Taking the "pisang" way out

So I thought that some of you might enjoy this story from a couple of weeks ago.



There are a number of choices available when I need to get from the forest to Kota Agung: super crappy bus, a rumured nicer bus, motor bike, the rare treat of a WCS car going out, or the wild card option of accepting a ride from whatever contraption passes your way.



When I came out last time I guess I was feeling inspired and a little reckless. Usually when random guys in random trucks offer me rides and try to chat me up as I walk towards the village (Way Heni) and bus stop, I only pause long enough to respond with minimalist "ke sana"s (roughly - I am going that way). But this time when a guy driving a banana ("pisang" whence title for post) truck seemed to take a pity on a clearly vulnerable massive, white woman walking alone out of the forest, I thought "What the hell, why not? Take the banana truck Alice and save yourself $3 and the discomforts of the bus." So, I hopped aboard and, after they finished loading up, we started off down the mountain. Of course as it turned out they were eventually going to Kota Agung, but not until later that night, so I would have to take a different bus once we got to the bottom of the mountain (more like a range of ridges but mountain sounds better). But still I would only have to pay $1 and it wold probably be faster, right. Well, not so much seeing as we first had to make a couple more banana-loading stops (Of course I was determined to help - there is a sort of tossing motion required for getting the giant stalks of bananas on top of the load in case you are interested or if anyone ever puts a gun to your head and says "load the bananas or die," which must have made for an interesting scene for the neighbors). After finally loading up two trucks, a larger one carrying up to 17 tons and our smaller one carrying about 5 tons, we started off. Due to steep inclines and tricky turns, it ended up being a slow procession. Often we would have to stop and wait behind while the larger truck made a pondorous climb and then signaled a honk some way ahead to give the all-clear. I also found myself getting curiously sleepy whenever we were driving close behind the 17-tons of bananas. While it is not uncommon for me to get tired during long drives, this seemed odd, more like uncontrollable passing out. I finally connected this sudden tiredness with the billows of pollution the larger truck was giving off in regular intervals. I was being semi-asphixiated by the carbon-monoxide and then releaved each time we got a little distance between the two trucks. I am sure that my brain cells are still thanking me for this. Still it may have been worth the adventure, free bananas, and (don't forget) $1 I saved. I also got to Kota Agung at least an hour later than the normal, crappy bus would have deposited me.

An angry little rant from the forest

So I have had a rough couple of weeks due to near abandonment by my assistants (1 quit, 1 never showed up for work, 1 has a sick wife - ok I can understand this because I am not a total bitch, and 1 kind of sucks in the forest - I mean even I am faster than him and have to teach him the local plant names). The other day drove me to such a frustrated state that I stopped mid-trail to write an angry composistion because I had no one to rant to except myself and my data book. Well, thanks to the beauty of today's technology and my ability to read even my crappiest and most emotionally-driven handwriting, I can now share this word-for-word with all of my friends and family, and anyone else who might stumble upon my blog from the general human populous.

“There is nothing better than starting your day at -200, -100 m (i.e., “Hell”), finding the gibbons, cutting trails up hills of rattan and impenetrable lianas with mini Swiss Army Knife scissors, knowing that there is no trail at the top, losing the gibbons as soon as they see you and run like hell, and then losing yourself and having to compass you way out to finally realize that your absentee assistant is following the wrong group after conveniently forgetting the plan you made the day before!” (July 2, 2008 roughly 9:30 am)

P.s. I am going to buy my very own "parang" (traditional machete) before returning to the forest, so that I can cut trails like a professional.