My 37 Hours in the Middle East

In my travels back to Jakarta I was scheduled to have a short layover in The Middle East, United Arab Emirates. which almost instantly awoke thoughts of "The Alchemist", one of my favorite books, and evoked visions of riding a camel across a starry desert sky. In order that this vision may come to be Travis was sweet enough to extend my stay there so I could Explore Abu Dhabi and see what I could find! Full of excitement and unsure of how welcoming to westerners they would be I set off on my latest adventure. During the 13 hour flight I saw some spectacular sights...from my plane I was able to witness the oil fires burning in Iraq and large reflections from the ground in Saudia Arabia which are a type of aeriel / ground communication. We were also told by our captain as we flew over Saudia Arabia that they had just launched an air strike on Yemen. WOW...A little too close for comfort. At 8PM the plane landed and I went in search of a money exchange & help to the immigration counter. To my great surprise after being asked to show my American passport I was welcomed with open arms. Everyone I came into contact with was extremely helpful and beyond friendly. I'm sorry to say I was shocked as I heard over and over..."we love Americans ...you are welcome here with us". I quickly made friends with my cab driver Muhammat who I learned from our conversation fled to Abu Dhabi from his home in Yemen due to invasion of the Taliban. Speaking extremely broken english he offered to escort me to the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, or otherwise known as The Grand Mosque on the way to my hotel. After pondering if it was a great idea to allow a complete stranger take me around I decided he was no longer a stranger. The mosque was a sight straight out of Aladdin. In their words in the spirit of Islam (which is peace, education and tolerance) visitors of all nationalities and religions are welcome to visit the mosque as long as you respect the religion and its rules ie. arms and legs covered to the wrists and ankles, no public displays of affection, no shoes , women MUST wear a headscarf and are taken to a seperate area to worship and no non-Muslim may touch the holy Quran. Coming from the airport and being unable to abide by all the rules I was only allowed inside the front of the Mosque. They did allow me to take a few photos.



The next Day was filled with activities of all sorts. In the morning I went off to shop at the Marina mall which was basically a giant mall but it did provide some beautiful views of the turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf. I went for a walk around town & lunch and then I was picked up for my desert tour. We started with some seriously wicked dune bashing during which we came across a camel farm where we found the camels nearly as friendly as the people:) After stopping for some sand surfing we mounted our camels and headed for camp. Once we arrived we found a traditional Bedouin camp. Everyone was wearing traditional garments and our tents filled with beautiful carpets and pillows to sit on. They dressed me in a burkah and treated us to a very interesting and fragrant meal which was made on the fire pit. After dinner it was "lights out" A time for us to connect with the dessert. We smoked apple tobacco out of very beautiful hookahs while staring at the starry desert sky. Oh What A Night! All the people in my group were very friendly and from all over the place (Amsterdam, Brazil, Pakistan, Lebanon, Cancun, Sri Lanka and Iran. a I enjoyed the opportunity to smoke and chat with my new friends.

On my way back to the airport with pants full of sand I still had 1 more stop. I had to see for myself the famous Emirates Palace. At 3 billion..yes billion, USD it is the most expensive hotel ever build. It is located and somewhat attached I think to the Sheiks actual palace. It was beautiful beyond description and everything in and out is made of marble and gold. Even though I was seriously under dressed they were very welcoming of me and allowed me to walk around and take photos. Once again surprised at their genuine affection towards Americans specifically I finally had to ask...why? I was told that we have always had great ties to UAE but in the 1990's when the U.S. led coalition campaigns to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait they have been eternally grateful for the protection of their resources and continue to depend on the US for protection. An interesting piece of the puzzle I would not have put in place had I not asked. Then it was off to the airport again for another 10 hour flight.


I arrived back in Jakarta 3 days after I started out full of stories, a little smelly, and a lot tired...but very glad to lay on the couch and watch a movie with Travis again:)

An eventful 3 months in Indonesia

Earthquake:

Although earthquakes are apparently common in Indonesia we both experienced our first on Sept.2nd...just 3 days after moving into our new apartment. Sept. 2nd is usually a day of reflection for me and this year it marked 5 years since I lost my Pappy. We were planning to take it easy and celebrate the new apartment by having friends over for dinner. Travis was working at the clinic and I had just left for grocery shopping when the earthquake began. The funny thing was we had just been talking about earthquakes the previous evening. Travis knew exactly what was happening however I was alone and I had no idea what was going on. I lost my balance & my equilibrium and I thought maybe I was becoming ill...then I looked up and saw everyone running from the building. At first I was relieved that it wasn't me ...then I was scared because...well, everyone was running from the building. Finally a nice man could see that I was confused and he grabbed me and shoved me out of the building. It took a few more min before someone said the words earthquake in English. It was quite strong (a 7.3 on the Richter scale) but thankfully in Jakarta there were no buildings down around us or major destruction. There was a lot of minor damage like large cracks in the buildings and small rubble piles. Our apartment suffered only minor damage and we were able to still have our first dinner in the new place with friends. We later saw on the news that in cities just south of Jakarta there was a major landslide that buried homes and an arcade. Some 21 children and 29 adults were buried. With no equipment to dig with but their hands they did their best to recover the injured and dead.

My first Ramadan:

The beginning of Sept was also the start of the Holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset. They are not allowed to eat or drink ANYTHING from 4AM - 6PM for any reason and understandably it is considered very rude to eat in front of them as well. It is more difficult to obtain any kind of alcohol during this month however Jakarta is so big and is affected by this on a much smaller scale than other cities due to the number of expats working here. There are many bright decorations which are mainly green and they have large drums everywhere. During the main two days of the holiday they are singing songs and prayers from the mosques and beating the drums day and night.




The clinic:


The clinic has been doing wonderfully. We have such amazing staff to work with. They all have had such a tremendous response to all our new systems and training and we just couldn't be prouder of them...specially the last several weeks when they have been working very hard and on empty bellies :) We have been busy with new patients, spinal screening events and Travis has started to give some "Hour to Health" presentations that would rival those of any purpose driven subluxation based chiro. The first was last month and we had another one this Saturday. There has been such a positive response to these talks that Travis will be creating a series of talks for them to attend. They are amazed with the powerful information and very appreciative that the doctor is willing to take the time to share the information with them. You can literally see their light bulbs turn on when you know they get it. What a wonderful thing to be a part of!


Visions of Brats dancing in our heads:

Well I am very happy to say that my first 3 months living in Indonesia were truly remarkable. Aside from the city life of Jakarta and scenic trips to Bandung I have had the privilege of riding the worlds largest Ferris wheel in Singapore, eating street food and clubbing with Iranians in Malaysia and enjoying the most beautiful sunsets in the world from Bali. I have fallen absolutely in love with Ginger (Ginger tea, ginger cookies, ginger candy)and fear I will go into withdrawals once back in WI. I have also experienced some things I never thought I would such as a terrorist attack and an earthquake. I have learned to speak some Bahasa Indonisian and truly enjoy Indonesian food (still not a sambal fan) As my 3 months comes to a close I am looking forward to seeing friends and family back in WI. Being so far away only makes you appreciate who and what you have that much more. We can not wait to attend the weddings of our friends and family and I think we both have visions of bratwurst dancing in our heads :) Even though I miss all these things I also look forward to returning to Jakarta this October with Travis and seeing what excitement the next year brings us ;)

Bombings, Bali and Malaysia

Bombings-

As I'm sure most of you already know on Friday July 17th the Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott were bombed by terrorists. We were preparing to leave for the airport for our trip to Bali when the bombings occurred. We only live just down the road from where the bombings took place and we frequent the Marriott for breakfast and area often so needless to say it hit way too close to home. It saddens us to think of the security guards we always see and all the smiling faces of the workers, not to mention all the people eating breakfast in the dining room (which is where the one suicide terrorist set his bomb off) We last heard 9 people were killed and over 50 seriously injured (4 of the dead were foreigners who have still not been identified) We couldn't wait to relax on the beach but also wanted to keep a low profile as Bali is the site of the largest terrorist bombing in Indonesian history, something like 200 foreigners were killed in 2004) We noticed a serious increase in security by the time we arrived in Bali. The gate to our hotel was guarded by 10 men with machine guns. It is also standard procedure to have every car stopped by security and it is checked in and out with bomb sniffing dogs and a team of security. This settled our nerves enough for us to have a great time while we were away.

Bali-

We stayed in Seminyak this time at Grand Balisani suites. Our hotel was beautiful and right on the ocean. The area was perfect for relaxing and much quieter than Kuta where we stayed last time. The first morning after we arrived I had the best surprise ever...Travis had arranged for me to make pottery at a local pottery studio!!! We both ended up painting bowls, it was great! The local artists had their pottery for sale and we purchased a Balinese tea set. After that we spent most of our time walking out to the beach and laying around sipping margaritas while watching the most beautiful sunsets on earth! Of course we devoted 1 day entirely to shopping...they have some of the most amazing hand made things there. After shopping we ate at a local cafe and even had a chance to witness a local funeral parade.

Once again Bali had worked her magic on us and we were relaxed and rejuvenated and ready to return to the hustle and bustle of Jakarta.


Kuala Lumpur-

8 days after returning from Bali and 2 trips back and forth to Bandung we were off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I needed to renew my visa which means leaving the country again so we stayed in Malaysia just a few days.

The city was large and reminded me a bit of Jakarta, but much nicer. We met up with one of Travis' friends Soni and walked around town and ate from street vendors. The colors and smells were something to experience for sure!! Bright signs and the smell of spices were everywhere. Later we hit up a local bar and an Iranian Dance club which was quite interesting. We also had a chance to take a tour of the famous Petronas towers the following day.

Malaysia was beautiful and left me wanting to come back for more. Nxt time I'd like to hike to the caverns located near a large Hindu temple and maybe take a helicopter over the islands.


Back to Jakarta-

For now we are back in Jakarta. We just had our first Patient Appreciation Day which was a big success and Travis is preparing his first "Hour to Health" presentation which will be next Thurs. We already have 20 people signed up to come! We are both looking forward to seeing everybody when we come home in Sept. and to eat some yummy Wisconsin food (we are both currently on Detox programs but will be ready to indulge when we return :))

Travel

Singapore:

Well I made it back from Singapore but not without my fair share of adventure. For starters we tried to exchange some of my US dollars for Singaporean money at Travis' bank. 3 out of my 5 $100 bills were disqualified because I had either folded them in half or they were not dated 2003 or 2006. (Yes they can & will actually refuse to change your money if you fold it and they only accept UDS that the years 2003 or 2006...even though they will give you a crumpely Rupiah that looks as if it's a million years old. They also give you no reason for this random monetary discrimination. So we decided to try a money changer who told us my folded $100 bills were only worth $60 now. After fruitlessly arguing that one hundred dollars is worth one hundred dollars everywhere in the world regardless of its year or folding I gave up. Finally we found a more fair exchange rate..changed my USD to Rupiah then from Rupiah to Singaporean. Seemed like a lot of work but I have money now so I'm happy.

Travis loaded me in the cab and told them to take me to the airport and I was on my way. About half way to the airport I realized I needed a credit card to check into my hotel....so we had to turn around and head back into heavy city traffic to go to the apartment. Just as we were on our way back to the airport we got pulled over by the Police. Trust me in Indonesia you DO NOT want to be pulled over by the Police..they are NOT your friends. They yelled and argued with my cab driver and demanded money before letting us go on our way. We were speeding like crazy and arrived at Singapore air with 45 minuets before my plane was to take off. I walked up to the counter where the 7 people working told me that they were closed! I argued with them and refused to leave. After paying a fee they finally let me check in. I ran like hell through the airport to get through customs only to wait in line for 15 min while my plane boarded!? I couldn't believe they weren't going to let me check in. Well I had made my plane and I was happy again :)

Once landing in Singapore I checked into my beautiful hotel (Thanks Travis!). I wanted to take the MRT downtown so I could explore the city. But I had just enough time to catch ladies night in the hotel lounge first. After 2 large glasses of delicious red wine I was off to the city. My first stop was the Singapore Flyer the worlds largest Ferris wheel. You can see all of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia from it. The view was spectacular...it was beautiful to see all the city lights of the night across the water. After that I walked around, grabbed a bite to eat and made my way back to my hotel. I only stayed 1 day and night but I'd love to go back. I found Singapore very clean, friendly and packed with lots of action. The MRT made it beyond easy to go anywhere in the city for only a coupe of bucks.

TRAVEL PLANS:

Well Travis tells me that we are off to Bandung tomorrow. He has to do a few things there with his visa so we can go to Bali next week and Kuala Lumpur the following week. I'm soooo excited!!! Travis booked us a hotel in Seminyak which is suppose to have the best restaurants and quiet beaches. I think we are both looking forward to laying on the beach and soaking up some much needed sun! Also I think we may do some bungee jumping while there..eek.

Singapore here I come!!!

Three and a half weeks into my move and I will be traveling to Singapore next week!! Since we decided to only get my visitors visa I am required to leave the country every 30 days to renew it. Travis has some restrictions on his travel due to work and his visa so I will be traveling solo. I am very excited to see what Singapore has to offer in my short 1-2 day trip. The purpose of my trip is to renew my visa but I might as well check it out since I'm there. This first month has flown by quickly and I can hardly believe its time for me to renew my visa already.

Work at the clinic has been great. We usually go in together on Mon, Tues and Fri at least. I am training the marketing staff on how to perform spinal screenings and also helping fine tune office procedures and train the clinic staff. Travis is already busier than most docs here and as far as I know he is the only corrective care / wellness doctor in Indonesia. Most others are mainly pain relief and don't educate their patients very well. The patients are responding well to his educational corrective approach and are able to see amazing and lasting results. Just last week one of his patients Mac Yim took us out for lunch as a thank you for the care he is getting. We went to a little place around the corner for a traditional Indonesian family style lunch. They order a dozen or so meals and all share them. Lets start off by saying I had NO idea what I was eating...but they were actually putting food on my plate from theirs. I ate everything happily not wanting be considered rude if I didn't accept. Everything I ate was wonderful, however they do seem to use and extraordinary amount of spice in everything they eat which in my case will take some getting used to. The sights and smells were something to see. Everything from a large whole fish fried to a crisp with the eye, spike, bones and scales included. They showed me how to eat with my hands and assured me I was suppose to eat everything...bones included :) Next I had some mussels and prawn fritters, BBQ chicken leg, bowls of something that resembled wet spinach, tofu and of course a mandatory heaping serving of rice. We drank sweet tea after.

When not at work we have been spending time working on things for the office. One of my favorite things to do is go out to eat. There are so many amazing places to experience here. Its also my favorite because, and I'm not sure why they do this, but when Travis pays the bill they deliver the change to me :) We go out for sushi at least once a week. Last Wednesday we went to a wonderful authentic Italian restaurant. The food and homemade breads were to fantastic! We also go to a movie at least once a week. Have seen Star Trek, Terminator, Transformers, and The missing Lynx. We go to the Premier theater here and it is top notch. They have full sized lazy boy recliners with blankets and they serve you anything you want... a meal, popcorn, cocktails or even a coffee latte. But my favorite past time has to be THE SPA! I have been to the spa 3 times already and each time was uniquely spectacular. Last Thurs we went to a great spa called Puri Santi. The place was beautiful with running water, bamboo and stones everywhere. Travis upgraded us to the VIP couples massage suite so we got our own personal suite where we each received a 2 1/2 hour massage I also had a cucumber and honey facial and pedicure. They served us ginger tea outside. (yes I know my life is rough here)

I have also had the opportunity to meet some of Travis' great friends. His friend Marianna is having us over to her party tonight and last night we went out to a nice roof top club with another. Everyone I have met here has been very nice. All the people seem to be very helpful. I have been able to pick up some Indonesian but very little. I need to study it start trying to use it more.

To sum up my first month: I have been having an amazing time. We have done so much already and our trips have not even yet begun. I seriously have nothing to complain about and as you can read Travis is going a great job of spoiling me :)

Love and miss you all and look forward to seeing everyone in October!

I have included some pics from the Healthy lifestyles & Chiropractic seminar Travis gave at Danaman Bank. They have already asked us to come back.

fun, fun, fun

Wow Its only Saturday and I feel like I have done so much already. I am having a great time re-organizing Travis' clinic and had my first CA training with the staff yesterday. Everyone seemed to respond very positively to the changes and training and I am excited to see the impact this makes on the clinic. The current front desk manager is going back to school so her last day was Fri. To celebrate her new adventure we took the staff out for a nice dinner.

Travis seems to have a handle on all the great places to eat in Jakarta so we have been to a lot of really interesting places. Cork & Screw may have been my favorite so far..that's where we took the staff for dinner on Wed. Thursday we went to a chamber event at the ridiculously nice Kempinski Hotel. Free wine, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres but it was a bit stuffy for us so we kicked out and went across the street to Immigrant for pizza and margiritas!!! Friday night was pretty laid back and I was excited because I finally got to cook! I made pesto & mushroom penne pasta w/ chicken and devoured almost an entire bottle of wine while watching Bridget Jones Diary.

Today I'm off on another shopping adventure (yes, I know my life is horrible) I hear there is a huge sale at Grand Indonesia Mall and I feel its my duty to confirm this report first hand :) Then possibly a nap by the pool before we head out to a party tonight!