I found that motocross and motorcycle racing is popular there. Indramayu is short of recreational options, but I did see this, football (soccer), and volleyball being played at times during my stay.

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.

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.

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 did manage to speak to a nurse in the evening and ask him about getting some blood test equipment but it was like trying to find water in the desert. I was concerned that AC’s mother was not taking care of her illness properly, especially without the proper tools. Her family was under the impression that if I sent them money for insulin shots for her everything would be ok. I wanted to set up a system for her so she could manage her blood sugar levels and not be reliant on the expensive insulin shots.

Her illness would be on my mind a lot during the trip, and also a major source of frustration with me too. She was my mother in law, and spoke a totally different language, but I really felt she cared for me and she would sit with me a lot and just talk about whatever. Of course I had no idea what she was saying and just imagined she was saying nice and advice about life and family. I really wanted to help her live with her illness, rather than succumb to it.

The trip back from the Airline ticket agent on Jalan Jaksa on the back of a motorcycle taxi:

A view of traffic in Jakarta from the inside of a truck:

We went from the airport to Jalan Jaksa, a road that caters a bit to backpackers traveling in Jakarta. We usually stay there for a night on both ends of any trips we make to Jakarta to make sure we are close to the airport. The hotel Margot, where we usually stay, is about 15 dollars US a night, and I have to say it is NOT a very nice place. We’ve tried looking elsewhere and they were worse so there you have it. We could stay in a 4 or 5 star hotel but I am used to the area from my backpacking days so I don’t even think twice about going there anymore. Plus, I know the taxi driver will understand me if I say Jalan Jaksa. The video here has a few photos and then a few short video clips of the ride to Jalan Jaksa.

We were desperate to see my wife’s family in Indonesia because her mother wasn’t doing well in her fight with diabetes.  She was only about 58 years old at the time, but living in rural Indonesia had affected her struggle with the disease in a negative way.  The family lacked the financial resources and knowledge to manage the disease properly. She had already lost a toe and was experiencing advanced diabetes.

Tourist visas on arrival for Indonesia come with a maximum of 30 days so we decided to stay for nearly an entire month.  This way AC could spend some serious time with her family, Aliya could meet the Indonesian side of her family, and I could really experience my wife’s family.  I figured that if I had a way to keep busy photographing and making videos there I could pass the time in  productive way.

I bought a special device while still in Taiwan that is essentially a camera memory card reader and hard drive combined.  I have never owned a laptop computer, and this was the least expensive option to make sure I always had free space on my digital camera.  I didn’t know it at the time but being at my wife’s house for a month was going to be one of the weirdest mind trips I would ever go on.

Some of the highlights of the trip for me were seeing and documenting so much of the culture and countryside from where my wife grew up, quitting smoking cigarettes, inventing bamboo ball, allowing Aliya to see and experience Indonesian culture and her family.   I ended up taking over 60 Gigabytes of photos and videos while there.  I was armed and ready and shot nearly everything with my trusty Canon Powershot S5 IS.  It isn’t the sweet DSLR Nikon D90 that I have now but it was great for this trip.  If it weren’t for that camera, I would have gone off the mental deep end for sure.  AC spent a lot of time with her family helping out preparing for events, so for long stretches, I was basically alone, language-less, in a remote land.

After some consideration, we have decided to make a series of blog posts that will attempt to show what life is like in Indonesia and most specifically, Indramayu through the many videos and pictures that were taken.  The working title of the series is Faces of Country.