You hear stories of tourists or foreigners getting robbed but you never think it will happen to you.  I’m too careful, you think.  I don’t frequent areas where robberies occur, you believe.  But the truth is you can get robbed anywhere whether you travel or you stay home.

Any Other Sunday

The day started the same as any other day.  It was our last Sunday in Indonesia before ending our sabbatical and flying back to the United States.

We got up a bit late and were rushing around to make Church service on time.  We had been attending the local neighborhood Church in Kopo Permai where my wife had taught Sunday school many years ago.

My in-laws had already left for the Church that they attend so we were left to lockup the house.  We locked our bedroom and then headed out the front door, locking the door and security gate behind us.  Then I spent 5 minutes wrestling with the front gate lock before it finally submitted to my will.

My wife and kids were already a block away so I ran to catch up with them.

Church service was great and we enjoyed talking with all our friends we had connected with over the course of our 3-month sabbatical.

Of course, by this time the kids were restless, hungry and wanting to go home and eat lunch so we said our goodbyes and started walking home.

The Entry

Nothing felt out of place.  It felt just like every other Sunday.  The sun was shining, people were smiling, birds were chirping.  Little did we know that things were about to change for us.

When we got back to the house some friends of ours were waiting at the gate as they wanted to visit with us before we returned to the US.

I unlocked the front gate to let everyone in and then my oldest son took the keys to unlock the front door of the house.

He struggled a bit and finally was able to unlock the door and push it open.  It made an eerie grinding sound and then got stuck partially open.

The sound didn’t quite register with me at that point but I remember thinking that it wasn’t normal because that door always opened so easily.

My wife pushed the door all the way open with it continuing to make that grinding and scraping sound.

She walked into the living room, took a few steps and then stopped.

It was then that she realized she was standing on broken glass.

Our house had been broken into.

Shock and disbelief set in quite quickly.  It then set off a cascade of thoughts in my mind that quickly raced out of control like a runaway nuclear reaction.

Were the robbers still inside the house?

My expensive camera gear!!  My laptop with all the photos I’ve taken and confidential financial information.

How did they get in?

If I catch them someone is going to either die or be seriously hurting.

We must have been targeted because we are foreigners.

How could this happen to us?

Why did this happen?

The thought that stood out the most to me like a big neon sign flashing on the Las Vegas strip was my camera and computer gear.  We had locked our room so it had to be safe.

I raced up the stairs taking 3 steps at a time to our room on the second floor not even thinking that the burglar could still be in the house.

Our door was locked, thank God!  Then I noticed the broken glass littering the floor.

Each room of the house has a door that locks with a key.  However, there is a small window above the door.  The burglar had broken these windows out and climbed up over the door to gain access to the rooms.

This is the window that was broken and what the thief crawled through to gain entry to our locked room.

Since the door locks with a key, he couldn’t simply unlock it once inside and would have had to escape the same way.

This is the size of the window the thief broke and then crawled through.

I quickly unlocked the door and opened it.  It made that same grinding sound as broken glass scraped across the marble floor.

The Aftermath

When I looked inside I saw our dresser drawers open and our things tossed everywhere.  I quickly looked to see if my laptop and camera bag were gone but miraculously both were still there right on the couch where I had left them in plain sight.

I can’t tell you the relief I felt when I saw my laptop sitting there on top of my camera bag.

I suspect the thief was either looking for a quick and easy cash grab or had possibly gotten spooked and left before he could grab them.

Knowing that the thief had not been able to take anything of real value our thoughts turned to whether the person or persons were still in the house.

We quickly did a search room to room looking to see if anyone was hiding.

We looked in every nook and cranny of that house until we got to one room that was still locked. The glass from the window above the door had been broken out.

We didn’t have a key to that room as my in-laws had not returned from Church yet so I climbed up to look through the window but I did not see anyone inside.

By now my shock was turning into anger.  I was angry that someone would violate us like this. I wanted an ass to kick.

Looking around we began to notice other things.  Some lock boxes were broken open, there were pillow cases stuffed with belongings, burglar tools were left behind.

There was also blood everywhere as apparently the burglar cut himself on the glass he had broken.  The door to our room had bloody finger prints and smears on it.

But all the valuables had not been taken.  My mother-in-laws tablet and cell phone were left lying on the floor.  There was plenty of evidence indicating that the thief(s) had made a quick departure.  Maybe they had been spooked?

In the end what was taken was $20 from my wife’s purse, a gold watch of unknown value, a Blackberry phone charger and possibly a leather belt.  Left behind were over $20K in electronics and camera gear.

However, there was a casualty.  My Lee Big Stopper long exposure filter that I had paid close to $150 for and waited almost 8 months to get had been shattered.

My poor Lee Big Stopper.

I had kept it in its nylon pouch in the dresser drawer and it had been tossed on the ground and crushed.  A small loss compared to what could have been taken but still it hurt a bit.

The Investigation

By this time the satpam (neighborhood security) had arrived and searched the house all over again. The satpam had a long piece of rebar with black electrical tape wrapped around one end.  I would hate to be on the receiving end of that.

After we searched the house and took stock of what was missing we started to question how the thief had gained entry.

All the doors were locked.  With the exception of the broken glass above two of the bedroom doors all the outside facing windows were intact.  How did they get in?

The architecture of the house is interesting.  It’s a 2 story house with 2 bedrooms downstairs, the living room and the dining room and kitchen areas.

This is the open area in the back of the house. Great for fresh air but bad for letting in robbers.

The back area of the downstairs opens up to the sky.  There is no roof over that part.  There is a tall cement wall that towers up to the second floor and has some iron security posts rising from the top of the wall and then jutting down at an angle to the small alley between the rows of houses.

Here are the security bars on the back wall to keep people from climbing over from the alley in the back.

But it became obvious that this was the only route the burglars could have used to get in.

Houses are built wall to wall in this neighborhood.  On each side of the house there is either an impenetrable concrete wall or a weave of barbed wire to crawl over.

My in-laws had been broken into before several years ago and had since installed additional security including bars on most main windows and iron security doors both upstairs and downstairs.

Behind our house was a narrow alley that is gated and locked on both ends. Across the alley on the other side was a vacant house.

This is how close the neighboring house behind us is. You don’t even need to be a circus performer to make this leap.

The satpam were suspicious that the person or persons had made entry by jumping over the narrow alley from the roof of that house.

They suspected that the person may even be holed up there so they setup a watch on the house.

My in-laws had returned home at this point and after surveying the scene called the police to report the crime. After about an hour, the police arrived on the scene.  There was a uniformed officer and a plainclothes officer who was probably a detective.

My youngest and I posing with the police truck.

They looked around a bit, made some speculations on how the burglar had made entry and then took a few tools as evidence.

No robbery is complete without a photo with the police. This officer was great and so proud that his rig was a Ford.

They also indicated that our house was targeted because I (a bule) was living there.  They had probably been watching us and knew that we went to Church every Sunday.  They were just waiting for their moment.

The Chase

Meanwhile the satpam had contacted the owner of the vacant house and requested keys so that the place could be searched.

We had seen some open windows on the second floor that led to the roof and were suspicious that the person could be inside holed up and waiting for things to calm down.

I went down to the front of the house and stood watch with the satpam and my father-in-law.  After several hours the keys arrived and the satpam along with my father-in-law started searching the house.

They headed to the upstairs where the open windows were.

Suddenly I heard a loud scream and all of the satpam came running down the stairs.  The look on their faces was pure adrenaline.

They started yelling in Indonesian and motioning that the thief was on the roof trying to cross over to our house.

One satpam took off running down the street to the other block where our house was located.  I took off running after him.

I was running in slow motion. Time stood still.

As I ran, I saw all the neighbors standing at their gates watching the scene unfold.  I remember each face that I passed.

What an uncanny sight it must have been to see a tall lanky white man running at breakneck speed, chasing after their local security guard.

I overtook the satpam quite quickly and sprinted through the neighborhood looking up at the rooftops to see if I could catch the robber hopping along the roofs.

I made it to our house and bolted inside running straight upstairs.  My wife and mother-in-law were all in a panic wondering what was going on.

“The maling (thief), the maling (thief) might be in the house!” I gasped.

My lungs were on fire and my heart was about to beat out of my chest.  I could barely draw a breath.

Then my wife told me it was all a mistake.

Apparently they had seen movement at the windows on the other house and had screamed when they saw an arm come out and a head appear.

Turns out it was only my father-in-law.  False alarm!

The Real Damage

We spent the rest of the day and night cleaning up the mess the robber had made.  To be honest we all felt a little uneasy in the house, but none more so than my kids.

They didn’t want to be alone.  They didn’t want to sleep in their beds even though it was in the same room as us.  They talked non-stop about the robber.

“What if the robber comes back?”

“Why didn’t the robber take my stuff?”

“Why did the robber come into our room?”

“Is the robber going to get caught?”

“Is the robber still hiding in the house?”

My youngest was really affected and talked about the robber all the time.  My oldest closed off and didn’t want to hear any talk of the robber at all.  When we did discuss it he got really upset and angry.

He was just really scared but didn’t want to show any fear so it came out as anger instead.

None of us slept very well that night.  I kept a stick and a hammer handy just in case the robber couldn’t resist coming back for all the expensive goodies he left behind.

We had less than a week left in Indonesia at this point.  Whenever we went out though, one person always stayed back at home.

We didn’t want to risk a second burglary.  The temptation may have been too great for whoever had violated our space, and next time they just may have brought some friends.

Always Keep it Positive

It could have been a sour note to leave Indonesia on but instead we chose not to be victims of circumstance.

Instead we chose to focus on all the amazing experiences we had there.

When you really think about it we have done something most people will never do.  We took 3 months and made some amazing experiences.

We spent 2 weeks in Bali.

Us in Bali taking a glass bottom boat tour to Turtle Island.

We ate new and incredibly delicious foods.

We grew closer as a family.

We rocked the zip lines.

We experienced all the wildlife at Taman Safari in Bogor.

We soaked in the hot springs at Ciater.

We experienced Christmas and New Years in a new culture.

We met lots of really cool people who have become our friends.

We got to spend time with family we haven’t seen in over 7 years.

We got to experience the thrill of amusement parks.

We got to eat durian.

We did too much and had too many amazing experiences to let one robber steal that from us.

You can take our money and stuff, break our windows and violate our space, but you will never steal our experiences.

Those are ours alone and you will never take them away.

Time Heals

Now that we’ve been back in the US for almost 3 months now the kids are getting back to normal.  They still talk about the robbery but they now sleep in their own beds in their own rooms.

For a time they were worried the robber would follow us back to the US.

If we have gained anything from the experience of being robbed it’s that you can never be too careful.

Robberies can happen anywhere at any time.

However, don’t let the fear of getting robbed and losing valuables deter you from making experiences.

After all, your possessions are just inanimate objects that can be replaced.

What can’t be replaced are experiences you never had because you were too afraid of being robbed or because of some other irrational fear.

So get out there and start making experiences!

How about you?  When you travel how do you secure your belongings?  Have you ever been robbed?  Share your experience below.

“Want to go soak in some hot springs?”

I was sweating profusely and answered;

“Are you crazy?  It’s freakin’ hot out, why would I want to soak in scalding hot water?”

Of course we went anyway and of course my wife was right, it was an incredible experience, especially for the kids.

Waterfalls and streams of steaming hot water to play and soak in.

It took us a little over an hour to get to Ciater from Bandung.  Our route went like this:

Kopo Permai -> Jalan Tol Pasteur -> Jalan Sukajadi -> Jalan Doktor Setiabudi -> Jalan Raya Lembang -> Jalan Tangkuban Perahu -> Jalan Raya Ciater.

The drive is very beautiful as you wind your way through the volcanic mountains surrounding Bandung and through the often foggy and misty tea plantations growing along the slopes of Tangkuban Perahu an active volcano.

Along the way we stopped for lunch at Saung Balibu and enjoyed some great Sundanese food with a view.

The view from our lunch stop on the way to Ciater Hot Spring.

Upon arrival at Ciater Hot Spring we made a wrong turn and ended up driving through the parking area for large tourist buses.  Unfortunately we got to see a problem that plagues many areas of Indonesia: garbage.

It was like everyone who got a boxed lunch on the tourist bus had simply thrown it indiscriminately on the ground.  There was trash everywhere and it stunk really badly.

So after our trash tour we finally navigated to the correct parking area, paid our entrance fee (RP15.000/person) and then purchased tickets to the hot springs at Sari Ater which is a large resort.

Joseph enjoying a good soak.

Now there are many free areas inside once you pay your entrance fee but if you want to swim in the pool or have a private soaking pool you have to pay extra for that.

We opted for all the free pools which since we were visiting on a week day were not crowded at all.

Our first stop was a small soaking pool that had an inner ring with spring water bubbling up from a small pipe.  There were a few people sitting around it as we arrived and they advised us that it was indeed very hot.

The secret they said was to get your feet and legs in quickly and to not move.  The more you move the hotter it feels.  We were told the temperature was about 46C (114F).  It certainly felt like that was the case.

When first putting my feet in the hot water it felt way too hot but once settled and stationary it was really very enjoyable.

The water is volcanic in nature and full of sulfur and other minerals like calcium and magnesium that are said to be a cure for many diseases.  We washed the water on our kid’s legs as they had been eaten by mosquito bites and possibly bed bugs.  I will say that a day later their sores and discolorations around the bites completely disappeared.

My youngest loved posing with the animal statues.

I soaked my legs in the ultra-hot water for a good 20 minutes or so and upon getting out my legs showed a noticeable line where the water had been.  My legs and feet below this line were a bright red.

A man came up to me as I was ogling my legs and wondering when the red would disappear and said the redness was a good sign of healthy circulation.

Me enjoying walking in the steaming hot falls

After our initial adventure at the first pool we walked down a path and discovered a river of steaming hot water.  I had never seen anything like it before.  It was incredible!

The water felt so good!

The boys quickly jumped in a hot pool and swam around for a bit before climbing on some rocks as water cascaded down around them.

The boys scaling a hot wet rock face.

My youngest found a spot where there was water in spigots coming out of a rock wall and he could stand there and let the hot water run all over him.

Taking a hot shower

Meanwhile I started walking up the river climbing over small waterfalls and as I climbed higher and higher the water got hotter and hotter.  Finally I could go no further as the water was just getting way too hot.

Feeling good!

We continued to wander along the paths and found more pools below some larger falls.  It’s such a sight to see large waterfalls of steaming hot water cascading everywhere.

Ciater is an area that is quite a bit cooler than Bandung and thus the hot springs actually felt really good.  It’s so relaxing to just soak and let that hot water permeate your entire body.

More soaking. The kids loved it here at Ciater Hot Spring.

If I had a flowing river of hot water flowing through my backyard I would certainly be soaking in it every single day.

Ciater Hot Spring was a hit in our book.  We loved that it was a relatively short drive from Bandung and best of all it was a place the kids didn’t complain about.

You can enjoy a few more photos over at our Flickr site in the Ciater Hot Spring gallery.

We got to take part in a great Christmas gathering in Cimahi Indonesia

Not the village people you were probably thinking of.  While on sabbatical in another country one of the best things you can do is get out there and meet people.  Lots of people!

We had a unique opportunity to meet some villagers from an area near Bandung called Cimahi.  The event was sponsored by our local Church Gereja Kalam Kudus in Kopo Permai.

The villagers from this area work as farmers, angkot drivers or have their own small businesses and would generally be considered lower income.  But as we discovered after gathering with them they have hearts that overcome any obstacle in their way.

As Christians they must worship at various members houses as they have been unable to build a Church because the local village elders have not permitted it.  It’s quite common in Indonesia to have religious tension in small villages like this.  If you didn’t know, Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim nation.

We really enjoyed hanging out with all the kids which reminded us of the kids from the Sunday school class we teach back in the US.

This gathering was arranged by our Church in order to have some Christmas celebrations and provide the villagers with necessities like cooking oil, rice and clothing.

While we would have loved to have gone to their village we ended up meeting in-between at another Church.  We were so glad that we were able to attend.

While we waited for the villagers to arrive some of the kids practiced their Christmas songs that they would perform.

So cute!

Finally the villagers arrived and we began the celebrations.  First, the pastor from the village made a few comments and then the music and singing began.  All of the songs were in Sundanese language and they were beautiful.  I have no idea what the meanings of the lyrics were but I really enjoyed the voices.

After the singing we got to eat.  We had brought some boxed meals to hand out to everyone and the villagers had brought some home-cooked food.

One lady in particular had made these skewers of meat and she took a particular liking to me and had me take quite a few skewers.  I think she thought I was too thin and wanted to fatten me up a bit.

After we ate we mingled a bit and I tried out some of my rudimentary bahasa Indonesia on them.  There was definitely a curiosity around us as we were the only “bule” or white people there and the kids took a particular liking to us and wanted to take lots of photos.

The kids were great and wanted to take lots of photos with us.

The kids after getting their Christmas gift bags.

Then we started the gift exchange and handed out Christmas gift bags for all the kids, food items like cooking oil, rice and flour and clothing.  It was just a very special time to connect with everyone.

At the very end we took a group photo and said our goodbyes.  It was a little sad because over the course of a few hours we had made these connections with people.  They felt a little like family.

The group of incredible people we got to hang out with and celebrate Christmas.

I like to think we all went home changed.  I know I did.  It’s easy for me to forget how good I really have it.  Here were people who didn’t have much, were unable to build a place of worship and yet they were some of the happiest people I’ve met.

Their voices were lifted up in beautiful music, they were thankful for what they did have and they were gracious and welcoming in offering us delicious food they had made.

And really happiness comes down to a simple choice: we can either choose to be happy or choose to not be happy.  We can see beauty in the world or we can see ugliness.  We can pursue happiness or we can choose happiness.

From my experience these beautiful people from Cimahi have chosen to be happy and see blessings every single day.  That one decision coupled with their strong faith carries them through any adversity.

If you want to listen to the beautiful music they performed check out the video below.  It’s about 30 minutes long.

We have been back “home” now for a little over 2 weeks.  The return flights were good and on one leg we even had a free upgrade into business class.  Score!!

This leg of the sabbatical has come to an end and the transition to the next leg has begun.

Leaving Indonesia was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.  It was actually not only mentally painful but physically as well.

After 3 months filled with incredible experiences, delicious food, beautiful people, culture and tropical weather and then topped off with 2 weeks on the beach in Bali it was very difficult to give that up and return to a routine we had already grown disenchanted with.

The last time we had been in Indonesia was in 2005 and we had spent 2 months there.  The time went by quickly and we never really felt like we connected with the community.  This time it was different.

This time we made lots of connections, we created a lifestyle we thoroughly enjoyed and one that we didn’t want to end.  What a difference 1 month can make in your mindset.

Transitioning

It’s been a tough transition since returning.  For one we had quite the battle with jet lag.  We were up all night and slept all day.  We’re now mostly back into a more normal sleep schedule but for 2 weeks there is was very difficult.

We have sticker shock at the markets.  While in Indonesia we were able to buy all the tropical fruit right on the street for pennies on the dollar.  Many of the fruits we enjoyed are not even available here.

We frequented traditional markets where you can negotiate the prices.  Apparently Safeway is not into price negotiation; instead you can get a club card.

I’m constantly comparing pricing on everything to what it would be in rupiah and lamenting about how I could buy a kilo of mango for what 1 cost here.  Of course while in Indonesia I compared prices with dollars with the big difference I was much happier with the price in rupiah.

It’s been reverse culture shock.  I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve wanted to drive on the left side of the road.

Back to Work

I returned to the cubicle after being away for 3 months.  As you know it was a rough journey out of the cubicle that led into this sabbatical.  But we persevered and made it happen.

I am not the same person I was when I left the cube and I’m worried that over time I will slip back into complacency rather than pursuing my dreams.  We don’t want that.  We need to strike while the iron is hot; while the sweet memories of this sabbatical are still fresh in our minds.

Next Steps

So you might be wondering, now that the sabbatical is over, what are the next steps?  What is the future of 1 Year Sabbatical?

I don’t know where this journey will lead.  We have some new plans but I’m not ready to divulge them publicly just yet.  Rest assured however that they are much bigger and more inspiring than a 3 month sabbatical.

In the meantime, as our journey continues to evolve I will be posting more stories and images from our sabbatical.  These are stories I wanted to post while in Indonesia but they had to wait because we knew that making experiences had to take priority over updating this blog.

So if you’ve been craving more from this site we will be filling your plate with much more.  I have 42 posts sitting in my drafts folder right now with stories about flying foxes, crazy food and even getting robbed!  So be prepared to laugh, cry, snort and maybe even soil your undies.

Dream, Save, Do

Dream, Save, Do is the book by my friends Betsy and Warren Talbot that we used when planning our sabbatical.

I’ve written about it before but I want to mention it again because it’s an incredibly useful tool when planning your own dreams AND it’s been updated and released in its second edition on Amazon.

So if you want a guide that will help you create a personal action plan for making your own dreams a reality then go buy yourself a copy today.  It’s a small investment on what could be the changing point in your life.

The boys enjoying some beach time at Pandawa beach in Bali.

It’s been quite some time now since I have posted an update.  You may have thought that the sabbatical was long done and finished.  But no, we are now in Bali and have been for about a week now.

So why no updates?

While this site has always been about documenting our sabbatical from start to finish and providing useful information for others who want to embark on a sabbatical of their own, the sabbatical itself has always been about the experience.  And to that end we have been having some really amazing experiences here in Indonesia.

We flew from Bandung a week ago and have been staying in places like Nusa Dua, Benoa, Ubud and Sanur.  Lots of beach time and even a few nights in the jungle.  And this family of 4 has done it without paying more than $300 on accommodations (much more on that later.)

There will be many blog posts coming later.  I currently have 34 drafts sitting in the hopper and we still have several weeks left of our sabbatical.  There is also some other news to share but we I will save that for a later date (yes, I am cruel that way but you will love what we have to share.)

So far in Bali we have:

• managed to swing 4 and 5 star accommodations using points and limited cash
• took a boat to Turtle Island and held turtles
• swam in the warm Indian Ocean (it’s like a bathtub)
• got sunburn (the tops of my feet are still red after a week)
• spent two nights at a remote villa in Madangan where we were the only people there
• met incredible people along the way like our taxi driver and hotel staff
• ate fresh seafood on the beach in Jimbaran as a thunderstorm rolled closer and lightning flashed out over the ocean
• fulfilled a dream of riding a motorcycle in Bali (didn’t wreck either)
• have eaten the most incredible food and enjoyed all the fresh tropical fruit
• ate babi guling at Ibu Oka in Ubud
• spent hours with my family playing in the pool
• evening walks along the beach
• sitting at a durian stand eating durian while everyone gawked at the bule who actually likes durian

It’s been great and I think we are all a little sad to think about it coming to a close.  Life rolls at a different pace here.  The weather is great.  The people are great. The food is incredible.  I can definitely see why people “go bamboo”.

So stay tuned for much more from our sabbatical.  I’m sorry I haven’t written more but my priorities are in having as many experiences as possible.  The writing comes second.

Cheers from poolside in Nusa Dua Bali.

Seven years ago today my Grandma, Mary Koenig, passed away at the age of 97.  She was born Sept. 14, 1908, in Kewaunee, Wisconsin.

She attended Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago. She worked as a registered nurse at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital, Wheaton College infirmary and for the American Red Cross.

There are lots of things I remember about my Grandma but this time of year probably the most memorable were her Christmas cookies and other baked goods.

One of my favorite was pretzels covered in white chocolate.  She made all kinds of cookies and fudge.  It was like a holiday smorgasbord of sweetness.

My grandma was a great lady who is deeply missed by everyone who knew her.  We played basketball, she wrote me amazing letters and cards, she loved birds and the great outdoors.  I wish I had spent more time with her.

In remembrance of my Grandma I would like to emphasize spending quality time with friends and family.  We like to think that we will live forever or that we have plenty of time but the reality and truth is we never know when our last days on earth will be.

Don’t wait to tell someone you love them.

Don’t wait to forgive a person who wronged you.

Don’t wait to act on your dreams.

Don’t wait to take a risk.

Don’t wait to start living your life.

Don’t wait to take that sabbatical.

Don’t wait to hug your kids and tell them how much they mean to you.

Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do with your life.

Don’t wait.

Don’t wait.

Don’t wait.  Because if you wait too long, it may very well be too late.

In loving memory of my Grandma, Mary Koenig – September 14^th, 1908 – December 22^nd, 2005.

How much has our sabbatical cost after 1 month in Indonesia?

We have now been on sabbatical in Indonesia for 1 month.  It’s been an incredible time so far and we’ve experienced so much already and we still have 2 months of our sabbatical remaining.

One of the biggest obstacles to undertaking a sabbatical are finances so we wanted to check in and show what our sabbatical expenses have been for this first month.

Keep in mind that these figures are based on our personal lifestyle and choices and may not be reflective of your own way of traveling or lifestyle.

We have always been concerned about whether we had enough money to fund our travels.  In fact finances derailed us the first time we attempted to take this sabbatical.

Finally we just realized that we would never feel 100% comfortable financially and that we just needed to take the leap and do it anyway.

We prepared and saved as best we could and finally we set the date, purchased the tickets and now here we are in Indonesia.

So how much has this family of 4 spent during our first month in Indonesia?  Here is the financial breakdown.

Note: We use RP9600 per Dollar as the exchange rate which has been the average rate during our month here.

Accommodation:

We have been fortunate in that for the first part of our sabbatical we are staying with family.  That means that we don’t have any expenditure on hotels or rent.

We are however, paying for Internet and the additional usage of electricity (it’s amazing how many electronic devices we have).  We also help with miscellaneous household expenses such as hiring a maid to do laundry and purchasing a refrigerator.

Food (Groceries)

We broke our food category out between groceries (home cooking) and restaurant (eating out).  Restaurant also includes to go orders that we eat at home.

We also include water in this category as we purchase potable drinking water on a weekly basis as the water here at the house is not safe to drink.

I’ve included the total we’ve spent on groceries as well as broken out a few key staple items and their cost.   This category also includes shopping at large grocery stores and traditional markets including fruit/vegetables from street vendors.

Food (Restaurant)

We have been eating out a lot, probably more than we should be but I have to admit, it’s easier, it’s generally tastier and it’s been a great experience trying new foods.  It’s also more expensive.

However, I think the experience of the various places we have eaten has been worth the expense.

Food and restaurants here as compared with the US is generally much cheaper.  As a family of 4 (six with the in-laws) we can eat at most restaurants for between $15 and $30.  That’s for 6 people.

We’ve eaten at fast food places to Sundanese (banana leaf plates and eating with your hands) to traditional restaurants where we ate in huts along beautiful bubbling streams.

I have to say that after we added up the total for eating out I was a bit shocked.  But thinking about the cool places we’ve seen and the excellent food we’ve eaten it was worth it.

Transport

We don’t drive here and rely on my wife’s father to drive us everywhere.  This guy has the patience of a Saint as he waits for us sometimes for hours.

We pay for fuel (bensin), toll roads and other miscellaneous vehicle expenses such as air in the tires.  Currently we just have vehicle expenses but when we go to Bali or Karimunjawa we will have airfare and train/bus expenses.

Clothing

We brought quite a few articles of clothing for our 3 month stay here in Indonesia but of course there are always those items that get left behind.  I forgot my sunglasses and we were in need of some new clothes like jeans and shorts.

And of course the kids wanted Angry Bird shirts that are seen just about everywhere here.  Clothing is typically cheaper here than in the US for most things and I have to say the quality seems better.

Fun

This sabbatical is all about having fun and enjoying our time here in Indonesia.  While we have been sticking very close to “home” this first month we’ve still enjoyed lots of fun activities from Taman Safari, Trans Studio and Kampung Gajah not to mention all the smaller local sights.

This will definitely increase as we travel further to places like Bromo, Bali and Karimunjawa.  Items in this category include only the entry fees and do not include any food expenses or fuel/transport expenses.

Miscellaneous Expenses

These are expenses that didn’t seem to fit into any of the categories above so I just threw them into this category.  It includes expenses such as donations, cell phone service (unlocked iPhone), stuffed bear and haircuts for the boys.

Bank Fees

Many times using your ATM or credit card will incur fees from your bank.  We didn’t have any bank fees and we won’t.  This is because we use the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card which does not have any foreign transaction fees.

We also use the Charles Schwab Investors Checking Account which offers free ATM withdrawals and no foreign transaction fees.

What this means is that we have access to our money without any additional fees.  I’ve heard stories of travelers racking up huge fees due to charges of $5 or more per transaction.

So far the only issue I have had was having my Chase card number stolen and used in Canada.  Chase customer service was awesome and dealt with it quickly and sent me a new card to Indonesia within 5 days.

That is service that keeps me as a loyal customer.  I’ve had a few ATM machines that have not accepted my Schwab ATM card but for the most part I have not had any issues withdrawing money from my account.  Most ATM machines even offer English instructions.

I highly recommend both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Charles Schwab checking account if you plan to do any long term travel.

Total for the First Month

I may have missed an expense or two here or there but the bulk is listed above.  Right now we are sitting at $1,612 (RP15.513.682) expended for the month.  That’s about $13/person per day.

It’s a little above the $1200 we initially anticipated for this first month but well within our total sabbatical budget.  We will have to watch the restaurant expenditures more closely as I am a bit surprised we spent so much eating out but I also don’t want to limit our experience here either.

This next month we have plans to travel quite a bit more so our transport costs will increase as will our eating out costs.  Still I am quite happy with our expenditures to date and the experiences they have provided us.

We will provide further financial updates after the second month of our sabbatical as well.

If you have specific questions about our expenditures or budget feel free to contact me.  I know for us when we were planning our sabbatical finances were a major part of the equation so it’s good to work those questions out early so they don’t trip you up later.

We celebrated Christmas with some villagers here in Indonesia. These kids were so great.

I woke this morning in Indonesia to learn of the tragic school shooting in Connecticut where 28 people were killed, 20 of them being children.  My first reaction was disbelief although I don’t know why.  Just a week ago was a tragic shooting at a mall in my home state of Oregon.

There was the Batman movie shooting in Colorado not long ago.  Virginia Tech still comes to mind.  Oslo Norway springs up.

After disbelief came anger thinking about the crazy person who took the lives of so many needlessly.  Anger that so many families are affected so tragically at a time when Christmas joy should ring out instead of gunshots.

Anger lead to sadness which is where my mind lingers now.  All day I thought about this senseless act.  Why?

I walked to the local store today to buy some things to make French toast for breakfast.  As I walked I crossed paths with so many different people all smiling and greeting each other with Selamat pagi! (Good morning).

I saw kids playing in the streets.  Where were their parents?  Why wasn’t an adult keeping an eye on them?

I remember my Mom telling me about a time when she had no fear letting me walk by myself to the store.  I remember growing up and riding my bike miles at a time without any fear.  My friends and I would spend all day out and about having fun.  Our parents didn’t worry too much.

Today I wouldn’t think of letting my two boys run around without an adult nearby.  Today I feel anxious when they are in school wondering if an event like that which took place in Connecticut could occur at my kids school.

What has changed?

These thoughts are in the back of my mind even as I try and comprehend this tragedy.  Could something like that happen here in Indonesia?

Different Yet The Same

Life is definitely different here in Indonesia.  The people I have met have been so welcoming and friendly.  Traffic is horrendous and yet I have not seen one incident of road rage or a single middle finger raised, and when you need help people seem to come out of nowhere to lend a hand.

It’s a different pace of life.  I don’t get the sense that things are rushed.  I could be wrong about a lot of things here but these are my own observations and feelings.

There are plenty of problems here as well.  There is poverty and inequality just as in any other nation, the United States included.  There is pollution here and the streets are often dirty.  There is religious intolerance and persecution.  These are not issues unique to Indonesia.

I think what we have to start realizing is that we are not solitary vessels floating around at sea.  We are all connected in one way or another and we are all in the same story.  Our parts may be different but the story is the same.

A little compassion, empathy and grace goes a long way to creating a better community, a better state, a better country and a better world.

Since arriving here in Indonesia and experiencing everything I have so far I’ve started to question my life.  What is it all about?  Why am I here?  How can I make a difference?

I wonder how I will ever be able to go back and sit in my tiny sheltered cubicle again.  It all seems so foreign and distant like a bad nightmare that slowly fades away leaving just a fog of thought lingering on the edges of my mind.

These recent tragedies have made me think about life, how fragile and quick it is.

We always talk about making the most of things, living each day as if it were your last, living our dreams; the clichés go on and on.  And yet we don’t act on them.  They make us feel all warm and fuzzy in the moment but we never follow through.  Maybe we think we will always have time; that something like this tragedy could never happen to us.  It only happens to other people.  What if we’re wrong?

Life is short.  We can’t afford to be wrong.

I’m not sure what I am trying to say here.  My thoughts are jumbled today and running all over each other.

Maybe this post is more for me than anyone else, just to get some thoughts out and make room for some reasoning and further thinking.  I just can’t help but think that my life has to change.  To return to everything I knew just seems wrong.

I want more than the tired American Dream.  The stuff be damned.  I can live without the big TV, the fancy cars, the big house with a white picket fence.  All of that just enslaves you.  I’ll take the simple life filled with memorable and unforgettable experiences that last a lifetime instead of eventually ending up in a landfill.

I want to spend more time with my wife and kids.  I want to travel and experience the world more.  I want to feel passionate about the work that I do.  I want to make a difference in the lives of people I meet.

I knew this sabbatical would be life changing.  I just didn’t know how it would unfold.  I still don’t.

Maybe it’s just me but we all seem to be waiting for something to change.  We wonder how events like this could happen.  And yet we never become the change we want to see. Instead of waiting for change to happen maybe we need to change ourselves rather than waiting for something to happen.

Coming up this next week is a post detailing our finances for the first month of our sabbatical.  How much have we spent and what did we spend it on?  If questions about finances have been holding you back from taking a sabbatical you should definitely check this post out.

Since it was during the week tickets were RP150.000 per person or about $15.  On the weekends the price gos up to RP200.000

The first thing the kids wanted to do was drive these mini ATV’s.  My youngest wasn’t old enough (missed it by one year) but my oldest was so he got to go around the track a few times and then drive his brother around.

My son riding his first ATV.

Both my boys riding an ATV at Kampung Gajah.

My youngest playing around at Kampung Gajah Wonderland in Bandung.

Then we went over to where we could drive these buggies around a road course.  It was my two boys and me on the open road and we opened her up and put that buggy to the test.  We all had a blast making laps around the course.

Getting our fun on at the buggy course at Kampung Gajah Wonderland

We wanted to take a turn at the tube run but unfortunately it was closed.  It looked like it might be a crazy ride and reminded me of doing the tube run in the snow at Hoodoo Ski Resort in Oregon.  The view from the top of the city below was nice.

The tube run at Kampung Gajah Wonderland. It was closed but we enjoyed the view.

So since the tube run was closed we decided to let out a little aggression on the bumper boats.  They said the kids were too young to navigate the boats by themselves so I teamed up with my youngest son and I on one boat and one of the ride operators teamed up with my eldest son.

I think they had an advantage as he knew how to adjust the speed of the motor and they were able to outmaneuver us.

Bumping it out at Kampung Gajah Wonderland, Bandung

Apparently there is a really nice water park at Kampung Gajah as well, something we were not aware of or prepared for.  Without swimming apparel we were not able to enjoy the water rides such as this one called the Tornado.  You sit in these rafts and slide down a giant water slide before reaching this tornado where you bounce around from side to side before being flushed out the bottom.

The wet and wild Tornado at Kampung Gajah Wonderland

Unfortunately, after lunch the rains started as they usually do this time of year in Indonesia.  But we made the most of it and still had fun.

One of the activities that the kids seemed to enjoy the most was driving a becak. They couldn’t get enough of it.

My kids riding around in a becak at Kampung Gajah Wonderland.

My youngest driving the becak.

It was quite the fun day and the kids really enjoyed all the fun rides.  Kampung Gajah has over 20 attractions to enjoy and is relatively inexpensive to take the family to.

If you want to see a few more photos from our adventure check out our Flickr album from Kampung Gajah.

We’ve been eating very well since arriving, trying new things and just experiencing the whole food culture.

I was first introduced to martabak back in 2001 during my first trip to Indonesia.  I was hooked with that first bite.  It’s like crack cocaine in pancake form.

In 2005 I took this photo of Toko Nikmat Andir in Bandung Indonesia which is my families favorite place to scratch that martabak itch.

It was great to go back after 7 years and see the same guy working the martabak pans and assembling them with such skill and grace.

Nikmat Andir martabak manis adalah enak sekali!!

If you are not familiar with martabak it’s basically a stuffed sweet pancake.  There is also a savory martabak but this post is all about the sweet version or martabak manis.

You can order your martabak with any number of different fillings such as banana (pisang), corn (jagung), durian, jack fruit, plum, cherry and even corned beef.  My favorite is corn, banana and cheese.

You are looking at perfection.

The pancake is made from a special batter and cooked in special cast iron pans.  The secret is in both the batter recipe and the pans themselves.  Once the pancake is cooked it is layered with your toppings.

For my favorite the corn and banana are cooked into the pancake.  Then butter is liberally added to the cooked pancake followed by a healthy dose of shredded cheese.  Then it’s all topped with sweet condensed milk.

The martabak is then folded in half and cut in half and then folded again and cut into bite size pieces and placed in a box to go.  It’s a taste of pure heaven.

So what does it taste like?  It’s hard to describe but with my favorite of banana, corn and cheese it’s like a soft moist pancake with hints of cheese and that sweetness of canned corn.  It practically melts in your mouth.

I just noticed on the box that they have a buy 10 get 1 free promotion.  At this rate it won’t be long at all before I get a free martabak.

Toko Nikmat Andir Martabak in Bandung Indonesia

If you are traveling to Indonesia stop in at Nikmat Andir in Bandung for the best martabak manis.  They are located at JL. Jenderal Sudirman No. 413 Bandung. 022.601.5386.

You will not be disappointed.  Selamat makan!