Lazy Saturday

Saturday, July 29

Christy was a bit tired from all our adventure yesterday so she wanted to stay in this morning. I woke up around 7 and had a quiet breakfast.

Then I retired to the pool area to catch up on blogging, redo a couple of posts and get lost in the alternative reality known as "online".

Observing people at the pool, I am struck again at how "normal" everyone is. Parents are being parents. This could easily be a scene from home only I can't understand what anyone says. What I can tell is how much each of these children are loved and how much each one adores their parents.

After a lunch of ice cream (for me - Christy ate Lasagna), we joined Lasma and her family. We were invited to Wira Gardens by Gubernur Ficardo and his lovely wife Anggi.

So after a quick stop by Els Coffee to buy Indonesian coffee to take home (Seth will be so excited!), we were off to meet up at the gardens.

It was fantastic to get out of the city a little ways and enjoy a little bit of nature. The garden belongs to the family, but is open to the public.

There are several cottages available for overnight stays for very reasonable prices! The surrounding gardens are very nice. The view is magnificent!

There is a clean river with many large river rocks for climbing and sunning, large areas for games, and "sitting decks" for relaxing and observing nature. Here I could hear birds and observed butterflies. The running water had a relaxing effect and becons to young people to explore.

We found the rumored Fountain of Youth and washed our faces hoping for the magic of youthfulness.

Many large Teak trees are on the property and their fallen leaves provided entertainment and moments of aww.

I am very grateful for the invitation to visit and the experience!

Our hosts kindly provided favorite Indonesian snacks. A chocolate and cheese (not cream cheese, more like queso) filled yummy and one with warm liquid chocolate one reminicient of canolli, but very much Indonesian flavors.

We also had fried sweet bananas with and without cheese topping and fried tofu squares! I tried all of it and the cheese filled was my favorite! But OH, how I blew my diet! I don't think that I worked hard enough

posing for photos to burn off all those calories, but those snacks sure were good!

After a short walk and good conversation, we followed our hosts to a local Bandar Lampung restaurant for Coconut Rice and Chicken.

I was encouraged to try the animal organs, but I declined...just couldn't do it. Christy was a good sport and tried the fried lung. She said it was good, but couldn't eat more. I did try some of the "stinky bean". Tasted like garlic at first, but the more you chew the more bitter it gets! I also had what looked and tasted like fried pork skins, but i only received a laugh when i said this. I never did learn what they were....maybe that's a good thing!

While there, Lasma's sister stopped by to eat with her family and chat with us. It was great to meet another of our dear host's family!

Then we returned to the hotel to pack and prepare to fly out to Jakarta on Sunday to join the cohort for final briefings. I didnt get into bed until after 11! Who knew packing could take so long? Those compression bags are fabulous, but oh the workout one gets! Still, i wouldn't travel without them!

Going to miss Bandar Lampung, my new friends, and all the food! There will still be plenty to explore on my next trip here! Can't wait!

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