Happy 4th of July!

Luwak for dinner

We had a wonderful few days in the mountains of Bali. One of our stops was at a Kopi Bubuk warung (a special kind of coffee resto-type)

As we were leaving, we spotted this young man with a gun leaving the restaurant on a mission to kill- something. So.... Josh being the curious one he is, followed him with the camera. This is what be brought back up the steep mountain. It's a luwak and they're actually very famous for their choice of coffee beans. They eat the "best beans" and then yes, after they've been eaten, some poor soul chooses those beans from the luwak waste and the coffee sells for about $8 bucks a cup. DELISH!

But this Luwak was just going to be dinner! :) They're good to eat, according to this handsome Indonesian man. I love the picture Josh got!

Day at the Beach! That lighthouse is no Cape Hatteras!

Go-carts, grilled corn, and laser tag - a WINNING combo!

Josh raced go-carts and placed 1st. Ireally enjoyed this grilled corn- though Josh was a little more cautious since he chipped his front tooth a few months ago playing futsal. We played laser tag at a place called "Batu Night Spectacular" (Batu is the name of the town, and well... you can see how spectacular it was!) Unfortunately our team lost - I think it was my fault- I kept going out into the open and got shot a lot! We were thankful that no one fell and got stitches during this round of laser tag though! (shoutout to the HSBC youth!)

Josh's first -and doubtfully his last -Football Game - also known as Soccer

Josh had a chance to go to the Persabaya Futbol game. This is the VIP section....... they had seats rather than concrete steps to sit on and there was a chain-link fence separating them from the more "enthusiastic" fans. (Phew) The score ended up being 0-0 but he had a great time!

Sweet Indo Engagement "Party"

One super hot Sunday morning, we attended our friend, Art's, traditional Javanese engagement party. We met the Guffy clan at their home, jumped in the car with them, and headed to our friend's house about five kilometers away. Once we got there we followed two bemos (short, narrow vans with bench seating around the perimeter) to the destination - our friend's fiance's house, about 20 kilometers away. It was a neat little ceremony and we're certain that our friend really appreciated us being there. It's rare that anyone other than family attend these events. It was time well spent.

Photos: (Note: the stuff the folks (and I) are wearing is as formal as a tuxedo in the States.)

1 (satu). When you're done eating, your plate goes di bawah meja.

2 (dua). Dessert. Enjoying cinnamon flavored water with ice cubes, fruit bits, and jello cubes in my best batik shirt.

3 (tiga). Betty listening carefully to the MC.

4 (empat). Key dudes. Left to right: Family spokeman, Art, Art's dad.

5. (lima). The food brigade. (Soto Ayam - kind of like chicken and rice soup.)

6. (enam). Art's mother presents the fiance's mother with one basket of several containing gifts of who knows what.

7 (tujuh). Three Muslim ladies; three different jilbab models.

8 (delapan). The spokesman for Art's family addresses the party. Don't ask me what he said.

9 (sembilan). Art gives a necklace and ring to his bride-to-be via his mother. The engaged couple are not supposed to touch one another per tradition.

This is what we thought Indonesia should look like!!!

We had a chance to travel to Central Java and get out of the city ! It was beautiful. Rice fields, mountains, and sugar cane - rather than pavement, buildings, and motorcycles.

This first picture is a few minutes from Borabudur Temple, an ancient Buddhist temple. The other photos are at Prambanan Temple, an ancient Hindu temple. The last picture is at sunrise overlooking Yogyakarta (or Jogjakarta).