Indonesia in Pictures!

First night in Semarang. A food stand selling Bakso, a noodle dish with beef balls.

Semarang, City Center

Riding Pillion in Semarang is a very scary but thrilling affair! Note the nervous smile as I take a picture of myself.

Zipping past a road side food stall.

Modus Operandi for road side food stalls.

A simple meal of Pecil, with cows lungs, heart and stomach.
The heart and lungs were nice. As for the stomach, I almost hurled when I tried eating it. It's like gnawing on leather.

That's Pecil, a sweet peanut sauce.

Pasar Johar

I would imagine this to be a typical day in Pasar Johar.Es teh, essential thirst quencher.

Sate Kambing! The guy was too shy to smile for the camera when I asked him to.

Sate Kambing, is delicious.Heading back to the hotel in a Pedi Cab.

That was my ride.

I forgot was this drink was called. But it'd nasty. It's a femented rice drink.

Fried spniach leaf. Makes for great snacking.Mee Soto, Indonesian style.

We stopped for awhile when the car overheated. Cloves drying by the road side.

Entering Aman Jiwo

They take their salt and pepper seriously. Points.

Their take on local food.

No hotel menu is complete without a "western" selection.

The dessert that I ordered: Coconut vanilla sorbet with papaya and tamarind jelly. Mignardises!Umbrellas come in handy under the relentless Indonesian Sun.Taking a tour of Aman Jiwo.

This place, is totally built for couples. There's two of everything. Save for one king sized bed and one bath tub. Go figure.I love how the light comes into the room.

Deep Fried Gourami that was swimming just an hour ago!

A Carp ended up on the lunch menu too.Eating Deep Fried Fish, Rice, Vegetables, Sambal with hands. Not a first for me, being half Thai.

The Simple Life in the "Suburbs" of Semarang.Heru, the drummer I played with. I love how his shirt matches the drums.A regular night for prayer meeting.

This is how your face would look like when presented with a menu in a foreign language.

Alpokat. Avocado Juice. With chocolate. Absolutely divine. This is one ingredient I've taken a liking to.Chilli sambal in a mortar.This is the young lad who cooked our lunch.

Bunking in at Elika Retreat center in Bangdunan.Dave Haggar: "Hallelujah!"The Indonesians playing a game called "truth". They tried teaching me the game, and I even played several rounds. But, I'm still totally clueless about the game.Road trip! The scenary, on our way to The Land of Nine Temples.The guys that I went with.Alam and BenThe 4th temple.Some wooded area. It made me feel like Alice in wonderland. Although I should be feeling more like Little Red Riding Hood.We were in a sulphur pit, and this pool of water was about 70 degrees celcius!Heading back to the center.A game of soccer before dinner.I decided to walk around town, and saw this little darling.Bakso!

Dinner time.The food was more enjoyable, eating it sans table. At least I thought so.

We headed out in search for supper after the meeting. This is Dedi on the phone with his Sayang (darling). He was making kissy noises as he navigated the winding roads with one hand on the handle. We weren't wearing any helmets and I was for a moment, afraid.

The magic that is of Kue Bandung.

Step 1: Make a crepe like base, add sugar and chocolate. Cover with a lid to let it melt.

Step 2: Remove from heating element and pour condensed milk. He wasn't shy with the amount.

Step 3: Grate a generous amount of parmesan cheese over it.

Step 4: Fold in half, and slather it with butter.Step 5: Portion it and enjoy.
I would imagine the local nick name for it would be "Heart Attack Pancake".
But I tell you, it is sooooooo good!

My last meal in Bangunan in a roadside store just before midnight.