Still more from Asia

Hey all, Trale here making my first appearance. I agree, this is a great way for us to all keep up with each other and its sure interesting seeing all these posts!
I'm in Balikpapan now, still working for Schlumberger, lets see how long that lasts. Our client is Chevron, and I get to do quite a bit of offshore work- I like that too. Balikpapan is a center of activity for international oilfield and coal mining companies- the natural resources here are plentiful. This results in an abundance of ex-pat workers and business visitors, which in turn results in the highest prices of living of any city in Indonesia. Food prices are I would say comparable to prices in the States. The cost of housing is supposedly high too, but as I do not have anything to do with paying for my lodging I can't say exactly. I'll take this moment to note that I am only relating a fairly watered down and un-offensive version of whats really on my mind.
In general, I enjoy the environment here, and the chances for local adventure finding are phenomenal. The people that I work and associate with are ok, but too normal, and in general too focused on performance, success, financial and material achievement. Thats a big turn-off. A lot of the locals are so damn poor that all they can see about me is the sickening difference in our salary.
I am managing to keep pretty active->Basketball, Rugby, Running, mountain Biking, and I hope to soon add to that Sailing! My motor bike is finally on the way here from Jakarta- It took sometime to get the process in motion, and then to actually get the thing up here.

I really enjoyed Ramadan, and the very evident observation by many locals. Most here are Muslim and observe Ramadan- of course this makes for dangerous situations when ppl are trying to work in the sun during the day, with no drink. And usually, by the end of the day, even my co-workers who typically would sit in the office most of the time would be making sense about half the time. But, breaking fast was good, and the town was always alive with ppl celebrating and basically being jolly. Banners and signs abounded, wishing all a good month.

The pictures show the offshore production facility, and the corner of my home (on land).

Keep the posts coming!
Love Trale