What a great way to start the year!  The import crisis seems to be over and 50 containers of alcohol were cleared off the docks in time for the New year.  The prices haven't really changed a lot for wine, but you can now buy spirits for a reasonable price.

The ridiculous thing is that the government, in introducing the 300% duty on booze, now has a new problem on their hands - black market alcohol.  So they are losing out on their "legitimate" excise to the bootleggers!  And to make it cheap and up their profits, the black market spirits are doctored.  Yup ... those industrious little indos are now producing bootleg spirits that "smell like" the real thing if you have already had a few, but are dangerously laced with methanol.  Speculation is any day now an expat or young Indo who dares to imbibe will die from this and only then will the government do something about the new problem.  Thankfuly they aren't tampering with wine!!

Our guard told us about 3 months ago he could get some things on the black market (at that stage we were oblivious to the methanol addition) so hubby  ordered a bottle each of Jack Daniels and Scoth.  As he sipped the first JD and coke, he said "This tastes wrong - could it be off?"  I had a smell and immediately detected what I though was pure alcohol in it - what we now know is methanol!!  How scary.  And yep, we binned the bootleg booze that night and warned our guard and his friends not to drink it lest they wish to be poisoned!

Imported food is starting to reappear on the shelves and we don't have to go to the "secret room" to find things not on the shelves, such as brown or caster sugar, or imported breakfast cereal.  But a box of Special K still costs around au$10 and weetbix are not much less for a large packet.  One thing unchanged is cheese - I bought a packet of Bega extra tasty 250gm the other day and it worked out at about au$7.20!!!

The Indonesians counter the expat food shortage complaints with "Well, you are living here so buy Indonesian produced food".  Most of us would be happy to, but some things you can't subsitute in recipees and there are no locally produced equivalents.  Well, they produce "caster sugar" but it is actualy what Aussies call icing sugar - try making chocolate brownies with that!  Or putting what Indonesians call brown sugar (similar to raw sugar) on the kids' porridge of a morning .... just won't cut it!

So for now we just sit tight and wait patiently ... and continue paying stupendous prices for some luxuries we can't live without 

Expats are now all discussing who is going to get the axe as the economic crisis casts it's shadow across the world, but the ridiculously funny thing about this country is that, thanks to the extremely high levels of corruption and dirty money being laundered, it will probably be minimally affected by the worlds downward spiralling financial woes!

Can't stop the kids excitement.  Tomorrow we're off to Bali.  It's funny, but every time we tell them we are going there, they groan and say "Oh, it's so boring there".  And inevitibly, a few days before we go they are happy about it.  Can't work kids out - if I had have got overseas holkidays and to live in different countries when I was a kid I think I would probably have loved it!!  Maybe not.

So my Minti friends, if I don't reply to mesages for a while, that is why.  Bali has dodgy internet connections in many places (although ti gets better each visit) and I don't use email much there.

Stay safe, don't let your kids drive you nuts and I will be back about 22 Jan.

Sharon

HAPPY NEW YEAR MINTIERS!!!  I hope Santa was good to you all 

Well, all the work and build up and it seems Christmas is always over in the blink of an eye.  All those months of planning, buying and wrapping gifts, putting up decorations, lights and the tree, buying extra food, planning the Christmas lunch....  If it wasn't for the kids I would seriously wonder if ti was worth it LOL

I went to no trouble with Christmas lunch again this year as one with the higher cost of imported food items over the past few months, and lack of availability of a lot of things, it was easier to go to the Ritz Carlton for Christmas lunch. 

They have a Sunday Brunch buffett every week that is the largest selection of cuisine in a Jakarta hotel.  The go a bit further with it for special occasions such as Christmas, New Year, Easter, Mothers/Fathers' Day.  It is a veritable foodies' paradise and they have almost anything you want - Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese (including beautiful fresh sushi and sashimi), Korean, a huge range of fresh seafood and not just a dessert table, but a whole corner section is dedicated to everything sweet - the centrepiece of which is a huge chocolate fountin replete with strawberries, marshmallows and lollies on sticks just waiting to be swiped through the warm chocolate! 

I was expecting arguments from the kids about having to eat healthy stuff before they could hit the chocolate fountain, but this year, not a peep!  Amazing!  It was the lure of the new wii and WarHammer kits that made them not want chocolate.  They scoffed down their food in half an hour and said "Ok, Can Pak Usup drive us home now, we are finished and bored" and off they went

Easy peasy.  Messaged the driver to pick them up at the front door then sat back and enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch with hubby and a friend from Australia.  Actually, I didn't even eat much because the time was spent talking, laughing and drinking.  Oh, did I emntion that this wonderful buffett comes with "free flow" of wine, champagne or beer?  LOL For those of you wo have read my previous blogs, you will understand that it is REALLY the drinks that hook me in now that acohol is so damned expensive here!! 

All in all a great Christmas Day, followed on at home by more wine and laughter.  It's a good thing none of us had to drive!!

Another boring blog about wine.  but this is quite funny...

I made it to the DF wine store this morning.  After ringing them yesterday to see when was the best time to visit, and avoid bumping into the customs inspectors, the woman whispered into the phone "You coming around 9-10am, no problem".  I asked if I "made a donation" could I exceed the 3 bottle limit, and she said yes.  Unreal!  So excited (sad, I know).

Got there and bloody customs were there, so the very proper sales attendant checked my KITAS and passport and said in a loud voice "OK, KITAS 3 bottle limit".  I quietly explained that I had called yesterday and been told that for a "special administration fee" of rp50k I could buy a case or two of wine.  He said "Oh, ok, how many you want?"   I replied "At least 12 bottles".  "Ok, special administration fee now rp100k".  Of course it is!

Driver came in with me and pushed trolley around while I wandered through my idea of heaven - a fully stocked wine store - and salivated over such a choice of wine. 

The funny thing is that at home when you buy in bulk, you usually get a discount.  Here I had to "pay" to buy in bulk.  Too bad, don't care.  Christmas is nearly here and I now have 18 bottles of wine and champagne.  much better prices than the retail stores - Margaret River classic white cost me around au$18 which is pretty good.  Although I am now sick of it and didn't buy any more, the Lindemans chardonnay I had previously bought retails here for about au$27 and was in todays' store for about au$17 so quite a huge difference. 

LOL  I know where I will be shopping from now on!  And yep, this will be my last wine whine on ehre   ..... that is, unless the "good" wine store burns down (god forbid)