A few weeks ago I was presented with two options. One was to work every Saturday for four months with no extra pay. The other was to get up at the crack of dawn every other Saturday and travel to a power station just outside a city called Prabamulih and teach there for two hours, and earn an extra one million rupiah a pop. Seemed like an obvious choice!
So today I made that journey alone for the first time. The journey takes about three and a half hours, so I got picked up by Udin the driver at 6.30am. Not a fun time of day to be up and about. I got in the car armed with my pillow and ipod and tried to settle down back to sleep. In between sleeps it's also fun to look out of the window. It's so nice to see some sights that are not just the blocky buildings and busy traffic of the city. Although there is a lot of crazy overtaking that goes on on Indonesian roads and a lot of beeping. And indicating seems to mean that it is ok for the car behind to overtake, not that you are intending to move, completely the opposite of the wide beliefs held in the UK with regards to driving etiquette. Anyway, along the way you can see green, yes, green! Fields and swampy areas where people live in run down wooden houses on stilts. There are little shops dotted about which are basically families selling stuff from their houses. Such a different way of life. Closer to the destination there are some more foresty areas where you can see trees arranged in neat rows with the bark stripped diagonally down the trunk with a collecting pot at the bottom to get the sap. During the journey we have to cross a few railway lines, which, safety first of course, involve the driver looking both ways for trains before venturing across the track. The last forty minutes of the journey require you to stop your sleep, or reading, or whatever. You will not be able to do that, the roads are filled with ruts and bumps like no British person could ever imagine. I can see Udin swerving the steering wheel this way and that in order to avoid the bumps but unfortunately this is not at all possible. You must pretend you are on some kind of slow and bumpy rollercoaster.
The teaching at the power station is really enjoyable. All the students are adults, so it's a nice change from school. The power station is owned by the Chinese, so the boss is providing English lessons as a common language for the Indonesian and Chinese staff to communicate, which I think is quite cool. They also provide an authentic Chinese lunch. Reminds me of my times visiting Tombo in Nanjing. I should learn to cook some Chinese dishes, I find the food really fills you up in a satisfying way, like you don't want to eat any more.
On the way back there was more of the same, plus an overturned lorry and a truck stuck in a pothole in the middle of a busy road. I got home around 3pm and had a rest before the evening's activities.
So, last night I was prepped for tonight by watching the first instalment of "The Hunger Games" trilogy. With Beth and Sarita we got becaks (little bike taxi things) to PIM to purchase our tickets for the second film being shown in the cinema. We then went to a nice restaurant for dinner before the film. The film itself was really good. I was pleasantly surprised seeing as I'm usually reluctant to see films that are this hyped up. I'd give it a few stars out of five!
On the way home we had to get becaks again as the one empty taxi we saw deliberately drove away from us. The becaks seat up to two people so this time I volunteered to ride alone. Obviously the heavens decided to open a couple of minutes into the journey. The guy stopped after this which was a bit worrying, but it was soon obvious that he was just trying to put the covers down to stop me from getting ridiculously wet, and also to try and put his lil handbag thingy that a lot of men have, into a plastic bag to protect it. However the plastic bag ripped and blew away out into the road. We finally arrived back at the house where Beth and Sarita had been waiting for a few minutes. I think they were starting to worry that I'd been kidnapped or something. I gave the driver my money, and a plastic bag for his manbag. I hope it wasn't too wet already, he was a nice guy and I don't want his belongings to get damaged!
Anyway I think I've waffled on a bit more than usual. I think it's because I've been up since 5.30 in the morning and it's now one thirty. I will now try and get some sleep to the soothing sounds of rain and rumbling thunder. Good night, and see you soon!
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Saturday, 16 November 2013
Pottering
As a result of many westerners' negative views of this city I haven't really seen any of what Palembang may or may not have to offer for myself. So I decided to register with couchsurfing, a website full of people who like travelling and who are usually proud of where they come from. Becoming a member of the website allows you to get in touch with people from places you want to go, and you can meet up with them and even stay on their sofa, although I don't know if I'd ever go that far. Anyway I signed up and today I met up with a nice guy called Anthony. He works at one of the universities here as a lecturer in chemical engineering.
To start our tour we took a walk into the Chinese quarter. We stopped for some breakfast at a restaurant which is apparently very famous. First you have to choose a couple of things to put in a soup, then they bring this and some noodles with beef to your table. It was very delicious, and somewhere I definitely wouldn't have found on my own.
After this we walked to Ampera Bridge, possibly the most famous landmark in Palembang. Under the bridge is a little jetty. From here we would catch a boat to Kemaro Island. We had to climb over many colourful boats tied to the jetty in order to get to ours. Some sellers tried their best to sell me each item they had on offer in turn, each one I declined. Very funny though. After gracefully clambering into our boat we began the journey. The boats don't seem the safest but they are painted pretty colours and patterns. One of the bumpiest boat journeys I've been on, the bottom of the boat slapping down onto the water. Anthony pointed out some things along the way including the Arab quarter, harbour and oil refinery. It took about 10 minutes to reach the island, which is home to a seven storey pagoda and a temple. It was very peaceful there, so different to the busy city. The island is tiny but at Chinese New Year hundreds or maybe thousands of people go there to celebrate together. Of course we couldn't leave without me having my picture taken with numerous random men, then we headed back to Palembang.
Anthony had planned for us to go to the museum after that, but unfortunately it was closed due to an electricity failure; to be expected of Indonesia really. No matter, we then walked across the bridge and to a lovely little place called Kampung Kapitan. Here is where the oldest house in Palemang lies, in the old Chinese quarter. This little area is very pretty and the house doubles up as a Confucius temple. The man at the house let us come inside and look around. It was a very calm and airy place again not following the general common opinions about Palemang. The friendly man told us about the house and how his family have been living in this house for thirteen generations. The tourism board have tried to buy the house but they don't want it to change hands as it will upset the ancestors. I think it is nice the way it is anyway. He also showed us some pictures that had been given to the house in the 15th Century, it was quite amazing.
To finish the tour we walked back over the bridge and took a bus back to Rajawali. This was an enjoyable experience. Turns out some buses here have an oystercard-like system. Apart from it costs 3500 rupiah per journey (including transit), which is 19 pence. Slight difference in price there. So after today, a much more positive view of this city. Tomorrow Cisilia is paying for the teachers to go to Amanzi, a water park somewhere near Palembang. Not many chose to take her up on the offer, but I think it will be fun! I'll try to take some photos and write about it on here. Laters.
To start our tour we took a walk into the Chinese quarter. We stopped for some breakfast at a restaurant which is apparently very famous. First you have to choose a couple of things to put in a soup, then they bring this and some noodles with beef to your table. It was very delicious, and somewhere I definitely wouldn't have found on my own.
After this we walked to Ampera Bridge, possibly the most famous landmark in Palembang. Under the bridge is a little jetty. From here we would catch a boat to Kemaro Island. We had to climb over many colourful boats tied to the jetty in order to get to ours. Some sellers tried their best to sell me each item they had on offer in turn, each one I declined. Very funny though. After gracefully clambering into our boat we began the journey. The boats don't seem the safest but they are painted pretty colours and patterns. One of the bumpiest boat journeys I've been on, the bottom of the boat slapping down onto the water. Anthony pointed out some things along the way including the Arab quarter, harbour and oil refinery. It took about 10 minutes to reach the island, which is home to a seven storey pagoda and a temple. It was very peaceful there, so different to the busy city. The island is tiny but at Chinese New Year hundreds or maybe thousands of people go there to celebrate together. Of course we couldn't leave without me having my picture taken with numerous random men, then we headed back to Palembang.
Anthony had planned for us to go to the museum after that, but unfortunately it was closed due to an electricity failure; to be expected of Indonesia really. No matter, we then walked across the bridge and to a lovely little place called Kampung Kapitan. Here is where the oldest house in Palemang lies, in the old Chinese quarter. This little area is very pretty and the house doubles up as a Confucius temple. The man at the house let us come inside and look around. It was a very calm and airy place again not following the general common opinions about Palemang. The friendly man told us about the house and how his family have been living in this house for thirteen generations. The tourism board have tried to buy the house but they don't want it to change hands as it will upset the ancestors. I think it is nice the way it is anyway. He also showed us some pictures that had been given to the house in the 15th Century, it was quite amazing.
To finish the tour we walked back over the bridge and took a bus back to Rajawali. This was an enjoyable experience. Turns out some buses here have an oystercard-like system. Apart from it costs 3500 rupiah per journey (including transit), which is 19 pence. Slight difference in price there. So after today, a much more positive view of this city. Tomorrow Cisilia is paying for the teachers to go to Amanzi, a water park somewhere near Palembang. Not many chose to take her up on the offer, but I think it will be fun! I'll try to take some photos and write about it on here. Laters.
Thursday, 7 November 2013
The way things turn out...
Hello.
There's been a lot of drama at work recently, which if you know me you'll probably know all about. Two people have resigned because of it, and as I am the world's most indecisive person I didn't really know what to do. I applied for some other jobs in Indonesia and Malaysia, just incase. I've been feeling like Rapunzel from the film "Tangled" where I change my mind from one extreme to the other in the space of a day. I received replies from some of these jobs, but all in periods of calm in Palembang. So I replied explaining the situation and politely turned down the offers. I wonder if I am doing the right thing a lot, but it seems that it is all happening for the better.
This way I can explore Sumatra which is a place where not many western tourists get to go. Awesome! I have a nice contact in Penang who if I'm ever in Malaysia I can meet to "discuss future opportunities" with them, and another school in KL is keeping my application on file as they are interested but cannot give me a visa until I am twenty six.
Funny how things turn out eh!? Let's hope that everything in life eventually works itself out!
I will do a more interesting post about some travels and that soon, but just keeping the blog alive for now. Love you all!
There's been a lot of drama at work recently, which if you know me you'll probably know all about. Two people have resigned because of it, and as I am the world's most indecisive person I didn't really know what to do. I applied for some other jobs in Indonesia and Malaysia, just incase. I've been feeling like Rapunzel from the film "Tangled" where I change my mind from one extreme to the other in the space of a day. I received replies from some of these jobs, but all in periods of calm in Palembang. So I replied explaining the situation and politely turned down the offers. I wonder if I am doing the right thing a lot, but it seems that it is all happening for the better.
This way I can explore Sumatra which is a place where not many western tourists get to go. Awesome! I have a nice contact in Penang who if I'm ever in Malaysia I can meet to "discuss future opportunities" with them, and another school in KL is keeping my application on file as they are interested but cannot give me a visa until I am twenty six.
Funny how things turn out eh!? Let's hope that everything in life eventually works itself out!
I will do a more interesting post about some travels and that soon, but just keeping the blog alive for now. Love you all!
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