As you may already know, Moo and I ended our 4 month trip in May following an incredible final few weeks riding bikes through the moo-ntains of Vietnam and an exhausting 4 days shopping, bargaining and shopping some more in Bangkok. It was a rather bizarre feeling when we touched down at BKK airport again, the same place that the adventure began 4 months previous to that day. In a way it felt like we had arrived home, as if Thailand was a familiar and comforting place for us, filled with great memories of friendly people, exciting first experiences and, most importantly for Moo, bluddy fantastic food.
So we pottered about at home for a few months, earned a bit more dosh for the road and planned (well, not really) our next trip away.
This time we started in China for the event of the year - Adam and Norah’s wedding! Since the day I received the news in my little homestay in the middle of nowhere in Cambodia, I knew that no matter where in the world I was, I’d be there for their big day, with Moo in tow as my plus one.
Final moments in England!
Before the wedding festivities began, we gave ourselves a few days to explore Beijing and get a feel for the country. Feeling spontaneous, Moo decided to book an AirBnB apartment for the first time in her life. What a place to start, too. Conversing with an owner whose English was touch and go, trying to find a miscellaneous house with “a big red door” in a country that has all red everythang, in the crazy bustling Beijing Hutong at silly-o’clock in the morning, locating the key, then finally collapsing onto a rock hard solid wood bed all compiled a full on welcome to China. We should’ve taken that as our first big hint as to what was in store for the next few weeks.
Outside our front door!
When noone speaks English so you have to draw a picture of the Great Wall
Derek satisfying his cheese on toast cravings
So, after finding (well, mainly losing) our feet in Beijing, we headed to the airport for our quick flight to Harbin, where Adam and the rest of the family would be waiting for us. Did we really think it would go that s-moo-thly? How naïve we were. 6 hours later, we were finally allowed to board the plane that had kept us waiting for so long. The only upside for Moo and I was that we were upgraded to first class which was a real experience for us, living the high life with the rich and famous. Of course Moo felt totally out of place in her colourful travel trousers, and faded, tatty bracelets. I was embarrassed to say the least.
It was a long few days
At last we were reunited with the nearly-weds and the rest of the family and no sooner had we arrived in Harbin when we were off again on a 6 hour bus journey to Tai-Lai, Norah’s hometown. This is where the trip becomes a big blur (if it hadn’t started to already). All I can say is there was a lot of eating, drinking, smoking, spitting, posing for pictures, hand gestures, lost-in-translation conversations, crying, singing, embracing and GAN-BEI-ing!
FOOOOD
Crossing the road/risking our lives
Sprinkles on chips, of course!
Wannabe
Trying bat's ear
She just really loves coriander
Chinese wedding traditions involved luring the bride out of her room with a spring onion, chewing bread into shapes, pouring money down the groom’s trousers, setting off fireworks and, of course, downing beers! Might I add that this all has to be done before midday else it is deemed unlucky - hence there were 4 other weddings squeezed in before theirs!
After our whirlwind experience in China we jetted off to Bali to gatecrash the honey-moo-n. We had a wonderfully lazy time relaxing on the beach, enjoying resort facilities that we hadn’t paid for (enforcing Moo’s firm belief that things always taste better when they are free!) and sipping fruity cocktails. We took a few day trips around the island, cycling around scenic Ubud, biking through hectic roads to see the Elephant Temple, discovering secret beaches before big resorts see their demise. Before we knew it, it was time to move on to Singapore for our final few days together, which we spent mostly on our feet exploring the city. Mum and Jan found the flat that they grew up in as children which was a lovely trip down memory lane for them, and interesting for us to see too. Then suddenly it was all over! Even now, a month later, as I write this under a little beach hut on Gili Air (try not to be too jealous), I can’t quite get my head around all that has happened.
Secret beach - Nyang Nyang - watch this space!
So then there were two. Me and Moo. A strange adjustment, we must admit, after spending so long with so many people. But we were excited for what was ahead and so set off to find our hostel in Singapore where we were to spend the next few nights.
Now, people say that you only need 3 days to see Singapore. While this can be true if you’re in a hurry, I felt that actually a week was a good amount of time for us. After all, no one likes to rush, particularly after the most hectic two weeks of their life. So we took it slow, enjoying the clean streets and efficient subway systems, knowing full well that this would all be a distant memory in a few days once we landed back in Indonesia. We made a couple of friends who accompanied us on our sight seeing trips. We roamed around the botanical garden, made it up to the top of Marina Bay Sands Hotel one evening to catch the sunset over the city, saw the light show in the harbour, had a Singapore Sling at Raffles (another tick off of Moo’s bucket list!) and enjoyed a day wandering through China town and learning about Buddhism at the Buddha Tooth Relic Moo-seum.
Orchid garden @ the Botanical Gardens
She got her Singapore Sling!
Atop Marina Bay Sands
Bye-Bye! xx
And then the reeeal travelling began. Hello Jakarta. Hello broken backpack. Welcome back to the chaos that you love so much, but struggle to pin-point why. Half an hour after landing, we boarded a 4 hour bus journey to a city called Bandung, which we had read about only briefly as a stop off on the way to Yogyakarta. Now, Moo doesn’t like to plan too much because its always more exciting this way, plus you never really know how you’ll feel about a place until you discover it for yourself. But when we stepped off of the bus in Bandung, we were filled with a slight tinge of regret. It seemed we were in the middle of a mad city with not another foreigner in sight. TAXI? YOU NEED TAXI? MA’AM WHERE YOU GOING? We had no idea. Nor did the driver. Somehow though, we got there. To our initial horror, we were the only guests in our 16 bed dorm. Don’t get me wrong, Moo was alright company, but I was ready to meet someone new. Thankfully, we met a local tour guide called Abun who took us under his wing for the next few days. He took us to local eateries where we enjoyed a range of delicious food including jack fruit curry (sooo good!), as well as showing us the breath-taking (literally - due to all the sulphur) White Crater. After a few days exploring Bandung, adjusting our initial impression of the place, we set off on a journey that appeared to be 2 hours on Google maps. Java laughs in the face of Google and its predictions. 8 HOURS later, we arrived in Pangandaran, after one of the most interesting journeys of our lives. From being told ‘I love you’ after a 3 minute introduction to a fellow passenger, to chasing the bus after squatting over a hole in the ground in the pitch black, it certainly was an experience not to be forgotten. Waiting for us at the bus terminal was the friendly Mr Agus, a friend of Abun’s who had agreed to show us around during our time in Pangandaran. Once more we have been so fortunate to meet such lovely, accommodating locals. We enjoyed an adventurous day of canyoning and then spent the evening with Agus at his friend’s beachfront Warung watching the fishing boats languidly floating on the water. But of course the relaxation did not extend to the next day, for we were up early again to catch the next 10 hour bus to Yogyakarta. By now we had become accustomed to the Indonesian tradition of claiming everything will be two hours quicker than it actually was, so we found the comfiest spot (the seat that wobbled the least and was closest to the window) and settled in for the long ride ahead. Thank goodness for modern technology, for a journey that long without music (and next to Moo) would have been impossible.
Making her own sulphuric face mask from the crater!
Getting my backpack repaired by Abun's tailor friend
Catching the sunrise
Powerful waterfall
An old secret cave from the japanese occupation. They held prisoners and tortured them in here.
Batman
TEA <3
From Yogyakarta we took ourselves on a day trip to see Borobodur temple which, for us, was a lovely reminder of our days spent touring Angkor Wat. We were lucky one evening to meet an Indonesian girl staying in our dorm that knew the area quite well and recommended a local sushi bar for dinner. WOW. We knew we missed sushi, but we didn’t realise how much until we saw what was on offer. And for a fraction of the price you’d pay at home. This was one of the more memorable meals of our trip, and for that we say thank you, Putu!
From Yogyakarta we set off on a trip to climb Mt Bromo, independent of a tour. According to the internet, this is possible but involves a lot of extra thought and research. Unfortunately, that’s as far as the online advice goes, and the rest is in your unknowing hands. We were lucky to befriend a knowledgable local guy from Probolinggo (the nearest town to Bromo) who gave us priceless advice about how to go solo to Bromo! And it worked! We saved ourselves a great deal of money, while also enjoying the freedom of seeing the place at our own pace too, away from all of the other tourists and their tight schedules.
Our kiddie bed in the mountains!
Sunrise over Bromo
Bromo (Cemara Lawang) town
Bromo crater
One long day.
So, after taking a 10km trek up a volcano at 3am, what did we sensibly decide to do next, you might ask? Climb another one. Yup, we spontaneously joined a tour that was leaving when we stepped out the door and before we knew it were on our way to see Kawa Ijen, the crater with the blue flames! This trek required a 1am start, so technically we can claim to have climbed two volcanoes in 24 hours. Although it was only 3km to the first point at Ijen, this entire length was a steep incline. Thank god we had a boiled egg and two bits of bread with miscellaneous jam for breakfast. Upon reaching this point, we were required to walk back down a treacherous and rather unstable “path” to get close to the sulphur lake where the blue flames were hidden. We were given gas masks for this task, and while we thought this was rather adventurous and exciting at first, the closer we got, the more real it all became. Never have we felt closer to death as the sulphuric clouds engulfed us when we reached the bottom of the crater. Eyes streaming, noses running, throats closing. This was straight up torture. The walk down that took us an hour at a steady, cautious pace, took us a mere half an hour to sprint back up in a desperate escape attempt. Although we are glad to have done it, and know we won’t see an opportunity like that again in the near future, we are still hesitant to recommend it. It really is no exaggeration when we say we felt close to death. The experience kind of brought home the realities of chemical warfare too, and just how awful it must feel to be a target of such horrendous weaponry.
Aaaaanyway, for the most part, that was the difficult bit over. We navigated our way back to Bali from there and spent a day relaxing on the beach in Nusa Dua before greeting a familiar face at the airport!
After taking a well earned couple of rest days, we headed to Ubud, the ‘Brighton’ of Bali, filled with rice terraces, cool yoga places and hippie-vegan-organic smoothie bars. Safe to say we felt right at home there, and settled in comfortably for a few nights. We made some solid travel buddies here who accompanied us to Gili Air, aka paradise! What a welcome sight it was as we stepped off the (dodgy) ferry onto a sleepy island free of any cars or bikes! Here we have been snorkelling, sunbathing, eating, drinking and staying up all night in failed attempts to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately Moo was thwarted with food poisoning again! A punishment for having such a large appetite perhaps. But she is on the mend and will shortly be off to the island close by called Gili T, before embarking on the biggest conquest of all - Mt Rinjani.
Wish me luck getting her up that mountain!
Walking along the rice fields of Ubud
Having my jewellery cleaned by the love of my life
Ello stranger!
Swinging on Gili Air
From one nutty moo to another x
