4th Nov - Arrived in Ciabodas after a long bus ride. Stayed in a home stay which is like an Inonesian family letting you stay in their home but they have lots of bedrooms and charge you so its a business too. Was lovely and peaceful. We explored the local area including the local botanical gardens which were beautiful, waterfalls and all. Home cooked food was lovely, eating plenty of rice and chicken here!! Met Jing a chinese girl who is travelling alone and is very friendly. Also met Jajong a local who has offered to be our guide tomorrow to see some of the other attractions.

5th Nov - Early start and bus/van (like a campervan that you all pile in the back of. Door wide open and no seat belt so pretty scary at times!) took us first to 'Gazari?' and the floating village. Basically its a village on top of a large resovoir. Built out of bamboo sticks and other similar sticks to make shacks/huts and bridges between homes. Also enclosures in which fish are caught and kept as this is how they make their living. One thing I am learning is how much more self reliant and resourceful the people here are. They waste barely anything. We could learn a lot!! After this we caught another bus. Jajong was lovely and tried to make sure the locals did not rip us off. Apparently its common practice that tourists get charged a different price to locals, generally a lot more! They believe we are all rich from the western world which I suppose in comparison we are which makes it easier to handle. Its good to do some bartering too! Arrived at Geddah tea plantation only to be told that we don't have permission to watch the process of the tea being made. However, after I'd used the toilet/hole in the floor (still not used to that!) Jajong showed me in the back door of the factory so I did get a sneaky peek and picture of the process. We also had a look around the fields. The people work really hard, long hours for little pay and I don't think I would be able to do it. It was interesting to see. We did a long trek and saw other fruit and veg being grown such as bananas, green beans, onions and carrotts. Got a lift in the back of a truck which was fun, just as I was struggling to walk anymore! The heat is unbearable at times, especially when walking up a steep hill!! Ciobodas is a small place but very friendly, like most villages we've seen. Moving on tomorrow though as lots still to see.