Ms Nani

Introducing Ms Nani, who runs this tiny sewing shop, next to my local petrol station, just down the road. I hadn't even noticed this shop until recently, because it is only open a few days each week.

Nani and her little Singer turn out beautiful sequined blouses and other apparel that I know nothing about, in all kinds of slippery materials that I know nothing about. Her work is impeccable, judging by the string of customers that I see at her little outlet.

I have a pair of shorts, seriously damaged while blipping an awkward dragon a while back. I am no stranger to a needle and thread, in fact I can handle myself quite well, but I think I will pass this job over to Nani and pay for ten minutes of machine work, rather than spend four hours hand stitching, it takes me thirty minutes to thread the needle these days.

The Bandung story - part 12

I have been back to Pangandaran probably a dozen times, with visiting friends, family and even just for a break to get away from the city for a few days. Indonesia moves at a slower pace than the rest of the world, but Pangers takes the pace down another couple of notches. Other than getaways, the Pangers trip always includes a trip to the Green Canyon.

Normally you would arrange a guide for the day from the hotel in Pangandaran and the trip would include a visit to a campung were you could see lots of local crafts and get a feel for campung life, before moving on to the river trip. If you ever find yourself doing the canyon trip, you will need a sealable waterproof camera bag and a tripod, as the lighting is kind of cave like in places and you will have to swim to get to some of the best shots. Of course I never did, but I wasn't a blipper back then.

Spare batteries and enough memory card for several hundred photographs would be a good idea too. Hopefully I will do the trip as a blipper one day. Also, make sure you go in the dry season, for the full green effect. I have popped a few photos of the Green Canyon into folio, these were taken on a recent trip when my son John visited with his friend, Mike.

We arrived at the river to find a flotilla of hollow log style boats, with a single stabilizer beam on one side and an outboard motor steered by foot. Of course these days all the boats are fiberglass, but hollow log sounds more romantic. Thankfully, the boat had a canopy to afford my severely singed skin some respite from the ruthless rays of the sun now directly overhead.

The scenery on the river trip through the jungle was absolutely breathtaking, everything was so green, including the water. Tree snakes and lizards were pointed out on the way, enough to prevent any notions of a trek through the jungle!

I had refused to bring my swimwear, as suggested by Geoff, as I was still being a sourpuss and feeling very sorry for myself, but the cool water at the canyon was so inviting, I did not allow such minor details stop me from treating my burning body to a relaxing dip in the water. Glorious! The soggy underpants on the trip back were a small price to pay.

On the ride back to Pangers, we stopped off at a campung store and sent Rena (Geoff's wife) to buy some local fruits, thus avoiding the skin tax and enjoyed fresh lychees on the journey back to the hotel.

To be continued.

Dave