Adventures in Kalimantan

Kalimantan had its ups and downs. Downs included that I didn't have many people to speak to in English (my conversational Bahasa Indonesia is still very limited), and traveling with another family made me miss my family. However, ups included getting to see a new part of Indonesia, trying new food, some beautiful scenery, and getting to know a new family and their traditions.

I flew into Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan, but we stayed in Singkawang, a three hour drive north. Here are the coordinates for the gate at the Pontianak airport. This is the best proof I have that I crossed the equator. Turns out there's no sign or celebration to usher you from one hemisphere to the next.


The first morning I was there, we woke up before dawn to go to the Chinese cemetery--the English title on the sign was "Hereafter Park"--to have a ceremony to honor the family's deceased ancestors. The family is Chinese with practicing Buddhists and Catholics, but honoring ancestors unites the faiths. This is the gravesite. You can't see it, but behind the stone is a large mound of earth. Hundreds of these mounds in various sizes covered the hillside. As the sun came up, I watched them light sticks of incense, set out food and drinks, and burn a mound of fake money and paper clothing (the belief is that the items will become real when burned).

Later that day we went swimming and picnicked by this lovely little mountain stream.

The next day, we went to a zoo owned by a family cousin. I saw some of the biggest snakes of my life, and now I will never forget the Indonesian word for snake: "ular." We also saw lizards, monkeys, orangutans, lions, tigers, bears, (Oh my! I'm sorry. I had to.) and a monster crocodile. As a sidenote, I've visited two zoos in Indonesia now, but both of them have gotten me curious as to how well the animals are cared for and how committed the owners are to promoting education and conservation. When the orangutans know to stick their hairy red arms out of the cage to get the bananas that you've brought to feed them, it makes you wonder.

The animals were fun to see, but even better was going up to the top of the hill where we had beautiful views of the city of Singkawang and the ocean.

I should have gotten some pictures of Singkawang close up because it's an interesting city with a strong Chinese flavor. Apparently the Chinese New Year celebrations there attract people from around the world. Even my limited Bahasa Indonesia wasn't always useful because many of family members spoke mostly in a dialect of Chinese.

Tuesday, we drove a long way to visit this beautiful waterfall.

What I didn't photograph was the massive construction site just above the waterfall where they were doing something for flood protection. On our way out, they set off a dynamite charge that made us all jump. Cool!

Even though the drive was long, it was interesting to see the countryside homes and fields. I know this video is fast, bumpy, and pixelly, but you can see some of the houses and even a school with kids playing outside.

If you can't tell yet, I think that Kalimantan is beautful. And the people I met were as beautiful as the scenery. One aunt who couldn't speak any English or much Bahasa Indonesia either knew I liked their sweet tangerines and made sure I was kept in good supply. I stayed at the home of another aunt and her family, and they made me feel at home with good food and brave attempts at communication. They even turned the TV to movies in English so that I could watch with them. The Indonesian taste in drama veers to the supernatural, so the movies on TV were strange B-level suspense flicks, like Mammoth and Inhabited, which you've probably never heard of and which I wouldn't recommend. Actually, the best thing I saw on TV was an Indonesian Obama impersonator who lifted his arms and yelled something about change.

And finally...

Yes, people actually wear these hats.