North through Southern Thailand...

Crossing into Thailand I was surprised that Islam was still the major religion in the very southern-most parts of the country. The further north i got, through the mountains, the more and more Buddhist it became and the less people spoke Malay (almost the same as Indonesian and my only outlet for communication as Thai is proving very hard to pick up). Things flattened out, and heated up, near the city of Songkhla and when my month of diarrhea turned into blood I was forced to seek medical treatment. My lack of communication ability and my desperate state resulted in me explaining my condition to a (very attractive) Thai nurse, in front of a waiting room full of people, by pointing out the word 'blood' in my phrase book and then motioning as though I were throwing something out of my ass! All the onlookers found this display irresistibly funny and I also couldn't hold back my laughter. Being from America I was afraid that my hospital trips were going to cost me a fortune, but the more I travel and require health care, the more I realize that health care in other countries is a service, not a business. And after 5 hospital trips, lots of antibiotics and other medicines, I.V. injections, and access to surprisingly good health facilities, I was charged a total of less than $15, a price that would have surely been in the thousands at the cheapest county hospital in the States. I can't help but wonder 'why is that?'

West Malaysia - Thai border...

I got to Medan, Indonesia and started looking for a boat to Malaysia, but the locals said that the boats were discontinued due to how cheap flights were. So I was forced to fly, which only set me back about $35. I flew to Penang which is a cool little island off the coast of mainland Malaysia with a very diverse population. From there to the Thai border only took a couple days and it was a relaxed ride with nice roads. The Thai-Malay border at the Pengkalan Hulu/Bentong crossing was extremely laid back and an effortless cross...

I love Indonesian food, but after 10 months of it I was happy for some variety in the heavily Chinese-Indian populated island of Penang. This wonderful bowl of fresh Cantonese noodles and pork sold on the street sets one back about $1

A Cantonese mother pulling huge amounts of cooked noodles out of the water while her son quickly snips them into bowls with a pair of scissors..

Reflecting on Indonesia...

Wow where/how to begin? My 10 months in Indonesia will always be remembered as a time in my life that I can honestly say that I was overly content and thoroughly amazed by a country and her beautiful people. So much so that i now, not even a month after leaving, tear up when looking at my thousands of photos of, what seems like, a lifetime of unforgetable experiences. From watching Hindu Cock fights in a Balinese Temple- to spending extended periods of time with all my friends and family in Madura and Java- to cycling alone through the mountains and jungles of Borneo and Sumatra. My time in Indonesia was spent eating amazing food and meeting people while at the same time studying language, culture and religions. Here I want to write about two of the ways in which Indonesia has most changed me as far as my character and mentality; My view of Islam and understanding the importance of the Indonesian concept of 'Sabar'', or patience.

Islam
A year ago in Australia I remeber looking at a map of Java, knowing that it was nearly %100 Islam, and being somewhat put off by that fact as though there was a serious amount of danger and risk passing through a place inhabited by Muslims. I beleived that Muslims were very judgemental, intolerant and aggressive towards Non-muslims. And if you follow the western media coverage of Indonesia (as I did) then this may be a perfectly logical fear. However, a year later I can now look back at my way of thinking in Australia and know that it couldn't be more wrong. Muslims in Indonesia are, in general of course, very kind, friendly, god-fearing, accepting and attractive (the women). In Indonesia there is virtually no crime, alcohol abuse, divorce, or premarital sex (with some rare exceptions of course) and I believe this is based moslty on how devoted they are to their faith. Even not being a Muslim myself, and when asked about my religion (everyone asks) I would either reply 'I don't have one' or 'naturalist', the people were surprisingly never judgemental of my views or tried to 'recruit' me, which I was very grateful for. And in this way my connections and friendships with thousands of Muslims in Indonesia flourished based on a mutual respect for one another. Also, interesting to note, is that in my entire time in Indonesia I never heard anyone say anything even remotely disrespectful about another faith, and Christians will often attend holiday celebrations of their Muslim friends and vice versa.. Very inspiring, the rest of the world would do well to take a lesson from Indonesia's high level of acceptance...

'Sabar'
Long before embarking on this trip, most notably while living in Chicago, I had some serious anger managment issues to say the least. Bar fights were a weekly occurrence and I was very impatient and very quick to voice my frustrations with anyone that I believed was causing them. This stemmed from the incredibly hectic and stressful (and arguably unhealthy) lifestyle that comes along with cooking in professional kitchens. Since that time I have changed completely in no small part to the patience required for long distance cycling, but most important has been the lessons of 'sabar' in Indonesia. If someone acted impatiently, had an argument or showed anger in public in Indonesia the people would just stare at them, confused- as though they had some sort of disease. So it's no surprise that in my 10 months there i can say that I never* saw a public display of anger at all. Now, if I feel those old emotions of anger and impatience brewing I immediately stop and laugh at myself thinking: 'Do I still have that disease?!'

*(With one exception: I saw a drunk guy wreck his motorcycle at 2 am in Surabaya, then an angry onlooker proceded to kick the man's teeth out on the street. They were speaking Javanese so I didn't understand anything that was said, but I assumed that the drunk guy had said something pretty disrespectful when the onlooker tried to help him.)