We ended our 3 week Indonesian adventure back in Ubud on Bali. After some nice time on the beach, we wanted to head inland once more to surround ourselves in the calming green rice terraces for our last few days... plus it was Pete's birthday and he had a specific birthday lunch in mind. There's a pork restaurant in Ubud called Ibu Oka, famous for its Babi Guling (roast suckling pig). We ran out of time to go there during the first stop in Ubud, so we went straight there on his birthday. He loved it. I could have lived without the crunchy/greasy pig skin... but the lighter cuts of pork were nice and it was seasoned to perfection. We shared a giant coconut to drink-- which resulted in me nearly peeing my pants on the drive out to our hotel. However, drinking fresh coconut water straight from the source was worth the 30 minutes of torture.
We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at our hotel and soaking up it's gorgeous setting perched above palm trees and rice terraces. That evening, we went to Pete's other favourite restaurant in Ubud for dinner. Massakan Padang. What that means is there's a bunch of tofu, fish, veggies and curry sauces that sit on display in the restaurant's window all day.... you go up to the counter and a guy scoops a heaping portion of rice onto a plate and then you choose from the stuff in the window. With drinks we got out of there completely stuffed for about $3.00. Talk about a cheap date!
We were both pretty full and exhausted after that meal, but we managed to waddle about 15 minutes down the road to stop in for birthday beers and listen to some live music. Not the most wild and crazy 28th birthday a guy could ask for, but definitely delicious...
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Southern Bali
Being that Bali is pretty much famous for it's tourism in the south, particularly Kuta, we thought we might as well give it a shot when we got back from the Gili's. We chose to stay in an area just outside Kuta called Seminyak. We thought we were booking a relatively nice hotel... but when we arrived it was far away from everything and pretty grubby. We ended up going on a long walk on the beach and then watching the sunset with thousands of other people from bean bag chairs at a beach bar. It would have made for a great evening, but it took them no less than 30 minutes to bring our bill after we asked every single person working there. And all we had was french fries and 1 beer.
The next day we decided to leave early and head to Sanur, a more low key area... we wanted to rent a motorbike again and drive along the southern coast to see the cliffs, watch the surfers and see a temple. The driver who picked us up was only meant to take us from Seminyak to Sanur, but he turned out to be such a sweet man, we decided to ditch the motobike plan and just have him show us around.
He took us everywhere we wanted to go and he even helped us find a killer deal at the fish market in Jimbaran for lunch. Basically, we walked into the dingy fish market, bought a 5 pound yellowfin tuna for $4.00 and then had it filleted. From there we walked to a restaurant where they grilled it and served us our fresh fish, rice and veggies doused in garlic and spicy sauce for another $6.50. Of course we treated our driver and there was waaay too much food to go around. It was a good day.
The next day we decided to leave early and head to Sanur, a more low key area... we wanted to rent a motorbike again and drive along the southern coast to see the cliffs, watch the surfers and see a temple. The driver who picked us up was only meant to take us from Seminyak to Sanur, but he turned out to be such a sweet man, we decided to ditch the motobike plan and just have him show us around.
He took us everywhere we wanted to go and he even helped us find a killer deal at the fish market in Jimbaran for lunch. Basically, we walked into the dingy fish market, bought a 5 pound yellowfin tuna for $4.00 and then had it filleted. From there we walked to a restaurant where they grilled it and served us our fresh fish, rice and veggies doused in garlic and spicy sauce for another $6.50. Of course we treated our driver and there was waaay too much food to go around. It was a good day.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
I guess I'm not a boat person...
The Gili Islands may have been the highlight of our trip. We hung out with a lot of fun people and stuffed ourselves on several delicious meals. I also had the best coconut gelato of my life and a few pretty memorable mango smoothies. Bintang became a staple in our diet as well :)
Returning to Bali from the Gilis was also very memorable. You think I would have learned my lesson in Tanzania about ferry crossings.... but I didn't. No one ever got seasick, I just simply feared for my life. The boat ride on the way there was extremely smooth and relatively comfortable (if not a little warm). However on the way home, the seas were rough and there were 66 people in the cabin of the boat who's windows did not fully open. There were FIVE 300 horse power engines on the back, and luckily I was seated next to lots of life jackets. The driver just kept speeding through big swells and the not so large boat got tossed around quite a bit. As I panicked the crew looked calm... bored actually... so I suppose it was fine considering they do this everyday. But next time, I think I'll fly. Or take a bigger boat.
Returning to Bali from the Gilis was also very memorable. You think I would have learned my lesson in Tanzania about ferry crossings.... but I didn't. No one ever got seasick, I just simply feared for my life. The boat ride on the way there was extremely smooth and relatively comfortable (if not a little warm). However on the way home, the seas were rough and there were 66 people in the cabin of the boat who's windows did not fully open. There were FIVE 300 horse power engines on the back, and luckily I was seated next to lots of life jackets. The driver just kept speeding through big swells and the not so large boat got tossed around quite a bit. As I panicked the crew looked calm... bored actually... so I suppose it was fine considering they do this everyday. But next time, I think I'll fly. Or take a bigger boat.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
If you lucky, you look turtle
We are hanging out on the Gili Islands (part of Lombok) before we head back to Bali tomorrow. It's peaceful, relaxing and beautiful here. And there's a delicious local night market to boot. They've got fresh seafood and other delicious local treats. Just down the road from our hotel, a gelato stand scoops up the most delicious coconut and mango gelato I've ever ever had.
As usual the locals are sweet and flirtatious. We have heard some funny phrases and jokes from them along the way... and every single sign/menu have several ridiculous spelling errors that only adds to their charm.
Best jokes thus far:
Young guy working at guest house says: "I have three sons"
Pete: "No. How old are you?"
Guy: "I'm twenty-two. My three 'sons' are sunrise, sunset and sunburn."
Indonesian guy: "I only smoke Marlboro cigarette"
Pete: "Really, why is that?"
Indonesian: "Do you know what Marlboro means?"
Pete: "Ummm"
Indonesian: "Men always respect ladies but only rich ones (or romantic ones)"
Favorite phrases:
"Long hair means long life. Long banana means many wife"
(in regards to snorkeling) "If you lucky, you look turtle"
I think what he meant was if you're lucky, you see turtle. lol.
(And for the record, we've seen several turtles while snorkeling! There's even a turtle conservation place right next door to our hotel with the smallest cutest sea turtles ever.)
For now we are off to enjoy another day of mango shakes and sunshine. xo
As usual the locals are sweet and flirtatious. We have heard some funny phrases and jokes from them along the way... and every single sign/menu have several ridiculous spelling errors that only adds to their charm.
Best jokes thus far:
Young guy working at guest house says: "I have three sons"
Pete: "No. How old are you?"
Guy: "I'm twenty-two. My three 'sons' are sunrise, sunset and sunburn."
Indonesian guy: "I only smoke Marlboro cigarette"
Pete: "Really, why is that?"
Indonesian: "Do you know what Marlboro means?"
Pete: "Ummm"
Indonesian: "Men always respect ladies but only rich ones (or romantic ones)"
Favorite phrases:
"Long hair means long life. Long banana means many wife"
(in regards to snorkeling) "If you lucky, you look turtle"
I think what he meant was if you're lucky, you see turtle. lol.
(And for the record, we've seen several turtles while snorkeling! There's even a turtle conservation place right next door to our hotel with the smallest cutest sea turtles ever.)
For now we are off to enjoy another day of mango shakes and sunshine. xo
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Bali Bali Bali
We have been up to quite a bit in the past few days and all of it has been nothing but wonderful. After our hellish bus ride from Java to Bali we ended up in Pemuteran at an awesome hotel on the beach. Even after a late night, the next morning we were up bright and early for a snorkel trip to Menjangan Island. It was one of my favorite snorkel spots we've been to in all of our travels (right up there with Malaysia). The thing that made it so special was that there was a HUGE drop off from the reef. As we swam out, all you could see was clear blue in the distance with thousands of fish circling around while the sun shone through the water.
Although it was lovely, it was a bit remote out there, so we headed for Ubud. Screw the bus. We shared a cab for $35 with another girl. We made lots of stops, took photos and arrived in Ubud with plenty of day left. We saw the Kecak dance that night. It's kind of too difficult to explain, so if you really want to know what it is, either watch the movie Baraka or hit up youtube/google. It was awesome.
The next morning we left bright and early for a cycling tour through the surrounding villages and rice paddies of Ubud. Besides the barking, scroungy and heartbreakingly skinny dogs, it was a lovely day. We met lots of locals, learned how to pick/harvest rice and we rode through incredible green scenery whizzing through clouds of smoke and burning incense. Despite the little bike and some downhill gravely roads, the worst thing that happened was watching a little boy pick up a spider about the size of his face and play with it. We topped the day off with a $7 Balinese massage and a couple of beers with some girls from the trip. Nothing like being topless on a massage table with people you have only just met...
Today we rented a motobike and rode out to Jatiluweh and a temple I can't remember the name of. Jatiluweh was supposed to be some amazing views of rice fields... but it was pretty disappointing being that we had seen better in the past two days. 125km is a long way to go on a motobike only to be disappointed. The journey however, was beautiful and we got to eat some interesting mystery meat from roadside stands in various villages along the way. The locals were surprisingly sweet and helpful in getting us to where we were going. (We stopped and asked directions a lot. By a lot I mean, every 2 minutes down some stretches of road.) A few people went out of their way, and had us follow them to navigate through the tricky parts... or lack of road.
Anyways, about an hour away from being back in Ubud, Pete and I were bragging about how incredibly cheap this day was. Let me break it down: motobike rental for 1 day- $4 (this includes insurance). Meals- 50 cents each. Gas- $4. We were just so pleased with ourselves as we pulled away from the lunch stand... until we realized that those bad roads had taken a toll on the bike and we had a flat. Every single person who passed us on the road pointed us in the direction of the nearest repair shop and we were there within 5 minutes of pushing the bike along the road. We thought it could be expensive to fix the tire... or at least about $10.00. Nope. 75 cents and 20 minutes later we were back on the road.
We are heading to Lombok tomorrow morning to check out the Gili Islands. Knowing us, we will likely get bored sitting on the beach after a day or two and head back to Bali again. For now though, it's time to go, because there's a real arrogant guy sitting at the table next to us who WON'T. STOP. TALKING... about himself. I feel sorry for the two girls sitting with him.
Goodnight!
Although it was lovely, it was a bit remote out there, so we headed for Ubud. Screw the bus. We shared a cab for $35 with another girl. We made lots of stops, took photos and arrived in Ubud with plenty of day left. We saw the Kecak dance that night. It's kind of too difficult to explain, so if you really want to know what it is, either watch the movie Baraka or hit up youtube/google. It was awesome.
The next morning we left bright and early for a cycling tour through the surrounding villages and rice paddies of Ubud. Besides the barking, scroungy and heartbreakingly skinny dogs, it was a lovely day. We met lots of locals, learned how to pick/harvest rice and we rode through incredible green scenery whizzing through clouds of smoke and burning incense. Despite the little bike and some downhill gravely roads, the worst thing that happened was watching a little boy pick up a spider about the size of his face and play with it. We topped the day off with a $7 Balinese massage and a couple of beers with some girls from the trip. Nothing like being topless on a massage table with people you have only just met...
Today we rented a motobike and rode out to Jatiluweh and a temple I can't remember the name of. Jatiluweh was supposed to be some amazing views of rice fields... but it was pretty disappointing being that we had seen better in the past two days. 125km is a long way to go on a motobike only to be disappointed. The journey however, was beautiful and we got to eat some interesting mystery meat from roadside stands in various villages along the way. The locals were surprisingly sweet and helpful in getting us to where we were going. (We stopped and asked directions a lot. By a lot I mean, every 2 minutes down some stretches of road.) A few people went out of their way, and had us follow them to navigate through the tricky parts... or lack of road.
Anyways, about an hour away from being back in Ubud, Pete and I were bragging about how incredibly cheap this day was. Let me break it down: motobike rental for 1 day- $4 (this includes insurance). Meals- 50 cents each. Gas- $4. We were just so pleased with ourselves as we pulled away from the lunch stand... until we realized that those bad roads had taken a toll on the bike and we had a flat. Every single person who passed us on the road pointed us in the direction of the nearest repair shop and we were there within 5 minutes of pushing the bike along the road. We thought it could be expensive to fix the tire... or at least about $10.00. Nope. 75 cents and 20 minutes later we were back on the road.
We are heading to Lombok tomorrow morning to check out the Gili Islands. Knowing us, we will likely get bored sitting on the beach after a day or two and head back to Bali again. For now though, it's time to go, because there's a real arrogant guy sitting at the table next to us who WON'T. STOP. TALKING... about himself. I feel sorry for the two girls sitting with him.
Goodnight!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
June 4: Take me to Bali or lose me forever!
Mt. Bromo will definitely be a highlight of the trip and probably a highlight of our lives as well... however the rest of the day went horribly horribly wrong. It's hardly worth writing about and I should probably just forget it, but what fun is that? Basically what was supposed to be a 5 or 6 hour day doubled into a 12 hour day traveling from Java to Bali. We were shuffled around and packed into various sweatbox buses that moved for 5 minutes and stopped for 20. Smoking was totally appropriate and musicians came on at every single stop to play various instruments and then ask for money. I'm not sure if it was a high or a low, but at one point, around 10pm just before we made it to the ferry to Bali, a guy came on with a portable karaoke machine and shouted into his mic the lyrics to what he considered music. All of us tourists on the bus (there were about 10 of us) looked around at each other and couldn't help but laugh. But underneath it all, our sore soppy bums stuck to the plastic seats, could hardly take much more. After the ferry from Java, we had officially made it to Bali. Pete and I had called ahead and arranged a taxi who drove us to our gorgeous hotel with a warm outdoor shower, AC and a cozy bed. The rest of the poor folk on the bus continued for 4 more hours to Denpasar... We are just about to go meet up with a girl who we met along the way and she will give us the rest of the story from that hellish bus.
June 4: Mount Bromo
From Yogyakarta we took a train to Surabaya and then hopped in a taxi to the Mt. Bromo area. 40 dollars and 3 hours later (about 11pm) we arrived at our guest house on the hillside. Between the snoring man down the hall (literally, he sounded like a large mammal) and being sticky sweaty from a lack of shower, we didn't get much sleep and we were up well before the sun at 3am. It was a bit of a scramble but eventually we ended up in a jeep to the view point to watch the sun come up. Even though the rest of the day turned out to be one of the top 5 worst days of travel ever (and we've had some bad ones), the stunning views were worth the trouble. From the view point we ended up in a valley and walked our way up to the top of Mt. Bromo, the smoking volcano. Not sure if climbing to the top of an active-- rumbling and smoking volcano was one of the smartest ideas we've ever had... but everyone else was doing it. There was so much ash down the side it was like climbing straight up on a beach. Even though it only took about 20 minutes, it proved to be a difficult task, but hey, how many people do you know who have climbed an active volcano?
Thursday, June 2, 2011
We have arrived
We arrived in Yogyakarta, Indonesia yesterday afternoon... after immediate elation from having survived nearly two days of travel (and losing 1 day of our lives to the international dateline), I really don't have much else to say about yesterday. We took a bike taxi into town peddled by a little old man with no front teeth, who I am pretty sure nearly died pushing us up the slight incline in the 32 degree (Celsius) heat and 80% humidity. He even went out of his way to point out the coffin shop on the side of the road to express his feelings with his limited English. Our trip into town was uneventful and we came back to our guest house after an hour. We were in bed by 6pm. Thank you jetlag.
Today on the other hand was quite exciting. We had to be up and ready by 5am for our sunrise trip to the Borobudur temple. 5am was no problem, we were wide awake by 3 and ready for the day ahead. Borobudur is a destination that has been on Pete's wishlist for quite some time because of the movie Baraka. It was just as beautiful as we expected in the early morning mist. However, the unexpected happened when I was snapping a photo of the landscape at the top of Borobudur. A woman tapped me on the shoulder and introduced herself to me. She was extremely friendly... an English teacher from West Java on a trip with her students. Beneath the chatter and the smalltalk lay her motive. A photo with yours truly. This seemed to spark a frenzy among all the other Indonesian tourists. As I looked around the circle of what seemed to be about 100 people, every single one of them had a camera or cell phone out snapping pictures, waiting their turn to stand by my side and say cheese. This continued for hours between Pete and I. Everywhere we went in the temple, a new crowd gathered as we smiled in the blazing sun. I don't know if anyone remembers my emails from India... we got what we thought was a lot of fanfare/picture taking there... but this has never been matched and it was totally unexpected. I guess a lot of the tourists come from small villages and maybe haven't seen a Westerner before.
Here are some pictures, I will post the rest on Facebook and add links later:
Today on the other hand was quite exciting. We had to be up and ready by 5am for our sunrise trip to the Borobudur temple. 5am was no problem, we were wide awake by 3 and ready for the day ahead. Borobudur is a destination that has been on Pete's wishlist for quite some time because of the movie Baraka. It was just as beautiful as we expected in the early morning mist. However, the unexpected happened when I was snapping a photo of the landscape at the top of Borobudur. A woman tapped me on the shoulder and introduced herself to me. She was extremely friendly... an English teacher from West Java on a trip with her students. Beneath the chatter and the smalltalk lay her motive. A photo with yours truly. This seemed to spark a frenzy among all the other Indonesian tourists. As I looked around the circle of what seemed to be about 100 people, every single one of them had a camera or cell phone out snapping pictures, waiting their turn to stand by my side and say cheese. This continued for hours between Pete and I. Everywhere we went in the temple, a new crowd gathered as we smiled in the blazing sun. I don't know if anyone remembers my emails from India... we got what we thought was a lot of fanfare/picture taking there... but this has never been matched and it was totally unexpected. I guess a lot of the tourists come from small villages and maybe haven't seen a Westerner before.
Here are some pictures, I will post the rest on Facebook and add links later:
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