Story 2 from Fall 2007 trip to Indonesia

This is an update I sent from Indonesia back on August 13. Things were going just swimmingly of course. I also posted some photos from Krui.



After several more frustrating impediments, we still have not gone to the forest. Last, Tuesday when we went to the park office in Kota Agung to get the last of the permits to enter the park we were told to come back in 6 days when the head of the office would "maybe" be back. Luca, Heather, and I spent the weekend in a coastal village called Krui, which is north of Kota Agung. Krui had a nice white sand beach and enormous waves (in a village on the way there were literally 7 meter waves). All in all it was a pretty good weekend, if you discount the sun burn I got even after applying 4 layers of sunscreen and the supposed 2 hour bus ride that turned into 6 hours of cramped and sweltering discomfort (there were even chickens riding with us). At least when we went back this morning the head of the park was there, but did not want to meet with us face-to-face. Instead, Opo (the WCS station manager) went to the back room to speak with him and the three of us were left to twittle our thumbs in the front. Good times...good times. Then, when the forestry ladies came to speak with us we were told about the new policy concerning rangers. With every foreigner you get one ranger. Now, normally we would have the great fortune of paying for a ranger everyday we are in the forest, but Opo managed to talk them down to 1 week each month at Rp 100,000 per day. Then, after complaining they came down to Rp 500,000 per month (great a 200,000 discount). All in all it sucks, but at least it looks like we will finally go to the forest tomorrow. Poor Heather will only be there for 9 days when she has to get back to Kota Agung to make a "presentation" at the forestry office (about what I have no idea) and then fly back to Jakarta to leave the country. She sure has gotten the full bureaucratic welcome from Indonesia. I will bascially empty my bank account today and tomorrow so that I have enough money to pay my personal ranger and assistants. Well, that's all for now from here. We will FINALLY be going to the field tomorrow, so I will be out of contact for a while.