2002-2005 (c) GetJealous.com, All rights reserved. http://www.getjealous.com/sim.mal/rss.xml This blog began in 2006 when I left Australia for a round-the-world trip with my travelling partner, Malcolm. Our adventures led us to Hanoi, Vietnam which was my home away from home for 3 years. I am now living and working in Jakarta, Indonesia, where I continue to tell my stories, as an ex-pat, which also involves plenty of travelling around Java and the Asian region. http://www.getjealous.com/sim.mal http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=638199&go=sim.mal Getting under the skin of the giant fruit they call a durian is a prickly affair. Not only is the hard, spiky exterior one that is tough to get through, but once it is pierced, it can result in one feeling a sensation of either utter repulsion or that of pure enjoyment. To those who hate the stink of the flesh of the durian, the smell is so off-putting that they don't want to get close to it, let ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=638199&go=sim.mal Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=637785&go=sim.mal Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to see live music. I'm not even that fussy about what it is, I always enjoy the buzz that comes from watching and hearing a live band play and enjoy discovering new bands to love. This weekend I really felt like I made up for lost time for not seeing any live music for a while (the house covers band at Bats doesn't count!). Hanoi's offerings in the music scen... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=637785&go=sim.mal Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=635227&go=sim.mal There is actually quite a lot to comment on about Jakarta"s cats. They are ubiquitous, as well as unique. This is because many- but not all- of the kampung kucing you see prowling the streets have wonky tails, or short tails, or non-existent tails. There are all sorts of theories about why Indonesia"s feral cats have such strange tails. Some urban myths recount that the tails are broken ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=635227&go=sim.mal Sun, 8 Nov 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=632996&go=sim.mal Indonesia"s national dress is as colourful and as sparkly as the country itself, and there is nobody who wears the traditional costume the kebaya and batik better than the ibu ibu of Indonesia. Go to any wedding, and you will find the ibu ibu, the older more mature women, dressed to the nines in an almost avante garde sequinned outfit, replete with big bouffant and sparkly jewels. Go to a for... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=632996&go=sim.mal Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=629392&go=sim.mal It has been a while between posts, as I have been BUSY! This is just a quick one that stems from something I learnt from my Indonesian lessons I have been taking.One of the things that I have come to love about being in Indonesia, is the kindness, gentless, and open-minded natures of the local people I have encountered. Something that stands out on a daily basis, is the way that most Indonesians s... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=629392&go=sim.mal Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=624902&go=sim.mal One of the things that strikes me about people everywhere, is how we all manage to pull it together to survive hardships. In poor countries like Indonesia, daily hardship is a way of life, and many things are a struggle for a lot of people. It is this struggle to eek-out an existence to survive that leads to some very ingenious ways of making money. I always found the methods people used to make o... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=624902&go=sim.mal Wed, 7 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=623687&go=sim.mal I have more up-beat blog entries in my head to write, but I have been so overwhelmed by the sadness of the earthquake in Sumatra that I am not inclined to write them. I have had to stop watching the news, as the images of the crumbled city and the grief-stricken people are just too much! I've been moved to tears several time. There are images of so many dead bodies, too many for the hospital to ev... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=623687&go=sim.mal Sat, 3 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=621731&go=sim.mal What a spectacular light and sound show I got to view from my 28th floor balcony tonight! From knowhere, it seemed to come. I sat and watched as the clouds rolled slowly in across the skyline. Then flashes of lightning filled the sky with intense, bright blue light. The lightning-filled sky was soon followed by deep rumbles of thunder from afar. Then the lightning flashes turned to intense bolts w... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=621731&go=sim.mal Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=621118&go=sim.mal If Bali is known as the Island of Gods, then surely Gili Trawangang must be Heaven itself. After 5 days on this small island near Lombok, I feel such bliss and contentment that I could die right now and that would be ok....except that I would have to hope to reincarnate to ever enjoy it all again! This divine island truly is everything that a tropical island should be, and is all that I expect hea... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=621118&go=sim.mal Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=619476&go=sim.mal I think it is interesting that every culture seems to have a festival or period of time each year where things wind down and when families and friends come together to take time out and eat, drink and be merry. In the West we have the Christmas/New Year period, in China there is the lunar new year, in Vietnam there is the similar Tet...and in Indonesia there is Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, as it is mor... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=619476&go=sim.mal Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT