Blogs from Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, Asia - page 4

Hee lieve kijkbuiskindertjes, Week 2 is alweer voorbij wat betekend dat er weer een nieuwe blogpost geschreven moet worden om het thuisfront op de hoogte te houden. En als ik heel eerlijk ben keek ik daar deze week niet helemaal naar uit aangezien het een nogal bewogen week is geweest. Maar goed, in Nederland zijn ook niet alle dagen leuk dus hier hoeft dat ook niet (toch fijn een huisgenootje met zulke wijsheden). Om deze reden heb ik mezelf dan ook beloofd om vooral eerlijk te zijn in de verhalen die ik schrijf, omdat niemand iets heeft aan een verhaal wat mooier wordt gemaakt dan dat het is, dus vandaar dat deze blog niet alleen maar over rozengeur en manenschijn gaat. Stom, stommer, stomst Het is namelijk zo dat deze muts het voor elkaar heeft gekregen ... read more

We were all up early this morning for a trip to do some cave tubing at Goa Pindul Cas had heard that there were bats so she decided to sit this one out. The limestone cave was 1000ft long and filled with stalactite in all sorts of formations. Priest used to use the chambers for meditation and it was believe that touching a particular stalactite would bring strength to a man and a drop of water from a row of little stalactites would bring beauty to a women (Hat got three drops, so she'll be gorge). We sat in giant car inner tubes and were tied together in a line. Out guide pointed out the names of various rock shapes and the different varieties of bats that hung from the roof in the first two chambers. ... read more

Cas took Ed and Hat on a crafts morning in Jogja. A two hour visit to a traditional batik factory where they all go to make their own design and gave them printed. The kids loved the factory and Cas kept her beady eye on them as there were vats of hot wax etc. After this they went to a silversmiths workshop to make rings. They were given strips of silver to hammer, twist, stamp and they were delighted to get their hands on a blowtorch to do some soldering. They turned up at the villa st 2.00pm, bearing a slice of delicious Dutch apple pie. I had the full run down of how everything was made and they were very enthusiastic about both visits. Cas had made me a lovely silver ring, as I'd left ... read more

Breakfast was served up st the main house and the owner couldn't have been more accommodating. His Dutch heritage shows in the fusion breakfast which included a green pancake fringed with bananas (?). After yesterday's travelling we all just fancied a day of kicking back. The kids watched some films, Ed and Zi played chess and droughts. It also took an age to upload seven days of blog pictures as it had been impossible in Batu Karas. Finally, Cas and I completely rethought the Cambodia and Laos itinerary and redid it to reduce travelling and create more time for activities/day trips. We took a car to a local restaurant. Cas wasn't feeling too great when we'd ordered - it was probably the heat as it was both hot and very humid. After lunch we asked our ... read more

The Indonesians are an ingenious people when it comes to the humble motorbike and put it to a wide range of uses. In a country where there is high levels of poverty a car is beyond many, so motorbikes double as cars, vans and pick up trucks. On one bike we've seen, in order of difficulty or pure ridiculousness: - A famiky of four. - Young child asleep on the handlebars. - Lady using her iPads as she sat on the back - Bamboo cage panniers full of chickens. - Three very large sacks of rice. - A supermarket of shelves loaded drinks and sacks. - A table. - Very large quantity of office water cooler bottles, plus a dozen gas bottles. - A complete glass fronted mobile kitchen. - Ten bales of hay. - A ... read more