HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS IN JAKARTA AND MELBOURNE

Good to spend some time back in Melbourne!

The embassy sets us up with temporary household items while we wait for our things to get delivered, but be were starting to wonder if we’d be trying to make it through the holidays with only four place settings.  Luckily, it took just about five months for our stuff from Washington and Zimbabwe to arrive in Jakarta, and so we had everything in time for Thanksgiving.  We had some friends and colleagues from the building over for a semi-traditional Thanksgiving dinner – roast chicken filled the role of a turkey, but otherwise we had all the fixings, and it was a great way to ring in the start of the holiday season.

The post-delivery jumble of boxes... and metal warthogs.

I had a couple weeks of annual leave to use or lose before the end of the year, so I took a couple weeks off right before Christmas and we headed to Melbourne.  Andrew went a couple weeks ahead of me for an extended visit with family and friends.  It was my first trip back to Oz in about 10 years, and it was a very welcome change of scenery.  Open space!  Clean air!  Blue sky (at least, in the second week I was there – the first week was a bit windy and chilly… but even that was a welcome change)!  We did lots of walking – along the Yarra River, around the botanic park, and through several of Melbourne’s neighborhoods that, like Portland, all kind of have their own personality.  We also took a couple side trips - a few days with Andrew’s friends in a coastal town called Anglesea about an hour outside Melbourne, and a visit to the Yarra Valley, including lots of wine tasting and a visit to the Healesville Sanctuary… sort of a native animal zoo.  We did a “VIP tour” of the sanctuary that provided some up-close-and-personal interactions with some of the residents. 

A stroll through Melbourne's botanic garden.

One of Melbourne's colorful neighborhoods.

We stumbled upon several speakeasy-like bars that were tucked away in alleys... including this tiki bar.

An old favorite... the Rose Hotel (where I think I should get a discount).

Playing tourist on a Yarra River boat tour.

A bit cool at the beach... a refreshing change!

Double rainbow all the way.

Lorikeets were absolutely everywhere - and seem to be enjoying all the fruiting trees.

Evidence of a successful rainy season on display along a hike in Healesville.

We stayed at an inn in Healesville that had a resident cat, two dogs... and this donkey that clearly thought he was a dog.

"Oh the donkey and the black cat can be friends..."

Sunshine and gum trees in the Yarra Valley.

You work up quite a thirst hiking.  Good thing there were lots of wine tasting rooms where we could take a break.

We got to give some treats to echidnas at the Healesville Sanctuary... and they may be my new favorite animal.

Most of the koalas were passed out asleep... but this guy (gal?) was up and about.

A koala depiction of how I feel about government bureaucracy.

It wasn't just the koalas that were enjoying a siesta.

Requisite photo of us and a sleeping koala.

This guy apparently thought my hair would make good nesting material.

We traveled back to Jakarta on Christmas Day.  Eating airplane food definitely made for a non-traditional Christmas dinner, but we got together with some embassy friends for a Boxing Day dinner with turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings.  Our apartment building put up a huge Christmas tree in the lobby, so despite the 90-degree weather, it still felt a bit like Christmas. 

Seemed to be appropriate attire for a flight on Christmas Day.

The Christmas decor in our apartment lobby.

And in between the various holidays and travels, we’ve continued to try to explore Jakarta.  Most recently, we checked out “Kota Tua” (or “Old Town”) an area in north Jakarta that has a lot of old buildings and museums from the Dutch colonial era.  We had coffee in a historic coffee house, and checked out a couple museums, including a history museum and an old bank-turned-banking museum.  Both had some interesting displays, but the banking museum was air conditioned, so it was the winner.

This old Dutch colonial building on the old city square now houses a history museum.

The square is filled with folks riding around on these colorful bikes - with matching wide-brimmed hats.

Looking down on the square - and colorful bike riders - from the history museum.

And perhaps what we have enjoyed most of late have been the clearer-than-normal skies.  This is the rainy season… though it hasn’t been that rainy.  But perhaps the rains that have come have helped clear out the pollution a bit.  Whatever the reason, we’ve enjoyed some beautiful sunsets lately, and were able to watch Jakarta put on a show-stopping fireworks display on New Year’s Eve from the rooftop of our apartment building.

One of the colorful sunsets we've enjoyed recently from our living room window.

And even more impressive view from our rooftop.  That's the ocean in the distance!  It's usually obscured by smog.

The high rise jungle as seen from our rooftop.

We've even gotten to enjoy a full moon - and stars!

Jakarta put on quite a show on New Year's eve with fireworks going off all over the city.  We took it all in from our rooftop.

And so a new year now begins.  The Christmas tree in our apartment lobby has been replaced with a Chinese New Year display.  The post-vacation glow has slowly worn off as we gear back up to the usual routine.  But we look forward to seeing what new adventures the new year will bring and look forward to sharing them with you.  In the meantime, we wish you a very happy and healthy 2023.

The Chinese New Year display in our lobby.  Happy year of the rabbit everyone!

ALL WORK (AND SOME PLAY) IN BALI

This year Indonesia has had its hands full holding the presidency of the G20 - the nineteen countries (plus the EU) that account for over 80% of the world’s gross domestic product, 75% of world trade, and 60% of the world's population.  We’ve had our hands full at the embassy too, helping to support the constant stream of official visitors here in some capacity to take part in G20 meetings and events (including President Biden, who arrives today).  The vast majority of those events have been taking place in Bali.  I mean, I don’t blame Indonesia – Bali is far more scenic and cultural than Jakarta… but it certainly makes things a bit more difficult since we don’t have an embassy or consulate on anything in Bali.  It means I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Bali so far.  A lot of that time was spent in (arguably pretty impressive) conference rooms.  But Andrew has been able to join me on a couple of the trips, and we tacked on a bit of down time to relax and see some of the sights that Bali has to offer.

Arriving in the Bali Airport to support the U.S. delegation to the Health Minister's Meeting.  I spent several days shepherding around the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and her advisors.

Badges?  We don't need no stinkin' badges!  Except, I guess we do.

The room where it happened.  I wanted to be in it...

...but ended up watching and taking notes from the room next door with a live feed on the jumbo-tron.

The Government of Indonesia went all out with evening entertainment that included cultural performances and 80s cover bands.  It was like the Olympics opening ceremony meets global diplomacy. 

After my business was out of the way, Andrew and I had a few days to play.  We hired a driver for the day to show us some of the tourist attractions Bali has on offer.  We stopped at a “cultural park” that had a bunch of enormous statues.  It has only recently been opened, and the main building was still under construction.  We made a quick tour of the place, took some obligatory photos (since the whole park seemed to have been built to appease Indonesians insatiable appetite for selfies), and headed on to the next destination.

The statues in the cultural park were enormous - Andrew for scale.

The statues were a good metaphor for Indonesia in general.  Very impressive at first glance... but don't look too closely at what's going on behind the scenes.

The hike past the gigantic statues culminates at the top of a hill and this building (with yet another enormous statue on top).

Inside, there was a collection of carvings, puppets, and these very lifelike masks.  But most of the building was still under construction.

Another display at the cultural park included room after room of dioramas complete with professional lighting for people to insert themselves and, of course, take selfies.  They even had a changing room at the entrance to the exhibit with various costumes for people to wear.  I mean, they go ALL OUT for selfies here.

Next up, a stop at Uluwatu, Bali’s most well-known and picturesque Balinese Hindu temple complex.  It was nearing mid-day and the heat was approaching broil, so we didn’t get to stay too long.  But I was able to visit Uluwatu again when I returned to Bali for another G20 event, so that made up for the quick first visit.

There are temples at Uluwatu too, but I mainly took photos of the amazing seacliffs.  Also, the place was overrun with monkeys.  We were forewarned to protect our hats and glasses against them.  So I was intent on taking photos quickly so as not to be accosted by primates.

Pretty sure just after we took this picture, a monkey jumped at us out of no where.  Time to go.

The second visit to Uluwatu as part of a G20 evening event included a kecak and fire dance performance.  In this traditional dance/story-telling performance, there are not musical instruments.  Instead, a group of about 50 men do rhythmic chanting throughout the performance.

Why it's called the "fire dance."

It had rained every day leading up to this evening, but like magic, we ended up with a spectacular sunset and a rain-free evening for this event.

We ended the day with lunch and then a visit to a couple of Bali’s beaches.  Can’t go to Bali and not go to the beach!

<Obligatory Bali beach photo>

Sun exposure + constant overheating = permanent red face

We also tacked on a few days in Ubud to our Bali adventure.  Ubud is probably what comes into your head when you think of Bali… lush vegetation, temples, rice fields.  All three were on full display.  The rainy season was in full force, so we had to dodge the rain drops – or just give in to them – most days.  But it didn’t stop us from scoping out the area and picking out a couple more out-of-the-way spots we hope to return to.  As you'll be able to tell from the fact that photos from Ubud dominate this post, Ubud has definitely been a highlight of my trips to Bali so far.

Moonrise over the jungle.

We found a pedestrian-only walking path away from the downtown traffic that led through the rice fields and along some small restaurants (or "warungs") and art shops.

The path also went past a temple closer toward town.

Such fascinating - and colorful - architecture!

We took in an evening cultural dance/story-telling performance at a temple one evening.  The men sitting off to the side are the musical accompaniment - the gamelan, which consists of a bunch of gongs and metal bowls that they hit with mallets.

One of the oldest Balinese Hindu temples in Ubud - Pura Gunung Kawi was built in the 11th century.  

We happened upon this part museum/part workshop of Balinese wood carvings.

The detail is truly incredible!

No trip to Ubud is complete without a visit to the Tegalalang terraced rice fields.

Bustling downtown Ubud.

"Where did I park the scooter?"  Just kidding - definitely not brave enough to scooter here.

Another one of Ubud's scenic temples - Taman Saraswati Temple.  Not pictured: the Starbucks that's right outside.  (Not kidding.)

The moss-covered statues are so expressive.

Balinese Hindu culture is ever on display in Ubud with residents often wearing traditional dress and making offerings of flowers and seeds at their temples.

Taking a break to take it all in.

So I’ve spent a combined total of about a month in Bali so far.  Most of that time has been spent wearing business suits and running around to meetings… not exactly the usual Bali activities.  Hoping we’ll get back for more leisurely pursuits too – maybe after we’ve visited some other places in the meantime and I no longer primarily associate Bali with long, frantic work days.