As I’ve written before, it is wonderful walking around any place new, but particularly in Asia. We go for walks or runs in the pre-dawn on week days, but head out a bit later on the weekends. The Chinese open their shops much later than Indonesian folk, so, on weekdays, we see only deliveries, a few early-morning street vendors and what seems to be an occasional “hostess” returning from work.

Yesterday morning, we visited a different wet market to usual. The chickens had been dispatched, and de-feathered, but that was as far as the process had gone. Not all the veggie stalls were open. We got a few necessities and continued on around the block. We decided that we would return to do a bit more exploring in the immediate area, and postpone our trip to the fabric market, further afield. Helen commented on the juxtaposition of Starbucks, KFC and McD’s beside a computer mall. Guangzhou has no shortage of these western outlets.

The street back to our main road is lined with shops selling snacks to passers by, and a fair sprinkling of mobile food vendors - Asia is full of people who can turn a bicycle into a shop. For a community that seems to be constantly shoving food in, as a general rule, the citizens of Guangzhou look very healthy. Obesity is very uncommon here (amongst the Chinese).

We went back up the street later, and wandered around the computer malls. They are even more extensive and mind-boggling than I’d first thought. We bought a few accessories, which are very cheap. We noticed that the larger items, such as computers and cameras, tend to be a bit more expensive than in Indonesia.

The traffic yesterday was horrendous. It took us more than half an hour to hail a taxi, and then more than an hour to make a trip to a party out of town (which would normally take 30 minutes). Maybe we caught the time when people finish work on Saturday? Anyway, it seems a bit of a lottery. This morning, we caught a taxi straight away, and were at school in half an hour.

We’ve been in Guangzhou for a month now, and have barely “scratched the surface”.  We love it, although we are “over” the lift in our building. It is so slow, and, by the time it arrives at our floor, in the mornings, we are usually hot and sweaty to begin the day. However, our little apartment is fine, although we will be pleased when our container arrives and we move to a new place, in a couple of weeks. The locale is excellent – everything we need either close by, or a short taxi ride away.

Walking around is, as in other Asian countries, always an adventure. There is always something new to see. A Sunday ritual, for us, is to walk a kilometer to the “wet” market (fruit, veggies, fish, meat and flowers). It isn’t large, but it is always interesting. This morning, the frog seller was skinning and cleaning his wares for a customer. (We didn’t linger.) About AU$20 buys us fruit, vegetable and flowers for the week – chicken and fish are procured from the supermarkets, even though it is fresher at the wet market. Enroute is also one of the main places for purchasing imported products, although we didn’t need any today.

We took the long way to get to the market this morning, and I bought some dim sum from a street vendor. It was delicious, and really cheap. If I can find a vendor on my 5.30am walks/runs I might get lunch once a week,  for less than AU$2. (Speaking of lunch, I don’t eat at the school canteen, because the meals are too nice, and too big. Utahloy I.S. must have one of the best canteens anywhere – it even has a coffee machine.)

We made our second visit to Haizu Square yesterday. The taxi driver gave us the “Magical Mystery Tour” on the ring road, so we’ll take the Metro next time. We were deposited outside what seems to be the “dress up” market, with everything imaginable for making costumes and doing make up. We walked a fair was trying to find an ATM, which was good, because it took us to the Immigration Office side of a main road, which then led us to a leather market and some musical instrument shops.

After we had lunch in a Chinese restaurant, we separated. I found a hardware market, and bought a cheap, wicker basket for our dirty clothes. As I carted it home, through the streets and on the Metro, I got some amused stares from the locals. The traffic policeman on the corner near our apartment was very amused – it seemed to be unexpectedly rustic for them. Helen browsed for hours, and found a mall full of everything imaginable, so we’ll be back there net week.

There are some great restaurants around. Last night, we joined colleagues at a teppanyaki restaurant nearby. It cost less than AU$30/head, which included free-flow beer and wine, and the food was simply delightful. It just melted in our mouths. From there, we walked to a nearby Irish bar, expecting to find a band playing. There wasn’t, so we didn’t stay long, although it was well after midnight when we got home.

The locals, generally, are really friendly and tolerant of our current inability to speak Mandarin. Last week, Helen was in a queue at IKEA, and was told that something she wanted to buy need a “family discount card”. The Chinese woman behind her said “Here, use mine”. Yesterday, as she was running across the street in the rain, a woman pulled her under her umbrella, and escorted her to our building, where the woman also lived!

We had a bit of an adventure recently. The school runs a couple of buses earlier than usual into the city on Friday afternoons. The AC wasn’t working properly, and the traffic was bad, so there were about 30 or more hot and tired teachers by the time we reached our destination. The door didn’t, and wouldn’t open - some sort of electrical problem, which could not be rectified Eventually, the High School deputy climbed out, onto the roof, through the front emergency exit. There was no way for him to get down safely. Some locals eventually produced a wooden ladder. As his feet touched the ground, the door opened, releasing some relieved educators.

It looks like we have a lot of adventures ahead of us.

I've obviously been living overseas for too long. After having lived in two small expat communities, and Bali, I had formed the view that there was a greater concentration of, shall we say, "people with idiosyncrasies" than in the general Australian population. It seemed, from casual observations around Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, that I might have been in error. A visit to Bondi confirmed that this was, in fact, the situation.

As Helen often reminds me, the International Baccalaureate mission indicates that we should celebrate the diversity of personalities in our world (even if Jung and Myers-Briggs reckons there are are only about 16). Bondi looks like the Bali expat community, except "paradise" is in a more temperate, and expensive, climate.

The beach is beautiful, and, although (judging by old photos, in our hotel) successive governments have destroyed the unique feel Bondi Beach had 70 or 80 years ago, it is still a good place to "hang". Being someone who detests smoking, and those who still believe it is okay to annoy everyone else within 100m with their addiction, I was bemused by the "flexible" approach some establishments had to anti-smoking laws. NSW has long been behind other states in this respect.

We went to a pub which seemed to have a permanent clientele of substance-affected dog owners. Some of the owners looked more dangerous than the dogs, but everyone kept to their own and a good time was had by all.

Helen also discovered a community of homeless people living behind the surf club, obviously with the tacit consent of the local authorities. They were set up with cookers, mattresses, the lot. They seem to be tolerated because they keep the place clean and don't hassle other people, which seems fair enough, in today's tough times. Maybe it is a step towards a more caring, tolerant society, in a strange sort of way.

Food is so good in the capital cities. It’s no wonder that Australians are becoming obese at an alarming rate. However, there is a simple suggestion that will definitely slow things – halve the size and the cost of meals in cafes, most restaurants and, imperatively, food courts. We always have to remember at lunch times to buy one meal, and share.

The quality, in many places, is excellent – fresh, well-cooked and good flavours. Being, basically, tourists, at the moment, we have eaten at a variety of eateries, and Melbourne restaurants and cafes are brilliant. We had a great meal, last night, here, in Adelaide at a restaurant in the conference centre – although, cows seem to have been overlooked in favour of kangaroo, venison and crocodile meat. (I had chicken.)

We have been very lucky with the weather in Melbourne, and, now, Adelaide. Currently, it is warm enough to wander around without a coat. Melbourne was “fresh”, but dry. We were kept pretty busy catching up with friends and family, and will have to try to spend longer next trip.

 

We stayed at a great B & B behind the Hilton hotel, so we walked across the beautiful Fitzroy Gardens each day, to go to the city. On Saturday night, we wove between thousands of unhappy Collingwood supporters heading home after their team’s loss to Hawthorn, at the world’s greatest sporting arena. I had toyed with the idea of going to the game at the other end of town, on Friday night, but correctly surmised that my team, Essendon, would get “belted”.  It is great that, despite the exorbitant entrance prices, AFL still seems to be very much a “people’s game”.

At the moment, we are about to deal with the stress of moving to a new country, and not having our “home” (currently in a container in Surabaya) for another month, beginning new jobs and signing our lives away for a new house, on the Sunshine Coast. The latter has all been a bit too easy so far. However, one must remain optimistic.

It is great being back in Australia. I loved living in Indonesia, but, every now and then, it is wonderful being in a place where things are clean, and function properly.

Visiting the shopping malls make it crystal clear why so many Australians are obese - the meals on sale are twice the size they need to be, and few people make the time, or have the inclination to exercise. It is so easy to buy healthy food to make cheap, nutritious meals in the supermarkets, but there is so much rubbish on sale as well.

It is a bit "fresh" in the mornings. I went for a walk yesterday, but had a bit of a sleep in this morning. Helen's parents live in a part of the world that necessitates walking up hills in most directions. However, it does get the blood flowing. We've walked to the mall to access the internet, which, I hope, cancels out the mandatory cappucino.

Commercial TV is pretty disappointing, although I'm sure if people used a VHS/DVD recorder (as I did, in Indonesia) then there are enough quality shows to watch. We really enjoyed "Thank God you're here" the other night, and I hope to be able to "time shift" the Essendon-Collingwood game by taping it tonight and watching it in the morning.

The SMS's from Martini indicate that the cats are gradually settling in with her parents, in East Java. I already miss those cute, but uncaring little animals. I'm sure Martini's Mum will love them as we have.

I suppose it won't really hit me that we have left Indonesia until we board the plane, at the end of the month, for China. We still both wonder how it could have possibly happened, and it will take a while to get over.

   This is my last couple of hours in Indonesia, for a while. I'm in a lounge at Denpasar airport, which has intermittent wi-fi.

The last couple of days have been a bit tough, but more so on Martinie than anyone else. Jahe, the larger, but more timid of our two cats has been virtually traumatised by the movers - at one stage, Martinie found him down the back of the stove. Coming back from an unsuccessful attempt to finalise our phone bills, we found an empty, echoing house, which was pretty sad.

On Sunday, we did our last cycle out from Citra Raya. We have racked up quite a few kilometres over the past 7 years, and are very familiar with the local villages. This time, we were both a bit tired, so we decided to do only about 20km. We went north, through Desa Made, and found a local village market, aimed, clearly, at young children.

It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves. We also chatted to an old bloke who was selling crickets, and extolling the virtues of the incumbent president for the up-coming elections.
 
We ended up at the Citra Raya market, and had a breakfast of "bubur Madura" (a mixture of black rice and other stuff, covered in coconut paste and palm syrup) and "kopi Jawa" (Javanese coffee, left to settle in the bottom of the cup before drinking).

Last night, we went, with Martinie, to view the sunset from a rooftop restaurant, then had a beer with two friends from school, and their wives, which was nice.

We did our final sessions at Celebrity gym this morning - a "spin" class for me and body pump and "jump" for Helen. We hope we can find the same sort of place in Guangzhou. I am definitely NOT a gym person, but the classes are fun.

So, we enter the next phase of our lives. We can only hope that we achieve half as much as we have in the past 7 years.

It’s always good to get out into the countryside, in any country, and Java is more scenic than many places. The trip was pretty slow to Malang. Driving through Porong hammers home the ineptitude of officialdom in this country – as well as all the unfortunate people who have lost their homes and communities from the mud flow, with no compensation in sight, the quality of life of the surrounding communities has been destroyed as well. Because not one finger seems to have been lifted to find alternative roads, the good folk of Porong have thousands of trucks and buses crawling down their streets. The dust, noise and fumes are unbelievable.

After having a snack at Toko Oen, in Malang (because Martinie had never been), we were into the countryside and heading up the slopes to Martinie’s village, called Resopombo. We stopped at a relative’s place and were surprised to see Ani, our former pembantu (in Bali). – We had intended to see her boys, Moses and Meilke,  because their father, Martin, is gravely ill, and the kids had been sent to live with Ani’s sister. Ani had made the trip to Blitar because (thanks to wonderful Indonesian bureaucracy) she had to take Moses back to Bali because he had to be there on one specific day (and, one only) to collect his Grade 6 certificate!!!

Ani’s brother-in-law has retired from Pertamina, the state oil company, and now runs a music hire business. The house was filled to the rafters with band and sound equipment. He can’t play a note, which puts him on a par with almost every other Indonesian “sound man” whom I’ve encountered.

After a coffee and pisang goreng (banana fritters), we drove around the corner to Martinie’s family home. We had more snacks, and chatted about farming with her parents.

We headed down an alternate route to Blitar, and arrived at the Tugu Hotel. It is just as charming as the original, in Malang. The only negative was that, except for the expensive rooms, and one other (already booked), the rooms only have single beds. In all other aspects, the room was very nice.

  

We went for a wander, to take in the sights of Blitar, and returned to check our email – the hotel has a hot spot, but there is a cost. So, to be helpful, the staff run a spare cable from their modem, for guests, for free. We checked out the suites, including the one used by Soekarno. For some reason, there is a set of gamelan gongs at the foot of the bed.

In the evening, we dined at the hotel restaurant. They actually had a wine list, but we settled for beer (me) and a whiskey and coke. Helen’s marinated chicken and rice was nice, but my nasi goreng was too greasy. The service was excellent.

After a very good night’s sleep, we went for a short wander. We were very surprised to find that, unlike everywhere else in Indonesia, there was not a lot of activity out in the streets and markets. We had a fairly basic breakfast, and Helen had her photo taken with an old bloke who had been a cleaner in the hotel for 50 years. He thought he might be around 90 years old – no pension plans here!

We had a look at Soekarno's tomb, which was very impressive, and has a library. The mandatory scams include the parking area being a becak ride away, and women selling flower petals to sprinkle on his grave. It looks like a compulsory school excursion.

Back up the "hill", at Martinie's village, we stopped in to check out Latte's and Jahe's new home, and said goodbye to everyone. We went further up the mountain for a brief look at a lovely little village, and then turned towards home.

All was well. We got through Malang, and stopped for a late nasi goreng. Then, a long way from Porong, we came to a dead stop. The next ten, or so, kilometres, took us two hours, centimetre by centimetre, with a constant stream of morons going down the left hand side of the road. As I wrote in the first paragraph, not one thing has been done. People cannot even walk on the "footpath" outside their hovels for fear of being run over by a car, minibus or motorbike trying to illegally get a few metres' advantage. Then, there must be thousands of people who have had hours added to their daily commute to and from work. No-one seems willing or able to solve the problem. There is a plan to finish a new freeway within two years, but it will be a very long two years for all affected.

Despite the finale, the trip was a relaxing, interesting experience, and brought home that, although we got out and about in Surabaya’s environs, we could have made more time to see more.

It is always difficult to leave an organisation that you have put a lot of yourself into, so it was a mixed last week at Sekolah Ciputra.

The best moment was Thursday. It was an opportunity to re-schedule a postponed lunch with the support staff. They informed me that we would be going to a better restaurant than the one I had chosen, because they were taking me out, rather than vice versa. They gave me two well-chosen CD's, which they had all signed. I insisted on paying, but I was very touched by their gesture. To have the most lowly-paid people in the organisation tangibly show their appreciation will forever remain a treasured memory.

Monday's Award's Night was quite good, even though the sound and lighting left a bit to be desired. I played with some colleagues at the end, and, even though I could not hear a thing I was playing, the audience loved it and the video looks pretty good.

On Tuesday, I had lunch with my Year 8 team. It was difficult to organise it, around the death of a colleague's mother, but we managed it. They gave me a nice pen. I told them that I'll think of them when I write reports with it. In the evening, I had organised dinner for all the High School staff at an Australian-themed restaurant. We had a good night, although the expats were bemused that such a restaurant could stock only four bottles of cold beer.

Wednesday night was very tough - the Middle Years Programme graduation. I still remember a Board meeting, just after the Primary Years Programme authorisation, and just before ours, in which I was the only person present who (correctly) believed that my teachers were good enough for us to be authorised. Four years later, I was very happy with the Evaluation report. Anyway, seeing some of the students, who I'd taught Maths, or encountered through other activities, receiving awards and performing made it difficult for me to give my last graduation speech.

On Thursday night, we did the "Magical Mystery Tour" with the expat staff. A great time was had by all - travelling in chartered bemos (public minvans) to various Surabaya landmarks, and ending up at a "dodgy" karaoke place.

Friday was weird. Intellectually, I knew that Admin members had to finalise planning the beginning of the next school year, but emotionally it was very tough to potter about, cleaning up, while they discussed things. On the other hand, I forced myself to acknowledge that, even though I had a strong, emotional stake in things, my input was finished. My Indonesian Admin colleagues gave me a nice watch. We all had lunch together, and I farewelled the other staff who were leaving. Helen and I had organised a "Thank You" cake for each of our staff, and a few key staff in the main building.

When I finally walked out of the office, I said goodbye to my vice principals and principals. I nearly started crying when the two female team members broke down, but I went, and forced myself to not look back.

There are some good things about living in Indonesia, but the noise pollution, and the apparent lack of care by people for those other than their close friends and family really gets to me sometimes. I've just had words with a bloke who started hammering and sawing in the open window of the house behind us, less than 15m away. These workmen, and the owners, have had representations from our security guards most Sundays, but, clearly, don't give a proverbial "rat's".
 
Our garage sale was pretty successful, and Helen need not have stressed about it. It was pretty much "win-win" for all concerned - a lot of people got bargains, and we got rid of a lot of surplus possession and made a few rupiah in the process. The highlight was seeing friends taking home a pile of stuff on their motorbikes. There is still a bit of stuff to shift, and Martini will find a use for most of it, or find someone else who would benefit.

We have one week at Sekolah Ciputra and, it is very, very difficult to maintain a positive outlook, given the bizzare conduct of those who have the power to affect our lives. However, the parents have been great, and Helen has had some very positive feedback from her colleagues, and a couple of mine have been supportive.

The coming week will be very tough on the waistline. I have something on each week night, plus at least three lunches, and no time to get to the gym. We'll be getting our money's worth out of our last month at the gym when school finishes.

I've got a very sore back, because of a big weekend of participation in sport. (It's an old injury, but it has come back with a vengeance in recent times.

Helen and I thought we would have a quick round of golf on Friday, after school. Got there, clubs and caddies arrived, and we hit off. We weren't playing well, but finished the first par-5 easily. No-one in sight, until the next hole, We ended up following four blokes who had no idea of etiquette or courtesy, and we ended up playing the last hole in the dark. - The group ahead of us made sure they finished with just enough light, even though they knew we were behind them.

I must have mellowed a bit though, because I wasn't drawn into yelling out to them to hurry. I was more pre-occupied with my own mediocre performance, although I started to shown some form in the gloom.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, I arrived for "Fit and Fun". Helen and I had organised the early versions, so it was great to see that the Year 11 kids had it under control, with a bit of supervision from the CAS Coordinator. That's one small part of our "legacy" that should endure. The 5km walk was pleasant, and there were many people in attendance.

I was back at school working on "Greased Lightning", before heading out to "Hash". Helen had gone out with a friend to set the course, and she told me to ride down at 2.30pm. It began to rain and the three of us got quite wet. By 3pm, when the runners began to arrive, the rain stopped. The course was like ice at the beginning, and I slipped in the first 10m. I ended up coming in second, with which I was very happy.

We went back to the pool in our housing compound for the circle. It did go "on on" - in the end, I grabbed our food dishes and went - it wasn't amusing, and, for the first time, there were blokes clearly affected by the beer. Helen came back a little while later, but it went on for at least half an hour after I left. The running at the Surabaya Hash is good, but the "mismanagement", despite being told, continue to turn the "after" events into an ordeal.

We dragged ourselves out to a farewell for another expat couple, and were glad we did. It was a very pleasant evening, and we ended up staying a lot longer than we had intended.

I was up early on Sunday morning, and back to school for my last cricket match in Surabaya. We had nearly 20 players (me and 19 members of the Indian expatriate community). Someone had misplaced the pegs for the mat, but it was decided that we would play on it anyway.

I kept wickets for the first 10 overs, which was quite difficult. Because the mat was not taut, the ball came off it at unpredictable speeds and heights. I let several byes through, because I'm too old to bend to my ankles all the time.

After drinks, I bowled, and took three wickets for 7 runs. I bowled good balls which didn't get wickets, and my first two wickets were from out-stretched single-handed catches. Seeing that the team had "grassed" at least five simple catches beforehand, I suggested that we only use one hand to catch, from then on.

I made13 runs, which was 13 more than I'd anticipated. My team had three wickets in hand, to get 10 runs, and we managed to lose. However, the game was played in excellent spirit. I handed over the money and responsibility to a couple of the blokes.

In the afternoon I was back at school because a couple of colleagues were slaving away at Grease sets. We started to get the truck loaded before I left. I've got too much to do today, but we will get it done. I'm looking forward to seeing it all happen over the next three nights.