2013 Indonesia, Jakarta-Bali transit

21.3.2013 06.15 am
Arrived in Jakarta, and managed to get through no problem despite declaring some plant material and seed we'd brought for one of our couch hosts on Lombok. I don't think they actually looked at the form. 
The next obstacle was a bit more of a real problem because none of the ATMs would dispense any money to us! We just changed some £s at the money changer to see us through the immediate issue, and then transferred to the domestic terminal via the free shuttle bus.
Retried some ATMs there with no success, Gulp! Manged to find a branch of BNI bank open and with their help found what we were trying to withdraw exceeded the daily withdrawal limit. Obvious really given the message on the ATM said 'temporary problem, transaction cancelled'. So crazily enough we could proceed to withdraw the daily limit three times.



We found the Mona lounge, and as planned spent the next 4 hours or so there for around £4 per head, with food and drink(non-alcoholic) dispensed continuously as we lounged on comfy couches. Not bad.
As 1 pm approached we shook the girls awake from an apparently very deep sleep(poor things, Ellie looked particularly disgusted by being woken), and proceeded to the departure gate. 

On board after a baking hot walk across the tarmac to the plane we were soon en route to Denpasar, Bali.
I enjoyed observing the mix of people on the plane for the next 1.5 hrs or so, ethnic Chinese, Balinese, and a mixed assortment of Europeans.
The Balinese have a strong Indian influence in their looks, mixed with East Asian, and some are very attractive.

On queue we were met at the arrivals areal by our man from Bali hire cars, who led us to the 'trusty' SuzukI Jimmy parked about 5-10 mins away. Paper work sorted (around $13 per day, pretty reasonable) we entered the teeming traffic of Denpasar on the short drive to the Ibis Hotel. 
Seeing the petrol gauge hard on empty we stopped to gas up, and to our surprise found it's only 4500 IDR(about 30 pence) per litre.
So we threw in 100,000 worth which took the tank to about 6 tenths full. 
Not far from there we saw the hotel but had to carry on for about another 1/2 km or so to find a break in the central barrier to hang a uey, which wasn't so easy with the terrible lock on the car, so had to do it in two goes to the sound of a lot of beeping from hundreds of bikes and cars.

 Quickly arrived at the hotel , unloaded and I moved the car into the basement while Eunmi sorted check-in.
We were given some very nice fresh pineapple juice as we waited, very welcome in the heat.
The room was actually quite nice with a big king-sized bed and big TV, so kids were quite excited. 
After a while I went out to a plaza next door and bought some food for the kids, some rice and chicken katsu, and teriyaki beef, which was very nice, but not quite enough so I had to go out to the small shop next door and got some krupuk and corn chips to top them up.
After we'd all showered and relaxed for a while we all fell asleep. I was woken up about 2.30 am though because Eunmi had woken up, still being a bit jet-lagged.
Eventually we all slept very well and woke up in time before breakfast finished at 10 am. There was a reasonable selection of western and Indonesian style food and thankfully proper English tea.

2013 Indonesia, Java, Yogyakarta, Bhodobudur Temple

One of Siti and Marteen's friends Heri, had organised a tour to Bhodobudur temple for the following day after we'd talked to him about it in the pub, and he'd taken Eunmi down to an agent to get it booked. Eunmi hadn't realised until the last moment, but this meant we'd have to get up by 4 am and walk down to the main road outside the Brongto Hotel to meet the bus by 4.30 am! Luckily we did manage to wake up and got there on time, sneaking out of the house as quietly as possible, although the mosque was kicking off by this time which was much louder than us. 
As we walked along it was a bit misty and it was a strange kind of sight to see woman in full burka's emerging like some strange apparition from the mist, on their way to mosque.
Our mini bus turned up and took us to an area of the city to meet another minibus, a bit bigger, that already had several people in it. Loaded up we were soon moving through fairly quite but steadily increasing traffic of early morning.
It's amusing to watch the random nature of Indonesian driving. Even when it's dark they often don't bother to turn on their lights even on the motorway, and they'll pull out and change lanes without looking, or just straddle two lanes even when someone behind is tooting their horn and flashing their lights. There is no concept of staying left if driving slowly and not much concept of staying on the correct side of the road either, including on the motorways, so you have to be extremely vigilant at all times.
As we neared Bhodobudur we were passing Mt Merapi and I could see the sun rising through the heavy mist and cloud that surrounded it. Unfortunately it was behind us at that point which meant trying to photo it backwards through the window. Seems we would be a bit late for seeing the sunrise from the actual temple. It wasn't long before we arrived, and the driver explained where we'd get our lunch and organised the tickets. We donned the compulsory sarongs and entered the beautiful park that surrounds the temple complex, and negotiated through a small group of people touting various bits and pieces. Even though the sun had risen the top of the temple was still almost shrouded in the mist adding to the mystical effect of the setting.
The guide we'd taken talked us through various historical facts, from the 9th century origins to the later forced exile of the Bhuddhists to east Java as Islam take hold. He explained the scenes of Bhuddas life carved into the stone of the temple. The story is remarkably similar to Christian and other religions with talk of immaculate conception etc. The temple complex has several levels that step up, each representing different steps of enlightenment, with the seated Bhuddas having different hand positions at each level, or depending on the direction they're facing. At the upper levels there are large bell shaped structures under which the Bhuddas sit, and on the last two no more reliefs are carved into the stone, with the last level topped by a massive stupa being 'Nirvana'.
The base of the stupa is just under 10 metres to represent that it is not quite the perfection of 10. When we first started climbing up there hadn't been that many people, but as we reached the upper levels the crowds had really thronged in, and we had several of the obligatory photo opportunities with groups of locals.  
The view of the surrounding hills park and forest grew more and more beautiful as the sun rose and the mist lifted. It reached near 8 am when we were supposed to be back at the warung Rambutan near the entrance for our included breakfast. We were accosted by the same people touting little stone Bhuddas and copies of the bell like objects from the temple. I negotiated the price down a bit but I realised later I was still ripped off big time when offered the same thing for 1/4 of the price by another very persistent tout who followed us all the way to the exit.

After OK warung food we moved a short distance to another active temple where could walk around for free. It had nice gardens around it including pools with fish and lotus flowers and water lilies, and lovely old trees and bamboo. There were more little shops outside the temple, and I was annoyed to find their objects were much better quality and cheaper, so I had to buy one more of the bell and Bhuddas there for 20 k.

Later we arrived back at Hotel Brongto and walked back to Siti and Marteens' feeling a bit tired and caught up with a bit of sleep.

Later, outside Siti and Marteens place the girls play with some brightly dyed chicks that were from next door. 

2013 Indonesia, Java, Solo

At the Yogyakarta station, we had a 1.5 hr wait for the next train which I was a bit annoyed about because it was a Friday afternoon and I suspected the train would be more likely to be filling up with commuters from around that time(14:40), and more likely to be close to dark when we arrived.  I got over it eventually and we sat around waiting and people watching etc. The kids busied themselves chasing a large rat that would emerge from a grating now and then. 

We were a bit late getting on the train as we hadn't realised the one sitting on the platform was ours., so had a bit of trouble finding the seats together.

Despite A/C it still seemed very warm on the train, not helped by the number of lengthy stops where they'd leave the doors open. I think it was around 6 pm when we arrived and jumped into a taxi for a 20K ride to Warung Baru which included a homestay.


 This turned out to be a charming little place with only 4 rooms, so it was lucky Eunmi had booked in advance. It was run by a retired couple, who judging by the pictures on the walls were reasonably well off and of a high status. The area outside the rooms was really nice, kind of themed on older traditional Javanese style with nicely carved wood everywhere and antique furniture and other things. The guests are allowed to use this area freely and there was free tea coffee and milo included. Not bad for 100 k (£5/room) including breakfast. There were twin beds, our own bathroom and even our own TV. Yahoo!

After a rest and much needed showers we later walked out the small alley to the main road to where the actual Warung Baru is to have some dinner which was very good; no MSG we were assured. Somehow we found ourselves in conversation with the young local guy that was helping serve and cook in the warung. Amazingly it turned out that he had spent 2 years living in Marahau, not far from Nelson, my hometown! Apparently a German couple who live there in Marahau, where they run a hotel and farm, had met him at a hotel where he he had been working. They had suggested he came to Nelson to work for them for a while. Dodi, the local guy, was obviously keen, but lacking the resources to get there had almost dismissed the idea after they left. However, a couple of months later they contacted him and offered to sponsor him and even pay for his airfares, so it became reality for him. Gladly he spoke with very fond memories of his time there, not just the generosity of the very wealthy German couple, but of the NZers he met and befriended, along with other people from other parts of the world. I was very happy to talk with him about my home region and hear him being so positive about it. Small world sometimes!

In our discussion we brought up the idea of visiting the temples in the hills outside Solo. He then arranged a trip for us with car and driver, and himself as guide, for 650 k for the next day starting at 9.

On queue the next morning the driver had turned up in his Toyota Hiace, and soon we were on the way through the city and out into the surrounding rural area. On the way we had an interesting conversation with Dodi about the terrible time in Indonesia under Suharto and how it had affected Solo particularly badly. Apparently there had been a strong resistance based there so of course it felt the wrath of the dictator. He'd pointed out a large river as we crossed the bridge and explained that he was told how it had been blocked by thousands of bodies of people executed and thrown in there. Hard to imagine how people can be so utterly ruthless.

It took a while but eventually we reached the foothills of a large range and began a laborious climb up the sometimes very steep road where 1st gear was necessary. Eventually we arrived at the Suku erotic Temple and parked up. We were greeted by a bunch of local school children who were very friendly and keen to have their photos taken with us and practice their English. They ended up following us into the temple complex which was in a beautiful setting looking out over the surrounding countryside and hills toward the distant ocean. There were some interesting statues there including one with a massive erect penis.

2015 Colombia, Bogota, Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo

Whenever I come across a place like this small plaza, I feel like staying put for a while in order to be a part of this community. Here, you can see what a everyday life is like for the people who live here.

This church on one side of the plaza is thought to be the first place where Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiminez stopped to let his horse drink water from a creek and decided to settle in Bogota. Always makes me curious abouth this capital city of Colombia. Wherever you go, pretty much always the capital city is connected by a river for transport and trade. But here in Bogotoa, it's not the case.

Mighty rio Magdalena that links the caribbean port city of Barranquilla and the interior of Colombia and further south of Latin America doesn't reach Bogota at all. Rather it leads to Honda which is well over three hour drive through hilly road even in present time.

Some say it's because of the myth of 'El Dorado' that attracted the spaniards towards Bogota.

 Doesn't matter what kind of questions or answers you might have. It's a wonderful place to sit around with a glass of freshly squeezed tropical fruit juice, just people gazing and enoying the street performances.

Lots of students as it's nearby Uni area, so its vibrant atmosphere makes me go back to the days of my youth.

My couchhost leads me into one of the little alleyways behind the plaza.

Cozy restaurant that she frequents that she wanted me to have a look around.

The tiles must've been sitting here for a quite a while witnessing all sorts of events that happened in Bogota.

Another narrow alleyway at the edge of La Candelaria appears with colourful mural paintings.

According to my couchhost, this area was where the indigenous hid from the Spaniard when drinking Chicha(native maize liquor), as it was banned from 194-1991.

Full of tiny Chicha shops with young students sitting around on small stools are very inviting.

Truely need more than a couple of days in this city. Full of things to do, or not to do and just hang around.