Bukit Asam Part 1

The sky is rarely clear here so the night stars would be the last thing you can see. Though flocks of fog are everywhere, it’s not cool at all. There’s rarely any breeze and since the Base Camp (the area where we live) is on top of a huge deposit of numero-uno coal, the climate is mostly warm. Put your recently-washed underwear on a table in the morning and it’ll dry in the evening. Rice crackers don’t get spoiled quickly, and best of all, you rarely sweat.

The line for cells is OK for Telkomsel and Indosat. I dunno about XL, don’t really care. It’s not my service number anyway. But, if the electricity is off, goodbye phone line. Did I forget to mention? The electricity often turns off when it rains. And I mean ‘OFTEN’.

In the entertainment department, we can enjoy cable TV with lots of movie re-runs…. You can watch the same movie three times in two days. :-) Local channels are available too and I’d love to watch the 6 o’clock news as that’s the only time for me to be able to watch it. In the afternoon, the only radio program can help you doze off. They call it ‘Gema Bukit Asam’. Similar to its ‘cousin’ (the cell line), it ‘dies’ when the electricity is off.

I have lots of DVD with me but I can’t watch them with my laptop if the electricity is dead.

What are the conclusions? First, the electricity company is afraid of the rain (that’s why they have the term PLTU = Pembangkit Listrik Takut Ujan). And last but not least, your happy side of life here seems to depend on the rain!!! When it rains, the electricity is off. And when the electricity is off, you can’t watch TV, listen to the radio or watch DVDs. Talk about being dependent,eh?

There is a special perk that you won’t find in Jakarta, though…. You get to hear the froggy choir after the rain. Tens of froggy sounds.... Sometimes, that’s all the after-the-rain lullabyI need to take me to my slumber….