In January, 1996, after serving four years in the Army, I decided to travel South East Asia on my own.   I spent 5 months in Indonesia, mainly South Sulawesi.   Indonesia is a country of over 13,000 islands.  However, most of the islands are in remote locations, with little infrastructure.  I was asked by a small company to travel these remote islands and discover new Scuba diving sites.  During most of this time, I lived in the small village Bira (pictured on the right) with the local family, Suphering.  While living in this village I learned both the language (Bahasa Indonesia) and local customs.   I also grew to love dangdut.

My intent was to spend most of my time traveling, discovering new diving sites.  However, I got caught up in the fascinating culture and history of the East Indies.  While living in Bira, I quickly learned the local language and was soon talking to all the locals.  The anthropologist Horst Liebner was also living in the village conducting research on the seafaring lifestyle of these people.  Once my language skills had developed, I accompanied him on his research, sailing to various islands.

Two other things  fascinated me about Indonesia, its incredible fabrics, especially Batiks, and its history in the spice trade.  Batik is a traditional process of using wax and dyes to create beautiful designs, usuall for sarongs that are worn throughout the country.  Each region uses different patterns and fabrics to reflect their local culture.  I traveled all over the country researching the process of creating these sarongs.  I also spent time travelling the jungles of the spice islands.
 
 

Pictured to the left you see Suphering and family.  This is where I lived when I wasn't traveling to remote islands.  The two boys are his sons (Musah and Intar) with Musah's wife in the background.  If the house looks primitive, it was.  There was no electricity, indoor plumbing, or gas.  The village had about twenty families who made their living fishing.  The girls never left the village, they spent their days at home doing chores and  making sarongs.  The people of the village were extremely friendly and quickly adopted me.  As no one spoke English, I quickly learned Indonesian.  I loved spending time with the children, who spent their days running around the palm trees and swimming in the Ocean.  The daily diet consisted of rice and fish, with lots of fresh fruits.  One of my favorite fruits was "Kalapa Mudah" or young coconut.  The children would climb the palm trees and bring down the biggest coconuts you have ever seen.  We would then cut them open and drink the sweet juices on the inside.   Since there are no refrigerators, fish were laid out in the sun to dry.  Everyone in the village was muslim, so I quickly learned about Islam and the Koran.