Flight from Paris to Singapore via Dubai. Dubai airport is full of men wearing the Muslim traditional costume and hat, all white. Fake palms trees as you were in the desert.  Singapore airport is decorated with fake orchids. Then we flew from Singapore to Jakarta. We got our visa very quickly and easily. No real interest to go to Jakarta town, so we took a direct bus from the airport to Bogor, “Executif” class. Fixed rate: 35.000 Rps. In that bus, I saw my first black beetle in Indonesia.

One night at a small home stay: 75.000 Rps. A very basic bedroom with high ceiling. Probably a beautiful house in the past but no money to fix it. We discovered the “Mandi”: it is a common form of bath, consisting of a large water tank from which water is ladled over the body. At breakfast, the owner was surprised because we ate fresh fruits and vegetables. He thought European did not like it…; we thought: did not want to be sick!

We went to the Botanical garden in Bogor. Entrance fee: 20.000 Rps. Amazing trees and plants. Every plants or flowers are giant! Mosquitoes are there too but still it is a nice and quiet place in this busy town. At the same place, you can visit the Orchids House. Entrance fee: 5.000 Rps. Not big but it is not common for us to see so many white, yellow, purple orchids at the same time.

The same day, we took a local bus to Bandung: 2.500 Rps.

Be careful because before departure, “fake” ticket sellers will try to sell you tickets in the bus. Only buy the ticket to the driver’s colleague when the bus has left. And keep smiling! If you are hungry or thirsty, before departure, men are in the bus to sell dry and salty snacks.

We spend the night at Guntur hotel which is close to the train station. 140.000 Rps. It is a very nice and quiet place. Good restaurant too serving traditional Indonesian food and with cats around you while eating.

The train is a good way to go Est Java. Early in the morning, we took the train to Yogyakarta. “Executif” class: 155.000 Rps. The seats are comfortable. A light meal is served by “stewards” like in a plane. You can see rice fields on the way.

We spent the night at Wisma Ary’s hotel. Hotel recommended by a young guy met at Bandung train station. A king of “beater“who will be granted a commission by the hotel owner. A tourist guide told me that it is common and not risky. The hotel is made of wood bungalows. We found it nice but a bit expensive compare to other hotels in the same area: 120.000 Rps. We found a small scorpion in the “Mandi” at morning; it was probably looking for water...

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We exchange euros against Indonesian Roupies at the money changer called “Annas” on JL Prawirotawan Street. It is also a good place to rent motorbikes and they propose tours in the island.

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That evening, we fond an excellent restaurant for diner: Luwes Luwes restaurant. Small terrace, fresh and tasty food, and a friendly service. We discovered that the owners play badminton with friends there. We watched them for a while, they were good players. They invited us to play with them and we spent the evening there in a wet and hot room.

We visited many hotels and chose Delta home stay nearby. The room and bathroom are basic but very clean, daily room service, a nice swimming pool, friendly helpful people at reception, good breakfast and evening snack and tea offered. 100.000 Rps for a double room.

From there, we took a Becak (local transport which consist in a king of bike with a double chair at front where people seat). Many Becak driver are waiting in the street. Always negotiate the price with them. That way, we visited the Sultan Palace (also called Kraton) – Entrance fee: 12.500 Rps and photo permit fee: 1.000 Rps. We took a guide but I found her not very talkative. At the end of the visit, you give your guide Roupies, no fixed rate).

Our Becak driver was waiting for us to go to the Water fall palace (called Taman Sari) – entrance fee: 10.000 Rps. It is the place where the Sultan used to go for relaxing, a king of swimming pool for him and his wife’s. At the Water Palace entrance, Otto proposed to be our guide. He  told us he studied History and explained us how the sultans used to live in the past.

Otto recommended us to visit of a batik store close to the Water Palace: It is not the right place to buy Batiks, prices are not fixed and even if you negotiate, it remains far too expensive. Otto is probably granted a commission when tourists buy in this shop. It is far better to visit the “Plentong”, a real batik factory and to go to the governmental factory/shop where the prices are fixed and the right ones for shopping! The Becak drivers know these places even if they will first take you to non-fixed prices shops first where they get a commission if you buy something.

Otto took us to an underground mosque which was linked to the Sultan Palace by an underground tunnel.

At night, we went to the Via Via restaurant on Prawirotaman Street for a very good meal and nice atmosphere. Live music.

We rent a motorbike (25.000 to 40.0000 Rps/ day) at “Annas” on JL Prawirotawan Street. Check the lights, brake as some motorbikes are really old.

Then we went to Prembanan archeological Park one hour from there. It is a chain of Hindu’s temples in a park. Entrance fee: 10 US$. It is 1 hour from Yogyakarta. That day, the Indonesian President was visiting the place to celebrate the one-year earthquake anniversary. The entrance to the temple was blocked by policemen and we had to wait. They were not able to say when the President was leaving the place, so we went to see the Merapi volcano. It is still alive. You can see the smoke from the crater from far away. Entrance fee to the site: 450 Rps.

We passed Kaluran village on the way. We bought small and tasty bananas to women  waiting for the bus along the road. As the President was still inside when we came back to Prembanan Park, we took lunch at Poeri Devata hotel nearby. It is a very pleasant place, quiet, relaxing, with good food and a splendid view at Prembanan temple.

At last, we took a nice walk around the temples even if it has been damaged when the earthquake occurred one year ago. The Unesco is going to give money and send archeologists to rebuild the temples.

We went to Borobudur temple ½ hour from Yogyakarta by motorbike. It is one of the biggest Buddhist temples in the world, built from two million block stones in the form of a massive Stupa. Entrance fee is in US$. Photo permit fee: 1.000 Rps. It is not compulsory to take a guide. That day, many Indonesian people were there, many students and not many tourists. It is a tourist and a pilgrim place for Indonesian people too. We stayed a long time there because as we just arrived, students asked us to talk to them in English, answer a few questions, take pictures with them and it lasted more than one hour! Then we climbed to the top floor of the temple which represents Nirvana, still discussing with students accompanying us.  Each floor of the temple (7 floors in total) represents one step of Buddha life. The black stone is decorated with statues, sculptures and Stupas. A must see.

We decided to take lunch at Amenjiwo hotel, a very luxury hotel on the top of the mountain and with a view at Borobudur temple (the rooms cost from 650 to 2.600 US$/night). There is no sign to give you directions to the hotel. You go through a road in the mountain 3 kilometers from the temple and when you see a big entrance with a guard, it is there! The lunch is expensive compares to other places (occidental fares) but it is very quiet, refreshing and the beverage/food are good.

On the way back, we stopped at rice fields and plant rice under Indonesian women control. The ground is a king of mud which sucks up the rice plant.

In the afternoon, we went to a massage place near the hotel (ask Delta Homestay hotel reception for an advice). It was a 3-hour relaxing stop with body scrub, massage, essential oil and floral bath, hands and feet massage. The massage was strong but no injury.

At night we went to Warung Bamboo restaurant. It is a friendly place, with good food and music where you can discuss with Europeans who settled in Java or local people. There we met a painter native from Borneo. He has a strong personality, many stories to tell and many dreams to share with you. His art consists in paintings of naked and plump women without head.

We took a Becak to go to Marlioboro Street for shopping. It is a king of open air market where you can find leather shoes, clothes, jewels, CDs… at a good price if you discuss with the seller. In the same street, there is a modern shopping mall with worldwide brands. It is cheaper than in Europe, someone told us that it is even better in Bali. We had lunch there because of air-conditioning and because of the strong heat outside.

We wanted now to go to East Java volcanoes. Going there by local bus or train was not possible so we bought a tour at our hotel reception desk to visit Bromo and Kawah Ijen volcanoes: 520.000 Rps each for 3 days including 2 hotel nights, a minibus, a driver and a guide.

We gave our clothes to the laundry nearby (Lola’s Place): 19.600 Rps for all which is very cheap.

A minibus took us at the hotel early in the morning to go to Bromo volcano. We shared the minibus with 6 other tourists. It was a long trip on busy roads and a crazy driver. We stopped at the travel agency in Probolinggo to take another minibus for the rest of the trip. Traveling with this very laidback travel agency might not be the best deal to visit the volcanoes.

After a 12-hour trip, we arrived late at night at café Lava hotel in Bromo. It is a good and well-located place to spend the night.

We woke up at 3.30am to be on time for the sunrise at Bromo volcano (2392 meters). Entrance fee to the site: 20.000 Rps. We walked to the volcano with a torch. It is a ½ hour walk only. We can also go there by hiring a jeep or a horse. Bromo is an active volcano. There are 253 steps to reach the top of the crater.  From there, the scenery is impressive. You can go round the crater; it takes around one hour to do so.

Then we took a minibus to Sempol near Kawah Ijen volcano with a driver and our guide: Tommy. The road has deteriorated badly so it is quite a long trip and we arrived late afternoon at Catimore home stay located in a coffee plantation. We took a relaxing bath in a hot water source nearby before diner.

As the Dutch settled in Java and built a colonial empire in 1799, much of Java became a Dutch plantation. After many wars and battles, the Dutch colonial government abandoned their colony in 1963. These plantations are now the Indonesian government property. The hotel is a vestige of the colonial period, old fashioned, the bedroom and bathroom were not very clean, not nice at all. It might not be the right place to spend the night, ask and insist to go to the other hotel in the area: Arabika hotel.

We discussed with Tommy who explained us that the travel agency ask tourists an expensive for the tour but that he does not get a lot.  And if he complains, he can get fired. Because of the economic crisis, too many people are unemployed and would be ready replace him for a small amount of money. Corruption seems to be everywhere, at all levels and at government level.

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At 5.00am, departure to Kawah Ijen volcano by minibus with our driver and Tommy.

2 hours walk to reach Kawah Ijen crater where you can see an impressive turquoise sulfur lake. Tommy recommended us to buy cigarettes and food for the sulfur porters who are making a trek up to the crater and down to the lake 2 times a day with up to 100 kg on their shoulders. The Chinese run this business and sulfur is sold all over the world for cosmetics Tommy said. Chinese don’t want to invest money for mechanization. They pay men instead. It makes me think about slavery.

Then, with Tommy and our driver, we reached Ketapang where ferries are leaving to Bali. On the way, we saw girls and boys wearing the same clothes for school. Tommy showed us rubber and clove trees.

On the ferry, we settled in the bus which – at arrival - was going to Gilimanuk on Bali Island: 5000 Rps. 5 men insisted to sell us bus tickets at a high price while crossing the sea. We refused to pay them and waited until bus departure to buy it to the driver’s assistant.

The bus was supposed to travel for 4 hours but the driver drove to quickly that we reached Gilimanuk 3 hours later only. The bus was crowded, quite old and we were the only tourists. In Gilimanuk, we had to negotiate hard the price to take a private minibus to Ubud town. It was late in the afternoon, no more local bus were passing, so we had no real choice to join Ubud. We arrived at Kajeng Bungalows hotel (Kajeng Street) at night (120.000 Rps)

The owners (a couple) were renovating the hotel and the swimming pool before the tourists’ season so room service was limited. But the place is peaceful so we stayed there several nights. The owners don’t speak English but ask for “Blank” who speaks English and is sometimes at reception. He is helpful and negotiated for us the rental of a new motorbike for 25.000 Rps/day.

This street is in a quiet area and still is very close to restaurants, bars, shops… You can have diner at the: peaceful Garden restaurant where they serve duck.

Along this street, we met F. Malik who owns a “Graphic Art” shop there. You can see his amazing monochrome drawings at XXXXXXXXXX website. He is reproducing landscape pictures at a bigger size making small points with his pencil. It takes 2-3 month for one drawing. His work is very precise and he needs a very good sight to do it. One of his eyes is damaged and laser surgery is necessary. He is planning to go to a private hospital in Singapour.. He told us the story of his injury. He was playing badminton with a friend and won the first game. His friend was angry so he sent back the fluttering straight to his head and Malik almost lost one of his eyes. This man died one year later. Malik’s philosophy is: this man had a “bad” soul so gods punished him.

Malik proposed us to go out with him at a local bar at night. Outside town, we went to a local bar. We were the only tourists in this large room with some tables, a DJ, and young girls to serve you and encourage you to drink the local B-

intang beer. Most of these girls were from Java. Bali is probably more peaceful and tolerant as it is the only Hindu island in Indonesia. Indonesia is still the bigger Muslim country in the world..

We woke up at 6am and went running following a small path in the rice fields. Then we went to Ubud main streets for shops and market: clothes, art fabrics, jewels, and paintings everywhere…

Again we went shopping at Hanoman Street. Buying something equals negotiating the price. It is like fixed prices do not exist. Nearby, Warung Artini restaurant is a peaceful place for lunch.

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In the afternoon, we walked through the rice fields and along the river to take pictures. We had diner at Garden restaurant again.

We discussed with Blank at the hotel and he advised us to rent a motorbike and to go to Saba beach on the South East coast. It is not a tourist place; the sand is very thin and black like volcano powder. We looked at fishermen coming back with their wood boats. They live with their family on the beach in small wood huts.

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On the way back, we stopped at Mas and Sukawati villages, which have handicrafts open markets. Here you can find almost everything which is sold at higher prices in Ubud shops. We bought two small white stone statues to a man who was carving the stone on the side of the road. Traveling by motorbike is a cheap way to move around but you have to be careful as the traffic is crazy! You get “black” skin at the end of the day because of pollution but at least, you get fresh air when not following a truck!

We went to Bartan Lake by motorbike. Nice road in the mountain. On the way, we saw a man plowing his rice fields with buffalos.

We climbed the Catur Mountain (2100 m), through the tropical forest. A path goes to the small Hindu temple at the top of the mountain. It took us 2 hours to go up in a wet haze and 1 hour to go down.

Nearby, don’t miss the “Strawberry stop” cafe in Tabanan village, for fresh strawberry juice, pancake, and ice-cream!! It is delicious.

Day 15 – 5^th June

We walked through the rice fields around Ubud to take some pictures.

We decided to go the North East beaches of Bali for 2-3 days. The first step was Amed village. The heat was very strong. We first stopped at Pura Batu Kolok temple, a colorful temple near a black sand beach.

Then we stopped at Taman Ujung Water palace, a huge park with temples and lakes, which is the Sultan property. We followed a non-official guide there, a young Indonesian man. Many Indonesian people were there too and were wearing traditional clothes to go to the temple.

Then we followed a curvy road in the mountains. Between Ujung to Aas, we stopped at a small village where a man was grooving a huge tree trunk to build a boat. We wondered how he could bring the boat to the beach. Nobody spoke English in this village so we still don’t have an answer.

Again on the motorbike; at mid-day the heat was very strong so we decided to make a stop to have fresh drinks. We found a luxury small hotel/bar hold by an English man. He explained us that he had married an Indonesian woman and had decided to retire there. He bought the land more than 10 years ago, when it was very cheap. It is still cheap but more and more European people are coming to Bali and buy land to build hotels, restaurants….  It is true that there are not a lot of hotels on this coast.

A bit later, by chance again, we stopped at Wawa Wewe II hotel (means “like this, like that) in Amed. It is a wonderful place. You can rent a bungalow with an open air bathroom for 150.000 Rps to 200.000 Rps. A beautiful swimming pool and a covered terrace (lunch/ diner place) overhang the ocean. You can rent palms there for snorkelling 25.000 Rps/day. Aas’ area is a good snorkelling spot. Right on the beach, everywhere, there are fish boats. We had diner at the hotel, no desire to move again that night.

At the hotel, they told us where to go for snorkelling. Very close from the hotel and 3 meters from the beach, you can snorkel around a Japanese wreck. The sub-marine life is very rich; there are many colourful fishes: blue, yellow… it is like to be in an aquarium!

At the hotel, we met Virginie and Yann Periers, a French couple travelling for 6 months; they planned to be back to France in August 2007.

We also met French guys coming from Australia. They wanted to spend one year in Australia, they had worked at mangoes farms to get some money.

It was time for us to go back to Ubud town. Between Amed and Amlapura, we stopped to admire rice field scenery. And we spend the night at Kajeng Bungalow hotel again.

We bought tickets at a travel agency to take a minibus to Jimbaran area. (do compare prices between travel agencies). We left Ubud to go to the South coast beaches. We choose this area because of the white sand beaches, the mythic Kuta beach nearby, surf spots, temples to visit and seafood restaurants on the beach. It is also quiet and close to the airport.

We stayed at Puri Bamboo hotel, the most expensive one and the last one for us in Bali. We negotiated the price. A double room was 500.000 Rps and we easily got the room for 300.000 Rps. It is nice and quiet place with a big swimming pool. They offered free shuttles to the three main beaches (Kuta…) and to the airport. It is also close to the seafood restaurants on the beach (500 meters).

Virginie and Yann Periers were there too for their two last days in Bali. All together, we rent a minibus to go to ¨Padang Padang and Uluwatu surf beaches. We looked at experienced surfers. Obviously, these spots are not for beginners.

For sunset, we went to Pura Luhur Ulu Watu temple. It is also an open theater where we look at a dance/theater exhibition. The story is about a beautiful princess threatened by a nasty man who wanted to marry her. But with the help of the monkeys in the forest, her fiancé manages to rescue her. The costumes, masks and make-up were impressive. The site is beautiful; it is above the Indian Ocean. Entrance fee: 15.000 Rps. The theater ticket is sold 50 000 Rps. Monkeys live there and are feed by tourists. They become fat but are still very quick to rob tourist’s sunglasses…

For diner, we went to a seafood restaurant on the beach, 500 meters from the hotel. There are many restaurants there, don’t go to the closest ones but walk on the left side of the beach to reach Jimbaran seafood “village” where you can eat the same thing at a cheaper price.

One there, you choose your food (squid, red snapper fish or other fishes langoustes, king prawns, muscles…) and they cook it on a barbecue. Is it delicious!

We took a free shuttle from the hotel to go to the famous Kuta beach/town. Everywhere on the beach, you can rent surfs and palms. We did not saw many tourists as, since the deadly bomb in 2002, tourist deserted the place. A poor guy was selling ice-creams; an old woman was selling bananas but a few tourists where there to buy it!

The town is the one for beach clothes! In the shops, you can find main European brands at lower prices.

When back from Kuta, we walked to Jimbaran beach to see the fishermen at sunset. There were plenty of boats on the ocean. It was like an armada!, like a naval battle In small wood boats, the fishermen bring ice blocks from an ice factory close to the beach to bigger boats staying at open sea. On the beach, a small market full of fresh fishes.

It was time to fly back to France with a 2-day stop at Singapour. We took the free hotel shuttle to the airport. The first flight was to Singapore via Jakarta. From the airplane, we have had a nice view at Gunung Agung Mountain: 3142 meters

We arrived late at Singapour airport, after midnight. They took a cab to Clémence and Eniot ‘s place on Kheam Hock Road. It is a quiet and wealthy area with amazing houses.

We went to central Singapour by bus and by tube. Everything is modern and clean. No plastic, no papers thrown on the pavement. You can seat on the floor with white clothes! Signs warn you and remind you about the amount of the fine in case of infraction. You can walk in town as there is not a lot of traffic (drivers are very “cautious”) and there are gardens everywhere. At 5.30, we experienced our first tropical rain. You get wet under this heavy rain but 10 minutes later, you are not wet anymore because of the heat.

Some communities have their own quarter in central Singapour. We first visited the Chinese quarter. We found an herbalist shop where you could get a mix of several plants or dried fishes as medicine.

At night, going out for diner, we went to the Muslim quarter. The main monument is a big mosque

It was the sales period in Singapore so we went shopping all afternoon. The choice is huge. Clothes, shoes, camera… everything is cheaper than in Europe. Later in the afternoon, we were going to the Indian quarter “Little India” by tube, when we realized that we had missed our flight back to France. The flight was on June 13^th, at 12.30 early in the morning and not late at night as we imagined! We immediately went back to our friend’s place to call Emirates airlines. Fortunately, they proposed to change our tickets for 100 Euros each. The “new” departure date was June 15^th at 4.00am.

That day, we had time to visit “little India” quarter with his colorful temples and tissues shops.  We ate a good meal at a vegetarian Indian restaurant for lunch

For our last evening in Singapour, we went to a place where people rollerblade. We had our last diner at a restaurant with our friends; and departure to the airport by cab at midnight.

Arrival to Paris in the afternoon. It was already the end of this trip.

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