Pantai Siyung

Local fishing boats on the beach in the little cove where we camped (for free!).

One of many, many tiny, beautiful shells...

More local fishing boats, beached for the day.

A crazy-amazing, fire-y sunset in our little beach cove.

A small, colorful shell fragment and shard of green sea glass.

From one of the quieter areas of the cove...

This is a crab.

This is a crab throwing sand at me. Any questions?

Vacation: Gili islands near Lombok & several spots around Central Java

A coconut playing in the gentle waves off Gili Air.

View from our "hilltop villa" on Gili Gede at sunset.

Major snapping a shot of the waterfall while Scott hangs out behind it.

pretty flowers

View of the rice paddies we just hiked through on Central Java.

Sunset off Gili Air

Mie ayam "ceker" (chicken noodles w/ claw)

es kelapa mudah... "iced young coconut" A delightfully sweet and refreshing treat!

Did you know that pineapples grow as single fruits on a ground plant? (FYI.. their spiny leaves are just as prickly as the spikes on the fruit!)

Roti bakar... "grilled bread" -- toasted buttery outside with chocolate, fruit jam, or cheese (or all of the above) inside.

Taking a short trip around our bathroom floor. From a top-view, when this little slug (about 2-3 in. long) retracts its little sensor-feely extensions, it looks like a turd.

House pets & Gunung Gaja

Lounging on our window bars one morning... I named him Herbie.

flowers baskin' in the warm sun at Gunung Gaja

some sprigs of rice reaching harvest-readiness...

a lady whose ability to peruse these hills and carry large loads puts me to shame!

resourceful use of flora to shade the bike seat and paint....

a backyard visitor

A plethora of PUMPKIN...

This weekend I embarked on the adventure of cooking a pumpkin (given to us by a friend), and all the subsequent baked goods that about 7 cups of puree can make. Here's my pumpkin just after slicing it in two...

The seeds I collected while removing handfulls of inner-pumpkin glop. With some butter, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and salt, these roasted up nice and yummy...

My post-baked pumpkin flesh and puree...

Twin towers, hot potatoes, woodwork, friends & a swamp

Twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malasia

Crispy/chewy outside, soft and sweet inside... Oven-baked sweet potatoes for dinner. Amazing just-baked; no toppings required.

One of the ornate benches being made at our friend's family's woodworking company. They make wood furniture that's exported all over the world.

Two of our new Zambian friends, Boston & Febby, at our picnic dinner halfway up a dormant Indonesian volcano.

Retired riverboats at a swamp in Central Java.

Misc

Jakarta Airport, with its shiny slabs of tiled flooring.

The user-friendly smoking lounge...

Airport restaurant where we had dinner.

Our staple Sunday evening dinner place where they serve varieties of "nasi goreng" (fried rice). Here, the owner wastes no time whipping up the first orders in his large wok... Yum, random chicken parts goodness...

One of the centerpieces at a recent "farewell dinner" for some friends headed back to the States.

Anniversary vacation on Gili Air

Sunset

Sunset off the south part of the island... We walked the circumference of the island in less than 2 hrs...  That's Bali in the distance...

Again, sunset off the south part of the island, Bali in the background.

Crazy shell, still inhabited.  Some kid was hurling large chunks of dead coral at it, in attempt to break it open and look at the creature inside.

Breakfast with a view... Fruit salad (fresh papaya, pineapple, and banana or watermelon), toast with butter and jam, and Lombok coffee.  Mmmmm.

Local kids playing in the waves...

Where we enjoyed many of our meals throughout the week...

Sunrise

My temporary footprint.

Hotel greenery at sunrise, our hut in the background.

One of many interesting shells strewn across the sand.

Low tide.

We took a boat similar to this one from Lombok to Gili Air.  (After 2 plane rides, a 1 km walk, a 45 min. bus ride, a 2 hr wait and many, many price negotiations!)

View of East Java from the plane.