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Published: November 13th 2010
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Clouds & volcano & Tomek
trying to look sharp @ 6am Hola todos!
Another few weeks have passed. Many things happened. We met many people. We changed a few times of country. Suddenly, and unexpectedly we find ourselves in Cambodia. We figured that it would be a pity to be so close and not visit Angkor Wat! A few days ago, we were at the station in Bangkok, ready to book a ticket to go to Laos when we abruptly changed our plans and left for Cambodia. So for the fresh news, today we went to visit a floating village where people do absolutely everything on their boat and then we went to visit the last few temples of Angkor (of which you will receive pictures next time). Amazing! But let's go back in time a bit: the last message we wrote we were just about to leave Bali and enter Java...
In Bali we were warned for Java, dirty cities, many people and much, very much traffic. After the very green Bali this would be the big transition. At the same time we got used of the slow and pleasant Balinese lifestyle! Finally we embarked on a ferry from Bali to Java. Surprisingly, the boat made it to the
other side. From there, we hopped on a bus to go the volcano Bromo. The bus rides in Java come with their own soundtrack. Every stop some kids jump aboard with a self-made guitar and start singing. Occasionally a girl enters with a speaker and sings along with a tape, usually pretty off key. Fully introduced to the top 40 of Javanese music hits, we arrived safe and sound near Bromo.
The next morning the alarm rang at 4 am. Half an hour later we jumped in a 4x4 to drive up a mountain to watch the sunrise. At the same viewpoint we would later be able to see three volcanoes, the kind of postcard stuff you know.You would think that nobody gets up that early during their holidays, but in the contrary, we were surrounded by a pack of tourists up there. And then the big joke: it was cloudy - and gone were our illusions of making the perfect holiday snapshot. However, the visit to Bromo itself was great! Bromo is an active volcano that still send heaps of smoke into the air. You can climb up to the crater and fully walk it all the way
round. Next time we just have to bring a ring and then we can throw "our precious" in the volcano!
Next up were the cities of Solo and the city Yokyakarta! There are two important things you have to do in this part of Java. Temples and temples. First, you have to visit the temples of Prambanan. Second, you have to visit the temples of Borobodur. Prambanan used to be completely in ruins. But with some hard work, they made something nice out of it. They took their time though, they discovered the ruins 200 years ago. It took 100 years to see where the stones should be placed and another 100 to actually put them there. Nowadays about 17 of the 408 temples are rebuilt. It looks great though and our kind guide supplied us with plenty of background on the Hindu religion. The other temple, Borobodur is one of the Buddhist kind. Borobodur, is actually not too far from the Merapi volcano, which has erupted very recently. Borobodur was also in a bad shape, but some brave dutch anthropologists managed to patch it up just fine. Well, there is a ton of details which we could tell
about these beautiful temples, but we won't bore you with that.
After all these temples, volcanoes and cities it was time to chill... to just chill! We packed our bags and went to Pangandaran, a sleepy beach place in the south of Java. So we took out our surfboards again and tried to catch some waves. Clearly, it was mostly the waves that caught us. We are starting to catch the surf virus, so it's really a pity that we won't have any other opportunities this holiday to surf.
The last destination in Indonesia was Jakarta, the city of traffic jams - and hated by all travelers. Actually we had a pretty good time. We just strolled around in the old part of the city and the harbor. Moreover, we met some very nice Indonesians. Also, we took about 30 pictures with Indonesians. For some reason, they love to go on pictures with foreigners. And then the inevitable departure followed. Tears were flowing abundantly and it was difficult to hide our regret to leave Indonesia. We had a great time here. The people have been very kind and friendly. From Bali where they do everything with a smile
and with much humour, to Java where they approach you all the time to take pictures or to practice their English.
Next up was Singapore, to visit Thibaut (ou Bour pour les intimes). We had a great reception by Thibaut and his girlfriend Kayo at Wine Connection. The name of this place is a great description of what French people do when they meet: drink wine and eat cheese. And after a month of daily rice portions, it is just GREAT! Of course, we did not forget the only Dutchy around: although no tosti was found there, Tomek got an old Gouda cheese! It really felt like being in a European city again. But more diverse (because after eating cheese, you actually end up drinking sake at the Japanese Cafe). Saying that the contrast with Jakarta and Bangkok is big would be an understatement. After a brief stay in Singapore, we met with Maxime, Catherine, Thibaut and Kayo in Bangkok. After a party night in Bangkok, we all left for Ko Samet, one of those paradise islands. Loaded with tequila, rum and 3 bottles of vodka we had a great time at our little beach cottage. Seafood was so
@ Prambanan
really really really old temples good! One of the nights we went to a bar that had a boxing ring. A sign on the side of the ring said "Knock out you friend and get a free bucket". So when we arrived there was a big fat bold englishmen receiving punches from another fatty! Great fun - for the boys mostly! Later there was a real Thai boxing match between some local guys. So we made some bets between us and joined the Thai as we tried to cheer our guys to victory.
Unfortunately for them, they all had to return to their jobs in Vietnam and Singapore. And the left us all alone in Bangkok. And after visiting Bangkok for two days we were ready to go to Laos. But we arrived in Cambodia...and this we will tell next time!
A bientot les amis!
Ame & Tom
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