Month: June 2016

Day 79: Jungle Trek – Day 1

After a hearty breakfast, we dropped off our bags at the Oraguntan Hotel and headed across the river to meet up with our guides – Chandra & Leli – as well as our two new German travel companions – Patrick & Jan – before heading into the JUNGLE.

Igor trying out the machete

Before we reached the park entrance, we had a short hike through a rubber tree plantation – it’s kinda sad as rubber tree and palm tree plantations are the #1 cause of deforestation and habitat loss for the orangutans. Plus, the trees absolutely reek – they smell like dirty port-a-potties.

 

To harvest the rubber, the farmers cut open a slice of bark on the tree and set a coconut shell underneath where the latex sap drips out. They collect the shells once a week (Fridays on this plantation) to carry down to the market to sell to the processing factories for a mere 6,000 IDR per kilo (about USD $0.25 per lb.)

Luckily for us, tourism to the national park is proving to be a very lucrative industry to the Bukit Lawang area, and the wildlife in Gunung Leuser is thriving right up to the borders. We were barely at the entrance when we met our first monkey – a Thomas Leaf Monkey.

 

In addition to bilingual wildlife guidelines for tourists, signs at the park entrance implore locals to stop illegal logging to protect the rainforest for future generations.

Greeted by a Thomas’s langur (AKA Thomas Leaf Monkey) at the park entrance

 

Well, Hello Thomas!

During our trek, Chandra and Leli (AKA – “Jungle Boy” and “Mowgli” – their nicknames, not ours!) showed off their extensive knowledge of the jungle, pointing out Giant Forest Ants (only the males would bite Leli when provoked) and termite nests in trees (through they eat wood, they wisely don’t eat the tree that supports their home). Yeah, yeah, very nice…WHERE ARE THE ORANGUTANS?!?!?

 

Bugs.

Gunung Leuser National Park is home to both wild and semi-wild orangutans (beneficiaries of the former rehabilitation and release program, now closed). While we read online that there is a feeding platform where tourists can see orangutans being fed by park rangers (only meant to be a supplement to their forest diet), we were informed that the platform was shut down over a year ago, as the semi-wild population is self-sufficient and no longer needs the extra food. While we didn’t visit the platform, we didn’t need to as we saw a total of 7 orangutans! Some were wild, which meant we only saw them high in the trees (including a 30+ yo male), and some were semi-wild, like “Juney”, pictured below, who got her name because she was supposedly born in the month of June.

 

A curious orangutan named Juney and her baby came over to our group as we were finishing our lunch

We waited around for a while to see if Leuser’s most notorious orangutan, Mina, would show up, but gave up after seeing Juney. Mina is known for being particularly aggressive (she was captive when she was a baby, and was rescued from an abusive owner), and has apparently bitten over half of the guides currently working in the park. After such a pleasant interaction with Juney, the four tourists were happy to call it a day.

 

Juney showing off for the camera – someone wants to be on the cover of National Geographic!

After a very rigorous hike, we reached our campsite for the night – a nice secluded area next to a jungle stream where all the tourists took a much needed dip to cool off (and clean up! We were all smelling pretty ripe). After that, we relaxed until sunset when our fabulous jungle chef, Alan, served us a multi-course Indonesian feast! Including our new favorite: Chicken Rendang!

 

Loving our riverside campsite

 

A cool swimming spot in the jungle

 

Leli getting some tea started in the bush kitchen, next door to our platform tents

 

Eating well in the jungle! Lunch on the hilltop (a fried egg & rice wrapped in banana leaves – eaten too quickly for a picture), followed by a huge dinner spread! Selamat makan!

Day 78: Bukit Lawang

We left Surabaya early in the morning for our flight to Medan, via Jakarta. We were picked up from the airport by a taxi, arranged by our tour provider, Bukit Lawang Jungle Trekking. While the drive to Bukit Lawang was supposed to take an estimated 3 hours from Medan, we weren’t in a huge hurry, and we wanted to see if we could find Igor some quick-drying shoes for the jungle trek (boots are actually not recommended as they are heavy and once they get wet, they stay wet) – so our driver took us to the mall. There were no camping/outdoor stores, but there were plenty of shoe stores, and we found Igor a pair of Adidas trainers. With all our trekking supplies in order, we headed toward the jungle.

Flying over rice paddies on our way to Medan

 

Travelling makes Lindsay very sleepy. Trying to open a cup of water without splashing herself (oops!)

When we arrived in Bukit Lawang, our tour organizer, Dodi, met us at our hotel to welcome us and give us instructions for where to meet our guide the next morning. After paying Dodi the balance of our fee and repacking our bags (we planned to leave our big backpacks at the hotel for two days, and only take the essentials in our two day-bags for the trek), we had the rest of the afternoon free to explore the village.

 

The largest note in Indonesia is the 100,000-rupiah bill – which is only worth about USD $7.50 – so when you need to pay someone USD$400, it ends up looking like you just landed on Boardwalk with three hotels.

 

The Orangutan Room at the Orangutan Hotel – you can see we all have one thing on our minds

 

Macaque monkeys living in our hotel

 

Exploring the streets of Bukit Lawang

 

Crossing the river to the other side of the village

 

A porter taking inner-tubes (AKA “Jungle Taxis”) to the river for the next day’s return trekkers

 

While shopping for water for the next day’s trek, we were followed by three young girls for a couple of blocks before one of the them came up to Lindsay and asked to get a picture with her. After each of the three girls got a pic with the “bule” (Bahasa version of “gringo”), Lindsay insisted on getting a group picture in return

Day 76: Bromo

We were shocked the next morning when there was a knock at our door at 4AM informing us that our Land Cruiser was waiting for us out front! The scammer actually came through! We were sure things would get hairy once we pulled up to the park entrance – the driver started demanding payment for the park entrance fee from a mystery third couple in the car (250K IDR pp for the guy and his mum), Even though this guy had two receipts, one which clearly said, “Bromo fee,” but the driver wasn’t having it and told the guy and his mum to get out of the car. We exchanged looks with the German couple, positive our feeble receipts (neither of which were legible) would also be called into question, but when the driver asked us if we paid already, he simply took our, “Yes!” at face value.

 

Our British companion arguing fruitlessly with the driver and park employees, insisting that his receipt was proof that he paid his entrance fee. Again, no idea how the scribble on our paper was accepted. We continued up the mountain without him, with an army of Land Cruisers riding our tail the whole way

Our party of four continued in the darkness up the mountain to the Terima Kasih Viewpoint platform, where we waited with at least 200 other tourists for the sun to rise. Unlike Mt. Batur in Bali, there was no stadium-style seating – we had to fight for a spot along the railing and defend if with our life if we wanted a clear shot of the sunrise. Luckily for us, most of the tourists were too obsessed with photographing the sun coming up in the East, they all forgot that the Bromo crater was off to the South. We were able to claim a 2-person-sized section of railing, which we shared with Heike and Johannes.

 

All the tourists, obsessively taking pictures of the impending sunrise

 

Igor puts his Russian training to work and stakes his claim to a spot on the railing, facing the Bromo crater, which he shared with our German friends

 

#BromoSunrise #SoManySelfieSticks

 

Getting a killer view of the Bromo crater from our vantage point

 

Bromo Crater at Sunrise

Bromo Panorama

Locals selling souvenirs at the viewpoint

 

Heading back to our Land Cruiser

 

Another photo op on the way down the mountain where we saw a very dedicated bride & groom who must have gotten up before dawn, did hair and make-up, got dressed, and hauled ass up the mountain for their wedding pics

5

Another Bromo Panorama

Our second stop for the morning was the actual Bromo crater. An active volcano, Bromo was spewing lots of sulfuric steam during our visit. According to a sign at the park entrance, visitors are prohibited from going within 1KM of the crater, but just like the sign as the Ijen crater, no one stops you from going further “at your own risk”. All the Land Cruiser dutifully parked 1KM from the crater, and told us we could continue on foot, or ride a horse for 150K IDR. As we were in no hurry, our foursome decided to walk toward the deadly fumes.

 

Following the letter of the law – the cars did not take us closer than 1KM of the crater – but no one was there to stop us from going further on foot (or horseback, if we were so inclined)

 

Climbing the final steps to the crater edge

 

Really strong sulfur fumes at the edge – since we had no gas masks this time, we knew we couldn’t stay long. I snapped a picture of this sign, assuming it said, “Danger,” or some warning about safety. Nope – Bahasa translation says, “Please do not throw rubbish into the crater unless they are religious offerings.” Apparently local Hindus still throw in sacrifices during their holy ceremonies every year. Luckily for me, Igor did not understand Bahasa, and didn’t throw me in.

 

Walking along the rim of the Bromo Crater – ’cause we’re young, foolish, and childless

 

Snapping more pics of this poisonous beauty

Inside the Bromo Crater

 

Heading back down to the safe-zone – past the Hindu Temple (not open to visitors – not sure if that’s because of its religious significance, or it’s because the temple is within the 1KM no-go zone)

 

We were feeling a bit peckish, as we hadn’t had breakfast yet, so we bought a bunch of bananas from a local peddler on the mountain top, who insisted we take a photo with him

 

Our car – one of many Land Cruisiers (boo – all Toyotas – no American Jeeps!) – ours read 376K+ KM on the odometer, and our driver told us it had rolled over the 1M KM mark already!

We returned to the hotel for a full breakfast at the Café Lava Restaurant, before catching our (packed) minibus back to Probolinggo. We got to the train station 2 hours early, but it’s better to be too early than too late, right? Besides, there was a mama and baby goat playing on the tracks to entertain us.

 

Breakfast buffet and balcony view from the Café Lava Restaurant

 

Our driver wrapped all our luggage in tarp and tied it onto the roof of the minibus, as it was a full-house inside. Luckily for us, there was no rain!

 

Tickets in hand, waiting for the train to Surabaya, watching a baby goat prance gleefully around it’s mama

Our “Eksekutif” car was full of sickies this time. Busting out the surgical masks ’cause we don’t got time to get sick!

When we got to Surabaya, we checked-in to the JW Marriott (after passing through security which included a bomb-sniffing dog and metal detector), and allowed the woman at the check-in desk to upsell us to an Executive Suite with lounge access. Hey – sometimes you just gotta #TreatYoSelf!

EXECUTIVE SUITE, BITCHES!

 

Enjoying a “dinner” of hors d’oeuvres, and open bar in the Executive Lounge at the JW Marriot in Surabaya. I didn’t even care that the sparkling was Moscato – THERE WAS WINE – so I was happy

Day 75: Journey to Bromo

Another travel day! We finally said a reluctant farewell to the Bangsring Breeze (we tried to calculate what it would cost us to spend the rest of the trip there – while still cheaper than living in Manhattan, it just didn’t make sense), and got in the hotel car for the train station.

Despite our ticket-buying issues, we found the rest of the train experience to be incredibly simple: we exchanged our receipt from the Indomart kiosk at the train station ticket counter for our actual tickets without a problem, and boarded our “Eksekutif” class car headed for Probolinggo – a 3 hour ride away.

 

Our first train ride in Java!

 

Very impressed with the Executive Class – two chargers at every seat, plus a TV with cartoons for kids. Can’t say American trains are any better. (Granted, we were in third most expensive car – not sure what “Ekonomi” would have been like…

 

Enjoying the view, as we wiz through the county side

The real challenge came when we arrived in Probolinggo: we had to get ourselves from the train station, across town to the public bus station to get on a bus to Cemoro Lawang (the town at the entrance to Mt. Bromo). Igor had done his research, and was aware of the many scammers that target tourists trying to get to Bromo: they will do just about anything to prevent you from boarding and paying for only the public bus.

While there were several dozen Western tourists who got off the train at Probolinggo with us, by the time we stopped to buy our ticket to Surabuya for the next day, they had all dispersed, leaving us by ourselves outside the train station. For once, there was not a single taxi driver in sight. As we started to wander off into the street, a rickshaw driver tried to get us as a fare – we told him, “No thank you – we are going to the bus station,” so he lead us over to a nearby bemo. We asked MULTIPLE TIMES to verify, “You are taking us to the public bus?” Igor even pulled the bus station up on his phone and pointed to it – “Bus Station?” “Yes, yes, public bus,” we were told. As we sat down, a local stuck his head in the window and told Igor, “Hey brother, they’re going to rip you off.”

Sure enough, the bemo des NOT take us to the public bus terminal, but to a tour agency instead. At first, Igor refused to get out of the bemo, insisting that the driver take us to where we wanted to go, pointing at his phone to prove we were not in the correct spot. First, the travel agent tried to convince us that the public bus would make a second stop here – yeah right. When he told Igor that he would only charge 50K IDR to go to Bromo (the public bus cost USD$1.50 less), we figured arguing with them would not be worth the trouble. We let the travel agent sell us a package that included return transfer to Cemoro Lawang, a pre-dawn pick-up in a Jeep to visit the sunrise viewing platform and black sand crater at Bromo, plus park admission for 400K IDR pp (around USD$65 total). Since the park entrance fee is a fixed 250K IDR pp fee, we calculated that the package was not a bad deal…if this guy actually follows through on his promise!

 

Igor is very suspicious of this bemo driver…and with good reason! This is NOT the bus station – but sometimes you just have to relax and accept that you are going to get a little ripped off in Indonesia. Is it worth your time and energy to get upset over USD$10-20? No.

 

This travel agent is giving us a decent package…if we trust that the chicken scratch on this piece of paper means anything…

As we were finishing up our transaction, another bemo dropped off a German couple – the next victims! Heike and Johannes fell victim to the same scam – misery loves company! We became travel companions for the rest of the trip to Bromo, and honestly – a couple new friends makes the whole experience of getting ripped off much easier to bare.

The four of us got into our private transfer and headed up toward Bromo. It was an estimated 2hr drive up the mountain. About halfway up, the sky opened up and POURED. This was the worst downpour we have seen during our trip: the streets were suddenly turned into rivers – not exactly what you want to happened when you are careening up the mountain in a minivan without seatbelts. Since the minivan was not air-conditioned, the windshield soon started to fog up – the driver constantly had one hand on the wheel, while the other was trying to wipe away a small view space. That, plus the leaky roof and windows dripping water on us and our bags, made us start to regret we spent our buffer day for weather at the resort in Banyuwangi.

 

Can you see out this windshield? ‘Cause we couldn’t! Don’t know how the driver made it up there in one piece.

 

The German couple had already booked a room at the Café Lava Hostel through the travel agent, so the minivan dropped us all off there. We had intended to shop around the various hotels when we arrived in Cemoro Lawang, but due to the downpour we decided the hostel was good enough for one night.

 

We hid in our room for the rest of the afternoon, trying to dry off and stay warm until the rain stopped. We finally had a bit of a break after sunset, so we met up with our German friends at the Café Lava Restaurant for dinner and more than a few beers.

Days 73 & 74: Ijen & Downtime at the Bangsring Breeze

For our sunrise hike at the Ijen Volcano we had to leave our hotel just after midnight, so we really only had a few hours’ nap, rather than a “night’s sleep”. We were joined by Charlotte & Steven – a Belgian couple who were also staying at the Bangsring Breeze on their honeymoon – met up with our guide, and hopped into a Jeep for the 2hr drive to the Ijen trailhead.

Once we got to the volcano, we had another hour hike up the trail to the crater edge. About ¾ of the way up, we started to smell the strong odor of sulfur. Soon, it was overpowering, and all the Westerners had to put on the gas masks provided by our guide. Unfortunately, Lindsay’s mask wasn’t working, so she had to rent one from a local miner who brought extra masks to make some extra revenue from the tourists for 50K IDR.

When we got to the edge of the crater, there was a huge “DANGER – TOXIC GAS” sign. Our guide told us it was not recommended to go further, and if we do so, it would be at our own risk. The Belgian couple apparently had a lot to live for, and they decided to remain at the crater edge. But Lindsay and Igor had come all this way to see the blue flames – if the only place to see them was inside the crater, then down we would go! Besides, there were at least another 50+ tourists and guides already inside the crater, plus the miners themselves – how dangerous could it really be? (Note: very dangerous – we heard later that a French tourist died from the fumes a few days later)

 

Descending into the toxic fumes of the Ijen Crater – we are not so bright sometimes

It was an incredibly steep descent (45-degree angle at times!), and we had to keep an eye out for miners coming up the trail – given they were precariously balancing between 150-200lbs of sulfur chunks on two wicker baskets across their shoulders, they clearly deserved the right of way. Once we were at the bottom, we could see actual mining at work: the liquid sulfur pours out of fissures in the crater, while pipes of water help cool it down quickly. The miners then break the new blocks of sulfur into chunks that will fit in their baskets. The blue flames are the result of the released sulfuric gas reacting with the oxygen in the air. The steam created by the mining water pipes kept the flames mostly obscured, but every now and then, the wind shifted a bit and we got a clearer view.

 

Miners working to collect the newly solidified sulfur

 

And handful of miners used plastic molds to create sulfur trinkets to sell to tourists for supplemental income. Otherwise, they are dependent on lugging wicker baskets filled with sulfur up the crater’s edge, plus another 2km down the trail until the path is wide enough to use a wheelbarrow. Each worker makes about USD$15/day, making two trips per night on average.

 

The blue flames of Mt. Ijen – looks like Harry Potter’s Goblet of Fire!

Our photos of the blue fire weren’t quite as close-up and clear as what we had seen online – our guide asked us if we would like to climb further into the crater to get a better look. We agreed and started to head over, when all of a sudden the wind shifted to the other direction and surrounded us in a cloud of sulfuric steam. It was awful – even with the gas masks, our throats were burning, our eyes were stinging and we started coughing uncontrollably. We quickly turned back and clambered back out of the crater as quickly as possible. When we reached the edge, we reunited with the Belgian couple (healthy and safe right where we left them) and started heading back down the trail as the sky brightened around us.

 

Dawn at the Ijen crater – while there is a good sunrise viewing area, it required another 30min ascent, and our group was too tired after our escape from the sulfur cloud

The lunar-like atmosphere at the top of Ijen

 

The volcano’s fumes are visibility apparent in the morning light – time to leave this death-trap!

 

As we walked down, we were passed by a miner heading down the mountain with a load of sulfur for sale

 

Some of the miners also make extra income by carrying tourists down the trail in their wheelbarrows for 150K, which is the equivalent of a day’s wages. Belgian Steven had a bad knee that hurt when going downhill, so he hired a lift to the bottom, basically earning his “taxi” a day off

We had another 2hr drive back to the hotel, but still arrived in time for a delicious breakfast. The rest of the day was free for relaxing poolside and riding the hotel’s bicycles down to the beach. We were enjoying ourselves so much we didn’t want to leave…so we decided not to. We had built in an extra day for our next location just in case we got bad weather. We looked at the weather forecast and decided another day in paradise was worth the risk of rain.

 

A breakfast that is happy to see us!

 

Checking out the beach in Banyuwangi – apparently there is pretty good snorkeling at an island offshore (you can hire a water taxi at the beach), but truth be told we were too lazy to make the trip. Another couple we met mentioned there are tons of small sharks in the water too – little bummed we missed that

 

The hotel was far from town, but we thought the remote location was a plus – we were surrounded by fields of corn & sugarcane

 

Heading back to the hotel we passed farmers carrying their harvest on ojeks. Once we hit the mosque, we realized we had gone too far – not only was it visually striking, it was also very LOUD. In fact, there were at least 3 mosques within earshot of the Bangsring Breeze, and all three were broadcasting competing messages from dawn until late at night

 

After some helpful locals pointed us in the right direction (as the only Westerners in town, and the only people on bicycles rather than ojeks, we stood out), we got back to the hotel just in time for sunset

The only thing we had to do our second day at the Bangsring Breeze was drive into town to buy our train tickets to Probolinggo for the next morning. The hotel staff were super helpful – looking up the timetables for us, driving us into town (free of charge!), and waiting very patiently as we tried to navigate the ticket kiosk at the local Indomart (no joke – it took us four attempts to finally purchase the tickets). The rest of the day was spent in complete leisure – enjoying our beautiful room, eating a delicious dinner, and playing a round of pool.

Igor trying to buy train tickets from the mini-mart kiosk. While it was in English, our submissions kept getting rejected: Lindsay’s full name was too long; two people can’t have the same phone number; wrong seating class selected, etc. Unfortunately, there are no error messages or back buttons – you have to completely fill out the form each time before you find out if it will go through or not. If it doesn’t go through you have to start all over again

 

Because we opted to stay an extra night, the hotel had to switch our room as new guests had requested our original room. The new room had a killer view, so we had no complaints!

 

The new room also had a private *outdoor* bathroom – great for doing laundry!

 

Beautiful room and fast Wifi – travelers don’t need much more to be happy

 

Evening at the Bangsring Breeze

 

LOVED the food here – we tried a new dish every night and were never disappointed.

 

Let the record show that Igor has redeemed himself by soundly whooping Lindsay’s ass at pool. Well done, honeybunny.

Day 72: Journey to Java

Today was a pure travel day – we had to get to the Gilimanuk Ferry at the Western-most tip of Bali by evening, at which point our next hotel would send a shuttle to pick us up in Banyuwangi. Our taxi driver quoted us 700K IDR for the trip, but we decided we were not in a hurry and we’d try taking the public bus instead. The Pan Pacific offers a free shuttle bus to the mall in Kuta, but unfortunately guests are not allowed to use it the day they check out (I guess they want to prevent people from using it as a cheap ride to the airport – like us!), so we got a metered taxi to take us to the Ubung Bus Terminal, just outside Kuta.

Once the taxi dropped us off, we realized we needed to find an ATM, as we needed cash to pay for the next hotel and an excursion planned for the next day. Of course, the one time we need an ATM, is the one time there is no ATM in sight! We used Igor’s cell to try and locate a bank, and ended up wandering around the Ubung area in the mid-day heat with all our bags, without success – each ATM we found was either out of order, or just spit out our debit card without explanation.

On top of that, we were once again surrounded by dozens of taxi drivers, all hanging around the bus terminal to hustle for fares. Every single step we took, someone was in our face asking, “Where are you going?” “Mister, where are you going?” “Miss, where are you going?” Igor was trying too hard to be polite, and kept responding, “No thank you, we don’t need a taxi,” while Lindsay kept telling him to channel his Inner New Yorker and just ignore them. She finally got so frustrated, she shook her fists and yelled, “I’M GOING ACROSS THE STREET!” to a hapless taxi driver. Whatever – they backed off after that.

We got on the bus to Gilimanuk (100K IDR) for our 4-hour drive up the Bali coast. The ride was very similar to our experience in Flores – a bus attendant hanging out the open door throughout the trip, calling out, “Gilimanuk!” Every now and then a local would hop on or off, squeezing into the seats between Lindsay & Igor – it got a little cozy at times, but Igor was having a blast, hanging out the back door and snapping photos of the rice fields we passed along the way. We were the only tourists on the bus, and all the local seemed to find us strange – laughing when we kept taking pictures of the scenery.

 

Taking the public bus from Ubung to Gilimanuk

 

Lindsay kept falling asleep during the 4-hour ride

 

Igor enjoying his open-door access

 

“Gilimanuk! Gilimanuk!”

 

Water-filled rice fields along the road to Gilimanuk

 

Not sure why these rice fields are wet when Tegalalong & Jatiluwih fields are dry – but they sure are pretty!

We arrived at the ferry just in time for sunset. We bought our tickets (6K IDR), walked on board, and enjoyed the hour-long ride from the top deck of the boat. While the crossing only took about 15min, for some reason there was a traffic jam of other ferries from Gilimanuk all trying to dock at the same time. We couldn’t figure out the sequence of which ferry was next in line – organized chaos at work once again. When we got out of the ferry terminal in Banyuwangi, we quickly found our driver…and an ATM! Flush with cash, we headed to our hotel – the Bangsring Breeze. Just when we thought we had left the nicest hotel of our trip, the bar just got raised a LOT higher. Instead of being just another guest in a massive cruise ship-sized resort, we were one of three at a really high-end boutique hotel (maximum occupancy is five rooms). Our palatial room felt like a honeymoon suite!

 

View of sunset over the island of Java – our next destination after Bali

Boarding the ferry to Banyuwangi

 

Watching our slow progress from the top deck

 

Bye, Bali! Hello, Java!

 

Our room at the Bangsring Breeze

Day 71: Bali – Batukaru / Jatiluwih / Pura Bratan / Tanah Lot

So we were woken up by a frantic phone call from Igor’s mom at 3AM – apparently our credit card had been compromised and there were a half a dozen charges attempted at Walmart, Best Buy and other US retailers within the last few hours. We suspect that one of the two stores we visited in the Discovery Shopping Mall in Kuta the night before copied and sold our credit card number. We read warnings to never, NEVER use your credit card in Indonesia, but we let our guard down in Bali. Luckily, the Citi Fraud Department is quite good – none of the fraudulent charges went through, and the card was cancelled. Unfortunately, sending us a replacement card overseas is not a simple task – we asked them to send it to the Marriott in Medan – our final hotel before flying to Malaysia. Keeping our fingers crossed!

After our poor night’s sleep, we were very tempted to just stay in our hotel room all day and skip sight-seeing in Bali. All the crowds, and traffic and over development is not why we came to Indonesia. But then, we had to admit we did not come all the way to Indonesia to hide out in a resort either, so we reluctantly dragged ourselves out of the hotel room in search of a taxi.

One of the downsides to staying in a resort, is that you are a captive consumer. We didn’t have the option to go out into the city and haggle with multiple taxis like we did in Kuta – we were at the mercy of the resort transportation desk, who tried to tell us that a half-day taxi hire would be 900K IDR, but quickly dropped the price to 600K IDR (USD$45) when we started to walk away. We still overpaid, but we reasoned our time was more valuable the USD$10-20 we would have saved by walking ourselves out of the resort and trying to find another taxi driver. In addition to convenience, we also got an English-speaking driver with a very clean, air-conditioned car. We agreed to hit 3 attractions, plus a stop for lunch, in 6 hours – giving us plenty of time to relax and enjoy the resort in the evening.

Our first stop was the Batukaru Temple, at the foot of Batukaru Mountain. While it is Bali’s second highest mountain, it’s off the beaten path for tourists and you get a more authentic spiritual experience here. Unlike the other temples we visited, there is a dress-code enforced for anyone entering the temple grounds (sarong + sash for both men & women – loaners available at the entrance), and the majority of temple visitors are actual worshippers – not tourists.

 

Visiting the Batukaru Temple – a *real* place of worship, so there are quite a few rules to follow

 

Sarongs are required to enter the temple complex – Igor needed a loaner

 

Real worshippers & offerings

 

The stunning water-garden & 7-tiered roof shrine of Batukaru

 

Batukaru – the only truly serene temple we visited in Bali

After the temple, we continued on to the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces for a quick photo-op then on to the Ulun Danu Bratan temple AKA “The Lakeside Temple” – one of the most iconic temples in Bali. Of all the locations we’ve been to in Bali, this one just screams, “TOURIST TRAP.” Complete 180 from the Batukaru Temple – the place was teeming with tourists taking selfies and there was a friggin’ motor-boat zooming past the lakeside temple! We were in and out of there as quickly as possible.

Jatiluwih Rice Terraces – a UNESCO World Heritage Site

 

We only had a little time to wander about the fields as we had a 6-hour time limit with our driver – if only we could rent a car/ojek – we could have lingered

 

Joining the herds of tourists to snap some pics of the Bratan Temple

 

No doubt – the temple is picturesque – but trying to get a clear shot without a dozen fellow tourists required a lot of patience. Not the place to go for a “magical” experience – at least not at noon. Who knows – maybe the place is empty at sunrise…

 

Posing for as many photos as possible, before the rain clouds break open

There are several buffet lunch options near the Ulun Danu Bratan temple – looks like it is the thing to do when visiting the area, so our taxi driver took us to his pick. No complaints on the food – we ate as much as possible (given the high prices at the resort restaurants, we had skipped breakfast and would likely have a small dinner) before heading back.

 

Indonesian buffet lunch near the Bratan Temple

 

Retreating to the serenity of the Pan Pacific Nirwana Resort

We spent the rest of our afternoon at leisure in our hotel room, enjoying the lightening-fast Wifi and the luxuriously cool AC. Since we are literally right next to the Tanah Lot Temple, the resort offers a complimentary walk through the golf course to view the temple at sunset, so we headed out around 5:30PM to check it out. Not only did we get a better view than you would get as a visitor to the temple, we discovered there is a BACK-DOOR ENTRANCE to the temple complex without paying admission! (Oh, and there are several restaurants, where you can get breakfast/lunch for a few dollars, rather than the USD$25+pp the resort charges.)

 

Super excited about our resort-view of the Tanah Lot Temple

 

OMG! We have our own secret entrance to the Tanah Lot Temple! This is awesome!

 

Just like Ulun Danu Bratan, this temple is a Disneyland-esque zoo of tourists – complete with many gift shops where you can buy Buddha merchandise. Note: Bali is 90% Hindu – there are very few Buddhists. The Buddhist statues are *purely* for the tourists – as one of our Hindu taxi drivers informed us

 

While I already explained my moral dilemma with Kopi Luwak (we didn’t buy any more), we couldn’t help but linger at the Bali Luwak Coffee shop that had 3 pet civets! Unlike the coffee plantation we visited before, at least these civets weren’t in cages – they were just laying out front like house-cats!

 

The coffee shop even had a flying fox! He wasn’t tied down – I assume he was free to fly away if he wanted to, as you can’t really clip a bat’s wings. Guess he was just a pet…AND SO CUTE

 

Final view of Tanah Lot, back at the resort

 

Evening stroll around the resort pool and a Chinese wedding scheduled for the evening. We felt really bad for them – it started pouring at 8PM – hope they had a back-up location inside!

 

The rain didn’t bother us! We ordered a small room-service dinner (complete with Bintangs we picked up at an Indomart outside the resort), and washed all our dirty clothes in the bathroom sink. WE CLASSY.

Day 70: Blue Stone Beach & Bali

We decided to take a short trip out of the city during our free morning in Ende. If you look at “Things to Do in Ende” on TripAdvisor.com, not a single activity is in the city (3 out of 4 are in Moni!) – but the Blue Stone Beach was only an hour and a half away, so it was an easy drive back and worth before our flight. So after breakfast at the hotel (Indonesian-style, but at least there was butter & jam for toast), we headed out toward the airport hoping to find a taxi or some ojeks. We were quickly spotted by a taxi driver who seemed really excited to get such a large fare (we tried to bargain him down from 400K IDR for the round-trip, but he stuck to his price) – throughout the drive he was constantly tooting his horn, even when he wasn’t passing any cars. It was as if he wanted everyone in Ende and the rounding villages to know, “Look! I have customers today!”

So, this next part may be a little TMI for some readers – I apologize in advance – but about halfway to the Blue Stone Beach, Lindsay started to get a little stomach ache. At first she thought it was just a little gas, but soon realized, oh no!, this is much, MUCH more than gas. She started squirming in her seat, and told Igor that she might be getting her first bout of traveler’s diarrhea. However, we were almost to the beach, so we continued on.

 

Short day-trip to the Blue Stone Beach, via taxi – but check out the “Titanic”-themed public bus ahead!

 

Black sand and beautiful blue stones cover the beach – and trash-free, despite what some reviews say

 

Some reviews on TripAdvisor.com complained that there weren’t that many stones left – we beg to differ! There were plenty of stones to admire (it looked like they were small chucks from the nearby cliff sides). We did notice many locals selling piles of neatly organized blue stones along the side of the road – looks like they were for construction / interior design purposes, rather than tourists.

 

Lindsay collecting a few stones – see how blue!

 

Other than a few locals hanging out near the trail from the road, we had the beach to ourselves

 

It was really pretty, but Lindsay desperately needed a Western toilet ASAP, so after a few quick photos, we jumped back in the taxi and returned to Ende

I’ll spare you all the horrific details of the conclusion to my, er, stomach issues. Suffice to say that I made it back in the nick of time, but took four Imodium tablets before boarding the plane. After “emptying the tank,” I didn’t poop again for about 3 days. Igor, on the other hand, was perfectly fine – we had eaten the exactly same thing the night before, so we deduced it must have been the butter on my toast during breakfast (Igor only takes jam). Lesson: don’t try to eat Western food – the locals cook their own cuisine best.

Our return flight to Bali had a quick stopover in Labuan Bajo, so we were served two lunches (thanks, Garuda Indonesia!). We ran into two of our new friends from the Komodo tour – small world! In fact, we found that we were constantly bumping into the same 6 people throughout our trip to Flores – it’s definitely less crowded than Bali so all Westerners really stand out. This is the Indonesia we were expecting!

When we arrived in Bali, we dropped off our big bag at the baggage storage for an hour so that we could make a quick run to the mall in Kuta to pick up some essentials: sneakers for Lindsay (to temporarily replace her lots boots), sunscreen, hand sanitizer and toothpaste. We were in and out of Payless Shoes and the drugstore within 40min (paid with credit card), and off to our hotel outside the city.

Since our first hotel in Bali was super cheap, and selected for the convenient location next to the airport rather than comfort, Igor splurged for an Expedia “Special Deal” and got us a room at the 5-star Pan Pacific Nirwana Resort – right next to the Tanah Lot temple (we had a clear view and back-door access via the resort golf-course)! As we were sipping our cool welcome drinks in the lobby – traditional Balinese flute music wafting through the air, next to a serene lotus pond – we decided Bali might not be so bad after all.

 

Time to relax! Ordering room service at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Bali

Day 69: Ende

We had a day and a half left in Flores before our flight back to Bali. On the advice of some fellow travelers we met during the Komodo tour, we decided we would try to visit the traditional village outside of Bajawa – which is a 3-4 hour bus ride from Ende. Originally, we started to plan a self-drive ojek hire from Cristo, where we would drive ourselves to Bajawa and meet him in Ende the next day, but once he discovered on our Kelimutu drive that we had never ridden (nevermind *driven*) an ojek before, he decided he didn’t want us to crash his bike, so he offered to book us seats on the VIP “air-conditioned” bus instead.

We met up with Cristo and Rolf (who was travelling our direction on his way to Ende) at the Rice Field Guest House in the morning, and found out that the VIP bus was unfortunately already full and we would have to take the public bus instead. We were actually a little thrilled at the idea of taking the public bus (and not just because we’d be paying 40K IDR instead of 150K IDR each) – the only downside was that we would have to transfer to a different bus Ende. Also, the public bus is not known for being punctual and it would be delayed even more due to the construction we had hit on our way into Moni as well.

 

On our way to Ende via the public bus – the bus attendant hung out the door the entire ride, yelling, “Ende, Ende, Ende!” as we passed through each village, so that locals could flag us down

 

Construction between Ende & Moni – normally a 2hr drive, delayed to 3hrs. Nothing to do but find a spot in the shade and wait it out

 

Admiring the scenery out the open door of the bus, as we zoom through the countryside

When we arrived in Ende, it was after 1PM. While the bus driver was very helpful in pointing out the bus to Bajawa, we realized that the sun would be setting by the time we reached the village, leaving us to arrange our hotel and return transport in the dark. Given we had a noon flight the next day, we decided Bajawa would probably be more trouble than it was worth with our tight schedule. Next time.

Unfortunately, there is not much to do in Ende. We booked ourselves a room at the Grand Wisata (the “nicest” hotel in Ende for 550K IDR / USD$40) because we were told they have free Wifi. Yeah, after multiple trips to the front desk to complain, we found out that the Wifi wasn’t working that day, and they had called someone “fix” it (Igor suspects they just didn’t plug in the router, because they didn’t want to pay for the service). Two cockroaches and a really smelly bathroom later, we were starting to regret our decision to stay in Ende.

 

COCKROACHES. And this is literally the best hotel in Ende.

We agreed to meet up with Rolf for dinner later that night (he wisely chose a budget hotel down the street – no frills, but then he wasn’t expecting them), so the three of us headed out into the streets of the city around sunset in search of some food. We passed through a market along the way, and finally decided to get dinner at an eatery on the corner that looked really popular – if all the locals like it, it must be good, right?

 

Local marketplace in Ende

 

Fresh produce – and eggs! – from the surrounding farms

 

Rice! With several color options! Rolf and the locals were shaking their heads when Lindsay kept taking out the camera for such silly pictures. Whatever – I’m setting the mood of a scene here. Are you feeling the personality of the city of Ende? ARE YOU? Yes, that’s what I thought – you’re welcome.

 

Chicken and rice dinner in Ende – keeping it simple for delicious results

We bought some bananas at the marketplace and some cakes from a bakery on the way back to Rolf’s hotel (which was down the longest, darkest, creepiest alley in Indonesia, BTW). We shared our dessert while swapping stories about our travels and general musing about life. Ende may have been a disappointing attraction, but it’s the people you meet along the way who can make or break a trip. Safe travels, Rolf!

Day 68: Kelimutu

Our alarm woke us up at 3:30AM, and for once we were not at all tired for a sunrise trek! Cristo and a fellow ojek driver arrived outside our lodge at 4AM, and Igor and Lindsay each climbed on an ojek for the very first time. While there were a few ominous clouds the night before, we could see a clear, star-filled sky during our hour-long drive up the mountain. The ojek ride was awesome – an essential part of the experience of Kelimutu – we are so glad we didn’t walk up or get a car. The feeling of being on the back of a motorcycle, with the cold morning air whipping across your face as you take the mountain corners in the pre-dawn darkness – THAT’S what adventure feels like!

Quick stop at the Kelimutu National Park HQ to pay the entrance fee, while Cristo yawns on his ojek

When we reached the top, Cristo and his friend bade us farewell, as we planned to walk ourselves back down the mountain after sunrise. We had about a 20min hike to the viewing platform on the mountain peak, when Igor noticed a bit of light on the horizon. Terrified of missing the Big Moment, he took off at a run to the top, while Lindsay calmly followed behind. (She didn’t miss the sunrise, and didn’t arrive out of breath either.)

OMG – QUICK, I DON’T WANT TO MISS THE SUNRISE

While we were not alone at the top of the mountain, Kelimutu has been by far and away the least crowded mountain sunrise we have visited in Indonesia (trust me – there are A LOT of them) – there were around 50 tourists, max, at the moment of sunrise, over half of which dispersed within 15min.

Waiting for the sunrise with a small group of tourists

 

Sunrise view from Mt. Kelimutu

What makes Kelimutu unique of the many volcanos in Indonesia, is the tri-colored crater lakes at the top of the mountain. The lakes are constantly changing colors due to chemical reactions from volcanic activity, so our photos may look completely different from photos taken a few years from now. Local legend says that when someone dies, their spirits come to one of these three lakes to pass on into the afterlife: the Good Lake, the Lake of Younger People, and the Evil Lake. (The Lake of Young People seems to be for those who weren’t *that* good in their lifetime, but weren’t really evil either – I guess the local people cut youngers some slack. At least, that’s how a local girl selling tea at the top explained it to us.)

 

The tri-colored lakes of Kelimutu: Atabupu / Lake of Old People (dark blue), Nuwamuri Ko’o Fai / Lake of Younger People (turquoise) and Atapolo / Evil Lake (olive green)

 

Reading up on the lakes

 

Speaking of youngsters – a group of local boys at the top of Kelimutu kept asking each of the Western women to pose for a photo holding a sign that either said, “I love you, so-and-so” or some mystery message in Bahasa Indonesian. They eventually got Lindsay to pose for a photo – hopefully it doesn’t say, “Death to America” on it. As they were all giggling and only asked women to hold the signs, we think it was probably something naughty, but harmless.

Even though sunrise was over by 6:30AM, Lindsay wanted to wait until 10AM so we could see all three lakes in the full sunshine (to better appreciate their stunning colors!), so we decided to kill some time by trying to climb down to the edge of the turquoise lake. There’s no trail, and the mountain is extremely steep. Lindsay soon gave up, and even Igor had to call it quits before reaching the bottom. Don’t’ try it – there are signs telling you to stay on the trail for a reason!

 

Futile attempt to reach the turquoise lake – perhaps our spirits will go there someday…

 

You get a better view of the lake from the top anyways – Nuwamuri Ko’o Fai in the sunlight

 

Checking out the color difference between the Young People Lake & Evil Lake

When we got back to the parking lot, we headed toward the visitor’s center to ask for directions for the way down – there is supposed to be a “traditional village” as well as some waterfalls and hot springs on the way, and we wanted to make sure we were going in the right direction. Unfortunately, the visitor’s center was closed – so we took a picture of the map posted nearby, hoping that would guide us down.

 

Heading down the mountain with our “map”

So, the walk down the mountain is only supposed to take 2 hours. It took us 6 HOURS to get down since we couldn’t find the turn off for the Pemo Village, and we kept backtracking up the mountain trying to find the trail (which, somehow, always seemed to lead us to their stupid Arboretum). When we finally did get on the right path toward the village, it kept forking with no signs saying which way was which – we finally just used the GPS in Igor’s cell phone to get us back to the main road.

 

Sign for Perekonde – which is on the map – showing we went too far. So we backtracked and ended up in a very overgrown arboretum

 

We kept following the paved path within the arboretum, hoping it would lead out into the village. Nope! Straight up, and back to the Kelimutu parking lot

 

Probably the right path to Pemo Village, as we found a marker on the road when we gave up and turned back. Note – this turn off for Pemo Village is NOT on the official tourism map

 

Wandering through cloudy farmland on the face of Kelimutu

About halfway down the mountain, we stupidly decided to try and take another short-cut. According to the map, there is a turn off that takes you directly to the Murondao Waterfall, which is right across the street from the Rainbow Café where we had agreed to meet up with Cristo to return his sneakers. Whatever road we took was not the correct road – after walking through remote farms & little villages, we finally ended up past our hotel, on the other side of Moni.

 

Lots of goats on the road

 

Lost again. Passing by lots of little farms

 

It was a LONG detour, but it was still a beautiful walk

We stopped back at our hotel for a quick shower before meeting up with Cristo, who then invited us to his brother’s post-wedding party later that night (customary “gift” is 100K rupiah / USD$10 pp – fair enough cover for a house party). About half the town showed up (as well as a handful other Western tourists) for a home-cooked rice & chicken dinner, live music (performed by Cristo’s brother-in-law), and arak (we passed on the booze, since everyone had to share the same shot glass). I’ll admit, Lindsay was a bit of a deer in headlights during the evening, but Igor was totally at ease: chillin’ to the local tunes, and chatting for an hour about fundraising options for the litter problem in Moni.

 

Igor breaking bread with the locals, and tapping his feet to the Indonesian-Rastafarian tunes

 

The party was raging late into the night – we could hear it from our hotel room. Glad we didn’t have to be up before dawn this time!