Linda on BMW: Start of the Trip in Castellar

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East Timor, 01.Jan.2007

Ode to Indonesia

Smoke from craters and from forest

Clouds my view and dims my eyes

When it clears I find a country

Full of beauty and surprise

Volcanic mountains clothed in jungle

Sandy beaches, azure sea

Ancient temples, mosques acalling

As this country calls to me

Tough Sumatra, Batak domain

Cow horn houses, lazy lake

Orang Utan swing through jungles

Diminishing for progress ' sake

Java with its teeming millions

Spread through town and country fair

Jakarta, Jogja and cool Malang

Where student laughter fills the air

Flowering flame trees, bourgainvillea

Fragipani scent the dead

Paddi and palm in verdant valleys

Volcanic clouds drift overhead

Every village is a picture

In every field a photo lies

Lily ponds and waterfalls

Whilst at night the starry skies

Bali with its Hindu temples

Expat enclaves, tourist price

Stunning sunsets, misty mountains

Scarecrows flapping midst the rice

Laid back Lombock, rush mat houses

Horse drawn carts and waving hands

Rinjani's peaks and offshore Gilles

Sweeping bays with sparkling sands

Sumbawas road runs like a ribbon

West to East it gently winds

Stilted houses, fish farms, mountains

Grace the views on either side

Each twist and turn shows Flores' beayty

Fruit and flowers line the way

Pearl farms increase the islands wealth

And tourists dive in crystal bays

Volcanic lakes that change their colours

Bright woven cloth with patterns rare

Dark skinned folk with smiling faces

In field and forest everywhere

To Timor now that year is ending

Monsoon showers damp the day

Kupang throngs with bsuy shops

And bars where Christmas music plays

Eucalyptus now appears

As jungle thins on Eastern slopes

The border crossed, the road shows views

Of sparkling sea a long the coast

Dili bows now to the dollar

East Timor in uneasy peace

Gun toting guards from many counties

Homes in tents and UN police

Indonesia now behind me

Its many faces turned away

As New Year points a different path

I pray that I'll return some day.

With thanks to all the wonderful people I have met in this amazing country

Linda Bick  Sept - Dec 2006

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