The welcome ceremony at Lowoleba was interesting. We were all ashore at 0730, the "buses" were there but did not leave for another 30 minutes. No explanation. 100 yards down the road and they stop for fuel. Then one hour 45 minutes of total discomfort on the worst roads you can imagine. A long wait for a short ceremony followed by a dangerous boat ride across to a beach. A one hour wait was rewarded by one hour and 25 minutes of speeches all in Indonesian. Back to the village for a display of of the most boring dancing I have ever witnessed. Then the horror return trip, not forgetting to stop for fuel again as they did not buy enough in the morning. If I had joined the army and if they had put me through this I would have been paid compensation. And the object of the exercise? To encourage people to come to Eastern Indonesia. Guys, you are on a learning curve!

That night many of us did not go to the gala dinner. And in so doing we missed many more speeches in Indonesian...