The next morning we had nothing planned. In fact we all woke up later than usual. Slowly had breakfast and walked the roads of Kuta town. Compared to Kuta’s bustling night life, their morning is totally different.

Shops were slowly being opened, owners offering their prayers for the day in the form of banana leaves folded into a container shape with bananas and flowers in it. Everywhere we went, we saw this offering in front of their shop regardless how big or small their premises were.

The main area looks rather dull in the morning.

The only thing left for us to do is to explore Kuta beach and that’s what all of us did. Initial plan was to wear Bali shirt with sarung. But i guess the sarung part was a bit too drastic lol

Our first impression of the beach was, WTH happened to it?

There were just piles of rubbish all over the place. Locals were all clearing up by hands. Probably the sea brought it to their shores unexpectedly.

We were then suddenly greeted by a jogger. Well he didn’t exactly greet us but probably asked us to move away, lol.

We continued strolling down the beach.

David caught red handed. Daniel and David got closer to get better shots of the surfer lol.

Getting lessons before going out to the sea for the 2nd time.

We then headed back to our hotel to pack. Before reaching, we walked around to those shops that are already opened. I was looking for a shirt to buy back but ended up buying Angeline a dress. The price at Kuta is slightly more expensive comparatively to Pasar Seni Sukawati. At least we don’t have to go through the tyrant that yelled at us.

I finally found the shirt that i wanted, a Bintang Beer shirt. Now that i have checked that off my to-buy list, we headed back.

We totally forgot about our welcome drink and got it before entering our room. It was more like a GoodBye drink ROFLMAO. This is the only proper photo i have of the pool in Oasis. Looks pretty awesome right ?!

Just like Redang, some girls were there sunbathing and they couldn’t be bothered with the amount of guys photographing them.

Not gonna post all the photos cause i found out kids are also reading my blog lol.

After packing we left for the airport.

Making our mark on Kuta beach.

At the airport, we took some crazy group shots with Yoga and our driver. I realized how everyone else were looking at us. Hahahaha.

Don’t forget to prepare 150,000 rupiah for their government tax. That works out to about RM 55.50. Without this sticker on your boarding pass, you wouldn’t be allowed to go through.

We had our lunch at the airport and the service was just damn slowwww. Better to have your lunch/dinner somewhere else before departing.

As we left Bali, i sighed in relief because this trip has given me the most headache even prior to the trip. The amount of people who tried to scam/cheat us. Thank God, everything worked in my favour. This is probably the last time i will be having 16 pax in a trip, though we finally had only 13.

On the way back to KL, i was already planning on the next trip which was to Philippines !!! We bought the tickets before this Indonesia trip and all that was left was the itinerary.

People get high on drugs, alcohol …. i get high planning for trips, HAHAHAHAHAHA.

We headed back to Sri Ratih Cottage after dinner on the 2nd night. We were all free to do anything for the night and so the guys and got into the pool. The ladies on the other hand decided to stay dry and conquered the lobby area hogging their wifi spot; facebook-ing, tweet-ing. It’s like as though we were the only residents in the whole cottage.

We all went back to our rooms after an hour or so for a good night’s sleep. The next morning we had our complimentary breakfast before heading to Kuta Beach for our final night.

I realized i left out pictures of the rooms in Sri Ratih Cottage. Here they are

The rooms are very spacious, in fact too spacious lol. Good thing if you have big backpacks like us cause you can just lay them anywhere. Same goes with the bathroom. There’s just ample of space in the room. Never bothered checking what channels were available cause i immediately dozed off once i got onto the bed.

I highly recommend this place to anyone who is putting up a night in Ubud. Remember Sri Ratih Cottage.

After breakfast, we packed up and moved towards Kuta town.

On the way we stopped at Goa Gajah.

Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave was built in the 9th century and it’s listed as one of UNESCO’s heritage site, thus being one of the must visit places for us

After putting on our sarungs, we took a short walk to the cave.

It’s not some huge cave with bats hanging upside down and funky smell but it’s more a man made cave i think. It’s quite small with deities places at every corner.

One thing that i never did in Cambodia was to camwhore. I didn’t have much evidence of my face in any of those places. So this time around i tried to snap more of myself, though most of the time it comes out crappy.

It was very dark in the cave and i forgot to lower down the power of my flash thus Daniel and David giving the WTF look at me. Hahahaha sorry guys ROFL.

Lingas in one corner of the cave in Goa Gajah.

There was also carvings of Buddha on limestone but i could hardly see it.

Some of the smaller temples in the compound were destroyed during the last major earthquake. So only the remaining ruins were left on the site.

After Goa Gajah, we moved on to Pasar Seni Sukawati.

We never bought any handicrafts or shirts along the whole journey here in Bali. Simply because this very market which is away from the main Kuta area sells very much cheaper.

We only had 30minutes here but it was the worst 30 minutes in Bali. We all spread around and tried looking for things that interest us. Most of us wanted the local shirts and while bargaining i found out one of the stalls gave us a very good deal.

So i went to the rest and told them that the other stall was cheaper and asked them to go there. The owner overheard and shouted at us, saying who said there cheaper? The daughter also joint suite and were babbling their lungs out. Ai Ling, Angeline, Emily and I got a shock of our lives but being Penangites, we maintained cool and said the other lady did offer cheaper and we walked off. I glanced back and the lady was still fuming.

After purchasing from the other store, a total of 30 plus shirts, we purposely walked in front of the other store where the lady shouted. Hahahahahahahahaha. The lady stared at us as we walked off. Well she deserved it. I was paying for my shirt and i have every right to choose another stall if the price was right. She and her daughter had no reason to shout at us.

In our van, we laughed our lungs out talking about the expression of the her face when she saw how much we actually bought.

Don’t play play with Penangites!

After half an hour we stopped by Pondok Kuring for lunch.

While waiting for lunch to be served, some of us took time to clean our camera gears. For some reason that lens looks like mine, lol

We had pigeon their local chicken specialty for lunch. We had extra portions because Wai Seng couldn’t make it for the trip, just like how we had an extra room while in Mount Batur. So we gave the extra portion to our driver who has been excellent during the whole journey. He opened up to us especially me after we showed that we are a happy go lucky bunch of travelers.

I could remember how many times he asked me if i was really giving he and Yoga the extra room as well as this lunch

While waiting for the rest to finish, i roamed around the restaurant and this flower which was hanging above my head at the entrance caught my attention. I haven’t really mastered macro or close up shots but i think i am getting there. Lol self confidence kicking in

Slowly one by one appeared at the entrance and we got into our van before heading to The Oasis where we will be putting up for the night.

In our trips, usually the final day we would stay in a slightly better place and The Oasis at Kuta beach was hit all the criteria; not blood sucking expensive and superb environment.

All rooms face their gorgeous pool which runs from the lobby to the end of the building. Here’s the messed up part, i never had one decent shot of their pool !!!!!!! Sigh. What a waste !

From Sri Ratih Cottage to The Oasis, we were back to the usual size room which was better. Sometimes too big a room can be a bit eerie in the middle of the night XD

The room had oldish-slab-of-stones as their tiles. There’s a third bed, sofa-like, which could easily be used by another person. Everything here was compact and clean. After washing up, we gathered at the lobby before walking to Kuta beach to meet up with Yoga.

There was a miscommunication before we gathered, so i would like to apologize to Jess and also Steven

From the Oasis to the Kuta beach, it was like a 15 minutes walk where we would pass through the main shopping district. Everyone was going like oooo aaaaaaa and couldn’t stop looking around lol.

We finally met up with Yoga and we were off to Tanah Lot !

To Tanah Lot, it took us like half an hour but luckily there wasn’t any rain.

Unlike other places, we needn’t wear sarung.

Unfortunately the temple on this cliff was closed.

We had our wind therapy again. Loved every second of it. Just make sure you have your sunnies or cap or hat intact, if not it will just take off without you knowing.

We then walked to the temple you see above. The temple is on the right side, near the water. It’s said that below the temple has a water source which emits pure clean water though it’s near the sea. Not really sure about it but we didn’t get close to the temple as it was really crowded.

Seriously, the breeze at Tanah Lot was just fantastic. I would have equally enjoyed the breeze at Uluwatu if only there wasn’t any rain in the first place

Moments after i took this shot, i saw Aaron with a bloody leg. It seems he slipped when he was walking towards us. We then moved on to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

On the way there, Yoga was telling us about the Ah Gua (tranny) that we see a lot in Jakarta and Jogjakarta are actually called Ben Chong in Bali. HAHAHAHA. So we immediately turned to David whose surname is Chong and told him, whatever it is don’t name your son Ben ! ROFLMAO

Yoga suddenly starting feeding a fruit bat out of a sudden which scare the few of us, LOL.

After a short walk we reached our makan place.

When the workers at this restaurant saw Aaron walking awkwardly, they realized of his bloody leg. They immediately brought him in and took out the first aid kit box. They cleaned his wound there and then. Talk about excellent customer service

The table that they arranged for us was damn long. It gave the impression of the Last Supper, hahaha.

Each dish slowly made it’s way out of the kitchen and before you know it our tables were jam packed with food. We stuffed ourselves to the max and then left early to Legian area.

There we were shown where the Bali bombings happened. We were dropped at Legian itself. Some of us, decided to have dinner again and some of us decided to walk. Ai Ling, Emily, Angeline and i decided to walk. In fact, we just kept on walking to God knows where. After a while we realized we reached Kuta area. We stopped by Mc Donalds for desert before heading back to the Oasis.

After dropping our stuffs, we walked again and suddenly Ai Ling mentioned about Vingie challenged her to do a tattoo. So Ai Ling got curious and asked one of the nearby shops about getting one.

She decides to have her name tattoo-ed on her hand but this tattoo is only temporary

I tell you the time we took or rather the time Ai Ling took to decide on whether she should do the tattoo, we could all have done a few laps in the swimming pool. HAHAHAHA. She just looked so tensed when deciding whether to go for it.

After that, we called it a night.

Final post of Bali and our wonderful journey in Indonesia will be up soon. Stay tuned

]]> http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/08/bali-day-3-ben-chong-has-a-different-meaning-in-bali/feed/ 10 http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/07/bali-day-2-trying-the-most-expensive-coffee-in-the-world/ http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/07/bali-day-2-trying-the-most-expensive-coffee-in-the-world/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:58:03 +0000 satkuru http://satkuru.com/blog/?p=2968

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After bidding Mount Batur and Hotel Surya goodbye, we then headed to Ubud. Another amazing town that anyone who drops by in Bali should visit. Spending a night here is definitely recommended. Everything is away from the hustling and bustling of town life like Kuta beach.

On the way to Ubud we did make some detours and the first stop was lunch.

Gahhhhh just realized the photo colours are off. So much for batch editing -_-!

The best part of our lunch was that it was buffet style. So we kept eating until the locals gave a weird look LOL.

They had this crazy spicy sate that i kept taking but once the fella preparing gave me a stare, i stopped. Hahaha. We were just spoilt we the amount of food.

The building that we were at is built right at the edge. Check out the unfinished metal pieces sticking out. After lunch we drove to a nearby coffee farm where we were introduced to the animal that is incharge of making the most expensive coffee in the world.

The so called mobile coffee maker, LOL.

We were given samples of what they make in this farm, from different types of coffees to chocolate drinks. Noticed the cinamon in the cup? They use that to stir, how unique is that

Unripe coffee? ROFLMAO. This is where it all begins before it ends up in your cup of Starbucks or Coffee Bean.

Finally it was time for the most expensive coffee in the world to take center stage. Having one of the most kiam siap groups to date, we all ordered a grand total of ……… *drums roll*

ONE cup of luwak coffee ! HAHAHAHAHA

It was simply too expensive for us. More over it’s only a backpacking trip. So we all took one sip at a time and seriously, it look so pathetic. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

We then carried on towards Ubud and as we got closer we could the strong Hinduism architecture in ever household. In fact each house has it’s own temple and a priest would do prayers for each family. Super ganas !

We stopped by at a nearby temple and this is where devotees would cleanse themselves, something similar to cleansing in Ganges river.

After the temple we finally reached Ubud town. It’s a very quiet town compared to Kuta. I simply love their buildings. We were left to explore the town for half an hour and guess what we found ?

Babi Guling ! Sorry non halal for the next picture. I have always heard about this and finally we had the chance to try it out.

… and so what’s my verdict on Babi Guling? Over rated.

Probably we weren’t in the right store to eat it but i would take Siew Yok or Char Siew Fan anytime lol.

Keat Meng standing in front of the shop, hoping they would have a branch in Malaysia soon, lol.

We then checked into our hotel. Initially we were suppose to stay in a different place but last minute we were bumped up to this awesome cottage called the Sri Ratih Cottage. A huge leap from Sri Surya for sure. LOL. Everyone was excited seeing how the place was. I will write more in detail about this place in my upcoming entry

After giving everyone their room keys, we had our welcome drinks and zoomed off for dinner.

Each place we stopped was specifically chosen so that all of us had the chance to photograph something nice. So for dinner itself we had at Panorama Bar & Restaurant.

Before hand, i gave them our names as an assurance that we would be coming and seeing that majority of us are chinese or in fact all of us are chinese expect me, hahaha, they prepared for us chopsticks. Ganas sial.

Upon reaching Hotel Surya we divided ourselves to the rooms that were allocated to us. Because Wai Seng fell sick and had to forgo the trip, we had an extra room. We all decided to give the room to our driver and our guide, Yoga

I can still remember clearly that Yoga kept asking me if i was sure of giving him the room. The driver himself was baffled, LOL. Since both of them will be with us for the next few days, why not give them some proper place to rest since we have one room extra.

We were later awaken at 3 in the morning and it was freaking cold ! It wasn’t as windy as Genting Highlands but the temperature was cold.

Most of us were still in daze and once we got into the van, we dozed off.

After a short drive we arrived at the starting point of the hiking trail. If you are wondering why are we even hiking in Bali, well that’s because most of us here love hiking and when i was told that it’s possible to hike up Mount Batur, i thought no further and requested it.

A normal hike is nothing compared to hiking in the dark where visibility was minimum. So i requested for a few guides to help us out, if any required assistance.

It started off by walking through a paddy field lookalike and after half an hour, we started ascending.

We finally arrived at the top after a grueling 3 hours hike, just in time for the sunrise. Hiking up in a terrain that used to be lava is just crazy. Not as stable as i thought. We were greeted by the caretaker who had a hut which was over looking the lake and Mount Agung.

One of the guides that sold Coke as well as helped some of us carry our bags

The ladies

The guys

In Cambodia, Ai Ling stepped in a puddle of water at the 1000 lingas river and this time around Emily had a broken shoe. We took a similar photo to the one in Cambodia. So in Philippines it’s gonna be Angeline’s turn? *hides*

It was really windy and we were far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It was simply peaceful. I even spotted a foreign couple just laying there on the grass enjoying the cool breeze and scenery that this place had to offer.

After resting for a while, Daniel and David decided to hike up to the peak while the rest of us climbed towards the semi active crater.

Besides having the chance to hike up a semi active volcano, we also had the chance to meet several extra members when we were there. Codenamed, the Volcanic Dogs. I can’t described how tired some of us were but the minute these dogs ran around us with their waggling tails, we were all just pumped up again. The two golden retrievers were owned by the caretaker. They were given the name Kiki and Oza.

Elise for some reason showed extra affection towards Kiki and i asked Angeline, how come Elise calls Kiki in the different pitch. It gave me the impression that she had/has a dog with a similar name if not the same. Of course after a few days returning from Indonesia, i found out that she and Lasker indeed have a dog named Kiki. LOL!

As i mentioned earlier that we took a short hike towards the crater and there Yoga actually showed us certain places where hot steam is being released. He then gathered water in a bottle and left at the mouth of the hole where the steam was released. Not long after the water was hot. He even left a banana there to steam, lol.

When we went to the crater the Volcanic Dogs religiously followed us. Probably they got bored and were excited to see new faces

When we waited for Daniel and David to decent, we were given hard boil eggs for breakfast and some of us fed them to the dogs. They were simply adorable. So adorable that Angeline said that she doesn’t mind owning a Golden Retriever.

The Volcanic Dogs just love to get our attention !

Final group photo with Volcanic Dogs

After close to 2 hours, we started our hike down but this time we could see the places we had been through. It was definitely an experience to be cherished and meeting the Volcanic Dogs was definitely the icing on the cake !

Now that we were done with Mount Batur, we headed back to Hotel Surya and packed our stuffs before heading for lunch.

*Pictures courtesy of Phingelicious.com*

I never had any pictures of Hotel Surya in daylight and so i had to resort in hijacking Angeline’s photos. The picture above shows you the van we used to move around and the building behind is the place we stayed. We had that whole building to ourselves, hehehe.

Yoga informed me that the hotel actually had breakfast for us though it was already past 10am. Whenever food is concerned, none of us would put a pass.

We then rushed to our rooms to shower and gathered outside of our rooms before heading to our next stop .

]]> http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/07/bali-day-2-hiking-up-a-semi-active-volcano-mount-batur/feed/ 7 http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/06/monkeying-around-in-uluwatu-and-jimbaran/ http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/06/monkeying-around-in-uluwatu-and-jimbaran/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:49:39 +0000 satkuru http://satkuru.com/blog/?p=2739

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After GWK (Garuda Wishnu Kencana), we were ferried to South Western part of Bali. Uluwatu was the next stop and i have always seen pictures of the temple (Pura Uluwatu) at the edge of the cliff. This place is 70meters above the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean.

If you have read my previous entry, you would have noticed in one of the videos where Yoga (our guide) had told us that the temples here are strict when it comes to ladies who have their monthly thingy. The other missing part that he also mentioned was about our attire. To enter the temples, one would need to put on sarung ( a cloth which is like 1.5meters in length. The main idea of such a rule is to cover your legs. Those with long pants would bypass this.

Just when we were getting all excited with the Sarungs, it started drizzling. Huge droplets of water came down from heavy looking clouds above us. Yoga quickly gathered us and brisk-walked to the edge of the cliff before the rain got any heavier.

Already walking under the rain with my DSLR was hard enough, we had to pass through a few thugs. I means thug-looking monkeys.

Yoga shouted at us to hold on to everything, including specs cause this monkeys could be ruthless.

After walking along a dirt path, we arrive at the edge of the cliff.

Thankfully the rain then stopped. The sea breeze here is simply crazy!

Warning: Reduce your volume before watching the video above. The sea breeze sound is deafening. Some of us who were standing at the edge of cliff were extra careful not to be blown away to the Indian Ocean, lol.

One for the album.

We were then welcomed by the resident monkey who was really baring it all. When i say baring it all, i meant he was really showing off his stuff.

From afar we could see the Kecak Dance performance  but we didn’t have the chance to watch it. Don’t miss it if you are happened to be visiting Uluwatu. It’s some sort of a monkey dance + fire. We simply didn’t have enough time and budget *coughs*.

After Uluwatu, it was time for dinner at Jimbaran. Jimbaran is  a famous dining spot because it’s on the beach. But unfortunately,we had to eat in their premises.

We were greeted by their local girl who would put a flower on our ears before entering. So we took turns to snap a photo with her including me

First time having Point Of View for this kinda things, lol.

Noticed anything ? HAHAHAHAHA

Dinner was not bad actually, i mean judging from how much we paid. Everyone was hyped up on what was installed next. The next thing we were about to do was the highlight of our whole Indonesia trip.

It was torturous!!! I practically died and reborn again a few times for this activity. It was the one time where i felt i was as blind as a bat. Simply relying on my useless torch light which could barely shine. Thankfully Angeline’s futuristic LED torch was super bright.

I will blog about it this activity on the up coming entry. But before that let me continue from where we left at Jimbaran. After dinner, we had travel for 3 hours to Hotel Surya. It was the nearest and most affordable place to stay in that area.

We arrived at 11pm and stepped out of the van, it was freezing cold! We quickly distributed the keys to all.

Stay tuned for the crazy thing we were about to do !

Our flight from Jakarta was on time. So after less than 24 hours, we were off to Bali. For those who have no idea on how far is it, imagine this. Java island is the main part of Indonesia. Yogyakarta is slightly at the middle, probably more to the west. Jakarta is at the far west of the island. Bali on the other hand is an island at the far east. It’s so far that the time there is +1 from Jakarta, lol.

Most of us if not all, knocked out as soon as the flight took off.

The next thing i knew was Angeline waking me asking if i wanted to eat as the stewardess were selling their onboard food. Flying from Jakarta to Bali, we were onboard AirAsia Jakarta and so they have certain food that aren’t available on the Malaysian flights. So we tried the different variety they had and they were definitely delicious!

After filling our stomachs, i could barely sleep and started meddling with all the ridiculous apps i had on my iPhone.

Before i knew it, the captain announced that we were landing shortly.

Finally, BALI !

The Bali airport reminded me of Penang Airport before it got renovated.

Lucky for us, the weather was excellent upon arrival unlike Jakarta where it was raining. We had to walk quite a distance from the plane and everyone looked excited on what has been installed in Bali!

As we exited from the arrival hall, i could see someone holding a sign with my name on it and it was Jess ! LOL. Jess, Steven and Keat Meng joined us for the Bali portion of the trip. Initially Wai Seng was suppose to come but he caught the flu bug and he wasn’t feeling any better a day before the trip.

The three of them were in Bali a day earlier.

As you can see the picture above, our Bali portion of the trip was managed by Adokys Travel which was recommended by my good friend who is in AirAsia. After many months and after tonnes of emails being exchanged, Angie (incharge of Adokys Travel) managed to get the places that i wanted. Angie is actually a Malaysian who runs this travel business in Bali itself.

So upon meeting up with Jess, Steven and Keat Meng, our group headcount ballooned to 13 pax. I was then introduced to Yoga who would be our guide for the rest of the trip.

We stopped for lunch on the way and as usually being so hungry and lazy, i didn’t take any picture of the place. We ate at Pawon Pasundan.

After that we headed to Garuda Wisnu Kencana also known as GWK. Some who have visited this place before wasn’t told why this place even existed.

This cultural park is devoted to the Hindu God, Vishnu and his mount, Garuda the mythical bird who is his companion. Due to the recent economy downfall in the region and also unfortunate bombings in Bali, the project was put on hold.

Had the project carried on, all statues seen in the park will be attached to create a mega statue which could reach almost half a kilometer high!

Nevertheless viewing the parts of the mega statue was already breath-taking.

Their version of lion dance? hehehe

Daniel got excited, lol

David shooting from afar. That’s part of the statue, Vishnu.

This part of the statue, the upper half body of Vishnu stands at the height of 20 plus meters.

The ladies helping me make my point on how huge the statue was

The Vishnu portion was to be mounted on to this Garuda portion. Like as though he is riding the mystical bird.

Aaron getting upclose and personal with Garuda

The ladies again, this time with Garuda portion

All out of a sudden, Daniel felt small. Like a hobbit. Seriously, everything here is HUGE!

Everything just kept getting BIGGER ! Check out how huge the limestones around us !

This was the final portion that was on display, Vishnu’s hands.

Angeline posing in front of Vishnu’s hands lol.

Yoga and the driver drove right to the last portion of the statue to fetch us unlike other who had to walk quite a distance to the carpark. Hehehe both Yoga and the driver were simply awesome during our whole stay in Bali ! That’s our ride btw

Next update will be about Uluwatu !

It was like 2 months before our Yogyakarta + Bali trip and i received a message from AirAsia notifying that our connecting flight in Jakarta got canceled and it was scheduled for the next day. After going through all possible options, the best outcome was to spend a night in Jakarta itself.

Since Jakarta was never in our initial plan, we had to find the cheapest place to stay so that it doesn’t blow our travel budget.

Before the trip, Angeline and i googled for transportation, food as well as places to stay. Estimated cost was to be less than RM150.

It was raining when we arrived. As i looked out of the window i realized AirAsia Indonesia had a bus to ferry us from the plane to the terminal. WHAT a relief! Imagine getting soaked in the rain >.<!

The clip is kinda fuzzy. Took it with my trusty e71

The terminal that we were in was some sort of like low cost terminal but definitely better than LCCT. As i said earlier, Angeline and I have done our homework on the price of the taxis. That enabled us to be sure of what to take.

I was told to get the BlueBird taxi but since i had 10 pax, 2 taxis won’t do.

As for the place that we were gonna overnight, we gone with the guesthouses along Jalan Jaksa, which is famous among backpackers.

So a quick check with google maps on how far was Jalan Jaksa from the airport, i was able to estimate how much the taxi fares could be as they run on meters.

The magic number we were looking was about Rp 200,000.

I negotiated with the counter on what kind of taxi that could fit us all and after browsing through their list of taxis, i went with the …

ALPHARD !

It was no ordinary Alphard but one that is equipped with GPS and WIFI!

Yes! WIFI man!

We all walked out of the terminal and within minutes 2 Alphards appeared and their doors opened automatically! Hahahah damn stylo! Too bad half of us looked like Ah Pek kia. The driver that i got was named Dadee, pronounced as Daddy and he was one of the most friendly drivers i have ever met!

He conversed with us non-stop and he was fluent in English. At one point on the highway, Ai Ling spotted a man in his cart selling food and so she asked what is he selling.

Dadee answered, “Bak Pau”.

The rest of us were like Hah? Bak Pau?

Dadee replied,” Yeah the filling is PORK!”

At that point i was amazed that i am in the largest Muslim country and there we saw a man selling Char Siew Pau in the middle of the road. The driver himself had no problem saying Bak Pau! Respect ler.

He then talked about the shopping complexes in Jakarta and there are more than 300 complexes in Jakarta alone! Probably one day i should spend a weekend in Jakarta alone.

Upon arrival at Jalan Jaksa, our meter showed, Rp 199,950. Thus rounding up to Rp 200,000. Love google maps, hahaha.

The guest house that we aimed to get was full for the night (we can’t reserve over email and had to walk in). So we ended up at Bloem Stead.

It was only for the night and no one complained. After all it’s a backpacking trip. After unpacking and washing up, we walked the streets in search for dinner.

Right at Jalan Jaksa, there was a shop that had Nasi Padang and since everyone wanted to try, we walked in.

The thing about Nasi Padang is that all types of dishes would be brought to your table and you only pick what you want. Those that aren’t taken wouldn’t be charged.

But then again, being foreigners and being in a place that had only a few shops opened so late in the night, the price tends to be higher than usual. Maybe Nasi Padang is expensive on the whole. Price a side, i thought the food was nice especially the Rendang. I know David just couldn’t stop eating that particular dish.

After dinner, we continued walking aimlessly in Jakarta until we realized we were kinda lost. Out came Google Maps again. It started drizzling and decided to call it a day. Before sleeping, i made a booking with the same taxi service to ferry us back to the airport at 8am.

The next day i got a wake up call from the taxi people themselves!

“Hello, ini Bapa Satkuru?” (Hello, is this Mr Satkuru?)

Yeah yeah

“Taxi akan tiba pukul 5 minit lewat 8″ (The taxis will arrive 5 minutes to 8 )

OK terima kasih (Thank you)

Damnnnnnnnn, that’s some taxi service!

All of us packed and waited outside for the taxis way before 7.50am. We wouldn’t want to be late and we were told Jakarta has one of the worst jams. Missing our flight to Bali was the last thing we would ever need.

I was dressed like an Ah Pek, shorts, slippers but who cares. I wanted to travel in comfort and light! This is the way to arrive at the airport …. in style!

Before we could enter the departure hall, the security guard didn’t allow us in as we didn’t have any tickets. Even after explaining to her that it’s ticketless and we had our booking numbers, she persisted not to allow us through. Foreseeing this scenario, i printed each and every booking itinerary as proof. After digging it out and presenting it to her, she reluctantly allowed us through.

We had about 1 hour plus to spare and so we tried their currypuffs, something like Old ChangKee. Not bad actually. Aaron had a few and so did i. None of us had breakfast.

Try 1A Crispy Puffs if you are ever in Jakarta

I hope i got the name right.

Next stop Baliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii !

P/S: I have to speed up with my Indonesia entries T.T Next trip is less than 2 months away

After Prambanan temple, we headed back to our guest house and packed. Some of us took a quick shower while some waiting at the lobby. We were only asked to pay before leaving which worked in my favour, as i had no idea how the place was gonna be and paying over the net wouldn’t be ideal.

We got into our van and left for the Water Castle which is in the middle of the town, nearby the fun fair we were at the night before.

As i have said in the previous entries that we only had less than 24 hours in Yogyakarta because of a last minute change in our flight schedule. That didn’t really hamper our plans, we just had to make sure we used the time well to cover the three main point of interests in Yogyakarta. The first day was dedicated for Borobudur, simply because it was really far. The next morning was Prambanan, which is actually on the way to the airport and after checking out, we would drop by Taman Sari, which is also on the way.

The Water Castle also known as Taman Sari acted as the bathing complex for the then Sultans. Entrance fee is Rp7000, which works out to RM 2.60. Before we entered, we had a confusion. We were told that we had to pay for our cameras and it was gonna cost us RM 18 ! We wasted time on this matter, thinking if it was worth that much. I walked back and asked the person why is it so expensive. He replied, “Cause it’s for 10 pax”

Earlier on i asked him nicely, how much would be person and not once he mentioned that it was for 10pax. Some communication skills that fella has -_-!

To make matters more interesting, he even calculated wrongly. Per entry is Rp7000 (RM2.60) and for the camera its Rp1000 (RM0.37). So it’s only 37 cents to bring in your camera.

We then got ourselves a guide with no extra charges. Most of the people who work in this grounds, cleaner, guide, painters, etc, are all decedents of maids and helpers of the Sultan. The guide explained that they were not paid was given a place to stay and food. But as time goes by, their jobscope changes. Though the guides are free of charge but they usually expect tips at the end of the tour, which i think is fair enough

Notice that it’s in plural? Wives. Yeap all of them will swim in the area, yes all together, at the same time.

Here we have Angeline reenacting what one of the wives could have done, many centuries ago. Hahaha. Notice the tall building on the left side?

There is a reason why it’s there.

As we walked towards the 3 level building, our guide stopped and plucked a certain fruit from the plant you see above. He then told us this was used as the nail polisher in those times. So the girls took turns to have their fingers done.

Earlier on i said the tall building has a reason for being there, well here it is, the highest floor. Aaron reenacts how one of the Sultans could have done. No no, not take a photo but to have his pick.

You see, having so many wives and all of them swimming in the pool below, the Sultan would pick one of them to join him in the private pool which is behind this very building.

This observatory area is actually quite small. When the 10 of us got up there, the other tourists were asked to wait till we came down back. Ai Ling also having a pick i think, hehehe.

After the Sultan has swam with the chosen one, both of them will them end up in the bedroom which is on the 1st floor.

Noticed the holes below the bed?

That’s where they burn charcoal if i am not mistaken, to keep them warm on a cold day.

After that we headed down and on the way out, we were shown their handicraft shop. Our guide kept reminding us that they only survive by being a guide and selling handicraft goods. We on the other hand were on a backpacking trip, thus budgets are kept to a minimum.

We gracefully declined any purchase and before leaving we collected a few thousand rupiahs from each of us as tips for the guide.

I realized i never took much pictures of myself during my Cambodia trip and this time i did make it an effort, LOL.

We got into our van and headed towards the airport. On the way we stopped by at some shop by the road side to have our lunch. I kept reminded the driver i want something local and not some restaurant like how we had our lunch the day before.

The name of the shop is Soto Pak Marto. I ordered Soto Campur and Es Sejuk. Sooner or later i realized some of the food names were familiar like in the food court in Western Digital.

This was what i wanted, local food!

I was satisfied in a way but the portion was so small ! T.T

Before paying, ah kua walks in and starts uttering God knows what. She or he had a basket for so called donations. When we all ignored and walked off to the counter to pay, he/she said something which was an insult i think but i couldn’t care less.

We left for the airport and upon arriving, we stacked our bags on the trolley and headed to the departure gates. Before we could even enter, the lady security guard stopped us and demanded a boarding pass. I explained to her that we are on AirAsia and we will only get our boarding pass when we are in the hall.

She still demanded to see the boarding pass.

I knew something like this would happen, that is why i printed out each and everyone’s itinerary. It is thick and heavy but it definitely comes handy in this kinda situation.

After reviewing the itinerary, she reluctantly allowed us through.

Next stop ….. JAKARTA !

We woke up early the next morning as the journey to Prambanan was quite far and on top of that, we had a flight to catch in the afternoon. For the complimentary breakfast, i had Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) and a cup of coffee. Everyone was informed to do their packing in the morning itself so that we don’t rush later on and once we were all set, we shot off towards Prambanan.

On the way, we stopped at a traffic light and come across the above scene, lol. Never expected to see them in the broad daylight, more over in the middle of the road.

After 40 odd minutes, we finally arrived !

Prambanan – It’s the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia and one of the biggest in South East Asia and it was the answer to Borobudur temple which was for the Buddhist. When Angeline and i planned this trip, we marked this 2 places as the main agendas for both the days. Die die also must go see cause both are listed in the UNESCO’s heritage site.

For foreigners, the ticket price is $11USD and if you can present your Student ID then it’s $6USD. An additional 600,000 rupiah was paid to hire a guide for our group which is optional but i do recommend to get a guide. After all 600,000 rupiah isn’t that much once you have divided amongst yourselves.

We were given Marsono as our guide. He was showing us the before and after the main eruption that affected Borobudur and Prambanan.

Marsono explains …

The best time to visit Prambanan would be in the morning or evening. At least the scorching sun would burn you and it would be ideal for photography.

The whole tour in Prambanan took about 1 and half hours but it could differ based on your tour guides. We did take slightly longer cause we spent most of the time snapping photos.

As you exit the main Prambanan area, you will either have to walk back to the entrance or you could wait for their shuttle train. Since we had some time to spare, we walked even further to see the other smaller temples around Prambanan. For this, i think it’s better if you sit on the shuttle train and view these temples because walking all the way in and back out is time consuming.

Upon exiting the grounds and into the carpark area, you would have to go through a souvenir area just like in those theme parks, etc lol. Just that, this is open air and it’s the same people that usually man the stalls around tourist attractions but here they are arranged in an orderly manner. But that doesn’t change the fact that you would still be chased by the handicraft people right to the door of your car.

More pictures in my gallery. Really loved the sky when we were there !

]]> http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/04/yogyakarta-day-2-prambanan-temple-largest-hindu-temple-in-indonesia/feed/ 4 http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/03/jogjakarta-day-1-the-nightlife-laughter-that-haunts-you/ http://satkuru.com/blog/2010/03/jogjakarta-day-1-the-nightlife-laughter-that-haunts-you/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:46:58 +0000 satkuru http://satkuru.com/blog/?p=2385

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Very often i would read other people’s experience in Indonesia but rarely they would document the night life and in this case Jogjakarta a.k.a Yogyakarta’s night life. A few weeks prior to our departure date, i tried looking up google for any pictures or videos on the Jogjakarta at night but to my avail there were barely anything.

Probably because there’s basically nothing to show other than the typical night markets that are scattered all around town.

Fortunately for us, when we were dropped in the middle of the town there were quite a number of things that were going on. First off there was a movie shoot and on the other end of the road there’s their local funfair.

We headed towards the night markets in search of light snacks.

It was quite obvious that there were quite a number of eyes staring at our way. Ok maybe staring is a bit harsh but we definitely made a few heads turn. Imagine 10 people with at least 8 hugeass cameras and with weird looking clothes that don’t blend in well with the public; that’s definitely gonna turn some heads for sure. Not forgetting the loud conversation in Hokkien that we have most of the time.

On the pathway you would see at least 10 satay sellers on each side of the road. If i am not mistaken it was like 4000 rupiah for 10 sticks ? All i know it was dirt cheap !

I quickly whipped out my wallet, got myself 10 sticks and when i  ate the first one, all i felt was something rubbery. Upon further inspecting, i realized it was …

… chicken skin !

No wonder it was so cheap, there’s barely any meat T.T

And so my hunger continued.

I was adamant not to get into any restaurant and rely solely on hawker food Since there’s plenty of stalls along the way, we just tried what ever we thought that looked pleasing.

Here you can see Emily and Elise trying some kuih muih. I tried one, it was strawberry flavoured. Tasted something like muachee.

We stumbled into this stall by accident cause a few of us got curious when we saw the seller serving some kinda soup to his customers. I decided to try and it looked like as though he was preparing hot tong sui. The only difference is that the soup was gingery and not forgetting the cube looking bread that he added in.

It was definitely refreshing and it’s a must try for those who happened to be in Yogyakarta !

We later turned back and walked towards the funfair where on the way we tried again different types of food. Mostly were like yong tau fu.

Knowing that what ever we ate so far wasn’t gonna last us through the night, we had our real dinner in the funfair itself. There were different food stalls set up all around the place and we went to the first one we saw.

All of us ordered teh botol which is jasmine tea. Another drink that you would have to try when you are in Indonesia.

I ordered Nasi Goreng Special and it was damn nice ! Angeline on the other hand ordered some bakso soup. The first time i had bakso soup was in Western Digital. Whenever i don’t feel well, i would order bakso soup from the canteen and seeing the name in the menu made me realize that it originated from Indonesia

The place we sat wasn’t the best place cause it was serious very very noisy.

It’s obvious that most of us are in the blur stage when this was recorded. The loud noise around us plus the fatigue = blurness tahap badak. The crazy lady laughing at the background comes from the nearby haunted house. This you would hear in the next 2 videos as well. Kinda spooky man the laughter.

After dinner we walked around to see what does the funfair have to offer.

I noticed most of the locals were queuing up for this ride. Probably it’s the current in-demand ride and everyone wants to experience it, hehehe. I asked Angeline if she would want to try cause i was willing to pay for her entrance fee. After all, how much could it bee.

She asked me to shut up T.T

ROFLMAO.

This is the video of the ride in full action. Hehehe.

After that we headed back to rest as tomorrow was another long day

P/S: Thank you Angeline for the pictures !

… to be continued

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