So, I’m gonna do something different on this post, instead of going and writing a whole long post about the entire tour, I’m going to show you the highlights of the trip with pictures I took with my camera! 📷 😊
This picture is of a Buddhist monk praying over some visitors. I really like this photo, but I wish the monk was the focal point! This is a famous highlihght from Wat Maha That in Ayutthaya, Thailand. A head fell off of a Buhdda and rolled over to a tree, then the tree’s roots grew around the head! We found a statue of this creature at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and it is called a Mom. So mom had to take a picture with the Mom!We visited a pottery store in Chiang Mai and these ladies were making all these ceramic peices by hand! We visited the Maesa Elephant Camp and these elephants were painting pictures with their trunks!We climbed up to a temple that was on top of Mount Phousi and stayed there for this beautiful sunset.We visited this waterfall in Luang Prabang. So pretty! (Khouangsi Waterfall, Luang Prabang, Laos)
The Heroes of Ha Noi! We went kayaking at Ha Long Bay! So fun and pretty.
Ha Long Bay sunsets! Caution:⚠️Animal Crossing!⚠️ (in Sapa, Vietnam) Horses for sale! (In Bac Ha, Vietnam) Well looky here! I look across a river to find China on the other side! (Lao Cai, Vietnam/Hekou, China)
So, we went to the market. Have you ever seen stingray at your local market? 😜 (In My Long, on the Mekong Delta, Vietnam) My wonderful family hiking through the ancient ruins of Beng Mealea! (Siem Reap, Cambodia)
I just have to sit down and take a breath. I mean, I’ve now been to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia! I’ve snuggled with tigers for Pete’s sake!🐯 (Not drugged or tranquilized!😁) I’ve looked across a stream to find China on the other side! I’ve climbed over the ancient ruins of Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat, AND Beng Mealea temple! I’ve swum in one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World! (Ha Long Bay was Awesome!) I’ve tasted a fruit that smells like rotten meat! (by the way, don’t try Durian!)😖
And now, I get to rest in this awesome country, Indonesia.☺️
In this post I am going to tell you about my favorite day, day five of the tour in Chiang Mai. By the time in this post, we had already seen 10 different temples and climbed what felt like THOUSANDS of steps to see temples, so we really needed something not temple-like.
The day before, our guide had mentioned the possibility that we could go see tigers! Mom and Dad decided to try and I was really excited! The next day I woke up at like 5 o’clock in anticipation. The car ride took forever, but it was totally worth it! When we got there, the place was still half closed. When they fully opened, they made us sign a billion waivers, saying basically if we got bit or eaten, we wouldn’t sue anybody. Dad found this scary, but we finally got our tickets and waited AGAIN! When we first started waiting we just chilled out in the front, but then we heard some roars! I saw there was a path to the bathrooms that went near some cages, and I got my first glimpse of a FULLY GROWN TIGER! We took some pictures from there, and then I noticed a sign that said, “Please do not use flash, light may harm THE EYE OF THE TIGER! For the rest of the day that sign became a joke because of the song The Eye of the Tiger!
“And he’s watching us all with the eye…”
Our number was finally called after that, and we descended into the land of the cages. We thought that they would have us follow a bunch of instructions, but we only followed the directions on the signs, and then we finally entered the cage! The photographer told us that we had to be firm with it, otherwise it might swipe at us. This, for some reason made me even more excited because the tiger was about the size of my torso! Since I was the least afraid in the family, I went first to chill with the tiger. The man had me put a hand on him and pet him, and the lay my head on him! Its heartbeat and breath speed was very fast, and it was super awesome! Next, we went to the slightly smaller and younger tigers, who were more awake than their brethren. They were scampering around there cage and generally just having fun. While we were taking a family photo with one another came up from behind and tackled the GoPro, since it was taking a video and there was a flashing light! It was hilarious! When we said goodbye to the Tigers, I was a bit sad that I couldn’t stay with them longer, but I had the elephants to look forward to! Cat nap
After the Tigers I think I may have had the same or even more anticipation because we were going to an elephant camp! Thankfully, this time the camp was already open, so we bought our tickets at the front, and walked inside! First we just walked around a bit to see things like how big elephant dung is, and how big their foot is! They are both really huge! I think my foot was like a fifth of the size of the elephants! Then, since the tickets showed that a show was nearby and close time-wise, so we hurried to this awesome amphitheater type thing, and got some AWESOME seats! We were in the first row! When the elephants first came out they were carrying a cool sign that said “The Elephant Show!” in English and a few other languages that I’m pretty sure that said the same thing. Following the first two elephants that were carrying the sign were about 12 other elephants, all of them being directed by another trainer! They started doing stuff that you see on TV, like trumpeting and the like, but there was one really funny elephant that didn’t really listen to his master, because he kept stealing his hat and waving it around like a trophy while running around the arena with his trainer chasing him! Then they started PAINTING!!! They made pictures like elephants, trees, and lots of other stuff that was really well done! And they were all made by elephants! They started playing darts after that, and they pulled two random people from the crowd to be this elephant’s opponents! The people from the crowd won, but barely! But while everybody’s attention was on the people that were playing darts, other trainers had wheeled out a SOCCER NET!!! They were going to have elephants play soccer! Two elephants were strikers, while one was the goalie. The two strikers were taking turns shooting at the goal, but the elephant playing goalie was SUPER at his job! He may have blocked 80% of all the shots that were taken!
Then when the show ended, we hurriedly walked through the camp with much excitement, because we were now going TO RIDE ON THE ELEPHANTS!!!!! There was this really cool wooden platform, and even though there wasn’t really a line, there was certainly the ability to make a HUGE line! Dad and I went first onto our elephant, and we rode in this really cool box thing that was on the elephants back, while the trainer, driver, or steerer sits on the elephants neck. Our elephant was the hungry one, since it was always eating! Since it was hungry, it kept going wherever there were plants, and it was scary because it sometimes brought us to the edge of HUGE cliffs, for a snack!
Snack break for our elephant
The girls had an elephant that must have just had a large meal, because it was going to the bathroom for the entire hour long ride💩! We travelled along this really cool mountain path that had amazing views of everything in the mountain valley! From one spot, you could see the entire camp! Even though the ride gave me thirty bruises (the ride is REALLY bumpy), it was one of the best experiences of my life so far! My favorite part was when we crossed a river. WE CROSSED A FREAKING RIVER!!!!!!
This was my favorite day out of the entire tour, because since it was such a unique experience, and I’m glad I was able to make this post for all of you. See Ya!!!
Go and visit. Stay and connect. This is one of the tag lines (or themes) which we’ve used as a family to help guide our journey from the moment we first decided to embark upon our Family Sabbatical. However, going into our recent Indochina Peninsula Tour, we knew that the jam-packed schedue (4 countries, 15 cities in 25 days) would make connecting with locals challenging.
One of the unexpected joys of the tour turned out to be the local guides whom served as our Hosts in their respective cities/regions. They were our Teachers, providing cultural and historical context to the many sights, sounds, and experiences. They were our Guardians, giving expert local advice on how to avoid shady people, places, or situations. Some even let down their guards enough to become Friends whom we look forward to someday hosting in Seattle.
Gai was our guide in Bangkok and Ayutthaya, Thailand. She was energetic, she smiled with her eyes (you could even tell through her sunglasses), and her manner reminded me of some of my Aunts in the Bunda Clan. Gai was a proud Thai–she even mentioned that she wished the country were still called “Siam” like it once was. She lived in the U.S. (Virginia) a few years ago, but decided to come back after 3 years because she missed her country and “her people.” Gai was a devout Buddhist. Her knowledge in that arena came in handy as we visited more temples during our time with her than at any other time on the tour. Gai quickly gravitated towards Kamaile took extra care to ensure that she understood what she was seeing.
Gai and Kamaile outside the Temple of the Reclining Buddha
Kay was our guide in Chiang Mai, Thailand. At first, I assumed that she was an introvert, but I realize now that any guide would seem that way to us right after Gai. Kay actually had the same laid-back demeanor that many of the people in Chiang Mai seem to possess. Like many guides, she herself is an avid traveler. Kay took particular interest in Trey–commenting a number of times on his height, as well as the fact that “many Chiang Mai girls will be interested in him when he comes back in a few years.” Too funny. Kay was paricularly good at helping us get unique experiences (Tigers!) despite the fact that we were in a number of tourist-infested places.
Bidding farewell to Kay at the Chiang Mai Airport
Sengphone was our guide in Luang Prabang, Laos. He lives with his wife and kids in Luang Prabang, but is originally from a mountain village near the Chinese border. When we first met Sengphone, I remember thinking that he had the calm, gentle disposition of a monk. Shortly thereafter, we learned that he, like many poor boys from the countryside, joined a monastery when he was 13. Sengphone went on to explain that his primary motivation for joining was Education (there were no schools in his village), followed by bringing prestige to his family, and finally for religious purposes (his own). One thing I really appreciated about him was the way he actively partipated and/or taught when we visited local craftspeople in their villages. Sengphone came across as someone who could actually make the mulberry paper or silk cloth himself, not just talk about it. Finally, being a father himself, Sengphone was also very good about reading the kids’ moods and energy levels–suggesting modifications to our time in Luang Prabang to better suit our needs.
Saying goodbye to Sengphone at the airport in Laos
Jay was our guide in Hanoi, Vietnam. We arrived pretty late in the evening prior to our Hanoi Bike Tour, but he still took it upon himself to greet us and try to gauge our excitement about the next day. His given name is Giang, but he introduced himself as “Jay, like Jay Z.” Needless to say, I had a good feeling about him. Our bike tour itself was tough. We nearly quit after Kamaile crashed within the first 20 meters of our ride out of the Old Quarter. The fact that we were already exhausted, fighting crazy heat and humidity, and in a very hectic, new place was not a good combination. After about an hour of riding, I was about to call it a day. Jay suggested that we just sit and chat under a tree to cool off a bit. In the next 40 minutes, we engaged in an amazing conversation about Jay’s hopes and dreams for the future, his struggle to keep up with his peers (the Rat Race is alive and well in Hanoi, too), and the role of faith (or lack thereof) in his life, which he initiated 100%. He then invited us to ride to a neighborhood well off the beaten path to see how he and “most people in the city live.” I believe the only reason he felt comfortable enough to to bring us there was the very unscripted conversation that we’d had just before. What a privilege!
Muggin’ with Jay after our crazy bike tour
Thuy was our guide in the mountain city of Sapa, Vietnam. She was easily the most reserved, even close-vested, of all our guides on the tour. Thuy fascinated me for a number of reasons: 1) She was from the Red Dzao tribe and dressed in traditional clothing every day, whether or not she was working; 2) She talked openly about her views on the courtship (previously non-existent, now Facebook vetting is acceptable) and marriage practices for the Dzao, as well as the many Hmong tribes in the area (still arranged, but at least kidnapping your potential bride from another village/tribe is no longer common); and, 3) She shared less about herself than any of the other guides on the tour despite our best attempts. During our last 30 minutes together, she finally spoke a little about her husband and son. Thuy saw us off at the train station before our overnight journey back to Hanoi
Toan was our guide for our day trip to Ky Son Village (outside of Hanoi, Vietnam). He was a humble man whose parents met in another village while his father was part of the Viet Cong. As the story goes, once the Vietnam War (or “American War” as they call it there) was over in 1975, his parents chose to move to this farming village to start their new life. Toan grew up as a farmer as well, but when a businessman from the city bought up property in his village to create a museum/resort for visitors, he jumped at the opportunity to earn money in a different, less physically strenuous manner. His English was good, as is, but even more impressive to me when we found out that he learned primarily by talking to visitors (as opposed to the formal training that each of the other guides received). Toan was proud of his village and that pride was only surpassed by that which he felt for his 15 and 10 year-old daughters, Ngoc an Linh. He even brought us over to his house for a few minutes so we could meet them and share tea together. Toan, Linh (10), and Ngoc (15) in their beautiiful home
Ty was our guide in Hoi An, Da Nang, and Hue, Vietnam. He was a nice guy that was very proud of Central Vietnam–especially his hometown of Hue. More so than any of the other guides on the tour, Ty took a long time to grasp that we were not the type of people to passively just go wherever the itinerary said (or, worse, wherever he wanted). Ty also had a couple quirks which were sometimes irritating, and at other times funny. He did not seem to prefer talking and walking at the same time. Coupled with his habit for repeating a concept 2-3 times at minimum, this meant we spent long stretches of time standing in the hot sun listening to him lecture through a thick Vietnamese accent. The poor kids really struggled to pay attention. I think he finally got the picture on the 2nd day, when I would put my arms around the kids and just start walking off in a direction as soon as he started repeating himself. To Ty’s credit, things started to go much more smoothly after I took him aside a couple times to specifically explain that we had limited attention spans and only enough energy to see the specific things which interested us.
One would think that capturing a good pic of Ty would be easy with all the standing around we did
Lot wasour guide in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. The amount of fun we had with Lot may have even surpassed our experience with Jay. She was quirky, funny, and a bit of a jokester. At the end of our first day, she said flat out that we’d be seeing another guide on the second day. When I tried to give her a tip, she quickly ducked away with an awkward goodbye. Lot then returned the next morning but introduced herself as Lot’s sister and tried to keep it up for a few minutes. What?! LOL Lot also treated Kamaile and Trey as if they were her niece and nephew–with that familial mix of fun, protectiveness, and even some correction when warranted. I know that she made the kids’ experience that much better.
Goofing around with Lot and Ut, our day guide in Ben Tre (Mekong Delta). BTW, I’m not supposed to say anything, but I’m pretty sure Lot is waiting for Ut to ask her on a date.
Proney was our guide in Siem Reap. Heat have been the most compelling of all of our guides. Like Sengphone, Proney spent time during his teenage and early adult years as a Buddhist monk. Like Toan, war was a part of Proney’s history–just much more recently. When the Khmer Rouge was in power, nearly 1/4 of Cambodia’s population was killed. Most of those people were the well-educated (doctors, lawyers, businessman, and civic leaders); and, in the eyes of Pol Pot, capable of organizing resistance against the Khmer Rouge. As time went on, young boys (especially those from poorer families) were often forced to fight for the Khmer Rouge. For a short time, until he escaped, Proney was one of those soldiers. Risking great peril, he eventually snuck away and joined the relative safety of a monastery where he learned about Buddhism, as well as the English and Japanese languages. Proney mentioned that many of his immediate family members were not so “fortunate.” His father was shot by soldiers one day while farming–apparently mistaken from a distance as a resistance fighter. Proney also lost 2 siblings to some of the many land mines which still plague parts of the country. Unbelievably, he lost 2 moresiblings to starvation. With very little outward emotion, Proney told me that his story was not special; that “everybody lost family.” Proney now treats his profession as a calling to help bring prosperity (via tourism) and stability (via educating others) to Cambodia. Stunning. Heartbreaking. Inspiring.
Proney (far right) had us dropped off at the Blue Pumpkin in the middle of Siem Reap and then quietly bid us adieu
Thank you to ALL of our guides for your part in making our Indochina Tour a life-changing experience. Thank for giving us glimpses into your lives and teaching us about your cultures. We are forever grateful!
…on them from five countries I never thought I would visit. It never occurred to me to see Thailand or Indonesia. When growing up, it was crazy to think of one day traveling to Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia. Now I have been to all of these.
My tongue has tripped to say thank-you in those languages as it has appreciated the tastes of so many new dishes and flavors. Who knew you could prepare rice in so many ways.
My eyes have seen amazing ancient wonders and sites of horrible human atrocities. We saw signs declaring areas now clear of landmines. We spoke to people who had parents imprisoned and “re-educated”. We climbed over temples and grounds a millennia old.
My ears have grown used to ignoring the sounds of unfamiliar languages that mystify me and perking up when I hear any English. Mosque prayer calls, the ringing of a bell in a Buddhist temple, chickens and roosters all hours of the day, and someone always trying to sell me something are all in this month’s soundtrack.
My heart is full of appreciation and love for the people we have met. I am touched that we have made friends all over. Our family of four is now knit tighter because of our shared experiences.*
The next phase of our adventure has us in Bandung for a few more weeks. I am looking forward to many more new experiences and friendships.
* Editor’s Note: This is the first post in nearly 3 weeks. If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you know that much has happened since then. Be on the lookout for a series of posts from all of the #SeattleBundas capturing some of those experiences in the coming days. Thanks!
The tune to “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo” had been on repeat in my brain for nearly 24 hours. The words, however, were slightly altered and far less catchy:
“I left my iPhone in Kuang Si Waterfall. I left my iPhone in Kuang Si Waterfall. I left my iPhone in Kuang Si Waterfall. I gotta get, I got-got ta get it.” – A Tribe Called Quest
Saturday was shaping up to be one of our very best since we left Seattle back on May 11th.
Our Itinerary:
Have breakfast in a peaceful, serene setting at our ridiculously cool hotel (My Dream Boutique Resort).
Take a blissfully lazy, 4-hour ride on the Mekong River via Long Boat (or as our guide, Sengphone, calls it, “Tourist Boat”).
Buy whiskey from a riverside village distillery, where they were known to include Scorpions and Cobras in the bottle. Come on, Tequila makers, is a little worm all you’ve got?
Visit literally thousands of Buddha statues at Pak Ou Caves.
See 28 bears from the region that have been rescued from poachers trying to illegally bring them into China.
Swim and dive in the cool, refreshing waters of Kuang Si Falls.
The weather here in SE Asia has been incredibly hot & humid. I’d actually prefer to use words like “oppressive,” “swampy,” and “unbearable” here, but I’ll do my best to tone down the drama. While we’ve finally come to accept the fact that we will be drenched in sweat at least a couple times a day, the prospect of cooling off at Kuang Si Falls made us all lose our minds a bit.
In fact, WE ALL GOT A LITTLE GIDDY as we approached the beautiful, light-blue water. The pools and surrounding areas were filled with countless groups of both locals and tourists vying for places to establish a home base. While a pragmatic approach for us would’ve been to work together to find a spot, change, swim, etc., we each kicked immediately into auto-pilot, scattered upon arrival, and raced to get in the water. This moment of exuberance would later come back to bite us in the butt. Hard.
Diving off of the tree (or half-falling, or half-jumping, or belly-flopping) and into the pool was a blast. After a couple “safe,” feet-first jumps, Trey tried a front summersault and almost nailed it. Meanwhile, Kamaile, as the only girl her age even trying to jump, quickly amassed a cheering section of local women and fellow travelers. We swam around the pools and giggled at all the little (we hope) fish that constantly nibbled at our feet. When we eventually decided to sit at the base of the smaller waterfall for a few minutes, I remember thinking how magical the past hour had been.
About 10 minutes later, it was time to dry off and head further up the falls to see the main waterfall. As we gathered up our belongings for the quick walk, Trey turned to me with an ashen look in his face saying, “Dad, I’m pretty sure I left my phone in the changing room.” I know how difficult it is for the kid with the eternally golden tan to look that way, mind you, so I knew we were in trouble.
The next 15 minutes were a blur. We raced over to the changing room and gave it a once, twice, thrice-over. Gone. In between each pass, anyone within 50 meters heard (or at least saw) me alternating between interrogating Trey to retrace his every move; and, unfairly, unkindly, and dare I say inappropriately berating him for “just not thinking, again.” It. Was. An. Ugly. Scene. Definitely not a proud moment as a Father. Definitely not my proud moment as a man committed to showing people–family, friends, strangers–the Jesus kind of love.
“I gotta get, I got-got ta get it.”
Unfortunately, we couldn’t just call the phone or ping it via Find My iPhone as we normally would. Laos is one country with whom T-Mobile does not currently have an awesome international roaming agreement. Since we were only going to be in Luang Prabang for a few days, we decided not to buy local SIM cards and instead kept our phones in Airplane Mode–basically giving us off-line, WiFi-only devices while there.
The phone was officially M.I.A. Trey was certain about where he’d left it, so the only logical conclusion was that someone either still had the phone in their possession or had already turned it in. Our hope was that whomever picked up the phone would be gracious enough to return it.
“I gotta get, I got-got ta get it.”
I sprint-walked back to the park entrance and tried to explain to the guards what had happened. Needless to say, I was disappointed (and more than a little ticked off) when they chuckled as they told me all about how tourists lose phones every day and that we might get it back. This exchange was almost entirely in Laotian, but I could understand their meaning quite well.
“I gotta get, I got-got ta get it.”
At this point, we felt a sense of helplessness, each for totally different reasons: Trey beat himself up over the whole thing happening in the first place; Laura fought to keep Trey and me from biting each other’s heads off; and, Kamaile struggled to merely endure the tension–something she does not often handle well.
Meanwhile, it slowly dawned on me that I had taken the password lock off of Trey’s phone a few days earlier. Crap! This would mean that anyone with bad intention could potentially start messing with the thousands of pics, vids, contacts, files, etc., via the apps on the phone. Worse, yet, if that person were to enable data roaming, etc., he/she would have the ability to quickly rack up thousands of dollars in charges. We needed to get to an Internet connection quickly so that I could lock the phone down before too much damage was done. I frantically directed Sengphone to get us get us back to the hotel ASAP.
“I gotta get, I got-got ta get it.”
The 45-minute ride back to the hotel was excruciating. Knowing that we were in a race against both time and the nefarious phone-finder (as I’d built him/her up to be in my head by then), just sitting there in the transit van proved to be the perfect way to inspire a kind of pointless rumination that sent my blood pressure soaring. The awkward silence in which we rode was broken occasionally by Sengphone asking well-intentioned but tech-clueless questions, Laura giving Trey a few reassuring words, Trey praying, and me sighing deeply every 30 seconds or so.
As soon as we arrived at the hotel, I jumped onto WiFi and completed all of the steps recommended by Apple. Then the waiting game began.
My best guess was that one of following scenarios was most likely to occur:
Some Good Samaritan either turns the phone in or texts me directly (I had previously placed an “If found, please contact” lock screen message on the phone); or,
Apple’s Lost Mode feature kicks in as soon as someone tries to use the phone to access either a cellular or WiFi network.
Either way, getting the phone back was an iffy proposition, at best.
“I gotta get, I got-got ta get it.”
On Sunday morning, our Luang Prabang itinerary continued with the 5:30am Alms Giving Ceremony, and visits to nearby villages whose people specialized in making crafts such as Silk, Paper, and Ceramics. All of these were wonderful experiences, but it was hard to escape thinking about the missing phone and/or data every other moment. I know, lame.
On Sunday afternoon, we were supposed to do more of what I call “Tourist See, Tourist Buy” visits, but I called an audible and asked that we be brought back to the hotel so we could check out early and spend some time in back in the City Center before heading out to the airport.
As soon as we got back to our room, I received a notification from Apple that Lost Mode had been activated on Trey’s phone just 4 minutes earlier, meaning that someone had just attempted to connect to a network. It worked! Even crazier, Lost Mode gave me an approximate location of that attempt via a satellite map on my phone. It was less than a block away from the hotel!
Our hotel was the purple dot at the far left.
I could not believe what was happening. We were fortunate that the phone might be only a couple blocks away, but why did the phone immediately go back offline again? Why hadn’t the person on the other end followed the Lost Mode prompts to contact me via phone, text, or email, yet? Was he/she planning on keeping it, after all? What do we do now?
As a family, we made a pact about a week ago that we would keep each other accountable as Jesus Followers by actually asking God for guidance whenever we were in a sticky situation before setting off to solve the problem. Suddenly, we were facing our first opportunity to put our beliefs into action. We said a simple, earnest prayer, then asked our family and friends via Facebook to do the same.
Thanks for your support!
We decided to enlist the help of the hotel manager, Joy, to act as our guide. We didn’t know the neighborhood, would need a translator as we chatted with folks in the area, and were counting on him to help us sniff out any dicey situations we might encounter. While the kids stayed back at the hotel, Laura and I headed off to the last known location reported by Apple.
We arrived at a building that looked like it could be the one shown on the satellite map, but there were huge gates at the front. I figured that anyone wanting to keep the phone as their own would attempt to purchase a new SIM card, so we checked with the little store next door instead. No dice. No recent customers requesting SIM cards or new activations.
We went back to the gate of the first building. The woman who answered tried to identify the building on the satellite map, but couldn’t manage it. She called out to a man who happened to be walking down the street towards us. He wasn’t any more successful at pin-pointing the building, but rather than shrugging and say “good luck,” he invited me into his bosses office to see if we could get a better map on his bosses computer. This was HUGE.
Within seconds, that man, his boss, and 2 other co-workers were all huddled with me around the computer. After a barrage of words I could not understand, they all agreed that the location in question had to be the guesthouse another 100m down the road. Joy, Laura, and I headed over to the guesthouse. The crazy part is that we had no clue what we’d do when we actually arrived.
This particular guesthouse was like a collection of 6 studio apartments that were being rented out to local for medium- to long-term stays. Joy parked the van in the driveway and asked if there was anything specific I wanted him to say. I immediately replied, “You’re the expert. What do you recommend?” I think Joy actually puffed out his chest a bit in that moment, as if to say, “You’re right, I GOT THIS.”
We stepped up to the first apartment. This buff Laotian dude in a tight t-shirt that read “Oh My Buddha,” jeans, and a cowboy hat introduced himself as Le. Joy told him that we were asking around to see if anyone had found a black iPhone 5 in the last 24 hours; and, that we were offering a reward for the right one. Le said that he hadn’t seen any, but that I should definitely ask the people next door. Le also said that he knew the owner of the guesthouse and he offered to leave my contact info with him. In Le’s words, “I just have to help.”
The second apartment turned up nothing, but Laura mentioned later that she’d noticed a woman replacing the SIM card in her phone just moments before Joy started talking to her. Fishy, IMO.
As I wrapped up with both Le and the woman at the second apartment, Joy had already moved on to the third apartment. He was leaning on a motorcycle just outside the door with a little smile on his face. I remember thinking as we approached that Joy looked like a cat that had finally caught the mouse he’d been chasing all afternoon. He said that the woman standing in the doorway in front of me had a friend who’d recently found an iPhone. That friend was on her way and would be back in a couple minutes.
Sure enough, that friend arrived in her scooter about 2 minutes later. The woman held her purse nervously in front of her, but did not show the phone until I told her (through Joy) that the phone was now of no value to anyone but me because of the software that I’d enabled which she’d activated as soon as she tried accessing the network. Joy went on to explain that the software was the reason we were able to find her so quickly (of course, we know that the software got a ton of help from real people). The woman sheepishly showed the phone and said through Joy that there was no case. I think she was trying to say that the phone might not be the one we were after, so I asked if I could see it for a second. I powered it up and immediately the Lost Mode prompts which I’d put in the day before appeared on the phone, as designed. This confirmed, undeniably, that the phone was Trey’s, so the woman quickly acquiesced.
Despite my suspicions that the woman did not originally intend to return the phone, I told Joy that I still wanted to give her the reward. $20 USD and 1 LifeProof case lighter, we were on our merry way.
The story I’m telling myself is that the woman bought the phone on the black market and whatever little money she paid for it was now lost. I’m choosing to believe that she was an innocent player in a bigger game who thought she got a great deal on a legit used phone that she could use to take pics of her cute little baby girl. I’m choosing to believe that she’ll use the $20 to someday put towards another cool phone that isn’t stolen and will not be retrieved by some foreigner immediately after purchase.
Ultimately, I am blown away that we actually got the phone back, avoided being fleeced by someone with darker motives, and that all 1200+ of Trey’s pics/vids were left intact (the woman attempted to delete the files, but left them in iPhoto’s ‘Recently Deleted’ folder). I am thankful for those that prayed and sent well wishes from thousands of miles away as we headed out to find the phone. I am thankful for Joy the Hotel Manager, the various multiple neighbors, Le the Cowboy Rocker, Apple the Company, and Lost Mode the Magical Software. I am thankful that I’ll have more opportunities to not be such a jerk to my kids in future stressful situations.
I am just thankful. I get it.
The woman who returned the phone took about a dozen pics with her baby girl before getting online and triggering Lost Mode. Immediately, she could no longer access those pics, or anything else, for that matter. Trey decided to keep the phone for fun. 🙂
Today’s experience on the way to, as well as at the airport was a strange one!
We arrived at the airport in a shuttle that delivers us from our hotel. Picked up at the lobby near the front gate, we made our way around the hotel to the other lobby to pick up more passengers. So far, so good.
Then, the driver proceeds to leave the driveway and heads across a field to a dirt track. Wait…this wasn’t the way we came in yesterday! After a couple minutes of off-roading, a guard opens a big gate in the wall and we turn into a (this is a generous term here) road. Our shuttle is a pretty large vehicle for this road, which would definitely be a one way road at home. Then, as we approach a corner, two big construction trucks come barreling our way. All the drivers slam their brakes and inch to the sides of the walls on the road. I was really not convinced there would be room, but after after slowly crawling and maneuvering we managed to pass by with at least an inch to spare. [Note: an inch of clearance does not appear adequate passage when one is in a large shuttle van passing a garbage truck style vehicle!]
After a few more tight passes (one involving a bridge with no side walls and another large vehicle), we turn into yet another dirt “road” and scrape the gate as we turn off. At this point I leaned over and told Trey that I was really glad we were on the way to the airport: if someone had picked me up at the airport and taken this route to the hotel, I would have thought for sure that we were going to be bad news headlines. He totally agrees. Eventually we turn back into a track that we would all acknowledge as a road and are delivered uneventfully at the airport.
The “road” to the airport from our hotel
Upon arrival, we checked in at the kiosk and pass through a light security screening. We were three and a half hours early for our flight and do not see a gate assignment so we decided to sit and have a coffee. We wasted some more time and played each other in our new favorite family pastime, the Monopoly App.
At two hours to our flight, we still don’t see a gate listed for our flight. Hmm. Strange. Well, we decided to go ahead and go upstairs to where the gates are.
Oops! We haven’t gone through the real security OR immigration yet. With hearts pounding a little faster, we hurry over.
Thankfully, there aren’t many people in line at all. Only two people in front of us in the immigration line and we pretty much walk right up to the screening area of security. We are so practiced at this now! I am very proud of the kids and how they have been able to stay organized and go right through with minimal fumbling with gear. Yay us!
Phew, we’ve made it through, no problem, plenty of time to spare. There are lots of seats around. Paul checks at the desk to be sure we are in the right place. OK, we can relax again. After about 40 minutes or so, I walk over to the window to check things out. Huh, I notice that I only see airplanes from a different airline…then I notice that there aren’t any jetways attached to the building. I do see a bus driving around the tarmac with the airline label on its side. I wonder how this is going to work?! I walk around the area and find a flight of stairs that are roped off and a turned around sign indicating our airline and boarding rows. Just then I see a group of flight attendants approach and had down those stairs. Ok, maybe we are in the right place.
A few minutes later we hear an announcement that our flight will be boarding from Zone 5. Panic sets in: there are only even-numbered zones here! We quickly run over to the desk at Zone 4 along with a couple other English-speaking passengers. They laugh at us. There is no Zone 5, they say. Uh oh! We zip over to the desk at Zone 6 and ask again about our flight number. She smiles, answering that now is the time to board and indicates to top of the same stairs I mentioned earlier. Um, I wonder what happened to Zone 5? Maybe just a translation error? [Note: I (Paul) most definitely heard “Zone 5” as well.]
We are flying in Priority seats this time and get to go through almost first. Down a flight of stairs, we arrive at a door to the tarmac at an obvious loading area, but no bus. We wait a few more minutes and one shows up. We climb aboard and ride around for several minutes to the new terminal that is under construction. Yes, the terminal is under construction, but planes are all lined up outside like it is already completed. The kids are so excited that we get to climb up the stairs to load the plane…just like President Obama! Or something like that.
Air Asia flight, brought to you by Chevrolet.
Thankfully our flight was uneventful with very cheerful flight attendants! Even though with every bump of extended turbulence I panic a little and think of another Air Asia flight that passed over this area of the world not long ago…
What a weird airport morning. Sometimes you just have to laugh at how things eventually work out and thank the Lord for His protection!
Now, we turn our sites on Thailand, beginning with Bangkok. I hope they are ready for us crazy #SeattleBundas!
On Saturday we visited Josie, the Kowalski’s friend and language tutor, and her family! The street that they lived on looked like many of the neighborhoods around here, with a mix of broken concrete and rubble. When we got inside, we learned that the house had been recently remodeled, but the main room was designed to look like the old house that it has been many years ago. The walls looked like many kids had already had their effect on it with nicks and stains all over the place. It was really cool!
Arriving at Josie’s family home
Once inside, we were greeted by Josie’s family and a FEAST of food. I thought they were celebrating Jesus’ ascension into heaven (aka Ascension Day), but they were actually celebrating Josie and her mom’s safe return from a 3-week Europe trip. We asked Josie who made the food, and her mom had made it all! Turns out the mom had once been a caterer during part of her career.
Throughout lunch guests kept arriving. Somewhere in the middle of the meal one of Josie’s friends, Pauline, arrived (you will hear of her later).
There were many different foods. There was Nasi Kuning (yellow rice), Nasi Udok (white coconut rice), noodles, and many other assorted foods that were all very tasty! One of my favorites was the beef or chicken (I don’t remember which!) that was decently spicy. Another was the small noodles that were yellow/orange and it was amazing! I think it was called Bihun. I really hope I can find it at home.
The next day, I actually woke up sick, but I’m sure it wasn’t related at all. My stomach hurt and I also felt nauseous, so everyone went to church except me. I basically just stayed at home and slept/read the entire day. I was not happy with this. Miss Rosemarie stayed with me through the day and I was very thankful for that.
The next day I felt a lot better than I used to, so I got out of bed. We basically had a chill day on Monday since I was still recovering, so nothing much here.
IT HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY ONE WEEK ON THE ROAD!!!
I can’t believe that I have gone one week without a continually hot shower! No, seriously, I haven’t had one good hot shower for a whole week. It stinks. I have only had hot water once for fifteen seconds, but it’s not really anyone’s fault. We believe the reasons are that we only have tiny water heaters and that most people who live hear take showers in the evening because you get sweaty during the day.
Grateful for showers; more grateful when they’re hot
On Monday, we went on a HUGE walk through town. We went to a store called ACE (just like back home) where they sold a bunch of households fix-its, everything from showerheads to toilets to basketballs. They had a ton of stuff. They even sold POPCORN if you wanted to eat while shopping. At the very front there was this restaurant called Chatime and we had cold tea with tapioca bubbles in it.
We also went to a bunch of other stores and other places, but I don’t remember the names, so 😔. On the way back we took a taxi/taksi and I sat in the front seat since it is proper for a male to sit in the front. It was really exciting since our taksi driver knew how to cope with the traffic here, with the monkeys riding bikes, and the motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic.
I know I’m a week behind, but I’m working on catching up and being more timely.
So, our first couple of days here I noticed a lot of differences between the U.S. and Indonesia.
First off, most of the locals here wear long sleeves even in this H☀T and sticky weather! Many of the Muslim women here wear headdresses, too! I believe they are called hijab. And even worse, the hijab are normally dark-colored so they soak up the sun and heat even more. If that were me, I would either faint, or get heat stroke.😰 🌞
Another thing that’s different and sort of fun is that some of the companies here have names that have to do with their location. For example, when we were driving through Jakarta I saw a store called Transjakarta. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of that, but I did get some photos of some other companies!
INDOMILK … some brand of milk . Indofood! A random brand of food. (like Kroger or something)
The third thing is TRAFFIC. Oh. my. word! It’s crazy!!!😳🚙🚘🚗🚕🚖 People don’t really stay in the lanes and kind of swerve around other cars to get to the place they’re going a little bit faster. Let me rephrase that: People don’t stay in their lanes and when they do it’s not for long! And people will swerve around other cars to get where they’re going a little bit faster, especially motorcycles! Man, if you’ve gone to California and you didn’t like how the motorcycles drove on the lines, you won’t survive here!😝 The motorcycles ride on the lines, drive on the opposite side of the street than they’re supposed to be on, go on the sidewalks even when it’s crowded, and sometimes they have up to families of five squished on the same bike.
Haha! I bet you guys think this is bad , but it gets way worse.
Oh yeah! I forgot to say that there are also some horses that ride along the side of the street. You can ride them around town! I haven’t tried it yet, but I hope to! They look really fun!🏇
The fourth difference between the U.S. and Indonesia are the bathrooms!😝🚽🚿🛁 So, there are these things I call bum guns. And whenever you go #2 you have to squeeze the lever on the handle and water will come out. Then, you clean your bum with it. It tickles!
The bum gun!
Also, the water that comes out of the faucet isn’t clean for drinking, so whenever you brush your teeth you have to go to the water dispenser, get a glass of water, and brush your teeth with that. Another different thing about bathrooms are the showers!🚿 Since there is more water pressure in the morning, unless you take showers in the AM you will get C ❄ LD showers every day!
Friends, there are so many things to tell you about this place, things you will understand and things that will make no sense.
Some kids playing in an alley as we drove through the city
Indonesia is a beautiful country; well, truly I can only speak to the tiny bits I have seen in and between Jakarta and Bandung. Hills covered with houses and terraced gardens or rice paddies separated by jungle gorges with dirty, garbage strewn streams. Lush tropical greenery grows from the earth wherever it can. Things we transplant as tiny annuals at home, like impatiens, and sweet potato vines, grow wild and two feet tall. Banana trees are plentiful. Yet, familiar flowers like hydrangeas and day lillies are also here.
View of the lush green valley near our home away from home
I hear birds that remind me of the doves we are used to hearing in Hawaii, roosters crowing and dogs barking all hours, and nearly constant crickets and cicadas. Then there are many sounds we are unfamiliar with, a few we have identified, but so many we have not. Mostly birds and insects, but we hear there are monkeys and haven’t yet figured out if one of the calls belong to them. We are also keenly aware of the five times daily Muslim calls to prayer as we can hear the loudspeakers of a half dozen mosques near our home.
We knew there would be bugs, and have not been disappointed! We found a rhino beetle almost the size of a golf ball! A wasp with a body the size of two thirds of my pinkie finger was flying outside our room. Butterflies are all over, I don’t even know how many varieties we have seen: big, little, black with blue, brown and orange, bright orange, all white, and more! Not surprisingly, the caterpillars they come from abound. We keep vigilant watch for ants, small or large, who may be searching for any food crumbs or otherwise trying to invade the house. Geckos are welcome guests in every room to help manage the mosquito population. I think I currently and avoiding scratching ad many mosquito bites as I got in a month or more at home. Paul had some sort of grasshopper land on him in the middle of the night, but it hopped away before we could get a very good look at it. We have seen a number of spiders, one that nightmares are made of who’s body was several inches long and whose legs would have covered my dinner plate. Thankfully we spied him on a walk around the neighborhood, not in the house!
Traffic is a totally different animal here! On a road that at home would be a neat and tidy two lane road, one in each direction, here would have two lines of cars in each direction, and four lanes of scooters (motos) weaving in between. As long as you haven’t actually contacted another vehicle, it is all good. When you want to go a certain place or turn across traffic, you just start going and people make space. Drivers are in high alert for all other cars, motos, and pedestrians. Generally traffic is moving slow enough that any collisions are pretty minor. Drivers also must remain vigilant as to road conditions that are extremely varied.
Speaking of motos, you would not believe how versatile they are! We have seen families of five riding together. We have seen then used as a delivery vehicle for large floral displays, lumber, long pipes, even a small refrigerator! Ladies often ride dressed nicely for work in their heels, but we have seen people ride in flipflops or barefoot also.
Other things are also ubiquitous as we explore the city. There is trash everywhere. Little bits of litter are all over. Piles of trash bags and loose garbage can be found anywhere. It is common to burn trash, so there will often be a smoldering fire alongside the road. Another thing we see all over are mobile carts! I am impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of the people here. People sell all kinds of foods, drinks, necessities, and knick knacks from mobile carts. Sometimes these carts have put in a foundation and become permanent. Either way, they are everywhere, on major streets, residential areas and alleyways.
School Visit
No matter where you go, some things remain the same!
One of the things we are doing while we are here in Bandung is to explore and visit organizations who are working with children that the missionaries here may be able to partner with.
Along those lines we had the opportunity to visit a local Christian school one day. I really didn’t know what to expect. What we found was a beautiful facility, well equipped, organized spectacularly, full of happy kids and teachers. Granted, this is a private school and not a typical neighborhood school, but it was not a place to pity the children at all!
Happy pre-schoolers and dedicated teachers
We were able to meet with the curriculum director, principal, and vice principal. It thrilled my heart to hear them speak of not only being teachers, but having the privilege to help shape the lives of the next generation of leaders.
As we chatted with the administration about their struggles, things sounded so familiar. In the classroom, their concerns were how to help the young ones develop the intrinsic motivation for good behavior and how to incorporate Biblical values into classroom talk and activities. However, the biggest desire they have is for parents that are truly partners with the school as they train this generation. Similar to home, more and more, parents are failing to engage in the training of their children, abdicating this role to TV, electronic devices, and school teachers. Being that the kids at this school primarily come from more affluent homes, this problem is exacerbated by a culture of helpers who work in the home as tutors, maids, and nannies who do most of the “work” of parenting.
These awesome administrators even took us out to lunch when we were done talking. They treated us to a traditional style of restaurant where they bring plates and plates of food to the table and you pay for what you eat. Everything was delicious!
Enjoying Nasi Padang with the administrators Santy and Ruth
If you think of it, please pray for the parents of this school to be engaged and inspired to be full participants in the lives of their children and for the teachers to keep the vision of both daily and lifelong impact they have on the kids.
After these first 4 days in Bandung, it is still difficult for me to adequately describe our experiences, thus far.
Therefore, I’m going to start by taking the easy route, showing off my Google skills, and sharing some quick facts about Bandung:
Located in the western part of the island of Java, about 3 hours from Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital.
Founded in 1488
Approximately 2.6M people within a 65 sq. mile area. In contrast, Seattle has about 650K people in a 143 sq. mile area. Bandung is the 3rd largest Indonesian city (by population).
The Average Monthly Salary is 2,940,000 Rp. This is roughly $224 or what many of us spend on Cable, Internet, and Cell bills. Click here if you’re curious to see more cost of living info.
The majority of the people in Bandung are Sundanese.
For those that are more visual, we recently found this guy named Kyle Le on YouTube. He primarily blogs about Vietnam (and food!), but he recently spent a couple days in Bandung. Check out this vid: Indonesia Shopping and Street Food in Bandung City.
What you see in Kyle’s video is pretty accurate in terms of the general chaos (by American standards) that exists in the city streets. Signs of varying size, shape, quality, and state of disrepair advertise everything from the familiar (Ace Hardware, KFC, and Pizza Hut), to the unfamiliar (innumerable food carts occupy every available inch of ground; even blocking larger, more established shops), to the unusual (DMV? No problem! Just buy your custom-made license plate on the side of the street).
No license plate? No problem!
This visual cacophony is eclipsed only by the aural cacophony created by the way-too-many cars, motorcycles, minibuses, and people on the road at any given time. The ever-present hum of engines, brakes, and horns are akin to TEN Times Squares. To simply say, however, that the roads are really loud would do this daily motor-ballet a serious injustice.
Our host, Wally, says that traffic laws around here (heck, even traffic lanes for that matter) are little more than “guidelines.” Ultimately, the social contract between motorists and pedestrians alike is that it is acceptable to do whatever ever it takes to get from Point A to Point B as long as you agree to constantly watch out for the safety of your fellow travelers. Everyone must be present, aware, and very much in the moment to ensure that major road catastrophes are avoided. There’s something really beautiful about that dynamic to me. It’s hard to imagine anyone doing that zoned-out, zombie thing during rush hour around here like I’ve done more than a few times while slogging through I-405 commutes.
Speaking of those motorcycles/scooters, I’m not only struck by how many there are on the road at any given time, but also by how many people can ride together on a single machine. One rider is the norm, two riders are common, three or more riders are far from unusual. We often see entire familieson a single motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic. I tried to convince Laura that we could save a ton of money by taking a similar approach back home; she was having none of it (shocking!).
Family of 3 on one moto/scooter. The daughter is not only precariously perched, but very asleep.
The food here has been incredible, so far. We haven’t been too adventurous, yet, but it’s not like we’ve actively shied away from anything either. We’re all fans of what the locals deem staples here–Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Mie Goreng (fried noodles), Bubur Ayam (rice porridge with chicken), and Nasi Udok (rice with coconut milk)–and we’re just getting started.
We even had a special treat today, as we were invited to have Lunch in the family home of Ibu Josie for a special meal, called Tumpeng. We were gathering to celebrate Josie and her mother’s safe return after 3 weeks of traveling in France and The Netherlands. Above and beyond the great food, however, was the hospitality shown by Josie, her family, and her friends. We laughed often and the general ease of our hosts reminded me of parties with my own family back home (sans ukuleles and endless singing, of course). Definitely my kind of people!
Ibu Josie (3rd from right); Josie’s Mother (Center); Partof the feast (Foreground). The rest of the party is off-camera.
I realize that this blog post has been long and somewhat meandering. So, I’ll wrap things up by quickly commenting on the people. The majority of the locals whom we’ve met have been extraordinarily warm and friendly. From the people in random nooks and crannies of the narrow neighborhood alley ways, to the chain store employees, to the parking lot attendants and unofficial traffic “facilitators,” to the guys at the coffee shop who knew less English than I know Indonesian, to Ibu Josie and her family, everyone has been genuinely excited about the fact that we’re here from half a world away to learn about them, their culture, and their city.
While I still am far from certain how the coming weeks in Indonesia will unfold, I am definitely excited by the possibilities. Here’s hoping that as we learn more, we’ll be able to find a way to help and serve as well.
somedayletsvisit 