http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Indonesia en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:01:06 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:01:06 BST It is said by locals that you have not really experienced Bali until you fully experience a cremation. The Balinese send their dead off to the Nirvana realms in pure style. The day we arrived in Bali I was asked by our nice hotel what I wanted do for one whole month Did I fancy seeing another monkey forest or maybe a load of Hindu temples in the sea a dormant but impressive volcano did I want http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Sangeh/blog-304403.html Ok so I'm not really in Kuta but I am right next door. The town is Legian for those of you following along on the map. Is the map even working At any rate. I came here yesterday after moving out of the resort. I have to say that I wasn't too sorry to see the last of that place. I came here to Legian and then realized my 8 a night options were limited. I also decided that to console myself http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Kuta/blog-304317.html Well here i am just almost where i want to be. Bali is the place Kuta not quite but interesting. We arrived late at night. Our plane from KL was late about an hour so everthing got pushed back. We paid extra at the airport and upgraded our cheap air asia ticket sit anywhere where you can as long you shove everyone else out of the way to premier boarding. so we got to go on first and check the seat http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Kuta/blog-304171.html Please let us know if you can see both our public and private blog entries. We will make adjustments if necessary. Love Danno Kate http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Jakarta/Lebak-Bulus/blog-303484.html Today was a marvelous day. We decided to get off of our well tanned lazy behinds and actually do something besides bask in the glorious sun and go for the occasional swimsnorkel. Don't get me wrong it is difficult to get rid of pristine tropical beaches on small islands that have no noise from cars or airplanes. However the time had come to go off adventuring for the day. Awan our guide an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Mataram/blog-303164.html The following morning in Mataram Saturday after nibbling on the American portions of the included breakfast we headed back to the scene of the Mataram Mall that Eric had ventured to the evening prior. And I must agree it was quite a sight. Very much a mall like any other mall. Multiple stories multiple shops kiosks a McDonald's cars displayed on the ground floor. One of the most strikin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Nusa-Dua/blog-303158.html 024b Indonesia Gili Air Side StoryMama Miskah's GadoGadowritten by HannahIn all honesty gadogado is one of the milder Indonesian dishes which means it has more flavor and less heat. Wilted spinach covered with a liquefied sweet peanut sauce and decorated with cucumbers and fried tofu. Those of you who know me well know I have a major sweet tooth and will combine almost anything sweet wi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Gili-Islands/Gili-Air/blog-302809.html 024a Indonesia Gili Air Side Story071108We're EngagedWhat better way to propose to my girlfriend of four years world travel partner SCUBA diving buddy camping companion cooking mate best friend life activity partner than to do so in a place that is so special to us the sea. Under the sea that is about 25 meters below in tropical Indonesia with our fellow instructors and divemast http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Gili-Islands/Gili-Air/blog-302798.html 024 Indonesia Gili Air061308 071808Indonesian paradiseGili Air will always have a special place in our hearts. What started off as a cool place to do a dive master internship ended up as a personal exploration of the love we have for each other Hannah and I companions and partners traveling the world committed to each other through thick and thin ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED AT LASTA fir http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Gili-Islands/Gili-Air/blog-302783.html i fear this may be the crappest blog ever but ill do it anyways cos im sure you're all having withdrawls.im on gili trawangan off lombok. most amazing place ever but first i shall recapyogya was awesome as i knew it'd be. even though it became apparent that esther HAD after all contracted dengue fever. and we DID spend like 3 days in the hosptial with her. and she DID faint AGAIN but this ti http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Gili-Islands/blog-302660.html Kuta is the main resort in Bali in terms of nightlife and we stayed just outside in Legian in a nice hotel with an ensuite luxury and really cheapWe had such a great time in Bali the people are really freindly and the cheap prices were such a relief after 3 months in OZ we kept saying why didn't we come here soonerKuta beach was a short walk from our hotel and everyday we would get up hav http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-302582.html Nur ein paar Bilder im Moment http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/blog-302517.html Ich verbrachte zwei weitere Tage in Yogya und fuhr dann mit dem Rad weiter nach Solo der zweiten Kulturhochburg Zentraljavas und Indonesiens eine Stadt die touristisch jedoch verglichen mit Yogyakarta eher in der zweiten Liga spielt.Zwischen diesen beiden Orten liegt Prambanan Java und Indonesiens zweitbedeutendste antike Tempelanlage. Im Gegensatz zu buddhistischen Borobodur gibt es im http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/blog-302285.html Ich qulte mich heute bereits vor Sonnenaufgang aus dem Bett um den Tempel von Borobodur mglichst vor dem groen Touristenansturm bewundern zu knnen. Die Anlage ffnet um 6 Uhr morgens und es waren durchaus schon ein Dutzend Touristen berwiegend einheimische um diese Uhrzeit auf den Beinen. Ich hatte heute leider einen schlechten Tag erwischt Javas grte Touristenattraktion zu besuchen. Das http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Borobudur/blog-302268.html Saturday July 5 2008 So yesterday was the fourth of July. I almost forgot. Today we got up early and got a cab to the airport. We arrived quite early and decided to sit at one of the restaurants for breakfast. Of course all the restaurants are on the outside of the airport. And crazy expensive as it turned out. We paid 30000 for the same breakfast we had for 5000 the day before. It was yummy bo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Kuta/blog-302211.html Bali means Island of the Gods its religion is 93 Hindu which expresses itself through the many hourly daily monthly bimonthly yearly twice yearly decade end of century beginning of century summer autumn winter spring birth 3 month of age 6 months of age reaching 17 and adulthood teeth filing ritual promotions demotions weddings and death the final cremation ritual that las http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Ubud/blog-302150.html Seb headed back to Bali this morning Susi is coming with me to Komodo Island further to East Timor for a visa run as hers expires in two weeks. She's been travelling for a while now in Asia so it's good to have her with me as it's very different to the easy life of getting buses around NZ Oz.We're now on Lombok Island Mataram. It's the biggest city on the island so we stopped to make plans http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Mataram/blog-302133.html On the way to Gili Trawangan me Seb met Susi a German girl who was also going to the same place so we stuck together. Gili T was a beautiful island with some lovely places friendly people. It was still touristy but a lot of relaxed different than Kuta. First night we went out for dinner had a few drinks at Suma Suma which had a live band playing. It's nice eating out for every meal no ne http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Gili-Islands/Gilli-Trawangan/blog-302131.html At Darwin airport I met an English guy Wes a German guy Seb who were also flying to Bali. We decided to all stay at the hotel Wes was booked in at. It was very hectic at the airport with all the touts trying to get you in there cabs a different currency made it a pain. We got to the hotel in Kuta pretty quick as it was a nice place for the amount we paid when comparing it to some of the sh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Kuta/blog-302118.html Kate and I have finished our first week of teaching. We are happy tired and excited about what we are doing now and tomorrow. We can't wait to explore Java so next weekend we are heading out of the city to the south shore at Pelabahanratu. Our classes are great and I'm really proud of how well Kate is doing. She is so great at adapting and taking on challenges with a level head. As long as I ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Jakarta/Lebak-Bulus/blog-301928.html I am in a taxi Blue Bird driving to school to set up my classroom. It is 11am on a Sunday and traffic is running smoothly. Scooters and motorcycles are flying by cars and cyclists are weaving through traffic and I am listening to Indonesian language podcasts in my left ear. My right ear is broken. A man asks ldquohow would you say ldquobe carefulrdquo. ldquoHati hatirdquo a womanrs http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Jakarta/Lebak-Bulus/blog-301912.html Nach einem wunderbaren Morgendip im Hotelpool verbrachte ich noch den gesamten Vormittag in Yogyakarta diesmal entschied ich mich allerdings dafr Fahrrad zu fahren trotz des Verkehrs die angenehmste Art die Stadt zu erkunden da man auf dem Fahrrad in Ruhe gelassen wird.Gegen 13 Uhr machte ich mich dann auf den Weg nach Borobodur gut 40 km nordwestlich von Yogya gelegen. Die ersten 30 km huf http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Borobudur/blog-301705.html Nach zwei wundervollen Wochen auf Bali in denen ich die gesamte Insel mit dem Motorrad erkundet hatte kam ich heute bereits um halb 9 morgens in Yoyakarta an und fuhr die knapp 10 km vom Flughafen ins Zentrum. Da ich viel Zeit hatte schaute ich mir verschiedene Losmen in Yogyas Travellerzentrum Sosrowijayan an netschied mich dann aber schnell fr das Bladok wo die Zimmer zwar etwas teurer ware http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Yogyakarta/blog-301704.html Jakarta ist keine klassische Touristendestination. Es ist ein riesiges Moloch eine Metropole ohne Zentrum Stadtplanung oder groartigen Sehenswrdigkeiten. Und dennoch blieb ich fast eine Woche hier und hatte eine groartige Zeit. Das Travellerviertel Jakartas ist die Jalan Jaksa hier gibt es gnstige Old School Absteigen Travellercafs und Bars. Da Jakarta aber eben keine touristische Stadt i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Jakarta/blog-301703.html Der Flughafen Bengkulus liegt 14 km sdlich der Stadt und war mit dem Fahrrad bequem in 45 min zu erreichen. Ich hatte mein Ticket nach Jakarta vor weniger als einer Woche in Padang gekauft aber selbst bei relativ kurzfristigen Buchungen ist das Fliegen innerhalb Indonesiens aufgrund einer Vielzahl von Billigairlines sehr gnstig. Der 50 mintige Flug nach Jakarta mit Lion Air kostete 329.000 Rp http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Java/Bogor/blog-301701.html After hitching a dive boat for a three hour voyage which one of us would describe as harrowing across the Bali straits from Lombok we arrived on the Balinese coast. It was immediately obvious that it was nothing like its neighbor to the east. The roads are all paved tourists are everywhere and our cab route took us by a Dunkin Donuts which the other one of us would describe as tempting http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Ubud/blog-301323.html Well after eight days and eight nights of island life split between Gilli Meno and Gilli Air we are trading in the slow pace minimal change of clothes primitive plumbing including cold partially salt water showers and manual flush toilets the concept really did throw me at first it's a western toilet wo the flusher and tank and you have to fill a little bucket with salt water from a spi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Lombok/Gili-Islands/Gili-Air/blog-300959.html One of the great things about Bali which is about the size of Delaware is that you can see many of the tourist highlights in one day Being in one place for several weeks allowed me to see the Indonesians in their day to day life and get a true perspective of the islands culture. It also allowed me to make some Balinese friends one of which offered to drive me and a few other volunteers around http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Ubud/blog-300872.html