Yoga

I've been home a week and have commenced the new chapter of the lifetime that I was wanting to when I left for S.E Asia. Basically, and this is an overlap from my other blog, I had been having serious problems with being/self identifying as Theravada Buddhist. Too conservative and just not interested in things like combining meditation and lifestyle. Also my being an Aspergers and that aforementioned conservatism didn't really work that well.

Any way, the recitation of the soap opera over, I have added yoga, weights and Kegel exercises to my morning routine. I'm performing Sun Salutations for the moment. This week it has been one Salutation...which means I salute with both my left and right sides...so two complete sets of asana.

Next week I will perform two Salutations and the week after three until a maximum of five is reached.
I'm back watching my diet...essentially the same diet as I had before we left for overseas. I did manage to lose an extra 3 kg, which makes me 97 kg. I would have lost more weight if a tablespoon of sugar wasn't added to absolutely every drink. Didn't like Indonesian beer which was the happy combination of being bad & expensive.

The weights take three forms: the lighter 5 kg dumbells in the morning and the 10 kg & 20 kg sets in the evening. Just realised that I have a 20 kg weight with handles that I an lift as well...may as well use it.
The goal is being at 90 kg by my birthday in May. I went to my GP yesterday and he's increasingly happy with my progress. So's the wife.
Must go...I need to go to a farmers market to buy fruit.

Indonesia

I have actually returned home to Australia. Indonesia was such a head space.

Jakarta we simply hated, It is big, polluted, overcrowded and utterly bereft of both charm and urban planning. Jakarta, fortunately, is NOT Indonesia.

Indonesia is a place of dramatic landscapes and people. We visited Java and Bali and neither one of them is Indonesia. I had the view before my visit, that Indonesia is an idea rather than a nation. I still think this is true. Indonesia is such an incredibly diverse place that no single place or idea defines itself as "Indonesia". Even Bahasa Indonesia is a construct....there are enough words borrowed from elsewhere to keep anyone happy and the borrowing is ongoing. Indonesia is a collective agreement.

The landscapes are just breath taking. The train station at Banyuwangibaru has two volcanoes as a backdrop. Endless emerald rice paddies and then straight up out of the ground volcanoes. Mosques scattered like confetti through the landscape.

The people are amazing. The Javanese is very different from the Balinese. No dogs on Java due to Islam and on Bali, they're every where. The Javanese are quieter and more disciplined, the Balinese louder and more passionate. Both are deeply musical. Both seriously attractive.

Jet lagged at the moment. More time to reflect is needed.