thetrip2018

[thetrip2018]

April 9, 2023

In the morning we walked to Brick Lane Market, about 10 minutes from our hotel. Seeing three markets—Camden, Borough, and Brick Lane—really highlights the different atmosphere of the various London markets. The goods sold and brick lane were a little lower end, such as second hand/thrifted clothing. The food stalls all looked delicious though. We walked through the market until we reached a fancy shop alongside the market selling artisanal chocolate. It was a wonderful shop with many different types of chocolate piled high in wooden carved bowls. E**** bough an assortment while L*** bought a cappuccino.

We continued walking through the market, passing through an area where people were sitting on the ground and seemed to be selling what basically looked like trash—old cables, cell phones from the early 2000’s, old batteries, door, etc. in the same area there was a used book seller, and we perused the books for a while. Then we watched a man spray paint a wall for a couple minutes (there’s a lot of street art in the area). Eventually we headed to the food stalls and settled on a Caribbean roti place. We chatted with the man running the stall, Sharif, while he made the food. He was very pleasant to talk to and told us about his favorite parts of the city and what it was like to run his stall moving between various markets. We sat on a curb nearby and the food was delicious. After we ate we went back to tell him how good it was and he gave us a coconut.

We drank the coconut while we walked to the overground station nearby. We took the overground to Clapham Junction where we switched to another train which we took to Hampton Court. On the train we sat behind a woman who works for an AI related start up and a man who is finishing school to become a therapist. They seemed like high school friends catching up on the Easter train home.

When we got to Hampton Court station, we stepped off the train and immediately saw the palace on the Thames. We used an audio tour to navigate through sections of the palace, including Henry VIII's kitchens and apartments, as well as William and Mary's baroque style apartments, and the later Georgian area. I could especially imagine the gluttonous feasts in the Great Hall. We had been to Tower of London and seen Six the musical, so we were well refreshed with Henry VIII's story.

It was interesting to hear about William and Mary. William didn't like the pomp and ceremony of being King and spent much of his time in private quarters with close friends. Since he wasn't English, people already disliked him, and this made people really dislike him and call him standoffish. He was an intellectual and liked to spend time with the military campaigns. E**** especially liked the William’s guard room with its artful decoration of weapons. We then walked around the gardens, which were too regimented in my opinion. The maze was funny because parents were trying and failing to help their children get out of the maze.

We also saw the "real" royal tennis court, which is still in active use. It's fairly different from modern tennis. L*** was angered anew reading about the kings having many mistresses, but it being unacceptable for the queens to do the same (in the case of Catherine Howard, she was beheaded for it). We weren't allowed into the Chapel Royal because there were Easter services. A stern man told us we couldn't even poke our heads in (not very Christian, in our opinion). There was also a reenactment in the courtyard for children of some dancing. Also, we noticed a lot of hasidic families were visiting the palace.

Eventually we headed back to London to find some dinner. We got food at a slightly overpriced Asian noodle place. The food was good and we stopped at a tesco to buy magnum ice cream bars for dessert. After that we made our way back to the hotel for an early night because of an early flight home in the morning.

[thetrip2018]

April 8, 2023

We stayed up late last night so we slept in again today. Once we woke up we walked to borough market. It was jam packed today (more so than E**** remembered from his previous time in London). We walked through the market once before deciding to look for breakfast. While walking through L**** saw the Greedy Goat Ice Cream stand and pointed it out. E**** was friends with one of the people who manned the stand while he studied abroad in London. As soon as they got close, E**** saw the same man, Andrew, at the stand and they immediately recognized each other. They hugged and we got some ice cream. We talked for a few minutes and E*** and the man exchanged contact info before we kept walking to find food. We got a Japanese tofu and rice bowl and a box of Indian thali—both of which were delicious.

We walked over to the river and ate while looking out over the Thames. After we ate, we walked over to the Tate modern art museum where we saw a number of interesting exhibits. We were both pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed them. On the bottom floor we saw an exhibit by Nira Pereg an Israeli artist. The exhibit comprised two massive screens depicting the shared Jewish-Muslim use of Mearat Hamachpala in Hebron. Personally, E**** found the depiction hopeful for how Jews and Muslims could share a religious space peacefully. The description provided, however, presented a less hopeful and more anti-Israel view of the shared site (generally, the Tate didn’t seem very fond of Israel). Regardless, I found the exhibit fascinating. A few floors up, we found an exhibit about the East Village Beijing artists and the counter-culture they fostered. The exhibit had nude photographs of members of the east village group. They were doing a lot of gender experimentation. They met in secret. They were eventually discovered and evicted. The area where they lived was bulldozed. It was very cool to see this strong counter culture art scene in China in the 90s. Of course we don’t know if anything like that still exists, since it would have to be secret. It was very inspiring.

We made our way along the south bank of the river where we saw a cool skate park with youngsters showing off their tricks. Eventually we headed to the Churchill war rooms, crossing the Westminster bridge where E**** bought more candied peanuts.

The Churchill museum was very interesting, especially the parts about his rise to power and his career after the war, since we knew less about those parts. He has a lot of funny quotes too. We spent about two hours in the war room.

Afterwards, we walked in St. Jame’s park for a bit before walking through Trafalgar Square, Leicester square, Piccadilly circus, Soho, and China town. There were tons of people walking around. From China town we went to covent garden market (where we stopped to use the restroom) and then began searching for where to eat dinner. We kept walking east until we reached St. Paul’s cathedral where we saw people being baptized. We then crossed millennium bridge, where we got s good night view of the tower bridge and the city lights reflected in the water.

Once on south bank again we stopped at an Anatolian restaurant where the food was good but the service a bit slow. We especially enjoyed a fig and goat cheese salad. From there we started walking back to the hotel passing through the empty borough market. It was chilly on our walk back so near Liverpool street station we bought a hot chocolate at a 24/7 shop. We shared it as we meandered through the streets near our hotel. It’s a lovely area for nightlife with many bars and people going out.

Eventually we got back to the hotel and planned for the next day before going to bed.

[thetrip2018]

April 7, 2023

We slept in until 10:30, got up and L*** planned out our route on our physical map. Wr began the day by taking the tube to Camden town. The train was slightly delayed due to some issue a few stops down. While we were delayed we people watched on the train. In particular we noticed a very happy young boy wearing a Pokémon baseball cap joking around with his sister. Once we got to Camden town station the escalator was broken so it was a lot of steps up to the street which was fun. The station worker at the bottom said “good way to burn off those Easter eggs!” We got a cappuccino at a cafe along the Main Street and then started walking into the market itself. E**** remembered the market as a lot of temporary stalls with some permanent stores mixed in. Now it’s the opposite with mainly permanent stalls. Nonetheless we both enjoyed walking through the crowded market and looking at the eclectic shops. At one point we stopped in a shop called Metal Rooster where E**** tried on a vibrant blue cloak fleece and some unique trousers. We decided not to purchase them though. Eventually we got hungry and bought some tofu pad thai from a vendor. It was really tasty. Due to the crowds we had to eat leaning against a wall. It turns out we were eating next to the security station and we overheard a couple reporting to the security that they had been pick-pocketed but that they had somehow caught the thief. The chain of events was unclear. The thief claimed he had found the couple’s wallet in a trash can in a store? But the security guard didn’t believe him. Eventually we carried on with our day and started walking south. E**** bought some caramelized peanuts for the both of us and we enjoyed them as we walked.

We walked through some cute neighborhoods and eventually reached regents park. There were many people out enjoying the day. We saw a lot of birds in the water feature of the park. L*** always got a kick out of hearing British people speak, especially children. At one point we heard a girl say “mummy, look at that white thing in the water” to which her mom responded “that’s a swan darling.” We walked through the park for a little while until we reached some tennis courts. There was a brother and sister playing who were maybe ten years old but they were so good (much better than me). It was impressive to watch such young people play tennis so well. Then we walked into Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. Although the roses weren’t yet in bloom it was still a beautiful park. We did a small photo shoot next to some flowering trees that were in bloom. Passed some Israeli (there were a lot in camden market as well) and E**** jumped briefly into their conversation before we walked on. From regents park we walked south until we got to Hyde park. We strolled through the park until we got to Kensington gardens. It was sunny out so we took a short nap on the grass. Eventually a couple of dogs, one of which looked like Nora, came sniffling around and woke us up. We kept walking until we reached Kensington palace. By then we really had to pee and so we began searching the park for a bathroom. it was almost like a scavenger hunt following signs to find an open bathroom. We passed the impressive king Albert monument. Eventually we found a small art gallery in the park that let us in just to use the bathroom. From there we walked south into Kensington and briefly visited the Victoria and Albert museum (on the way E**** bought another cup of caramelized peanuts). The museum had some nice sculptures and a massive chihuly chandelier (4 tons). From there we kept walking in Kensington until we got to Harrods, which we walked through briefly.

We were close to our dinner restaurant but a couple hours early for our reservation. We decided to see if we could get an earlier reservation and they were able to accommodate us for an hour earlier then our original reservation. In between we decided to walk to Buckingham palace, which we did at a brisk pace. We walked around the palace and then back to the restaurant right on time.

[it’s time for bed so I’ll finish this post tomorrow]

The restaurant, Amaya, had a tasting menu, which included many courses. Our favorites were tikka paneer (very smokey and flavorful), and Chana chaat (likewise extremely flavorful). All the dishes were delicious, including the gulab jamun dessert which L*** doesn’t usually like but she enjoyed it there. Although we arrived at the restaurant at 7:30, we didn’t finish until 10:15 so We were in a rush to get to our next event, a comedy show at Top Secret Comedy club. L***’s feet had gotten sorr and stuff as we sat and she was hobbling a bit as we left the restaurant. We caught a taxi driven by a nice driver named Ali. On the way he told us about the rigorous training to become a London cab driver (3 years and sometimes longer). Lone taxi drivers are tested to make sure they know all the street names by heart.

Ali dropped us off at the comedy show. We got in and it was already packed which was a little stressful because it was open seating. The late show is known for vulgarity and that reputation is accurate. The mc was a crude but very funny middle aged woman. Then the first comedian was a burly bisexual man who was also very funny. The next comedian was a younger woman who joked about her sexual exploits (also funny). The last comedian was Canadian and very not funny. He was simply depressing and mean and seemed to have no joy for life whatsoever. Other people laughed (seemingly drunk) but for us it was painful to listen to. Although the last comedian (if he could be called that) was a buzz kill, it was overall a good show. It was after midnight so we caught another taxi back to the hotel and got ready for bed. Overall a great day.

[thetrip2018]

New Trip: London April 2023

April 6, 2023

L*** and I are on a trip to London as a belated birthday present for her/our anniversary. We flew from DC late Wednesday night after having a Seder with L***’s family. The Lyft driver dropped us off at Dulles and we walked to our gate and boarded. We scheduled a red eye flight so we hoped to sleep on the flight. After we got on the plane, the pilot let us know that a couple hours of the flight would be turbulent. It was basically impossible to sleep (E**** may have slept). We arrived in London bleary-eyed and made our way through customs (L*** got stopped at customs but was let through soon) and onto the train. We arrived at the hotel, an old and very classy looking place with old wooden furniture, fireplaces, and fancy old times paintings on the walls. The headboard has crests on it and their are oil painting portraits in the room. The bathroom toilet has a string you pull from above to flush and you have to step on a step stool to get into the tub/shower, it’s very fun looking. E**** let the hotel know this was a birthday trip and so they put crumbled flowers on the bed cover in the shape of heart (pictured below). We showered and took a power nap. Then we went out to look for food. We shared a bowl of Ethiopian food and an overpriced cappuccino at a market that had tons of different stalls. It was somewhere in the spittlefields area. Then we walked to the Tower of London. The Yeomen Warders (aka beefeaters) give free tours, so we joined one and he yelled the history of the place at the top of his lungs. He made a lot of jokes but it was somewhat hard to understand him due to the combination of shouting and accent. At one point the warden told us about a couple from Louisiana who had asked what the bridge next to Tower of London with the two towers in it was called. He said “Tower of London.” They said, “wow that’s so cool and does it go all the way across the River?” The Tower of London at various points held prisoners and housed members of the royal family and traitors were beheaded there, including Anne Boleyn. We also saw the Crown Jewels which were very impressive and the beheading block and axe. We saw on of the tower ravens and it looked so smart and was engaging wit the people looking at it. After the tower we started walking in the direction of the theatre along the Thames. It started raining but we had borrowed an umbrella from the hotel so we didn’t get too wet. The river path was very nice and we saw several of the bridges and St Paul’s Cathedral from the outside. We eventually got to a restaurant that a friend had recommended to us: Ye Old Cheshire Cheese. It was rebuilt in 1667 after the great fire of London. The interior is dim with wooden furniture. We shared a very nice cider and E**** had fish and chips while L*** had a tomato and burrata salad. It was chilly from the rain so we also had a lemon and ginger hot tea. Although the place was a little touristy, it also really felt like a place with deep history and that local people would go to as well. After dinner we walked along the strand until we reached Somerset House where we walked in the courtyard. We then walked over to the theatre where we had tickets to see Six. We learned that the show was slightly delayed because a cast member had gotten sick and a replacement cast member needed to come down from Manchester. The show is about the six wives of Henry VIII and is styled as a rock/pop concert. It was fun even though The women’s stories are often pretty dark. One song in particular caught L***’s attention for how well it captured the objectification of Catherine Howard. After the show, we walked to the underground, and took it back to the stop near our hotel (while waiting for our train to come, a woman asked us which train she should get on a L*** gave her directions). On the way from the underground back to the hotel we saw a London fox run across the street. Overall a great day.

[thetrip2018]

Conclusion

Post by L***:

Roughly four and a half months ago I arrived in Mumbai with E**** and A*****. Our first night there, I remember feeling overwhelmed by how different things were. We didn't know how much a taxi should cost, we didn't know there were two separate airports in Mumbai, we didn't know what or how to order at a restaurant, and so much more. I was about to leave E**** for two weeks and I was very upset about separating and about how foreign things felt. Since then a lot of unexpected things have happened. E**** broke his wrist and we returned home for surgery and recovery. I learned how anxious I am about money and gradually became more relaxed about it. We almost froze to death at Thorong La Pass. In China I learned how bad my Mandarin is and how hard it is to explain vegetarianism. In Thailand we discovered another world underwater, which led us to add Indonesia to our itinerary. In Borneo we learned the treachery of leeches and mudslides. And in Indonesia we swam with countless turtles and a handful of sharks. During this trip there were a lot of highlights and just as many challenges. I learned a lot about how I cope with a variety of situations (not always well) and how to laugh at absurdly frustrating inconveniences and mistakes. I am especially grateful to have been able to travel with three different people who I love. I spent the majority of the last 5 months with E****. Thank you for taking charge when I was too tired or hungry, for being patient with me and calming me down when I was stressed out, for making me laugh and for being my home while we were so far away from home. I am sad to end this trip because I know there will never be another one quite like it, but mostly I feel lucky to have done it at all.

[thetrip2018]

Short summary of the past few days:

Before leaving Gili Air, we went scuba diving a few more times. We saw baby white tip reef sharks and on our last dive some adults too. We did a night dive off of the shore and saw a massive white eel and a coconut octopus and lots of cool fish. When we finished diving we took a boat to Bali and stayed at a hotel near the beach in Seminyak. We spent a couple of days walking on the beach and watching Avatar. We also did a sunrise hike of Mount Batur, a volcano a couple of hours away. It was very crowded but still a nice view. After Bali we flew to Jakarta and stayed for a day and a half at a nice hotel. We watched a lot of Avatar, ate good food, worked out, and got a couple's massage. Now we are at the airport waiting for our first of many flights to get home.

[thetrip2018]

6.5.2018

We did two dives today. We saw more turtles and cool other fish but there's not much to tell. The only thing of real note I can think of is that my longest dive so far was today. Underwater for 76 minutes. It has to do with how well you control your breathing. Also we were relatively shallow which means you use less air. Something I haven't mentioned before is that there is a really big mosque on the island and they do the call to prayer five times a day so that's in the background a lot. Oh also we didn't mention that yesterday when we were walking we heard some love music and I grabbed L*** midstep and started dancing with her. I hadn't noticed there was a group of people in the shadows listening to the singer and as soon as I started dancing they all clapped for us. It was really cute even if L*** was a bit embarrassed. That was yesterday though. Overall today was good. We just watched Monty python and the holy grail.

[thetrip2018]

5.5.2018

We woke up today feeling a little bit sad from yesterday so we decided to skip the morning dive and stay in snuggling and talking. We felt much happier after a few hours and decided to go find lunch and then go to the afternoon dive. Lunch was okay but we went to a different place than usual because last time our usual place wasn't so great and took forever. We think it might be front for something because they don't seemed worried about running a restaurant. After lunch we took a short nap before heading to the dive shop. We got to the dive shop early because they changed the time of the dive. Finally we headed out with two other women divers and an Indonesian instructor. The waves were really choppy which was surprising because it's been so calm until now. Emile started feeling sick on the boat ride to the site. Once we got in the ocean and sunk down beneath the surface it felt better. The site was really beautiful with lots of good coral and fish. We saw a moray that tried to bite our guides flipper. We saw all three kinds of clown fish, scorpion fish, lion fish, pipe fish, box fish, puffer fish, trigger fish, just to name a few. We later saw an octopus and a peacock mantis shrimp that looked like it was boxing. We saw little crabs crawling on sea anemones. We also saw a million green sea turtles. Mostly resting in the sun. Some swimming up for air. Some were huge and others small. They swim so gracefully. It was really amazing to be surrounded by them. At one point two of them we sort of play fighting over a resting spot and opening their mouths at each other. One turtle swimming by kicked out instructor in the head when he wasn't looking. It was pretty funny. We came up to the surface after an hour. The waves were still choppy and E**** threw up his lunch into the water. We got back on the boat and E**** felt pretty sick so we decided not to do the night dive. We showered off and went for a walk around the island. We stopped for dinner by the ocean and had veggie burgers and fries. Then we walked around more and had gross cake frosting masquerading as gelato. After that we called home and went to sleep.

[thetrip2018]

4.5.2018

We headed to the first dive and we were with a group of a German couple, an older south African man who had done more than a thousand dives and another obscure older man and a local dive guide. The site was another drift dive which I'm happy I'm getting practice with but I find frustrating because it's hard to stop and see the animals. We did see two young small white tip reef sharks though and a green turtle. Also a few other interesting fish. I reallt had to pee durint the dive but couldn't make myself go while underwater. We had a break between dives when we went to get lunch. The second dive was also a drift dive. The main site was a wreck of a barge but the part everyone was excited for was a pygmy sea horse. I guess for the people who have dived a bunch it's not so exciting to see turtles and sharks when you can see a rare sea horse but L*** and I were very underwhelmed. We could barely tell it was an animal. Anyways the wreck was really cool though. In the evening L*** and I went for a really long walk and talked about our future. We were both pretty upset and at one point ended up sobbing holding each other sitting on the beach. I don't ever really cry so it was a pretty unpleasant for me. Nothing was resolved really but anyways. We ended up falling asleep late after a draining night.

[thetrip2018]

3.5.2018

We woke up on the early side to have breakfast at the hotel before we went scuba diving. Unfortunately they took a really long time making our food and we were almost late and had to take the eggs to go in a sandwich. We made it to the scuba place and started getting our gear ready. Our instructor briefed us on the dive site and went over general procedure. The main difference at this place is that the boats are smaller so we need to roll off the side instead of stepping off. Also because the boats are smaller we only do one dive at a time and then go back to get more air tanks. There were two other people in our group, plus the instructor and someone looking into becoming an instructor at the place. The dive site was about 15 minutes boat ride away. We rolled off and swam to the front. The current was pretty strong so we hardly swam at all. We were just pushed along the whole time. It took me a while to get used to the current and to adjust my buoyancy. The visibility was amazing though. We saw a ribbon-tailed blue spotted sting ray and tons of fish and coral. After the five we had a short break for lunch, so we ate at the dive shop restaurant while our instructor debriefed the first dive and briefed us on the second dive. The second dive sight was only five minutes away quite close to the shore. There was no current which I prefer. The five was incredible especially because I got to see my first green sea turtle! He was so cute hiding under a big rock. We also saw him swim up for air from a distance after we had moved on. In addition there were many beautiful fish and we saw another stingray. After the dive we filled out our log books. Then we spent a couple of hours reading and resting in the room to escape the heat. In the evening we did a long walk around the island. We wanted to have Gado Gado at our favorite place but couldn't find it until we heard someone call out Gado Gado to us. It was one of the waiters sitting in the dark. We missed the restaurant because their power was out. We ended up eating there anyway with a little candle. After dinner we went back to the hotel to settle in for the night.

[thetrip2018]

2.5.2018

We woke up early yesterday to go for a run. We ran for a little while and it was nice but L***'s sandel started giving her a blister so we ended up walking. After walking the entire circumfrence of the island we got back to the hotel and had breakfast. Afterwards we planned on going to a cooking class but it didn't seem like we'd learn new things so instead we ended up getting massages for an hour and a half and it was only about $13 each. The masseuses were good if not the most professional. Also one of their young daughters kept walking in and they had to shush her a few times which was cute. After the messages we went and had lunch. Gadogado again. Afterwards we walked to the dive place and signed up for our dives tomorrow. We went back to the hotel and hung out and read by the pool an swam a little. In the evening we took another long walk and eventually had dinner at what is supposed to be the best pizza place here. I thought it was alright. Definitely authentic especially since the owner was a woman from venice but honestly I'm more a fan of american pizzas. It was good though and L*** and I had a nice time. Afterwards we walked back to the hotel and talked to our mothers on the phone. That's all for the day. The sunset was beautiful.

[thetrip2018]

1.5.2018

We slept in to make up for not sleeping well the night before. Then we had a small but tasty breakfast at the hotel. We packed up and walked to the harbor to take a boat to Gili Air. We decided on the slow boat because it was a quarter of the boat. It didn't end up being very slow so that was nice. When we arrived at Gili Air we walked to our hotel and checked in. It's a pretty nice place with dark wooden bungalows. The bed even has a cute canopy thing over it. Then we walked around the island to find lunch. We ended up having Gado Gado at a place that just opened and took a long time to serve us. While we waited, a difficult to understand German man started a conversation with us. He had been traveling in Asia for the last 3 years. He was somehow connected to the restaurant but not the owner. He treated us to coconuts. The Gado Gado was pretty delicious. It had tofu and tempe instead of eggs and potato which we liked a lot better. After lunch we went back to the room and read our books until the evening. Then we went for a long walk around the island. We walked by a place with a projector showing movies on the beach. We didn't want to see the movie they were showing that night but maybe another night we will go. Overall we really like how the island feels. It isn't too busy and it's pretty cute with really nice views. For dinner we ended up having Gado Gado again because the pizza place was packed. We made a reservation for tomorrow night though. While we were waiting for dinner there was a power outage on the island. They brought out candles and continued cooking. The food was delicious again. Then we went back to the bungalow and got ready for bed.

[thetrip2018]

30.4.2018 Leaving Banjarmasin

We woke up early in the morning before the sun rose and met Upik downstairs. He took us to a nearby boat (the same one as the first day) and we headed off. The sky was still dark and all the city lights reflected off the black river. With the wind on our faces I felt like we were on a secret mission. After about an hour just as the sky was brightening we made it to the floating market. It consisted of a bunch of small canoes filled with produce and baked goods and goods of other kinds as well. The canoes would come up to our boat an offer us various things (often bananas). We got some pastries and tea to start off with. Later we also got some more savory snacks. We also got to use a bathroom which was just a tin shed positioned over the river. After a couple hours we headed back to banjarmasin. It was a nice morning but I should mention that the whole time I was agonizing over my decision where to attend school next year. When we got back to the hotel I took a nap and watched brooklyn 99 and both L*** and I were annoyed with the episode. Afterwards we met back up with Upik who took us to a good lunch before taking us to the airport. At the airport we were delayed by a few hours which was annoying but eventually got on the plane. The plane was mostly empty and funny music was playing. Once we landed in Lombok we got an hour and a half long taxi to our hotel. There were certain parts while driving through the mountains that were pretty nauseating. I was pretty tired once we reached the hotel and almost immediately fell asleep.

[thetrip2018]

28.4.2018

We woke up at eight planning to start hiking around nine but we ended up waiting a while for Upik and the guys to get ready. They usually take a while longer than us since they hang around and smoke while getting things organized. Eventually we set out. The weather had stayed nice which was really great and the path was actually a path since there was a dayak village nearby. We got to the village and saw some cinnamon drying in the sun and when we stopped Upik offered for some of the local people to take our bags via motor bike to our destination that night. We accepted and I just carried a small say pack with water. We were also offered some tasty local fruit in the village I think called landsat and saw one of the porters family members cleaning rice. We kept walking and it was pretty hot but we were appreciative of the sun. This area also has far less leeches which is great since I've already pulled off something like 25 of them during this trip and dont need to see another leech in my life. We stopped for a while by a stream intending to have lunch but our porters had the gas canister for cooking and they were far behind so afte after sitting for a while we kept going. I also in the meantime made a little blow dart gun from bamboo and upik showed us a children's game. Some of the older local dayak people are still proficient at using blow dart guns with poison which is pretty cool. After a while more of walking we got to our destination which was a little hut perched on the river bank next to the harati waterfall. We went to see the waterfall too and just as we got back to the hut the rain starting coming down in a deluge so it was perfect timing. L*** read for a while and then we both napped whilst listening to the rain and roaring river which became so fast and brown with mud from the banks. We woke up after a little while and watched some Brooklyn 99 on my phone before having dinner. We are both feeling pretty disgusting from not having had a proper shower in days and everything is sticky but it was a really great day.

[thetrip2018]

27.4 2018

I woke up around 6 am to pee and got a great view of the sunrise. The views from our campsite are amazing. We slept for another hour until a big group of 12th grade boys arrived at the peak and started making a lot of noise. We decided to call it a night and start the day. We drank some tea and had breakfast, enjoying the beautiful view and great weather. The group of boys kept asking to take pictures with us which was fine the first few times but got a little tiresome. Emile was smart and had everyone take a group picture with him. The descent down the mountain was so steep we were often using our hands to grab onto tree roots and branches as much as we used our legs. It was actually pretty fun and reminded E**** and I of bouldering. We had excellent weather and we in great spirits as we hiked back down into the rainforest. When we stopped for lunch, our porters showed us how to set up an animal trap. It involves attaching a rope to a bendy tree and then creating a contraption at other end of the rope that pulls a loop of rope up around the leg of an animal if it stops there. It wasn't too complicated. It was cool to learn how they do it. At lunch E**** started to worry it would begin raining again soon and also had a ton of leeches on his feet. Also his toe is probably broken from when he snagged it on a root. Overall he started to go downhill mentally around lunch time. We started hiking again and the trail became extremely steep and muddy. We were all slipping all over the place and it got really frustrating having such little control. I also started getting really bitten up by mosquitoes. In hindsight E**** and I were both dehydrated too. We thought it would take about 2 hours to get to the campsite but in the end it was closer to 4 hours. We were not very pleased with the second half of the day, but at least the rain held off. The campsite is right next to the river so we washed off some of the sweat and mud we accumulated throughout the day. Then we had dinner and relaxed for the night.

Addition by E****:

At one point while walking along the edge of a jungle cliff L*** stepped off a tree root into some mud which immediately collapsed underneath her causing her to almost fall down. It happened to me a few times as well but to a much lesser extent. Also I did most of the steep muddy part sliding down on my butt and it wasn't so different from a waterside.

[thetrip2018]

26.4.2018

I woke up a little bit discouraged and ready for another day in the rain. Our tent kept out most of the rain at night but it was some still made it in and we felt some drops in the early morning. We dragged our feet waking up because we didn't want to set out in the rain but realized the futility of fighting it. We had breakfast (it looked to me like some of the bread was getting a little moldy). The main part was tofu and tempe. Eventually we packed up. I put the mostly dry clothes I slept in back in my bag and put on my wet clothes from yesterday that had been hanging outside (ostensibly to dry) which were completely saturated with water. It was uncomfortable to say the least but I knew better what to expect. We had a lot of elevation gain and some loss today. We ended the day about 900 meters higher than we started. It was less bad than I was expecting though. The whole morning rained which I expected but around lunch time when we made a stop, which we got to faster than I expected, the rain started to slow. We were shivering as we waited for lunch to be ready and did jumpingjacks to try to stay warm. We left a bag of stuff at the lunch site and shortly after we ate we co tied upward for about another hour and a half to the summit. As we went up the sun started coming out and I found it almost hard to believe but i was so grateful. Eventually we got over the tree line and made it to the summit and we were able to look out over all the mountains and ridges and jungle for as far as the eye could see. Many clouds were beneath us and it was a really awe inspiring sight. We layed out our clothes to dry. And while we hung out in the sun and our sleeping bags and the tent dried one of our dayak tribe porters wove bracelets for L*** and I right onto our wrists. We were very impressed by his skill in weaving though he is also excellent at setting up makeshift shelters and using his machete in the jungle. We watched the sun set beautifully. And then waited while dinner was prepared. Dinner was good but as we ate some large mice/small rats came out looking for food which freaked us out a good amount. We are still freaked out about them. Something to note for the past two days that was another factor in my bad mood and a serious annoyance to L*** as well is that because it's the rainy season there are a particularly large amount of leeches in the jungle . Both yesterday and today we have both pulled several leeches off of ourselves. They've mostly attacked my feet and legs but L*** found one on her stomach yesterday. They're hard to pull off and pretty much only die when you burn them. They are horrible. Anyways, the first part of today was rough but L*** talked to me as we walked and kept telling me stories which lifted my spirits significantly. Now we are heading to bed.

Addition by L***:

While we were having bracelets made we had a funny conversation with U***. He asked us if hippies are a problem in the U.S. and we weren't sure we understood correctly because his subsequent question was about Amish people. We also asked him about drugs in indonesia and he told us he once tried to plant some marijuana in his backyard but his mom got mad.

[thetrip2018]

25.4.2018

We slept pretty well all things considered. E**** woke me up because I was yelling in my sleep. I had a nightmare that a moose was attacking our tent with its antlers. We had breakfast and then waited for the porters to come. Once they arrived we started hiking. At one point some small children were hiking behind us which was funny. We also saw some chickens which were noticeably leaner than the chickens I've seen in the U.S. The morning was pretty warm and sunny, but by early afternoon it started raining. It didn't let up and we got really soaked. It was hard for me to see through my glasses because of the rain. E**** was wearing sandals and slipped a lot. At lunch we stopped near a beautiful waterfall. We sat under a small shelter and tried to stay warm while we waited for lunch. Our guide makes all of our food which is kind of nice but also means we have a lot of waiting time when I am used to busying myself with building a fire and cooking. After lunch we hiked a few more hours to our camp sight. Along the way we crossed through multiple streams and I fell in one of them but I was already soaked from the rain anyway. Once we made it to the campsite we changed into dry clothes and took shelter in the tent until dinner was ready. It continued raining all night. E**** was pretty discouraged and upset by the rain. I had a nice day even though I wished it would stop raining. Also our guide saw a snake eat a frog and we saw it slither away. Pretty scary.