Our Ithacan Adventures

Another day, another day trip

Technically, this trip only took half a day, but then the title wouldn't be as clever.

Every visit to Medan we make the 45 minute or so drive out to pay our respects at my Ayea's grave site. He passed away when I was a freshman in high school in 1995. My parents didn't want me to miss a week of school so I stayed with Vi and her parents while they took Andrew for the funeral. My Ayea was a great, sweet, energetic man with a bellow of a laugh. He spoke several Chinese dialects, English, Indonesian, Dutch, and a little Japanese.

The heat was suffocating and paralyzing, but we made it out, umbrellas overhead and flowers in hand. We also saw a HUGE spider (about the size of my outspread hand) webbed between some trees.

Seeing that spider reminded me that despite the dense urban environment of Medan, Sumatra really is a jungle. When I was little, before I ever came to Indonesia, my parents would tell me "Daddy was born in the jungle!" As an imaginative little kid I had visions of him swinging on vines like Tarzan and living in tree huts.

After nearly ten trips, I still had never seen a fabled Indonesian beach. The one we drove to for lunch wasn't spectacular, but I could see my dad (not in a loin cloth) playing as a kid on it and having quite the time. It was my first Indonesian beach.

Not too shabby, they had these bungalow deck areas for rent. Too bad I could barely handle being in the shade under a fan, even at the beach. I was wearing long pants, which I never used to do in such a hot environment. But, as a grown up I am now too concerned with sunburn, mosquito bites, and the opinions of people in a conservative Muslim country to wear sundresses and shorts. Besides, when it is that hot, it really doesn't make a difference what you do or don't wear.

(Speaking of mosquito bites, I was amazed to only receive one small one the whole trip. We used to get a ton and would be rubbing our ankles together for weeks seeking relief. This trip I had no problems, perhaps because of the long pants, but also, John apparently works great as bug repellent. A mosquito was in our bedroom one night and he woke up to four bites and I woke up to none. Over the course of the trip I think he received 10-15 bites. I felt a little bad. Now he is an avid tiger balm user for post-bite treatments.)

But I digress. We were at the beach. We brought some prawns for them to cook for us, and also selected some crabs for them to prepare for lunch. At this point in the trip I was beginning to suffer gastrointestinally because of an inability to perform a certain function. So I didn't eat too much. But John, ever the foodie trooper, ate his and my portions of the lunch to the delight of everyone else.

This photo amuses me not only because my husband amuses me, but also because he looks like he is stuffed in it. He was stuffing his face, but he was enjoying it heartily to a chorus of "eat this John", "try this John", "eat more prawns John", "here's some crab John".

Prawns, Puppies, and Coconuts, Oh My!

One of our day trips while in Indonesia was to visit the two prawn farms my Uncle Christopher manages. I had been once before when I was about 8 or 9 - it was harvesting time and I have great memories of many adventures. One of those memories is of riding in a little boat in a prawn pond canal with Andrew and my cousin Michael. Andrew thought it would be funny to rock the boat, and eventually we were all in the muddy, muddy, muddy water. I screamed and hollered, but it was fun. This trip was relatively clean, in fact, I, as a female was not even allowed out onto the ponds. The workers have their own rules and my uncle wants to respect their traditions.

We arrived and a hot meal was already waiting for us, as well as a scary skinny cat that staked out under the table waiting for scraps. Cats make me nervous, so it was a nervous, but good meal.

John got to go out and look at the ponds while I stayed inside with the women folk.

 

Then we relaxed inside while my uncle took care of some business.  Some workers came in and asked us if we wanted some coconut milk to drink. We said sure. Next thing we knew, we looked over and saw one of the guys climbing the coconut tree to knock down our coconuts! My dad has a saying "Don't just sit under the coconut tree and wait for them to fall, climb up and go get them yourself!"

While enjoying our coconut milk we discovered the puppies under the building. They were a little shy. Mama brought them a dead baby chicken and they were tearing into it like true carnivores. The runt of the litter wasn't getting in on the action so I wooed him out with little pieces of coconut meat. I named him Coconut and resisted the urge to smuggle him overseas for myself. 

 

Then we drove to the second farm which was less exciting. Still it was cool to see the countryside, and expose John to the (in)famous Indonesian driving style. The farm is right on the Strait of Malacca, which was not the prettiest body of water, but nonetheless exciting to see.

Medan Meals

The main stated purpose of our trip to Medan was to introduce John to my Ayen. She lives with my Uncle Christopher and Aunt Erline. She is probably the healthiest 93 year old I know. It was a really sweet reunion and I definitely felt some peace in my heart knowing that they now have met one another.

We spent five days there, and you're probably not surprised to know that our days were largely spent eating. The thing about Medan is that there isn't much to do there as a visitor besides eat. I'll let John tell you about his first impressions of the country later. For me, the new adventure was bringing my new husband, (who had never left North America and is prone to stomach problems) halfway across the world to the developing country in which my father was born and raised.

But then, knowing John, it wasn't a huge stretch of the imagination to think that he might... just might... like the food. We took several day trips so we'll dutifully post about those next.

Our first meal was memorable because we had padang food (local Sumatran style, lots of spicy dishes) and it was my first taste of legit Indonesian curry in years. It felt like coming home. 

 

L to R: Fish head curry, padang food, fish mouth curry (so tender!)

Another morning that week we went out and had the padang food for breakfast. My father is a big time foodie, and for him, this is the best food on earth. Packed with flavor and cheap (like 25 - 75 cents a plate). In fact, the one meal he says he could eat for the rest of his life and be satisfied is nangka (jackfruit) curry. 

Here, you make your plate and then you eat it!

 

There was one food that we enjoyed on this trip that I'd never had in Medan before: sticky rice (lemung). There was one on the roadside near the house.

They are cooked in coconut milk, wrapped in a banana leaf, and stuffed into bamboo. It is best fresh (obviously) and  sliced like sushi. Then you can eat it plain, with some fruit like mango, or even with some kaya (last picture)!

Our last afternoon in Medan was literally spent driving around the city picking up food item after food item until we had a veritable smorgasbord of dishes before us at home. For my dad, normally a light eater, it was about eating as much of his childhood favorites as possible. It was also about showing his newest eating partner, John, how good food can be. I am proud to say the John completely impressed every member of my family, as well as some strangers with how well he can eat. Meaning he tried everything, ate a lot, and enjoyed it. Mealtimes with him were the kind of scenes that would bring tears of joy to any Chinese person. I think that will be my memory from this leg of our trip. Here are a few more memorable Medan meals:

 

L to R: Kway Teow (fried noodles), we ate a LOT of fried fish, beef curry with blood cubes.

On that last frenzied food searching afternoon we went by my dad's boyhood home and knocked on the door of the home of a street vendor who sells chee cheong fun. We were let into the back area of their home where they were making the noodles they would sell at night. It is a highly successful family run business. The women were making the food, the father was polishing up his cart to take it out that evening, and the kids were playing on the floor. The man's father sold it at night when my dad was a boy and was probably my favorite new thing we ate the whole trip.

They were really gracious to let us in to see their production area. We picked up several orders fresh and added them to our bounty.

We interrupt these Asia trip recaps to bring you an important announcement...

So, it is true. Our family of two is becoming a family of three.

While overseas I did my compulsive "check the SPCA website for dogs" habit. One day, in China I saw that a dog named Storm was up for adoption and his description matched our Storm. Yes, he was returned by his adoptive family because he was too hyper for them. After a lot of discussing and thinking and figuring out, we said to each other, if we get back and he is still there, we will adopt him.

So tomorrow we will go to fill out the paperwork and make him ours, officially and permanently. None of this foster stuff. Cause we are now joining the ranks of failed doggy foster parents the world over.

 

Never could quite say goodbye to our boy.

More on the Stormy story after he arrives!

Return to the Fatherland

The last time I was in Indonesia was February 2006. Ayen, (my grandmother) was celebrating her 90th birthday. I would have been highly skeptical that the next time I returned I would be married. I would have slapped you in the face and called you a liar if you told me my husband would be John. Still, this was visit number 9 or 10, but felt the most consequential. I was introducing John to Ayen and introducing him to the place where my father was born and raised. I felt responsible for his health and enjoyment in a new way.

There we were - getting off the airplane onto that all too familiar tarmac. Instantly I was afraid of the heat and the mosquitoes and the curious stares - and none were as bad as I remembered. 

Before being admitted into the terminal, we had to walk through a bizarre metal detector contraption that sprayed us all H1N1 candidates with "disinfectant". I'm not really sure what it was. I don't think they told us what they were spraying us with as we were shuttled through the device. I looked back and saw a little girl pulled through and the thing sprayed her full force in the face! Poor kid.

The next hurdle was immigration, a few yards beyond. We split up from my parents into two lines, which was our one mistake. We waited behind a tattooed and pierced European hippie couple. They went to the officer and were shortly escorted to a room behind us. My parents had already passed through to the baggage claim area which we could see. John and I stepped up to the officer's podium. He flipped through our passports and forms and wanted to know why we didn't have tickets purchased to leave the country. I tried explaining that we always buy them from a travel agent in Medan but before I knew it, we were being escorted back to that same windowless room.

After 5 tense minutes, we were rescued. But not until we contemplated silently and nervously what we would have to do to get out of this pickle. I thought in terms of excuses and explanations, John (rightly so) thought in terms of bribes. The tattooed couple had to sweat it out a little longer, I don't know if they payed the bribe. After the 5 tense minutes, we looked up and an officer came in and told us that my mom (the respectable looking white haired American) had explained (she works for the airlines, and we fly standby, a half truth) and we were free to go. 

My dad, was even more incensed than usual by the governmental ineptitude/corruption. It was my first brush with it personally, but the rest of the arrival process was pretty smooth. And before we knew it, we were on the road, and ready to eat.

31 Hours in Singapore

We sail tonight for Singapore
Take your blankets from the floor
Wash your mouth out by the door
The whole town is made of iron ore
Every witness turns to steam
They all become Italian dreams
Fill your pockets up with earth
Get yourself a dollar's worth
Away boys, away, boys, heave away
(Tom Waits)



Singapore has found a way to make cleanliness and modernity a part of the city's character. I observed this as soon as I arrived and stepped into the airport restroom.



It was around 1 am and since we did not have a hotel room, E and I checked into the airport transit hotel for a shower and 5 hour "nap" before beginning our day of feasting in a city often hailed as having some of the world's best food, combining elements of Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian,and European cuisines. First meal: Roti Prata with Curry sauce and Kopi Chino at a roadside Hawker.


 
The Singapore food scene is ruled by "Hawker" centers, large covered outdoor food courts lined with vendors sweating over their unique contributions to the myriad of sights and smells wafting through the air.

The first of these we stopped at was People's Park where the famous Lim Chee Guan has been making Bak Kwa since 1938.



Bak Kwa is a form of BBQ pork which is similar in texture to back road American Beef Jerky and just falls apart in your mouth, bursting with sweet and salty goodness. After gulping down some refreshing fruit beverages, we continued on through Chinatown to the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore where I made a friend



and so did E.


 
Then it was on to the Maxwell Street Hawker Center and a long anticipated meal: Hainan Chicken Rice, which E has been raving to me about since our first date (or at least shortly therefore). Surprisingly simple, but tender and packed with flavor, this Singapore favorite is well deserving of its reputation!

It was too hot by this time to continue our outdoor explorations so we made our way over to Singapore's vast network of indoor malls where we ate some more (after all, we only had one day to take in all the food in this foodie opus of a city!)  including one of E's childhood favorites Mos Burger (a sort of Japanese McDonald's where they had the ingenious idea of replacing buns with rice patties!) 

and various other treats like Dragon's Beard Candy. Finally, around 3 we checked into our hotel for an afternoon rest and rooftop swim. Sometime in the 6 'o clock hour (I was in too much of a daze at this point to remember when), the son-in-law of one of Yung's old school mates picked us up for a family dinner at Jumbo Seafood on the Singapore riverfront. It was a gorgeous night and I wish that I could somehow describe the details of the 3+ hour meal we had, but it seems like a dream of Tiger beer, seafood (E and I counted 11 courses including the famous chili crabs of Singapore), and distant voices calling out "Try this, John", "Finish this, John". I had no idea that those words would become a sort of mantra for my traveling colleagues for the next three weeks. But now I'm getting ahead of myself. All we have of dinner is the following video before the carnage began

  

We stumbled back to our room around 10:30, showered, packed and passed out. After what seemed like only minutes, we jolted from our beds to drive to the airport for our 8 am flight to Indonesia. The adventure had only just begun.

Stay tuned for the next installment: E's return to her fatherland.

24 Days, 700 Pictures, 7 Flights, 6 Countries, 1 Memorable Experience

The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. `Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?' he asked. `Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, `and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' (Alice in Wonderland)

Its 6 am and thanks to the jet lag I've already been up for 2 hours. We have returned to the states and find the task of summarizing the last 3+ weeks of our life a little overwhelming so we will just take the king's wise advice and start from the beginning. And don't worry, we will not make any of you look at all 700 pictures.

Let me begin by saying I have been blessed with two of the world's greatest parents. Leaving their house is never easy, but nevertheless, we departed on Thursday June 4th comforted by the fact that we would return in December (my dad would say, a few minutes from now in relative time). Since my mother-in-law is United Airlines employee of the century, we were able to fly first class to Narita, Japan.

Each one of us had our own future pod complete with a seat that turned into a bed, a private video system, and all the food and beverages our hearts desired!

Those of you who know me know I have always been fascinated by Japan. My dad and I used to watch Samurai Saturdays on IFC every week and for a couple years in college, Brian and I spent our Friday nights hanging out with check out guy, professional lady, and the like at the Japanese Market in Costa Mesa. Unfortunately, most of our time in Japan was spent sitting on the plane while the local hazmat like officials combed the plane for traces of H1N1. we had to run to catch our Singapore connection and the only picture we had time to take was on the plane. Knowing what was ahead (or at least thinking I knew), I wasn't really too depressed about it!

Stay tuned for more details in the next installment: 31 Hours in Singapore.

Summer Travels: New York - California

Our summer adventure began with five days in California with John's family. Our flight out of Ithaca was overbooked, so we waited a few hours in the airport and got some travel vouchers. All in all, it wasn't too bad. We arrived and went straight to an Angel's game. His parents planned several activities for us that were the sort of things John did growing up with them for fun. The visit was a great blend of excursion and at-home relaxation. We also ate El Cholo's green corn tamales (family favorite and wedding caterer) twice. SO GOOD.

Despite a workable lead in the 7th inning, the Angels managed to lose to the Mariners. It was a suitable ending for nostalgic purposes. John developed a love for/obsession with statistics as a young boy when he would go to games with his dad and grandpa and they would keep score together.

After a relaxing day at home, we went to Disneyland - another childhood tradition. We rode a lot of rides, explored Tom Sawyer's island, and even saw a celebrity - Denise Richards and her two daughters.

 

No trip home would have been complete without a breakfast at the Original Pancake House, where John got his favorite German pancake. Trust me, you can't keep him from his pancakes.

Also, no trip would be complete without spending some quality time with our two favorite California doggies - Lucky and Drew.

Our last day the whole family spent at Disney's California Adventure. I'd never been there before, it had a few worthwhile things, like delicious corn dogs, Soarin' Over California, and the Tower of Terror. We also had our second celebrity sighting: McLovin and his entourage!

Coming up, Singapore - Indonesia - Malaysia - China. Also, our return to New York poses a potentially big announcement! Stay tuned!

Greetings from across the Pacific

We're here, we've been here. Singapore for one day, Indonesia for five days, Malaysia for two days. Now we are in Beijing and here to stay for a while. Phew! John has about 15 mosquito bites, whereas I only have one (after 10 trips to this part of the world, a record low). However, I did have a bout of gastrointestinal problems that felt like I was on the brink of death. Nonetheless this has been a fascinating, great adventure.

Currently John is on the other side of town at a conference on Particle Systems. (what?) I'm roaming the city with my parents during the day while my little brother works. Oh, did I mention we've been eating? A lot?

Indian Food in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Full Circle: Ithaca Fest '09

Ithaca fest is Ithaca's annual celebration of well, I guess being Ithaca. Thursday night is the parade. Oddly enough, its not that different from Ithaca on a normal day. Drum circles:

Unicyclists:

Ballet dancers on Volvos:

Children plugging their ears while Timbuk3 songs are playing in the background:

People walking around waving chainsaws in the air (they're a "band" ):

Dog walkers:

and even people who love math:

Ok, they usually tend to frown on people walking around the streets with chainsaws.

Friday night begins a weekend of feasting, crafts, and good music so we made sure to get some of ours before beginning our month long expedition to the opposite end of the world. Fry bread burritos pictured below for your viewing pleasure.

We arrived in Ithaca during Ithaca fest weekend last year and it gives a nice sense of closure to our first year to see the part of the festival we missed. Tomorrow morning, we leave for California for a brief visit before making our way through Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and finally, China. I'm sure we will have many stories to tell upon our return at the end of June and many pictures of delectable delights to tempt you with, but until then we want you all to know we love you, whoever you are. Thanks for sharing in our Ithacan adventures with us!