In Georgetown

... Malaysia, not D.C. Georgetown is the main city on the island of Penang off the coast of Malaysia and known for its colonial architecture. I was going to try to go to it after Kuching, but the flight times just weren't working out. Oddly enough, the arrival time that I managed to get today (6:10 pm) was actually more convenient than the one that I could get out of Kuching.

Yes, even though I had to start the day by getting up at 5am, braving a 7am flight on a blacklisted Indonesian airline (Batavia) from Banjarmasin to Jakarta, and having no onward reservations past Jakarta (I had to buy my ticket in both Jakarta and Singapore), I still managed to get into Penang with about an hour of daylight left. Since Air Asia only operates point to point flights, this means that I actually had to go through customs in Singapore, properly enter the country, buy my ticket out, and then leave less than three hours later after having been admitted. So, today's tally: 7 metal detectors/x ray machines gone through (2 at each airport, plus a third upon arrival at Singapore for whatever reason), 2 countries entered and left, and zero lost bags.

Since for whatever reason I am unable to book online, odds are I will have to do something similar when I try to leave to go back to Singapore saturday afternoon so I can take an early morning flight out to Cambodia.

I realized I promised a Yogya post at some point, and I will indeed do so, and I will also add a Banjarmasin post as well to the list of things I need to get done.

I would have loved to get caught up while in Banjarmasin, but I really couldn't because some of my independence was curtailed because of the environment and setting that I was in--I was in a somewhat rural surrounding, even though the place I was staying was actually closer to the Banjarmasin airport than the city of Banjarmasin itself, and as I don't know how to ride a motorbike, I had to be chauffeured around.

That said, the time I spent in Banjarmasin was easily the most interesting, most emotionally charged, and most genuine experience I have had in one month on the road. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but the visit was somewhat "heavier" than anticipated,

My friend who helped facilitate my visit claimed that I would get a chance to witness a unique side of Indonesia that not many foreigners ever or will ever see. She was right. I am still trying to digest all that I saw and all that I heard during the previous four days.

Unfortunately, this blog will not include the full story. Because I was in a small community, I have an obligation to respect the privacy of those who I've met and proudly consider to be friends (even though I spent less than 96 hours with them).