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Published: October 4th 2010
Hello Again!
Lets talk about the past few months (June-Sept '10)! 😊
I get to start with probably the most amazing trip of them all! A
5-day live aboard boat trip from Lombok to Flores! (June '10)
I was planning on doing this trip by myself, but luckily, last minute, I heard about a friend of a friend (from Amsterdam) who was travelling around Indonesia and keen to find some travel buddies. So I met up with Marlies in Sengiggi, a touristy beach village in Lombok. We clicked within minutes and started the Gin &Tonics!
The next day
(Day I) we got to meet the group which we would spend the next 5 days with, in a very confined space (I did not particularly book a luxury cruise ship...) Late afternoon we got moving and watched our first wonderful sunset from the boat!
Day II started with a beautiful sunrise, a morning swim and banana pancakes. After that we were ready to hit the road! Late afternoon we had a snorkeling session and a trip to a waterfall (ie jump off the boat and swim to the island). We were told this would be the only fresh water for
Sengiggi - Lombok
Marlies and I starting our trip with a celebratory Gin & Tonicthe next 4 days so we enjoyed a nice refreshing shower (yes, the budget plan did not include bathroom or shower on the boat....!!). The downfall was that about 20min after our fresh water shower we had to 'swim' back to the boat... covered in salt again...
It started raining in the evening and we were in for a rough night, rolling around the top deck...
Day III. By morning the weather had cleared and we got up to another stunning sunrise (& banana pancakes of course!). Day III had a hike planned to a view point atop of a nearby island (Gili Laba). Again we had to swim ashore as our sandals were paddled in a tub to keep dry. The hike was just amazing!! Marlies and I had some fun with a photo shoot at the top! The snorkeling afterwards was just as amazing, yet no pictures to proof that! 😊
Evenings were always spent watching the stars, telling stupid jokes and drinking the by than luke warm beer as the ice was starting to melt at a high rate! (Did I mention the toilet!? Only a squatter straight into the sea... ie. do NOT poop when stationary
and people are swimming!!! And no shower.. Yep, 5 windy days on the boat with a salty sea breeze over your skin 24hours a day..HMMMMMM!!!)
Day IV was the highlight of the trip. Komodo Island & Rinca Island. Komodo island is the most well known, yet also the largest island and you are therefor more likely not to see anything.. We had a nice 2h walk around the island but didn’t get the see any Komodo’s besides the lazy pet-Komodo which has settled itself next to the kitchen area on the island. Rinca Island on the other hand has lots of 'visible' wildlife and we saw Komodo’s on several occasions. Both full grown adults as well as baby's. The hike itself had beautiful views over the bay as well.
Day V was our last day and we made our way to Labuhan Bajo, a larger than average, dusty harbour village in Flores. Marlies and I (and 2 other guys) decided to sit out the basic lifestye for a bit longer and spent another night on the boat in the harbour (and not in a guesthouse..). But luckily we did score some fresh water for a “shower” that night! Therefor we
Day II
@ the fresh water waterfall looked presentable enough for a great night at the local restaurant to say good bye to everyone.
The next day we flew back to Jakarta (with a long stopover in Bali to pamper ourselves a bit and do some shopping!)
On my return I found the Pilates studio moved to a temporary studio while they were preparing to move to a larger studio. This gave me extra free time to squeeze in yet another trip!
A
diving trip to
Pulau Kotok, part of the Pulau Seribu (1000 Island), just north of Jakarta, Java (June '10). Jan Smeenk, who also organises hikes for the Java Lava hiking group which I join regularly, now organised a diving weekend. Excellent weekend, but 4 dives in about 24h was a bit much for me (= a fresh graduate from the PADI open water course!). My ears had to recover for a few days from that. But I got a bit of everything; clear dives, bad visibility dives, dives with current and dives of the jetty. I got to see lots of interesting things, but since my fish knowledge aint too extensive I have forgotten most of it already.. I think the most
Day II
Rains arrive impressive were the Blue spotted baby ray, a Lionfish and a Moray Eal.
Of course, as usual, I have some
running highlights. I did a few stunning long runs with
JFS out of the city, and a few drinking runs with the
Hash. (See pictures for this!)
In the mean time I also got the wonderful news that I got accepted for a
new job! I will start working at The Pilates Studio from The Palace Hotel in
Gstaad, Switzerland, on the 13th of Dec '10! So my time in Indonesia has come to an end....
Than the moment came where
my parents visited me here in Indonesia (Aug '10). We spent the first weekend together here in
JKT where I tried to show them the different sides of JKT. A bit of shopping, some culture, some of my personal life & work and a nature hike through the rice paddies and local villages just 2h outside JKT. I think they enjoyed it!
The next weekend I visited them on their trip while they were in
Bali. I spent the weekend at a resort, catching some sun, and enjoying good food & service, Oh and family time
Day III
Gili Laba Photo Shoot of course! 😊
After that, life returned to normal for a little while. Just spending time with friends in the hussle and bussle of the big Durian. And working of course! We now moved to our new studio on the 32nd floor, overlooking the city centre! Not bad at all!
At the end of August I had the opportunity to visit a friend who owns a farm about 4h out of JKT, on the hills of Gunung Pangrango - Villa Fatma @ Nagrak. I initially planned to climb Gunung Pangrango that weekend but it was cancelled due to permit issues (grrrr!!). But the amazing scenery, absolute tranquillity and interesting people to talk to (Nic, Rosa & Fatma) made up for that in a second. The farm has an amazing garden, a fantastic huge balcony over looking the mountain range and the valley. It also has great running roads with slight ups & downs to start your day fresh at 5am! It was a good weekend!
Just before my trip to Belgium, Idul Fitri, the end of Ramadhan, was celebrated. A super quiet weekend in JKT when EVERYONE is out of the city to visit their family. Me
Day III
Gili Laba Photo Shoot and my Philipino friend, Loyd, were invited by our maid, Muji, to come and eat the traditional Idul Fitri meal of Ketupat at her house in South Jakarta. It was amazing to see such a hospitality. It was a nice afternoon, practicing our Bahasa Indonesia skills!
Now I was ready for my
Belgium adventure. Europe was slightly colder than I expected & remembered, and soon after arrival I had to borrow clothes from friends until mum took me shopping in Antwerp. As I also had a high need for winter clothes for my 4 month stay in the fashionable and upmarket ski resort of Gstaad!
The reunion with Danielle and later also Marlies on Schiphol airport was awesome! Danielle was leaving for Ghana, the day I arrived in Amsterdam.. Slightly unfortunate timing but nonetheless a great few hours to catch up.
Afterwards I missioned my stuff over to Marlies’place. Yep, on the back of her bike with my big backpack, 2 handbags and her small day pack! It was an adventure across Amsterdam!
The view of a walking path next to the Amstel got me from under the blanket and off the couch to go for a run. What
Day IV
Rinca Island a start of my holiday! It was beautiful! I did the same the next day, and the next and,.... Until it started raining!
Unfortuntately the excessive eating carried on even after I stopped running… but it was a super holiday, meeting up with friends whom I haven’t seen in many years and catching up with family during my gran’s 90th Bday party! The week was WAY too short, but def worthwhile flying 15h all the way from Indonesia!
Too make up for the excessive indulgence I now start my
racing month.
I already completed the
10km Red Run Race through Jakarta. It was good to see the real Indonesian athletes out, yet my chances of a good position therefore also decreased significantly! Ha ha! Or was that the result of the over indulgence the week before… AND the heat and humidity in Jakarta…. AND…. Oh well, I just didn’t make the cut this time!
Next weekend I will fly to Singapore for
The North Face Challenge, a 25km trail run, to be completed solo or in a team. I formed a South African team, first with my SA friend, Laura, who already lives in JKT for a while, but
Day IV
Rinca Island after she suffered a stress fracture, she was replaced by a current SA inhabitant, my running friend, Zubayr, who is coming to Indonesia anyway to race the Bali Half Marathon the next weekend! We are running the TNF duo to make up 50km (there are athletes who run the TNF 100km SOLO! Crazy!). Since the day after is a ‘lucky’ day - 10-10-10 (10th of the 10th month, 2010) We are running the
Mizuno Wave Race, also in Singapore, and guess…. It’s a 10km race! Whoop whoop! I will keep you posted on those results!
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