I am so Smare!

I am smare and not afraid to declare it so publicly.

The “Invention” of the Word

You see, I am a very modest and much smarter older sister, but for some reason, my sister doesn’t always buy my claim. So when I saw an article about some study saying that older siblings are indeed more intelligent about 1.5 years ago, my great modesty nudged me to email this article to my sister. Of course I needed to make a point and feeling justified by that article, I wrote:

“See, I am smarer than you.”

My sister simply responded, “Yes, you are so SMARE.”

D’oh! Yes, my bragging and boasting bit me in the ass with a typo and a missing “t”.  See how smare I am?  I now humbly accept my smareness and my friends all get a good laugh at my idiocy.

Because my friends and I use it so much, we get looks from puzzled people who are not sure if smare is a “real” word, but not many have actually asked what “smare” means. Is it that they are smare too? Or do they just assume it’s an inside joke and don’t bother asking?

Smare, Defined

First of all, let me define it for you:

smare – adjective, -r, -st. Origin: from an email Anne K. Lukito sent to her sister in 2007 or 2008. Often used to sarcastically or to describe someone who is not modest or realistic of one’s on skills. Also, smareness (noun)

1. having a false or inflated sense of intelligence, sharpness, cleverness,  wit and talent. Example when used sarcastically: I am so smare: I didn’t think that I needed to defrost my turkey before cooking it, and after 4 hours in the oven, my turkey is still bloody and raw.

2. having a false or inflated sense of elegance, grace and sophistication. Example: She looks so smare in her zebra-print dress, electric blue eyeshadow, leopard faux-fur coat and bedazzled purse.

Smare is a word that has become part of my everyday vocabulary, as well as several of my friends’. It’s the perfect word to describe all the things I do oh-so-well everyday, like being a klutz or entangling myself in yarn.

How Smare are you?

I have almost daily moments of brilliance in my smareness. So much so that you’d be really jealous if you I told you how much.

Yesterday I wore my t-shirt inside out the entire day. I didn’t notice until about 6pm.  Luckily, I didn’t go out nor did anyone come a-knockin’.

One classic smare moment happened this past Fall when I was sending a check to my friend Aubrey for money I owed her for Sock Summit.  Well, see for yourself:

Desginer’s Studio Interview

I was quite surprised and flattered when fellow Designer Faina Goberstein asked me for an interview for the Designer’s Studio. That interview is now up on her site. Go check out my interview and other interesting interviews of other Designers!

Also, last month, Alice Paul was featured in the America’s Knitting website.  :)

I don’t always find out when I’ve had mentions, but am always happy and flattered to hear of any. Thanks to those of you who also let me know that some of my works were discussed in various podcasts as well.  I really do appreciate your support of me and other indie designers.

Also, don’t forget that several Designers and I have pledged to donate proceeds from pattern sales to assist victims of the Haiti earthquakes. I’m pledging 50% of all proceeds. You can find more info about the patterns that I have pledged here at www.craftydiversions.com.

Thanks!!

My Pledge for Haiti Earthquake Relief

Instead of my planned post to update you all regarding TNNA, I am writing to help raise funds for relief efforts in Haiti. By now, the world has already heard of the horrors of the immense earthquake and very severe aftershocks.

My family and I have already donated to a couple of charitable organizations for the cause. However, we can always do more, right? So, in an effort to raise more donations, I am pledging 50% of proceeds from sales of patterns (I’ve designated 12) from now through then end of January 2010 to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.

Sales of these patterns will be designated for Haiti relief. www.craftydiversions.com

There are also several other efforts by crafters and knitters to raise relief funds, so please support them as well. It’s a good way to purchase something you’ve been meaning to get while contributing to a good cause. If you are a Ravelry member, go here to find patterns earmarked by Designers for such donations.

Of course, you could also contribute directly to any charitable organization that you wish. Even $10 will help. That’s just 2 specialty drinks at Starbucks.

Lily Chin/ Reversible Cables @ TNNA

Thursday, Jan. 7. 2010, was the first day of TNNA and was lucky enough to be able to take a 6 hour class on reversible cables with “Si-Fu” Lily Chin. OMG that woman is crazy! I don’t mean crazy-bad. I mean crazy-good: an encyclopedia of knowledge and creativity.  As entertaining and dynamic as she was, I have to admit that I found the first half of the class a little on the languid side. This is certainly no criticism of the content and I can’t really complain because she was starting very logically and appropriately with the basics (which I knew, hence I found it a little slow) and working up to the more difficult stuff.  Lily is a bundle of energy, a great teacher, funny and dynamic. I love the analogies she used when describing cables and she certainly kept me entertained. Let’s just say that there were lots of references to trysts, threesomes, orgies, etc.  ;-)

Being goofy with Lily Chin. btw, I made the turquoise jacket. I had to make 4 different revisions to the sewing pattern to accomodate my voluptous bosom for a more fitted look. (I can never fit properly in store bought jackets.)

As far as reversible cables are concerned, I only knew of 2 methods. Lily taught us 4. As if that’s not impressive enough, Lily mentioned that in her upcoming book Power Cables (release June 2010, Interweave Press) she covers THIRTEEN methods!!  I am so going to get that book.

I had brought my most recent Remy (my pattern: reversible cable with 2 motifs on each side; published in July 2009 issue of Knitscene) project and I was utterly surprised flattered when she asked me to show my sample/pattern to the class as well. Remy is so basic and elementary compared skills of that woman. Also, what also made me squee was when Lily saw my little shop’s name, she said “Oh, I know Handicraft Cafe!”

One of the samples she showed us was a reversible 2 color brioche with a cable on the other side!! Holy, freakin’ cow! Unfortunately, that pattern was cut from her book due to its complexity and the publisher’s concern that most people would not even attempt. I want to try it!! I’d love to really examine the unique brains of creative thinkers and knitting revolutionaries like Lily Chin, Cat Bordhi, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Norah Gaughn…well, you get the picture.

Next Post: Update and summary of my experience as a panel member for an AKD forum last night. Panel members include a panel of esteemed and established designers with a variety of backgrounds. I’m the newbie.

Taiwan, it’s mostly about food

I’m sorry I’ve been remiss in my vacation updates! The holidays happened!

When I got to Taiwan, I usually end up in Taipei, an urban mecca of good shopping and good food. I don’t really care for the shopping part that much, but I cannot go without eating some of my favorite foods.  Two top food categories I love about Taipei are the famous night markets and all the tropical fruits.

Traditional Taiwanese Snack/ Night Market Foods and “Little Eats”

A collage from a traditional Taiwanese “small eats” restaurant. The food was divine, for the most part (I refuse to eat #9 and #12)and I am slobbering as I write this: 1. Chili-garlic shrimp; 2. Spicy wontons; 3. regional clams in a spicy ginger sauce; 4. stinky tofu; 5. duck rolls; 6. sesame noodles; 7. stewed pork over rice; 8. clams in soy sauce; 9. fried tiny fish; 10. passion fruit marinated green papaya’ 11. squid; 12. blood cake; 13. fried tofu with pickled veggies; 14. stir-fried spinach

I know I’ve blogged about these fruits already, but seriously, if you ever get the chance, make sure you try some ripe sugar apples and lembu! They are juicy, sweet, fragrant and really hard to describe. You just have to taste it.

Of course, you cannot talk about a visit to Taipei without sampling some night market yummies. 1. grilled stinky tofu; 2. fried stinky tofu; 3. calamari and quail egg balls; 4. calamari balls with bonito fish flakes; 5. baked onion bread; 6. traditional oven with baking onion bread; 7. candied tomatoes with preserved plums; 8. scallion pancakes; 9. sponge cakes; 10. Henry getting held up a ala gun sponge cake; 11. oyster omelet; 12. stewed pork over rice; 13. shaved ice with various toppings; 14. stir fried veggies with shallots and garlic; 15. traditional round oven for making black pepper buns; 16. the best and juiciest black pepper bun

Some other traditional Taiwanese yummies that you can get from restaurants and small mom and pop establishments: 1. fresh hot mochi dipped in peanut powder and sesame; 2. Taiwanese (original!) shaved ice with boiled sweet peanuts, taro, red beans and longan; 3. handmade wontons; 4. from the root of some water plant – it’s yummy; 5. bamboo; 6. sweet peanut soup (dessert); 7. goose cold platter; 8. the best pastry in the world with its crunchy top and flaky buttery inside; 9. spare ribs noodle soup; 10. smoked duck with squid; 11. traditional noodle soup; 12. McD delivers on a scooter in Taipei!

More “Fancy” Taiwanese Foods & Other Cuisines

You can also get some of the best Japanese food outside of Japan in Taiwan. My godparents treated us to the most famous Japanese restaurant in Taipei, where we ate all the goodies in a private room. 1. very very fresh sashimi; 2. fresh and tender abalone; 3. sushi and nigiri platter; 4. scallop served in a clam shell with salmon roe and some other stuff; 5. roasted crab with ginko nuts; 6. kobe beef; 7. delectable salad with tiger prawns and crab; 8. mussel soup; 9. miso soup; 10. sea bass?; 11. japanese style tiramisu

One of the main reasons for going back to Taiwan was to attend the wedding banquet of my godbrother Henry (who lives in L.A.) and his bride Pei. Their family owns KHS bicycles and gave away several as raffle prizes, including 2-3 really cute tandem bikes.

The food was awesome.

1. Cold platter consisting of mullet roe, beef shank, smoked squid, chicken in a special wine marinade and jellyfish; 2. Sweet rice dumplings (a must for Taiwanese weddings) with taro, longan and white wood ear mushrooms; 3. Stewed pork consomme with bamboo, mushroom, taro, bamboo pith and chestnuts; 4. Stir-fried scallops with XO sauce (yum); 5. Lobster with garlic sauce (yum!!); 6. Braised abalone in oyster sauce (super fresh and yum!); 7. Steamed whole fish with scallions; 8. Braised pork ribs; 9. Wild black chicken soup in a ginseng herb broth; 10. Glutinous rice (yum!); 11. Molasses sponge cakes, hazelnut bars and sweet bean roll; 12. Awesome bike-riding ice sculpture

On our way to Sun Moon Lake, we stopped at a Hakka style restaurant: 1. Yogurt pudding; 2. Chicken & veggie pouch; 3.  Japanese eggplant with long beans and spicy tofu stir-fry; 4. Mountain potato (I don’t really know what it’s called in English, but it comes in white and purple and can be sticky before you cook it); 5. Braised sea cucumber (something I won’t eat); 6. Fried shirmp; 7. stir-fried wide rice noodles; 8. salt & pepper chicken; 9. stewed pig legs over vermicelli; 10. pu-pu platter with jellyfish, abalone, roasted pork, chicken and picked veggies; 11. Taiwanese wild black chicken soup in herb broth (highly prized black skinned chicken); 12. Braised fish with capers.

Dinner at the Hotel de Chine resort at Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan consisted of the following: 1. baked prawns; 2. whole steamed fish with ginger and scallions; 3. tender braised pepper beef with bamboo shoots; 4. herb consomme with stewed pork, mushrooms, taro and other veggies; 5. Cold platter with Fresh green salad with dragon fruit, spicy jellyfish and mushroom, special roe (don’t know what fish, but it’s a delicacy), preserved kumquats, I can’t remember what those white round things are, and smoked and braised bacon; 6. glutinous sticky rice (yum); 7. Squash and dried abalone; 8. sea cucumber with fire-roasted scallions and shitake mushrooms; 9. peanut mochi

Lunch at theDinner at the Hotel de Chine resort at Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan consisted of the following: 1. I think it was some sort of mushroom dish; 2. Garlic steamed fish; 3. Sweet rice noodles with black molasses syrup; 4. don’t recall!; 5. pork consomme; 6. delicious green salad with tomatoes, dragon fruit, nuts and passion fruit infused papaya; 7. My dad got silly with the twist-ties and fashioned rings for himself and stepmom; 8. fresh steamed scallop; 9. glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed scallop; 10. glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves.

Sun Moon Lake

Aside from all the good eats our resort hotel had to offer, it also offered fantastic view and amenities. The hotel still on top of a natural spring, so all the water in the hotel comes from the spring. Btw, Taiwan is famous for it’s natural mountain springs and the hot springs.

The hotel is designed to be a bit Japanese-style from the decor, to the robes, to the awesome fancy heated bidet toilet and the soaking tubs. The only problem I encountered with the robe? Well, they’re designed for people with less ample bosoms. I certainly didn’t cover mine well, especially if I move. Boob+robe issues aside, I did take full advantage and took a hot spring water soak in my Japanese soaking tub.

The views from my room, the mountain hike that I took and from our boat tour was simply fantastic and the foggy morning seemed ethereal.

Indonesia – Part 4: Bali, Day 3

Day 3 in Bali was a little sad, because it was our last day. I started with an early morning stroll along the hotel beach (S. Kuta) while Mr. CD snoozed (and the wierdo doesn’t like beach either).  In the rock crevices, I spotted lots of small sea snail. While I took photos of the sea snail, I heard a strange rustling sound on the rocks. I moved forward to investigate and spotted lots of tiny crabs scurrying away (photo, bottom right).

After a breakfast that included lots of yummy fruit, our driver took us to Nusa Dua park and beach. The trees had the most beautiful and entwined roots, while the water was so clear and clean. It really felt like paradise! The shelf of shallow water was amazing and extended quite far. In the photo below (Row 3, right), I’m standing at least 100 ft from the beach. Another unique and very interesting part of the beach is a band of sand, which from farther away just appears more coarse. However, upon closer inspection, each grain is a round pellet about the size of millet (photo, row 4, left).

Along the the beach is a small peninsular rock formation onto which another Hindu temple is built.  We hiked the mini-peninsula and stood on the cliffs (photos, Rows 5 & 6) admiring the ocean view and the naturally occurring and human-planted flora, which included lots of plumeria trees.  My dad got really silly and placed plumeria flowers into each of the ventilation holes of his cap.  Doesn’t he look pretty (photo, row 6, right). He got lots of laughs and strange stares from other beach pedestrians.

After Nusa Dua beach, we had our final Balinese meal and reluctantly headed towards the airport for our flight back to Jakarta.  I won’t bore you with the details of the rest of my trip because Jakarta is just not as beautiful, we only ate Chinese food and there really is no point in comparing the two locations.

Indonesia – Part 3: Bali, Day 2

My second day in Bali started with a stroll around the resort gardens and a breakfast that included lots of rambutan.

Bali Silver

Our main goal for this second day was to go up to Ubud, a town known for its arts and artisans. Along the way to Ubud, we stopped at an Australian-owned jewlery company and factory that produces high-quality handcrafted Bali silver sold exclusively for export, except for sales to the tourist market in the on-site showroom. We toured the factory and then of course, escorted to their in-house shop.  I was permitted to photograph the factory studios, but of course, not the any part of the showroom except structural fixtures.

Click on photos to enlarge.  Row 1, L to R: 1. Rows of work benches; 2. Annealing a pendant frame; 3. Setting decorative elements to the bezel; Row 2: 4. Sizing a ring; 5. Polishing a bracelet; 6. Finished bezel-set turquiose rings.

Given my interest in jewelry fabrication and silversmithing, my dad jokingly suggested that I stay behind and offer to apprentice and learn from them for 2 years in exchange for my free labor.  I’m not that industrious.

Batik

After the silver factory, we headed towards one of the many batik centers. Several artisans sat in a pavillion working on batik as a live demo for tourists. Some tourists were so crass that without asking, they would lean into the artisan and touch them and their work while they are actively working and applying the designs just to get a photo and a closer look! Geez! I really wanted to slap those uncouth tourists on behalf of the artisans.

The composite above shows various steps and aspects of textile art production (click to enlarge or go to my Flickr set to see larger individual images).  Row 1: 1. Tools of the batik-making process; 2. Various types of natural waxes and resins used for the resist, including a pine resin; 3. Carved stamps used to stamp images; 4. the first step of a batik with the main images drawn with the resist; Row 2: 5-8. Artisans carefully drawing swirls with the tjanting (the pen-tool used to apply the resist); Row 3: 9-11. Artisans working in different stages of the batik process. 12. A partially completed batik; Row 4. 13. Washed fabric with a partial design hung to dry; 14. the wax/resin pot; 15. Artisan sewing a garment; 16. Loom; Row 5. 17. Hank of yarn hung on a loom; 18. Yarn reeler; 19 & 20. Looms  on which traditional cloth is woven.

Of course being in such an environment and my love of beautiful textiles made it hard to resist wanting to buy a whole bunch of batik fabric and garments. Despite having lots at home as well, I did buy a few select pieces.  These lovelies always make good presents for good crafting friends anyways. The problem comes when I can’t decide which ones to part with!

Hindu Temples

Another one of our stops on the way up to Ubud was a large Hindu temple.  Prior to entering, visitors are encouraged to provide a small donation and are required to wear some sort of ceremonial wrap skirt/covering over their legs before entering. I’m not sure what the skirt’s significance is, but all the skirts were colorful and festive.

The temple complex is a very large outdoor complex surrounded by a decorative perimeter wall.  Several  different altars and pavillions dot the landscape inside.  I assume that each pavillion is dedicated to a different diety. Every part of the temple is decorated with intricate carvings and stone work with orange bricks. While some pavillions have very simple straw-thatched ceilings, others have very elaborate fresco and gold-gilded decorations, as show in the photos below (last row).

After visiting the temple, we went to a Balinese restaurant with a lovely garden and located next to a rice paddy field, where Mr. CD ordered us some more delectable Indonesian cuisine and specialties.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Our next stop on this very eventful day was among my favorites: Monkeys! We went to the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud, where nearly 350 macaque monkeys live. According the the forest website, the sacred forest

“is a demonstration of the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature. In Bali, sanctuaries such as the Monkey Forest are usually in sacred village areas, often surrounded by temples. These cultural sanctuaries are not only an important part of Balinese heritage, but also an important part of everyday live.” (sic)

Mr. CD bought bananas to feed the monkeys. Boy, are they cunning when when know you have bananas! They will pull on your pant leg and jump on you to beg for a banana. If you are not careful, they will steal it from your hands.  And if a baby monkey has a banana as a larger more dominant monkey approaches, the baby will drop the banana and run.

My favorite part of the monkeys are their mohawks!

Starfish at Jimbaran

We walked around the main Ubud areas mainly helping my stepmom find some batik dresses.  I tried a few on, but none of them fit my bodacious overgrown boobs. (Well, if they did, they were made for larger people and I ended up looking preggars.) We also bought a few other small souvenirs, trinkets and gifts for friends.  Mr. CD was very helpful in price-negotiations with the vendors and shops.  Bargaining and negotiation prices is a very common practice in many countries, just not common in the U.S., not even that much in flea markets and swap meets, where it’s practically the only place you can bargain in the U.S.

My dad wanted to buy a carving from one shop and no matter how many times he tried to get the shop owner to lower her price (in English), she would not budge.  My dad was about to give up and was getting ready to approach the counter when I told him to wait as I ran across the street to fetch Mr. CD. Upon seeing and realizing that hubby’s  Indonesian, I could tell that the shop owner was not happy. Of course having a native speaker present was very helpful with everything, especially since he managed to get the lady (begrudgingly) to lower her price after at least 3 failed attempts by my dad.

After Ubud, our trusty driver drove us down to Jimbaran, where we watched another sunset while dining beach side at the Blue Marlin Cafe & Seafood Grill.  We ordered various seafoods and had them grilled to order.  The food was fresh, although not superb. However, the fruit juices they served were rich, thick, sweet and super yummy.

While waiting for our food, I strolled the beach by myself and met a waiter who was releasing a live starfish that had washed ashore. He was kind enough to hold it up for a while so that I and another tourist could snap some photos, however in the process, the starfish stung him. oops!

A perfect end to a perfect day.

Indonesia – Part 2: Bali, Day 1

Originally, our plans did not include Bali. Hubby talked about taking us to the mountainous regions of Bandung. So, I was not prepared or packed for Bali at all.  Well, I suppose, even if I did pack a swimsuit, I wouldn’t really have taken a dip in the ocean because we didn’t really have that much time and neither my dad or my stepmom really swim. (Stepmom is really afraid of water.)

Nonetheless, I was just happy to have gone! I do admit to having a little pity party syndrome in that we only went for 2.5 days — not enough in my book! At least this way, I can convince the hubs that I need to go back again in the future.

Our trip (flight, hotel and driver) was generously and graciously arranged by hubby’s sister. We stayed at the lovely Bali Dynasty Resort in South Kuta and hired a driver to chauffeur us around the island.

Upon our arrival, our first stop after a visit to the U.S. Consulate’s office regarding my stepmom’s passport “problem” was a non-Chinese meal. We were all happy for the change in cuisine and dined one some super Indonesian and Balinese food.

Tanah Lot

Afterwards, our driver took us to watch the sunset at Tanah Lot, a rock formation on which a centuries-old Balinese temple sits. Tourists and visitors are only allowed access up to the ocean temple after they have been annointed and purified. I didn’t make it up there since the line was really long and I was the only one who could cross the waters to Tanah Lot. (Both dad and Helman had open sores on their feet and stepmom didn’t want to cross the water.) Instead, I observed others getting purified, played at the base of the rock formation, and took some self-portraits. Luckily, my klutziness was kept at bay and I did not slip on the slippery rocks with the evening tide at my knees as I crossed the waters.

Sunset at Tanah Lot

After my frolic in the water and getting my capri pants totally wet (I didn’t hike them up enough), we walked up to a cliff area and sat at one of the cafes for some drinks and to watch the sunset.

I snapped away as the sun set. No matter how many photos I snapped, I still cannot capture the allure of the whole experience.  How do you capture 360 degrees of color changes around you as you inhale the warm ocean air and listen to the symphony of crashing waves?

Nothing can compare to the actual experience, but I did snap enough photos to remind me of the trip and to show the progression of the entire sunset, shown below in 2 composites and in chronological order.

Composition 1: Sunset progression at Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia

The first 6 images on the second composite were taken with the zoom lens.

Composition 2: Sunset progression at Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia

After the intoxicating sunset, we had not intended on stopping in the market area designed to allure tourists.  However, this large and scary critter caught our eye:

Yep, a large and ugly bat. I’ve only seen tiny and less intimidating fruit bats. This one by comparison is ginormous. The bat-owner was letting the bat climb on him and had the bat on display for tips.  Eww. Gave me the heebie-jeebies.

Luckily, our day did not end with the bat. We found another delightful Balinese restaurant and ordered up some local cuisine. Since hubby is “local” (relatively speaking), he ordered for us and we ate every. single. morsel.  Nom. Nom. Nom.

Indonesian food in L.A. is no comparison. In fact, I don’t think I’ll eat Indonesian food in L.A. ever again – it’s always too salty, greasy and contains too much MSG. It’s like saying Panda Express serves real Chinese food.

pping in the market area designed to allure tourists.  However, this large and scary critter caught our eye:

Indonesia – Part 1: Jakarta

My main purpose for going to Indonesia was to visit my in-laws with my dad and stepmom. We met my hubby in Jakarta. (I left first to Taiwan and flew from Taipei to Jakarta with my dad and stepmom, who flew there from Houston, Texas.) Quite a global journey, eh?

Bribes

We almost couldn’t get out of the airport upon arriving. I don’t want to go into too many details in such a public forum, but we were sent from one official to another for a “problem” with my stepmom’s passport. Since Indonesia does not have a great record when it comes to corruption, we suspected that all those officers wanted bribes and when we didn’t give them anything, they sent us to their “boss” and so forth. I really didn’t know how to give a bribe, nor did we want to offend anyone who was ethical by offering. I did communicated with the officer in English and hinted that we’d be open to giving him a bribe by asking if we needed to pay a fine. i think because we were women and a bit dense about all that bribery stuff, they let us go after a 2 hour cat-mouse game…I guess they got bored too. Besides, how to you slip money for a bribe? I am not that slick. According to many Indonesian residents, police and other personnel expect bribes and some of their actions are designed to solicit bribes. Lately, the government has been cracking down on that practice, so the officer probably was not bold enough to ask for one directly or respond to my question about a “fine.”

Afraid that we may encounter additional problems upon exiting, we did visit the U.S. Counsel in Bali, who inspected my stepmom’s passport and informed us that there was nothing wrong with it and all her passport pages were okay. We had no other problems and a pleasant experience after the airport incident.

Jakarta

The city of Jakarta is very urban, crowded, polluted and dirty.  The dispartity between socio-economic status is quite remarkable and wide.  My in-laws don’t really get out much and there are areas in the city that they felt were not very safe to venture into, so we mostly were limited to perusing giant urban malls.  All the malls and higher-end neighborhoods have lots of security personnel that check cars and purses for bombs and other dangerous items. However, the inconsistency in which all the checks were conducted does not really make one feel any safer.

Everywhere you drive, there are street vendors that walk between the cars selling everything from statues, water, fruit and snacks.

Other than visiting family and people-watching, I don’t find Jakarta particularly interesting.  I’m sure there are great foods and other finds there, but my FIL and MIL only eat Chinese food. Some of the restaurants we went to didn’t even have good Chinese food, especially the over-priced restaurant that served a tiny and scary-looking piglet (which I did not eat at all) and an overcooked lobster.

One thing that I did enjoy in Indonesia, whether in Jakarta or on the island of Bali, is the all the yummy tropical fruits. The 2 fruits indigenous to the archipelago of which I don’t like at all are durian and salak (also, snakefruit).

My favorites are rambutan, mangos, papaya, coconut (fresh ripe ones only) and mangosteen.

The photos above show the following, from Right to Left, starting with the top row:
1. Rambutan, star fruit  or carambola and banana; 2. Salak or snake fruit; 3. Mango juice; 4. Duku or lansa; 5. Pink Guava juice; 6. Salak or snake fruit; 7. banana, star fruit or carambola, and papaya; 8. papaya juice; 9. Mangosteen; 10. Duku or lansa; 11. Mango; 12. Coconut; 13. Jack fruit and rambutan; 14.  Mangosteen; 15. fresh Lime soda

While I love fruit and veggies, one thing that I did not want to try was this:

No Eggplant juice for me!

Dad, stepmom, MIL, FIL

Next post: Bali!!!!

Vacation Update: Sneak Peek

Contrary to what I thought, I actually have not had time to really upload and organize the bazillion photos I’ve taken, let alone sit down to write a blog post.

Here’s a peek at what I’ve done and seen so far, in no particular order….

Saw lots of cute monkeys at the Sacred Monkey Forest, Bali, Indonesia

Watched artisans make traditional batik. Bali, Indonesia

View from my hotel balcony. Sun Moon lake, Taiwan

Endured charted tour bus karaoke, albeit from a talented and fun bunch (my godparents' family & friends)

sunset at Tanah Lot where an ocean temple is located. Bali, Indonesia

Ate fresh and sweet mangosteen in Indonesia

Went to a few night markets, including this one, Taiwan's largest and most famous: Shilin Night Market in Taipei

And eating some delicious treats at the night market.

Nusa Dua beach area, taken from cliff off a mini peninsula. Bali, Indonesia

Wading through the shallow waters at Nusa Dua beach, Bali, Indonesia