Monthly Archives: November 2005

Absence + Jetlag

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Everytime I travel and go to a place where the clocks are ahead from my point of departure, I suffer jetlag. It has manifested to me by way of not being able to sleep in the usual dreamland local time — the most common one — and eating, either too much or none at all.

I’ve read somewhere that one will be able to adjust to the local time by the time difference between the point of origin and the destination. So, for example, if I left London and went to Jakarta, then it will take my body 7 days to adjust to the local time. Haven’t been able to prove nor test this yet mainly because the length of time I stay is shorter than the supposed number of days.

But … and here is my real dilemma …

Does missing someone make jetlag worse?

I think it does.

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Spoiling by broadband

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I’m in Bandung now, which is 2 hours away from Jakarta. We left quite early — well, around 9ish — to get here before lunch. They told me that the drive from Jakarta to Bandung used to take 4-5 hours, but when the new highway was constructed, it only took us 2 hours or less. So convenient. The new highway just opened about 3 months ago. Lucky, lucky us!

The hotel we are staying at is not the same as the Le Meridien but I guess it would do. The biggest drawback is that there is no broadband internet connection. Good thing my colleagues gave me the number that I could just dial to get internet access. They said that it costs IDR9,000 per hour. That is less than $1 and even less than a quid!!! That is CHEAP!

Thing is, I’ve been so spoilt with having an ultra-fast connection. Back home in the UK, I have a 4Mb broadband connection. So, having access via dialup really feels so archaic. A friend of mine just sent an email with 50 pictures attached and I was only able to see around 10-15 because the damn thing wouldn’t download anymore! So frustrating.

Anyway, I’ll publish this now before I reach any bandwidth limits … catch you all laters!

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Indonesia, so far

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Woke up at 3pm, local time (8am UK time).

Changed into my swimming costume, put a t-shirt and cropped trousers over it and headed down to … wait, where will I be going? *Ding!* Lift is here. Ah, Le Meridien Spa … sounds enticing. Pressed the floor number and several seconds later, the door opened and I was in beauty heaven. Gym to the left, salon across and the spa on the upper level. Hmm, I thought I’d just check to see what are the available treatments and book myself for one at a later time. I asked the lady behind the counter and she suggested the Balinese Boreh:

A traditional Balinese body scrub made of natural Indonesian ingredients including ginger, alangal and rice. This treatment helps relieve muscular aches and pains and improves circulation.

Then, of course, I also booked myself for the Spa Manicure:

A hand care treatment with an aromatic salt scrub to exfoliate dead skin cells, follwed by a manicure and a hand massage.

2 hours later, my skin felt really soft, my hands were dipped in wax (always a favourite of mine!) and I had a cup of cinnamon and ginger tea. To this writing, I still smell of lemongrass and jasmine.

And since I missed breakfast and lunch altogether, I ordered a well-done beef burger to my room. Too late to go down to the poolside anyway. Then just before I sat down again to post this, I had Rendang Daging, which is braised beef with Indonesian spices, assorted vegetables (which were just string beans, by the way!) and white rice.

I did think to pop down to the lobby for a breath of different air but decided to simply stay in my room.

Tomorrow, I have to be at our office. Don’t know yet how I am going to get there. I believe that it is on the same street but I still have to check.

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