We spent today exploring the towns of Kumai and Pangkalan Bun, just up the road.

Kumai is a river town, with a long street strung out along the bank, packed full of ramshackle buildings of all shapes and sizes. It looks like the film reconstructions of London in the 1600's.

By far the most bizarre buildings are the tall, square, barrack-like concrete constructions which, it turns out, are swallow hotels. They have been constructed to encourage swallows to build their nests in the eaves so that the nests can be collected and sold in China to make bird's nest soup. Apparently all the spit and grot is what goes to give this soup it delicious gelatinous consistency! Lovely!!

We have discovered that if you hire a taxi in Indonesia (the best way to get around) and ask to be taken to see the elephants/to a supermarket/to a restaurant/to buy some wood carvings etc, then you will not necessarily be taken to the place you asked for - you will end up at the establishment from which the driver gets a kick-back!

We have sometimes needed to be very firm (and on one occasion get out and walk) to get to the right place!

We had lunch in Pangkalan Bun at our driver's recommended restaurant "the best one in town". They were clearly expecting us (!) and, in fact, produced an amazing table-ful of mixed dishes, which we tucked into.

The (sort of) highlight was a dish that Peter tried and pronounced to be tasty but of a rather odd, soft consistency. The surgeon in our group carefully dissected it and announced it to be bull's testicles.

Peter looked a little green!