Pelabuhan Ratu Surf Weekend

Shamefully Jeff and I haven't used our surfboards since arriving in Indonesia (or in my case ever).  To remedy this we headed to a popular surf beach on Java, about 160 km south of Jakarta.  Our 3 car caravan got an early 4 AM start and enjoyed with a relatively smooth drive clocking in at about 4 hours.

Pelabuhan Ratu location on Java

We arrived at our beautiful villa on Sunset Beach and immediately propped ourselves down to stare at the enormous waves crashing just in front of us.  We watched a brave surfer tried to paddle out against the waves only to give up after being pounded relentlessly.

Enjoying the waves

View from the villa

Seeing that the waves were too big for our group of newbies + Jeff with only 1 paddling arm, we went on a mission the next day to find some anak (child) waves.  We were handsomely rewarded with an almost deserted beach, free of garbage, and full of waves just big enough to give us a rush of adrenaline.  We all caught a few waves, but only Bede our beach-raised Aussie pal managed to stand up.

Beach bums

The excitement continued when we had to get the van back up the near 45 degree rock road.  We walked up the road cheering our driver on and managed to make it out only leaving a bit of tire rubber after spinning out a few times.  We arrived back at the villa to be greeted by the delicious smells of grilled lamb leg (yes I confess I've recently become a complete carnivore) and stunning sunset.

Rubber from our tires

Trying out the HDR setting on my camera

By Saturday the waves on Sunset Beach had calmed down a bit so we all headed out to have another go.  Jeff caught a few waves which boosted his spirits and left him with a big smile the whole day.

Kowabunga dude!

Trying to stand up...

We enjoyed Brendan's fantastic homemade pizzas that night along with lots of wine and beer.  Although I went to sleep early, Jeff had plenty of fun for both of us!  He stumbled into the room at 5 AM with a scratchy voice from hours karaoke and smelling like a slab of bacon.  I won't try to describe the compromising position he was in when I woke up a few hours later, but let's just say the whole crowd loved the reenactment.  I'm still laughing about it and wondering how the heck he managed to get so tangled up.  All in all an epic weekend that was well worth the 7.5 hour stop and go drive back to Jakarta.

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Jakarta Medical Care

Over the last year we've heard a few medical stories that have been either horrific or hilarious.  Thinking this wouldn't be the case for us, we laughed them off and cringed when appropriate not thinking much about it.  The last few weeks we've both tested the level of care at the SOS Clinic where most expats go.  I went suspecting a parasite and Jeff went after a heroic Ultimate Frisbee dive  that tweaked his shoulder, the same one that fell victim to an ice skating crash on a homemade rink after a few shots of tequila.

I was the prizewinner and only had to visit the clinic twice to get the correct prescription and diagnosis.  As a bonus, I asked for Xanax to calm my recently developed flight anxiety (thanks Lion Air).  I was rewarded with a prescription after answering just 1 question - "how many do you want?"  Care-free flying here I come!

About a week later we returned after a highly competitive Frisbee play where Jeff opted to tuck and roll instead of belly-flopping onto the turf.  He heard a loud pop and knew that meant trouble.  We managed to make it home that night and headed to the doc first thing the next morning.  After a mulligan or two by the X-ray tech, he had 2 usable shots of his shoulder.  The local doctor took a 15 second look at the X-ray, concluded everything was fine, and handed us a prescription for muscle relaxants and local brand Bengay cream.  He gave no advice on icing and my probing questions about  physical therapy yielded an indifferent shrug and response of "if you want."  The doc also recommended not to move the shoulder which we later learned is a good way to extend the recovery by locking the muscles up.  

Jeff managed to survive for a few weeks and I picked up the X-rays on my next trip out to the Kemang area.  After a quick peak  it was obvious that there was a BIG difference between his two shoulders.  Why is the collar bone on the left side just floating in space while the right side look attached to another bone?  Why is there 3 times the space on between the shoulder bones on the left side?  

Jeff's X-ray.  Sorry for the building in the background, had to tape this to a window to get a picture.

That night we consulted good ol' Wiki and cringed when the first image for a separated shoulder looked the same as his x-ray.

Here's the Wiki picture of a separated shoulder

Jeff's separated shoulder

It's not all bad news though, we miraculously met a fantastic physical therapist specializing in shoulder injuries at a friends birthday party.  Jeff's just under the cusp for needing surgery.  He's working on his range of motion every night (with a little nagging from the wife) and plans to be better than new in under 8 weeks.

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Indonesian Chicken Curry - Gulai Ayam

After discussing Thai Green Curry during the AWA talk, I moved to Indonesian curries which were originally inspired by India due to the trade relationship.  These curries - kari, gulai, and Rendang have a distinct Indonesian flare because they're fiery and cooked in coconut milk.  Gulai sauce can be quite addicting and it's vibrant orange color is due to the turmeric powder and dried chillies.

First grind the paste.

Then combine the dry spices.

Fry the paste for a few minutes, add the spices, then add the chicken and lemongrass.

Coconut milk and broth go in next and the gulai is simmered until thickened.

Finally, garnish and devour.

Gulai Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Curry)

12 skinless chicken thighs or 6 breast halves

3 Tbsp oil

200 ml thick coconut milk

1-2 cups chicken broth

3 stalks lemongrass, bruised

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

Spice Paste:

15 shallots

10 dried chillies, soaked in hot water for 20 mins

1 inch galangal

1 inch fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic

6 candlenuts

Dry Spices:

1 Tbsp coriander powder

1 Tbsp cumin powder

1 tsp fennel

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 inch cinnamon stick

1.  Chop spice paste ingredients and grind into a paste, adding water if needed to keep the mix turning.
2. Combine coriander, cumin, fennel and turmeric together in a small bowl and set aside.
3.  Heat oil in wok and gently fry spice paste for 2- 3 minutes until fragrant.
4. Add dry spices and fry, stirring for another 2 minutes.
5. Add chicken and lemongrass and cook, stirring frequently until chicken is well coated with spices.
6. Add coconut milk, 1 cup broth, and salt.
7. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until chicken is tender and curry has thickened (~20 minutes).  Add additional broth if sauce becomes too thick.
8.   Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.

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Curry Cravings - Thai Green Curry

A few weeks ago Les and I did a talk for AWA (American Women's Association) where I discussed curry (Thai, Indonesian, and Indian) and she highlighted a traditional wedding she attended in India and explained the customs related to a few events.  Jeff was my guinea pig and sous chef for all the curry creations which he was more than happy to help with.  The talk went really well with only a little stage fright on my part due to the large size of the group.  To kick off the Thai discussion, I talked about a few of the popular types of Thai curry:

• Green curry is generally mild and sweet with fresh green chilies, lime leaves, and cilantro to give the vibrant green color.
• Red curry is spicy and uses fresh red chilies (both hot and mild) to give the bright red color
• Penang is a peanut curry that is creamy and mild with dried red chilies used, instead of fresh, and crushed peanut is added while the curry sauce cooks.

I went into more explanation on Thai Green Curry and gave out the recipe below.  This is an update/improvement to the traditional green curry I posted last year and uses lime leaves (one of my new favorite herbs) in the paste and more vegetables in the curry.  The method is very similar and starts with a great curry paste of cilantro leaves and roots, ginger, galangal, shallots, lime leaves, green chilies, lemongrass, garlic, salt, coriander, cumin, and white pepper.

My little Sharp grinder works better than the food processor for the paste.

Gather all the ingredients as the cooking can go pretty fast.

Fry the paste in cooking oil to help release the flavors.

Meat and veggies are added once the paste becomes fragrant.  After a few minutes add the liquids and simmer on low.   

Add the finishing flavors, plate, and garnish with herbs.

Thai Green Chicken Curry
8 chicken thighs or 4 breast halves
1 Tbsp oil
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 large eggplant chopped
1 cup mushrooms halved
1 carrot diced
200 ml thick coconut milk
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 tsp sugar (optional)
2 kaffir lime leaves torn
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 cup cilantro roughly chopped
¼ cup basil torn

Curry Paste:
4 large green chillies
4 garlic cloves
3 shallots
2 lemon grass stalks
3 kaffir lime leaves
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 inch galangal
1 inch ginger
4 cilantro roots
2 Tbsp cilantro leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper

1. Chop curry paste ingredients and grind in processor to form a paste.  Add water if needed to keep the mix turning.
2. Heat oil in wok, add curry paste and stir-fry 2- 3 minutes.
3. Add chicken, garlic, eggplant, mushrooms, and carrots and stir-fry for around 5 minutes.
4. Add the coconut milk and mix well to combine with curry paste, bring to a low simmer.
5. Add the chicken broth, sugar, lime leaves, and fish sauce.  Simmer gently until chicken is cooked and eggplant is tender, adding water according to preference.
6. Stir in cilantro and basil and remove from heat.

Note: Can be made ahead of time (through step 5) and reheated.

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Lombok Surprise Party

Part of living in Jakarta is you get to experience the full degree of stomach issues.  Generally people have traveler's sickness while on vacation, but Jeff and I have a pretty good track record of just the opposite.  It always amazes us that after a vacation of eating indulgent foods and drinking too much, we often come home only to be struck by Jakarta Belly Syndrome.  I was the victim last week which left me laying on the couch, daydreaming about our wonderful weekend trip to Lombok for Mia's 30th.    Miraculously her husband kept all the details secret including the full bar and blender he stuffed into his suitcase.  Mia was genuinely surprised as each person filtered into the airport or met her at the hotel.

Lombok is often called the unspoiled Bali

Jeff and I arrived earlier than the group so we got to do a little beach exploring before the party began. 

Biggest coconuts ever!

The next day was spent around the beautiful  pool at the Villa with plenty of drinking, beersby, swim races, and relaxing.

Mia's fan club

Then we went out for drinks and a group dinner capped off with a birthday song and delicious wine.

Despite feeling a bit rough the next morning, we all headed out for a group snorkeling/diving trip where we got to swim with a turtle and practice our water ballet.  

What a great trip, we can't wait to go back!

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Ho Chi Minh City

Jeff and I are hoping to do another overseas assignment after Jakarta, and we got the chance to check out what expat life is all about in Ho Chi Minh City.  We crashed with our good friends Clayton, Chantel, and their lab/boxer mix Ginger.  This part of the trip was less about sightseeing and more about relaxing and enjoying some time with C&C since we haven't seen them in over 2 years.  We were so busy socializing and enjoying ourselves that we completely failed to take any good group pictures.  Had we been a bit more ambitious you'd see us lounging by the pool with drinks in hand, getting a massage with G&Ts, riding bikes around the expat complex, playing corn hole, enjoying delicious wine and beer, grilling, baking cookies, and playing board games.

Beautiful street in the complex, we wish our apartment complex had streets like this!

Chantel also showed us how to make authentic Vietnamese coffee - it's almost like a personal french press only with the addition of sweetened condensed milk at the end.

Dessert in a cup

We did venture out for a little shopping at Cho Ben Thanh Market, where we stocked up on our favorite Vietnamese treat - dried, sweetened coconut strips, and found a hat for much anticipated Kentucky Derby Party.

Don't worry this is not the dried coconut

On our last day in HCMC, we made our way to the legendary Lunch Lady that Anthony Bourdain made famous in his show.  There's only 1 type of soup made each day and it varies.  We happened to show up on seafood soup day which was even better than we imagined.  Jeff was also here a few years ago and he said the price had really gone up; we paid a whopping $7 for 2 large bowls of seafood soup with fresh veggies and noodles, 6 fresh spring rolls, and 6 fried spring rolls (definitely still a smokin deal in my opinion).  

The picture hardly captures Jeff's excitement, he was like a kid on Christmas morning bouncing in his seat waiting for the soup to come.

Our time in HCMC was a perfect end to our Vietnam trip and it was so fun to compare crazy stories of living abroad.  If it was up to me, we'd be packing our bags in a few years to move to this beautiful country.

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Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

As we boarded our junk boat for a 2 night cruise, we were awestruck by both the stunning views and the number of boats loading up tourists. We enjoyed the leisurely ride out to Ha Long Bay, and then boarded a smaller boat to take us to Dau Go Cave (Cave of Wonders).  The splendor was marred by the concrete covering over many areas in the cave, but a little imagination helped us picture how amazing the cave must have been.

View from just outside the cave

Next we kayaked around the bay enjoying the beautiful sunset and challenging ourselves to paddle in a straight line.

The next morning we set of for Cat Ba were we enjoyed more kayaking and cave exploring - thankfully these ones had escaped the artistic concrete touch of Dau Go Cave. Since most tourists only take 1 night trips, we were able to get away from the crowds and enjoy the nature and peacefulness mostly to ourselves.

View from inside one of the caves

We had to cool off after our strenuous paddling

Our final stop that day was a pearl farm which was pretty unexciting until a junk boat came barreling into the dock at top speed of about 10 MPH while blowing the air horn. There were no injuries and just a few boards were damaged on the dock, but it certainly was good for some hysterical laughter afterwards.

Sunset on our last night

Our final morning we cruised back through the limestone cliffs while I took an unbelievable amount of pictures trying to get the perfect postcard scene to send our family.

It seemed like such a quick trip, but I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling in Vietnam.

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