The landscape and the people though were beautiful. I've provided a link to a little BBC news clip in which the reporter discusses the search efforts on the Ambacang Hotel, the place where we stayed while in Padang. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8286833.stm) I can't help but wonder what happened to the people we met who worked at the hotel. All of them were so friendly and helpful. I wonder what happened to the cute little desk clerk who had just finished studying English at university. She wore beautiful traditional clothes that Maureen really liked and desperately tried to find while we were there. Her dream was to save up a enough money to travel to other countries, something that she didn't know if she would ever be able to do. I wonder what happened to bell boy that bent over backwards to help us with anything we needed. He was a bit of an oddity in Indonesia. At 6ft 3in he was a giant in a land where even I am taller than most people. I wonder what happened to all the staff, the cleaners, food service, doormen..... The hotel offered swim lessons in their pool for some of the local children. The lessons were happening Wednesday afternoon when the quake struck. I've included a few pictures of happier times in Padang.
This picture was from our room in the Ambacang Hotel. I had to take it. Seeing the KFC bucket in the foreground and the tradtional Minangkabau buildings in the background typified the dilemna faced by developing countries. How do they maintain their own culture with the pressures of the western multi-national corporations? The KFC was located in the side of the hotel and was always packed. I can only imagine that it was full when the quake struck. Looking over the building you can see the Indian Ocean in the background.
The main market in Padang. Everyone was in a celebratory mood when we were there during Hari Raya.
We had a snack on the second floor of a little restaurant and watched the sun set into the Indian Ocean. The setting was gorgeous. Across the street and on the edge of the ocean little stands like the ones you see here sold local food. 
The people of the area were so relaxed and happy. They love music and it seems every young man plays a guitar. Like most people in third world countries they have much less but seem to be very content. Living on the 'ring of fire' perhaps gives them a special way of looking at the world and enjoying each day.
We drove to a little bay on the out skirts of Padang. This was a view looking at Padang through it's harbour. The main part of town is hidden by the rise on the left.
This is a view down the food stalls that line the ocean. Unfortunately the beach area in front of these was usually full of plastic and other trash.
The streets and market were full on the eve of Hari Raya. The oplets (the vans here) were jammed packed full of people heading home with their last minute purchases at the market.I have seen a more recent photo of this area and all the buildings were destroyed.
Deepavali--
We have one more week of school and then a week off for a fall break. It ends with the Indian celebration of Deepavali. Below are photos of some of the Indian mothers in the school creating these beautiful rice decorations on the floor outside the elementary school entrance.
It really is rather nice to celebrate and learn about all these cultural celebrations from other countries. I had Chinese children bring moon cakes to school for the Moon Festival on Saturday. A Korean mom brought me some glass noodle dish on Friday in honour of Korean thanksgiving (the name of which it forget now).
Maureen is in Hong Kong picking up Shirley Neil this weekend. From the text messages I'm getting it sounds like are having a blast. I went to the Malaysian Open tennis tournament last night and got to see the semi-finals where Gonzales played Verdasco. It was an incredible match.
Next weekend we are off to Vietnam for 10 days or so. We had planned to visit Hoi An and Hue in the central part but they are still mopping up from all the flooding that occurred from the typhoon so we may have to do some adjusting. I guess I'll report in my next post.
