Indo Adventure

Hello! This is the first picture that I would like for you to see in regards to how our trip in Indonesia started off. We had just gotten off a long train ride, that had  followed a crazy bus ride (where one of the passengers had a bunch of live parrots in water bottles- who were very unhappy) which had actually followed an extended flight to Jakarta. I was quite dazed and confused as to where I was and probably in the middle of trying to figure out the exchange rate, which took approximately three days for us to figure out. Anyways, as you can see- we made it to our first stop, Bandung, Indonesia!

Day one of Bandung involved a beautiful hike to a waterfall!  We were so excited to go and see it, but once we were closer, we realized how dirty the fall was... what you don't see is the trash and junk floating down stream. We found the little red house to be funny too, as it is where the king of Thailand came and signed a boulder. Then he came back a few years later and had the Indonesians put a house over it. Strange, if you ask me. 

This is the first ever crater that I have lay eyes on: the Kawah Puitah Crater! It smells of sweet sulfur and clouds. I almost wanted to fry an egg in honor of the scents! Yum! Betsy and I met a guy who was trying to get us to go on a tour with him and he introduced himself as "Risky, but not like your American English kind of risky." Exactly why we didn't go on a tour.

Following the tour, we went to some hot springs! Now for a second, I would like for you imagine hot springs. Are they in nature? Where you throw the towel and jump into the warm bubbly springs of the earth? Well, that is what Betsy and I had anticipated before stepping foot into a makeshift amusement park. Yes, this picture below is exactly what the hot springs of Bandung were, a place for families to dive in, fully clothed and  surrounded with street vendors and students on a field trips! We sat down and put our feet into some lovely warm water and within a few minutes, people came by and asked to take photos with us! WE were the main attraction! Just kidding! It was very fascinating to do some people watching though,I have to admit!

As many of you know, I am sort of borderline obsessed with TEA. Well, on December 19, 2011, I was able to visit the very place where tea is grown, processed and packaged to fit into your very own teacup. Yes, I went to a tea plantation! It was AMAZING! Due to the fact that it was a holiday and we were not supposed  to go on a tour, we lucked out and had a gentleman that didn't speak a lick of English take us around. All of the crazy studying and reading that I have done with tea paid off, as I was able to explain how it was made to Betsy! As you can see, there are just  Camellia sinensis bushes planted for miles... and the view was quite spectacular.

After spending time in Bandung, we headed out to Jogjakarta, where our friend Riff, is from. He took us all over the place... showing us the Buddhist temple, Borobuder. In order to climb to the top, you had to walk around each level before ascending to the next level. It took a while, but it was quite incredible once we were at the top! Here is where we started (Sabrina- french teacher, Betsy and I were talked into posing for a pic while Riff snapped away).

Riff's family lives very close to the beach, so they took us to the coast to experience a true seafood feast. I took in the black sands, violent waves and warm sunshine with a smile on my face, all before eating the amazing food. It is kind of a neat ordeal as far as eating goes: you pick out the fresh seafood and then pick out a spot along the beach. Then you take your food to some chefs who cook it up for you and bring it to your on platters... where you then dig in! Best part? No silverware!

To end our feast, we drove up to a beautiful view of the coast, where we saw hang gliders! It was  lovely, to say the very least. 

December 24- Christmas Eve. We took a 14 hour bus ride (that was supposed to be only 7 hours!) and headed to Mt. Bromo. Here is just a shot of what we looked like on the bus... tired, sweaty and wondering if we were going to pick up Russian and Indonesian since we were in the car with other foreigners as well. It was a great way to get to know each other! 

Merry Christmas! This was the gorgeous sunrise that I was able to see after getting up at 3:30am on Christmas Day. Was it worth it? You tell me. God is an artist, blowing all of the Picasos out of the water.

Nothing. Just the center of a volcano that had apparently erupted 4 months prior. No one bothered to tell us. Ha! It was fun though! As I was hopping off the bike though, I received my first Southeast Asian tattoo... a motorbike burn. Its healing nicely now, but I learned quickly and will always be aware of where the muffler is on a motorbike!

After taking another 14 hour commute, Betsy and I said our goodbyes to Sabrina and Riff and went to Lovina, BALI! It was a quaint little town, where there is a black sand beach and lots of opportunity to sunbathe. Unfortunately though, it was the rainy season! So we decided to go and take a cooking class instead, It was delicious! All of you vegetarians out there, I can now make some mean tahu (tofu) and Tempe!  

View of Lovina beach

Betsy and I took a taxi from Lovina to Ubud, Bali. Along the way, we stopped and saw some waterfalls, temples and botanical gardens. We did meet some pretty awesome kids too- who were willing to climb up trees to get us durian/jackfruit/cacao if we so requested. Then they asked if we wanted to go swimming and I said "Sure!" Well little did I know that it meant stripping down and splashing in the freezing water... so my answer quickly changed to a "No, thanks" and I watched at how innocent and shameless these kids were. I was also inspired by the little boy on the far right... should I cut my hair like his? (his inspiration was the rooster in his front yard)

This is Ubud. Or our home in Ubud. As you can see, we had our own little porch, with a dog that would come and hang out with us, as well as a bird that woke us up every day and fish that would stare at us as we ate our breakfast. The people we stayed with were incredible, it was like living with a family. If I were to go back to any place in Bali, Ubud would be my number one stop!

While we were in Ubud, we went to the monkey sacred forest! All you need to do is buy some bananas and ta-da! you have a new furry friend! It was cool to see all of the monkeys chasing people around and playing with each other! 

On my 23rd birthday, we went and saw some Balinese Art at the Akam Art Museum. It was beautiful! Destination wedding anyone? Mix talented art work and a beautiful resort and do I have the place for you!

The last stop on our trip was Sanur, Bali. We were within a few min walk to the beach! It was a beautiful area and very relaxing! I was quite surprised by all of the tourism though, as I had not expected to see so many Aussies!

Alright friends, that is going to be the end of my post for today. If you would like to see more pictures, feel free and check out my facebook! I highly recommend that you all come and see Indonesia and give yourself at least three weeks. We traveled for less than that and were busy, running around and seeing as much as we could! There are so many incredible cultures and aspects of the Indonesian lifestyle... its hard to explain unless you come yourself! I will definitely be going back, so let me know when you have your flights booked :)