A Glimpse Around Town

Having lived in Asia-Pacific for a couple of years now, a few months ago we moved to the particular island/region where we intend to live long-term. Here are a few pics to give you a peek in and around the town in which we currently live.

There’s one main road that goes through our town. Traffic is a mixture of cars, motorbikes, and “taksis.”

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This is a “taksi.” There are a ton of them that go up and down the main strip. They all are the same model vehicle, but the decals and ornaments will range anywhere from Mercedes to Nike, and there is no limit to how big the spoilers get (the one pictured is quite small. Amateur).

While the taksis are available on the main strip, people can hire an “ojek” to take them up and down the side roads. Ojecks are just motorbike taksis.

img_1912-001 — If you can’t tell from this pic, the humidity is thick! Probably the only thing thicker are the mosquitoes.

Most houses and other buildings are built with bricks and cement, painted and finished, but there is a large population of people living around the town who grew up in the mountains and only recently moved closer to town. Many of these people build their houses and plant their gardens in the same fashion as they’re used to from their village.

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“The tree in the bridge” is one of the landmarks I use when giving directions to our house. We don’t have a house number, and our street doesn’t have a name, so we’re always giving directions. I’ve actually never had someone give me a specific address, even where they do exist; a person will tell you what neighborhood they live in, then you go to that particular neighborhood and start asking around to find out which house they live in.
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I quickly learned that things like beans, flour, rice, etc. need to be frozen for a few days after you buy them. – This kills all the bugs and eggs that are almost certainly hiding in the mix (TMI? – Think of me the next time you buy your beautiful Grade A groceries).