July 2019

July 2019

Indonesia, PA, DE, NJ

1- M- Jakarta, Indonesia- this city is dirty and doesn't offer much. I don't like it and I would be OK with never returning. 

2- TU- Jakarta, Indonesia- we wandered through the neighborhood and stopped to see the herbal pharmacist.  She gave us a variety of herbal drinks which had natural medicinal healing agents.  I need to pay more attention to these options.  I trust western medicine too much.

3- W-Jakarta, Indonesia- we had another flight today.  We are leaving Jakarta and that is OK with me as this city doesn't really have much to offer.  We are off to        .  I know nothing about this city.  My luggage didn't make it on to our flight as I had a battery charger and the security police wouldn't put my luggage on the flight.  What a pain in the ass.  It arrived (sans the charger) several hours later.  We spent the afternoon at a coffee shop where we were treated to a coffee testing.  There are over 30 different types of coffee in Indonesia.  I am hoping to try more.  Later int he evening, we went to a ballet and the story was hard to follow.  As I told Don, I was happy when the show finally stated and I was happy when the show finally ended.

4-TH- It's Independence Day in the USA but I don feel as if we have much to celebrate as our democracy is slipping away from us.  But here in Indonesia, it's just a regular day.  We started the day with a stroll around the neighborhood.  Behind our hotel is a maze of homes and hunts and we just roamed around them for about an hour.  We met the local herbal pharmacist who treated us to several varieties of her herbal drinks and a pink, rice pancake.  They were delicious.  We visited with the tailor and his wife and two people in out group are going to have him make something for them. We peek in to people's homes and took photos of everything.  Around 10 AM, we boarded the bus and went to a batik factory.  We all tried our hands with a batik project and struggled with our lack of skills.  Some of us suffered more humiliation than others with our blatant lack of talent for this highly complex art form.  I bought a scarf and I can't wait to wear it.  After a delicious lunch, the others went off to a Hindu Temple and Barbara Ann and I went back to the hotel for a two hour massage.  The woman gave me a full massage.  That was followed by a salt scrub and then a body mask that she painted all over my skin and then she used a cloth and gave me a warm milk bath.  OMG.  And this entire treatment only cost $18 (I may have to move here). For dinner, we had a home visit with a man who lives in village of 300 people.  The village is within the city limits but is walled in so it has a remote feeling to it.  The family was gracious.  The food was fabulous.  Some of the conversation was forced but we had a great time.  This was another great day.

5- F- Indonesia- We went to the largest singular archeology site in the country.  It's a huge, stone monument made from volcanic bricks and it was magnificent. The place was just too big to photograph.  and it was so damn crowded.  There were thousands of people roaming around.  The sun was intense.  The steps were old, worn out and hard to maneuver. But it was still enjoyable.  I bought a parachute kit from a street vendor. I wonder where I will fly it when I get home.  As we headed to lunch, we stopped at a rice cake factory.  Eight women sit in a dingy room and make these cakes all day long.  The work is monotonous and fatiguing.  But the women were appreciative to have this job.  I tried my hand at making these cakes and I was pathetically awful. We headed back tot he hotel and listened to an eloquent 78 year old woman tell us her story as a political prisoner during the 1965 Communist coup against the government.  Her father was a communist so she and her mother were guilty by association. She was arrested and sentenced to five years in jail. she wouldn't and still couldn't talk about that experience. She was serene and forgiving as she told her story of injustice against so many citizens who were falsely accused of being communists.  I was moved by her presentation.

6- SA- Bali- we were up early to get to the airport to catch our plane to Bali.  I can't wait to spend the next nine days here in this paradise. We visited a dance school in the afternoon.  The teacher is enthusiastically trying to bring back and preserve the ancient Bali dance.  I loved this presentation. The little girl dancers were precious.

7- SU- Bali

8- M- Bali- We started our day at a salt field,  A 65 year old man works 7 days a week and hauls sea water up to his property and lets the sun dry it out and he harvests the salt. It is labor intensive and his primary source of income.  From there, we went to a river bank for a Hindu beautification ceremony.  Only Jim and I chose to participate.  We had to step in to the river and stand in front of a Hindu Priestess who prayed fro us and sprinted oils on our heads.  We had to pray for a special intention.We had to wash our faces in the water and then we had to put our heads under 7 water pipes.  To conclude the ceremony, a man put rice kernels on my far head and chest. And then I was beautifacted.  After lunch we checked in to our hotel and I checked out the spa options.  I had an 80 minuet facial and a back massage and I loved every minute of it.

9- TU- Bali- It's my birthday. I'm 64 today, one year away from Medicare.  The day started out with a minor trauma.  I couldn't work the shower and it got too hot oo quickly and i scorched my back and i couldn't turn off the faucets.  so water leaked everywhere.  I called the reception office but they didn't seem to think this was an urgent matter. My entire room quickly filled up with steam so I opened the door to let some air in.  The massive amount of steam set the fire alarm off and that just added to my panic.  Anyway, I resolved the issue and moved on.  We started the day at the Mask Maker and his masks were truly works of art. I loved everyone.  We moved on to the Monkey Forest and spent an hour, dodging wild monkeys.  We had suckling roasted pig for lunch.  Then we went to a beautiful bird sanctuary and got to walk amongst the birds.  We finished the day with a visit to a puppet masker.  OMG, making a puppet is lots of labor intensive work.  For dinner, a cake was brought out n my behalf and i finished the day full and bloated.

10- W- BALI- I woke up and saw that it was raining so I decided to take the day off from being a tourist and spent the day in my hotel room.  I did nothing and it felt great.

11- TH- Bali- jeeps picked us up this morning.  We headed up the mountain to the red rice paddy fields.  OMG, they were gorgeous.  We walked through paths around the fields and stopped to chat with farmers and tourists. I took too many photos.

12- F- Bali- I love this beach resort.  I wish we had a day where we could just lounge around the beach and the bar.  But we were up early today and headed to a mountain village to met a farmer who harvest the sap to make brown sugar.  this is yet antlers extreme;y labor intense job that pays no damn money. A 68 year old man climbs up trees all day long and collects the sap in hollowed out squash bowls.  Then he cooks the sap for 5 hours and sells it for 35 cents a kilo.  we had lunch with a family in the village.  we brought food with us and we helped with the preparation.  Then we asked questions of each other.  Our host was worried that we didn't like the food as she didn't think we ate enough.  Personally, I was about to explode, I was so full.  When we got back to the hotel, I of course, had another spa treatment.  First there was an hour facial.  Them I had a 45 minute head massage.  the woman washed my hair for a long time.  then she coated it in oil and massaged my head.  then she let all the oil set and then she asked my hair again.  Of course, i loved this treatment. Later, I went to dinner with Cheryl and Jim.  Cherly found a place in the Lonely Planet Guide Book so off we went tea the place was just a storefront with three tables outside.  The food was good and reasonable.

13- SA- Bali- much to my chagrin, we left our beautiful resort this morning, we headed up the mountain to a visit with some university students. this campus and the students reminded me so much of SIAS university in china. we visited a sacred temple that was in the midst of celebrations so we couldn't go inside but we saw lots and lots of people making offerings to the Hindu gods.  in the evening, we went to the circus which was great fun.

14- SU- Bali- this is our last day of the tour.  We started at a temple which inhabits aggressive monkeys so we were all on our defensive behaviors as we walked along the perimeter of the temple.  we saw remnants of other peoples eye glasses and flip flops.  and we got through the experience unscathed.  Then we drove tot he the Four Season Luxury Hotel,  A visit here is recommended in the book, 1000 Things To Do Before You Die.  we had cocktails as we sat, overlooking the Indian Ocean,  Of course, this was lovely.  From there, others went shopping but i had to come back to the hotel and rest a little bit after my three beverage lunch.  We had a farewell dinner at a restaurant on the beach. Jumena gave a nice speech and highlighted our last 21 says together.  And then we all dispersed and headed back to our roos to begin the tedious task of packing for our flight home.

15- M- Bali- the tour group dispersed today.  I went snorkeling with Cheryl and Jim on the Bali Holiday Boat.  We were picked up at the hotel and took a one hour boat ride to a platform in the ocean.  There, we spent the day swimming, snorkeling and sunning ourselves.  The water was just rough enough that is caused me some motion sickness.  I rested fro a little bit and got back in the water.  By this time, the sun was out.  The waves were less intense and the fish were everywhere.  it was as if I was snorkeling on a completely different day.  It was wonderful and I used my new snorkel mask which i just love.  On the way home, I got sick and vomited profusely until we got to the harbor.  Oh well!!!

16- TU- Bali/USA-  I had a midnight flight for 9 hours, a two hour layover in Doha and then a 14 hour flight to Philly.  All in all, it wasn't too bad and it was nice to be home.

17- W- PA- I was up early today so I made it to breakfast in the lounge and caught up with the news and gossip of the last three weeks.  I laid low today as I was tired but too exhausted to sleep. I couldn't soothe myself.

18- TH- PA-  OMG, I took two sleeping pills around midnight and woke up at 2:30 PM. It's raining like crazy so I don't feel like going outside even though I had a full day of events and things I wanted to do.  I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow to get back in my groove.

19- F- PA-  OMG, it is fucking hot today. I had to take Phyllis and Steve to the airport.  They are going to Spain for ten days and Steve is dreading every damn minute of it.  He suffers from anxiety and so he is worried that they won't get to the airport on time.  They aren't going to have any room in the overhead containers for his carry-on luggage.  The plane may crash.  He isn't going to like what he sees.  It's going to be too hot.  He won't like the food, etc.  His running commentary of panic is breaking my heart.

20- SA- PA- OMG, it is fucking hot today.  The heat just blanketed me and drained me of all energy.  I had to go to South Philly to have dinner with Rosina and her dad, Manny.  The three of us have dinner together a couple of times a year and it is always fun.

21- SU- PA- OMG, it is fucking hot today. I finally, finally, finally got to the movies today and it was packed.  I saw Maiden, the story of the first all-female sailing team to compete in an around-the world completion. I loved this movie.

22- M- Avalon, NJ- I headed to the beach to hang with Kathy Flatley and Helen Dougherty. It was hot as hell .  We had a great dinner and a late night swim in their pool was wonderful.

23- TU- NJ- Kathy took us shopping to one overcrowded, tourist shop after another.  So I made them all go to the Avalon Brewery Pub with me for lunch.  The place was mediocre and they don't care at all about their beers.  And that attitude gets on my nerves.

24- W- NJ/PA- I had to get up early because I screwed up and scheduled a commitment to take someone to her cancer treatment today.  I thought I had scheduled to do this on Thursday.  So I left NJ around 930 and came back to West Chester.  I picked up a woman who is 90 and has lung cancer.  She is struggling with her treatment but not willing to surrender as the doctor told her that if she reaches the point of remission, she may have another 5 years.  If I were in her shoes, I would just give up.

25- TH- PA- It's Kathy Flatley's bday.  We have known each other since 1962.  I went to the Mt. Cuba Center which is a botanical garden in Wilmington.  It was beautiful. Afterward I went to the Braeloch Brewery for a quick flight and enjoyed my beers.  Then I came home and listened tony book, Nomadland, which tells the dreadful stories of senior citizens who can not afford their lifestyle so they take up residence in an RV and roam around the country, looking for minimal wage jobs. Life is really unfair.

26- F- PA- It was hot yet again today. I went to Pietro's , with Debbie, for happy hour and appetizers.  The place was crowded and fun.  The band was entertaining and it was nice to find a new place to hang in the neighborhood.

27- SA- PA- I ushered at Uptown tonight.  Two comedians entertained us.  The crowd was mostly old cotton heads and white. The comedy was mostly safe topics. But they were still funny.  I came home to my apartment and found people hanging in the lounge so I joined them.

28- SU- PA- I was home all day because I had to leave for the airport at 2PM to pick up Steve and Phyllis.  They were returned from their trip to Spain and Portugal.  Steve was exceedingly hesitate to go but it sounds as if they had a great time.  I had dinner with Debbie and her family and then we hung in the lounge.

29- M- PA- It was a perfect day today.  The temperature was pleasant. The sun was bright and shinny. I took a road trip to Ringing Rock State Park.  With two hammers in hand, I tried making music on these magical rocks.  While I didn't make music, I did make some unusual sounds.  On the way home, I stopped by the Free Will Brewery in Bucks County. My Mango Wheat was refreshing.  Then I came home and hung in the pool for an hour.  And the temperature was absolutely perfect.  It was so perfect that I contemplated crying with joy.

30- TU- PA- It's another beautiful day in my neighborhood. I'm thinking of going to the movies but the pool is calling me.

31- W- PA- OK, so I went to the movies today to see The Last Black Man in San Francisco and I loved it.  It was quirky, surrealistic and beautiful.  Later I drove up to Stroudsburg to visit with Sue Frantz.  We are going kayaking tomorrow.