Blogs from Indonesia, Asia - page 620

Zaterdag 's Morgens in alle vroegte aangekomen in Singapore, waar we inmiddels een beetje de weg kennen.Hier hebben we de tijd totdat ons vliegtuig naar Bali vertrok, gebruikt om onze website bij te werken. De mevrouw van de tourist information centre moest er wel om lachen dat wij weer druk bezig waren met het schrijven van verhalen en het uploaden van foto's. Op de vraag of ze ooit wel eens klanten had gehad die zo lang hadden zitten internetten zij ze: Ja, twee weken geleden, maar dat waren jullie! 's Avonds op het vliegveld ontmoeten we een Canadees die ook naar Bali ging en eenmaal op Bali besloten we om samen op zoek te gaan naar onderdak. Dat viel aanvankelijk nog niet mee. Het verkrijgen van hash blijkt makkelijker. Omdat Rene zich niet zo fit voelde ... read more

Fumaroles, Buddhist temples, volcanoes and an abandoned temple The last thing I wrote about in the previous blog entry was my visit to Krakatoa Island in Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. After that I went back to Java again and slowly made my way towards Bali. Kawah Domas On the western end of Java is a city named Bandung. North of Bandung there is a volcanic area called Kawah Domas. There used to be several large geysers and boiling pools there. Geysers and pools need water. At some time underground water took a different route and the area became arid. When there is not enough water to sustain geysers they turn into fumaroles. That's what there is to find in this area - fumaroles. The area is huge and there are hundreds of fumaroles there. ... read more

The place is dead after 9/11, I spend a couple of weeks here, see the Orag-utans this time.... read more

I'm using Hotmail att he moment as there are no cheap international phone linese available to us my little pocket emailer. This afternoon I will try one of the international telephone offices to see whetehr I have more luck - most will probably be like the Post Office - with no stamps! Yestarday was very quiet but we spent thre afternoon going to Tanah Lot Temple towatch the sun go down. Very touristy but it was great to sit and watch the waves hit the little island that the temple was perched on. Last night we again ate at our favourite little haunt and spent the evening talking to a couple from Norway who have a son on AFS exchange in America. And listening to latin and jazz musicthey even had Buena Vista Social Club in ... read more

Sumatra is a travel destination that few people are knowledgeable about, and even fewer people visit. It is, surprisingly, the sixth largest island in the world and well and truly off the beaten track. The previous journal left off in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, from where I organised a bus ticket to Bukittinggi in West Sumatra. Unsurprisingly the bus was jam packed and my travelling companion, although not a tall man, spread his legs luxuriously for the thirty hour journey so that my legs were almost fused together by the end of the trip. This travel caper can be quite a gruelling experience in Indonesia. We arrived at Merak in north west Java, dear reader, and boarded the ferry for the short trip to Bakauheni in southern Sumatra. I met a group of gracious young ... read more