#38 Places: Tembagapura Irian Jaya, Papua, Indonesia

By the time you are reading this, you have probably visited this place a few times.  This is the place where dad grew up.  Make plans to visit Tembagapura once every so often.  It is a modern westernized mining city in the middle of tropical jungle.  When daddy was a child, there were native tribes people who walked around the city practically naked, not because they were poor, but because that's how they have always been for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.

Some were still cannibals but surely they live several mountains away because otherwise your dad wouldn't be here and you wouldn't be here either.  They were very kind people who placed piglets in the same "noken" (handmade baby carrier) with their newborns or toddlers.  The closest tribe was the Amungmes, who live in Waa valley, Banti, and other places.  Your Opa Norris was a good friend with the famous chief Tuarek Natkime as he worked and visited them frequently and was able to learn their native language quite fluently. Opa and Oma also adopted your Aunt Theresa from an Amungme family when she was only a few weeks old. 

It is a beautiful place.  Especially if you hike the surrounding waterfalls and hills.  There are no mosquitoes in Tembagapura because it's about 9,000 feet above sea level and it would get chilly here.  However, the airport is in Timika, a.k.a. the low land, now that's where mosquitoes and Plasmodium vivax, party.  Make sure to swallow a couple of those bitter chloroquine pills before visiting the area.

As kids, your dad and your uncles always tried to find "batu tembaga" or copper ores that are hidden on the rocks or soils around the area.  They are cool looking rocks.

Remember to visit the Lupa Lelah Club, an exclusive country club that only caters to expats and locals who are willing to pay the price of membership.  They have good food and good events.

If you have a chance, try to climb Puncak Jayawijaya, a.k.a. Carstensz Pyramid, one of the Seven Summits (seven highest mountains in each continent).  Daddy climbed to the peak when he was still a teenager.  It's about 16,000+ feet above sea level (4,884 meters).

Lastly, you must try to eat the local delicious ubi goreng (patatas, or fried casavas) and the glue-like Papeda, and some other traditional Papua food.