Ubud - Indonesia

For all the hoopla I had heard about Bali, I have to say I was very disappointed as I mentioned here but luckily not far away is the spiritual center of Ubud which is a tranquil shot of bliss (if such a thing exists). Rice fields, monkey sanctuaries, rain forests, waterfalls are among the highlights. Forget about sleeping in as the local wildlife is buzzing from the wee hours.  Here are some pics and video.

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Tags: ..Ubud - Indonesia..

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All aboard the bus..Indonesia Style

Travel in Asia can be a little chaotic at the best of times and space is a premium luxury not often afforded to budget travelers.  Case in point, this 3 hour ride in a minivan with official seat capacity for 9 people which at one point had 17 people with luggage. Comfy! Check the video below.

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Tags: .All aboard the bus....

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Prambanan, Indonesia

We visited the impressive 9th century Hindu temple compound (one of the largest in South East Asia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site). There was a local school tour where the kids obviously didn't have much interaction with pasty face westerners like us, so we were immediately inundated with requests for photos and felt like celebs for 15 seconds.  There is a night show with dinner and the backdrop of the illuminated temples which is well worth seeing.    

Tags: ..Prambanan, Indonesia..

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Yogyakarta - Indonesia

The more time I am back in the 'comfort' of the West the more I think about the pleasure of the East which was not so comfortable at the time. Here are some pics / vid from Indonesia. 


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Tags: ..Yogyakarta - Indonesia..

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Mount Bromo Volcano - Indonesia

This spectacular active volcano in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, was one of the highlights of our trip to East Java, Indonesia.  You can take a trip by jeep to the heart of the crater but the real jewel is watching the sunrise from a distance.  Enjoy the pics.

    

Tags: ..Gunung Bromo..

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Monkey Business

After the previous somewhat serious post, I thought I'd lighten things up a little. I like to write and express and talk shite about, well shite mostly. As I was revisiting the pics of our recent Asia trip I realized there was so much I didn't say, capture, express or share (for lack of time - not that I'm not full of shite) so I'd like to start making up for that a little i.e. 'share and care' by way of short posts of photos if that's ok with you? - huh? - I can't hear you?

Without further ado or bullshite - here are some photos from a monkey sanctuary in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. Check the YouTube video I uploaded at the end - these monkeys are well looked after by both the locals and tourists and often fare better than some of the poor towns folk.

Although they are photogenic, I couldn't help thinking they are just rats with more 'cute' appeal. There but for the grace of God go the rest of mankind! - OK - Perhaps I've seen 'Planet of the Apes' one too many times! You be the judge.

Tags: ..monkeys Ubud, sanctuary, Bali..

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Indonesia - Bali

Gunung Bromo

I'm a tad behind on the travelogue and inexcusably behind on blog visits (apologies and thanks to those who keep reading this drivel) but the laptop is still fecked (yeah that naughty PC nurse didn't do the job she was supposed to) so I don't connect that often.

We finished off Java on a high (literally) as we scaled Gunung Bromo, an active volcano and watched the sunrise. I have some great photos but they're on the frikkin' laptop :-(

Next we went by bus then boat to Bali (14 long hours) where we stayed in the ín' spot of Kuta. Bali was not quite waht we expected. The beaches were disappointing and Kuta was just a tad tacky. If you're a twenty something backpacker then it's heaven and you can venture further north for some peace and quiet but it's average at best. Maybe I'm getting old but I'm just not sure what all the fuss is about of Bali the beach heaven? It looks good at sunset but not great at midday. We did find heading inland to the tranquil town of Ubud to be the highlight. Lombok and the Gillie isles get good press so maybe another visit is required.

Sunset Bali

Tags: ..Gunung Bromo, Kuta Bali Sunset..

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Indonesia - Java

Friendly locals

We arrived in Yogyakarta at 3:30am and haggled outside the train station for a taxi (u$d 2) to our pre-booked accomo - Prambanan guest house (u$d 22 ). As we got to the room there was a chorus of prayers and chanting from a nearby building. I used to hate the 7:30am early mass in my days as an altar boy but these people get up way too damn early! We collapsed into bed exhausted with the faint waft of puke as a reminder of our journey.

Thankfully Yogyakarta was much more laid back than its big brother Jakarta. So laid back in fact, the driver of a public bus I was on just pulled over and hopped off for a dump, coffee and cigarette (not necessarily in that order) leaving the passengers to endure some awful wannabe musician to hopped on to give us a rendition of stairway to heaven – a prime candidate for X-factor out-takes if ever there was one.

We visited the royal enclave known as Kraton which is a Vatican-esque area where the current Sultan of Java lives. We navigated the local public transport to get us to Prambanan, 17kms north of Yogya, which is an impressive complex of some 50 Hindu temples. The following day we explored Borobudur which is massive Buddhist temple, 42km northwest of Yogya. There are numerous school trips from outlying regions to these temple sights and the kids cornered us on several occasions for group photos with the ‘outsiders’.

Observations:



- Train travel in Indonesia can be expensive and not always worth it.
- The locals here are among the friendliest I’ve encountered anywhere and you are engaged frequently by strangers who want to practice their English.

Tags: ..Indonesia - Java..

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24 hours in Indonesia - Part 2

I found my future job (see photo above) - We took the airport Damri Bus (50 minutes u$d 2) to Gambir (central train station) and then hopped into a tuk tuk (7 minutes u$d 1) to Jalan Jaksa which is the backpacker area. We had booked ahead and splurged u$d 22 for a room with AC at Hotel Margot for our first night. We popped downstairs to the hotel bar for a badly needed beer to recount our recent visa saga.

We quickly observed there were some strange shenanigans going on both outside and in the building directly opposite. Ladies with very tight short skirts and very little else were parading up and down and every now and then they would disappear with a newly acquainted male friend for about 15 minutes. There were some male on male shenanigans going on too. It turned out the bar we were drinking in was the hook up spot or should that be ‘hooker up’ spot for the love hotel across the road.

There seemed to be a pimp orchestrating all the business and writing entries in a notebook. The toilet in the bar seemed to be a half way station for both customer and vendor to inspect their bits n’ pieces and exchange money before heading across the road to do the nasty. A thoroughly entertaining evening was had by one and all.

The next day we checked out and headed back to Gambir train station to buy tickets for the so called luxury Argu Lawa train from Gambir to Yogyakarta (7.25 hours u$d 22) scheduled at 8pm that evening.

Check the fangs on this fishy!

To bide our time before the evening departure we left our bags in a locker and hopped on a bus (20 minutes u$d 0.30) to the old town section of Jakarta called Kota and had a drink at the highly recommended Café Batavia where everyone who is anyone goes when they visit Jakarta.
The bus to Kota was midday and went without a hitch but the journey from Kota back to the train station an experience I’ll never forget.

The bus transport in Jakarta is extremely well organized with dedicated bus lanes and special platforms for boarding and offloading passengers and transport security men on each bus and platform to help organize the ensuing chaos. It was 6pm rush hour and I have never seen so many people queuing for a bus.

We could have just hopped in a taxi but we had time to kill and as I saw the sea of hundreds of people ahead of me I grew curious as to what it would be like to have to do this everyday – maybe twice a day. It was ridiculously hot and humid and the beads of perspiration trickling from me were more like rapid rivers of sweat. After queueing (shove, push, jostle) for 30 minutes we were finally on the bus.

Finally we boarded our 8pm train to Yogyakarta but wen we sat in our allotted seats there was a pungent smell of puke and after further investigation I realized someone had emptied their stomach on my seat very recently. The train was full so no chance of switching seats so as I type this I am literally sitting in vomit. Only 7 more hours of this vomit comet to go. An interesting 24 hours is just coming to an end.

Observations:

- Jakarta is a polluted chaotic city with little appeal for this traveler.
- The queue for the bus would give the Tokyo subway a run for its money any day

Tags: ..24 hours in Indonesia - Part 2..

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24 hours in Indonesia - Part 1

Where the hell is Indonesia?

We took a late morning JetStar Asia flight from Hong Kong to Jakarta (u$d 160 oneway) with a connection in Singapore which was relatively uneventful. Budget airlines are plentiful and cheap in Asia and you can usually get a good deal even at the last minute. Herself managed to squeeze all her stuff into one backpack – no small accomplishment believe me!

I’d checked the visa requirements for Indonesia online and was informed we could get a V.O.A (Visa on Arrival) for u$d25. Sure enough when we arrived there was a VOA desk so we first went to one counter and paid in cash (no problems) to immigration official #1 and then went to another counter where you presented your receipt and immigration official #2 issued a visa sticker to put in your passport.

This is where the fiasco began as immigration official #2 asked to see a return or onward flight ticket. This is a requirement in many countries but rarely enforced. After explaining we had very loose plans i.e. no set itinerary we were escorted to yet another counter of immigration official #3 who gave us a hard time but after a verbal slap on the wrist he agreed to give us the visa. PHEW! End of Fiasco…….NOT!

When we made our way to yet another, but supposedly final immigration counter where they actually stamp your passport, immigration official #4 asked “Can I see your return ticket?” This felt like a game of ‘snakes and ladders’ where you take 3 steps forward and all of a sudden you’re back to where you started.

After trying to re-explain everything two more times immigration official #4 said he had a solution. We could either buy a return ticket now on the spot or “if you help me – I’ll help you” aka he wanted a bribe to turn a blind eye. He then directed us back to a side counter where immigration official #5 acted as arbitrator for the haggle. I offered u$d 20 but he wanted u$d 50 and we eventually settled on u$d 40 which had to be placed in one of the passports and back we went to the counter for our stamps. WELCOME to Indonesia!

Obervations:

- There are more immigration officials than passengers in Jakarta airport (best bribed job in town)
- Sometimes being a bum with no set itinerary is a handicap (at least in Indonesia)

...To be continued...

Tags: ..Indonesia immigration here..

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