Indonesia

On our trip over to Indonesia, we had to take a fairy. The terminal was much like an airport terminal..only for boats. We had to go through customs even. At least I knew what to expect this time..lol

I wish I could take a picture of the boat moving..it was crazy. The men had to help everybody on the boat because it was swaying back and forth so much...and the dock we were standing on swayed so much. It was a little bit scary for me.

Raelee got her a little nap on the way over.

We found a monitor by the dock once we got to indonesia. It's a little like finding an alligator in Louisiana. See it?

This is Ms. Leone's Pinapple she's working so hard to grow.

I doubt she'll see it to maturity because the monkeys keep eating them...lol

We got to walk by the beach....a seashell beach! Raelee was in heaven.  It was around this point that I got a bit emotional because look at us...we are walking on a beach in Indonesia. I never ever thought I would get to do that. Not that it has always been a dream...but still...amazing.

Of course she got to play in the water a bit...again..I need to learn to ALWAYS carry extra cloths with me over here. There will always be a chance to get wet..lol

We know me...if I  have a chance to pose her, I will...but didn't it come out so good?

And Granny got in on the fun!

We walked to a resort to eat lunch along this long boardwalk.

This is the beach we had just come from.

This is a little bit unnerving.  We were walking on a path that was about 5-6 feet in the air with no railing with waves crashing all around us. You can follow the path that we will be walking on soon up ahead of my mom.

When I was brave enough to look down, I saw some hermit crabs and their trails.

This is the resort that we are walking to.

We found a coconut that has a 'tree' growing out of it. Raelee wanted to bring it home and couldn't understand why we couldn't

Proof that Raelee can eat chicken nuggets and meat, rice and gravy in any country!

When we were walking back to the villa, we found a man making coconut leaf pockets. Leone told us about the Muslim tradition with them while we watched him making it. Meanwhile, behind us, they were making Raelee a teeny tiny one.  He gave me this one that he just made and the other man gave Raelee the teeny tiny one.  Here is a link to the tradition:
Ketupat-Coconut leaf pouches (click me)
I was very honored to have received one and I'll hang it proudly in my home when I get home.

Again, we are fairly high in the air with no railing with rocks/ocean under us.

See mom and Leone WAY back in the distance??

Pathway to Leone's Villa. Isn't it beautiful??

This is Leone's house. It was absolutely beautiful. All of the wood is Teak and has to be oiled weekly. There are no air conditioners in her house...and it's not hot. All you have to do is open the windows (it's nearly entirely surrounded in windows. It was nice and cool inside on a hot day. However, because of the constant open windows..she has monkey problems in her home...could you imagine?

On the way to the orphanage, we passed through some of the village. It amazed me some of the conditions some of the people lived/worked in.

This is a little shop that sells gasoline. They can't afford to buy it by the tank, so they sell it by the bottle. See the bottles by the road in the stand? Just recycled water bottles full of Gas.

Jackfruit Tree.

More people making the rice pouches.

I saw a lot of this kind of thing here. I even saw one man carrying 2 passengers and one of them had a TV (maybe a 25 inch?) on the motorcycle too! One family passed me that had a mom, dad, and 2 kids on the motorbike but I couldn't grab my camera fast enough.  One man left the terminal with himself and his 3 children. And I'm worried about putting my 6 year old in a taxi with seat belts with no booster!

This is about the time that some monkeys were running along the side of the road just like they belonged there...well I guess they DID belong there!  There were about 5 of them. I didn't believe what I was seeing and I didn't have time to grab my camera :(

The day was amazing...and one of my favorite since I have gotten here. Very eye opening and surreal. I am in awe over how we live as compared to how others live..and they are very happy. They know nothing else!  I fuss when I can't get an internet connection that's fast on my Iphone...and these people can't afford to put gas on their tiny motorbike that holds their entire family (5 people sometimes!)  Very very surreal.  I will remember this day always.