we were off by 6:35. Got to the airport in 25 minutes, fast going in a pick-up. There was little traffic, and we were the first at the airport, the ticket counter open in 15 minutes and we got our boarding passes. Clay arrived and we said our goodbyes and went into the waiting room. The plane left just before 8:30, about 20 passengers and full. Changed in Bali and finally arrived in Jakarta, at the Mandarin. Took photos to be developed, had a small lunch, dropped photos back at hotel and went to the zoo. Saw the komodo dragons, really big lizards, which was the reason for going to the zoo. Also many kinds of monkeys and all the other zoo beasts.

After breakfast buffet, drove to Lake Chini, partially over the back roads as this was a shorter route. However we missed the turn-off on the dirt road, so we asked someone on a motorbike for directions. He pointed back the way we had come, and then decided to lead us to the lake. There was a fairly nice resort, we rented a motor boat for an hour, it took us through masses of water lilies up the river to a settlement where there was an old man with a long blowpipe. We both tried it, and hit the target! There were a few other natives there, but most of the village was further into the forest. I took a Poloroid of the old man, he seemed surprised but pleased. We had an english-speaking boy with us on the trip, when we got back and Tony had paid the boat driver, he gave the boy M$4, he seemed very surprised and did'nt seem to know what to do with it, but finally pocketed it.

Leisurely breakfast, then drove 150kms north to Tanjung Jara Beach Hotel, which is 8kms from Rantau Abang, where the giant leatherback turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. Stopped at a fishing village, Kemasik, on the way to take photos. Lunch at hotel, then drove to Rantau Abang to see about turtle watching tonight, then back to hotel to generally relax, sleep, swim.

Walked about 1km on the beach, hard going, to get to the turtle. We were rushing to get ahead of the crowd, there must have been about 200 people by the time everyone arrived. The turtle had laid her eggs, and was on her way back to the sea. Absolutely huge animal. The locals kept steering her away from the water, so everyone could see her. Eventually the watchers told them to let her be, and she slowly laft the beach. Got back to the hotel at about 2:00.

Breakfast in our room at 7:15, then taxi to the zoo for breakfast with the Orangutans. We were the first there, wandered around the zoo, and had our breakfast, including a taste of fish porridge. The Orangutan, Ah Meng, an older female, arrived and I was chosen to sit with her while she had her breakfast, juices and fruit. Afterwards everyone got a chance to have their photo taken with her, including Tony.

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