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Published: September 6th 2007
Lovina Beach
It's a hard lifeG'day! (sorry, had to be done). Yes I'm officially in the land down under and have been for about ten days. I can't believe I'm more than halfway through my trip now. Scary how time passes. My 2 weeks in Indonesia turned out to be another dose of light and shade. When I arrived I felt ready for a rest and consequently didn't do half as many things as I'd planned. On some days I had a definite feeling of marking time before going to Australia. At Lovina on the north coast of Bali I spent a couple of days lounging round a quiet beach doing as little as humanly possible. This made me a bit of a target for all the local sellers but I managed to resist most of the 'bargains' on offer. Having gone from China where I was routinely hailed by the names of Hello Banana or Hello Memory Card, in Indonesia I was known as Hello Transport and Hello Massage. Transport involved cheeky young men with motorbikes. I found the Balinese to be mostly nice and friendly people despite the almost universal theme of attempting to part me from my cash in one way or another.
The Mighty Bromo
Not the spot for a fall Given what I've been told about the terrible wages and high unemployment, who can blame them? I was just enjoying being a millionaire for the first and only time when I discovered there were 18,500 rupiah to the pound! I found that I was getting terribly confused with people's names but was eventually enlightened when someone told me there were only four names for boys and four for girls depending on birth order. No wonder everyone seemed to have a nickname.
Dragging myself back into action I got a nightbus to Eastern Java in search of some volcano action. Some of the Balinese I mentioned this to looked a bit concerned, not because I was going to climb a volcano but because of the Javan men. Undeterred I headed off and got dumped off my bus in the middle of the night, 3 hours earlier than expected. In my sleep deprived state I immediately got a taste of what I'd been warned about in the form of a delightful mixture of lying, swindling and mild but persistent sexual harrassment. Lovely. Got properly ripped off arranging my journey up to Mount Bromo, one of Java's many active volcanos. Took a
Volcano Dawn
The kind of view you almost can't believe bemo minivan up the mountain, which stopped and started picking up and setting down people and their weird and wonderful baggage which included big bags of hay, and chickens. At one point there were five of us in the front seat with the driver only able to use half the steering wheel and reaching through it to change gears. Unbeknownst to me, the people on the roof had sat on my bag and triggered a sunscreen explosion, which was nice. The breaking dawn revealed little villages and huge mountains with fields of potatos, onions and cabbage hanging onto the sides like a patchwork blanket. I had been assured by the 'travel agent' at the bottom, that the top would be "super bloody maximum nippy". This turned out to be the only true thing he said and I swiftly pressed my warm clothes into service and attemptd to sleep in the warmth-free hut that was my room. After a quick look round the village, where the atmosphere again was ever so slightly intimidating and inappropriate, I went stomping off across the sand desert generally cursing men and searching for some peace and quiet where no one would try to sell me
Borobudur Temple
It didn't look like much from a distance but up close... anything.
Soon forgot all that trivia once I reached the rim of the volcano crater. I could have been on the moon the landscape was so alien looking. The most recent eruption had been so powerful it blew out the whole mountain like a vast bomb crater. Sulphurous smoke still belched from the crevasses in the centre. I walked a little way round the rim but it was narrow, dusty and windy and I didn't fancy the certain death that would have accompanied a slip either way. Sat long enough to accidentally cook my neck in the sun before returning to the hotel to enjoy the extraordinary view. After having been adopted for the evening by another woman and her excitable friends I got a short and painfully cold sleep before the 3am start to walk to the summit of another mountain for the famous sunrise. Arrived in time for a slightly lacklustre sunrise but then turned to see the volcanoes all ranged around in the dawn light. Extraordinary. Sadly I had to ship out pretty sharpish and was soon embroiled in a nasty 12 hour bus journey which was nothing like it should have been for what I'd
Indonesian Puppet Show
Not the most gripping entertainment I've ever had! been led to believe I'd paid for (surprise). Arrived very late in Jogyakarta in Central Java so miserable and angry I'd gladly have gone all the way back just to punch the lying bastard who'd got me on that bus.
Mercifully, Jogyakarta turned out to be thoroughly excellent and I stayed four days generally milling around and seeing the sights. Went to see a shadow puppet show which turned out to be incredibly boring. It was far more entertaining round the back of the screen where everyone including the disinterested puppeteer/narrator/singer had fags and cups of tea on the go and the musicians took naps on their instruments between short busts of action. Spent an enjoyable day nipping around on a motorbike seeing things further afield including the intricately carved temple at Borobudur. As luck would have it, I'd arrived on Independence weekend and there was a big free music festival going on. Lots of friendly people and no great pressure to buy stuff which was a relief. Thanks to the bus fiasco there was no doubt about flying back to Bali and I survived the notoriously unsafe Indonesian air service unscathed. Whiled away another day in Kuta with
"Falla", Cairns Marina
Didn't quite manage to steal her from the skipper but I gave it a good try some random people and altogether too many beers before loading myself, my stupidly heavy stuff and my blossoming hangover onto my flight to Australia. Started to get stupidly excited as we neared the short layover in Darwin in the middle of the night. I found I was irrepressibly perky with all the customs staff even when I was forced to give up my remaining cuppa soups and emergency Cadbury's hot chocolate at quarantine. Received a slip in exchange, informing me thay had been surrendered to the Commonwealth, which seemed like a noble ending. I made my first phonecall in two months to my surprised mum, to let her know I'd arrived on her home turf and then took pleasure in a real cup of tea and a browze in the bookshop. Amused myself reading the Birmingham entry of the Lonely Planet guide to England which featured a knight on a horse on the cover. Good to see our vibrant, modern nation being so accurately represented!
Arriving eventually in Cairns I was shattered but eventually dragged my arse out for a look around. Strange place Cairns. There's something slightly Disneyworld about it and I'm not sure I met anyone who
actually came from there. Totally different pace among the backpackers too. Most people seem to be staying ages, working picking fruit and staying permanently drunk on the cheap boxes of wine known as 'goon'. Joined the fray and promptly went clubbing. In an attempt at doing somehting useful with my time I booked onto a four day diving course but was kicked out after 20 minutes because of my asthma. Totally gutted. With the days I'd regained I went for a day snorkelling trip on the Great Barrier Reef and got to sail the boat part of the way back. Certainly took the edge off the disappointment of the previous day. Also spent a couple of days at Cape Tribulation where it's all rainforest, mangroves and unspoilt beaches. Really otherworldly and prehistoric kind of place. Kept expecting dinosaurs to be crashing about. Plenty of warnings around the place about crocodiles and cassowaries. Saw some crocs on a boat trip but avoided the cassowary. Apparently these squat emu type things can disembowel you if particularly pissed off and I didn't fancy that for the sake of a photo opportunity.
Headed south on the nightbus to Airlie Beach and went straight
to the sailing club before I'd even taken off my backpack. Serendipity made it a Wednesday and I got a crewing spot on a yacht for the afternoon race and a high spirited evening at the bar afterwards. Couldn't have done better if I'd planned it. Keeping on the nautical theme I went on a three day tour on an 83ft maxi yacht round the Whitsunday Islands. This former Whitbread round the world race competitor was a bit of a bird with it's wings clipped in it's guise as a tour boat but a fine time was had despite the the chilly overcast weather. Had the unexpected pleaure of seeing turtles, rays and a whale as well as a couple more chances to snorkel the reef. Back at Airlie Beach I decided I couldn't face the night on a bus so delayed 24 hrs before moving on to Hervey Bay for a day trip to Frazer Island, the world's largest sand island. It's a great shame I didn't have more time but it was a great day seeing the rainforests, freshwater lakes and 75 mile long beach. The beach is the official highway and commercial landing strip for the island
Sanity?
Yes, that's a crocodile warning sign next to the playground which made for some interesting driving in our four wheel drive bus. It's possible to camp on the beach, but for those who manage to successfully run the gauntlet of traffic the reward is rip tide and shark infested waters. Back on the nightbus after a 7 hour wait in the deserted trading estate wilderness of Hervey Bay, I spent a day in Brisbane. Avoided the rainy weather in the galleries and museums before boarding yet another bus to Byron Bay. Enjoyed a hot shower and crawled into my first bed for three days. Pitifully grateful for the posturepedic mattress after upright bus seats, and slept for a very long time.
Byron Bay is a hippy surfer haven but the weather's a bit rubbish and I'm not going anywhere near the water. Nearly got blown off the coastal path yesterday while walking to the most easterly point in mainland Australia. My marking time is becoming more pronounced by the hour. I've checked out of my hostel and will arrive in Sydney in less than 24 hours. Excitement is giving way to nervousness for some reason. This weekend marks the entire point of my trip: the family reunion and my
Whitsunday Island
Not exactly smacked with the ugly stick mum's 70th birthday (I think there's something else going on in Sydney this weekend but I don't suppose it's of any great importance ;-) ) and it suddenly feels like a very big deal. I've also got the creeping feeling of time running out on this trip and that does not please me at all. If I have any voice or liver cells left I'll let you know how it goes in the next installment.
Jude x
p.s. I've added photos to the previous entry now
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