The idea is to get the Egypt visa on arrival at Al-Nozha airport. No problem here, since all major airports there issue visa-on-arrival. Until an innocent email to the Singapore embassy in Cairo inquiring about a Letter of Introduction. The reply came “…oh and by the way, the embassy is closed from 26th to 30th because of the Eid Al-Adha holidays…” Hmmm, that got me thinking, if these guys are closed, then where would my arrival into a secondary airport at 2am in the morning without a visa leave me? Not a brilliant idea to be stranded at the airport. So early Tues morning finds me queuing at the Egyptian embassy for a last minute visa (2 days processing time).
“Eid_Mubarak” goes the guy in the pressed shirt at the embassy “Your visa will be ready on Monday, because we’re closed on Hari Raya eve”. Lovely, i thought, i fly this Friday. ><. The staff there were accomodating though, i plucked out my flight itinerary from back at the car and gave my most pathetic face. I got my visa this afternoon today (1 day processing time!) =)
On a sidenote, how am I going to carry so much cash on me? TCs have lousy rates, and ATMs are hit and miss, even if there are ATMs in the first place. I need to find space in my underwear to chuck stashes of USD notes. 2 days and counting. Woot!
Now this is a test post, just to see how this links with Facebook. If it is too intrusive, I’m going to remove from FB.
The trip itself is Bandung, back on National Day. Never did bother to post the report. Did the usual tourist sights to Tangkuban Perahu, Ciater etc. More info after the jump.
An intrepid day in Bandung.
Here I am in a 3x2m room in Hotel Patradissa, opposite the train station in Bandung. Did not expect too much from this 4 day break, after all, Bandung is another sprawling urban city. I initially intended to lounge around all 4 days, surfing the net etc. But then I forgot that this isn’t Bali, and I don’t have Wifi everywhere I turn. So I decided instead to write this short entry.
The AirAsia flight was delayed by a half hour; one of the few times this year that I experienced a delay. The Bandung airport itself was a short flight from Singapore. Took a cab (35,000 Rp) to the train station, where all the budget places are. Roamed all over the train station vicinity for about an hour before retracing back to this Patradissa, a nice enough place (95,000 Rp). Walked down to Jalan Braga, which was a disappointment, considering Lonely Planet’s mention as a nightlife / bar stretch. Had dinner at the end of the street at one of the ubiquitous Nasi Padang stalls (9,000 Rp). Asked for directions to the Alun-alun (what the heck that is I don’t know, no thanks to my lousy Malay). It looked like an open air concrete park, with people hanging around and playing neon toys that launched into the air before spinning down. I cut through the park and reached one of the shopping malls. Bought an Eiger t-shirt (79,000 Rp). Decided against buying shoes, cheap but I was trying to spend less. My extravagant buy was a second dinner of an A&W meal (39,000 Rp). Didn’t like it, nasi padang was better. I navigated my way back to the hotel. Thats 257,000 Rp + 9,000 (for 2 Mizones and 2 Oreo packs) for day 1. Slightly less than 40 SGD. Good.
Tomorrow morning I’m going to grab the 8am Colt to Subang, and ask to be let off at Tangkuban Perahu. From there it’s to Ciater hot springs.
Day 2
Morning was a 24,000 Rp Soto Ayam. Plus a 12,000 Rp Angkot to Tangkuban Perahu. Overpaid for a solo angkot to the top. 100, 000 Rp so that’s (26,000 Rp for entrance fees, and a 74, 000 Rp) profit to him. Mizones x2 cost 6,000 Rp here. Fritters at 5,000 Rp. Toiletries and bread at 30, 000 Rp). Peron ticket at 1500 Rp. You need this to cut across the train station to the other side.
Gunung Tangkuban Perahu is one touristy place. There must be a few hundred tourists, locals and foreign around the large crater. It deserves the crowd though. The spectacular crater is easily accessible by car. There is a very carnival feel to the place. Horse rides for children, street vendors hawking their wares and a permanent stretch of shops lined selling all sorts of souvenirs. After wandering around the circumference of the crater, made my way down. I had all day, so decided to talk a walk down to the main road. Took a tourist tram that ends halfway down at 2000 Rp. Along the way, stopped at Kawah Domas, an area with bubbling hot sulphurous pools. Stayed there for a bit, boiled eggs in the pool, got totally wet after being soaked in sulphurous water vapour.
From the foot of Tangkuban Perahu, I made my way by Angkot (30,000 Rp) to Ciater Hotsprings. Dropped just outside the resort, and stayed overnight at the (considerably cheaper) rooms there at 200,000 Rp.
Day 3
The Ciater Hotsprings is a well developed resort, not exactly what I was expecting. However since I was there at 8am (its 24hrs), there were very few other people. Walked from one end to the other. Cascading man made falls, picnic areas, other outdoor activities (water cycling cars, flying fox, horse rides). I just soaked myself underneath the hot water for 45 minutes. Lovely.
From there, made my way back all the way to Bandung. Dumped my stuff back at Hotel Patradissa (well it is cheap) before making my way to the infamous Jean Street in the afternoon. Also known as Jalan Cihampelas, I walked down the 2km or so stretch, marveling at the giant Rambo? Batman? Wtf? Larger than life figures perched over the jeans shop. Did not get anything, how could I, the tacky décor was too distracting.
Cihampelas Walk, the entrance of which was under construction at the time of writing, was accessed through a little nondescript nook that wound along a wooden ramp before opening into a gigantic promenade. Very much like a shopping centre on Orchard road → or better I daresay! Did a lap around the place. Had too much time so caught couple of shows at the classy cinema. Then took an after midnight stroll back to the hotel.
Prambanan is a collection of Hindu temples ruins. In 2005, there was an earthquake which pretty much messed up the place. Restoration works are in progress and many of the temples are off-limits and cordoned off to the publick.
Sun Sep14’09 – The long road to Prambanan.
The plan was to take the city bus to Prambanan early in the morning. Come back by lunch and spend the rest of the day shopping in Djogja. But even the best laid plans get derailed. As we walked to the bus station, some fellow who claimed to be owner of the souvenir shop offered to show us a batik painting exhibition. “This is the same exhibition shown when I was in Singapore in Hotel Raffler (sic) last week.” “Only up for next two days.” “There will be a cultural show later at 2pm in Prambanan to signify religious tolerance during the Muslim fasting month, so why not see the batik exhibition since there is time.”
We being the naïve idiots followed him into a back alley house where works “from 25 artists chosen out of 100 applicants” are on display. Granted, the pieces are really quite well done, but what irks me was when the exhibition owner did the hard sell on us and started to ask us to “see which ones we like”. And also put the paintings on strategic locations to catch the light (in the process also blocking our way out the door…). We excused ourselves, their attitude turned nonchalant, and left.
Since the cultural show was at 2pm, we went down Malioboro and checked out the Beringharjo market. Bought a batik shirt, (bargain!) and made our way down to the Kraton. The entrance fee (5000 Rp) covered a tour with guide around the Kraton area and a visit to a fine art gallery that is open until 2pm on weekends… We refused the guide (cos we need to do this quick) and did a loop around the Kraton. Unofficial “guides” without badges will also offer to show you around, be prepared to tip for their services.
Leaving the Kraton, the same guide said we should take the chance to visit the fine art gallery since it was part of the ticket price. And the gallery is near the bus station to Prambanan whereas from where we were, the bus station is “far, far away”. So, we again took a detour by becak to the gallery. This gallery is also in a dodgy back alley, so we left without even entering and made our way to the main road, where supposedly the bus to Prambanan lies. Asking for directions, we walked 10 minutes and lo behold, we appeared out on the same bus stop along Malioboro where we started at the beginning of the day!
Finally. We took the TransDjogja city service to Prambanan. The afternoon weather was way too hot to do much traipsing through the ruins. After the main area with Civa, Vishnu, Brahma structures and their three mounts, we caught the Audio Visual (pretty ok, not as informative as the Borobudur one) before heading back. By the way, we checked at the information counter: there was no cultural show at 2pm that day…
Evening dinner was at Bedhot along Jalan Soroswijaya’s small side roads; your normal tourist-targeted Jack Johnson playing eateries. The food was good though.
Getting There
Take the TransDjogja city bus service 1A from Malioboro road (bus stations outside Hotel Mutiara or the market) to Prambanan bus terminal at 3000 Rp. The bus station is easy to recognize by the blue sign and the raised platform. 1A also passes by the airport (Bandara Adisujipto station). At the Prambanan station, take the horse-carts or walk out to the main road, turn right and walk for 800m (aim for the mosque minaret). The main entrance to Prambanan (11 USD) is just there.
In the long weekend last May (yes i do a lot of long weekend mini getaways), i reached Pulau Weh, in Aceh province. Contrary to what most people think, Banda Aceh is not the run down, dilapidated place due to the tsunami and unsafe due to the ex-separatists movement. In fact, it is be the total opposite.
More after the jump…
Getting there From KL to Banda Aceh: AirAsia flies 3 times weekly. By careful planning, I was able to reach from SG to My timings were 0910 to 1005 (SG to KL), 1155 to 1220 (KL to Banda Aceh). There was just enough time for transit, so SG to KL time should be earlier. From the airport, take transport to Ulee Lheu harbour (around 30 minutes). The fast boat leaves the harbour at 1600hrs and arrives at 1700hrs at Balohan harbour on Pulau Weh. From there, its a 45 min ride to Gapang beach (ibioh is a bit further i think).
Getting back Set off very early. Lumba-lumba arranges transport at 7am, and reaches Balohan in time for the 0830 boat. Reach at 0930hrs. You will have some time (i struck a deal with the motorised 3 wheeler driver to explore Banda Aceh and get some souvenirs). The flight is at 1245 to 1510hrs. (BA to KL) and just plan the KL to SG flight accordingly (again with time for transit).
Here’s an update on AirAsia’s flights. It seems the KL to BA flights now go from 1335 to 1400hrs. There should still be enough time to catch the 1600hr boat (factoring the 30min ride to the harbour). Personally I don’t like the change, since it’s a bit tight especially if there are flight delays.
On the way back its 1425 to 1650, later timings again. This would allow for more time to be spent in Banda Aceh itself =) Probably thats the only reason for them to move the timings that i can think of.
The Dives I stayed at Lumba Lumba Dive. They do 2 dives a day, plus you can arrange for shore dives in the evenings. The beach is a rustic undeveloped stretch. Nothing to do there but eat and sleep. There is a lovely warung just out on the main road, serving local fare. Diving sites Batee Tokong is great (sea fans) are nice. Currents are strong, more pelagic stuff can be found.
So in 4 days of leave, I spent 1 day going there, 2 days diving, 1 day returning to Sg. All in all a great short break.
Saturday 12Sep’09. To Dieng Plateau. From Borobudur, take a bus at the terminal to Magelang (10,000 Rp) which stops at Muntilan for a pick-up. At Magelang, take a bus (14,000 Rp) to Wonosobo. This drops you off at the Wonosobo terminal, just outside of town. Join the crowd taking the bemo to town (2,000 Rp) and you’ll get dropped where the minibuses to Dieng are. The Dieng buses pack up the passengers before moving off (8,000 Rp).
The bus drops you off at the T-junction in Dieng, just off Hotel Bu Juno (where we stayed). Food is pretty good, the menu is decent enough at the hotel restaurant. Bring some warm clothing, or buy them at the shop across the road. At 2095m, Dieng is no joke. Here is Sep, the early morning temperature is 14degrees. In July or Aug, it can go as low as a few degrees. If you take the motorbike tour around, wear a windbreaker and cover up. Otherwise be prepared to shiver throughout as you ride into the cold air.
The sights themselves are fantastic. Of note is the summit, at 2300m, dawn to catch the sunrise. Arjuna complex is made up of 5 Hindu temple ruins. Where there used to be over 200, now only 5 remains in the complex. It was surreal, because ducks, geese and sheep came out to graze with their handlers and cut through the temple ruins while we were there. The grounds itself is very well kept. Kawah Sikidang (Deer crater) is a boiling sulphuric pool, so named because the location of the boiling pool changes over three possible spots in the area, like a deer hopping from place to place. Then there is the Telaga Warna (coloured lake), in which we could see clear turquoise water with tiers of farming landscape in the background. The other candi visited was Candi Bima, a standalone temple in which walking around clockwise 7 times supposedly brings good luck.
From the Bu Jono hotel, Pak Didik arranges motorbike tours around the area. A dawn sunrise summit is 50,000Rp, including the nearby sites would be 100,000Rp, and going out further to see everything would be 150,000 Rp. Come back to the hotel by lunch and take the public bus back out. Or take the tour bus at 12.30pm (70,000 Rp) direct to Yogyakarta.
Fri Sep11’09. Current prices are 575,000 Rp for a room with double bed (625,000 Rp for twin beds). Since Manohara’s back gate leads straight into Borobudur, you get unlimited entries into the temple grounds. Otherwise it is 11 USD per entry. Special sunrise entries 230,000 Rp can be booked from the Manohara hotel reception.
Candi Mendut is famous for a Buddha seated not cross-legged but with legs unfolded and feet touching the ground. The murals around the Candi depicts animal stories where the animals show selfishness, greed etc.
Pilgrims to Borobudur back then circle each of the 7 tiers clockwise twice (total around 5km). Borobudur has 4 tiers depicting normal life. The 1st tier tells the story of Buddha, the second I think tells of stories of animal reincarnations of Buddha. After the 4th tier, the 5th opens up into Nirvana, no longer squares and angular, but circular, with three tiers and a total of 72 Buddhas each covered by a dome. The final biggest stupa at the top is empty. Emptiness is perfection, maybe, no one knows the reason. Get a guide to explain the murals, or go and watch the audio visual at the Manohara for 5,000 Rp.
Thurs 10/09/09. Ok. This is as live a post as can be. I am in the Princess Manohara hotel just outside the Borobudur temple grounds.
Started off from Sg and flew into the local airport. 4th time in Indonesia this year. After Bali, Sumba, Flores, Banda Aceh, Bandung, and now Yogyakarta. 2009 is Visit Indonesia Year for me. It’s pretty relaxed so far. From the airport we cabbed (50,000Rp) to the Jimbor bus terminal. Took a 1.5hr bus (15,000 Rp) from there with a stopover at Muntilan before reaching Borobudur.
Next: More on borobudur. I’ve to go and see more now. 😉
Ubud is a dead town today, no one on the streets. I had stocked up on instant noodles, more food and water. I intend to spend the entire day writing out these entries and sorting out my pics.
Night time, and I cant get wifi from my room, so im in the lobby, in complete darkness fiddling with my laptop. It’s pretty epic. Except for the mosquitos.
Day 14. Woke up in the morning and made my way to monkey forest, I was alone with LOTs of monkeys, should they attack or something, I wont know what to do…took a ride down to the airport. Flight and I was seated beside this indo dude who was a waiter from ritz carlton in bali moving over to work in some new hotel capela in sentosa.
End of trip. In 2 days time, i’m off to Mulu Caves in Sarawak. Don’t think i’ll have the patience to write everything, just refer to this link for pics. =)
