Sun Goes Down

Malaysia; Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka

Indonesia; Pekanbaru, Jambi, Palembang, Bandar Lampung, Bandung, Pangandaron, Yogyakarta and Bali

After having had a relaxing time in Thailand and a total of 8 non drive days I certainly wasn’t looking forward to the next 10 days of constant driving. Due to the nature of the trip and its time scale unfortunately there are times where long drive days such as 9-13 hours are possible. For me its not so much the long drive days its the constant moving that gets me. Its actually come to the point where I am so used to all the long hours of travelling that I wouldn’t notice how the time would fly. What is it they say, that ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ : ) )

Day 63- Penang, Malaysia

So after an hours drive to the border we completed the necessary passport procedures and entered into Malaysia for what would be a very brief visit. We sadly only had a total of 2 days in this country giving us hardly any time to see much. As we entered Penang it just wasn’t enough time to do any sightseeing so we took to the local shopping complex and popped into the cinema to watch Ice Age 3 ‘The Dawn of the Dinosaurs’. I just love that sequel..

Day 64- via Kuala Lumpur to Melaka, Malaysia

Breaking up our 9 hour bus journey we had a 3hour stop at the Petronus Towers in Kuala Lumpur. We had the opportunity to check out the first 6 shopping floors of the 88 story twin towers, which was good seeing a few familiar shop names. We then continued on our way to Melaka, a quaint Malaysian town where we visited the local night markets.

Day 65- Pekanbaru, Indonesia

The next day we boarded the Malaysia Express and travelled 3 hours south to the Indonesian Coast, making this the last we saw of Malaysia. The ferry journey was somewhat bumpy which I thankfully didn’t witness as I had fallen fast asleep for the most of it. We arrived to a wet but humid Indonesia where we got to our hotel early evening, giving us just enough time to grab a bite to eat and restock on a few essentials before the shops shut.

Day 66- Jambi, Indonesia

The next day we pretty much travelled for the most of it. We made a pit stop at the Tugu Equator and took a few happy snaps before heading onto our overnight destination Jambi. As I said before we don’t get to see much of the places we stop at as we usually arrive late afternoon/ evening leaving it to late to venture out and explore..

Day 67- Palembang, Indonesia

The next day was again a full day’s drive arriving to Palembang around 6pm, this gave us enough time to freshen up before heading out for a group meal on a river boat. As there are a good few karaoke queens in the group most headed out to a karaoke bar after dinner..

Day 68- Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

Another drive day with a lot of window shopping and not much leg exercise…

Day 69- Bandung, Indonesia

We set out from Bandar Lampung and had a 2,5 hour ferry journey across to Bandung. It was a pleasant day to be sailing across the turquoise waters with the sun shining down on you, the only thing was I was extremely tiered and felt run down. All the travelling is def catching up with me or I’m just getting old?! No no def the travelling is too much ; P

Day 70-71 Pangandaron, Indonesia

After a 6 hour bus journey (which is short is relation to other days) we arrived at the pretty seaside town Pangandaron. Once we dropped off our bags at the hotel we ventured off to the Green Lagoon for a boat ride and a swim in the cooling waters. After our refreshing dip it was then time to celebrate as it was one of the passengers birthday’s, any excuse to party! We ate a hearty supper and drunk till our hearts content. What a nice day!

The second day at Pangandaron we woke up at a decent time in the morning and didn’t have to pack our bags and vacate the room at stupid hours of the morning!! It was great.. Although we still did have to get up early-ish for the organized excursion around the National Park. The sights we saw were totally beautiful but the monkeys around were vicious. They would approach you with full fangs and glaring eyes. There was me thinking they wanted my meat whereas all along they were only after my water bottle… why didn’t they just say!?

The remainder of the day we lazed by the hotel pool, went for a walk along the sea and took a ride on a cycle rickshaw.

Day 72- 73 Yogyakarta, Indonesia

We travelled for good part of the day arriving to the relatively large and modern city Yogyakarta. It was again another passengers birthday which was reason to go out and celebrate again. We went to a local club with a live Indonesian band. Had a good old boogie and prepared myself to the partying to come in Bali!!

The next day we set out on an excursion to Borobudur Temple, Buddhist Monument shape of a lotus flower. And then came back to the hotel and packed.

A few of us booked a flight to down to Bali cutting out 2 drive days and having 2 extra days by the sun and sea instead.. nice….
After late night flight to Bali we arranged our accommodation at the airport and got a shocking deal at a really nice hotel with 3 swimming pools. As soon as we heard it had 3 pools, eventhough it was passed midnight we had to go and check it out!!

Day 74- 79 Bali, Indonesia

It was me, Emma, Todd, Michelle, Alex and April that spent the following 4 nights at Jayakarta hotel relaxing by the pool, beach, body boarding and clubbing in town. I decided I am no good at surfing but actually really like body boarding although the waves were massive and I did get dragged under a few times. I just came out on top even more determined!!

After our 4 day escape we had to check out of our lovely hotel and transfer to a lower standard but central hotel where we would meet with the rest of the group. The rest of our time in Bali wasn’t the same when we were in larger numbers and unfortunately I got my camera stolen from my bag that was around my neck! I felt violated and hated being involved in such a criminal act…. The camera aside I was more upset for the pictures I lost!! Karma will do its job…

Besides the negative ending to my time in Bali I could rate it as one of the most fun places on my trip so far….

Having been through 17 countries leaves one more till the end of my Ozbus trip. As you all know Australia is the country which I have been most looking forward to and I am thoroughly excited and can’t wait to update you on how I get on down under…


Till then, much love. xx

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