Borobudur and Bromo - temples and volcanoes: The best of Java

We've been quite busy this week and have seen a lot of impressive sights.

It started with Borobudur, which is impressive because of its size, but also because of the amazing stonecarvings telling the story of Buddha's life before he became a Buddha. The temple is supposed to be at its best at sunrise and sunset, so we decided to stay in a hotel close to the temple so that we wouldn't have to get up at three in the night to get there for sunrise.
The Menohara Princess Resort was nice, but the rooms felt a bit old. They were probably very nice and modern in the '80s. The good thing about staying here was that the hotel is based within the temple grounds and as a guest you can enter the temple for free during the opening hours. And they had a beautiful cat who just loved us and tried to sit on my lap all the time.

To visit the temple itself, you have to wear a sarong. Matthias looks fabulous wearing a skirt, I think he might be a bit Scottish deep inside.

The temple itself is massive and measures 118 m by 118 m at the base. On the galleries, there are more than 400 Buddha statues sitting in niches looking down from the monument. As the last levels were closed for visitors due to renovation work, we were just allowed to climb up to the sixth level, where you still can get some great views of the surroundings.

Since we were not lucky with the weather, heavy clouds covered the sun and sunset was not spectacular at all. The next morning was just as grey, so we were glad that we had chosen not to pay additional 175,000 Rp to be let into the temple grounds at 4:30.

Our next destination was Gunung Bromo, a spectacular, active volcano (2329 m high) surrounded by a moonlike landscape in the eastern parts of Java.

There are several ways to get from Yogyakarta to Probolinggo, which is one of the main gates to Bromo, and since we felt brave, we decided to try the train service. How big are the odds that our train will hit an elephant, car or whatever this time? We were lucky and the five hour train ride from Yogyakarta to Surabaya went alright. We did have to get into an older carriage though, because the aircon didn't work in the one we were originally booked in.

A train ride through rural Java is very nice, much more relaxed than going by bus and the landscape passing by the window is really something. Green rice fields, men and women working in the fields, animals and children playing in the villages; all very idyllic.

The next day we caught the train from Surabaya to Probolinggo and arrived in Probolinggo around eleven. From there we took a shuttle bus up to the village Cemoro Lawang where our hotel was.
Cemoro Lawang is quite close to Gunung Bromo and the temperatures dropped dramatically. We booked a sunrise Jeep tour for the next day, which meant getting up at 3:15 in the morning, get into a 4WD and bump around up the mountain, then walk for about 20 minutes in the dark to get to the viewpoint on a mountain next to Gunung Bromo and then wait in the cold for the sun to rise.

At 4:30 waiting for the sun to rise. Temperature: 5 degrees

If it was worth it? You bet it was!! The views of the volcano and the surroundings were absolutely stunning and the sunrise was great. It almost had something magical over it. Have a look for yourselves:

Bromo is the one without top. The top was lost in an explosion.

After sunrise we went on down by Jeep to the foot of Bromo and walked through the Sea of Sands to the crater itself. I thought I was going to throw up and faint several times, but somehow I kept on walking. The view from the crater was amazing. On the way down, we overheard a British girl who was going up when she said to her boyfriend: "I give up. I have to puke!"
All I could think was: I can feel your pain, sister! Been there, done that...

Sea of Sand and the Hindu temple below Bromo, which is a very important holy mountain for the Hindus of Java.

After the tour to Bromo, it was time to leave for Bali.
Since all the men in Probolinggo just want to sell you ridiculously expensive bus rides and rip you off completely, telling you that the local bus will take sixteen hours and their transport only five, I insisted on going by local bus. On the way there I scared all jokers who tried to offer us transportation off by looking very angrily at them and saying that we already had tickets. Somehow that made them leave us alone. ;)

The local bus was 30 000 Rp per person (which is not even 3 €) and it took us five hours to go to Banyuwangi, where the ferry to Bali leaves from. Going by local bus might not be the most comfortable option, but it is a lot of fun! We sat next to all kinds of people; old toothless men, young schoolboys, a mother with her baby and a crazy, but funny, bus conductor.
This kind of transportation is not for the faint-hearted though. The streets of Java are quite dangerous. Our bus driver preferred taking over in sharp turns, where he saw absolutely nothing. One time the bus was extremely close to turn itself into an accordion by crashing in to a truck. You could hear all the passengers draw their breath, so it had to be a close one even for Javanese people. The truck driver had a rather terrified face expression as he raced by our window.

Luckily, we arrived in Banyuwangi in just before the ferry was about to leave and arrived in Gilimanuk just before seven in the evening. Exhausted after sunrise watching, five hours on the bus, another hour on the ferry and then two more hours in a car, we arrived at our hotel in Lovina that night.

Our pool area in Lovina

Lovina was the perfect place to chill out a bit before exploring the rest of Bali and we spent a couple of lazy days at the pool before leaving for Ubud, where we arrived today.
So far, Ubud is a great place. Let's see how I feel after spending a week here.

What celebrities and I have in common

Generally, travelling foreign countries and visiting its tourist sites is like the following all over the world: you go there, say ooooh and aaaaah, look at the beauty and take some pictures.

Not so in Indonesia! You go there, and everybody else is taking pictures of you!

Like for example at Borobodur, the buddhist temple we visited near Yogyakarta. As soon as we have climbed up the thing in the afternoon heat and reached its top totally exausted and sweating, a small local girl, apparently visiting the temple with her parents, approached us to take some pictures of us with her. Even when we decided to take a rest and leaned against the temple walls, locals took pictures of us with their mobile phones when walking by. What the hell? Am I something extraordinary to look at? Or even freaky in their eyes?

At another occasion, when we took the ferry to Bali, we have been asked by a local family to be photographed together with all its family members...seperately! In total about seven pictures with three different cameras.

And these are just a few examples...crazy people!

I'm even thinking about printing a t-shirt that states something like "it's okay, go ahead and take your photo. It's just one buck each". That can finance my whole trip... I really have to turn that plan into action!

My only relief is that Cisela is even more often asked for a picture by somebody. Which leaves me standing aside smiling and enjoying the situation! ;-)

Yogyakarta - Our first taste of Java

Arriving in Yogyakarta was a relief. This part of Java is much further away from the Equator than Malaysia or Singapore is, which makes it less humid here. It is still hot, reaching 34 degrees during the day, but since the humidity is as low as 40-30%, you're not soaking in sweat minutes after leaving the refuge of the air-con.We had managed to make the mistake of not paying for our 60-day visa application straight away, so we had to apply for a visa on arrival in Yogya. Immigration in Indonesia is slower and more bureaucratic than the immigration offices in Singapore or Malaysia, but at least the man serving us was good humored and very friendly and we got out with a 30-day VOA after waiting only 30 minutes in the line.

Taking a taxi from the airport into town, we saw first hand what people mean when they talk about indonesian roads and how packed they are with mopeds and motorcycles. In a space where one moped would normally fit, you will see at least three here. Absolutely insane!

Our hotel (1001 Malam) here in Yogya proved to be a real gem in the middle of the backpacker district, close to the city centre and the kraton, the Sultan's Palace. We have a wonderful porch next to a really nice fishpond. The only negative parts are: 1) the minarette right next to us, 2) the airports entry lane is right over our heads, 3) excessive use of room spray in the bathroom (unfortunately it's all automatic, so the bathroom smells like an orchard and it gives you a headache. But at least it doesn't stink and the room is very clean).

The first day, we were lucky enough to see a parade with people in traditional costumes performing traditional dances going down the main street Jalan Maliboro towards the kraton. Turned out to be a parade for the upcoming election, though it had more of a festival kind of feel to it. I would love to see more color, fun and dance in the European election campaigns!

Being newcomers in Indonesia, we fell for the oldest tourist trap trick ever, following a very nice man to see a batik exhibition. Luckily, we got out without being pushed into buying anything and we had to laugh about our beginners mistake.

Nice little street inside the kraton

As Matthias has caught a cold (air-cons are not his best friend), we decided to take it easy and chill out at the hotel for much of the next day and wait until the following day to explore the kraton.Walking to the kraton through the bustling Jl Maliboro takes about half an hour because the sidewalks are so crowded!

The kraton itself was not bad with some nice architecture and a rather featueless exhibition on the Sultan (since all the signs were written exclusively in Bahasa Indonesia, it was not that interesting for foreigners). They do offer you a guide for free, but the old lady assigned to us did not understand our questions neither did we understand what she tried to tell us, so we went off to see the kraton by ourselves.
The more interesting parts of the kraton however are outside the inner palace and you do not have to pay admission to get in here. You can just wander the streets and alleyways, seeing everyday life for the 25,000 people still living in the kraton. There is a nice ruin of a water castle called Taman Sari not far away from the offical kraton, which is worth a visit.

If you are short on time, a two day visit to Yogya should be well enough. The city itself is nice, but you will have seen the main attractions in the two days time. It seems like a nice city to live in though, with loads of students, many of them studying art, which gives the city a creative touch. For the normal tourist, the temples around Yogya are a very good reason to come here and after visitng Prambanan this afternoon, I am really excited about going to Borobudur tomorrow.

Prambanan was constructed in the 9th century and is the second largest Buddhist and Hindu temple compund in Indonesia, Borobudur, which was build 100 years before Prambanan, is the largest Buddhist temple. Both temple grounds are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Here are some pictures of Prambanan:

Toiletries to the excess

After spending almost four days in Yogyakarta, it is time for us to pack up and move on. Tomorrow morning we are leaving for Borobodur. Since we are going to Prambanan (a temple compund 17 km northeast of Yogya) this afternoon, we decided to pack our backpacks before leaving.Packing is not one of my strengths, normally I pack for a week even if I am only going away for the weekend. Hence, packing for 8 months on the road was distressful for me. I remember a good friend asking me how I would cope with nothing more than a backpack. He just couldn't imagine me travelling for that period of time with less than a huge trunk (or two).
I am proud to say that I manage very well with the clothes that I brought (not evenfilling two thirds of my backpack!). The one area where I failed completely when it came to bringing only what is needed: toiletries.
Nice looking bottles filled with even better smelling creams, scrubs, shower gels (you name it) are just extremely appealing to me. Our bathroom was stuffed with my tins, bottles or containers of shampoo, conditioner, face masks or all sorts of hair styling products, so when the idea of taking a break to do some extended travelling started to form, I stopped buying beauty products and started an attempt to use it all up before we left.
We did very well and the week before departure, all we had was billions of practically travelsized toiletries. At least that was how I felt then, so I packed it all thinking how smart it was to bring it all and just use it up as we went. The best thing was, I did not have to part from any of it!
Today, five odd weeks later I realize how wrong I was. It would have been so much better just to bring the necessities and see from there if there is something else you desperately need and then buy it.

Since I have a problem with throwing things away if they are not used up completely, I am now carrying way to many tins and bottles filled with all kinds of beauty products which I don't really need. My skin will probably thank me though, as it has never ever been this pampered before: I exfoliate, cleanse and cream at a rate my face and body have never seen before, and I try to make Matthias use my stuff as well so that it will be gone faster.

What did I learn from it all?
Bring only what you need: Shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, body lotion and sun screen.
Buy the rest when you need it.
And: Glass containers are NOT suited for backpacking... They tend to be fragile and heavy.

My side of the bathroom (this is not all though, some things are already packed...)

Matthias' side of the bathroom

Singapore from another angle...

 Okay, having read about Cisela's comments on Singapore I have to say that I do not fully agree with her. So. I feel like sharing my impressions of this city with you: there are certainly good things to say about Singapore, especially when it comes to shopping. In fact, the city is a giant mall! You can head from one shopping center to another via flyovers or tunnels, so you do not even have to cross roads.

If you have lots of money to spend, this is the place. But on the other hand, this represents exactly what Singapore is all about: money and superficialty. You do not count as a person when you do not at least wear one branded piece of clothing, have the latest electronic gadgets or drive fancy cars (you can see more Ferraris, Porches and Lambos here than anywhere else). The 4C's rule: Cash, Car, Condominium and Credit Card. If you do not have them, you're out.

The superficiality is even reflected in the way the city is set up. Everything is planned, neat and predictable. You can see signs everywhere about what you are not allowed to do to and hear warnings, reminders and behavioural rules and regulations in public places or transport. Very friendly security staff will permanently tell you what is allowed and what is not.

Freedom of individual thinking or behaviour is not wanted, deviance punished (most of the time with redicilously high penalties). Definitly not a city I want to live in! Booooooring!

Wow! Hmmm...That was not nice to say, but to be honest, that was what I felt. However, there are nice places to see or discover, such as the Singapore Flyer, the world's largest spinning wheel, which offers you a great view over Singapore's skyline, especially at night. Or the Raffles Hotel which is known for inventing the Singapore Sling. Totally crazy is Marina Sands Sky Park, a hotel that has the shape of a gigantic ship overlooking Marina Bay offering a gigantic 150m infinity pool on top. A thing which finally made me smile was to find an original Würstelstand in Chinatown serving "Käsekrainer scharf mit Semmel" by Erich, a funny guy from Lower Austria.



Marina Sands Sky Park - as I call it the ship (I finally found the spot where Noah's Arche stranded...)



The Fullerton Hotel - one of the finest hotels at the Riverside



Home sweet home - as I asked Erich if he makes the sausages himself or imports them he told me: "des san oba scho vüh' frogn füa so an jungan bua..."

To sum it up, I have been there, I have seen it and I travelled on. Maybe I will be back when I'm a millionaire and am bored with normal life...

Singapore - The lion city

I don't know what I expected of Singapore and after spending almost a week in the city, I am still not sure how I feel about this city.


On the one hand side, it was an opportunity to have a break from the "real" Asia and enjoy a clean and very regulated city. One the other hand, it is a bit over the top with its temples of consumption. Somehow that makes most of Singapore feel very artificial.

There are some nice sights and some interesting archiecture, but most of the things you can do in Singapore come with a price tag, often not a small one.

I guess I could summarize my impressions of Singapore this way: It looks like an Asian city, but the feel is more the one of an American mall. You can find shopping malls, restaurants and food courts all over the island. This city certainly has its good sides and would I have the chance to live there for a while, I would most probably take it. But Singapore is not a place where I can see myself raising children. For it to be a city where I could consider living for a longer period of time, it would need a bit more of a character.

That being said, Singapore was a great stop for me and a place where I could pamper myself a bit. (I know, beauty salons are not very backpackerlike, but it does feel good to have a pedicure or your legs waxed every once in a while.)

Singapore's highlights for me were:
- People actully understand you when you speak English, and they can answer you in a language you understand. This makes life much easier...
- The Singapore Flyer at night. Even though it is not cheap, the views over the city are absolutely stunning!
- The Botanic Gardens. Relaxing and free admission!
- Chijmes: very cool food court/restaurants in a former Catholic convent. (I had a great Singapore Sling here...)
- Civic district, here you can find some very nice old streets with colonial buildings. Singapore must have been such a beautiful and exciting city some 100 years ago.

If you thought I would praise the food, no, not this time. Singapore has great eating, but not better than Georgetown and certainly not cheaper.

Next time I go to Singapore I will bring more money and an empty suitcase! As the lady at the waxing salon asked me: If you are not into shopping, why would you go to Singapore?
And that pretty much says it all I think, in SP it is all about money and how to spend it. Cash (or credit card) is king...




Here are some of the impressions of Singapore:

Fort Canning

Marina Bay



Singapore river



Borneo - Rainforest, headhunters and wildlife

So our final stop in Malaysia was Borneo, the western part of Malaysia.

Starting off in Kuching, the capital of the state Sarawak, proved to be a good decision since you can cover a lot of the popular sites of Sarawak using Kuching as a base.

As you probably read in the last blog post, we arrived in Kuching one day later than planned, but what difference does a day make when you have loads of time on your hands?

Kuching Waterfront - hosting the Wakeboard Worldcup from Sep 15!

We went to Semengoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, just outside of Sarawak, where Orang Utans who have been saved from captivity or found hurt in the wild are rehabilitated and then allowed to live semi-wild within the park.

We did not see any animals (except for insects) during the actual feeding in the djungle part of the park, but we did see six Orang Utans in total on the visitors parking lot; 2 mothers with babies, one young Orang Utan and the big male.

Matthias after a sweaty jungle trek, Bako

Bako National Park was our next stop and we spent one and a half days there jungle trekking. In total, we covered about 15 km of trails. It was very hot and humid, not exactly the trekking conditions one is used to in Europe. That night, we both slept like babies, totally exhausted.

The jungle in Bako is very beautiful and stuffed with wildlife. We heard different monkeys while trekking, but again all the spottings of wild animals were close to the canteen and our accommodation. It is a bit of a shock to face a wild boar on your way to dinner or seeing a pit viper in the tree just 1 m away from the walkway, not the kind of wildlife I am used to...

Jungle trekking is not the kind of sport I normally prefer

Jungle trail, Bako National Park

Pit viper, a bit too close for me...

Tajor Waterfall, Bako National Park. Well worth the 2 hour trek and the sweat it takes to get there!

The highlight of our stay in Borneo was a tour to a Iban longhouse in southern Sarawak, along the Lemenak River. Our guide, Amin, was a local from the Melanau tribe who could speak Iban as well. His English however had a lot of room for improvement. On the way to the longhouse we stopped in Serian to have a look at the famous market where you can get anything, literally anything. Pythons, cow heads, fruit, vegetables, you name it...

Serian market

According to Amin's drivers license, his name was Flemingh and when we asked why he called himself Amin, the answer was because it is easier for everyone. Matthias has a theory of his own: When speaking English, Amin constantly used the phrase "I mean..." when he tried to translate what he wanted to say into English. Maybe the Iban thought Amin to be a more fitting name for him?

The 3 day longhouse trip included two overnight stays at the guesthouse of the longhouse and one night camping in the jungle. The stay at the longhouse was nice, but the more exciting part was the night in the wild.

The skulls are a relic from the time when the Iban were still headhunters. They are still considered to bring luck and the more skulls a warrior brought home, the braver he was.

Inside the longhouse

We set out on boat together with Amin and two elderly Iban men. After going upstream for about one hour, we stopped to set camp on the riverside. We had expected to be asked to help in setting up our camp site, cooking and making fire. How wrong we were... We spend 75% of the time sitting around, walking around or swimming. The rest of the time we ate or had tea. Every time we wanted to assist the others, Amin told us that we had "relax time".

The old boatmen did not speak any English, but they were very nice and really funny. One of them loved throwing bamboo logs into the fire and see how everyone else reacted when the logs exploded because of the steam pressure inside. Well, explode might be an exaggeration, but they do boom loudly.

The other one went fishing with his fishing net or listened to Hari Raya songs on his little portable radio.

One thing that the Iban seem to love is their arrak, or rice whiskey as they call it. They drink loads of it. The one word we learned in the Iban language was oha, pronounced "ooooooohaaaaaaaa" - cheers...

Our camp

Relax time

Lemenak river

Bamboo cooking

Our last days in Kuching happened to be the last days of August, the end of Ramadan this year. The muslim holiday is THE holiday of the year and people go to visit their families and friends. Kuching was very empty, only the tourists and the Chinese were to be seen on the streets.

But across the river from the Kuching Waterfront, at the Astana, the palace of the Governor, loads of people were gathering. I had read that the Astana is closed to the public all year with one exeption: Hari Raya.

We decided to join the party! Malaysian men have a traditional costume that resembles a pyjama in the eyes of a Westerner, so imagine how hard we had to try not to laugh when hundreds of men wearing something looking very much like a pyjama were lining up in front of the palace. It was really nice and everybody were very friendly wishing us a nice stay in Malaysia.
The Hari Raya celebrations (with loads of free food) were an extremely nice way to wrap up our stay in Borneo.