Impressions of Bali

We rented a 3 bedroom villa in Bali with our own live in driver, cook, cleaner & an somewhat nice pool. Talk about living it up !



December in Bali though was all about the traffics jams, rainy weather and dirty beaches which kinda killed what most people like to think what Bali is all about (Zen-ness)





Taman Lot



Taman Ahyun Temple (Royal Temple of Mengawi). We wandered and took photos. There wasn't much signage or explanations around.



NYE at Kudeta. Drinks expensive. Music not so good. Lots of fireworks at close enough range to make you worry about safety.



We spent the next day just sleeping in and relaxing. Swimming, drinking and staying in. Long massages :)

A Meaningful trip to Yogyakarta - Day 2

On Day 2 of sightseeing, we woke up at an unearthly hour of 4am (or was it 3am) to take a jeep ride up Mt Merapi for sunrise tour. As my boyfriend is a hiker, our initial plans was to hike up the mountain. To this day, i am glad that he had the foresight to abort that stupid plan and take the jeep ride. It was cold and there really wasn't a person whom was as badly prepared as i did for a hike (flip flops check, shorts check, walking insect bait check)

Our hotel drove us to the pick up site, while we waited for the jeep ride to start. In total darkness, we ride up the mountain - just using the tiny electric light on the jeep. Hanging on for dear life, surging up and down mounds of soil and grass.






Where the lava flowed



The bunker where the poor villages hid and died


The abandoned villages which turned into a museum of sorts. The local villagers were so used to warnings that they grew complacent and immune until it was too late :(





Once we completed the morning ride at Mt Merapi, we made our way to the Candi tour (Hindu temple tour). We did a hit and run tour of Candi Plaosan, Ijo, Sari, Kalasan,

Candi Plaosan



Candi Ijo - high up on a quiet mountain top




Candi Sari


Candi Kalasan



By then, we were all Hindu temple-d out, and decided to make a quick getaway for some shopping in the city. We wanted to visit an actual palace called Taman Sari.

It really needed help


We escaped for shopping, walking and a quick rickshaw ride for the 2 heaviest people in Yogja


Cold jackfruit curry - a local specialty. Even the egg was sweet !




We ended the night at Kesuma Restaurant. A local restaurant ran by a french-Indonesia couple, the husband did front of house and the wife cooked in the kitchen. Lovely table service and food for a long, tiring day.

A Meaningful trip to Yogyakarta - Day 1

Even though i know that no one reads this blog anymore, i like to keep this as a memory of where i went to, what i did and more importantly how i felt. 

Jogjakarta in Dec 2014. We wanted to go to Borobudur and boy, it was an interesting place.

On our first day, we hired a car to bring us around via the hotel. First things first, we headed to Borobudur. The biggest single structure Buddhist temple in the world, i really didn't realize what i was in for until i was there. We hired an official guide at the counter where we bought our tickets to share with us the story of the building and to teach us what we were looking at. She really wasn't very good and i will suggest that you read from a book instead.

So many people - just milling around, sitting around and climbing up the various tiers of the structure. The various levels of the structure signify the three realms of Buddhist cosmology, Kamadhatu (the world of desires), Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and Arupadhatu (the formless world). Ancient worshippers will actually take the time to gradually mediate and go through the levels one by one. Each level actually tells the story of Buddha with its various reliefs - when you reach the top, it is the formless world.

At the formless world, there are no more carvings - just the beautiful view all around.

The Buddha at the very stop of the stupa was 'kidnapped' and placed in a different location


Hungry, starving, we rushed our way to Ullen Sentalu to learn about Javanese Royalty. Lunch was a street cart which the boyfriend eyed warily despite his hunger. Ullen Sentalu was a dud. Really. At least for a person who didn't grow up as Malay. Photos not allowed inside. Guided tour - Plenty of batik, framed photos and personal letters of Javanese princes and princesses. Not worth the wait or trip.



For our last stop for the day, we went to Prambanan, an impressive complex of 240 Hindu shrines. Unfortunately, with the earthquake in 2006 despite years of restoration, one will see neat little piles of stones of shrines not yet restored. It was a rainy, muddy kinda day - and we were exhausted and hungry from the day's activities. In spite it all, we loved this beautiful and peaceful temple. Very impressive. 

Inside the Shrine

Hotel shower for our room stopped working that night. :( No water !