We are currently in Bali, Indonesia. Our first two destinations in Indonesia were Jakarta and Yogyakarta. Jakarta is known for being a large city, with lots of malls and a tremendous amount of traffic. We only had one full day to explore Jakarta, but that was ok as we were mostly using it as a stopover before Yogyakarta. We were fortunate enough to experience the traffic however. The 40 km ride from the airport took three hours and when we hit the town by foot, we literally had to run to get across any street. After waiting ten minutes to cross one of the major intersections, we decided to go to the train station and figure out how to get to Yogyakarta. We waited in line for one hour, but all trains were booked. The next option was by bus, but the station was too far away for us to get to. We went home and searched several websites for plane tickets, but they all needed a 24 hour notice to book with a credit card. These are the woes of a world traveler. We eventually took off in the pouring rain and found an office of one of the airlines and got tickets at a fairly reasonable price. Things always seem to work out.
When we got to the city of Yogyakarta, our transport from the airport took us to a place that was unimpressive from the outside. When we entered, we could not have been more happy with our new home. The lobby was beautiful and the rooms were large and clean. This would be a comfortable place to return to after a long hot day. From the moment we arrived in Yogyakarta, all of the Indonesian people were very friendly to us. They seem to enjoy learning about us and we enjoy learning about Indonesian culture. The highlight of our trip was visiting the famous Borobudur and Prambanan temples. Here are some pictures from the two cities we visited.
Jakarta
And we move on to Yogyakarta.
First our accommodations- We stayed at a former mansion turned backpacker's dwelling. It was one of our favorite homes to date. The manager of the property cooked us an authentic Indonesian breakfast each morning and she was quite the cook. Thank you to Casa Raffles for our wonderful stay.
Our first day exploring the city- It was a bit challenging because we got off of the tourist path, and the further you get away from the centers, the less English speaking people you run into. We had to end up figuring things out for ourselves.
Mila crossing one of the many busy streets (p.s. they do not stop for pedestrians, crosswalks are only an illusion of safety)
Taman Sari (better known as the water palace)- the Sultan used to have his "ladies" swim in the pools. There he would choose which one he wanted for the day.
Kraton (the Sultan's Palace)- there wasn't much to see here but the Sultan of Jogja still resides on the premises. We didn't meet him. We also didn't get to see much of the palace. There were so many students there and every time we went anywhere, they were following us asking for pictures. It got pretty intense this day. We actually had to go hide for a while.
That's my girl
We took about 20 to 50 others just like this- once you start with one group, it is an invitation to the rest
The famous Marlioboro Street
On the second full day, we woke up at 4:30 AM so that we could arrive at Borobudur temple before the masses showed up. It was almost completely empty and very peaceful
A rainbow over the temple with no rain on the day the world was supposed to end. Pretty magical first impression
Inside Borobudur
Mila trying to find a secret trapdoor to unlock treasure and fund our future world travels
From the inside looking out
Mount Merapi (means fire mountain)- the most active volcano in all of Indonesia. It last erupted in 2010. We wanted to climb it but ran out of days.
Prambanan temple
From inside the temple
Why is Mila wearing that helmet? Nobody else had one on
We will be in Bali for two more weeks, then on to the island of Lombok for another week. After that, we make the long trip back to South America where we will be for the final four months of our journey across the world. We wish everyone a Happy New Year and we hope that you all continue to actively pursue your dreams. See you next time from Bali
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Location:Badung,Indonesia
those temples are straight out of tomb raider.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I love more than the temples is Scotts skirt! I started singing "Girl, you looks good, won't you back that @$$ up..." It was strange. Definitely looks like a place to sit for a while. Your pics captured some of the serenity that I imaged was there. Miss you guys....
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