A Photo Vacation Guide

I was able to locate some areas that had Internet service. The closest location was about 25 minutes away in the town of Pamanukan. The route took us through the potholed back roads of Cilandok Lor and on to the main two lane road that goes across Java. I couldn’t muster the nerve to ride myself on that main road. There were too many reasons not too, the most important of which were my lack of experience on Indonesian roads and the police. I’m sure they would have loved to shake me down for some extra money if I were to go cruising around in the cities the police patrolled. The police are notorious for causing foreigners grief and expecting payments to “get out of jail”.

In my time there I couldn’t find a helmet that fit my head. Some people say I have a big head, but the reality of the situation trumped the humor. I also couldn’t find shoes or sandals there when I got married and my sandals happened to both spontaneously combust. Note to self: Indonesia is not kind to 6′ 2″ tall goons with large craniums and big feet.

I made the trip to the Internet cafe almost daily. I needed to have the connection. I was slowly losing touch with reality, language, and who I was. The Internet provided me a 1 hour window where I could check email, check on my websites, and read some news articles. It made a nice break in my day, although I had my heart in my throat more than once when we were riding there. I learned that closing your eyes sometimes is the best thing you can do do escape.

Street view, Pamanukan

Street View Pamanukan

The outside of Jogja, the shopping mall of Pamanukan. The roads are packed with scooters.

The crew from CFC, which serves fried chicken meals like its arch enemy, KFC.

A view of the countryside from the highway.

The main store in Pamanukan, Jogja.

I don’t usually take photos in extreme conditions out of fear of damaging my equipment, but I took the old D90 out for a quick spin around the house the day after the 2010 blizzard.

A photo of the back deck railing.

A picture form the backyard. The house being built next door is so vibrant.

Our first day in Indramayu was the beginning of what seemed like one long endless day.  I met many people, and couldn’t converse with any unless Esih was by my side and in the mood.  usually, she would begin translating and would quickly end up having a conversation with whoever I was trying to speak with, neglecting me while I stood there being polite and trying to seem like I knew what the heck was going on.

Anga is Esih’s cousin’s child.  He was always there and seemed to be a crybaby.

Iin is Esih’s niece.

Mega and Nur are Esih’s cousin’s kids.

Mimi Dut. Esih’s great aunt.

A am is one of Esih’s cousins.  She is with her daughter Cinta (which means love)

The view north from Esih’s family’s house.  Notice the goats competing for the road with the motorcyclist.

Every day there were congregations of people at this point, under the large overhang/garage at the house.

Aliya and Baba Wawang.

The side of the house.

The mango trees next door.

Total strangers; I met them when we went to the bank. I was hoping to find out some information about travelers checks, as ours had mysteriously disappeared sometime between our time in Jakarta and our first day in Indramayu. It was another in a growing list of hair pulling frustrations for me. I was worried about our money situation and the checks were gone. I was hoping to use them to help pay of the airplane tickets if we could manage to not use them while we were there. I’ll tell the rest of this story later.

On our way out of Jakarta, I took a bunch of shots of driving and what it looks like. It really is surreal. It is a mix of anarchy, danger, selfishness, and uncontrollable waves of traffic. Everyone pushes the limits. It’s no wonder Indonesia is near the top regarding road fatalities.

We were met in Jakarta, albeit about a day early. I wanted to secure our airplane tickets before we left Jakarta so we could spend as much time in Indramayu as possible. Esih told her family where we were and they took it upon themselves to foil my plans, come early, and imposed themselves upon us. It was nice to see them but since I was footing the bill for everyone, I didn’t want to add days to the journey. Many Indonesians I have met believe foreigners have fat stacks of cash that they can use at their will. Comparing Americans to Indonesians I suppose they are right, on some level. Our situation of moving overseas and having sold everything we didn’t mail or carry made it important to watch funds though, however small. It also put the screws to us as we don’t know Jakarta very well and needed to get a fair price on tickets to America for 3. This was right when oil prices were through the roof (October, 2008) and ticket prices were higher than ever too.

I was nervous as I don’t speak Indonesian and Esih’s personality doesn’t make her a good guide. I don’t mean to disparage her; It appears many Indonesians are like this. For example, there was one time she refused to ask a question to a local about where the Taiwanese embassy was, and insisted that I did it, even though the man didn’t speak English. She was frustrated because we were hot, in a city we don’t know, and she gave up. That is the sort of dilemma I run into at times, and it is woefully aggravating. Sort of like banging your head on a wall or burning yourself. Nothing good can come of situations like that. The stress level associated with being in a foreign country, not speaking the language, and being “the man”, or I should say the one responsible for everything where most people are incapable, is very high. Not being able to do something a westerner might consider normal doesn’t appear to be an issue with my wife only. I believe it is inherent in the culture. There is something lacking when compared to the knowledge and motivational base of the average American. Most Indonesians have no idea how to get a visa, buy international airplane tickets, or even find a phone number to a government institution. It can be terribly frustrating if you need to do things like this. I’d also like to stress that it doesn’t make them bad people.

So, we were picked up by Esih’s father, Wardiman (referred to as Baba Wawang), her niece Yi Yin, Her brother in law Darwin who drove, and her cousin, a young boy named Anga. They rented an SUV and drove it to Jakarta, came to Jalan Jaksa where we were, waited around for us to get the airplane tickets and check out of out hotel, and then returned to Indramayu. It was about a 5 hour trip, and we were packed in like sardines with all the people and our luggage. Indonesian people have no concerns about overloading a vehicle. You will see many photos in the future on this site emphasizing this point, some to a ridiculous level.

Our journey to Esih’s family was underway, and we we tired and excited to settle in somewhere and relax after weeks of moving and planning. Changes were abound and I was ready to absorb as much about Indramyu life as I could. This story will paint a picture of a culture and a place that will shock and mystify you, as well as pulling the dramatic thread of my mother-in-law’s diabetes.

I just checked out the results of Senator Marcellino’s photo contest. I came in first place but just missed out on getting the grand prize. I have no idea what that actually means as there was never any mention of any prizes in what I have seen. Thank you to everyone that voted. I’ll update this if there should be anything interesting to come out of this.

Here is the blurb about the results from the Senator’s office:

Thank you to everyone that participated it was a very close contest
and the winners are………………….

Grand Prize

Tyler Cordaro

First Place

John Zadrozny

Second Place

Jonathan Cornachio

Third Place
Elliot Salta
CONGRATULATIONS !!!

You can vote in Sentor Marcelli’s photo contest starting now. I’m not sure when it ends so check in out ASAP. Here is the link to the voting page. It is harmless and you don’t even need to register or anything.

My photo is the last one, #64. There are several really great photos in there so pick your favorite one. I definitely have my odds cut out for me to do well with so much competition.

I started a post several weeks ago about my new Tokina 11mm – 16mm ultra wide angle lens and the reason for it, a real estate photography / video / website job in North Carolina. My friend Robert, a fellow webmaster and website designer, introduced me to this job and within days we were in the back seat of a Ford F150 being driven from New York to North Carolina.

We went there without flinching, and when I say we worked nonstop for most of the trip I am not exaggerating. We went as far as skipping meals and dehydrating ourselves. Hard work indeed. Not the brightest of all methods but it was worth it. We got so much done.

We photographed and videoed 2 of the luxury villas at the luxury villa complex Bennet Landing and the model home for a nearby development called Nature’s Run. All of this in 2 days. The weather didn’t cooperate with us, and we were left scrambling outside when the rain subsided for the exterior shots. I was told there are about 20 days like this yearly. It was just some bad luck that we happened upon it.

Bennet Landing is right on the Neuse River, and is a high quality piece of Intracoastal real estate. The Intracoastal Waterway is synonymous for the Pamlico Sound and the Neuse River. The luxury villas they have built and are building will make fabulous summer homes, vacation homes, investments, or retirement homes in North Carolina. Taxes are low there, especially compared to New York, so the area makes a great snowbird location. New Bern is nearby and boasts one of the best retirement communities in the United States. There are a lot of good reasons to be excited about this place, and the owner enthusiastically told us about much of the area.

The second half of the project was creating the websites that our videos and websites support. Robert created the Bennett Landing main website using the Market America platform and I creates a site called North Carolina Real Estate using WordPress. Both sites are well done, and we are both proud of them.

One amazing part of our time there was watching the dolphin’s. Robert happened to be right on the dock when several pods of dolphins were feeding. Here is the video of that encounter. Just imagine being able to wake up daily to the dolphins.

Here are some photos of the Bennet Landing villas:

Cathedral Ledge overlooks Echo Lake in Bartlett, New Hampshire. It is a popular destination for rock climbers, but we were just there for the view. It’s easy to get to and if you are in the area, definitely stop by to experience it yourself.

Bear Notch is a seasonal road that cuts through the white Mountains. We took it one day to get back and there was a gorgeous overlook that we stopped at.