slowing it down

three nights, four days in paradise. The kind of place you take a 6 hour bus to a 1 hour ferry to get to, where beer is all black market brought over from the mainland, and the one "bar" on the island has a blazing torch on the beach and we all wait expectantly for the runabout boat with a case of cold Tiger to come restart the fun.

On our way here we encountered a regional election, green dots versus blue scales or somesuch, that jammed the roads and delayed us two hours. It was a hoot. The green dots were the Islamic party and clearly favored in this more Muslim easter region.

Yesterday we ate, swam, ate, swam, ate, drank. Basically. The island has beaches on each side- we're staying at the quieter snorkeling side of Coral Bay, as opposed to the more trafficked and swimming friendly Long Beach. We bought a flashlight and took the 10 minute walk through the jungle to cross the island and get to the "party" last night. By party, I mean tables stuck in the sand with candles and bamboo mats sprawled next to them.

Tomorrow we take a 6 hour bus to the jungle at Taman Nagara. Then an overnight train to Singapore, then the 24 hour transit home. Man, it all goes fast.