Surabaya, Java, Indonesia

My watch had decided to give up, I assume from the humidity. I had the clock on my phone set an hour earlier than it was (time's not so important when travelling!), so randomly glancing at a clock 2 hours before my flight was due to leave was a blessing. I had to fly to KL first. For some reason I used up the last of my Ringgits on 5 milka chocolate bars, which were all eaten in the two following days. On the plane was a strange Englishman - young but weary looking - he told me his life story in under five minutes. Said he had a worm in his arm and wanted to see a doctor in KL. Off the plane and on the taxiway tarmac he sparked a cigarette immediately (the ground crew didn't seem to mind) then dashed off somewhere. I later saw him, still, in KL airport, speaking to an official. At the bag carousel the luggage came - people collected them and left. All bags gone the carousel stopped and I stood alone. At the Air Asia lost property desk I told them what had happened and they produced my bag from behind the counter, saying that it had arrived on an earlier flight! Wtf - I'd only arrived an hour and a half before the flight! I wondered off, bemused. It was now 3am and my connecting flight to Indonesia was at 7am.

Air Asia - a fine budget airline

The next flight was tiring. I kept dozing off on the plane, that dozing where you jump, and make loud noises - waking yourself up! Eventually we arrive, and I avoid the airport taxi's and get a city cab from the departure drop-off. The traffic in Surabaya is horrendous - I can really feel Indonesia as the 4th most populous place on the planet. I'd chosen a hostel called "Ikurus to Live". The taxi driver spoke no English but seemed to know the address and we eventually arrive.

It's listed as a homestay but apart from the fact the owners are living somewhere in the building it's more like a posh hostel, or not so posh hotel. It's quite slick, with marble floors, posh paintings and even the water butt has a embroidered cover! The dorm room has three very comfortable beds, right  next to each other. I have the room to myself. The staff (owners?) speak no English - only one girl speaks a small amount. Outside of the hostel is normal for this part of the world :)

English is rarely spoken, other than hello and bye bye, especially out of the cities. Lucky for me Indonesian (Bahasa) is VERY similar to Malay (where I just came from), and is an extremely easy language to learn - there's no tenses, no gender and no conjugation. For plural (or to stress) the same word is said twice. Here's a few basics that you can almost live by (until they come back with a lightning fast sentence, assuming you can speak Bahasa!).

Hallo
Ya - Yes
Tidak - No
Tolong - Please
Terima Khasi - Thank you
Nama saya - My name is...
Berapa - How many / how much?
Apa - What
Di Mana - Where
Kapan - When
Makanan - Food
Minum - Drink
Kopi - Coffee
Teh - Tea
Ayam - Chicken (careful not to order Ayan - epilepsy!)
Bakmi - Noodle
Goreng - Fried
Beras - Rice
1 - Satu
2 - Duo
3 - Tiga