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So far, we are loving Indonesia. It is quite the adventure since it is much different from the rest of Asia. As Steve mentioned, we are having to learn the local language because few people speak English (at least here because there are not many foreigners), and getting anywhere takes time and patience, but it is fun.
Below are some pictures of our “VIP” room in the border town. Up until this point, we have been able to avoid the “scoop toilet” and “bucket shower,” but it is the only option here, even in the “superior,” “deluxe,” and “VIP” rooms. At first it took me about 3 times as long to shower, and I made such a mess of the floor without getting myself really clean, but I’m getting the hang of it now, and it is actually quite refreshing. Not to mention I probably only use a fraction of the water–very eco-friendly! We also got a kick out of the “VIP” status of our room with peeling veneer and a phone that doesn’t work but is listed as one of the perks.

Our room adventures continued in Berau where one day there was a huge rainstorm and the sewer backed up into our room! Oh well, you go with the flow. Ha ha! Besides that the power was out in the whole town which led to a 4 hour internet adventure trying to buy plane tickets in Indonesian nonetheless–hopefully we have tickets!
All-in-all it took us 3 whole days to get from the border town to our island destination (it could have been a few hours boat-ride, but we took the longer, and in theory, cheaper way). The culminating experience was taking a share-taxi from Berau to the port town where we could catch a boat to the island. When we found the taxi the driver told us the price, and we expected to leave immediately, but then we started circling the town looking for other passengers. After about a half an hour the driver said (in Indo-English), “I’m going to stop and eat. I’m hungry.” At this point I lost my patience and looked up how to say, “We go now or other taxi,” in Indonesian. What I did not understand was that in order to make the trip worth while, the taxi (an SUV), has to be completely full of people including 3 people in the trunk space! I think getting food was a way to kill time while waiting for others. When we figured that out, I had to figure out how to apologize in Indonesian. I think the result though was a more speedy process and no stopping for lunch. Instead of finding people, we found cargo; we picked up some tile, an entertainment center and some other things before heading out of town. We heard later from our Dutch friend Marcos that spent 2 hours looking for more people to fill the share-taxi with another woman and her child when the other woman finally gave up, so he was back to square one and had to wait another 2 hours to fill the taxi!
Perhaps all of this sounds frustrating or not so fun, but I’m actually having a blast. It is nice to be in a place that is not overrun with tourists, where there is still a sense of adventure, where everyone says hello to you as you pass by.