Tag Archives: temple

Uluwatu

Bali Day 1: Monkeying around in Uluwatu and Jimbaran

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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 :P

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 ! :D

Breakfast @ Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta Day 2: Prambanan Temple – Largest Hindu Temple in Indonesia

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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 ! :D

[zenphotopress album=20 sort=random number=20]

Borobudur from above

Yogyakarta Day 1: Reaching Nirvana at Borobudur temple

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After our first meal on Indonesian soil, we headed towards Borobudur. As said in my previous entry, Borobudur temple was the main reason why we traveled to Indonesia.

We were all stuffed after lunch that most of us decided to nap while on the way to Borobudur.

The journey from the center of Jogjakarta to the Borobudur temple is approximately 40 minutes depending on traffic. On the way you would be able to see from the typical city life to the outskirts.

Upon arriving at the entrance you would definitely be swamped with people trying to sell souvenirs. Some were really aggressive and i told him, i haven’t even seen the place and you are asking me to buy ?

He kept quiet for a while and he replied, then Sir, remember my name and buy from me when you have finished walking around the temple.

NOTE: Even if you can converse in Bahasa Malaysia, it would be hard to catch what the locals are saying as their slang is heavy. Even certain terms are totally different.

For foreigners, there’s a different entrance. Thus the entrance fee is also different T.T

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Ipoh For A Day

Ipoh For A Day

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Ipoh For A Day
Two weeks back, i had the chance to drop by Ipoh and to tell you the truth whenever i was back there i never enjoyed it. My parents would visit the same old places like where i used to live and show around the hospital that my dad used to work in. You get the drill. This time however, it was nothing close to that.

Wendy was kind enough to show around. The first stop was at one of Ipoh’s famous Bean Sprout Chicken called Onn Kee which i mentioned a few entries ago. Then we went to the famous Old Town for Cham Ping and this particular shop is where the Old Town coffee originates from where you can see it being franchised all around the country.

Ipoh For A Day
I have always passed by this place but never had the chance to explore and this time i finally get to see what’s behind the hidden caves. It’s Sam Poh Tong. Once you have gone thru a long tunnel-like cave, you would come to an opened space where this beautiful building is sitting hidden from everything else. Opposite it is an enclosed area for tortoises.

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