The local phone company had several reps at the Pantai Laut beachside restaurant to facilitate getting the cruisers hooked with cheap cell phones, local sim cards for any unlocked cell phones, and even USB data modems for their computers. Sounds organized, huh?
But it somehow wasn't. The line was long and fed from two sides resulting in misunderstandings and ruffled feathers amongst the waiting, the cruisers anxious that they wouldn't get what they needed. And, even once you got the item you were waiting for, language issues slowed things further, since directions were in Indonesian. As much information was being shared among cruisers as was being gleaned from the company reps.
Eyeing the boxes on the table and consulting with the more technically savvy cruisers in line around me, I concluded before I even got to the table that they wouldn't have what I needed for my IPAD. (An IPad will not work off a data stick connected to its USB, and my IPAD, being a Verizon CDMA version and not an ATT SIM version cannot take an internal SIM card. (ATT SIM versions were not available in to me before our trip because of the backlog caused by Japan's troubles. Even then, there are questions about whether it would have worked here. Several fellow cruisers have them, so I'm sure to collect an answer over the next few days.))
Tom and Bette Lee had the perfect thing in Australia, a cellular hotspot which could service up to five devices via WiFi. However, it was a locked device and couldn't be used here. Our best bet was to find a computer store and buy a local version. .
Just about every cruising crew that landed on the beach was adopted by a local person to be their local facilitator/guide. This is important because Bahasa Indonesia, the national language (but actually a second language for most after their local tribal tongue) bears no resemblance to any of the international languages (English, French and Spanish) that have served us all for so many countries. There are lots of little Lonely Planet / Berlitz phrase books in evidence, but it's a long stretch from "Selamat pagi" (Good morning!) to "I need to local a computer store to get a cellular modem for my IPAD." In past years the facilitators have been students from the university seeking to practice their English.
Our guy, Ayub, however, was not a student, and in fact I did not notice anyone around who fit that description. But I think we lucked out. Somewhere in his thirties and the father of two teenagers, Ayub billed himself as a local guide who'd taught himself English from books. His enthusiasm and attentiveness was tireless, and if either of us didn't quite get the message the first effort, a couple more tries usually did the trick.
Ayub arranged a car and whisked us off on our first ride through the city. It is like entering a buzzing, humming bee-hive! The streets of Kupang are lined with storefronts jammed together whose entire front walls open up for business, the sidewalks are jammed with people, and the streets themselves are jammed with vehicles, predominantly motorbikes. The biggest motorbike Don noted might have been 200cc, but the standard was closer to 90cc scooters. Each was laden with 1-4 persons (!!) and or a huge load of stuff! They drive anywhere from 2-4 bikes abreast, weaving in and out in the same unmarked lane of traffic, and it was not unusual to have one or two on either side of the taxi at any given moment. It was damned terrifying
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