Selamat Tinggal Indonesia

For a revised version of this post, go here.

Aug 11th, 2009 - Last day in Indo so why not throw in a couple more bizarre experiences just for good measure. There is some sort of cultural festival going on in Ubud this week. I was enjoying breakfast at a nearby restaurant when I heard a ruckus. As I peered in the direction of what normally serves as a soccer field I noticed some elementary school children were participating in a stilt race competition. Naturally, I was intrigued I so ventured out to snap a few photos. One word: Riveting.

But that was not the weird part. While I was watching, an older gentleman perhaps 50 years of age, collapsed onto the grass nearby. I’m guessing too much adrenaline. As he lay there the throngs of children turned their attention on him and ran over to have a look. I believe an ambulance was called and a few men came over to exert crowd control. After a few moments the man sat up and appeared to be alright. What really struck me as odd was that during this five minute distraction the stilt races continued even as the man lay on the ground surrounded by bystanders. I was tempted to snap a photo but at the time it was still unclear as to the status of the fallen so I deemed it inappropriate. I guess children competing against one another on wooden pegs is serious business and cannot be halted for anything.

I visited one of my usual lunchtime haunts to discover upon entering an older Asian woman sitting at a table tapping away on her laptop……with a baby monkey on her shoulder. Why not? The staff behaved as if this happens every day. That would be a hell of a promotion: Bring a monkey, get free coffee and WiFi. I stared for some time attempting to make sense of this crazy world. The woman looked like she would have been voted ‘least likely to own a baby monkey’ in high school. She was entirely too serious for a woman with a small primate crawling all over her. At one point she fed it with a bottle followed by a few crackers. Awwwwwwwww, cute. I love monkeys as much as the next guy but at a restaurant? Part of me was hoping for a surprise bowel moment right there on the table. Part of me was not. I would have asked for a photo but some things are better left unaddressed. Maybe this was the child she never had.