BaliJogja
I just came back from a long trip, traveling to Bali and Yogyakarta. It's been such a fulfilling trip and I don't think words are enough to describe the experience. Well, it's just Indonesia but I learned so much and was pulled out of my comfort zone a lot of times throughout the entire trip, making the trip a memorable one.
We departed from Singapore on the 18th Dec and boarded the 830pm flight. Right after we arrived in Bali, we had a round of drinks and everyone geared up to party at MixWell. An Australian dude decided to join us by climbing through our window. Haha. It was a crazy night. The aircon wasn't working, everyone was dancing and perspiring, the music was beyond amazing and we smoked in the club like rules never existed. Came back, ate pop mie ( i love this btw), and crashed till next morning.
We packed our bags and proceeded to PutuBali for our 3d2n stay. The place was really GORGEOUS. It has an outdoor bathroom, really huge bed and bathtub that could accomodate 4 people. The next 3 days were spent going to clubs, Tanah Lott to see a floating temple, barongan performance, and shopping at a local nightmarket. We managed to eat the nicest jagung bakar everrrr. It was so spicy our mouths turned numb for awhile. Nom nom. On the last night, Hanna joined us and we had seafood near Kuta where the food was freaking awesome. I also did a $10 manicure + pedicure. In short, it was lavish living for the entire 3 days.
The next day, Matin, Zul and Joel headed back to Sg while we took a bus to Jogja. I never thought I'd ever survive a 20hr bus ride but yes, I did. The bus ride wasn't entirely uncomfortable. In fact, it had pillows and blankets and even toilets! However, the bus driver decided to be a racer at night and forced my heart into my throat at the wee hours of the morning. I was more than glad when we finally reached Jogja at about 10am.
After checking in, we ate at a warong and walked around Maliboro market and bought Pukis, sate ayam, mini oranges and random snacks. The stuff there is ridiculously cheap. A bag costs around $3 while accessories such as bands cost less than 20 cents each. We settled down at the mall to chill and Hadri joined us for the trip. (:
The next day, we set out early to make the best of the day. That was when we discovered that our hotel was facing Mt Merapi and it was such a gorgeous view. Ate breakfast with Mt Merapi smoking behind us. After which, we traveled and made our way to Borobudur and it was such a breathtaking sight. Worth the 2 hours ride there. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that we traveled entirely on public transport on that day. We took a trishaw, a bus, and a horse! It was a very long day but worth every bead of sweat. We dropped by Gajah Madha University and I had the worst gado gado ever.
On the last day of the trip, I sensed the beginnings of UTI. Feeling rather annoyed with myself, I tried to brush it off. The peeps decided to visit Mount Merapi. I was really scared, to tell you the truth. I am not really a fan of volcanoes, hiking and all that jazz. However, I braved it out and went ahead. The atmosphere there was simply surreal. It was such a heartbreaking sight and the silence was deafening. The barren land, the sulphur smell, the burned trees. It felt like a scenario taken right out of a movie scene. After taking pictures and looking around, we went to Pantai Parangtritis to catch sunset and ate seafood there. Did some last minute shopping at Maliboro night market and managed to buy things for my siblings. I felt sick after that and couldn't join the rest for clubbing at night. Nizar was kind enough to accompany me and we retired early on that night.
Woke up at 0430am and packed our bags, headed to the airport, had breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and finally reached home. I enjoyed every minute of this trip and it wouldn't have been possible without the company I was with. We are already planning to go for another trip. Perhaps Bangkok? We shall see. Till then, it has been such a highlight of my 2010 and I am looking forward to 2011.