Indonesia or wherever.

13 February 1992, Thursday.

2006-06-02T12:08:00.000Z

After my late night and alcohol binge, I over slept, I eventually awoke at 11am, sat around and played my flute. Had a mandi and ate some breakfast. At 3pm, I went to the school and said a final goodbye, but they all thought that I was already gone. I left there at 4pm, after more unemotional goodbyes, and then left for Herun's house with Asep. Alison was already there, I'm glad she was able to keep at least one promise. We all had some cake and coffee, talked for a while, then Alison went home, I stayed for a while longer, then at 5:20pm, I left Herun's house and headed to Norma's house. Asep sponged another bus fare off me, but I'm so used to it now, but it's not just me, he does it to everyone. I got to Norma's, she looked lovely, we left her house and went to the Matahari department store, we played some game's in the amusement arcade and then watched a low budget American film in the cinema, during the film we were able to have a little kiss and cuddle. We went back to her house at about 9pm, talked for a while, and then at 10pm, I left, obviously not wanting to, but I had to, the goodbye kiss was beautiful, but destructive in it's tenderness.
I caught a bechak back to Herun's house, still thinking of that kiss. We arrived before I knew it, I sat and talked with Herun until about midnight, then returned to Lengkong and Aji's house, which had been my house and home for what seemed like a life time. Aji and Itis were both sleeping, both fully clothed. I sat outside the bedroom and sketched Aji as he slept, it turned out to be a damn good drawing, although my talent for drawing isn't truly appreciated here it seem's.
I haven't slept all night, it's 6am now, I've been sitting, playing my bamboo flute that Wiwan bought me yesterday, and listening to the walkman that my Dad sent me for Christmas, which I bought batteries for earlier, listening to John Lennon, which was one of the tapes Aji gave me, and then, writing and drawing, and watching the people starting to go about there daily routine's. I want to go to Norma's house, I think I will, although I haven't done any packing yet and it's only two hours before I supposed to leave.

12 February 1992, Wednesday.

2006-04-24T12:21:00.000Z

I got up and went to school as usual at 8am, well actually, I was slightly late, as usual. Taught a class more introduction's, and then said more goodbye's. Before the lesson had finished, Alison turned up to sit in on the lesson, and afterward's I was going to show her round the shop's. Wiwan gave us a lift to the Matahari department store in his van, which I never knew he had. We went in, and I walked straight up to the Dallas fried chicken place, where Norma(the girl from the telephone office) work's. She wasn't there, but her boss was a really nice guy and gave me her address, and told me that it was no more than a minute's walk from the store, so we walked straight round there, but she wasn't home, so we returned back the shop's and looked around. Then we went our separate way's, me going to the handy craft's shop to buy some tiny Sundanese puppet's for my newphew's and neices, and two necklaces.
I got back to school about half an hour late, then went through the same, but never yet boring goodbye routine. It's so funny, everyone is so nice to me, now they know that I'm leaving that is, the shy girl's even talk to me know. The rain started to fall hard, at about 6pm, I went to Herun's house, where we sat and talked, and then I ate, for the first time today actually. As the hour's passed, the soft sheeth of darkness slowly consumed the roof tops and the huge satelite dishes. Herun asked me if I wanted to go to the Crown hotel, which was the closest thing to a pub in Tasikmalaya.
At 8pm, we both went to the Matahari department store, on a big motorbike, Herun had borrowed from work.I quickly went to Norma's house again, and this time she was in, Herun was waiting for me at the Matahari, I went in and sat down and had a drink, I asked her if she wanted to accompany me and Herun to the Crown, but she refused, I told her that since meeting her, I had put off my leaving Tasikmalaya, and she said that made her very happy, well she is very lovely. I noticed that it was already 9pm, and had left Herun waiting for an hour, so I finished my drink and stood up to leave, at which point she grabbed my arm and passonately kissed and embraced me, I was quite taken aback by the activity, and wished that I wasn't leaving Tasikmalaya.
I left and met up with Herun, telling him the story while we rode to Aji's, to invite him along.
We got back to Aji's, invited him, I got changed, and we all left for the Crown. The place was like a large nice Chinese resturant, with some of the lights turned off, and a three peice band entertaining the five or six people there, we sat at a table, and watched the band.
The beer's flowed thick and fast, and soon I was up singing with the band, by the end of the night, after many beer's and a whisky or two, after load's of song's, I had had a great night, although there were never more than six people in the large room at any given time. We left for home, Herun dropped me off at Aji's, and then carried on home, I jumped on Aji's bike and we went to a portable night food shop and bought some snack's and a big bottle of beer.
We got back to find Elise and Itis asleep on our bed's, they woke up and joined us talking, me and Aji drunk the beer, and we all eventually fell asleep, not before I was snogging Elise, although I don't really fancy her, I must have done at the time.

11 February 1992, Tuesday.

2006-04-07T14:35:00.000Z

I had a bit of a lie in, and got up at 10am, ate some breakfast and then mandied, and as 1am crept up and touched me on the shoulder, I jumped onto a public transport bus and headed for school. I taught my class, which was more another goodbye session, and then sat around for a while. Suryaman had told me yesterday that I would only be teaching one class today, but as I went to leave the school, to go to the telephone office and call CSA airline's and confirm my leave date, he stopped me, looking very suprised, and asked me to teach the next group. I explained the necessity, and that I would return later. Aji arrived at the school and gave me a lift to the telephone office.
I made all the relevent call's which came to over 10,000rp's, but I have a leave date, I'm leaving Jakarta on the 21 February, at 5:40pm, but must get there 3 hour's before departure, and confirm all this 3 day's before. That mean's I've only got ten day's left here. That has shaken me up a bit, only ten more day's.
Aji gave me a lift back to the school, where I was greeted by even more goodbye's and photo's. I left the school exhausted, Aji gave me a lift to Herun's house, where I had some lovely food, and then Herun and I went around to Alison's house. As we entered the house, Alison rushed over saying "I was just coming to your house", and I wondered how much truth there was in that statement. We all talked for a while, well actually, we sat and listened to her basically moan about Indonesian people, for what seemed like an iternity.
Herun came back to Aji's house with me, then all three of us got in one bechak and went to the Yogya department store, and then went to a cafe place and downed a couple of beer's together. At about 10pm, we left the cafe, Aji and Herun walked back, and I jumped into another bechak and went to the Matahari department store, to the Dallas chicken place, to meet the girl, that I met in the telephone office yesterday. The place was all closed up, so I walked home.
I got back to Lengkong and Aji's house, but Aji wasn't home, so thinking that Aji had gone back to Herun's, I put some more clothes on and walked out the door, and there was Aji just getting back. So we went out on Aji's motorbike and bought some food, then drove around for a while. Stopped by the roadside and had a durian. They are gorgeous, a bit like ice-cream, and to think that when I first arrived in Indonesia, I really didn't like them, or chilli's come to think of it, thing's have changed. We drove back home, I meditated for an hour or so on the roof, and then went to sleep with a fresh mind.

10 February 1992, Monday.

2006-04-03T13:03:00.000Z

Aji called me, and I pleased myself enormously, by getting up, then proceeding to get dressed and walk downstairs, and all this before 8am. This is a definite first. I went to school and taught until 10am, then walked back to Aji's, where I ate, and sat and talked to Elise, then went back to school at 1am. I taught my first group, which were the guy's I went to the party with, we just talked about me going home, and I tried to give them what advice I could. The class ended very quickly, I took all of there addresses, and drew little picture's of them beside the appropriate address to help remind me. Suryaman asked me to teach again, well, to bid farewell to another of my group's, this group had the amazingly beautiful girl in it, again, I couldn't stop looking at her. I wanted to get some kind of responce from them when I said that I was leaving, but I've never been that close to that group I suppose, so I shouldn't have been supprised when there faces didn't change. After finishing that group, and hopefully making them work together, I said goodbye to them all, got a final look at the gorgeous girl and waited in the doorway of the school for Mr. Wiwan, who I had arranged to go out with for a drink. As I stood there, one of my student's, a quiet girl, that now wasn't that quiet, came over a began speaking to me, and then invited me back to her house, which was just up the road. She had also bought me a present, I went with her to her house, where she showed me how to make some cake's, I had told her group about my working history in resturant's, and now she wanted to show me.
Wiwan, his friend, Aji and Asep all turned up together, and after about half an hour, I left to go for a drink with Wiwan and his friend, Aji and Asep went somewhere else. Wiwan drove us in his van, I needed to go to the telephone office first, but we went to one and then another, in one, I met a very attractive girl from Bandung, who was very forward, well, for an Indonesian girl, well, I arranged to meet her again at the Matahari department store tomorrow.
The time was nearing 7pm, we stopped at a shop, where Wiwan bought me a giant can of lager, and we carried on back to the school, where I was meeting Aji and going back to the girl's house, her name was Sondang, as I'd promised her earlier before leaving with Wiwan. We stayed there until about 9pm, when I went to Herun's house, and Aji went home. I arrived at Herun's house, where we watched some television, and then wrote a letter to my Dad from Herun.
I left there at about 1am, got home to find Aji still awake, so we talked for a while and then done the unimaginable, went to sleep. I forgot to say, that I got paid my 50,000rp's by Wiwan this afternoon, for this last month's work at the school. Well, that's it.

9 February 1992, Sunday.

2006-03-28T13:03:00.000Z

I was awoken by Asep at around 8am, then went downstair's scratching an angry mosquito bite on my stomach, that I seemed to of aquirred from last night. Sat down and ate a healthy breakfast, whilst watching a cartoon on the television with the little kid. At 10am, Asep and I headed off to Maranjia, which was around 12 km outside Tasikmalaya. We travelled there by a local transport mini bus, and went first to one of Asep's friend's house, he had a twelve string guitar, it was beautiful, and it was the first time that I'd played one, it sounded lovely, I want one.
Then we went to Poppy's house, she was one of my student's, we spent some time there talking to Poppy and her very attractive cousin, they had a home made electric guitar, I sat and had a play of that, then at around 3pm, heavy black cloud's started to dominate the sky. We all went out together with umbrella's because it was already spitting, and went to a school where there was an English course, we were invited in, and I sat and talked to the teacher there, another student of mine turned up, and we stayed longer, but at 5pm, we said goodbye and headed back to Tasikmalaya on the bus.
We both went back to Aji's, Aji was there, so we all ate and talked, then Asep and I left Aji to go and visit Herun. We walked to Pabrik Es and Herun's house, but Laga told us that he had not yet returned from Pangandaran, Asep went home for some food and said he would return later, I stayed and watched some television, Asep returned, and we watched the television together, but as it got later, and Herun still wasn't home, we both left, going our separate way's home at around 9pm. As I was walking home, I bumped into Aji, we got home together and sat up and talked about a day's activities, then moved into the bedroom where I am now writing this entry. It's midnight now, I have to teach in the morning. The drip of the rain pouring through the roof in many places, and the terrible DJ on the radio, trying to deal with his awful equipment. So the radio goes off, although the rain continues to fall, and I'm ready to sleep.

8 February 1992, Saturday.

2006-03-21T15:15:00.000Z

A dream of Asep, speaking to me, was shattered by a voice, I opened my eye's, and saw Asep. How bizarre, he looked alot paler in the dream. It was about 11am, Wiwan was downstairs, but Aji wasn't around. I went downstair's to the toilet, and then stayed down there and talked to Wiwan.Then Aji came in, looking very distressed, he looked at me and said, 'You bring me a lot of trouble', then sat down. That made me feel good, as you can no doubt imagine. Later in came out, that he had gone to see the Police again, and they still thought he was a local gangster, and then on the way home on his motorbike, some van driver had gone into him, apparently indicating right, and then turning left. Aji had picked himself up from the side of the road, went up to the guy, and listened to the guy that just knocked him down, blame everything on Aji, and on hearing this, Aji promptly punched the guy on the end of the nose. Not a wise move for a man considered to already be a gangster by the Police.
This is why he was so peeved, later he apolagized to me, I ate some breakfast and then got on a bus and travelled the short distance to the school. There were a couple of my group's there, so I basically just talked about why I was leaving Tasikmalaya, and when, and then explained the reason's I had, that meant I couldn't stay and live in Indonesia. My reason's were, the military rule, the totalitarian police, the people's fear and the culture of it. I didn't tell them that if I stayed, I might be thrown in jail.
My clock read 1pm, I had said enough, I later found out, that one of my student's father, was very high up in the police, this made me feel too good. Then the rain started to pour, as usual the road was completely flooded under about 2ft of brown water, this happen's nearly everytime it rain's, the drain's cannot take the water away fast enough. The rain fell even harder, and the water level crept ever deeper, water was coming into the school now, van's began to get in trouble as they drove along the river like road, I took off my boots and sock's and spent the rest of the flooded period helping people, the student's still in the school and Suryaman thought it was very funny, that I should want to walk around in the flood water's helping people. A young girl, well around 15-16 wanted to get to the road to catch a public transport bus home, I offered to carry her, but they soon perked up to tell me that this was not allowed, and it struck me that this was another reason why I couldn't stay here, I could never get used to this attitude.
The rain stopped, and the water quickly drained away, I washed my feet and leg's, because I'd been walking around in the sewage water. I returned home on the back of one of my student's motorbike's, and then ate again, all of the girl's from next door were all talking and joking with me, they talk about my large nose, and other thing's that I have that are large, they are very rude, but it is funny. Elise came in and joined in, then Aji and Asep, I ate again and then left with Asep by bechak to his house, where I had planned to stay the night, and then go in the morning to a female student of mine's house, she is very pretty. Well, got to Asep's house, ate again, and then watched some awful Indonesian game show. I don't know if it's Asep's little brother or his newphew, but he's about 5 year's old and very naughty. At 9pm, Asep started with the old, are you tired yet? Then changed into his bedtime wear, the hint was large and obvious and I couldn't ignore it. I went upstairs, then came staight back down to use the toilet, which was just a whole, like the one in Aji's house, but this one was only a couple of feet away from the cooking area, without any kind of screen. I know that I must sound like such a prude, sorry. Then I returned back upstairs and wrote today's entry in the book. Asep slept next to me, then I remembered that I had promised Herun, that I would pop round and say hello, well, I haven't, and I don't suppose I am going to now, oh well, goodnight.

7 February 1992, Friday.

2006-03-17T14:01:00.000Z

Why does it alway's happen, I awake only to go straight back to sleep, honestly expecting to wake again in good time. Aji said that he had already woken me earlier, but anyway, I got to school at 8:30am, sat and talked for half an hour and then taught for the next hour. I walked back to Aji's, ate some breakfast and washed my clothes, Aji wasn't home, but arrived at around 2:15pm, by which time I'd just finished washing my jean's, that had had a month's worth of grime within them, and had turned the soapy water the colour of the looming black cloud's above.
I ate again, and sat and talked to Aji, he told me that the police had come to see him again while I was in Jakarta, and that he had gone to see them this morning. They had interrigated him and linked him to a drug's ring, apparently, some time ago, Aji had got into trouble with the police because of fighting or something, and now didn't recognize his new leaf, that he'd changed. He was really worried, I didn't feel so good either.
I left for school again at 3pm, still with the police on my mind. The lesson wasn't my usual success, I've got a lot on my mind, I ended up, just giving my student's, what I thought was good advice. The paradise of this place, with the heavy shadow of the police.
Asep, one of my student's and I, all returned to Aji's on the student's scooter, it had started to rain hard. We all bundled in the front door, and I took off my wet shirt, and put on my jumper and sock's, I have a nasty cold, it's been hampering me for the last couple of day's, the runny nose, and now the rest of the symptom's are appearing. Asep and my student left once the rain had eased, Aji went upstairs and lay down, I ate again, then went upstairs and took a swig of whisky and said goodbye to Aji, and headed off to Herun's house. I caught a mini bus, it was still raining when I got to Pabrik Es, and as I walked up the road to Herun's house, I bumped into Herun returning from the gym.
We sat and talked, watched the television, had some food and coffee, and then watched a film. After the film had ended, just past midnight, I said thankyou and walked home to Aji's, wearing the black top that Laga had given me earlier. I got home and went to the toilet, then came upstairs and jotted down a song that I had been thinking about whilst I was walking back. I sat in the bedroom writing, sniffling and flicking Aji's head with my foot until about 2:15am, then finished the journal, blew my nose again and headed for sleep.

6 February 1992, Thursday.

2006-03-13T12:18:00.000Z

Unless it was a very real dream, I awoke at 6:30am, but my sleepy eye's ignored the situation and held on tight to the chariot rein's of sleep. At 7:45am, I lifted my eye lid's again, and progressed to getting up, and getting ready for school. I arrived at school a few minutes late, after the small public transport bus had dropped me off. I took my first group, which was entirely filled with very pretty shy girl's, it was very hard getting through to them, I found it very difficult, even though we all had a great time.
After the class ended, I went with Mr.Wiwan to his house, I still hadn't eaten breakfast and was very hungry, I had some cake and a banana there, then returned to Aji's to have some rice and a side dish.
At 2:30pm, still sleepy after my food, Aji and I left for school and my next class, it was also a new group that I had never taught before, but I found it a lot easier than this morning's class. The new group contained an absolutely gorgeous, intelligent, sweet girl, that I had to refrain from looking at, because when I did look at her, I couldn't stop. Maybe it was because of this, I don't know, but during the lesson, maybe due to a lack of food and sleep, or that enchanting girl, I went very dizzy and had to spend the rest of the lesson seated. Maybe I've aquired a nice little cold or flu virus, I seem to be showing many of the symptoms.
The lesson ended, I walked outside with all the student's, but I was secretly just trying to talk to the pretty girl. A small public transport bus came along, and she jumped on it with one of her friends, she waved goodbye, I returned the gesture, and then couldn't believe my eye's when she blew me a kiss, or that is what it looked like. Whether or not I was seeing thing's, I had a smile from ear to ear, and filled with energy.
Aji had sat in on the class, sitting at the back, every now and then making some funny coment, but really helping out, when I didn't know a particular word or two. After watching the gorgeous girl blow me a kiss, I went back into the classroom and told Aji, we then sat and waited for half an hour for Mr. Wiwan, because I had made plan's to play him at billiard's. We left without seeing him, me and Aji then rode around Tasikmalaya smiling at the pretty girls and flirting, using my western looks, which means 'big nose'. Then returned home to Aji's in the fading light of the evening. We had some food, and discussed our plans for the future. Aji's also been asking if he can have my rucksack, because he would need it if he goes to Bali. The thing is, that I don't want to give it to him, and although he is a great friend, I won't.
At around 7pm, we rode into town and went to the pictures, and saw the film ' Terminator 2' at the Guranda theatre, which was the cheap one, and it was really good, much better than I had expected, although it was a tad depressing. We got back just past 10pm, and went straight up to the bedroom, where I began compiling the event's of yesterday and today. It's 11pm now, Aji's already fallen asleep, and I think I'm going the same way very soon. So until tomorrow.

5 February 1992, Wednesday.

2006-03-03T16:45:00.000Z

The new morning held all it's usual glories, the coming of the new day, the begining of the day's game. I had a refreshing mandi then sat around outside the house, sweating in the humid, dirty heat of Jakarta. I had some breakfast and watched the television for a while, then talked to Herun's nephews. I then went upstairs and tried to complete a crossword. The hour's swam by, I was waiting for Herun's brother to call and let me know of CSA's telephone number.
We had some lunch, then some coffee, and basically sat around quite lazily for the rest of the afternoon. We were going to leave the house at 4pm originally, but held on until 5pm, hoping that Herun's brother would contact us. Then Herun's brother-in-law offered to take us to the bus station in his car, we arranged to leave at 6pm although our actual departure time was more like 7pm.
The bus from Jakarta to Tasikmalaya was very comfortable but extreamly hot. I slept for nearly all the journey, we got off the bus, somewhere in Tasikmalaya, where we got in a bechak and travelled to Lengkong. I got off the bechak and thanked Herun for the trip, and told him that I had really enjoyed myself. The bechak peddled off, and I watched it as it went up the road.
A night watchman called me over, and asked me all the usual Indonesian friendly conversation, I answered as friendly as I could be, but my tired eye's and knowledge that I had to teach in the morning pulled me away to Aji's house, where I stood for fifteen minutes tapping on the glass of the front door. Aji came down, rubbing his eye's, we sat and talked about the previous couple of day's, both in Tasik and Jakarta, and then at around 4am, I got into my sleeping bag and went to sleep. I had to use my sleeping bag because of the previous day's storm, that had poured through the roof and found it's way to my bed. I was very tired anxious to get to sleep, so I didn't write the day's event's up in the journal. This has all been written on the night of the 6th.

4 February 1992, Tuesday.

2006-02-27T15:30:00.000Z

'King saw far chi', well it is Chinese new year, and that apparently mean's 'Happy season' in Chinese, although I'm not so sure of the spelling.
I went through the usual bladder operated waking ritual at, if I remember correctly, around 9am. I ate breakfast, drunk some coffee, then at 11am, left the house with Herun and headed for the 'Timon-something', that's where the 'Houses of Indonesia' are. It took absolutely ages to get there, the sun was grilling my forehead. We got there eventually, and entered and started looking around. All the houses were really good, and it made me want to visit everywhere in Indonesia. There was also a bird park within, where I felt pretty sad because of all these magnificent bird's were kept in tiny cages, I tried talking to them, but most were beyond talking, and wanted to do nothing more than bite me, but I reckon that I'd want to do the same in there position.
We walked around, I was wearing short's under my jean's, so I took off the jean's and felt alot cooler, I carried the jean's under my arm. We went from house to house, all amazing, stopped for food and drink, and at 6pm, we left. It took nearly three hour's to get back, the traffic was chaotic. On the way home, on one particular bus, a busker with a tambourine got on the bus, one of his leg's was huge and swollen. He sung a funny song that included making fun of the only western person on the bus, guess who? He finished his song, and walked around the bus for donation's, I gave him some money and then told him in Indonesian, that I understood his humourous song, but I wasn't as stupid as he had said. His expression dropped when he realised that I had understood, and he appologized and vanished. Herun found it very funny.
We got back to the house, ate some food, drank some coffee and talked the night away, the conversation included spiritual stuff, England and Yogya. I'm sure we talked about alot more than that, but I can't remember.
At 1am, I looked down at my watch, realised the time, and went to bed. Tomorrow, we go back to Tasikmalaya in the evening, but I still have to contact CSA, to find out about my return flight, and also ring some people up, who live in Jakarta.
Hmmmmm, I wonder how tired I'm going to be, teaching on thursday morning, after travelling all night? Goodnight for now.

3 February 1992, Monday.

2006-02-18T13:02:00.000Z

I awoke for my bladder only, went downstairs to the toilet, there were only two of the helper girls downstairs, so I went back upstairs. It was 9am, and I got back into bed and slept until 11am, having the most disturbing dream, which I was just about to write down, when Herun came in and told me that there was some food downstairs for me. I followed Herun downstairs and had some coffee, and then ate some rice, tempa and some vegatable stuff, it was all lovely. I spent the morning, and the afternoon until about 3pm, sitting outside the house, talking to Herun about his family and his buisness aspirations.
At 3pm, we both set out for the centre of Jakarta, it was a real treck, going from one bus to the next. Then once in Jakarta, we went to some very large shopping complexes that I had no idea existed, and then to a doctors. Herun's got a medical problem, I don't know what it is, I didn't want to push him on it either.
After the doctors, we went to another shopping place, and I bought what looked like a shortish carved stick, but was actually two hidden dagger's, my friend Lee back home collect's knife's, and he'd love it. Then we went to the pharmacy, where Herun picked up his prescription, not enough apparently, he had bags of stuff. While we waited for the bags of stuff to arrive, I looked along the counter, and noticed the condom section, they were bizarre, with name's like 'rocket' and 'tiger', and they were all covered with nodes, and in strange shapes. I bought some particularly strange one's to take back home for a laugh, and had a good time talking about them with the female assistant, we actually had a really good laugh. Herun and I then travelled the many bus's back to the house.
Once back, I showered and pooed, and then ate. Watched the television for a while, hang on, a 'Baywatch' that I'd already seen. Who would have thought I'd of remembered such a terrible program, I'm obviously ruled by my loin's.
The program finished, and we both went to bed at about 11pm. Tomorrow, I think were going to the 'House's of Indonesia', which is the place I was going to go to when I was last in Jakarta, I think, the place that has all the traditional houses from across Indonesia, but I've also got to contact the travel operators to make sure I have a place on a plane home soon. Although, I'm having second thoughts about going, Asnah's memory keeps filling my head, is it my future? I'll see what happen's later, and no doubt I'll recall and record the events, in this book.
So until then...

2 February 1992, Sunday.

2006-02-15T20:03:00.000Z

My eye's were first opened when the girls came in, I shook off the morning feeling, rolled over and jumped back on the dream train. A tap on my leg by Herun woke me for the second time. I got up and washed my face, changed my t-shirt and joined Herun eating breakfast.
At 9am, we got a bechak to an awaiting bus, caught that to the bus terminal and then jumped on a bus to Jakarta. The journey was long, the bus's were really hot and dusty, by the time we got to our destination, I was grime incrusted. We arrived at Herun's families house in Jakarta at around 7pm, and was introduced to the family, I then showered, and took my time, and it felt absolutely lovely, I also had a poo.
Herun's brother is a guide and speaks very good English, although he has a very strong American accent. It's a very nice house, I just thought I'd include that. We ate, then watched the television, Alfred Hitchock and football. While watching the football, I ate some noodles, a welcome food intake, and when the football finished at 11:40pm, Herun and I both went to bed.
Well, it's been a day just as long as any other, but trying to explain and remember hours of a bus journey doesn't really seem that necessary, and seeing as how we were travelling for around ten hours of the day, the amount of information I had to write about was very little. Now, looking at tomorrow, through the other side of sleep.

1 February 1992, Saturday.

2006-02-13T16:03:00.000Z

I awoke still feeling tired and yearning for the toilet. I trudged out of the bedroom after having some coffee and started walking downstairs, when Aji called out from upstairs, 'there's a western person outside'. I walked out into the already burning sun, wiping the pockets of sleep out of the sides of my eyes. One of the bechak driver's led me across the road, where I saw her, I said hello, and she replied the same, then we went through the whole introduction conversation thing and then with her Indonesian friend, that also happened to be Aji's friend, both came into the house and had some coffee.
She was a nurse from Brighton, and had already stayed in Tasikmalaya some month's before, and was now going to marry her local boyfriend. She hardly spoke any Indonesian, and what she did speak, was in an English accent, but was very nice a friendly. They both left on there bike's after saying that she would return, when I had returned from Jakarta. I had arranged to go to Jakarta with Herun this evening, well I arranged it ages ago actually.
After they left, I quickly headed for the toilet, and then releaved, I cooked up some noodles and egg's, we ate that, which was lovely and then together with Aji, on his motobike, went to his friends house and had some jack fruit. Aji was a little disappointed because he said that his friend had promised to cook some stewed rice. When the downpour had finished, at around 6pm, I jumped on the back, and we rode home.
I had a little go of Aji's motorbike while Aji went in and got his jacket, I am completely awful on the thing. Then we went round to the western girl's house. Alison, that was her name, was staying, and had some tea and chatted, then went on to the warung for some dinner, and then home again. I packed up some gear in my rucksack and then we zoomed round to Herun's house by about 8pm.
I thought that we were leaving for Jakarta tonight, but apparently not, Herun asked if I would like to stay there for the night, and I excepted. We had some bit's to eat and drink, and then went to bed at about 11:30pm.
I meditated before going to bed, I felt a lot of unrest, I suppose it might have been because I was still very tired from channeling energy from my hand to his daughter's damaged wrist, it is amazing how hot it get's, the right hand surges with heat, whilst the left hand is cold, they are like positive and negative. I must work out how to recharge my batteries, as it were, if I can that is.
I slept with the towel over my feet and all my clothes still on, I had no blanket, nor was I offered one. I felt a presence in the room, but it didn't really effect the quality of my sleep.

31 January 1992, Friday.

2006-02-12T14:13:00.000Z

On account of my late night lastnight and tonight, this diary entry is being written tomorrow on the 1st. Well, I awoke from a deep, sweet sleep at 10:30am, had my morning poo, but my mandi only went so far as my face and arm pit's. I had also received a letter in the post, from Mum, that included some photo's of my parents trip to Denmark to see there friends Torban and Liz, although I didn't know that until I saw the pictures and read the letter.
At 11:30am, Aji and I went to the warung and had some breaklunch, because we had no food at home, we had a lovely meal, then at 12:30pm we left and Aji dropped me on route to Elise's house, I caught a bus, then walked a further distance to get to her house, although I'd only been there once before, I remembered the way, which was lucky. I stayed there until 6pm, talking and admiring her boundless beauty, her eye's upon me, make's me feel like putty. But the time came all to quick, I left a little dismayed, apparently her father doesn't want her to have any boyfriends, I'd really love to paint her. I left Elise's house and walked up the road to the bus stop, accompanied by some bloke, we talked as we walked.
I caught the number four bus back to Pancisilla, then found my way through the hundreds of close set houses back home to Lengkong. You have to walk down very narrow walkways, it reminded me of a rat run. I should imagine it was very much similar to a pre great fire London. On the way back to Aji's house, I stopped and bought some noodles, egg's, coffee and sugar. When I got back to Lengkong, Aji wasn't home, and I sat outside with the bechak driver's, talking and singing.
Aji returned home at about 7:30pm, he joined me with the bechak driver's, then we both went inside and I cooked us up some noodles and egg. Then at about 9pm, we left on Aji's motorbike to town, and went to the cinema and watched Robin Hood at about 10pm, the film was very entertaining, and I was very glad to see that most of the actor's, well, apart from Kev, were British.
We returned home, made some coffee and talked for a while, as we were talking , I lied down and pulled the sheet over me, and ceased conversation, actually ceased stayed awake, I suppose it was about 1am. My lips are very dry and cracked, still with a covering of purple, but now bleeding more and more frequently, I sure they'll be better tomorrow.

30 January 1992, Thursday.

2006-02-10T16:00:00.000Z

I awoke a t 6am, my bladder straining, but still withstanding leakage, I went for a wee, and on the way back upstairs I noticed that I hadn't locked the window, and it would have been very easy for someone to get in during the night. Although, I don't think anyone had done, and I locked everything so that when Aji woke up, he would would have thought that it had been locked all night. Then I went back upstairs and went back to sleep.
At 11am, I awoke for the second time, feeling very hungry and weak, my stomach was renching like some ringed pre-fabricated rubber, I bet you don't know what that looks like. I lay for a while, writing last night's entry, then heard some voices downstairs. Two of Aji's friend's came upstairs and asked where Aji was, they left and I went downstairs. The women next door asked if I'd eaten, which they new I hadn't, on account of the fact we didn't have any food in the house, and I hadn't been out yet. My stomach forced me to accept the women's offering, and then thanked me by not stretching and contracting in spiradic, painful intervals.
The cold sore's are still there in their hord's, I washed my lip's, and got most of the purple and green stuff off, then re-applied more purple stuff.
At 3pm, I was already on a public transport mini bus heading for school, going to meet Elise, I had arranged to go to her house two day's earlier. I suppose she's kind of my girlfriend, she's very beautiful. So, with my umbrella rolled up and held infront of my face, I started talking to her outside the school. She pulled the umbrella away, saw my hideous purple coloured lip blister's and apparently really didn't care, and said I was silly for hiding them. Everyone else has laughed at me, which obviously make's me feel even better about them. Anyway, I didn't go back to her house for some reason, I couldn't really understand, I'm going round there tomorrow. Elise caught her bus home and I walked back to the school, talked for a while, then went with Asep, first to one of his friend's, then to another's, the same pretty girl that we visited a couple of day's ago. We sat and talked, then looked out of the window to see a massive black cloud, covering the sky. That was the sign of our departure, before the rain fell to hard.
A bus came along just as it started to spit, I came straight home to Lenkong. Agie still hadn't returned, I stood talking with the bechak driver's for a while, then locked the house up and left to go to Herun's house at 8pm.
Got to Herun's house and talked and ate, drank and had some dorean(big weird spikey fruit, I tried before in Carita, but didn't like it) and really liked it, I didn't before, then watched some television and left at 12:30am and started walking back to Lengkong, on the way stopping at the telephone office, and made a collect call home, to ask whether anyone(Dad, Ian) had already bought a ticket for Indonesia. The answer from my Mum was no, so it look's as though I'll be home within the month.
Am I excited? Am I sad? I really don't know.
Me and my Mum talked for about half an hour about everything and nothing, and the time flew past, I put down the phone, and started walking home to Lenkong. Whilst walking back,I thought of my life here and my life back in England, I sung some song's, I've realised that I am going to really miss Tasikmalaya and Indonesia. Got home and went upstairs after checking that I had locked everything up this time, and started writing today's episode in the journal. I'm sitting outside the bedroom on the wooden table/bench thingy, I just done some exercising, and looking in the mirror, I have noticed that most of my hideous sore's have dried up, but there still purple and not at all kissable. I'll go to sleep now, I was going to meditate, but my stiff neck and lazy eye's and dragging me to bed.
Once upon the bed, I close my eye's, at about 2am.
This new book seem's to be making me write more, I think that it's the thousands of blank page's that are left in this book, and my knowledge that I may not be here much longer.

29 January 1992, Wednesday.

2006-01-31T22:48:00.000Z

Well today started last night, the meditation was after midnight, well that's already been told, but the dramatic morning hasn't.
I awoke at 6am. They were there in their hoards. I got up and left for the shop across the road, while Aji was still sleeping, they had nothing, I returned to the house and Aji had already woken up and had gone for a wee on the wasteground next to the train station and the house. I met him as we both returned. We sat and drunk some coffee, and at around 7.30am a policeman and his weasel-like side kick turned up, first asking about my visa and then rummaged around the place in the bin and in the two rooms upstairs. He found the bowl of dried banana skins mixed with tobacco I had made and said "where did you get this grass?" Well I tried to explain it was only banana skins, but he took the mixture and my passport with him to check out. He also asked if I knew Edang in Jalan Pabrik Es. Apparently, so Aji told me afterwards, Edang is a bit of an old pusher, and me knowing him and living before in the same house puts a lot of suspicion on me. They left, Aji was devastated, sitting with his head in his hands, trembling like an expelled school student awaiting the return of his angry parents. Well, I wasn't too bothered, what evidence did they have. I did my best to calm him.
It's 10am now, I didn't go to my morning class. Me and Aji are going there now, and then on to the police station to pick up my passport and set things straight. The feeling's there, I want to go home, as soon as possible!
We went and explained the situation to Suryaman and Wiwan, but nothing was really gained by this. I've returned to Aji's, it's 12pm, we're just cooking breaklunch, my stomachs pulling through lack of food and much confusion. I do want to jump on the first plane to England, but there's things that are stopping me going straight to Jakarta. I don't know if Ian or my Dad are already on their way here. Ian said he wants to come, and I told him I'd wait for him, but I don't want to be pulled into a drug case - there is no case! Although Aji is as worried as hell, and I'm not totally complacent with the state of affairs at the moment.
After eating we're going to go to the police station. I'm a bit worried that Aji will say anything to clear his own name, but I must have complete faith here. Because I've been talking about the hassles with my possible future with police accompanied attention. I've completely forgotten to go into detail about the huge amount of cold sores that cover my whole mouth, they're obviously not painful enough.
Well, enough about my hideously disfiguring condition, that will trudge the chambers of this body's life with me.
We ate and then I knocked over my full glass of water, it smashed into thousands of pieces, another lucky move. I cleared that up and then jumped on the bike and rode to school, on the way, crushing my thumb as I braked, trying to avoid a bus with my name on it. I luckily avoided it, now of course I know!
My first group went really bad, well my only group. My lips were really hurting. My head filled with worry, although I wanted to, I'm not allowed to meditate today, the tests are coming one after the other. I finished teaching and then showed everyone using diagrams, how, why and what cold sores were, and then moved into the office with Suryaman to have a little heart to heart and bitch about our situations. Aji came into the office, oh yeah, he'd been at the school a little after I got there. I talked about religion, love, culture and the relations to each other, this was another test. I felt very happy and rode home, everyone seemed to know me, and some very pretty girls smiled at me, these cold sores are still hanging around, but Suryaman gave me some powder to put on them. It's probably as effective as saying "wibbly wibbly wi wo" three times, but let's not pre-judge ey!
Well, I got home, then sat outside with the bechak drivers, Aji got back, from wherever he'd been and took me into the bedroom looking very excited and happy. We sat down, first he said "ok, there's no problem with your visa" (which I already knew) and then he said "we must leave Tasik very soon, otherwise the police may arrest us, in linkage to Endang". He thought that was good news!
Well, so many thoughts have been whisked through my mind. I left Aji at around 7pm and went to Suryaman in Pancisilla. After there we all left for Pabrik Es, to Herun's house, Suryaman was trying to show off his English by explaining things to me that Herun had said in Indonesian, which actually I completely understood, Herun wasn't impressed either.
Suryaman and his wife left at 9:30pm, I stayed, we all talked outside and had some satay egg yolks. I also told them of my problem in Tasik , and that I would have to leave. they tried to talk me out of it, giving me options of living with them or living in Jakarta. I left the house at 12:30am, and walked home, Layga(I can't believe I remembered her name at last), Herun's wife had given me some stuff to put on my hideous lips. Well, after getting home and then going upstairs, I applied the purple coloured liquid and went to bed, all the lights were left on, my diary of events, and there has been so many, incomplete. I also hoped all nineteen trials of my day went well, I never got angry or impatient, but maybe I did. I did get sad, so maybe that's a downpoint, but shaking myself from sadness is an easy task.
OK, until tomorrow, I wait for a letter, but I can't wait too long. Until tomorrow...

28 January 1992, Tuesday.

2006-01-30T21:58:00.000Z

My delicious sleep ended at 9am, my bladder bursting, I relieved myself downstairs. Aji went out for a ride on the bicycle, I did my washing and hung it out in the rasping sun, rasp, rasp!
Aji returned from his cycle ride, I made some breakfast/lunch, which we both ate.
Aji has another girlfriend, she isn't forward enough apparently, and sat next to Aji with her hand on his crotch. Well, this would be nothing to see in England I suppose, but here, I just didn't expect it, although I'm seeing a lot of new things now that people had told me, didn't happen in Indonesia.
Mr. Wiwan turned up at 12:45pm, and I got dressed, because I only had the towel surrounding my nakedness, then we left, me on the back of his moped.
I had a good time teaching and focused my attention on one very pretty girl. The guy that arranged to take me to the pictures later, 'Iss', was already there, and after teaching we went and saw a supposed funny comedy film that had the humour level of a, well, it was pathetic, the humour was so pathetic and completely without any intelligence. We left there and went back to Iss's house, very near to Elise's house. I ate there and talked a while, then returned into Tasik by a public transport minibus at 9pm.
I went straight to Herun's house and said I could go with him to Jakarta, watched a film, then at around 11pm, Aji turned up from his travels.
We sat until the film ended and then said the old thankyou's and went home on Aji's motorbike. We made some coffee, and while we were making it, there was a large moth fluttering around the light. I felt such a strong feeling of unrest and confusion coming from the moth that I closed my eyes, cut myself off and saw and felt his worries, in order to try and show him the single light so he would relax. It worked, but in the process, it filled me with confusion and worry. We went upstairs, I was still trembling. I left Aji, put my mattress on the roof, then sat crossed legged for meditation. This feeling of the circle, I put my thumbs on my toes and my fingers together. The power rushed through me, I felt like an ariel for the soul, and received the immediate thoughts of the timeless zone. Slowly a smoky face appeared. I could only really make out his long nose and small eyes, his eyes were very feminine but it was the most kind face I have ever seen. He said "don't worry, calm down." My fingers parted and my body was bursting with love. I explained it all to Aji, my lips were itching and hot, I was dreading the oncoming cold sores, but I didn't really know why they were there, I had no worries and switched off the light, feeling the new ugly furniture on my face.

27 January 1992, Monday.

2006-01-30T21:47:00.000Z

I awoke this morning at 7.50am, I put on some clothes and left on Aji's bike without eating breakfast or having a mandi.
I got to the school and taught a group of four students, then moved into the office to write this, I listened sympathetically to my moaning stomach, and decided to return home.
Ever since I asked for more money they haven't offered me any food, it may just be a coincidence. Well, I wasn't wrong enough apparently, the moment I finished writing that, Mr Wiwan took me off into the kitchen and gave me loads of food. I finished that, and he took me out, with two other guys to this baso restaurant. We all had a couple of beers and then returned to the school by 1pm. Elise was at the school, I took my class, slightly tipsy, and didn't do much at all. Finished that session, then made a date with Elise for Thursday, then had some noodles and taught again.
After the class ended, the rain fell so heavily outside, that I sat around and waited for it to stop. Then I rode back to Aji's house, ate and then walked to Asep's house, from where we both left to go to his friend's house, a very beautiful 16 year old girl. We left there at 9.20pm and I got off the public transport minibus at Paprik Es and started walking up to Herun's house. The lights were all off so I carried on and started walking home, first stopping at the mobile warung at the junction, and had some rice, egg and tempa and Tahu. Then walked back accompanied by a little Indonesian man that I had been talking to at the warung. Although he didn't accompany me all the way back.
I got back to Aji's, watched an American film 'Blind Justice', that was quite good, it finished at 12:30am. I lay there and started to write, being constantly interrupted and annoyed by Aji next to me. At 1am I decided to lay down my pen and fly the heights of dreams.

26 January 1992, Sunday.

2006-01-29T16:25:00.000Z

Yesterday was the third month I had spent in Indonesia, and today, I start my new book, for maybe the next three months in Indonesia.
I didn't sleep at all last night, and at 6am, I sat in the chair next to the front door and window. I watched the heavy morning air slowly lift, the morning walkers and the first bechaks ride by.
I ate some breakfast of egg and rice, then wore the morning away.
At 9am, the sun was already shining strong in the sky. I went up on the roof and survived the sizzling sun for three quarters of an hour, then had the most gorgeous cold mandi, then fresh from that, I decided I wasn't yet brown enough and spent another half an hour roasting my front. Then came back inside, and had another mandi, and then had some lunch. That was rice, and some more delicious noodle soup I cooked up.
After food, Aji and I went out on his "Decowi" motorbike to go and see some more"Decowi" owner friends of his, all getting a chain of meeting their motorbike friends, and then following, we formed a convoy of "Decowi" and other named bikes. Rode around and by 5pm, we started on our way back to Aji's. We arrived at 6pm. The sun had fallen into a picturesque scene. I rode the bicycle to Hercon's house, he wasn't there (at this point my pen dropped and my eyes closed).....

I returned to Aji's, we went out and got some side dishes and then returned to fill our calling stomachs. We finished food and sat downstairs for a while, then moved upstairs to lie down and watch a crappy Indonesian quiz game, my eyes closed, the pen fell onto my unfinished entry and I slept the sleep of Jack McTired. This is being written on 27-01-92.

25 January 1992, Saturday.

2006-01-29T15:42:00.000Z

Today is the third month that I have stayed in Indonesia. I will summarise my days events.
Today I have seen both sides of the setting sun, the paths, the gullies. I will not sleep tonight.
I got up at 11am, Aji is still ill, and he has told me of blood coming out when he excretes, I'm worried for his health.
I made some noodle soup and at 12pm some of my students came to the house. I had arranged to go to their friend's 19th birthday party. I finished eating and left Aji to finish the rice I had started to cook. Then went on to the back of one of their motorbikes to the school and told Suryaman's wife that I wouldn't be able to go with them to Garut. Then went again on the bike to the party.
There were a lot of people there from the girl's school, all boys sat in one room on the floor, and all the girls sat in another. Then they played some music and threw around a matchbox, the music went off and the matchbox was lying at my feet. This meant I had to pop a balloon and then sing a song, I sung More than Words, accompanied by an acoustic guitar, with a pic up amp and I had a microphone. This carried on around the rooms, the music going on and off and the matchbox being thrown around.
After all the balloons had been popped and more songs had been sung, the ones who had popped the balloons, I being one, got a token prize. I got a bar of chocolate. We then ate, I explained ALAM to the people who sat around the amp, that was only 7 people, everyone else had already left, after the food and a prayer. I sang some more songs and then left, first on a motorbike and then just up the road, one of my other students stopped in his van and I and two others that were also on the back of other bikes changed to his van. We drove back to Lengkong, they didn't come in.
I went upstairs and Aji's girlfriend was there, that made me feel happy, then as I lied there, next to them talking, my tiredness grabbed the land of sleep and dragged me off. I awoke at 7pm, Aji's girlfriend had gone, I got up and made an all in omlette, then quickly fried some more vegetables and had them all with rice. Aji had some of the omlette, but refused the vegetables. After food we both went out and talked to the bechak drivers, I bought them all a cigarette each, then showed them my photos. Time went on and soon it was around 10.30pm, Aji had already gone in. I went to one of the bechak driver's family home and watched television, then went onto his house, it was so small, two tiny rooms, separated by a hanging curtain. He went on to explain how much he earnt, such a pityful amount, I just wanted to give him all my money. At midnight I left his house, walked through the alleys in between the close knit houses, to Lengkong and returned to Aji's house. I sat outside the bedroom, and I started writing, I felt very confused and strange after seeing the bechak driver's lot, he worked all day on the bus's and then most of the night riding a bechak, and only had enough money for a bowl of rice.
I then looked at the date 25-01-92, this is not only the 3rd month in Indonesia, but the dates added up to 19. This may have no significance to you, but only I know, the huge significance of this number and this trip.
Aji awoke and went downstairs for a wee and I decided that tonight should be a time for thought and meditation. I went downstairs and sat with Wiwi, she had woken up.
Then at 2.30am I realised I will probably finish this book with the amount I am writing.

It's 4am now, I'm sitting alone, the mosques are all calling to prayer, they sound like a bee's nest, and a slowed down country song.
I'm drawing, but yet to meditate, or do much thinking, although I find I get most thought processed while I'm not thinking.
Now, thinking about it, the calling to prayer sounds like zombies moaning as they rise from their slumber, in some terrible 70's horror fim.
The moan: AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAhhhteeeeeBOW!
The frogs are croaking, their timing is good, it seems too be completely without timing, the same as the moaning coming from the surrounding mosques, and there are hundreds of them, not more than 200m away from each other, and in every direction.
Well, 5am went by, I was lying on the bed but not asleep, and then 6am, I went out and sat in the chair next to the window. The morning walkers, most in tracksuits and the bechaks had started rolling by, the first minibuses, already bibbing their hooters at the first possible chance.
I can hear some birds singing, and early morning voices and conversation. The morning air, it's bulk of freshness, it's certain weight and light carrying ability. The sight of the first leaves being spot lighted, by the tender morning sun.
This time of the day seems so special to me, it was the same in England, but I only ever see it when I haven't slept the previous night. The noises hanging in the air, the tender shadows caressing and clinging to walls.
No meditation, I had sights of myself meditating all night, and really going places. I still did. So, unto the morning of the 26-01-92 , I welcome , and let myself be welcomed.

24 January 1992, Friday.

2006-01-24T19:03:00.000Z

Well, it's three months since I left England on my travels. I can still remember the party that was thrown for me, I got totally drunk, danced the night away in the fashion of some seventies disco dancing film, then romancing, and to end the night, I slept the vast quantity of drink away. Enough of my fond memories of my last days on English soil.
Today I awoke at 10am, did much of nothing except mandied and at 1pm, went out and bought some groceries. Aji is getting better, but still milking every second of his illness. I cooked up everything and made a noodle soup, and filled myself and Aji up with good harty tucker.
I spent all day sitting around, and whilst the last glimpses of daylight fell across the wall, outside the rain started to fall, and I wrote a song. Then carried on to write a prologue in my next book. This one has finished it's had it's three months service, given up all it's pages and now will become a relic. I have become very attached to this old 59p book from China, bought in Southend at a bargain discount shop.
The night carried on with more food being eaten and then sitting downstairs with Wiwi, much the same happened. I turned in and came upstairs at 11pm, Aji was still awake and moaning.
Three months in Indonesia tomorrow, well, role on tomorrow!

Midnight: I had just lied down and closed my eyes, ready for the shawl of sleep to cover them, when Aji got up and turned the light on. He wasn't sleepy, and I wasn't really, so I went out to have a draw. The night patrol came by and came over and started talking to me.
Then they asked me to go to their little station house for some food, I was a really hungry and quickly accepted, following them to there little hut. We sat and talked, ate baked rice, then at 2:30 am, I began to feel my eyes closing and I returned to Aji's. Well, now, role on tomorrow! That's unless anything else happens tonight...

23 January 1992, Thursday.

2006-01-23T23:06:00.000Z

A lazy doing nothing day, that began at 10am. I made myself some cabbage, boiled it, then ate it, it was delicious. Aji's still ill, and he uses this to be a complete pain in the arse. He makes such a bloody fuss. He's only got flu. I wrote a couple of letters, and stuck some more pages in the book, and a couple of pages in the front, to account for what I've done on which dates, but I'm yet to fill in what I've done.
At around 5pm I went to Herun's house, and sat and watched the television, his wife wasn't there, I suppose she must still be in Jakarta. There's been a couple of callers tonight that hung up as soon as they heard Herun's voice, hmm?, it all seems very suspicious. I'm just sitting there silently, feeling awkward, hmm? At the moment he's got the girl phoning around, I don't know where to?
We watched the television a bit longer to 9pm then sat outside for an hour, talking and drinking then we returned to watching a horror film. That ended at 11:30pm, well a tad before, I said goodnight and left for home, on the way eating at the warung on the crossroads.
Oh, while watching the film we had some nice satay egg yolks in sauce n sticks, it was very nice.
I got back to Aji's house at midnight, had me a wee, and then came upstairs to finish my day's journal.
I see the circle of affinity, life through the haze, it glows with love. It will be 3 months tomorrow.

22 January 1992, Wednesday.

2006-01-23T21:43:00.000Z

I got up late this morning at 8:05am, late again to school! Taught my lesson which was interrupted by the largest free spider I've seen run across the wall. He hung around for a while and then went to scare someone else.
I finished the class, and they asked me if I'd like to go camping with them on the 1st Feb. I said yes.
Then I returned to Ajie's, he was still asleep, I had some food, had a mandi and then sat on the roof writing this episode until 12.45, now I'm back off to school.
Got back to the school, still no Mr, Wiwan and Syryaman was ill so I couldn't talk about the money situation - the situation that they've already paid me all they owe me at the moment, but the contract says they haven't.
Well, the class went well enough, I returned home and made myself some food then sat around and thought of home, Ian, but mostly Jo - I tried to write a letter in my head, but they worried me, I still have all the time, my impatience is still a problem. Later I ate again, at 7.30 pm I cooked myself up some nasi goreng, it was nice, but I didn't have everything I needed.
It's 8pm now, I'm lying on my mattress, Agie's already asleep. I've lifted up my mosquito net, if they want some food, tonight's the night to pig out on western blood. I haven't written the letter to Asnah yet, I'm not yet confident enough to write in Indonesian. I'm just lying around here, with no one to talk to, sleep becomes a good option. I think I'll write a few more letters and then bid the day adieu.

21 January 1992, Tuesday.

2006-01-21T16:55:00.000Z

I got out of my very hot sleeping bag, Aji was downstairs, it was 10:30am. I was very hungry, but there were no egg's. So Aji showed me where the shop's were, we went to two shop's, I bought egg's, noodles, onions, and cabbage.
We went back to Aji's house and I cooked the whole lot up, and we both ate very well, I also bought some cigarettes, and it was whilst smoking these after the loverly breakfast I had made, I noticed that it was 1:10pm, Aji was asleep. I left Aji's and made my way to the school on Aji's bicycle. I took two classes until 5pm, and then spoke to Suryaman about my pay, while the rain fell heavily outside.
At 6pm, the rain had stopped, and I left the school and headed back to Aji's house. Got home, and sat outside with the bechak drivers for a while, eating some sweet rice dish, and then went inside and ate some rice and egg's with Aji. Aji's not looking very well, he's gone back to sleep.
I took some letters and my Dad's birthday card down to the post office, and then rode around Tasikmalaya until about 9pm.
I got home and brought the bicycle back in, Wiwi came in from next door, and asked if I could help her with her homework again. She brought her books in, and I showed her what was right and what was wrong, then we had a kiss, and then another.
Wiwi went back next door, and I started writing up today, it's nearly midnight now, I'm going to bed, I going to sleep in my sleeping bag again, without my mattress because it's still wet.

20 January 1992, Monday.

2006-01-21T16:13:00.000Z

My eye's flicked open, it was 8:10am already, Ajie wasn't next to me. I called out for him, he was downstairs, he came upstairs. I asked him why he didn't wake me up this morning? He told me that I looked very happy being asleep. Oh, I thought.
I had a couple of good slurp's of coffee and a banana, and rushed off to school on the bicycle, still half asleep.
My first lesson went very fast, probably because I had arrived half an hour late, I stayed at the school and ate, then taught my next class. After school, I rode up to Pabrik Es, to take Herun's wife shopping for ingredients for spaghetti, which I'd said I'd make for them tonight. But she wasn't there, I went to Agus's house, I had no mail, but showed him the picture of my family. I left there at about 6pm and went to Herun's again. I was starving, but refused food, although I did have tea and coffee, and also a little rice wine.
We watched 'Head of the class', and 'Miami vice', and when that finished at 7:30pm I went back to Aji's. Aji was sitting outside the house with a bechak driver, another bechak driver came over, and I got talking to him. I asked if I could give him a ride, he said yes, so I jumped on, and took him around the block, it was great fun, although very energetic.
The bechak drivers rode off, and we both went inside, and had a meal, it was gorgeous, probably because I was so hungry. Then I had a couple of whiskey's, and started a large drawing, while Aji slept. I carried on drawing until 2am, I was really injoying myself, but it was total rubbish.
I went to bed, hardly able to keep my eye's open.

19 January 1992, Sunday.

2006-01-21T13:00:00.000Z

Ahhh! I woke up this morning, totally soaked, my whole body, the sheets and the mattress were ringing wet, I was wet from my neck to my knee, I had wet myself, and obviously had had a bladder full.
I can actually still remember the dream I was having, I was standing on the top of a mountain and relieving myself over the whole world. And I really was, not over the whole world, but over myself.
As I registered what I had done, my emotion's were first disbelief, then acknowledgment, then disgust. Aji was lying next to me, and was obviously well aware of what had just taken place, he told me not to worry about it. But come on, I'm nearly twenty years old, I've got no illnesses, well at least none that I know of, and there's absolutely no reason why I should be wetting myself.
It was around 7am, we had some coffee and smoked some fags, then had some breakfast. Then I took my mattress and pillow on to the roof, and let the sun and air dry them. I then washed my shorts, shirt and sheets, then hung them out to dry as well.
At 2pm, I went to Pabrik Es, borrowing Aji's bicycle and telling Aji to expect me back around 4 or 5pm.
First off, I went to number 12 Pabrik Es, which was Agus's house, I had some Singaporian coins that Lilise would like for her collection, I also wanted to see if I had received anymore letters from home. There weren't, but Agus was back from Bandung, so I spoke to him for about an hour, and then headed up the road to Herun's house.
I ate twice there, had loads of coffee and tea, sat on the veranda and smoked, spoke about religion and ghost's and loads of things. Herun told me that he want's to go to England or America one day.
It was 12:30am, I thanked Herun for the food and drink, and jumped back on Aji's bicycle and rode back to Lenkong in the soaked moonlight. I got back to Aji's house, Aji was asleep, and my mattress was still wet, so I'm going to get my kit mat out again, ah trusty kit mat, so the floor it is then. Salamat tidur, good night.

18 January 1992, Saturday.

2006-01-20T18:59:00.000Z

Aji tried to wake me, an impossible task, even for a savage hungry weasel. Although at 8am, I summitted to Aji's attempt's and got up. I mandied and got dressed, then started to feel very bad, because I had kept Aji and his brother in law waiting for one and a half hours, while I slept. I felt really bad and apologized alot, we jumped into his parked pick up truck, which looked like it had been picked up, and dropped several times.
We drove off, he had invited us to go too his village, which was on a tea plantation, that what I couldn't remember last night. We stopped several times to pick up stuff that he through into the back, we covered a couple of miles over unmade roads until we reached his house. No wonder his van was in such a state, we sat around at his house for about 3 hours, having some food and stroking his cat, and then left together. We were going to pick up some freshly picked tea leaf's, I have forgotten to mention that all around us where tea plants a far as the eye could see, we were also on quite steep ground, and it was cool.
The freshly picked tea was loaded onto the van, and we started off down the unmade road, the ride was far more traumatic carrying the heavy load, bottoming out on large rocks. We arrived at a drying factory, where the tea was unloaded, and then sent on conveyor belts to drying racks, it was all automated. I had a good look around, then Aji called me, and we got back in the now empty van. Just then the heaven's opened, and the rain belted down, the road we travelled was now very muddy and we could hardly see through the windscreen for driving rain. The road seemed more twisty, and thin.
We got back to Aji's at 4pm, we ate and then I read the two letters that awaited my return. They were from my sisters Lorraine and Janine, telling me of the many things going on in England, it had just been my Dad's birthday, which I had completely forgotton.
So, I wrote a little letter, and then went out to the Asia department store in town, and bought a birthday card. I returned home, wrote the card and sat down. Aji came in and sat with me. Elise walked in the front door, and with Aji, they went into the kitchen and had a huge arguement and then she stormed out. Then a little later, she returned, where there was a bigger arguement followed by a slapping sound, I don't know who had been slapped, or who done the slapping, but I had to walk out, and went outside.
Aji won't talk about it, but Wiwi told me the story anyway earlier, well, here goes...
Aji and Elise were sweethearts for about 3 years, I don't know whether that's finished now or not, but it was alway's hushed up. So Aji now is going to marry this other girl in April, and as you can imagine, Elise isn't all that happy about it. Aji told me that there has never been anything more than friendship between them, so I must look like a complete fool if he thinks I believe him. Well, that's the story apparently.
I sat outside drinking coffee and smoking kreteks for the rest of the night, until about 11:30pm, when Aji came out and sat beside me, we talked, then both went indoors and upstairs. It's about midnight now, Aji's already asleep, and I'm heading that way, so until tomorrow then.

17 January 1992, Friday.

2006-01-20T18:14:00.000Z

It was 1:10am when I eventually got to sleep last night, the screaming really weirded me out. I woke up at 7am, then went back to sleep, and done this several times until 10am, when I finally let me dreams go.
In my dream last night, or this morning really, I was an American 'dukes of hazard' kind'a guy, but with a huge gun, the whole dream was set in the deep south. Me and my friends discovered that the local police were corrupt, we showed the community and ran the bad police out of town, and then had too take over as the new police service, our first undercover operation had one of us dress up as a white chicken. Hmmm?
Well, after getting up, having a mandi, and eating breakfast, I put on my yet unworn batik shirt, and grey trousers, and went to Herun's house along Pabrik Es. It was around 12:30pm when I got there, all the family jumped into this very nice van/bus thingy, I jumped in, Herun drove. We were going to Ciami, but travelled towards his plantation, then along unmade tracks through the plantation, picking up a couple of people, we then headed down another bumpy road to the wedding. That had already ended. We ate, some lovely food, wished the bride and groom all the best, everyone took loads of pictures of everyone, then we started back.
The bus return journey was even more full, and took us a different way through many tracks through jungle, dropping people home, it was like a safari for me though. We got back to Pabrik Es at around 4:30pm, I stayed at Herun's house until 7pm, playing with the children and watching television.
I got back to Aji's but he wasn't there, he arrived about an hour later. I had already mandied again, then we had some dinner together. Asep and a friend of his popped around for a while. Later, as Aji was going to sleep, I set about writing up my days adventures, it's 11:15pm, I've got to be up early tomorrow, I don't know why exactly, but we are going somewhere, so, that's all folk's.

16 January 1992, Thursday.

2006-01-18T23:20:00.000Z

Guess what? I woke up again, yeah, and done the usual morning stuff. Aji went out for 20 minutes with Lelise, Wiwi came in and lent me some glue, and I gave my journal an overhawl, it's falling apart.
At around 1pm, after working on my book for some time, I went out onto the roof and using my kit mat, lay down and sun bathed. It was lovely, really hot, but I've hardly spent any time in the sun since coming to Indonesia.
At 2:15pm, I came inside and had a mandi, then went back upstairs and watched the small black and white television.
I then done a little drawing of me meditating and projecting myself.
I went out with Aji, to get some side dishes to go with our rice, we came back and ate. Aji allowed me a little go on his motorbike, I was terrible on it. So when we went out, I jumped on the back of his, we rode around the town and came back, Aji went inside, and I stayed out the front of the house and started talking to the bechak drivers. They are a really nice bunch of blokes, one of the guy's has invited me around to his house for dinner soon.
At 8pm, I walked over to Pabrik Es to play billiards or pool with Herun. I got there, Herun was feeling much better, but first we had some coffee on the veranda. As we left, Herun's wife(can't remember her name still) gave me this huge banana, I said thankyou and put it in my pocket, and then completely forgot about it.
We got to the billiards/pool place, and played thirteen games, he won the first two games, then I pulled one back, he won the next game, then the next, and then I won the next eight games, in devastating form, I was thrilling, and very proud of myself. I had a really good time, and because I won, he paid, which made it even better.
As we left the building, I felt a wet sensation on my leg, then looked down to my jeans, and remembered the banana. I felt into my pocket, and found the liquidised remains of the huge banana Herun's wife had given me. Very nice.
We caught a bechak back to Pabrik Es, and I thanked Herun for a great night and left, although his wife gave me a whole bunch of sweet small banana's. Carrying them, I walked back to Aji's house, still feeling pretty proud of myself. I got back at about midnight, Aji was fast asleep, I took off my banana filled jean's and walked into the bedroom, when I heard a women screaming.
It sounded awful, so I put some shorts and a top on, quickly got my boots on and ran out of the door. Following the sound of the cries, I ran across the open train tracks and over some rough ground, and arrived at the source of the noise. I found her, alone by a house, I asked her if there was any problem, she moaned something that I didn't really understand, and pointed at a guy standing alone up the tracks some way. She walked back into her house and I walked up the tracks to the man standing alone.
I asked what was going on, in Indonesian, and he explained that she was completely mad. He crouched down, and I sat on the ground near him. He started to ask about my sexual activities, and then started enquiring too the size of my manhood. I politely got up, and walked home, you meet the strangest people in Tasikmayala after midnight.
I got home to Aji's, and sat downstairs and listened out for a while, then wrote today's little story, and now, I'm going to go to bed. I've been invited to a wedding tomorrow. Goodnight.

15 January 1992, Wednesday.

2006-01-18T22:59:00.000Z

I awoke, seem's to be the boring entrance to all of my entries. Anyway, I followed my usual morning routine, then rushed off for school, taking the public transport. I taught my morning class and then stayed at the school and ate lunch.
I started to show Suryaman and his wife and her friend, the photograph's of my family, and got quite angry, when they treated them like old peices of paper. I contained myself, but it really anoy's me.
I started my second class, all the students seemed to have all the enthusiasm of death row. Well, it didn't go that bad at all, and after teaching and seeing off all of my students, I walked straight home to Aji's house. Aji was there, we talked for a while, then he went out.
I sat alone downstairs, and Wiwi from next door asked if I could help her with her English. I said yes, and she brought in her books and sat beside me.
I've helped her with all her queries, and flirted outrageously. Aji came home at about 9pm and went straight upstairs, I stayed downstairs with Wiwi for a while.
Then I kissed her on the cheek, then she kissed me back on the lips, we kissed for a while, it was very lovely. We talked more and at 10pm I went to bed, wishing Wiwi a goodnight. I hope I havent made trouble for myself here.

14 January 1992, Tuesday.

2006-01-16T20:04:00.000Z

I eventually got up at 9am, wanting to sleep more, but my bladder disallowing it. I had some breakfast and received a letter from the postman. It was from my Mum, it was great, filled with love and flowing with her constant memory. I went upstairs and wrote a reply, and put it in the same envelope as my completed letter to the whole family. I then started a letter to my cousin Lee, who isn't really a cousin, but that's what we have alway's called each other.
Had a mandi, and at 1pm, caught a little bus to the school and taught two classes until 5pm. They went ok, the second better than the first, I ate at the school, then didn't leave for home until 7pm. Actually, I didn't go home, but instead went to Pabrik Es to see Herun, because we had arranged to go and play pool.
I arrived, but Herun didn't feel up to it, so we chatted on the veranda, I told Herun of some of my experiences in Banjar and got him laughing. Then we went indoors and watched a film. That finished at around 11:30pm, and I went home, even though I had told Aji that I would be home by 10pm. I'm a bad'en.
Got back, Aji was already asleep, so I quietly wrote up these ongoing lines here, and went to sleep at about 12:30am. Salamat mimpi (good dreams).

13 January 1992, Monday.

2006-01-15T13:33:00.000Z

My sleep ended at 7:30am, I quickly sprang up splashed some water and soap under my armpits and face, had a quick dump and rushed off to school. I got to school at 8:10am, then began to teach, still out of breath from the cycle ride.
The lesson dragged on a bit, I ate after teaching and stayed until 1pm, when I then took my second class. That finised at 3pm, Elise was there, but because of my students pathetic childish humour, Asep included in that, she left without talking too me. That make's me so angry, the bloody humour, shallow, completely void of intelligent thought, and I suppose, I was the butt of the joke.
I was really tired, Suryaman asked me to teach another class, I was a bit upset with him for asking, and well, I left and went to Herun's in Pabrik Es. Herun wasn't there, but I had some food, and then his wife took me to the Matahari department store. A very new, in fact incomplete store.
We had a drink, walked around, I don't really know, but I think she fancies me, she's been making loads of hint's, and making everything very secretive. We returned to the house, Herun was there, I was really relieved. We sat out the front of the house and talked. I left at around 10pm, and went home to Aji's.
Aji was really tired, and so was I, so we went to sleep, without writing my daily entry, so this is being written tomorrow really, well goodnight for yesterday.

12 January 1992, Sunday.

2006-01-12T17:04:00.000Z

I slumped out of bed, after a restless night, had a wee, and then sat by the strange wood burning cooker to lessen the early morning chill. Sitting in the relative cold, I felt my bowel move, I needed to do a poo, but there was no toilet. I spoke to Aji, and he directed me towards a large pond.
There was a 'Y' shaped stick coming out of the water, and then a longer stick supported by the 'Y', and going to the bank. Around this was a short wicker screen and a bucket of water. I had to balance on the stick, and crouch over the pond. As I steadily managed this manoeuvre, and assumed the squatting stance, I happened to glance down at my intended splash site. And there, underneath me, were loads of massive Koi carp jockeying for position, awaiting my morning gift. I winced at the very thought, but there was no going back, and as I relaxed, the fish were fed.
I returned to the house, and had a mandi, then we had breakfast. After we finished our food, Aji's cousin gave us a lift on his motobike to the Banjar road, where we visited some more of Aji's family. Then caught a bus back to Tasikmalaya, we jumped off the bus and walked back to Aji's house, I set about finishing the letters I had started writing the day before.
Asep came round at 5pm, and Aji went out. At 6pm I went out with Asep to the pictures, where we watched an American film called 'Ghost', it had Demi Moore in it, it was quite good, but was dubbed in Indonesian, which made it weird. Asep paid for us both, which I really appreciated.
I left Asep in town and started walking home, then started to jog. I got back to Lengkong and Aji's house, but all the lights in the street where out, I don't know why.
I sat talking to Wiwi downstairs for a while, all the lights came back on, and I headed upstairs to bed. Aji was fast asleep, as I walked into the room, I noticed that the guide rope which was supporting my mosquito net was covered in ants travelling from one side of the room to the other, and under the rope, was Aji's head.
I couldn't help myself, and flicked the rope, sending ants tumbling onto Aji's head, he flinched and itched, which sent me into hysteric's, and I had to walk out of the bedroom, I calmed down, and walked into the bedroom again. Repeating the whole thing several times before stopping, and letting Aji once more continue his restful sleep.
What a rat I am, but it was so funny. I'm contemplating tidure(sleep) now, so goodnight.

11 January 1992, Saturday.

2006-01-12T15:31:00.000Z

T'was soon the morn again, I had some breakfast with Aji, and then at around 9am, we left for Banjar. I had got it wrong about going yesterday, it was today we were going. Not only was Banjar Aji's village, but it was also were Aji's mum was buried. We caught a bus, which as soon as I sat down, I fell asleep, and slept the whole journey, then got off the bus and caught motobike taxi's to where we were going.
The landscape was very flat, full of rice paddies, with small, very steep, jungle covered islands dotted around. We started to walk up one, it was completely overgrown, and I couldn't figure out why these area's were untouched. Until I realised that these were grave sites, we walked up the hill and reached Aji's mothers tomb. Aji set about clearing the weeds and shrubs from the surrounding area, and then thoughtfully cleaned the actual tomb. While he done this, these huge black and silver pretty mosquito's ate me alive. Aji finished, and we headed back down.
Then for the rest of the day and night, we went in different houses and ate and talked, we walked around to all Aji's family and friends houses.
We ended up at Aji's auntie's house, where we were staying, at around 8pm. We ate again, and I watched this huge spider run across the wall, it was the same as I had seen in Carita, Aji's auntie said that it was lucky to have these spiders in your house, because they ate cockroaches and mosquito's. I tried to remember that I loved all animals.
It was getting late, and I was shown my room, I was very tired after all the walking and talking and travelling during the day, and went straight to sleep. I kept waking up, tossing and turning, although I wasn't bothered at all by mosquito's.

10 January 1992, Friday.

2006-01-12T15:08:00.000Z

My eye's welcomed the new day at 10am, it had been a long and beautiful sleep. I got up and started a letter to my family, finished that then started on a few more. I had some breakfast and then took a leisurely mandi, leaving for the school at 1pm. The lessons went well, but I thought I had been well and truly blown out, but at 3:30pm she arrived.
I stopped teaching, and Suriaman (the head teacher) took over, then ate, and then went with Elese which should be spelt Elise, to her house, accompanied by Asep. He was there to prevent me making a fool of myself.
Well, we got to Elise's house, met her parents, they were very nice, we sat around talking for a while, and then left, accompanied by Elise. She walked us to the bus road, and on the way, I started speaking about girlfriends and that I would like Elise to be mine, at the end of the road, she kind of said 'yes'. She's very pretty, seventeen years old and seems to make me very happy when I see her.
I returned on the bus with Asep, it was dark, we got off the bus and went our separate ways, I got back to Aji's at 7pm, Aji returned home soon after. We started to play a game with a red sticky ball, and then went out and got some noodles for our dinner. We returned and watched a film, and I started this entry, its 12:10am now, the films finished, and now just makes a terrible noise. I'll turn it off and go to bed.

9 January 1992, Thursday.

2006-01-12T14:46:00.000Z

I got up at 7:40am, well actually briefly getting up at 5am to go to the toilet, I quickly got dressed and borrowed Aji's bicycle and rode to the school for my morning class. I didn't have time for a mandi, and by the end of the class, which was a group of five fifteen year old girls, I was let's say, a tad smelly.
Just before taking a mandi at the school, I met this very attractive girl called Ellese, and she asked me to go to her house tomorrow. I agreed, completely forgetting that I had said to Aji, that I would go with him to Banjar, his village.
I took another two classes, which wore me out, and I finished at 5pm, but hung around and drank coffee with the other teachers. I headed home at 6pm, on the way getting some batteries for the walkman that had been in the package from my Dad.
I got back to Aji's, but he had already fone to his parents house, I sat talking to Lese and Wiwi, she really fancies me, so I completely lead her on, obviously.
Aji got back at 10pm, we watched this terrible film and smoked these strong fags, we sat and talked, then I read all my letters again, and couldn't stop laughing, until eventually I put them down and went to bed.

8 January 1992, Wednesday.

2006-01-12T13:57:00.000Z

The morning began at 7:10am, I followed my usual morning routine. Then at 8am, I left the house and made my way to the school, and started my class. I've divided the class into two groups, and have them practicing conversation in two separate rooms, while I sit and write this entry.
It all seemed to work really well, they are all really clever, and can teach each other the bits that they know. The class ended, and I took the opportunity to return to 12 Pabrik Es, hoping that a package may have arrived from home.
It had, a huge great thing, with loads of letters, it felt like it was my birthday, I felt really special. There were letters from Lee, Ian, Julia, Claire and Nura from Garut. There were also some more letters in the package of Christmas goodies, some photo's of my family and letters from my sister Lorraine and my Dad, the one from my Dad made me cry, as I read through the lines I felt my eye's fill up, so I headed for the toilet to save myself the embarassment and questions.
Lee's letter was great, so was Ian's, Claire's was full of love.
The package was full of nik-naks, which I distributed amongst the kids in Pabrik Es, and then my afternoon class. I ended up giving away most of the package, which made me very popular, but there was no point hanging on to any of it. Aji arrived at the school just after I had finished teaching, we went home, but Aji looked a little sad, maybe because I hadn't given the things to him.
We got back and I had a mandi, then we talked about why I meditated, and what I thought I was doing. Tonight, were going to see the village chief, who all people staying in this area of Tasikmalaya must visit. We walked around the corner of Jalan Lenkong to the chief's house, where I was introduced and then questioned, we then ate some lovely food. The chief was a really nice old bloke, and I really liked him.
We returned home in the driving rain, sharing an umbrella and holding my shoes in my hand. When we got back, Aji went straight to sleep, I think I've upset him. I will finish this entry and go to bed myself. Goodnight.

7 January 1992, Tuesday.

2006-01-11T18:39:00.000Z

My eye's flew open at 5am, desperate for a wee, I alleviated myself and went back to sleep until 8am, at which time I briefly opened my eye's, only to close them for what seemed like a second, although it was more like an hour. I eventually got up, and spoke to Aji, he constantly help's me with my Indonesian.
I had some breakfast and a mandi, and prepared myself for school, but as I looked through my ruchsack for my wash bag, I realised it wasn't there, and neither was my camera or my brown trousers, and my blue cap as well. It appears that they have all been stolen. I can't believe it, they must have been stolen on the bus journey from Carita, the camera had all the pictures of Tasikmalaya and Singapore on it, there all gone.
I was very angry, but made my way to the school. Teaching my first class, I noticed that my Indonesian had really improved since leaving Tasikmayala, and in our class I moved onto conversation. The class went really well, and seemed to finish soon after it begun. I went into the head teacher's office and explained to him that the embassy in Singapore wouldn't give me an extended visa because there was a signature missing. He was really embarassed and apologized. He's a nice guy.
Aji turned up on his motorbike, came into the school and we all ate and talked until about 7pm, when I left for Pabrik Es, to see if any of my mail had arrived, Aji went home. On the way, I stopped in at the warung where the women asked me to stay some time ago. I taught her some English and she made me some food and drink, after I had finished my food, we sat talking, during our talk, I saw the bottle of water fall over, I jumped up to catch it before it fell, only to be suprised that the bottle hadn't moved at all, I had hallucinated the whole thing, it was only a fraction of a second, but it really shook me up.
I left there at around 8:30pm and continued up the road to number 12 Pabrik Es, where I used to live with Agus and his family, but all the lights where out, so I didn't knock, but continued to Herun's house, the guy that took me to his rubber plantation and factory. All of there lights were out, so I didn't knock and started back to Aji's house, on the way buying some side dishes for me and Aji's dinner.
I got back to Aji's house, but he wasn't there, I went upstairs and wrote up my journal, then fell asleep. Aji returned and stirred me from my semi-concious state, Aji put the television on and we watched the other half of the film that had gripped me so much the previous night, apparently it was a true story.
It's coming up to 1am now, I have to be up at 7am tomorrow to teach, I'm very tired and start yawning. I'm off to sleep.

6 January 1992, Monday.

2006-01-06T19:32:00.000Z

Aji woke me up in the morning, and I went inside and had some coffee and talked about my adventure. I didn't go to the school, but had a mandi, and ate, then talked some more, then I platted Lea's hair and then she platted mine, I think she fancies me.
I didn't go to the afternoon class either because I couldn't keep my eye's open.
In the afternoon I went with Aji to visit his parent's house, some distance outside Tasikmalaya, it was a beautiful area. We had dinner, and I was served up with a local delicacy, salt fish, which was basically a little fish that was very salty. I wasn't thinking and just took a bite of it, it was like eating salt, and I spat it back out onto my plate. Everyone looked at me, and I could tell that I had made a bit of a fool of myself, but I couldn't help it, later Aji told me that you were supposed to have a tiny bit of the salt fish with a ball of rice, then it was nice, I appologized, and tried to put it down to experience. Apart from the fish, the dinner was beautiful and I was completely full, I went out into the garden and sat alone, falling asleep.
We left at 8pm, catching the bus back to Aji's house, back there we listened to some music, drank some coffee, smoked kretecks, which are ciggerette's with clove's in them and watched Aji's little black and white television.
And I've just remembered about earlier on today, at about 1pm, I went to the warung with Aji on the back of his motorbike to get some side dishes for our lunch, and as we pulled up, I jumped off the back, feeling all flashy, and fell backwards and grazed my palms on the gravel, once again, I am an idiot.
Well, I've had enough of watching this terrible Indonesian program, I'm going to have my long anticipated sleep. Although, I didn't actually get to sleep until 12:30am, because this American film came on that turned out to be quite good, and finished half way through, because it was a ' To be continued...'

5 January 1992, Sunday.

2006-01-06T18:52:00.000Z

I got up and went for a wee, then went straight back to sleep. Arose again at 9am, had a mandi and some coffee, then headed off up the beach to meet Asnah, she was working at a warung on the beach selling drinks. I arrived and had a drink, ate and basically spent the time smiling at Asnah, she really is lovely.
Then as I looked over my shoulder I saw another girl approaching with a big smile on her face, I can't really say who she was, but it's a reminder of a drunken night some two months ago here in Carita. I didn't know what to do, I quickly got up, and without a word, started walking, run away is what I thought, I just carried on, onto the beach, then across the shallow water covering the reef, it went on for some fifty yards until it got deeper, I walked all the way out and stopped and sat on a dry rock. Ahhhh! I'm sitting here alone, laughing at my misfortune, what a prat I am.
It was a lovely sunny morning, I walked back to the hut on the beach where Asnah was working, all seemed clear, the trouble had gone, and Asnah caught my eye and beamed at me, I knew everything was ok.
At around 12:30pm, I left her, saying goodbye, she pulled out my watch and said it had broken, and asked if I could get it fixed. I agreed and took the watch back. I went back to the Raitha losmen and packed up my gear, thanked the owner's and headed towards Yunis's house. Got there and talked to him and his boss about a buisness venture in Ujung Kulon, they say they've got work for me there, maybe bringing tourist's or maybe at the park. I thanked Yunis and left for Labuan at about 3pm, got to Labuan and then caught another bus to an in-between place on the way to Bogor, then another bus to Tasikmalaya. The whole trip cost me 10,000rp's, from the bus station I used my last 350rp's to catch a small bus to Jalan Lengkong, Aji's house and I suppose, my home here.
It was exactly 3am, when I got there, the stars where shining bright, I pulled out the weaved kit mat that I got from Singapore, and bedded down outside the house. It was a while before I got to sleep, because of the calling to prayer. Goodnight.

4 January 1992, Saturday.

2006-01-04T18:24:00.000Z

I woke up from the loveliest sleep, it felt like an early summer morning in England, the air was fresh and crisp. Yunis wasn't around when I got up, and in the morning light I watched ants and other insects going about their daily lives on the floor outside my room.
At around miday I walked up the road and got some noodles for breakfast, then carried on further to Asnah's house. I got to Asnah's at about 1pm, and stayed there until about 8pm.
One of the children from the village, showed me a baby bat that he had found, it can't of been more than a few days old, I asked him to give it to me and he did, I done my best to keep it warm, he was the loveliest little thing.
I left Asnah's house after a huge storm had passed, it was pitch black, but I managed to find my way back to the Raitha losmen. The owners of the losmen gave me some rice and lovely vegatables, I ate and then drew a portrait of the owner bloke, on a large peice of paper that he gave me. It went well enough, I used oil pastels and pencil, but I found it hard to gage whether he liked it or not.
I was really tired by then, it was around 10pm, so I decided to go to sleep, first surrounding myself with smoking anti-mosquito coils.

3 January 1992, Friday.

2006-01-04T17:32:00.000Z

Last nights dream; I was a comedian performing my act in a theatre, all my peers where in the audience. As I performed my act, I became aware that everyone hated it, and in there droves, they walked out without clapping or waiting until I had finished. Although I was enjoying myself so much that it didn't bother me at all, and I continued for my own pleasure.
The dream changed quite suddenly, I was in a empty dark place with a forest some way ahead of me, and my niece Veronique was in front of me, I was obvious to me, that she was an angel (although she didn't have wings or anything, I just knew). She wanted to take me to heaven, which apparently was through the forest, although as I approached I was unable to enter, a voice told me that I still wanted to live. My sister then appeared, Veronique was sitting on her knee and biting her fingers, I put my hand to her mouth, and she bit mine, I felt her teeth sink into my flesh but I felt no pain. That was the end.

Again, I'm writing this entry the day after it happened.
Anyway, I must have awoken at around 7am, yes that's right, Cecep was banging on the door. I got up and then had to walk about 2km to get to the mandi place, which was like the one in Bandung, but in the open air, and the water was fed into the water tank from a hot spring about 13ft away. It was really lovely, Cecep took loads of pictures with my camera. Then we went back to the house, and had some breakfast and coffee.
I then headed back for Carita, on the way getting some more food because I was still hungry. I got to Labuan, then caught another bus to Carita. I went straight to the Raitha losmen, I mandied again then talked to the guy there, then walked up the road to Yunis's house.
As I walked up the road, I bumped into Hendra, he was as annoying as ever, I left annoying Hendra, then carried on and met Yunis, my good friend.
It was so good to see, we talked for ages, then ate, and then talked again, about all I had seen and done since leaving Carita. We went for a walk along the beach and then back to the Raitha. I changed and then lay on my bed for a while, Yunis came by and we both went to Mr Aimer's house.
Once at Mr Aimer's house, I sat down, had some coffee and talked, it seemed as though I had never left Carita. I followed Yunis back to his house, on the way Yunis gave me a very strong cigerette, which made me feel very funny, then Yunis cooked some lovely food, we ate and then went out for another walk.
We chatted to some beautiful girls, and then some Indonesian bloke killed this land crab for no reason in front of me, I wanted to kill him, or at least beat him up, but I ingored my feelings and returned to the Raitha with Yunis, who slept on the other bed in the room. I'll say goodnight for last night, although it is technically the morning after now.

2 January 1992, Thursday.

2006-01-02T21:12:00.000Z

I had a lovely nights sleep, it came to an end at around 9am, I showered and dressed, then had some breakfast of noodles with egg, and then enquired if anyone knew where 'Kati deres' bus terminal was, but knowone in the losmen knew.
At 11:30am, I said goodbye to the two girl's from New Zealand, Bridget and Maneke, then all the guy's that worked at the losmen, then set out along Jalan Jaksa for horizons a new.
I caught a bus, not quite knowing where it went, then had a change of heart, and caught a bus in the opposite direction, then realising I was heading back the way I'd come, I got on another bus which was going the same way I had been originally.
Then with the aid of an Indonesian guy heading me in the right direction, I made it on to the right bus, and made it to 'Kali deres'.
From there I caught a bus to Labuan, as I had decided to see Asna and Yunis again while I was close. Thing's seem to change constantly though, and I ended up getting off the bus in Pandeglang(which was on the way to Labuan) with an Indonesian girl that I met on the bus, her name is Cecep I think, we went to her families house, they were all very friendly and gave me a lovely dinner and a great room, with a double bed.
Although there were thousands of mosquito's, and I was bitten quite brutally. I felt like a lamb to the slaughter.
We then went for a walk to another house, and chatted and drunk tea, then at around 11:30pm, we headed back and I went to bed.
Actually this whole entry was written tomorrow, the day after because there was no light in the room that I stayed in. I had an excellent dream, but I'll write it out tomorrow, which is today really, this is all getting a little confusing isn't it.

1 January 1992, Wednesday.

2006-01-01T23:21:00.000Z

I awoke in a slightly hung-over state, it was 8:30am, I was the only person awake in the room, I went for a wee and drank some water and then went back to bed and slept until 10am. I had breakfast with Dean over at Angie's cafe, I had some rice and boiled egg's, it seem's I've got a taste for them now, then returned to move my stuff into the dorm.
Although I had arranged to meet the couple from Jakarta, I took the two girls from New Zealand, Bridget and Maneke to the Acole, I was running really late, and I probably wouldn't have made the meet time with the Jakarta couple.
We spent the whole day there, which was from miday to about 3pm, going around the handycraft's and art markets, I went off on my own, and then met back up with the girls and returned to the losmen.
Dean had left for Panandaran just after our breakfast together, he is such a lovely guy, I didn't even insult him by saying that I would write, I did give him my address though.
Once returning from the Ancole with the girls, I stopped on the street corner and had some noodles by the side of the road, the returned to the losmen, where this really drunk Swedish bloke gave me glasses of whisky and a bottle of beer.
Slightly drunk, I went out to get some dinner, I walked up the road and had some nasi goreng(fried rice), which was lovely, and because I was slightly drunk, my Indonesian sounded quite fluent, and I got the cheapest prices that I had ever paid in Jakarta. I met some bloke called Ali, and he wrote his address in the front of this book.
I then returned to the losmen, and all talked for a while, well actually I spoke to the Indonesian's that worked there, then sat and watched an awful American film.
Then, feeling very tired, I moved into the dorm, wrote this entry, of the first day of this new year, lying flat on my bed, awaiting the oncoming mosquito attack. It was a real shock for me earlier, when I realised that it was January already, and I am still here.
Role on the second of January, I'm not finished yet!
The drunk Swedish bloke is so funny looking, his eye's look the same as the emperor's, from 'Return of the Jedi'.

31 December 1991, Tuesday.

2005-12-31T16:06:00.000Z

The time is around 7:30am, I'm sitting in the lounge, which is also the first class dining area. My state drift's from semi conscious to totally conscious. We had already arrived at Tanjung Priok, the port of Jakarta, well we were anchored in the bay awaiting our docking time, which only took around an hour.
I departed the floating hell that was KM Lisa, and showed the guy's to Jalan Jaksa, where I got a room sharing with Dean the Canadian guy. I'm back at the Jusran Hotel, which is where I stayed before leaving for Singapore. I've eaten and showered, and done the biggest poo in the world, probably because I'd been holding it in for the whole boat journey because of hideous toilets.
It's about 1:30pm, but it feel's like the end of the day already.
At 2pm, I decided to go and see if Retha (the girl I had met on the boat) had got home yet. I jumped on a bus, but hadn't figured that it was so far, and travelled for over an hour, I jumped off the bus, and then had to walk for some distance, found her house, only to find out that she wasn't there, no that's not annoying, no it's not.
Although just up the road from her house, as I made my way back, I was be-friended and invited into a house by a couple, they were very nice, and have arranged to take me to the twenty-seven Indonesian houses tomorrow, they explained the place as a collection of all the traditional styles of house building in Indonesia, and each house was like a little peice of that island, with craft's and stuff sold there.
I made my way back to Jalan Jaksa by night fall, and met up with Dean and the girls on there way out for the night, so instead of going back to the losmen I tagged along with them. We all went to a Pizza Hut, but the prices were amazingly high, and the English guy's company next to me was enough to make me leave before ordering, Dean said that he'd join me, which was a lovely gesture, I knew he was a nice bloke as soon as I met him. We went to Angie's cafe, and really pigged out, for very little money, and I started on my first beer of the night.
We were having a really good time, I couldn't stop laughing, then the rest of the crowd joined us, then we all moved to another bar to drink more and welcome in the new year. I had a bloody brilliant time, drinking far too much, singing loudly, being deafened by all the paper trumpets, it was a great new year, surrounded by strangers, but all friends.
Me and Dean walked back to the Jusran hotel at about 1am, I was really drunk and couldn't stop laughing, but then I lay on my bed, and my eyes grew to heavy to keep open any longer.

30 December 1991, Monday.

2005-12-31T00:18:00.000Z

I opened my eyes to see I was surrounded by people, I was lying on the floor, I sprang up, from what was a very comfortable sleep. I went and got breakfast, which was rice and two boiled egg's, it was ok. It is a very dreary day, complete cloud cover, and even a bit cold because of the wind, there's even a gloomy atmosphere on the boat, very few smiles. Maybe it is the coming of the new year, and the end of the 'Visit Indonesia Year', the new year awaits us.
In the two months and six days I have been away, I've visited new countries, experienced totally new cultures, learnt new languages, and have maintained this journal, day in, day out. There has been times where all I wanted was the safety of my home and family, and times were I dreamt about my return, and thought that they were nightmares.
Now my friend Ian, says that he's coming out in two months time, I don't know whether I'm happy about that or not. Nine weeks is a long time, I 've realised.
The days been one of eating, drinking, sleeping and doing very little, it's about 10:30pm, but that's just a guess, I've just come from the front of the ship where I've been meditating for a while, there is a huge red glow on the horizon, its probably just an oil platform, but I thought it was a volcano at first.
I'm wrong, its 9:50pm, we should be in Jakarta by afternoon tomorrow. I can't see me spending much longer in this conscious state, the mild rocking of the boat, the engines steady growl, and the sound of the waves are like a lullaby, and the floor is my bed, until the morning then.

29 December 1991, Sunday.

2005-12-30T23:42:00.000Z

I had a beautiful, very comfortable sleep, and slowly seeped out of that luxury at about 8:30am. I lay there quite content for a while, then got up and went to the toilet, came back and tried on my new jeans that I had bought in Singapore, they were a great fit. I sat counting my money, just like scrooge, I have spent far more than I intended too.
The breakfast was a peice of cake( a putrid green colour ) and some tea. I left the losmen at around 11am along with the others, and went to the docks, where we eventually boarded the 'KM LISA' at 1pm, this is certainly the crappiest boat I have ever been on, the toilet's have no doors on, and don't flush, there's no water, every bit of furniture is either ripped or wrotten, the internal iron stairways are rusty and have bits hanging off them. There's no mattress's or bed's, so with the woven mat I salvaged from on top of the lockers, and my rucksack I moved up onto the deck of this tiny absolutely disgusting very expensive boat. I'll see about the food later, whether I am able to write my findings, determines how bad it is.
It's 3pm now, I'm lying on the deck, it's fresh, and in the trudge of the noisey engines and the perpetual crash of the breaking waves on the boat, there was a certain calm, a tranquil moment.
I fell asleep, and awoke to catch the last serving of dinner, it was some rice, cabbage and chicken, that I gave to some bloke because I couldn't face it, and went out on deck again and watched the sun go down over the sea.
I then found a lounge deck with a television and karoke, which had gorgeous semi nude girls acting out flirtatous scene's. Then 'Indiana Jones' came on, and I watched it all the way through, whilst having loads of hot chocolates. Then I walked back out on deck, it was quite windy, but I went to the front of the boat and sat crossed legged on one of the things they tie the boat to the dock thingy, and meditated for a while, then made my bed up and went to sleep.
I don't know what time it was, but me and all the others sleeping on deck were forced inside because of the wind and rain, I went for a walk, and found the waves crashing over the side of the boat and flooding the deck, there were huge puddles of dirty water slopping around in the lobby. I went up to the lounge again, and wrote this, I going to go to sleep on the chair tonight.
This boat is a bloody death trap.

28 December 1991, Saturday.

2005-12-30T17:16:00.000Z

I was the first to wake in the dorm, it was 8am, closely followed by Christian a few bed's up, and then the others, one by one. I got up, took a shower, and then started packing up my gear. On top of the lockers were piles of clothes and towels left by other travellers, who no longer had need. I took some old clothes and some towels, and a weaved sleeping mat with me and went downstairs and phoned Natalie.
We spoke, and I gave her my address again, but I could tell that she didn't want to meet me, so I didn't push things, she told me to ring her when I came back to Singapore, maybe I will.
Then I went into the breakfast room and had three egg's and toast and coffee, finished and got the deposit back from reception, said goodbye to Christian and the other guy's and left. I went to catch a bus, then realised that I had no change, and went for a walk to find some. I found a huge three floor Salvation army building, I bought some jean's and a plastic bowl, cup and spoon and fork, the whole lot came to $5. I then got some change, and caught a bus to Finger Pier, and bought a ticket to Batam for $16.
On the boat, they showed a film 'Gorilla's in the mist', and I realised I was on my way back to Jakarta. I contemplaited my day's in Singapore whilst the boat surged through thousands of huge freight ships in the harbour.
I got to Batam, got a taxi, then saw this police/security guy really punching the taxi drivers trying to attract my attention. It was really scary, and none of them fought back at all. I got a taxi to Kabil, on the other side of Batam for $6, then took a speed boat from there to Tanjung Pinang. That was great, darting through the many islands of mangrove swamps, like it was a river, the boat was flying and crashing from one wave to the next.
When we arrived at Tanjung Pinang, I noticed a spanish galleon float past the hull of the boat, very nice indeed. I had to change another travellers cheque to buy a ticket back to Jakarta, it was 63000rp's, because it was not a goverment boat, like the one I caught before. That leaves tomorrow at 2pm.
I then went and found a losmen to stay the night, and met the two girl's from New Zealand again and the Swiss bloke. I went out and got some dinner, and bought some supplies for the trip. Then returned to the losmen and met a great Canadian guy, we got some mosquito coil's and fumigated the room. It's around 11:30pm now, and I'm lying in bed, hoping that the moquito's stay away, I've covered myself in insect repellent just in case. Well, good night then, I hope it is.

27 December 1991, Friday.

2005-12-30T15:52:00.000Z

Awoke from my mosquito interupted sleep at around 10am. I went down to the breakfast room and had some toast, finished my breakfast and then showered.
I phoned Natalie and actually got through to her little sister Valerie, she told me to call back at 1pm. I phoned again at 1pm and Natalie answered, she sounded so lovely, I asked to see her tomorrow, she wasn't sure, so I said that I would phone again tomorrow. I put the phone down, returned to the dorm and got my stuff ready for the day.
I went out for a walk, to get some photo's and do some drawing. I walked up to the area were I had kissed Natalie on the bench in the rain a few days before, and sat on another bench and started drawing. As I was drawing, a girl came up and sat next to me and started talking to me. She was a very pretty girl, she was 18 and a model, she gave me her address and I gave her mine, and she said that she would show me around Singapore when I returned in two month's.
She walked off, and I carried on drawing, then carried on my walk around Fort Canning Park, I took some photo's and then headed to the Van Kleef Aquarium, that I was told had been closed down, but went anyway.
I got to the aquarium (which was still open) and went in, once in the aquarium I realised that my camera was missing, I panicked, maybe I'd left it at the last place I took a picture, I ran out of the aquarium and around the Fort Canning park, just hoping that it would still be there. I retraced my footsteps all the way back to the place where I had taken the last photo, and when I got there, there were two people sitting on the bench, who told me that they had seen the camera, and wanted to wait until it's owner returned. I was over the moon, what lovely people, I thanked them and returned to the aquarium. I aquarium was really good, but it had some huge fish, well actually they were the biggest fish I had ever seen in an aquarium, but the aquariums weren't the biggest I'd seen, they all looked abit cramped, not a bonus for the fish I shouldn't wonder.
I walked around for a while more and then sat and wrote this entry so far on a bench in Bras Basah park, which is at the end of Bencoolen street. It's dusk, cool and calm, even though the parks surrounded by rushing traffic. I've just been talking to an old Korean guy, he gave me an apple and then just walked off. I ate that, which was nice then went straight to the food court that I had found just before Christmas, and had some fish and rice soup.
Then returned to the hostel and bought some oranges on the way, I've spent over seven dollars today, it's too expensive here, I changed another travellers cheque today, apparently the dollar has plunged, which isn't good news, or is it a blessing in disguise, obviously it would have to be a bloody good disguise.
I can't stop thinking about Natalie.
This evening I've been sharing some of my toilet euphemism's with Christian, log raft's, spanish galleon's, dump's, we both had a bit of a chuckle. It's 10pm, and I think that I'll head for the bed soon, I want a very full day tomorrow.
I want to see Natalie before I leave, I just want to see her again, in fact, I'm having the same thought that went through my head when I thought I'd lost my camera.
This is such a good game, what shall I do next, where shall the tides of time take me tomorrow.

26 December 1991, Thursday.

2005-12-30T15:18:00.000Z

Arose from my slumber, that was a lovely nights sleep, finishing at 1pm. It is boxing day, I sat alone in the dorm, sleep in my eyes, my mouth slightly agape and ready for the on coming yourn. I lazily walk to the toilet, I have buisness with the loo.
Got myself together at around 2pm and went to the ferry dock by bus, to see when I could leave, they had no idea when the boat from Tagung Pinang to Jakarta left, but did know that there was only two a month. Hmmm?
I don't know when I'll leave, I've been thinking about Natalie all day. Its 8pm now, and I'm back at the hostel, it's raining and just becoming dark, I'm eating some armond biscuits and chocolate covered nuts that I bought myself for Christmas.
I've been sitting talking to Christian, the French bloke, all night, eating and drinking my treats. I also wrote a song. I tried to phone Natalie earlier, but only got through to her Chinese speaking Grandmother. I suppose that I will have to let Natalie go from my mind, I'm going back to Tasikmalaya very soon, I know that I shouldn't be greedy, I have had a wonderful time.
It is around 11:30pm now, I'm tired and I'll be going to bed and sleep soon. My dream's await...

24/25 December 1991, Tuesday.

2005-12-25T03:29:00.000Z

Tis the morn once more, I had awoken at 8am, having slept like a man suffering from a cold. It is Christmas eve, I'm in the breakfast room, and I'm the only one smiling.
There's about as much Christmas spirit in this room as there was 2000bc, on a particularily cold miserable day when everyone felt bad tempered.
I left and met up with Natalie, she was a little late but I didn't care, we went on and met one of her friends called Debbie, they shopped around and then treated me to an exquisite Japanese meal, it was really expensive as well. Then they went and had there hair done, while I just hung around. They looked lovely, Natalie looked even more stunning, we walked around while Natalie done some more Christmas shopping, then we returned to Natalie's house, where I met her parents and friends.
We all talked and ate, then before midnight, we all went to a midnight mass, the huge church building that we went too was jam packed. The ceremony was very nice, but I really noticed that it all sounded like Chinese.
We all caught taxi's back to Natalie's house, where we talked, watched the television, I went out and had a swim in the pool. I forgot to describe Natalie's house, it's on the 8th floor, the penthouse two floor appartment. The building has a pool, squash, tennis and badminton courts, as well as security guards patrolling the perimitter fence.
I sat and spoke to Natalie's dad Burt on the balconey watching the sunrise, he is a very wise man, and I felt bad for desiring his daughter. At around 8am, I went out for a walk, still yet to sleep, but on my walk found a bench and fell asleep on it. I returned to the house at 10am, they all opened there presents, and had even got me a glass dish, which I was very grateful for, but I had none of the Christmassy feelings that I'd been so used to for my nineteen years on this earth. It really doesn't feel like Christmas day, maybe it's because it's ninety degree's in the shade, whatever it is, I can't wait to phone home tonight, but I'm eight hours ahead here, so I'll ring at 5pm or 6pm to catch them at a reasonable time.
I phoned them at 7:30pm, and spent $20 speaking to my family, and then another $20 speaking to my friend Ian, who say's he's travelling over here in two months. This means that I must scrimp and save enough to return to Singapore in another two months.
I returned to the hostel, buying myself some oranges on the way. Christian bought me a coke, and I showed him the red light district, we returned, I ate, then showered and sat around thinking about Natalie.
It was getting late, to my long awaited bed I go, but, I've had a good Christmas, made much better by Natalie and her family, especially after the visa nightmare. Anyway, goodnight.

23 December 1991, Monday.

2005-12-25T02:36:00.000Z

Last nights dream; My liver had somehow fallen out of my belly button, which was now just a whole, and I was being chased by a man in a black suit, carrying a huge knife. Then, whilst jumping into a quiet room to try to push my now drying liver back into my insides, the bloke chasing me, burst through the door, and started to attack me again. This time, I had an equally large knife, and a battle was fought, ending with me killing the man with the knife. Nice dream eh?
I awoke at 10:30am, had a wash and then went downstairs to the payphone and phoned Natalie, I got through, and talked, then my money ran out, so I told her that I would ring her back later. A very rude Australian told me not to be long, I got off the phone and had a go at him.
I went to the breakfast room and had some toast and coffee, then wrote in the journal. I've just been introduced to a guy who wanted to have a talk with me. That's just a bit scarey, I've been through this before, I was very polite, and made my way out as soon as possible.
I phoned Natalie again, and arranged to meet her at 5:30pm, then headed out with my essential papers to the Indonesian embassy, to get me special visa.
I had a map, and decided to walk, but it was a lot further than I imagined, and I became weak and thirsty. Then eventually I found the embassy, walked inside and queued. Got to the front of my queue, passed my papers through the hatch and waited. The women flicked through the papers, then shook her head, and told me that one of the signature's was missing, and I could not have a visa.What! I'd just travelled over 800 miles for nothing, spent all my remaining money for nothing. What just happened?
Then I remembered Natalie, and shook straight out of my despair.
I returned to the hostel by bus at about 4pm, showered and changed, then went to meet Natalie.
We had a lovely evening, we walked through gardens hand in hand, talked and then kissed, and then kissed again, we sat in the rain with a umbrella guarding us, what an amazing night, she is so beautiful. We walked and talked some more, I ate, then at 10pm, she got a taxi home.
I began walking back to the hostel, singing with the joy's of spring, then stopped. My cap and my book were gone, I remembered Natalie holding my book, but my cap was in my pocket, and it wasn't there now. So I went searching, everywhere we had been that evening, I was begining to loose hope, but then saw a dark lump in a unlit puddle, but I knew that it was my hat, amazing that I found it, my book wasn't with it, so I assumed that Natalie still had it.
I returned to the hostel and talked to Cristian and the Japanese guy, then went to bed.

22 December 1991, Sunday.

2005-12-24T21:53:00.000Z

T'was the morn of the twenty second day, of the twelth month, in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety one, and in no less than nine days, it would be 1992. I will be spending Christmas completely alone, more than 8000 miles away from my friends and family, I have no reminders of them, apart from the memories.
The time is 10:30am, I'm sitting eating breakfast in the breakfast room within the hostel, there is an arguement going on behind me, over some toast and twenty cents, everyone is so grumpy around here. I don't know why, were all on holiday here, and it's nearly Christmas, I know that I am quite happy with my present situation.
It's sunday today, I think I might go to the zoo, I've been told that it is very good, well actually they said it was out of this world. I replied that I couldn't possibly go there then, having no means of intergalactic transport. Please ignore silly humour.
Phoned Natalie again, and got through, we talked for a short while, then she asked me to call her back in around half an hour. I did, and we arranged to meet at the National museum at 1:20pm today.
I sat around, feeling much better, and quite pleased with myself. Whilst sitting on the toilet later on in the morning, somebody walked into the toilet that I was using, and I laughed, because he looked terrified. Time moved on, and it was soon time to meet Natalie.
I arrived five minutes late, and apologized, we started walking about and talking, passing different monuments and thousands of shopping arcades. At 4pm we went to the cinema and watched the film 'Dying Young', it was really good, if a little sad and depressing. The music that enveloped the film, was a clarinet peice by Kenny.G, and it was gorgeous and enchanting.
We left the cinema and started walking again, then we sat down and held hands, it was so lovely, and I felt like a schoolboy on his first date.
We got on a bus at 10:30pm and I got off at Bencoolen street, but Natalie stayed on. It was pouring down with rain, it had been for half the day, but I'd only just noticed it, I ran up the road to the hostel. Came in and dried off, spoke to Criston the French guy, and this nice Japanese bloke, then realised that I had lost my pen somewhere today, but it was a small price to pay for such a glorious day.

21 December 1991, Saturday.

2005-12-24T18:55:00.000Z

I woke up reasonably early, went to the toilet and then got back in bed and lay semi-conscious for a while, then planned my day. There was a breakfast bar in the guest house, so I had two fried eggs on toast, which was lovely. Left the breakfast room and found out directions to the Indonesian embassy, although was told that it would be closed for the weekend.
So instead, I went to the art museum, situated next door to the National museum, the art museum was terrible, the standard seemed poor to me, and the prices that were displayed were astounding. Then I went to the Nation museum, that was better, but for a country like Singapore, I expected something a lot better, the building itself was lovely, but everything seemed too formal.
I left there, and went for a walk around, got some chinese food, and met an Indonesian women and her daughter, who went to a public school in Surrey. They must of been pretty rich.
Then I found this great book shop, which was huge, and spent the rest of the day in there. Inside, there were other shops, a big music shop, which had pillar's with headphones, where you could listen to music of your choice. I listened to ' The Jam' for about an hour, then walked around, hang on a minute, I've forgotton a major event.
In the music shop, as I listened on the headphones, a gorgeous girl gave me her phone number, hurray, my ego has been restored.
Christmas draw's nearer, and I still don't feel 'in the festive mood'. I then walked back to the guest house on Bencooles street in the evening calm. On the way, meeting a French bloke, who needed to find a cheap guest house. I guided him, like the guide I am.
On returning to the hostel, I tried to phone the number that the beautiful girl gave me in the music shop. Natalie was ingaged though, (I mean that someone was on the phone) it was 8:15pm and I went out for something to eat. I went to a food court, where there were over thirty different kitchens surrounded by tables and chairs, different food's from around the world, and quite cheap. I wished I'd found this place earlier.
I returned to the hostel and had a shower, then read a newspaper for a while. Finally going to sleep at around 12:30am.

20 December 1991, Friday.

2005-12-24T17:06:00.000Z

Oh how annoying, I was woken by the girls next to me wacking there magazines on the plastic matress's, although I realised that they were trying to wake me, so I remained motionless, and kept my eye's shut. They soon stopped, and soon after I got up. I had some breakfast, then the ship docked at Tanjang Pinang, I thought this was Batam, but apparently not.
I met the girl who was letting me stay in Batam, and with her, caught a bus to another boat to Batam, the boat to Batam was a big speed boat, with loads of makeshift seats. The boat to Batam cost 8800rp's, and sped through the magrove swamps, as if we were being chased, it was incredible, I've never travelled as fast on water before.
We arrived at Batam and continued to her house, we were greeted not as warmly as I had thought, and soon her father was telling me of cheap hotel's in the area. The girl had an embarassed look on her face, I could get out of there fast enough, I said goodbye, and continued to Singapore.
I caught a taxi to the ferry, which was shared by several people as we went along. Apparently, there is no bus service apart from my taxi of course. Anyway, the taxi cost me 2000rp's, travelling from one side of the island to the other, all of the roads being no better than mud tracks. I was gutted leaving Batam, its the most expensive, horrible place I've visited.
We'll see if Singapore brightens this already gloomy day. The boat from Batam to Singapore was a hydrofoil, first time on one of these as well. The ticket cost 18000rp's, and by 4pm we were motoring towards Singapore, the journey only took an hour or so, and I passed through customs and received an eight day visa.
I left the ferry terminal and starting walking up the street, when I saw two gorgeous yellow birds in the tree above me, then as I went to cross the road, I was warned that if I tried to cross the road whilst the signal was saying not to crossk, I could be fined up to $500, that's Singaporian dollors. I found my way to the underground, which was the cleanest underground or subway system that I had ever seen, come to think of it, this is the cleanest place I have ever been, there's no litter anyway. I travelled to Bagis, which was the location of all the cheapest hotels in Singapore.
I found the cheapest, but had to pay $16, $10 of which I would get back when I left. I got a locker, so I through all my stuff in and went out for dinner, I saw a chinese resturant and thought that I would treat myself, as I'd had such a shitty day.
I had only eaten breakfast, and was really hungry, so I ordered quite a few dishes, I had totalled the bill at $6, and thought that it was a lot of money for one meal but what the hell. I really enjoyed the food and waited for the bill. There is was, the final kick in the groin, the bill was $10, I hadn't understood the menu.
I paid the bill and went for a walk, there are so many lovely things here to buy, for all those who hadn't spent all there money on one stupid meal at a place called 'Fatty's', what a bloody stupid name, I nearly got into a fight with a 25 stone guy who worked there, when I asked if he was 'fatty'. Hey that was a lie.
Anyway, I'm writing this entry on the corner of quite a busy road, in the centre of Singapore. It's very clean and tidy, but doesn't have the guts of Jakarta, or the shit. Another thing, hardly any girls are looking at me now, it's a real ego shock, I think I'll have to go back to Java quick.
I returned to the hotel thingy, I was sharing a huge dorm with loads of people, it's a lot like a hospital really. I'm going to sleep, and hoping for a better day tomorrow.

19 December 1991, Thursday.

2005-12-19T01:00:00.000Z

I don't know what time I woke up, I went and recieved by breakfast from a whole in the wall, 2 boiled eggs and some rice. The eggs smelt so bad, that there were no flies landing on them. I ate the rice, then took the eggs back, and they swopped them with two trays of rice and two fried eggs. I ate that, but the eggs still seemed a little dodgy.
I then went for a walk around the deck, and basically went everywhere on the boat where I was allowed.
We docked at a port where loads of people get on the ship to sell there wears, I bought some Jack fruit and noodles. The boat set off again, and I walked around the ship trying to find somewhere quiet, and was supprised to find, comfortable chairs with padding at the bottom of the boat, I sat down and relaxed.
I went to go to the toilet or something, tried the door to the next level, and it was locked, which meant that I couldn't get out, and I started getting angry. I met this really nice girl, as I complained to the staff member, and found out that they locked all the doors while they checked everybodies ticket.
Knowone apart from me seemed to mind, there was also an escape drill that showed us how the crew would get off the boat in the event of an emergency, but nothing about the passengers, what! It didn't seem to bother anybody.
Well, I calmed down, and then the lovely girl offered me a place to stay in Batam when we get there. I excepted, and then went for another walk. Fell asleep, awoke at 9pm, ate some food, walked around on the deck, then went to sleep at around 11:30pm, but another women was lying on my bed. So I drew her.

18 December 1991, Wednesday.

2005-12-19T00:09:00.000Z

I was softly awoken at 6:30am by Yuni, the sweet girl that lived and worked at the losmen. I went to the toilet and then showered, because they had a shower!, and then went and sat in the early morning sun. I packed all my things up and left.
At 7:40am, I caught a thingy, can't remember it's name, but it was a scooter with three wheels and two seats in the back and bodywork. Well, scary things anyway, went to Kota, stopped in a warung for a drink and some food, and the guy's that worked there fixed my rucksack, that had been broken since I went to France two years ago.
I then walked around Kota, finding a puppet museum, and then some art museum's, I had a great time, and saw some great stuff. I met this guy in one of the museum's and he seemed ok, he asked me back to his house for lunch, he said it wasn't very far, so I went with him. We caught a bus, stopped at a warung and bought some Sundanese dishes that I hadn't seen or tasted before, and we went back to his house to eat.
I didn't see it coming, he then started asking questions about my sexual preferences, I can't believe it happened again. He was gay, and after me, just like that bloke in Pangandaran. I must look like a complete homosexual. I finished my food, thanked the guy, and left quickly.
I caught a bus to the harbour, made my way to the docks, and boarded the boat to Batam at 2pm.
The boat was the same style and size as the ferries that go from Dover to Calais back at home. Although this boat seems to be filled with simple beds, all wooden. There are plastic paded covers, but they needed hunting for. I found one, found a place to sit and talked to the people sitting close to me. I even stopped a fight.
Later I went up to the cafe on the top deck and met and talked to some guys, then at around 10pm we all went and watched the ships band. In the middle of there set, the band asked for someone from the audience to come and sing a song.
First up was a right old performer, adding his own little bits, getting right into the song, and also talking to the audience in the mic, he made me laugh. Then another guy went up, he was good, then this girl, and she was very bad.
I don't know quite what happened, but I was walking on stage, I felt like a sheep, I was trembling, but it flew by, and soon enough I was back to my seat, everyone clapped and said it was good, but I didn't really remember it. Then after another three songs or so, I was up again, singing some song I didn't even know. I had had a few drinks by then, enough said.
I left the lounge where the band was playing, and headed back to the open dorms, the covered every floor, I find where I left my bags and my mat, but there is a women lying fast asleep on it.
It's about 12:30am, I'm very tired, just sitting here hoping that the women went to sleep after drinking five gallons of water, and would need to get up and go to the toilet soon.
Then, at about 1am, the girl next to her awoke, and realised what had happened, she woke the women up, and she shifted over, I thanked them both, and went to sleep on my mat next to them.

17 December 1991, Tuesday.

2005-12-18T23:35:00.000Z

I've awoken, it's much brighter, and I have an amazing need to urinate, now emagine having this bursting sensation getting steadily worse for the next two hours, half asleep, tensing my stomach muscles and clenching my bum cheeks and tensing my legs, trying to forget.
All my prayers were answered, and we stopped, and I releaved myself, which wasn't lovely enough. I stretched my legs a bit, then got back on the bus and fell straight back to sleep.
I awoke again in the Jakarta bus terminal, although at the time, I wasn't sure where I was when I woke up. I caught the number 700 bus to Kota, but I didn't recognize anything along the journey, I got a bit nervous, but although I was worried, I was still half asleep, and kept dropping off into trances and dreams everytime I stopped concentrating on keeping my eye's open.
I luckily opened my eye's, and at that minute, recognized where I was, I called for the bus to stop and jumped out. I tried to phone Lubis, but the person who answered the phone didn't understand me, and I didn't really understand them, the line went dead, and I put the recever down. I walked down the road and found a bank, I changed up some more travellers cheque's and then headed towards the harbour to buy a ticket for the ferry to Singapore, it was 2pm.
As I walked towards the harbour, I stopped and asked the security/police guy's for directions, but they were really nice to me and one of them gave me a lift to the ticket office on the back of his scooter.
I managed to buy a ticket, the boat leaves tomorrow. I then headed towards Jalan Jaksa (where all the cheap hotels are in Jakarta) on the way stopping in an art shop and buying some water colour paints and oil pastels, and a camera film for the journey. I also walked past a Mcdonalds resturant, and bought a thick vanilla milkshake to cool me down.
Arrived at Jalan Jaksa, but instead of going in the first place I saw, like when I was first here, I walked up the street slowly, and chatted to people and ate, and then decided on what I thought was the best place for the cheapest money. It was 5000rp's per night, and I'm sharing a dorm with another English guy, a Canadian and Swiss blokes.
We all got on really well, and spent the whole night talking about our experiences. We all went out and got dinner up the road, then came back to the losmen, and talked for the rest of the night. Everyones gone to sleep now, I'm just writing this up, then I'm of to sleep.

16 December 1991, Monday.

2005-12-16T17:57:00.000Z

My eyes cracked only partially open, and I scanned across the room to Aji's digital clock. It was only 6:30am, and my mind was having none of it, and I quickly faded back to sleep.
This time at 7:40am there was no escape, I jumped up and took a severely cold mandi, where I was slowed by the girl next door who started talking to me. Before I new it, it was 8:05am, I was late for school. I borrowed Aji's bike and sped to the school as fast as I could, narrowly missing an oncoming truck.
I arrived at the school, a little flushed by my near death experience, which soon subsided when I began to teach my morning class. We went through mostly alphabet sounds again, but I think this is the most important thing that I can teach them. Time was soon up, Suriaman invited me to eat with him, I also had to get him to sign a special form that I was taking with me to Singapore tomorrow to renew and extend my visa. I then returned to Aji's(lenkong), well cutting a long, drawn out, boring story short, I was twenty minutes late for my afternoon class, everyone seemed ok with it though. Taught much the same as this morning again, not much to talk of really.
At 5pm I left the school, and went to Pabrik Es, although I was supposed to meeting Asep, and sat and talked to the guy who had taken me to the rubber plantation. His name is Heron, we sat on his veranda drinking sweet coffee, had some food from the passing street trader's, who walk the streets ringing there bell (different bells meaning different food's), and you call them over when they pass, and they bring the food to you. It was a great night, I didn't move all night, but we had loads of different dishes served up, from satay eggs to sweet rice pudding. Everything was gorgeous, and I had a real laugh with Heron.
At 10pm I thanked Heron and his wife, and rode back to Aji's. Aji wasn't there, and I became a little worried that he may of gone out searching for me, thinking I was lost or hurt. Aji got home at about 11pm, and everything was fine, he had been out visiting his friends. Sat and talked until midnight, then started packing my stuff up, ready for my long journey.
As I looked through my money belt, I realised that the English money had gone, it must have been taken at the same time the Indonesian money was stolen, I became really agree, then all of a sudden, agreed in my head that I should use and learn from this experience, and quite quickly calmed down, and let out a little laugh. It was a great feeling, going from wanton grievous violence to contented controlled humorist.
By 2am, I had packed my things and was ready to leave, Aji walked up the road with me, and then waited with me, for over an hour. The bus took me to the main bus terminal, where I could catch a bus to Jakarta, where I could then take a ferry. I waited at the terminal until 5am, when I caught my bus to Jakarta, it had just started to get light, I settled into my seat, and went straight to sleep.

15 December 1991, Sunday.

2005-12-16T17:18:00.000Z

Opened my eye's after I felt a prod in the arm, it was Asep, standing over me. It was 9am, I got up lazily then took my good time having a mandi then getting dressed and ready for the day.
We were going to Ciawi, at 11am we all left, taking several buses, which I didn't mind paying for.
It was a lovely day, I bought some weaved rings in a craft shop, then walked around a small village surrounded by rice paddies and ponds. Sat down with a group of guy's who had a guitar, had a little go and sung some songs, then met this absolutely gorgeous girl, we all continued (about 6 or 7 of us) to a pond and fished for our dinner.
The fish were barbequed and served with lovely rice on a huge banana leaf. I court five fish, four were Cichlids (very much like some fish in my fishtank back in England) and one Gourami (again like ones in my fishtank) the biggest was only about five inches long, but they tasted great.
We drank coconut water from the young coconuts and then walked back to someone's house. On the way, the absolutely gorgeous girl said that she fancied me, I smiled in dis-belief, I really fancied her but said nothing, and took it no further, we walked down the road, then got picked up by a passing flat back van, we all jumped onto the open back, and the van set off, it was around 6pm, and we were all treated to the most amazing sunset.
The village was surrounded by a huge dark forest covered mountains on the horizon, the clouds in the sky were a roasted orange and with the heavy greeny blue of the forested mountains, well I wished I could have stayed in that fleeting moment, and painted it, I could have stayed in that moment for a life time and still marvelled.
But as the van continued along the road, the road turned to one side, then through some tree's, and the vision was lost, the moments were gone. I hadn't even brought my camera, maybe that was for the best, that image will stay in my head forever I hope.
The van dropped us off, and we caught a bus back to Tasikmalaya, had some food, stopped off at Agus's house at no. 12 Pabrik Es, where I used to live, and he wasn't friendly at all, rude idiot, I'm well out of there. We went back to Aji's, and I have done my washing at about midnight, I've had an excellent day today, it's 1am and I'm going to bed with a smile on my face.

14 December 1991, Saturday.

2005-12-14T15:52:00.000Z

I got up this morning at 6:30am, a record time here, especially as I went to sleep at 1:30am. I had a cold mandi, very refreshing. Then this annoying guy came round to practice his English on me. He left, and me and Aji walked to Pabrik Es to meet the guy who was going to take us to Ciamis, on the way getting some cake roll thingy's for breakfast.
We arrived and then set off straight away, first catching a couple of different buses, then quite a long walk eventually arriving at his rubber plantation.
We walked around the huge plantation, that included thousands of coconut tree's, as well as peanut plants, rambutan tree's and of course thousands of rubber tree's. I sat down and drew a picture in my sketchbook, and used the coloured pencils I had bought in Bandung. We continued the tour which ended at the processing building.
Inside was just a big open room with a concrete floor that ran down to a gutter in one corner, there was about ten Indonesian guy's with mask's over there faces, rolling and sprinkling amonia over the raw rubber collected with little bucket's on every tree. It really stunk in there, and we didn't stay for long. It was brilliant to watch how they worked this natural resource. The amonia gives it strength and set the rubber properly apparently, then the rubber is pressed, then put in smoking shed's, which give's rubber it's colour, then it is ready, we looked at every stage of development, finishing at the grade 'A' product.
The staff there had laid out a lunch for us of big sweet banana's, some cakes, coconuts and some coffee. I sat in the blazing sun with my shirt off, eating and drinking, I even got a bit of a tan.
We then headed back, taking another long walk, then two buses back to Tasikmalaya, the guy paid for everything, and seemed more than happy to do so, I was very grateful, but really tired, and feel asleep on the bus back to Tasikmalaya. We arrived back at Tasikmalaya, I woke up to find it had turned really cloudy, I thanked the guy for the great day, and me and Aji started walking back to Aji's. Only a short way up the road, and it started to spit with rain, we carried on, and all of a sudden the heaven's opened, and it was like having a hose pipe squirted directly at us, we ran into the first porch we came too, the people in the house invited us in while it rained, they were very nice, we talked and had tea.
We left once the rain had stopped, and returned to Aji's very tired and hungry. Once we were back, I went downstairs to have a mandi, and while I did, the girl who fancies me from the rented bit, came and stood and watched and talked to me again, she is very sweet though.
Got dressed and had some food, then Asep came round and we all took a walk into town, and went to the Asia superstore, and I bought some Christmas cards to send home.
We stayed at Asia until about 9pm, then meandered home. Talked until Aji feel asleep and Asep went home.
I sat up alone, it is 11pm, and I'm going to write the Christmas cards tonight so that I can send them tomorrow, I'm having some of the whisky that I bought last week.
I've had a really good day today, it's been very long, but brilliant. Well until beasok(tomorrow).

13 December 1991, Friday.

2005-12-14T00:01:00.000Z

Hmmm? Bit of a funny dream last night, I dreamt that I was pooing out of my bum a bit, but a massive amount through my mouth, massive great log's were coming out of my mouth, but they didn't taste of anything.
There was a lot more to the dream, but I just can't remember it.
Well, after such a fantastic dream, I naturally awoke licking my lip's, and heard Aji stirring a glass of coffee with a metal spoon, I climbed out of the sleeping bag, and took the coffee from Aji. That was really nice of him, it was lovely. I finished my coffee and went downstairs to the toilet, which is shared with the big group of people who live in the rented bit next door, there is a well, and you must draw the water up yourself, it's great.
I came back upstairs and started clearing a space in the room ajoining the room that we sleep, so that I can begin painting. I didn't start painting though, I just went through my book sticking in all the bit and bob's that I have collected along the way.
At around 4pm, the sun was blanketed by cloud's, and the smell from my unwashed arm pits was making the cockroaches feel sick. I went down stairs, pulled some water up from the well and had my first mandi here, it's weird because there's a wooden panel that you have to pick up and move, when you have a mandi or go to the toilet, and it only comes up to chest height, and the ajoining room is like the kitchen, where all the women from the rented bit are all day. As I had a mandi, a younger girl that obviously fancies me, stood and had a conversation with me while I washed.
I finished and headed back upstairs to the begining of a truly massive storm, that lasted about five hours, during that time, Asep came round for a bit, me and Aji went out and got some food to bring back and have with the rice, I rode Aji's push bike, and beat him on his motorbike, it was still belting it down, we got back and ate at about 7pm.
Asep joined us, and after we ate, we all went around to Pabrik Es to see the nice couple that had envited me to the rubber plantation.
We arrived but found out that the husband was out, but the wife made us drinks, and talked about the husband taking me to 'Cheamis' tomorrow, I agreed, we finished out drinks, said thankyou and goodnight and all walked back to Aji's.
We got back and chatted about friendship and women, then I spoke about my family for ages, and started getting really tired at about 1:30am. So I went to bed.

12 December 1991, Thursday.

2005-12-12T16:43:00.000Z

I got out of bed at 10am, had a mandi and went to the toilet, didn't have any breakfast, just packed up my gear and said goodbye, all friends again, once I was leaving. I flagged down a bechak, and arrived at my new home at around miday, I was at Aji's house, Jalan Lengkong Panyerutan No. 11, Tasikmalaya.
When I got there, Aji was working on some blokes motorbike, I took my stuff upstairs, just really throughing it down, then came back downstairs and all three of us went out on the motorcycles. I went on the back of Aji's friends bike, we visited some of Aji's friends who lived out of town, stayed there for around two hours talking, then with them friends as well, now forming a small convoy headed onto another friends house. We rode around in the pouring rain, and I was even allowed to ride a scooter, it felt pretty dangerous but I loved it. I managed to have some breakfast along the way, and headed back to Aji's by around 4pm.
After unpacking my stuff and putting up my mosquito net, we both walked to Pabrik Es, where I was supposed to visit the couple who had envited me to the rubber plantation, but they had gone to the doctor's, so I missed them.
On the way back to Aji's house I bought some side dishes in the warung, we took them back to Aji's where he already had a pot of rice, we dished up a meal for us both. It was gorgeous, and a relief not to be living in Pabrik Es No. 12 anymore.
Asep turned up, and we all chatted for a while, it was getting late, and Asep went home. I started writing today's entry, and listened to some Sunda music that Aji played on a small cassette machine, I got in my sleeping bag, inside my mosquito net, and settled down to sleep.

11 December 1991, Wednesday.

2005-12-12T00:21:00.000Z

Excavated myself from a deep sleep, it was 7am, I got up and went about my usual morning sequence. As a ended my task's, I noticed it was 7:40am and I left for school, without eating breakfast.
As I walked down Jalan Pabrik Es, I passed a small warung come shop, and an old woman inside called me over, and told me that I could stay at her house and it would be cheaper and better at hers. I guessed the time was moving on, and asked the time, it was 8am, I thanked them and ran out and caught a bechak to the school.
I taught my first class of the day, it all went very well, I told them about different way's of speaking to different people, like friends or stranger's. Then I had breakfast at the school, and sat around talking to the headteacher, then had some lunch, and waited until 3pm for my second class.
Only two of my student's turned up, and then one of them left, I stayed talking to the girl, and then Asep appeared. Then with Asep, we went to the girl's house, chatted and had some tea, then returned with Asep to Pabrik Es by bechak.
As we stepped into the house it was obvious that the family was ignoring me, I've obviously breathed in the wrong way, I don't get these people, it was my money that was stolen. I'm going to move out tomorrow, but don't know who much money to give them for letting me stay here. I feel strange about giving them money knowing it was someone here that took the money out of my bag. I can't afford for them not to like me though, all my post is being sent here.
I'm sitting alone in the lounge, the whole family is talking in the kitchen, and I don't know what about, although I've got an idea. I don't know, I don't feel at all sad at the moment, really.
I go out for a walk, and only a couple of doors up the road, I was called over to have a chat and a drink. They are a really nice couple, and the guy has offered to show me around his rubber plantation, so I jumped at the chance, and I'm coming back tomorrow to make proper plans, or as he said it, 'make a program'.
I returned to no.12 Pabrik Es, and had a talk to Agus and cleared the air. Then sat on my bed and wrote this while listening to a dog howl up the street.
Well tonights turned out better than I imagined it would, especially from earlier on.
I'm a lot happier knowing I'm leaving this place, they have been good to me, and horrible, oh well, I'm going to sleep now.

10 December 1991, Tuesday.

2005-12-10T17:22:00.000Z

Pulled myself away from another lovely dream, faded back into it, and then lurched out. I'm having some great dreams at the moment.
Anyway, it was about 10am when I got up, I went straight into the toilet and had a mandi. Agus and Edang were sitting in the lounge, I got dressed and then went and sat with them, and we started to talk, before I knew it, it was 12:30pm, and I decided to get there early, and catch the public transport, which is actually little van's with seats in, and a man holding a wag of bank notes and shouting, hanging out of the empty doorway of the vehicle.
Jumped on the bus, and relaxed, but the scenery looked strange, and before I knew it, I was 20km out of town. I jumped off the bus, and caught one going in the opposite direction. Arriving at the school at 1:30pm, half an hour late.
It turned out, that I need not of bothered at all, as none of the students had turned up. I was quite relieved though. I waited at the school, and had some food, then my second class arrived. Taught that class, then sat around in the school talking for a while.
At about 7pm I started walking to Asep's house, and from Asep's we both went to Iwan's and had some food, I was chatting to his parents, who are very nice. It was getting late, so I said thankyou and goodbye and headed back to No.12 Jalan Pabrik Es (Agus's house, where I'm staying, for the moment anyway!).
Got back at around 9:30pm, and sat around for a while on my own, writing this, then went to bed.

9 December 1991, Monday.

2005-12-09T16:07:00.000Z

Begrudgingly shook off a dream I was having, where I was photographing a gorgeous semi-nude blonde model. That certainly was a painful thing to do.
I opened my eye's with a smile on my face, turned to get out of bed, and saw Agus and Edang both asleep on the other bed, and my smile vanished. I got up and checked the time, it was 7:30am. I went and had a mandi, the girls that were up and around the house didn't say anything to me, there is an awful atmosphere here. I went back to my room and got dressed, it was 7:50am, and my first class today was at 8am. I walked into the lounge and said goodbye, but Lia was the only one who said goodbye to me, I left for school.
In my morning class, I was solidly going through the alphabet, and pronouciation, which I think is probably the most important thing I can teach them. I enjoyed the lesson, and felt some progress had been made.
I finished the lesson and headed for Aji's, on the way getting some noodles at the side of the road, I was really hungry. Got to Aji's and waited for his friend to arrive, Aji's friend still hadn't arrived by 12:30pm, Aji said that he was waiting so that all of us could go to his friends wedding, we left, but it took ages to get there, and almost as soon as we arrived, I had to go and teach my 1 o'clock class back at the school. I felt really bad, because Aji came back with me.
I took the class, met some more guy's in my class who invited me back to there house for some food, I jumped at the chance of staying away from Pabrik es.
On the way to where we were going, we walked past a house being built, the fresh smell of concrete reminded me of home, back when we were having a extension built, many happy memories flashed through my mind, and for a minute, I longed to be home with my family.
I returned to Pabrik es, then went straight out again, and met Asep, we went to a girls house and watched 'Miami Vice' on the television. We left there and went walking again, only to return to Pabrik es at about 9:30pm.
I just remembered that I hadn't gone back to see Aji like I said I would, I really hope that I haven't upset him, he's already my best friend here.
I'll go and see him tomorrow, and apolagize.
I sitting in the lounge on my own, nobodies talking to me, it's quite awkward, I think I'll go to bed.

8 December 1991, Sunday.

2005-12-08T13:12:00.000Z

T'was the morn of the eighth, I awoke with still clear memories of the night before, but also with stronger memories of the horrible dream I had just left.
The dream was set half in Indonesia and half in England, and the two places were just a room apart. I was in the Indonesian room, trying to protect a group of Indonesians from a Ninja, we fought but I was losing, the Ninja cut the letter 'D' into my back, and used me as a punch bag. As I was punched through a doorway, I noticed that the fight had moved into my parents lounge back in England. My Mum and Dad were just sitting watching television, and appeared to be ignoring the fight happening before them. Using the same sword that the Ninja had used to cut the letter into my back, he then cut off my left leg, just below the knee, and then cut my leg into a few peices, one lump being thrown into the fish tank in the corner of the room, and the fish quickly setting about the offering with gusto. My left foot lay beside me, I picked up my foot and tried to get up, realising I couldn't, I shouted at my parent's for help. They told me to get up and ring the hospital myself. Then I woke up.
I climbed out of my mosquito net and followed my usual morning routine of mandi, toilet, breakfast. I was sitting in the lounge thinking about what to do next, when Tantan came and sat next to me, and then started stirring up trouble about the theft last night. He said that, people there thought that I was rude and strange, he said that he had tried to explain to them that I was just young. As if this didn't infuriate me enough, he carried on to say that I had ignored him and created a bad feeling in the house all the time that I had been there, he said it all very politely and nervously.
My blood started to boil, I wanted to beat him into a mushy pulp, of course I didn't, but my words flowed like burning lava. Then Endang joined in, and I quickly snapped at him, I had started shouting. Agus perked up, and said that it would best if I started looking for somewhere else to live. I jumped up, slipped my shoes on, and walked out of the house.
I was furious, but glad to be outside, I knew exactly where I was going, Aji's, he had offered me a place to stay there before, I walked to his house, talked about everything with him, had some food and played chess. Aji is very frank and forward, but he seem's genuine and kind.
I left Aji's at around 6pm and headed back to Pabrik es, stopping at the end of the road and speaking to some blokes, then Agus and Asep walked past me, I said that I was sorry for shouting at him, and he said it was no problem. They walked off and I stayed talking to the group, then a guy with glasses walked over and started talking to me, he spoke great English with an American accent, he invited me into his house with his friends, I went with them, they seemed very nice people. We sat and talked together, had some little snacks and drinks, it was really nice, they were also very polite, which was lovely. I feel terrible because I can't remember his name, it was something like Miwmin, anyway, I soon left, and thought I go to Asep's house, but I couldn't actually find it, so I went back to Pabrik es.
Nobody was up or around, Tantan or his stuff wasn't around, Edang wasn't about either, I sat alone in the front room, thinking and writting these lines. Being defended by the tick-tock of the old clock on the wall, feeling down, can't stop thinking about all that happened today, and everything that was said.
It's been a very long day, I feel strange about sleeping here tonight, but I don't know what else to do, so I'll just go to bed.

7 December 1991, Saturday.

2005-12-07T16:44:00.000Z

Got up at around 10am, and had a mandi and went to the toilet, had some breakfast and then lazed around until 2pm. Then Agus and I went to visit Asep, when we arrived we watched a film with Bill Murray in it, it was called 'Stripes', they both loved it, but it frustrated me, I didn't come all this way just to watch films that are old at home.
Well, it's about 4pm now, I'm really hungry, and just a little sick of the manner situation, it just gets worse and worse. I'll get by, as usual.
We returned to Pabrik es, and I had some food. We had agreed to go to the cinema tonight, so Rita, Lia, Agus and me were just about to set off, when I realised that I needed some money, so I went to get some cash from my money belt, hidden under my bed. Well not obviously hidden well enough! There had been 40 000rp's taken from the money belt. The pictures were cancelled, and I left my room and told Agus what had happened, then everyone else one by one, we all chatted about it, but no conclusions were drawn, and I'm no closer to my money.
This had all happened at around 7pm, and we had all been talking about nothing else, it was 10:30pm, and I went for a walk with Endang, I bought a small bottle of whisky for 2700rp, although it was terrible stuff, we walked past several really big brothel's, Edang told me that they were hotel's with many girl's.
I actually enjoyed the walk, and felt a little calmer. So we returned to the house, I had a little food and then went into my room. It's obvious that I can't stay here much longer, I realise that now, but I'll deal with that another day. I wrote up the journal entry, catalogued my experience, and went to bed.

6 December 1991, Friday.

2005-12-06T14:41:00.000Z

I opened my lazy eye's, realised that I felt a lot better, and lurched out of bed. It was 9:30am, I went to the toilet, my diarrhoea had been vanquished by my fasting, aha!
I had some breakfast and then talked and done some drawings in my little sketchbook.
Just eating, drawing, writing and talking all day today.
During the evening, I went out with Endang, and got some passport photo's done, to put into Christmas cards that I will send home.
Came straight back and went to bed, after a little misunderstanding with Tantan, something about music, and just because I didn't agree with him, he went all funny, like I was just trying to upset him or something.
Tantan can be such an idiot sometimes.
Well, then I got to bed at about 11:30pm.
Salamat malam.

5 December 1991, Thursday.

2005-12-06T13:51:00.000Z

Decided to get up after a really rough nights sleep, it was 10am, I went to the toilet and realised my old friend diarrhoea had returned. I decided not to eat for 24 hours, to get whatever bug it was out of my system. I made sure that I drank plenty of liquids though.
At the moment, I'm sitting in the lounge drinking tea, while everyone around me is shouting at each other. At this very second, I wish that I was at home.
It's about 4:30pm, all I've done today, is drink sweet tea and relax, and just a second ago, I went to fart, but actually shat myself, that makes me feel even better, so I head straight for the toilet.
It's around 7pm, I've just had some food, not much but it was delishious. Then went to the toilet again, nothing's changed in that department yet.
I felt a lot better, and decided to go to sleep at 9pm, so that I could really get my strength back again. I woke up at 11pm, went to the toilet again, no change, then went back to sleep.

Last night's dream;I was in a huge shop, that appeared to be a attic with window's, the manager of the shop was Ryan's dad, Rick, I was looking for presents for my family and friends back in England, as I looked around the shop, I found a huge cap, that I decided to buy for my friend Ian. Then Rick asked me to help him clear the shop of fish, because he said that the shop was closing for six months.
Now the fish were swimming around in the air, there were thousands of them, I saw a sperm whale and a killer whale, and explained to Rick that we couldn't leave the whales with the other fish, otherwise they would eat them, so we split them into two rooms. The whales were not life size or actually not life like at all, they were both made out of plastercine, and about 2 feet long.
Once they were in there seperate room, first one whale would gulp the other whale down in one mouth full, completely swallowing the other whole, and then seconds later, would regurgitate it back up whole again, only for the other whale, which had just been consumed, to gulp down the whale that had just swalled him, then the whole process just seemed to continue.
As we turned away from the whales, Rick had turned into a guy called Leif, a friend that I had gone to school with. We went and sat outside the shop, and started watching around 30 or more naked girls running up and down the road. After we had watched them for a time, we went back into the shop which was now a huge house, and sat around a great table and started eating dinner, all my friends and family were there, also a famous actor that I didn't know, I left the table and went for a jog around a building site.
That's all that I remember.

4 December 1991, Wednesday.

2005-12-06T13:08:00.000Z

Got up at 7am, had a mandi, then ate some breakfast and then rushed to school by bechak. I arrived at school on time, and took my class, it all went really well I think. After the class had ended, all the students stayed and we all had a chat, as one by one everyone left, one very pretty student gave me her address.
Everyone had left, so I did the same and walked home. On the way back, I stopped and watched a game being played on the side of the street. Two men with a crowd of all ages surrounded them played a game similar to the game of 'conkers' that children play in England. Both men had a small dark nut, which they put in a wooden contraption, like a frame, then smashed the two nuts together, when the frame was opened, it showed one of the nuts was smashed, some money changed hands, and someone else stepped forward with his nut.
I carried on back to the house, stopping at a shop on the way back. I bought some soap and a toothbrush, the women that served me, offered me a room, and said it would be a lot cheaper than the place I was staying in now, I thanked her, and left. Everyone wants me to live with them.
I eventually made it back to Pabrik es, had another mandi, had some more food and then returned to the school for my class at 1pm. I was really tired, Agus had come with me, and had been talking to Aman while I had been teaching. I finished the class, even more tired than before, and walked back with Agus, on the way an old guy on a scooter stopped and started talking to us, he asked if he could come back to the house with us, I was really tired and didn't really want the company, so I said that we were going straight to play volley ball, and not going straight home.
This plan back fired on me though, because he said,"I'll come and play with you." Which is what he did. We all played, I got even more tired and thirsty, and when the game was eventually finished he followed us back to the house, I was so tired though, when we got home, I had some food and then went straight to sleep, leaving him to talk to Tantan and Agus.
I awoke, very hot and feaverish, then a headache, tried to sleep again, but kept changing from hot to cold, and then hot again. I slept on and off from 6pm through to 2am.
I then had a poo and a drink and went back to bed, still going through the hot and cold thing, feeling quite weak, seem to be feeling even worse now, whats going on.
Back to bed.

3 December 1991, Tuesday.

2005-12-03T14:36:00.000Z

I cracked open my sleep cemented eyes, flicked my tongue across my dry, sharp lips, and drew in a large breath. My eye's scanned from left to right, running across the interior surface of my mosquito net. I let the breath go, it cooled my wet lips as it rushed from my nose. I pulled my legs up, found the opening of my protective net with my left hand, and got up.
I had some breakfast at around 10:30am, and then a mandi, then lazed around until miday.
At 12:30pm, I left the house with Agus, and made for the telephone office, and phoned home(back in England), so that I could give my Mum the address here, I had realised that the letter's I had sent home would arrive just as I was leaving to Singapore. I will need to go to Singapore to renew my visa, if I want to stay longer.
On the way back from the telephone office, I stopped by the school, but there were no students, so I returned to Pabrik es and ate again.
At 2:40pm I went back to the school to teach my class 4, I don't know what happened to my class 3, that I was supposedd to teach earlier. I had a really good laugh with class 4, they were a lot of fun, the class finished and I said goodbye. Asep was waiting for me outside with another friend of his. We introduced ourselves, his name is Aji, and one of the first things he said to me whilst walking his cool motorbike down the road, was, do you want to fight me. His face was scarred and worn, he wore a black leather jacket and a white ti-shirt, jeans and black boots, and he was wearing shades. He looked like an Indonesian fonzie, from 'Happy Days' on the television.
I hesitated for a second, then accepted his challenge with a smile, he laughed and refused, he then invited me to live at his house. We carried on walking, and soon came to his house, it was really cool, a bit of a ruin, filled with motorbikes and tool's, I loved it.
I returned back to the house on Pabrik es, had another mandi and some food, and then left again to talk to the Punlak Silat teachers, that's the mystical local martial art. They weren't there, and some one said that they were both ill, hmmmm, weird eh.
So we just walked back to the house, Asep also told me that the guy who he had arranged to fight me today, couldn't do it, he didn't say why though.
We got back to the house, Asep came in, and with Agus, we sat around talking, as I was in the company of male adults, I brought up the subject of masterbation, a very taboo subject here, I suppose it is back in England as well, but not amongst friends, anyway, we all had a good laugh, and I went to bed at about midnight.
Salamat tidure.

2 December 1991, Monday.

2005-12-02T15:01:00.000Z

Opened my eye's, slightly cold, and saw and heard Lea waking me up, pulled one side of my sleeping bag over my chest, I always sleep with it wide open. I pulled my legs up, swung round and crawled out of my mosquito net. It was 6:30am, I had a mandi(wash) and then a large breakfast, slung on my clothes and headed for the pre-pat school, and my first proper lesson at 8am.
The class went really well, I explained the pronouciation of the English alphabet, then some key phrases that I wrote on the blackboard like,"Hello, how are you?"
The lesson finished very quickly, they were my class 1, very nice bunch. I then went home and ate again, had another mandi, and then returned to the school at 1pm for my second class.
Class 2 weren't so good, a couple of guy's in the back were making trouble, but most of the girl's in the group were really attractive.
I went through much of the same things as the first class, finished and walked home with Asep. Before I left, I went into the office and signed the receipt for my first 75000rp, my first months wages, they gave me the money and I left.
I had another mandi(I'm not clean enough) and then ate again, then sat around talking with Agus and Asep, they have organised a fight for me tomorrow with some other master of a local style. I'm obviously not going to be slaughtered enough again, oh well, I just hope I can write my journal tomorrow, I don't know why I agree to these things, why can't I back down, we'll see tomorrow.
Asep left at about 9:30pm, I just happened to pick my nose and eat it, and everyone was nearly sick, I found this very funny.
I had another little bite to eat, and by 11pm I was completely exhausted and decided to go to bed, I laid in bed for ages, wrote my journal and eventually got to sleep.

1 December 1991, Sunday.

2005-12-01T15:03:00.000Z

Awoke at, I don't really know what time. Got up and had some breakfast, and then sat around in the morning sun. I started drawing the scene outside Aman's house, with the women talking, and houses, when Aman came out and said, "ok, we are going fishing now", so rude, get over it mikey.
We walked to his favourite spot, I sat next to him while he fished, then he gave me the fishing rod, and asked if I wanted to fish, actually that doesn't sound like him, he probably said, "you fish now", but anyway, I cast the float out a little way and sat quietly staring at the motionless float. He snatched the rod out of my hands and said, "no, over here" and pointed further out, he cast the rod out again. I got up and walked off quickly, it was either that or I was going to have to push him in.
I enjoyed the time on my own, the countryside is beautiful here. On my walk, I saw another one of the lizards that had scared Ursula, back at the Raitha losmen, the one that I had removed for her. I sat in front of it, and drew it, it didn't look half as scary in the day. Apparently, it is called a Bunglon.
I finished my drawing and walked back, Aman had caught a magnificent common carp of about two pounds in weight. I felt really bad that such a lovely fish had to die for our food.
The food was really beautiful, and the carp was gorgeous, I finished my food, said thankyou and went and sat on the varander. I'm sitting here on the varander outside the front of Aman's house, surrounded by curious children, all coming close, and then running away when I lift my head, I think it evolved into a game, and I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon there.
It started to rain, so I went inside and started stroking the cat, then I noticed the millions of little black things crawling around under his fur, and stopped touching it very quickly.
At 3:30pm, Aman told me that he had to stay and look after his wife, who had become a little ill. I was actually glad to be returning on my own, so at about 4pm, I left, and started making the long journey back to Tasikmalaya.
I got back to Tasikmalaya, and back to the house by 7:30pm, it was a long journey. I was really hungry and had some food, then had a mandi(wash) and then went for a poo, I hadn't been to the toilet since yesterday morning when we left for Garut, because the toilet I was told to use in Garut, was situated where everyone could see you, so I held it.
Sitting back in the house, relaxing on the sofa, just talking and joking about my time away, then I gave Lia a English lesson. I was getting really tired, and decided to go to bed, it was about midnight. I start teaching properly tomorrow at the school, big day tomorrow, ah.
Mari.

30 November 1991, Saturday.

2005-11-30T16:45:00.000Z

Woke up at around 10:30am, followed my usual routine, had some breakfast. I finished my letter to my friend Ian, and took this and other letters that I had written, down to the post office. I casually walked back, rolled up my sleeping bag, and had a little tidy, because I had agreed to spend the weekend with Aman at his home, he's very friendly, and speaks English very well, but he doesn't understand simple politeness.
Asep and Aman turned up, and with there usual rude, "let's go now"(the rudness is really getting to me).
So we left to Aman's house in Garut, firstly we got a bechak, and then a couple of bus's. He paid for everything, but I kind of expected him to, he can be so rude and annoying that it's not a problem, he's not that bad really.
We got to his house in Garut at around 6:30pm, there are millions of lakes surrounding his village, teaming with fish. We dropped our bags at his house, said hello, and then left straight away, caught another bus, to a hot swimming pool, heated by a volcano, it was like a hot bath.
I was lazing around in the hot water, really enjoying myself, when Aman came over and said in his usual way, "we'll go now".
We made our way back to his house, and then we had some lovely food, I sat in the lounge talking to Aman's eighteen year old sister-in-law, she is very sweet. Aman walked into the room and said to me, "sleep now, yes", then walked me into a room, showed me a bed, and blanket, and then showed me how to turn the light on and off, he was deadly serious. He must think I'm completely stupid, maybe that's why he's so rude to me all the time.
I lay on my bed, wrote up today's journal, and turned my light off, and went to sleep.

29 November 1991, Friday.

2005-11-30T00:48:00.000Z

Last night, I dreamt that I was with a bloke I new back in England, and together we were saving the name of some cowboy, in a Western. Weird.

I woke up at 9:30am and had my usual mandi, then slowly ate my breakfast, lazed around and picked a huge peice of skin off of my foot. Asep came round, and I showed him a little boxing. He then left and I went up on the roof and meditated. The sun was beaming down on me, it was really hot today, after around an hour, I came down and had some more food.

At about 4pm, the sun was covered with clouds, and I went out for a walk, and started watching the girls playing volleyball. I ended up staying for around an hour, then noticing that the sky looked very dark, I went back to the house.
It didn't rain, but just went dark. I helped some people that came round with there English, they were friends of Agus or something. After, I went with Asep back to the martial art mystic teachers place, we spoke for a while, and I've said that I want to learn, and now that I have a job in Tasikmalaya, I could start my lessons. Nothing was agreed, it does feel strange, and I don't know whether I want them powers.
We returned to the house, and I went into my room, I wrote this up, and started writing a letter to my friend Ian, back in England.
I've written the letter to Ian, it's nearly 3am now, I'm very tired and confused. Goodnight.

28 November 1991, Thursday.

2005-11-28T16:16:00.000Z

Last night's dream ; I was flying around the streets that I lived back in England, but all the road's had become canals, then I saw the Dutch guy Eric, and stopped and helped him build a mosquito net, I can't really remember anything else about it.

I waved goodbye to my sleeping hours, and welcomed my awoken one's. It was 10am, I had some breakfast, and then my usual morning mandi. Sat around for a bit, mostly writing and drawing.
Then the principle of the pre-pat school came round with the contract. I read it through, said that I thought it was ok, and then with Agus, followed the principle back to the school.
I took another class, in which they asked me to explain my principles, I wasn't completely sure what they meant, so I confidently spoke about my take on the whole meaning of life, they must have been so bored. I finished the lesson, everyone seemed happy enough, and then went into the principles office and then signed the contract, and my next three months, hmmm.

Went back to the house by bechak, in as it turned out to be, the biggest thunder and lightning storm I had ever witnessed, it was incredible.
Back at the house, its already dark and only 6pm, I was sure I was going to take my first private group lesson today, but it obviously appears not, well I hope not, I really tired now, I'm just writing a letter to my friend Lee back in England.

Asep and Aman came around, I soon woke up, and decided to go and post the letters that I have written, it was around 8:30pm, but they both assured me that the post office would still be open. They were wrong as it turned out, so we just went out for a walk, but coming back, they took me to the house of the teacher of the local style and mystic force.
They were very welcoming, and asked me to watch there training session, where the teacher had to young pupils performing a walking kator(set of movements) up and down the yard, while the teacher apparently moved them, with the power of his mind or something, it was like a wave hitting the children, and at one time they were dragged along the floor.
I kept thinking that it was some kind of hoax, and was trying to figure out how it was being done, but as I questioned what I was seeing, I couldn't find an answer. The teacher was moving his hand and they were getting pushed that way, the children were walking away from the teacher and could not see him. I was very curious and asked to feel his power, but he said that I couldn't take it, and it would hurt me. He did though, agree to a little contest, to see whether his style could challenge my boxing abilities.

We started, his face changed, his eye's became bigger and bulged out, his tongue kept flicking out and he moved around, and very close to the floor, it was very strange, like not fighting a man at all. Then quick as a flash, he moved in close to me and stood up and grabbed by pectoral muscal(one side of the chest), and twisted it. It was agony, and I stepped back, it was no contest, I couldn't touch him.
He said he could cure the pain in my chest, and wiped his hand over the area, which done absolutely nothing to help the still burning pain, but soon after it did go.
He showed me something else, he gave me a bottle of fanta drink, and told me to slap the cap of the bottle with my palm, I did and nothing happened. He then gave me a pebble that he had been gripping all the time he was explaining. He told me to grip it hard for a while and then repeat the exercise with the bottle, and sure enough, when I did, the bottom of the bottle fell off. Whether I was duped or not, I can never tell, but everyone here believes it.
I asked if I could learn, and they smiled and said yes, and then asked me to offer a price I would be willing to pay. I don't bloody know! I didn't say that, but thought it, said that I'd see them again and goodbye.

Went back to the house, very tired, and headed straight for my bed, but as I put my hand down on it, I realised it was soaking wet, my pillow was drenched as well.
So I pulled out my sleeping bag, which is completely water proof, laid that on the bed, climbed in and went to sleep, no problem.

27 November 1991, Wednesday.

2005-11-27T14:57:00.000Z

I was awoken by Endang, the oldest brother at around 7am. I got up and had a mandi, then sat down to a lovely breakfast of gado gado, then had to rush to the pre-pat school to teach again.
I thought that I was going to sign the contract today, but they said it wasn't finished.
So I took the morning class, went through much that I spoke about yesterday really, but these were different pupils, so they didn't know.
After taking the class, I took a walk around the town, and went to the 'Asia' department store, which was the place that I bought my shirt, and the place I came with Agus and Dodo the other day. I went up to the cafeteria and watched the fish for a while, and then went back to the house and had some more food.
At around 2:30pm, I went back to the pre-pat school with Agus and Dodo, and took another lesson. I had to teach a lot more students this time, the youngest was 16 and the oldest was over 40, it all seemed to go well enough.
After I'd finished taking the class, Agus and me went and spoke to the school head, about the hours he wanted me to work, and what days. As he was explaining, I looked at the sweet Dodo, and she looked at me, and went to the toilet in his office, Agus took her into the toilet and cleaned her up. It kind of ended our discussion.
We left the school, and returned home in the pouring rain, by bechak. We ate again, and then sat around.
Then this Dutch guy turned up at the house, his name was Eric, and was going to stay here for the night, and was going to Bandung in the morning. I went up on the roof again and meditated for around 20 minutes, came down and mandied again, then with Eric and Agus, we took another walk to the 'Asia' department store, where Eric had wanted to see the big fish in the cafe area that I had told him about, we had a good walk around, then returned to the house, sat and chatted about different experiences, it was great to get another western perspective here at the moment.
I sat and wrote a letter to my old folks (parents) and then started drawing a picture of the railway carriage that I lived in back in England, so that I could explain more easily to Eric and Agus, but as I drew, and continued to draw, after they both had gone to bed, the picture made me feel close to home, and somehow better.
I put down my pen and book and went to bed, it was around 1am.

26 November 1991, Tuesday.

2005-11-26T18:46:00.000Z

My eyes gave birth to a new day, it was around 10am, and I am the laziest of cad's, rather, hip, hip, ho ra, the king isn't dead long live the shrimp.
Sometimes, I read back these entries and wonder why I would ever be such a fool, as to waste his time writing such stupid sentences, I have not answered this question yet.

Anyway, on with the day, I had some breakfast, which in this house, is the same meal I have for lunch and dinner, but actually I really like it. I then lazed around, and then went up onto the flat roof of the house and meditated alone.
I had a great time, I cut myself off from reality and thought, and assumed only space. I came down after an hour or so, had some more food, and then wrote this, while listening to Sade, being played in the background.
We then left for the pre-pat school, and talked to the lecturers again, and then I took a class for an hour, I taught them mostly pronouciation, it went very well, and seemed to cause the desired effect.
Tomorrow, I will sign a contract for 3 months, with a monthly salary in advance of 150 000rp, that is about £50, but that is a massive amount here, and more than enough to live on.
I walked home very proud of myself, had some more food, and a mandi, and then started talking to Agus and Esep about a local form of matial art that I could learn while I'm here. Esep told me that he practices the style and challenged me to match, so we'll see which is more effective, seeing as I have boxed a little back at home.
It's around 9pm, but I'm quite tired again, and I've got to be up early tomorrow for my first proper lesson, and the start of a new time for me here. So, I'm off to bed.
Salamat tidur.

25 November 1991, Monday.

2005-11-25T14:34:00.000Z

I woke up at around 10am, slowly I worked through my morning schedule, of a mandi(wash), and then some breakfast and chatting to the family. Then Agus with Dodo, the lovely little girl, who get's away with murder, and me all went shopping, we went to the big shop that I went to before(the one where I bought the shirt), and looked around. There were loads of girls in there, and they were all smiling at me, I'm some kind of idol here. We went to the cafeteria, there was this huge aquarium in there, filled by huge great fish, Agus was talking to some girls and I took Dodo to watch the fish. It was sweet, she wanted me to pick her up, so she could get a better view, I think she's warming to me, or becoming less shy.
We then went to the pre-pat school, Agus and Dodo went backt to the house and I stayed and talked to the principle, and he offered to put me up at the school if I had any problems at Agus's house. He has also invited me to his house on saturday, then another lecturer invited me to his house, I didn't have much luck explaining to him, that it would be inpolite to accept his offer, as I had just accepted another offer, which was on the same day.
At about 3:30pm, I caught a bus back to Agus's, and on my return, went and played volley ball just up the road.
I gave it my everything, and lauching myself to get a wide ball, I fell to the ground and cut my arm and grazed my knee. Result, that didn't hurt enough. I'd had enough, and returned to the house, for some reason I'm really homesick at the moment. When I got back, I had some food(makan), and then talked to the guy that had been in the lounge last night, he turn's out to be the eldest brother, who everyone had completely forgotten to mention existed, funny.
His name is Endang, he seem's like a nice bloke, we chatted for ages, then I got tired and decided to have an early night, I still feel a bit strange.

24 November 1991, Sunday.

2005-11-24T21:46:00.000Z

Well, it's one month exactly today, great. I awoke at 1pm after our late night. I got up and had some breakfast. Heny and her friend have been waiting for me to wake up since 9am this morning. So I took a quick mandi and we headed out to somewhere, I didn't really know at the time. One thing I should point out, is Heny is not the sister of Agus and Tantan, they have a sister but I can't remember her name.
We went to Heny's grandmother's house, it was a lovely place, we had some coffee and then some tea, and then some rice and fried fish(looked like the fish I would buy in the tropical fish shop back home), and carp and part of a huge eel, that they had caught just as I got there. We had some shrimps as well, but while I was eating the eel, I kept seeing the image of them chopping its head off, which was lovely, but I'm actually glad I saw it. All of the food was gorgeous, the rice was on big banana leaves, and we all ate on the floor with our hands, or actually with just the right one, the left hand is saved for the other end.
We left at around 5pm, and got the bus back to Tasikmalaya, and then a bechak back to the house.
Sat around and played with Dodo, or is it Dede, hmmm can't be sure, anyway she's the three year old daughter of Yeyet. Living in Tasikmalaya, and looked after by the family here, he's the eldest brother I think, back in Pangandaran.
Tantan and Agus went around to Asep's to watch the football on television, I didn't want to go, and decided on an early night instead.
Well its about midnight, and as I walked out of my room to have a wee, I noticed there was a guy sitting in the lounge, there were no lights on, and he was just sitting eating nuts. I presumed that this was not the behaviour of a criminal, and he was just unknown to me. This is the reason that I didn't beat the rufous out of him, good word that, isn't it, I think it's actually a name, oh well, I didn't want to use the nastier word alternative, so rufous will do for now.
So I nodded to the gentleman in the chair, smiled and continued towards the bathroom, smiled again on the way back and went to bed.
Today's been a funny day, I really enjoyed myself, but it's the first day I think that I've been home sick, I made myself quite upset at the thought that I wouldn't see the faces of my newphew's and neices when they opened there presents on Christmas day. Also, I haven't been cuddled since I got here, not a proper loving hug anyway. I'm a bit sad.

23 November 1991, Saturday.

2005-11-23T13:33:00.000Z

I woke up at 9am this morning, I had some breakfast and then left for the high street to buy a belt. I was given simple instructions how to get there, although I didn't buy a belt, I bought a lovely shirt, that cost 19000rp, its hand printed 'batik'.
After I got back from shopping, I went to the pre-pat school with Agus and Tantan, where I talked to the principle and a couple of lecturers, they asked me some really hard questions, I didn't really understand, so I started making words up, and speaking really fast, and then said, that's the answer.
My gambit paid off, none of the teachers wanted to admit that they didn't understand me, well they couldn't of done, I completely made words up.
I then took a class for 15 minutes, as another test, it all seemed to go ok. The principle is going to come round and speak to me tomorrow, at Agus's house.
Agus, Tantan and me all got a bechak(rik-shaw) back to the house, it was pouring with rain.
We got back and had something to eat, and after food, Tantan and his mother were trying to teach me some Sunda. I don't quite know what happened, but it seemed Tantan got a little annoyed with me, I don't know why, something about the way I spoke to him.
But instead of telling me that I had upset him or annoyed him, he's just ignoring me, how annoying.
Later on, Tantan asked me to accompany him to his room, I did, and he explained that he had heard aggression in my voice, and although he did not like it, he had put it down to my age. Well thanks a bloody lot Tantan, I liked that, as you can imagine, it wasn't the type of person I was, no, it was just my age, never mind the fact that Tantan was the same age as me.
He also said that he couldn't teach me the language anymore, and that was ok with me, so I done my best to forget about it.
Later we went to an Artist's house near by, he wasn't in, but I saw some of his work, and it was really good. We left there and just went wandering around town, I don't know why, but there seem's to be alot of pressure on me to get a lady friend, well actually more than one they said.
There were some really amazing girls around though, and I couldn't resist flirting with them.
We then walked back home, and then on to Esep's house. He's a singer that they call Mick Jagger, he seem's really nice, we watched football and then some 'Rolling Stones' video's and a film with, oh I've forgotten his name, oh well. Anyway, that finished at about 3am, we left, I was really tired.
We got back, Tantan went straight to sleep and me and Agus had some noodles with egg and rice, lovely. I finished my food and went straight to bed, climbing in the security of my big blue mosquito net, ahhhh. Salamat malam(goodnight).

22 November 1991, Friday.

2005-11-22T14:07:00.000Z

Got up at around 11:30am, still a little tired, haven't really got any plans for today, so I'm just going to relax and settle in to my new home. So staying here, in this house, are Tantan, Agus, and then someones daughter, a young child, and a sister called Heny, and the mother, I haven't heard anything about there father though.
I had gadu-gadu (vegatables in peanut sauce) for breakfast this morning, it was very nice indeed. Much of the day was spent sitting around and talking, I took a quick walk up and down the road, to see what was about, but didn't fancy venturing any further today, there is much to see here. Spent a large portion of the day drawing a new doodle, kept spinning it around and working on it from different angles, I quite like it. Agus also gave me a couple of nice shirts today as well, he said that they were too big for him.

As it was getting dark, I helped Tantan and Agus to move a metal framed bunk bed from one room to another, then built another bed in Tantan's room, and put up my mosquito net over it, this was my bed for now.
I then took my first private English lesson, well, it was just talking and helping Heny to write a letter, my first student.
We finished at about 9pm, I went out to the local warung and bought some tempa(soya bean curd) and egg(tolor) and brought them back to the house to have with some rice. I know it's pretty soon, but I suppose I can call this place my home now, well for the mean time. This is were I will be living.
Sat in the lounge area, talking to Agus about our program tomorrow, we are going to the pre-pat school( a kind of private school), and talking to the director about getting me a job, and then in the afternoon, we've organized a game of volley ball. Then a big disco in the night(only joking).
But that's all tomorrow, Agus turned in, and I stayed in the lounge talking to Tantan.

We went to bed, but being so tired after doing nothing all, I didn't finish this entry until tomorrow, if that makes any sense, well it doesn't matter anyway.
I'm one day away from one whole month away, so here chronicles of the lonely traveller, destination life and its living, also maybe the unknown, not quite sure about that yet, the future, and maybe something else.

21 November 1991, Thursday.

2005-11-21T13:20:00.000Z

Woke up to Irvan banging on my window, it was about 9:30am, he walked round the front and came in, we had arranged to have breakfast together, but it was only at this time that I remembered that the guest house provided me with a lovely breakfast. I couldn't see the point in paying again for breakfast, so I explained this to him. He looked a bit annoyed I think, but its no problem.
He left and I ate my breakfast, after finishing that I went to the post office and sent my used camera films and a letter home, that cost me 15000rp. I then ran back to the losmen to get some celotape for the package, I forgot to mention that I had gone out this morning without any shoe's on, and running back to the losmen, and then again back to the post office has really hurt my feet. I walked back to the losmen and went to Sympathy's cafe for some food with a Dutch guy and Patsi and Tantan.
I had decided to take Tatan up on his offer, to visit his home in Tasikmalaya. He is going there today, so I said I'd join him. We both left the losmen at around 3:30pm, and caught the bus to Banjar, and then another to Tasikmalaya.
After getting off the bus, we stopped in a little warung and got some rice pudding, that was very tasty. Then we went to Tantan's home in Tasikmalaya, where I met Agus, another one of Tantan's brothers, he is 21 and expained to me, that it would be possible for me to work here as a teacher of English, and would recieve a very hansome reward, or he said about 300 000rp a month for speaking English for one hour a day, and also if I wanted too, I could charge 5000rp a session for private classes. He said that I could also get a visa, and the living exspences were much lower in Tasikmalaya.
Well, Agus has asked me to stay, so I've put my mosquito net up, and I'll think I'll stay and teach English for a couple of months, that means going to Singapore and renewing my visa.
I'm in no rush to get back to England, I could even rent a room here very cheaply, the foods very cheap and there are no tourists. It seems like a good situation for me to paint, everythings coming together.
I'm lying in bed now, Tantan's sharing the same room with me, neither of us are sleepy, its about 3am, and I'm just dropping off.
I forgot to mention it before, but I've got some real hideous mouth ulcers, about 30 of them, covering the inside of my mouth, must of been due to the snorkel mouth peice, and gripping it in my teeth so hard.

20 November 1991, Wednesday.

2005-11-20T16:21:00.000Z

Awoke this morning at around 9:30am, had a wash and then some breakfast. Sat around for a while, then went and hired a diving mask and snorkel for 2500rp. I then went to the gate of the special beach, and a bloke there asked me for another 500rp, I had no money on me, because I was going snorkelling, not shopping.
So I had to walk back to the Rawamangun losmen, but after searching around, I realised I didn't have any change, just big stuff. I then remembered lending Budi (one of the brothers who ran the guest house) 800rp, and he had not yet returned it, so I had a look around for him, but could not find him anywhere.
I'm sitting in my room at the moment, the fan blowing in my face, watching the beautiful day disolve into heavy rain. I turned away from the window, and walked out of my room and into the hall, and there was Budi, holding the money I had lent him. I thanked him, and left again.

I got to the gate again, and paid the 500rp's, and headed for the 'white beach', supposedly the best snorkelling area in Pangandaran. The rainforest came right down to the edge of the white sandy beach, the water was crystal clear and as warm as a bath, the fish and coral and invertabrates were incredible, beyond anything I could have expected. I stayed pretty shallow to start, but then got more intrepid, and soon I was chasing a box fish, he swam backwards just fast enough for me to think I had a chance, then turned and was gone, he left me staring into the blue.
I looked down, and couldn't see the bottom, somehow I had swam out of the reef. Its at this point that I should mention that I'm not the best swimmer, and get a little anxious when out of my depth. Calm down I thought, I raised my head from the water to check the direction of the beach. It was about 200 meters away, and that really scared me, calm down I thought to myself, I put my head down and started swimming back, the water seemed rougher now, and water kept going in my air pipe. After what seemed like an eternity, the walls of the reef appeared in front of me, but I couldn't see a way through, I was becoming scared but kept looking.
There it was, a narrow passage through the columns of coral, but as I tried to swim through the gap, the tide pushed me straight back out, as a wave came in, I was washed toward the coral and rocks, then as the wave washed out, it took me with it, no matter how hard I tried. I was getting really tired and water kept filling up my breathing pipe, I lifted my head out of the water and took a huge breath of air, and went back in towards the coral with the wave. Once at the coral, I clung on with all my strength, the rock cut my skin, but I held on, as I felt the wave come back in again, I let go and moved further in the passage, and held onto another lump of coral, I continued until I could swim to the beach. Once my chest was on dry land again, my head dropped to the sand, and I fell asleep.
I don't know how long I lay there, I awoke to hear the little monkeys in the tree's infront of me. I sat down for a while and then headed back, a little embarassed. I got back to the guest house at around 4pm, the clouds had started to cover the sky, I'm now back at the losmen, drinking sweet tea, and writing this all up.
I went out to eat, then went for a walk around the town, and ended up watching two surfers out in the waves from the beach. A couple of Indonesian guys came up and started talking to me, they invited me out with them, and I agreed.
I went back to the guest house when it got dark, its about 6pm, and my old friend Diarrhoea has just been to visit. I'm always so pleased when it can stop by.
Sitting talking to a German girl also staying at the guest house, and one of the guys from the beach turns up. His name is Irvan, and we go out for a drink, then for something to eat. Whilst we were out, he pulled a picture out of his wallet and showed it to me. It was of two men getting it on, totally naked, in the throw's of passion. I then realised what was going on, and felt quite uncomfortable and had to explain that although I had nothing against homosexuals, I was not one, and didn't enjoy his picture. I smiled, finished my drink and was off.

Got back to the losmen at around 10pm, and took some Diarrhoea tablets, given to me by one of the brothers. The brothers sung songs on the verander again, and I spoke with Iwan, he is probably the nicest of the brothers.
Then I went to bed, glad to be alive.

19 November 1991, Tuesday.

2005-11-19T14:39:00.000Z

Rose up at 8am (that was probably my best opening line yet), but it was pouring with rain. The tour guide has said that we will go when the rain has stopped. Sorry for any mistakes yesterday, it was very late when I wrote up my journal.

I'm just waking up now, and I want to write up my dream from last night.
Well, it was the same old dream I've had many times since I've been here, I'd gone home, but different to all the other dreams I'd had, this time, everyone I know at home had grown really old, and they all felt cold somehow to me. My parents had moved to a new house, and when I went to the house, there was nobody there except a 'Pit-bull terrier (dangerous dog) snarling at me from behind a fence. I opened the front door, and tried to calm the dog as I walked into the house, but my words enraged the dog, and it ripped through the fence and barged its way through the door that I was trying to close behind me. I had a massive fight with the dog, he was chewing my hands at one point. All of a sudden, my whole family appeared and the ferocious dog ran away. Also, in the same dream, I couldn't completely work out whether I was in England or Indonesia, it was really strange, I'd normally only consider where I was after the dream, when I woke up, but this time, it was in the actual dream.
Then, another dream took over, there was a beautiful German girl stroking and caressing my back, lovely. It was then that I awoke, with the most intense pain in my neck, its probably down to the pillows here, being like sand-bags.

Just checking my reflection in the morning mirror, and I've realised that I haven't got a tan at all, weird.
I had some breakfast, and then went to the tour guides office at around 9am, the rain had stopped and we set out for the jungle. I was not alone, there were three Germans accompanying me on the journey.
The jungle treck was completely amazing, I saw huge millipedes, a massive monitor lizard that scaled a vertical rock face in its escape from us, the football size new shoot's of the Raffle's flower, the largest flower in the world, monkeys and hornbills high in the trees, deer, bats and porcupines in a cave, along with thousands of stuff that I just can't remember right now. Swung on a vine like Tarzan, had a cool dip in a pool on a cliff side, and just walked for hours through thick rainforest, it was truly amazing. I had the best time.
Got back to the losmen (guest house) at around 3pm, I was very tired and hungry, so I went out and got something to eat at a nearby warung. When I got back, Tantan invited me upstairs to see some of his artwork, he also showed me his sixth finger, just like another little finger on his little finger, he used to hold his cigarette in it. We spoke for a while, and then got some food.
Then for the first time, since arriving in Indonesia, I found myself sinking into a really bad mood. I don't know why, it just came over me. It was very late and I suppose I was very tired, so I decided to turn in and go to sleep.
I have no smile as I write up my journal, but everything to smile at. I suppose I'm having a break from being super happy, you can't be happy all the time, which I almost have been since getting here. Goodnight (salamat malam).

18 November 1991, Monday.

2005-11-18T23:52:00.000Z

Sprung from the vast infinite realm of sleep at around 10am this morning and got some tea(teh), the rain was hammering on the ground outside, I sat and played with the fan in my room and read up on 'Pangandaran' in my guide book.
Had some coffee(coppi) and breakfast, which came in the shape of another omlette, minus the tropical mushrooms. After breakfast I went to go and see the local aquarium, as advised by my handy guide book. Hang on, the aquarium was completely derelict! Handy up to date guide book, I thought.
But putting my guide book away, I had a walk around, I found a fish market and thousands of losmen(cafe's). I've stopped for something to eat now, it's about 7pm. I'm in a place called 'the sympathy cafe', and have had a very nice nasi goreng(fried rice), it was very nice and cheap at 800rp.
I returned to the losmen(guest house), full and content, sat on the verander, smoked some fags and had a bit of a sing song, they asked me to sing a song that I had wrote, so I sang a song I wrote called 'In Retrospect, you bitch', they didn't understand, which would have probably been a good thing, because when I explained the reason for writing the bitter song, the oldest brother gave me a forest hermit crab, he had found in the front garden. It was a beautiful little thing, I let him go.
Then one of the other brothers brought in a small rat catching cage, with a small brown rat in it, he was actually a lovely little thing, but I understood they had to kill him. But there method of tipping the rat from the cage into a plastic bag, and then stamping on the bag, was floored, in fact, the rat got away, and ran free again, I was strangely happy.
Then with all the brothers, we went into another room and watched 'Baywatch' on a tiny television. By 10:30pm, I was falling asleep, so I went back to my room.
I have to be up early tomorrow, because whilst I was out today, I organised a tour guide to take me round the nature reserve, that's going to cost me 7500rp, but I only spent around 6000rp today, so my budget hasn't been damaged too much.
Also today, just remembered, I had a ride on a tandem bicycle up to the market, met a Dutch guy that I had met already in Bogor, and gost in pagi before market, I going to sleep now.

(Obviously feel asleep before I had finished writing, 'gost in pagi',I really don't know what I was going on about.)

17 November 1991, Sunday.

2005-11-17T13:13:00.000Z

Got up at 9am and packed all my things away, even though my ti-shirts were still wet. Me and Oman had some breakfast, and at around 11am, I left. I said my goodbyes to Oman and Dani, who had both accompanied me to the bus station on another bus. Such brief great friendship, I thanked Oman again, and got on a bus that took me from Bandung all the way to Pangandaran.

Pangandaran is a small penisula on the south coast of Java, there's a nature reserve right at the end of the penisula. As I got on the bus, I asked the driver in my best Indonesian, who long it would take to get to Pangandaran, he told me it would take around 6 hours. We'll see, I was told two and a half hours from Jakarta to Labuhan, and that took six hours, so who know's.

The bus left Bandung at 1pm, and from this point on, I had no track of time. We stopped, had some food, I sat next to an old couple first, then they got off and Mrs. Fishy got on and sat next to me, she had a big basket of fish on her lap and absolutely stunk! Then Miss. Perfume sat next to her on the other side, the two smells battled in out for the remainder of the journey.
The only trouble with these buses is, well I think that the seat were designed for smaller than average Indonesian dwarf's, you may understand how comfatable I am, especially after five hours of not being able to stretch my legs.

I got to Pangandaran at 7pm, so the bus driver was spot on with the time. When I got off the bus, I didn't know where I was, so I jumped on a bechak(rik-shaw peddle powered taxi thingy) and headed for the 'Minus 2', the guide book said it was a good place to stay, but obviously everyone had the same guide book as me, and it was completely full. I asked the bechak driver if he knew of any cheap places around, and he took me up the road to the 'Rawamangun' a very clean, friendly run place(run by four brothers). The youngest of the brothers is 19, he is called Tan tan and is a painter, just like me.

The brothers are so friendly that I didn't mind that the bed felt like a sack of potato's. They asked if I wanted a special omlette, made from mushroom's from the jungle. I excepted, and sat on the varander, there were several people there already, the Newcastle couple that I met in Carita were there, and another couple. One of the brothers played the guitar, so we all spent the night singing and laughing, I had a great time, although at one point, it felt like I was at the end of a big tube, I can't really explain.

After everyone had gone to bed, I sat up with Tantan, he showed me this great trick with matches. We talked for ages about art and a place called Tasikmalaya, where Tantan came from, and of course, the one thing that doesn't change around the whole world, 'Girls'.
Well, I could feel my eye's closing, I thanked Tantan, said salamat malam, and headed off to my 'sack of potatoes' bed.
Salamat tidur (good sleep).

16 November 1991, Saturday.

2005-11-16T14:07:00.000Z

This morning I awoke at 10am, alone again. I was dying for a poo, but there was no water left in the reservoir, so I had to hold it. Some children where playing outside Oman's house, I went out and took some photo's of the three boys and waited for Oman to come back.
Oman returned holding some bags, he had got up early and done my washing, which wasn't lovely enough of him, apparently.

We went out for breakfast, bought some cake thingy's and returned to Oman's. We sat around for a bit, then Eka and Toto turned up, at around 2pm we all went to the supermarket. I bought some pencils, paper, coffee, sugar and a craft knife. The coffee and sugar I gave to Oman, as a thankyou for letting me stay and treating me well.
We then went to a different warung(cafe) and had some lunch, lovely, and then all returned to Oman's. Toto left us on the way back to Oman's, I said my goodbye's, he has been very friendly, Eka came back with me and Oman, we sat around talking, and I drew a picture of Eka, got the foot all wrong, but otherwise a good representation.

It was around 5:30pm, I was reading by guide book and realised that I had to book my ticket for Singapore well in advance, I told the others, and they said they could sort it out. So, we all headed off into the centre of Bandung, to find a tour opperator, or booking agent.
No luck, there seemed to be nothing of the kind there, although we did have a really good time walking around and going in all the shops, apparently, that's what they do here on a saturday night.
We returned on a small bus, had a sit down and then went and got dinner in the local warung(cafe) at around 9pm. Returned to Oman's after the evening meal, and as a treat for me I suppose, we listened to the BBC world news on the radio, weird to hear English voices again. I wrote this all up, and pulled on my sleeping bag.
Salamat malam(Goodnight).

15 November 1991, Friday.

2005-11-15T15:06:00.000Z

I woke up this morning alone, Oman had gone to his class, and told me yesterday that he wouldn't be back until 10am, I must have awoken at about 9:30am, just enough time for me to write some letters and have a poo.
Eka, Toto, Andreas and Dani turned up at 10am, we all talked, played cards and before long, Oman had arrived, and we all went to breakfast together. After breakfast at the warung(cafe), we returned to Oman's place, sat and sung and talked all day.

At 4pm we all went to the college campus, I wasn't allowed to sit in on the class, shame, so I just waited about, I started talking to some people, and then wrote another letter, and before I knew it the hour and a bit was over. Everyone came out of class and we all went for a walk, we walked up a road famous for jean shops, also the shop fronts, were massive great sculptures, or huge displays, one was a huge batman, that came almost flying out of the shop front, I got a picture, it was brilliant.
We then returned to Oman's, where I took a mandi(wash) and then went to eat at the warung(cafe) with the television. We had some great food, and then stayed and watched television. I made some drawings of 'Teenage Munant Ninja Turtles' for the two boys that lived there, in Indonesia, they call them'Kuru Kuru Ninja'.

Then at about 10pm, we went to Oman's, I feel very sleepy, and yet I've done very little today, also slept really well last night, that's probably why actually, although I've had a very happy day here. Talking is the order of the day here, along with singing and laughing.
I've noticed that my diary entries are getting much shorter, I wonder why?
I don't really, that just made me feel better by filling up an additional line in this journal.
Salamat malam(goodnight).

14 November 1991, Thursday.

2005-11-14T14:27:00.000Z

Had a really good nights sleep in my sleeping bag for the first time here. Its a lot cooler in Bandung, so it was possible to sleep well in my sleeping bag.
We went out and got some breakfast at a warung, and then Yusuf had to leave for college, I spent time with Oman's friend Iman, he sat and played guitar and sang around his place, then we went back to Oman's house and met a bloke called Reif, Mr Tonny's (the artist I met last night) son, also a painter, he gave me his address in Bali, and asked me to stay if I ever got there.
Oman has asked me to stay around his for the next couple of days, I excepted, Panandaran(the place I'm planning on going next) can wait.
We went to the warung and got some lunch, then on to Oman's college. Oman went to class, and Eka and Toto showed me around Bandung, we visited some art galleries and loads of shops. At around 6pm, we went back to the college and met Oman, we all went back to Oman's, Reif turned up only to leave as quickly as he'd arrived. We all talked, they all spoke English, and I tried my Indonesian, no contest, they all speak really good English.
Oman and I went out and got some dinner at the warung, although the warung was more like somebodies front room, they had a television, and we ate, then sat and watched a cheap American horror film. They loved it, the whole family of the warung owner's, I paid for the food and we left to return to Oman's.
We sat and listened to Phil Collins, one of Oman's favorites, and I wrote my journal. I'm really glad I brought my sleeping bag, I was begining to think that I shouldn't have bought it, because I haven't been able to get in it until now, because of the intense heat.
Oh, I forgot to say, before we had dinner, we went to the local baths, which was actually a pipe sticking out of a water tank, people washed two at a time, having to kneel down because the pipe only came out at 3ft high. There was a cork with some string through it, so that water wasn't wasted, the system seemed to work, I really enjoyed my Bandung bath.
I think that my Indonesian is getting better.
Goodnight(salamat malam).

13 November 1991, Wednesday.

2005-11-13T23:47:00.000Z

Got up early, knew that I was leaving today, looked in my pouch, and realised that I had no money. So I got dressed and shot up to the bank, walking about 2 km, then I realised that I hadn't brought my travellers cheques, so I caught a bus that seemed to be going the right direction, back to the guest house.
I then caught another bus, realising where it was going. Changed up $100 travellers cheque's, into a massive bundle of notes, and then caught another bus back to Ibu Pension, I didn't get enough bus's already.
Paid my bill at reception, and caught a bus to the bus terminal with two Dutch girls, from there we all caught a bus to Bandung. I sat near the front, and they sat at the back, I must have made a good impression.
I got talking to the bloke sitting next to me, his name was Yusuf.
We got to Bandung at 3pm, and I hadn't eaten all day, Yusuf invited me to stay at his friends house in Bandung, I excepted and followed his lead, into the suburbs, and met his friends.
They were all studying English at college, and used the oppotunity to try out there best English.

We went to a warung and I stuffed myself, after a fag, we went to a local artist's studio and gallery, his work was amazing, such ability, and even better, was interested in my opinion of his work, he even asked if I wanted to come and paint in his studio, I am very flattered.
We all left, and went back to this guy's room, we all talked for a while, and I explained the world according to Mikey.
They all smiled politely, and me and Yusuf went to another room and stayed there, we listened to some music, talked, exchanged address's, like I must say, like nearly everyone I've met has given me there address.
Anyway, I'm tired, rolled out my sleeping bag and got in, I'm sleeping on the floor.
Salamat malam.

12 November 1991, Tuesday.

2005-11-12T23:51:00.000Z

Today I awoke at around 8:30am, had a freezing shower and then got dressed and met Juniver at reception. We had some breakfast together and he elected himself my tour guide for today, I agreed, so we headed off to the Zooalogical Museum, saw millions of badly stuffed animals, a stuffed Kamodo dragon, and the Flores rat, the biggest rat in the world. We left there and went to the Bogor botanical gardens, founded by thingy Raffles, we walked about the beautiful gardens, there was a (what do you call a big group of) big fruit bats, and huge hardwood trees. We met some flirty girls from Jakarta, and then got caught in a heavy rain storm, I was totally soaked, so by about 3pm we walked back to the losmen, on the way back, I bought a ti-shirt, I got changed in the dorm and came back out to the lobby, where I had coffee with Juniver, at 5:30pm he said goodbye.
I started talking to a very friendly French couple, staying in my dorm. They gave me some really good information about travelling to Jogya. After about an hour, I went out with three Dutch guys for food, very nice blokes, not at all like the Dutch blokes in Labuhan. One of the Dutch guys was absolutely massive, not quite big enough apparently, but I shouldn't go in to them tall stories (what a comeadian).
We all ate well, talked then returned to the guest house, where we met up with some English, and some more Dutch. The two blokes and a girl from England were from Brighton, and had arrived in Jakarta that week, and couldn't sleep for the mosquito's biting them, they where all covered from head to foot in big bites, it was evil, they looked like they had leprosey or something. I was so lucky that I got out of Jakarta when I did, there were no mosy's there really when I was there.
Everyone talked about there experiences here, until about 11pm, when one by one, like sheep, everyone went to the dorm to bed, I followed along, like the sheep I am, and knocked off for a sleep in my mosquito net, luxury.

11 November 1991, Monday.

2005-11-11T23:42:00.000Z

I opened my eyes and got up at about 8am, I had my usual morning poo and mandi then went and had some coffee with the guest house owner, packed all my gear up and paid my bill at the Raitha losmen. Then walked back down the road where I met Yunis, he then accompanied me to Labuhan, and made sure I caught the right bus and wished me salamat tingle.
The bus's are jam packed, more like coaches, but designed for small Indonesian people. This bus took me to Bintang, and from there, I caught another bus, where I sat right at the front, and was able to stretch my legs right out. The only problem with sitting at the front was, you can see how completely mental and dangerous the driver is, all the drivers, its like its some kind of race.
I'm well on my way to Bogor now, writing on the bus, it's very hot and sunny, which makes sitting on a bus all day much nicer, obviously.
After several hours of traumatic driving and intense heat, we arrived at Bogor, as you can imagine, I felt completely fit and well after my ordeal.
A boy showed me to Ibu Pension, a guest house I read about in my lonely planet book. I've booked in, and are staying in a dorm bed(shared dorm) for 4500rp per night.
I'm sitting drinking tea(teh) on a large marble verander, everyone's very friendly here, well, what I've seen so far, but I get the feeling, that I'm a complete stranger, it's funny I'm thinking this, because I am. Hmmmm, Mikey how about you spend a little more time thinking and writing about the complete obvious. Yeah ok.
I've nearly been in Indonesia for three weeks now, its not that funny, but it feels like that.
I had a real shower, got dressed and went out to go shopping for a new shirt and trousers. Successful shopping trip, I got both, and also bought some spot creme, because apparently my spots haven't come up enough, thanks for that.
I've met a guy called Juniver, he helped me with my Indonesian, he lives in a place called Depok, north of Bogor, we had some food and then he accompanied me back to Abu Pension, he speaks excellent English.
I got to bed early at around 11pm, I was completely exhausted, and decided just to get in bed, because people had told me that there were very few mosquito's in Bogor. As I lay there drifting off, I heard the distinct buzz of a moquito (nymuk) around my ear. So, up I shot, and out came the mosy net.
Once in my protective cell, I slept like, someone who slept without being harassed by hungry nymuks(mosquito's).

10 November 1991, Sunday.

2005-11-10T12:55:00.000Z

Obviously, my conscience isn't laidened enough, that probably isn't even a word, but who cares. Problems, problems, Ahhhhhhh, its not good. I sit in my room, thinking about everything, and anything, home, girls, Indonesia and a pathetic dream that's slipping through my fingers, like the water falling all around me.
I went back to sleep until 1pm, when Yunis woke me up. We went for a walk around the market and then walked along the beach, met some people, chatted, then met Sandy, and treated myself to a massage with her tender hands, then we went and got a drink.
I met some Dutch people, and they weren't quite rude enough to me, I found that I was imeadiately disliking them. So we left there, and went to the Krakatu warung, and met a couple from Newcastle, very nice, and a German bloke, who was also very nice.
I'd been putting it off, but I couldn't wait any longer, we went to Asna's, so that I could say goodbye.
It was very hard, and painful, she cried and I could hardly speak. Yunis said that I was a real gentleman, he said there were no gentlemen in Indonesia, which I believed. We walked to Yunis's place, where I wrote a song about this time.

Blind Fool.
I had to say goodbye, to the love I'd never really known,
The night was warm, and as I looked into her eyes,
I recognised a tear that was all alone,
On the way back, I stared at the sky for something more,
And three stars shone bright, orions belt pointing the way out,
I knew then, whilst not understanding,
What life was all about,
Sweet Indonesian girl, hair like the night rain,
Didn't understand what I said, but her eyes said it all, and I walked away,
The stars cut up the sky, and her eyes embedded on my soul,
And from this life, I took flight.

After writing the song, I tried to explain to Yunis, just how I'd tried to explain to Asna, that men and women were equal. It was a bit of a slog. He found this very hard to believe.
He has turned out to be a very good friend, and I'm sad to be leaving Carita, annoying Hendra, beautiful Asna, and my good friend Yunis (even if he doesn't think men and women are equal), the guys with there guitar, Mr Amir, Sandy, Robin and his friend, Anass, everyone I've met.
I will move on tomorrow morning to Bogor and make new friends. I know now that I will return to Carita, and see everyone again, before I return to England, saying goodbye once just isn't enough.
I'm in bed now, its around 2am, and my eyes are closing.
Salamat malam(goodnight).

9 November 1991, Saturday.

2005-11-09T22:31:00.000Z

I got up at, don't know what time really, checked on Anass, she's fine, buried in the ground asleep, where I left her. I just sitting, writing outside my room, watching the chi-jacks and the ants. I'll eat and then mandi, then I'll go and release Anass in the forest.
Just went into the toilet, and saw the biggest spider on the wall, I tried to splat him with the broom handle, but he's mentally quick, and was the other side of the room. Not scary enough.
I ate with the man at the losmen, came back to the losmen, picked Anass up, and left for the forest in the rain. I've got a really good cagool, that breaths. The rain got really hard, but I continued walking, further and further along a track up the mountain, and just when I thought there was no chance of people around, I stopped and took the rope off, but I couldn't quite get the nail out of his tail, I let him go, but he got caught up on some vine, it was horrible, I got him back and was just holding him in the rain.
All of a sudden, three Indonesian men with massive bales of sticks on there backs appeared from knowhere. I don't know how I explained my trouble, but he understood, and pulled out a huge machete, I thought he was going to cut Anass's poor little tail off, but he freed the nail and pulled it out. Anass walked off into the forest, I thanked the men, they disappeared as quick as they arrived.
The rain ruined my hat, I walked back down the muddy paths and towards Asna's, got to the village and played football with the local kids, went a saw Asna, told her that I was leaving to Bogor very soon, she completely understood, I gave her my only precious thing, my watch, which my Dad bought me when I was sixteen.
Yunis turned up, and as it got dark, we walked out of the village and got some food at the warung. Yunis told me that I shouldn't have given my watch away.
Returned to the raitha losmen, had a mandi and changed my clothes. Met Asna and her friend, we all went to the pictures again. All again on my pocket, I'm feeling like a bit of a fool, have I been so blind, and is my money the most hansom part of me. We all travel back and I leave Assna on the roadside at about 11:30pm, I'm very disappointed, the dismay hung on my face like old age.
I went and met Yunis, he was at Mr Amir's house, we all talked, had coffee and smoked kreteks(fags) and I felt a little happier. We left at about 1am, and Yunis walked me back to the losmen, I tried to explain that I was highly strung, and things were just annoying me, I was going to bed, which would have been the best thing for me to do, but instead, I went for a drink with Yunis up at the prostitutes shack/warung.
I bought a big bottle of rice wine and some bintang beers, chasing the rice wine with big bottles of bintang beer. Basically, I got very drunk indeed, and landed myself in trouble, its all abit blurey, but I was so drunk, I tried to kiss the big spider that I had seen in the bathroom earlier, which was on my bedroom wall when I got back from the warung, the spider was gone before my lips hit the wall, thank heavens.
Trouble!
But well, tida masala(no problem) I'm going to go to Bogor tomorrow, I'll say goodbye to everyone, and never return, even though I love the place.

8 November 1991, Friday.

2005-11-08T16:51:00.000Z

I was awoken by the noise of the people who ran the guest house, it was 9:30am, which is a bit of a bummer because I was supposed to be up at 7am, for an early start to Ciregon, where there is a bank, so that I can change up some travellers cheques. Oh well, tida masala(no problem).
I got up, had a mandi(wash), got dressed. Yunis turned up, and we caught the first bus that came along.
The bus driver's aren't dangerous enough apparently, quite scary at times. We got to Ciregon in about an hour, we then ate breakfast, and then found a bank where I changed $100.
We then caught another bus to the port of Merek, where ferries went to Sumartra. We went to a mangrove swamp, cool. Then saw a whole group of mountains that were completely deforested, and then a huge coal fueled power station. All around there was death, from this monstrousity, but it didn't seem to bother Yunis. I was very depressed and angry when seeing this, and for the first time since getting here, my smile disapeared.
We went back to Merek town centre, and Yunis took me to another prostitutes house, I got latched onto by this really hidious one, and Yunis couldn't understand my face pulling, so I had to make myself perfectly clear. I took a photo of Yunis with a girl he really fancied, and then we went.
Headed back to Ciregon, where we had to catch another bus back to Labuhan. We got back at about 6:30pm, I was really hungry, so we ate in the warung and then I went to Asna's house.
We arranged to go to the pictures tonight, so I went back to the Raitha losmen, had a mandi and changed my clothes. Met back up with Asna, Yunis and a friend of Asna's and all caught motorbike taxi's to the cinema in Labuhan. I wasn't scared enough though, hmmm, just kept remembering my motorbike accident in Spain a couple of years ago.
I paid the taxi drivers and the cinema tickets, the film was in Indonesian, the quality was terrible and the plot was completely obvious, but Asna held my hand all the way through the film, so I enjoyed it immensely.
We went back to Asna's on rick-shaw thingy's, I don't quite know what they are called. That was lovely, the culture is so different here, you can't kiss or show emotion in public here. Its a bit of a battle really, Asna only speaks Indonesian, and I only speak a minute amount of Indonesian, but I'm learning. Took Asna home, no kissing goodnight in Indonesia, so said goodbye at around 11:45pm.
Walking back through the village, I noticed that the locals were playing with what seemed to be a huge lizard, but on closer examination, was an anteater, or pangolin. They had put a nail through its tail and tied rope to it, they kept it staked to different places to eat the ants. The kids were teasing it, and scared of it, it was horrible to watch, so I offered to buy it, without a thought. After some bartering, I walked away with the pangolin for 20000rp, they saw me coming.
She is lovely, and without a willy, obviously a girl, I had to check. I am going to take her up into the forest tomorrow morning and release her back into the wild.
While walking back to the losmen, we came across a dead snake in the road, it was called a ground snake, was about 2ft long and brown, and was apparently very poisonous.
Got back to the guest house, and tied up the pangolin to a small tree within the grounds outside my room.
I'm going to call my pangolin Anass, she's lovely.
Goodnight.

7 November 1991, Thursday.

2005-11-07T12:11:00.000Z

That's right, its been two weeks, I'm not home or heading that way, and I don't want to be. I was an early riser this morning, waking at around 7am, so I was just lounging around. Me and Yunis have arranged to go snorkeling today, and see the blumin coral(sorry I'm excited). We did, it was amazing, very shallow water, but coral and beautiful fish. We spent the whole day in the water or on the beach, the sea is like a warm bath, I really had the best time.
Headed back to the Raitha losmen, had a mandi, and then went to the warung for something to eat. It was getting dark, so we went back to the Raitha losmen, drank some coffee and talked until about 8:30pm, I sat and drew a strange picture of a women with a face for a body, I don't know why, I suppose I'm just a little strange.
We went out for a walk (jalan jalan), went to a hotel for a bit, then sat in a shelter on the side of the road with some locals and drank some coffee and smoked. I also learnt some Sundanese, which is the language of West Java, and Asna's first language. Sunda, as they call it, is a lot different to Indonesian.
I found out a few things today, it turns out that just off the coast is the famous volcano Krakatu. It blew up almost 100 years ago, to the day, and sent a tidal wave 500 miles into Java, killing almost the whole population of the area. This is why the beach is called Carita, this means Story, the story beach, because people said it was haunted. You can just make out three islands off the shore, and it turns out, that Krakatu used to cover all of them, but after the explosion, didn't exist. What a story, I'll look into it further.
I was really tired out and headed back to the guest house, got into bed, and noticed another big lizard in my room, this time it was a Tokay gecko, managed to get a photo of it, now I'm off to sleep.

6 November 1991, Wednesday.

2005-11-06T16:48:00.000Z

Got up at around 8:30am, had my usual morning routine, and at around 9:30am, Ursula had packed her bag and was off in a shot. I had some coffee and done some more washing, when Yunis turned up. We went off to the warung for breakfast, and then walked along the beach, to the Krakatu beach hotel to find some tourists, there were none about, so we carried on along the beach and up the road to Labuhan, where Yunis said we should pop in to see his friend in the Carita beach hotel, it was really plush little villas, a great big pool, and a jetty going over coral in the sea. There was also a watch tower, so I got some pictures.
We carried on walking to Labuhan, and on the way, walked past a volley ball game, they shouted over and asked us to play, we did, and I really enjoyed myself.
We went back to one of the volley ball player,s house after the game on his request, talked and drank some coffee, didn't stay for too long, but he asked me to come back tomorrow. We started walking back to the guest house ( my rash is still going strong, luckily enough!) and it was nice to see there was no buses, it was dark and about 7pm, and I had told Asna, that I would be visiting today. So we flagged down some motorbike taxi's, and headed there fast. I bought some coffee and cakes at a shop on the way to Asna's, this was polite, Yunis told me, because Asna was very poor, and only living with her very old looking mother, well he didn't say that bit.
Asna was more beautiful than ever in the candle light, we stayed for a couple of hours and after saying goodnight (salamat malam) to Asna and her mother, we left.
On the way back, we stopped at some guys house, sung some songs, talked and joked and just lived. I have realised that Indonesia is life, they all live so much more here. I feel like a baby, learning how to speak again, how to act(being polite) and walk alot. Its hard, but so rewarding.
After a couple of hours, we headed back to the guest house, I was really tired and went to bed.
One more thing; I don't use toilet paper anymore, and I mandi at least twice a day, and hooray, my rash is going down, thank the lord! And, tomorrow will be my second week here, I seem to be thinking alot more right now, about my future.
One more thing, when people here don't understand me, they either say EH! or Ya Ya Ok, and then walk off shaking there heads, nice that, not annoying enough apparently.
Enough already, goodnight.

5 November 1991, Tuesday.

2005-11-05T23:01:00.000Z

I awoke at around 9:30am, to find everyone gone, I went to go into the main building, where the toilet and wash area was located, but the door was locked. I search around and found another exterior toilet, why didn't they tell me about that one yesterday when I checked in? ( just reading that back, I sound like a pompus aristocrat, or maybe just a prat)
Later we are sitting outside the room at the Raitha losmen drinking coffee, trying to reason with the tropical rain, relentless this morning. Or not completely, cause it stopped.
But before all that, after getting up and found the outside bathroom, I washed, washed my shirt and shorts and then headed to the warung (cafe) for my breakfast. I finished my food and the heavens opened, so on invitation I went next door with Yunis, who had joined me at the warung. There were four or five guys living there, they got a guitar out, and we all played and sung, bagus(good).
Then I went to Asna's house for a few hours, I actually stayed til 6pm, just doing much the same as yesterday really.
I returned to the guest house, had a mandi(wash), then went out with Yunis and Ursala to eat. Had some great food, and whilst walking back, I saw an eel swimming in a small pool connected to rice paddy. We stopped off at Yunis's house, well actually its an old hotel, Yunis and a few of his friends stay in, anyway, we went back there and played some cards.
Then Yunis took something out of his pocket, and placed it on the table in front of him. I looked at it and saw a reflection, from a black part, then went mad cause I realised it was a massive hairy spider, although dead, it was mighty freeky. I couldn't talk or sit down, it was that nice. Really, thanks Yunis mate, Hmmm.
Went back to Raitha losmen soon after, got ready for bed, lights out. Then Ursula called out, I shone my torch over, she said that there was something under her bed. I slowly crawled out of my protective mosquito net, bent down and shone my torch under Ursula's bed, and there it was, a big green lizard about 2ft long, but it was spooked by the torch and ran up behind Ursula's head board. She was really scared, and asked me to remove it.
Being the gent that I am, I accepted the challenge, put my thick hiking socks over my hands and grabbed it. The thing went mad, hissing and trying to bite me, I held it at arms length, and threw it out of the door. What a hero, eh?
Then I teased the poor girl, by saying that the lizard would probably be waiting above the door outside, until she had to go to the toilet in the night, and then it would strike, and eat her alive. I was laughing so much, but she couldn't see the funny side.
Oh yeah, and I have a rash, that I got yesterday, its spread though, its now on my neck and arms, I hope I'm ok. Salamat malam (goodnight).