Ruth’s visit to Indonesia

After my fieldwork in Seram and Sulawesi, I stayed on in Makassar to meet our friend Ruth from the UK. Ruth spent the summer working in SE Sulawesi as part of the Operation Wallacea project, where she was studying civets. It seemed like just the thing we’d all need after time in the forest was a weekend trip to Bali to relax and and enjoy some Western comforts.

We flew to Bali, and met Andy at the airport, then drove out to our friends Claus and Eka’s home in Sanur. Those of you who knew us in the PhD days might remember than Ruth, Andy and Claus were all unlucky enough to be allocated Lab 17 as their office in Durham, a marvelous space lacking windows and hosting the Department server. It was great to all get together again, although unfortunately Claus had to leave for a work trip the morning after our arrival.

We spent one day on Seminyak beach, enjoying lying around reading, going surfing, being brought cold beer by the guys who rent the umbrellas, and eating a good lunch in a beachfront restaurant. Ruth had her first, and probably last, avocado shake, being generally unimpressed by the combination of avocado puree, condensed milk and chocolate sauce that is this classic Indonesian drink.

Day two saw the obligatory trip to Ubud to eat health food, shop for souvenirs, and avoid the badly behaved macaque monkeys that terrorise tourists who stray too near the temple grounds. We took the scenic route back to Sanur so we could check out the famous and photogenic rice paddies before heading to Jimbaran beach for a sunset dinner of seafood and Bintang beer.

On the final morning we all had a Balinese massage and then flew back to Jakarta. Unfortunately Ruth had to be back in the UK by the end of the week so there was only time for one night in Bogor. We did the only thing to do in Bogor, a trip to Kebun Raya Botanic Garden followed by joining BogorHHH for our weekly run. Then it was off to the airport for Ruth, and home to answer a month’s worth of email for me.