Indonesia 2007
I said I would post photos of our trip so here they are. I'm skipping Singapore though. Didn't take a lot of interesting photos there because we were in Borders most of the time. And I forgot to take a pic of Mina. Sayang. Anyhoo, we start with Indonesia na.
So, day 1 in Indonesia. We arrive in Jakarta, we had no Rupiah. They told us at the hotel we can exchange in the mall across the Mangga Dua the street. It was about as wide as C5. We saw that a bridge went over it from our hotel. The bridge. When you enter, you feel transported to 168 in Divisoria. Bargain stalls inside! When you cross it, you are greeted by this. Mangga Dua Mal. 7 floors attached to another 7 floors attached to I don't know how many malls of BARGAIN EVERYTHING. It was completely insane! After getting lost, and being informed the money changers don't open till two days later, we found a money changer. Good thing because I nearly went nuts. Bargains everywhere, and NO MONEY! Arrgh! Hahaha! If I had known, I would have been more prepared. Brought my own calculator, bigger luggage, etc etc.
Day 2 in Jakarta, we took a tour and were brought, among other places, to the National Museum. This is one of the displays there. See how their traditional houses look a lot like ours. They have something that looks like sungka too, and a bunch of stuff that we can relate with. But a lot of stuff is totally different too because they have Hindu and Buddhist roots and we don't.
Day 3, we flew to Bali. And this is the famous Kuta beach! It was right outside our Hotel. Aneka Beach Hotel. A little dinky, awful breakfast. But PERFECT location. And it had the perfect little pool. We swam there, not in the beach. Because we have lots of beaches in the Philippines, duh. That's not the reason we went to Bali. We explored Kuta a bit, and in the evening, went to see Tito Jojo in the Grand Hyatt. The biggest hotel in all Bali. He let us have dinner with him and his colleagues there. Cool.
Day 4. Whole day tour of Bali. In the morning, we were brought to many little villages with their own cottage industries. Silver and gold, paintings and wood carvings. For lunch, we were brought to a restaurant in the mountain with this spectacular view of a volcano (to the left) and a lake (to the right). This was actually 5 or 6 photos stitched together. It looks like just one view, but in reality, you'd have to turn almost 180 degrees to see this whole panorama. It was breathtaking.
After lunch, we were brought to Ubud. A town at the foothills of the mountain, which is the "cultural center" of Bali. This is where there are many artisans and artists with many crafts. This is a photo of the Sultan's Palace. His family lives here to this day. We were allowed into the outer courtyard.
By now you can tell, Bali is the equivalent of Boracay, Puerto Galera, Tagaytay and Baguio all in one island. With times 100 the shopping. Every little corner of the island, even the lonely country roads has a stall selling souvenirs, clothes, crafts, furniture, stoneware, whatever, everywhere.
Day 5. The morning was spent shopping for pasalubong in Kuta Market near our hotel. We had lunch in Made's Warung. Yummy Indonesian seafood. Then we took a dip in our hotel pool. At three, our tour guide fetched us and brought us to Tanah Lot, this temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess of the Sea. It is protected by a holy snake. We actually met that snake. It hides in a hole in a cave near the temple.
After the temple, we were brought to Tanjung Benoa Beach for a candle lit dinner with a sunset view. It was very beautiful, and really romantic. Naturally we spent the time taking photos of the sunset, stuffing ourselves with food, and making fun of the Korean honeymooners identifiable by their matching clothes. Brought back fond memories of our honeymoon in El Nido. Especially the Koreans. We love them. They're crazier than us.
Day 6, we flew from Bali to Yogyakarta. No photos this day cause, well, it started bad cause I lost our vouchers. When we were greeted by our tour guide in Yogya, he immediately said, "No problem." Basically, this day, we tried to explore Yogyakarta ourselves. But it was too much a provincial city and nothing was very interesting. We bought a few souvenirs from Marlioboro Street Market. But that's it. Most of this day was spent watching TV and eating room service in the hotel. It was a great hotel. It was far from the city center, but it was 5 minutes away from the airport.
Day 7, whole day tour of Yogyakarta and highlight of the trip. Borobudur! Way bigger than it looks in the photo, because, again, this was 4 or 5 pics stitched together. That's why it's a little distorted in the far edges.
A picture from the top of Borobudur. The whole monument tells the story of enlightenment. Overcoming earthly desires, and seeking Nirvana. They say, you have to spend three days at Borobudur, mediating on the stories depicted in the reliefs before you reach Nirvana. We did the shortcut and just walked around the top tower three times, and reached in one of the bells to touch the hand and feet of the Buddha. Cool. I've wanted to come here since my parents went 20 years ago and showed us the pics. And now I've been! And it was great. What better way to spend Good Friday than to reflect on the Buddha's teachings and reach Nirvana. Anyway I bet Jesus and Buddha would have gotten along if they met.
After Borobudur, we were brought around Yogyakarta, to see the current Sultan's palace, and this in the photo, is the Water Castle. It was where the hundreds-of-years-ago Sultan's harem used to live. Swimming all day, and not allowed to wear any clothes. The old Sultans of Yogyakarta had sooo many wives and even Mooore children. The water castle looked so peaceful when we were there. But there was a story when the Sultan's favorite concubine was poisoned dead, he had ALL the concubines beheaded. Insane! Monogamy rocks.
So, that's the gist of our trip. The rest of our photos are here. Mike and I were able to rest a lot. We enjoyed Indonesia and each other's company (despite the constant teasing) very much. :-)
So, day 1 in Indonesia. We arrive in Jakarta, we had no Rupiah. They told us at the hotel we can exchange in the mall across the Mangga Dua the street. It was about as wide as C5. We saw that a bridge went over it from our hotel. The bridge. When you enter, you feel transported to 168 in Divisoria. Bargain stalls inside! When you cross it, you are greeted by this. Mangga Dua Mal. 7 floors attached to another 7 floors attached to I don't know how many malls of BARGAIN EVERYTHING. It was completely insane! After getting lost, and being informed the money changers don't open till two days later, we found a money changer. Good thing because I nearly went nuts. Bargains everywhere, and NO MONEY! Arrgh! Hahaha! If I had known, I would have been more prepared. Brought my own calculator, bigger luggage, etc etc.
Day 2 in Jakarta, we took a tour and were brought, among other places, to the National Museum. This is one of the displays there. See how their traditional houses look a lot like ours. They have something that looks like sungka too, and a bunch of stuff that we can relate with. But a lot of stuff is totally different too because they have Hindu and Buddhist roots and we don't.
Day 3, we flew to Bali. And this is the famous Kuta beach! It was right outside our Hotel. Aneka Beach Hotel. A little dinky, awful breakfast. But PERFECT location. And it had the perfect little pool. We swam there, not in the beach. Because we have lots of beaches in the Philippines, duh. That's not the reason we went to Bali. We explored Kuta a bit, and in the evening, went to see Tito Jojo in the Grand Hyatt. The biggest hotel in all Bali. He let us have dinner with him and his colleagues there. Cool.
Day 4. Whole day tour of Bali. In the morning, we were brought to many little villages with their own cottage industries. Silver and gold, paintings and wood carvings. For lunch, we were brought to a restaurant in the mountain with this spectacular view of a volcano (to the left) and a lake (to the right). This was actually 5 or 6 photos stitched together. It looks like just one view, but in reality, you'd have to turn almost 180 degrees to see this whole panorama. It was breathtaking.
After lunch, we were brought to Ubud. A town at the foothills of the mountain, which is the "cultural center" of Bali. This is where there are many artisans and artists with many crafts. This is a photo of the Sultan's Palace. His family lives here to this day. We were allowed into the outer courtyard.
By now you can tell, Bali is the equivalent of Boracay, Puerto Galera, Tagaytay and Baguio all in one island. With times 100 the shopping. Every little corner of the island, even the lonely country roads has a stall selling souvenirs, clothes, crafts, furniture, stoneware, whatever, everywhere.
Day 5. The morning was spent shopping for pasalubong in Kuta Market near our hotel. We had lunch in Made's Warung. Yummy Indonesian seafood. Then we took a dip in our hotel pool. At three, our tour guide fetched us and brought us to Tanah Lot, this temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess of the Sea. It is protected by a holy snake. We actually met that snake. It hides in a hole in a cave near the temple.
After the temple, we were brought to Tanjung Benoa Beach for a candle lit dinner with a sunset view. It was very beautiful, and really romantic. Naturally we spent the time taking photos of the sunset, stuffing ourselves with food, and making fun of the Korean honeymooners identifiable by their matching clothes. Brought back fond memories of our honeymoon in El Nido. Especially the Koreans. We love them. They're crazier than us.
Day 6, we flew from Bali to Yogyakarta. No photos this day cause, well, it started bad cause I lost our vouchers. When we were greeted by our tour guide in Yogya, he immediately said, "No problem." Basically, this day, we tried to explore Yogyakarta ourselves. But it was too much a provincial city and nothing was very interesting. We bought a few souvenirs from Marlioboro Street Market. But that's it. Most of this day was spent watching TV and eating room service in the hotel. It was a great hotel. It was far from the city center, but it was 5 minutes away from the airport.
Day 7, whole day tour of Yogyakarta and highlight of the trip. Borobudur! Way bigger than it looks in the photo, because, again, this was 4 or 5 pics stitched together. That's why it's a little distorted in the far edges.
A picture from the top of Borobudur. The whole monument tells the story of enlightenment. Overcoming earthly desires, and seeking Nirvana. They say, you have to spend three days at Borobudur, mediating on the stories depicted in the reliefs before you reach Nirvana. We did the shortcut and just walked around the top tower three times, and reached in one of the bells to touch the hand and feet of the Buddha. Cool. I've wanted to come here since my parents went 20 years ago and showed us the pics. And now I've been! And it was great. What better way to spend Good Friday than to reflect on the Buddha's teachings and reach Nirvana. Anyway I bet Jesus and Buddha would have gotten along if they met.
After Borobudur, we were brought around Yogyakarta, to see the current Sultan's palace, and this in the photo, is the Water Castle. It was where the hundreds-of-years-ago Sultan's harem used to live. Swimming all day, and not allowed to wear any clothes. The old Sultans of Yogyakarta had sooo many wives and even Mooore children. The water castle looked so peaceful when we were there. But there was a story when the Sultan's favorite concubine was poisoned dead, he had ALL the concubines beheaded. Insane! Monogamy rocks.
So, that's the gist of our trip. The rest of our photos are here. Mike and I were able to rest a lot. We enjoyed Indonesia and each other's company (despite the constant teasing) very much. :-)