Sulawesi
I spent a few days in Ujung Pandang, the capital of Sulawesi, with Chris, an MBA colleague. We were trying to get data on the cost of implementing telephone service on Sulawesi.  We were fairly successful at gathering data, and managed to have a ball at the same time.  Our hotel was right on the water and was absolutely first class.  Every night we'd have dinner on the patio and watch the sun set, which was absolutely gorgeous.  The picture offers just a hint of the spectacular view.

Ujung Pandang is in many ways a thoroughly modern city.  The population is close to a million, though it feels much smaller than that.  One can easily walk across the downtown area in twenty minutes.  It's much cleaner and more manageable than Jakarta, and the climate is much cooler.  Fort Rotterdam, a well preserved 17th Century Dutch Fort near the center of town is well worth a visit.  There are also some good museums.  It's a good place to spend a few days, though you might get bored if you were to stay for too much longer.

One evening as we were having dinner we were notified by the waiter that we had guests.  We had met a guy from Sulawesi in Jakarta, and had promised to call him if we got to Sulawesi.  During the day, Chris had given him a courtesy call and left a message, not expecting him to take us up on it. Sure enough, there he was in the lobby with his Fiancee.

He wanted to show us some of the nightlife, an offer we were only to happy to accept.  First we went out to a local bar and had a few beers. From there we grabbed a cab and headed to the harbor, where we got on a ferry. The ferry took us and a few others over to this small island, which was a few miles offshore.  The island had an amusement park, complete with a roller coaster, games and various outdoor sports.  There was also a long pier, from which kids were diving into the ocean. In the middle of the island was a dirt floor building, containing some exhibits (including Komodo dragon and dolphin skeletons), food concessions, games and changing areas. 

In the center of the building was an open air atrium, with a set of benches, where people were watching TV.   So here I am, on a tiny island off the coast of a remote Island in the Pacific, and what do I find but people sitting on benches watching TV. And what are they watching? "Twin Peaks", one of the strangest shows to grace American television.  At that point I was quite certain I had stepped into an alternate universe.