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Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Gunung Agung September 10th 2005

We had three days left of our Bali trip. The first day was spent chilling out in Villa Shanti, the relatively luxury hotel Sharon had picked out for the two days around the wedding. Some of the guests went back to Dreamland, but it turned out the waves were even bigger than 2 days ago and even experienced surfers were not allowed in the water. I was glad I'd opted for the calm of the hotel pool! The following day we moved acommodation to Legian, near Kuta. However we were not too happy with the place so made plans to climb the Volcano, Mount Batur the following day, which was also our last day. In order to get to the summit before the heat of the day we needed to leave Legian at 5am. This was ... read more
Villa Shanti.
Gardens at Villa Shanti
 Gunung Agung, Early Morning

Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Ubud September 9th 2005

Our last destination on Bali was Ubud, the city with the highest concentration of cultural sites on this island. It is not very far from Lovina and normally we would have taken a public bus, but we wanted to see more temples lying on the way, so we hired a car and a driver. The main receptionist of our hotel in Lovina made a good and honest impression on us, so we accepted when he offered to arrange this for us. We left Lovina, but not without bidding a hearty farewell to M. Hamel and headed towards Mount Batur. The road to the 1,710m high volcano, which is the most active volcano on Bali having erupted 20 times during the past 20 years, lead us through spectacular landscape. Lake Batur in the centre of the caldera ... read more
Mount Batur and Lake Batur
Mount Batur
Split gate of Pura Tegeh Koripan

Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Sanur September 6th 2005

Before the wedding of course came the Stag / Hen night in Kuta. It had been decided that the hen and stag party would be combined as all the guests had travelled a long way and wanted to stay together. It began with a meal at La Cabana Restaurant in Kuta. After the meal we all wandered around until we came across a nice quiet bar. Not for long! The barmen looked so bewildered when over 25 people arrived all at once, that Michelle from New Zealand joined in making cocktails! No-one knew who owed what but it all got sorted out somehow. The day of 'recovery' before the wedding was spent at Dreamland Beach where I nearly got washed away! The sea had turned VERY rough and made it extremly difficult to get out ... read more
Dreamland
Hen / Stag night.
Hen / Stag night.

Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Lovina September 5th 2005

They say, everybody needs a second chance and so we thought that the island of the gods also deserved one. We were hopeful but it did not start well; as a matter of fact the trouble started as soon as we set foot on Bali. And this is not a question of different cultural backgrounds, as a reader suggested, we had come perfectly along on Sumatra and Java. It seems that for the Indonesian government the country consists mainly of Java and Bali, some attention has gone to Sumatra due to its northernmost province of Aceh, but it seems that east of Bali Indonesia ceases to exist, maybe they still bear a grudge against the East Timorese? We think that tourism should not be concentrated on the two islands, the whole country has much to offer ... read more
Enjoying the swimming pool in Lovina
Split gate at Pura Beji
Pura Beji's second gate

Asia » Indonesia » Lombok » Gilli Trawangan September 4th 2005

We were all up early and went for a stroll along the beach after breakfast. Leaving Hotel Ray with our backpacks we were set upon by the taxi touts, as expected. We haggled and soon got one down to a reasonable price to take us to Bangsal, where we could get a boat to Gili Trawangen. Soon we were on the small overcrowded boat leaving Bangsal. Sat next to us were the 4 Belgian girls who'd been on the ferry yesterday. We wondered if they'd had the same problems with taxi drivers that we'd had. Once on Gili Trawangen we were met by Accomodation touts. This was becoming a way of life!We ignored them and settled in the nearest nice looking bar we came across. Stan and Sharon went in seach of acommodation whilst Gary, Scott ... read more
Made it!
Snorkel Trip
Box Fish

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Mount Bromo September 3rd 2005

We left Yogyakarta with a pinch of regret, it had been such a pleasant place to stay. But once again we were wanderers, new environments were ahead, and this thought also excited us. We learnt that there were six passengers in the minibus, but we were the first ones to be picked up and thus could secure the best seats. The second couple was picked up in Yogyakarta’s second tourist agglomeration close to the train station. But where was the third couple? The driver had some trouble finding them, looking for them all over the second place. After a couple of phone calls and further investigations it turned out that they were waiting in a hotel close to ours, so we speedily headed back, having in the meantime lost almost one hour of precious time. We ... read more
Waiting for the sunrise at 2,700 m
The first light
Here comes the sun

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Borobudur September 1st 2005

Sometime before the 5th century AD, the influence of Hinduism and Buddhism spread southward from the mainland of Southeast Asia to the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and a few others in the archipelago currently called Indonesia. There are no archaeological remains of temples in the Indianized states of Java prior to the end of the seventh century as the early Hindu structures were built of wood and have long since decayed in the moist tropic climate. The greatest concentration of Javanese sacred architecture lies on the plain around the present city of Yogyakarta, here stands the beautiful Hindu temple complex of Prambanam and the world famous Hindu/Buddhist temple of Borobudur. Borobudur, a name deriving from an expression meaning 'Mountain of accumulation of merits of the ten states of Bodhisattva' is commonly thought of as a ... read more
Largest Buddhist monument in Asia
Pyramid mountain
Postcard overview of Borobudur

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Prambanan August 30th 2005

When you travel by air from Bali to Yogyakarta in Central Java, you will inevitably see the massive Hindu temple complex of Prambanan. If you travel by road from an easterly direction, you cannot miss it - Prambanan is only 100 metres from the road. Whichever way you first see this massive complex, its towering temple structures are awe-inspiring, and its beauty, breathtaking. Prambanan is located in Central Java, roughly 20 kilometres from Yogyakarta, the renowned cultural centre of Java. Built during the Sanjaya Dynasty in the 9th century, the central area has three main temples according to the Hindu Trinity - 'Vishnu' facing to the North, 'Shiva' in the centre, and 'Brahma' to the South. Facing each of these temples is a smaller shrine for their vehicles. The vehicle of Shiva (the Destroyer) is Nandi ... read more
Klaudia in admiration
Candi Brahma
Figure at the bottom of a stairway

Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Padangbai August 28th 2005

After months of anticipation and 26 hours of travelling we finally arrived on the tiny narrow road that was Poppies Lane, Kuta. As the 3 of us piled out of the taxi and began to wonder just where this 'Fat Yogi’s Bar' was, that we'd arranged to meet in, who should come wandering along? Sharon. It must have been part of the Woolley telepathy that she should come along at that precise moment. After hugs and kisses she took us to where Scott was waiting at Fat Yogi’s. We all downed a few welcome beers and tramped around Kuta for a while before jumping into a taxi to Bingin, near Dreamland. In the darkness our accommodation appeared to be in the middle of no-where. Leggies bungalows turned out to be a delight - even the huge ... read more
Leggies Bungalows
Leggies Bungalows
Dreamland

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Yogyakarta August 24th 2005

The train ride from Bandung to Yogyakarta was long and uneventful, it was actually quite boring. What a difference to Indian trains! The train station area was blocked by heavy metal bars, so that people don’t linger around the tracks without a ticket or run across them, it was very effective, maybe people have to be forced into discipline a bit. The train left on time, was very clean for Asia, and everything was well organised, you could rent cushions and vendors were only allowed in at certain moments, in order not to allow too much competition to the official food and drinks sellers. Furthermore, this train was relatively empty, well we drove ‘bisniss’ class because 3rd class which local people mostly use, was not available. We arrived well in Yogyakarta, and also the pick-up service ... read more
It's all about Buddha
Relief from Borobudur
Hindu temples of Prambanan




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