Poland is bounded by seven nations and over the years (about a thousand of them) has been beaten up by almost every nation seeking to flex its military muscle. It had its day in the 1500’s but then became divided again by the next lot trying to flex.
After centuries of subjugation, Poland finally (or at least most recently) became independent in 1989. Under communism (after WWII) Poland became highly industrialised with mining, steelworks, and machinery production prevalent. After independence it moved to a free market economy. Since joining the EU in 2004 Poland’s economy has grown rapidly.
Today Poland has a population of around 38 million most of which are Roman Catholic but the Polish culture is heavily influenced by Slavic folklore.
Our trip to get to Poland involved an 8 hour train ride from Prague in the Czech Republic, through the Czech and Polish countrysides which was very pleasant. This trip delivered us to he town of Oświęcim. We spent the night there (having a nice local meal of Pierogi) and saved ourselves the drama of the crowds the next morning (visiting Auschwitz) as most of the groups set out from Krakow.
We were booked in for the 9am English speaking tour, which as it turns out was a good thing. The tours through here are booked (and sold) out for weeks in advance. We were there on 1 August and had we not booked well in advance, the next available booking was not until the 15th. So long story short, if you want to come, make sure you book well in advance.
The next thing that struck us was the total disrespect of the tourists. We had heard stories of Instagrammers posing for sexy photos on the railway tracks but on walking in we were issued with out tour group sticker. On the walk in there were thousands of these stuck on every light pole within cooee of the site.
Auschwitz
This was Jill’s main focus in coming here. Auschwitz was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by the Nazis during WWII. To say that visiting here was confronting is massively understating the power that this place holds. It is the site of the single largest mass murder event and has become a symbol of terror, genocide and the Holocaust. The exact number of victims is unknown but it is over one million and it is known that many Jews, Poles and gypsies died here.
The museum consists of two parts: Auschwitz I (the first and oldest camp) with the number of prisoners fluctuating between 15-20,000 and Auschwitz II, Birkenau which held more than 90,000 prisoners in 1944. Birkenau was the main extermination camp and represented the “Nazis’ Final Solution to the Jewish question”. The term was a euphemism for the annihilation and genocide of the Jewish people.
Four large gas chambers were built at Birkenau, capable of killing up to six thousand people each day. The gas chambers were disguised as showers, meant to persuade the victims that these were disinfection measures which they had to undergo before they were sent to work in the camp.
After the arrival of a transport at the ramp in Birkenau, the process known as selection took place. SS officers decided who would be taken to work, and who would be sent directly to the gas chambers. The prisoners selected for slave labour (16-30 year old fit people) were sent to one of the many auxiliary camps with the aim of extermination through labour.
The camp has areas set aside for the things that were confiscated from those about to be killed. Eye glasses, suitcases, shoes, clothes and even the hair shorn from corpses. In addition to this there were many photographs of the people that had been in the camps. Needless to say, the thought of taking photos of such things just felt wrong. So Jill and I just silently walked around and took in the enormity of what being at this place actually represented.
But even then, towards the end of our tour of Birkenau we went through one of the dormitories that housed 700 people, and upon entry saw graffiti by fleabags dated 2024. In this place many of the bricks had been defaced and people had deemed it important to scratch their name into the bricks.
With an incredulous look, I showed the guide and she responded that just last week a 20 year old German girl was caught doing exactly the same thing. I asked if they were severely punished, her response was that she hoped so. This then sparked a conversation about the public naming and shaming of people for such despicable acts.
There is no way that I can say that visiting Auschwitz is an enjoyable or pleasurable experience. But it is something. in hindsight, that both of us are glad that we have done. It is something that should be experienced (one time only).
Krakow
Having explored Auschwitz, we walked back to our hotel, collected our bags and hopped the local train to take us through to the town of Krakow. Krakow is one of the oldest (and second-largest) cities in Poland and was at one time the capital. The Krakow old town (where we were staying) was granted UNESCO world heritage listing back in 1978, one of the world’s first places designated this way.
Our introduction was not as pleasant, as the hotel that we had booked (and had confirmed) was shut. We arrived in the rain and stood outside, (in the rain) ringing the bell and buzzer and calling the website phone numbers. All to no avail. After 30 minutes we walked around the corner, found a similarly priced hotel, that was open, and checked in.
Krakow has been a busy trading city in Europe dating back well over 1000 years. During WWII the city was largely spared from aerial bombing and destruction. This means that the older and more historic elements of town are largely intact.
Rynek Glówny is the Central Square of Krakow it is a huge 10-acre square in the centre of largest in any of Europe’s medieval cities. The center of the square is dominated by the Cloth Hall.
At 80 m tall the 14th-century Gothic Basilica of the Virgin Mary is pretty hard to miss.
On the hour, every hour a trumpet signal (called the Hejnał mariacki) is played from the top of one of the two towers.
The tune is cut short mid-stream. This is done to commemorate a famous 13th century trumpeter who was sounding the alarm of a Mongol attack when he was shot in the throat.
This one we did not go to but when I saw it on the attractions list I had to include it for my sister Karin, who is a glass artist. It was the muWi Stained Glass Museum (Muzeum Witrazu) where exhibition spaces intertwine with the old (but still functioning) stained glass workshop, functioning since 1902. Here you can do a guided tour of the historic workshop, directly above the heads of artists and craftsmen.
If you are super keen you can pay extra and have a 2 or 3 hour workshop ($93-130) with a master craftsmen and make your own stained glass souvenir. There is a third 2-4 day option for a bit over $1100.
For the younger crowds there is also a Lego Museum (Bricks and Figs) an Arcade Museum (a private collection of over 150 arcade games and pinballs available on Free Play). The oldest table game dates back to 1936 but the main focus is on the classics of the 80’s and 90’s. Then there’s Wheels & Heels a collection of miniature cars and iconic dolls from around the world.
And if you are more adventurous you can always head off to the Lost Souls Alley (a haunted house experience), Axe Nation (an axe throwing club), Krakow Shooting Academy (choose from dozens of weapon models from WW1 to the modern era).
Our limited time in town did give us enough time for a lovely wander through the old town. More importantly, it did get us to a charming local restaurant (recommended by our hotel) in a basement in the heart of old town. Starting with a local cider aperitif, we followed with the soup (in a bread bowl), cheese and pierogi mixed entree and topped off with a wild boar main.
Our time in Krakow was short but it was lovely, and was really quite well priced.
Warsaw
We really only transited Warsaw. We had planned to come and stay for a while but the prices were wildly overpriced. We searched and tried to find out why, but could not come up with an answer. As we were going through Auschwitz it became apparent. Our timing was such that we were in Auschwitz on the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw uprising.
The Warsaw uprising was a major World War II operation to liberate Warsaw from German occupation.
It occurred in the summer of 1944 and was led by the Polish underground resistance. It was timed to coincide with the retreat of the German forces from Poland ahead of the Soviet advance.It was the single largest military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II.
According to Wiki the uprising was fought for 63 days with little outside support. The Red Army did not reinforce resistance fighters or provide air support. Declassified documents indicate that Joseph Stalin had tactically halted his forces from advancing on Warsaw in order to exhaust the Polish Home Army and to aid his political desires of turning Poland into a Soviet-aligned state.
Poland was actually much better than I had imagined. Auschwitz, while confrontational was fascinating. Krakow was really nice and largely untouched by any of the many wars that have taken place here and Warsaw showed enough signs to suggest that we could easily come back for a more detailed visit.
We made it to Inner Mongolia the first time around, but the logistics of getting to Mongolia proper were just too hard to manage back then.
Mongolia is a basically an oval shaped country (2,400 km E-W and 780 N-S) wedged between China and Russia. Three quarters of the place is open pasture (The Steppe) which supports the huge herds of grazing animals for which the country is known. Mongolia is considered the world’s least densely populated nation, with 3.3 million people spread over 1.5 million square kilometres.
While many countries are denying or denouncing their imperial past, Mongolia is bucking this trend vehemently. They have proudly and brazenly embraced it. So much so that everything is about the great Mongol empire and their most famous of leaders.
Genghis Khan (1162-1227) known locally as Chinggis Khan, was a warrior-ruler and one of the most famous conquerors of history. He first consolidated the disparate tribes into a unified Mongolia and then expanded the empire through to the Adriatic Sea.
The empire lasted almost 400 years after his death. Mongolians see him as a symbol of their country’s strength and resilience.
The Mongolian nation was officially proclaimed in 1924, with the capital set around the main monastery of the Bogd Gegeen (spiritual leader) and was renamed Ulaanbaatar (“Red Hero”). While technically ‘independent’, for the first 70 years it was actually a one-party state closely tied to Russia (the Soviet Union). It received all technical, economic, and military assistance from Russia and generally followed Russian guidance in all matters political and economic, while building a socialist society.
After the collapse of the USSR, Mongolia ended the monopoly and embraced free multiparty elections, coalition governments, a new constitution, and installed greater cultural and religious freedoms.
Our entry saw us flying in to the Chinggis Khan International Airport (virtually everything here is/was named after Chinggis). This saw the first actual panic occur in the time since we have been away (600 days ago). Having no local currency Jill hit the ATM (as usual) but mid-transaction she was hit by the blue screen of death as the machine shut down and rebooted itself (with our card inside). Needless to say, some internal panic ensued over the next few minutes. But our card eventually spat out and we used a different machine, got our money and started the usual SIM card and taxi negotiations.
The airport is about 50 km out of town and provides you with an excellent opportunity to get a true sense of what you are getting yourself into. Flying in there is a single bitumen road (three lanes wide in each direction) and everything else is a dirt road or a paddock. Driving on the bitumen road, you pass gers (the local Yurt version), herds of cows, horses, goats and some truly stunning scenery.
The cab ride in was astounding with some of the most amazing landscapes, sculptures and wildlife. Our first glimpse of a steppe eagle in full flight was just stunning. These huge muscular birds are quite the sight and can be easily spotted just glancing out the windows.
After a while the dirt roads on the sides give way to the city, enter the appearance of some amazing (and sometimes a bizarre) statues along the roads. The first thing that catches your eye is the abundance of Prius vehicles. Quite literally every second vehicle on the road is a Prius.
Ulaanbaatar is home to half of Mongolia’s three million population and is the coldest capital city in the world with heavy snow and cold lasting for three months.
As we were here in early summer, we missed all of this cold weather, and enjoyed some cool evenings and pleasant days in the mid-20’s. The cold is due to:
its high elevation (1350m),
relatively high latitude,
being hundreds of kilometres from any coast,
the effects of the Siberian high.
These factors combine to deliver winter temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius. With a temp range from -40 in winter to plus 35 in summer, Mongolia has an extreme and inhospitable climate where only the hardiest survive. Forty percent of the population still live as nomadic herders.
Ulaanbaatar (or just UB for us well travelled types) is surrounded by 4 sacred mountains (Bayanzurkh, Bogd Khan, Songinokhairkhan and Chilgeltei). South of UB, Bogd Khan Mountain is proclaimed as sacred and was declared a protected area in 1783, which made it the oldest national park in the world.
Our accommodation was at a boutique hotel, quite literally in the middle of everything. We were directly opposite the national museum, a block from the Chinggis Khan museum, right next door to the Parliament building and Sukhbaatar Square. This meant that our step count would not be high, but we were sure to see everything (around town at least). Bit worried about the gas mask in the cupboard though.
Almost immediately opposite our hotel was the National Museum, which would also be our first port of call. It was a great collection of all things Mongolian with a particular emphasis on the national dress over the years. Given that the Chinggis Khan museum was only a block away, that bit was a bit light on. But I was interested to find out that Mongolia had its own astronaut (Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa) who went into space in 1981 as part of the Russian space program.
Being a Tuesday, the Chinggis Khan museum was shut so it was off to Sukhbaatar Square.
In the early 1800s, when UB was still in its infancy, a large square was constructed as the city’s center with the name “Great Freedom” (Ikh Choloo). After the People’s Revolution of 1921, the area was called “Indrin Square” and in 1946 was renamed “Damdin Sukhbaatar Square” to honor the Mongolian independence hero. It was renamed to Genghis Khan Square in 2013 and changed back in 2016.
The square houses statues of Genghis Khan, Sükhbaatar, and Sanjaasürengiin Zorig (who helped lead the democratic revolution of 1990).
At the top (north) of the square is the Mongolian Parliament Building and the square is surrounded by some great soviet era old buildings that include, the stock exchange, the cultural centre (Соёлын Төв Өргөө), state opera and ballet and the usual big (local) banks.
National Parliament of Mongolia is the home of all government related stuff. The front of the palace has statues of Genghis Khan, Ögedei Khan, and Kublai Khan.
The statue of Genghis Khan is guarded by two of his generals Muqali and Bo’orchu on horseback.
At the southern end of the Sukhbaatar Square you find the bizarrely out of place Blue Sky Tower (Хөх тэнгэр цамхаг). This is an ultra-modern 25 story, 105 meter, steel and glass skyscraper that houses luxury apartments, a 200-room hotel, restaurants, and office and conference space. To say it stands out is an understatement.
The second day it was off to the Chinggis Khan Museum. As you can imagine, this one had much more about the development of the empire and the tools of war, as opposed to the traditional costumes from the day before. Until recently there was no photos allowed but now for about $20 you can purchase an authorising lanyard and take some happy snaps.
Next stop for us was down to the State department store. Back in the soviet days this was the only (official) place to get your items. It was written up as an attraction in its own right. For us it was a six storey shopping hell. It was basically a Westfield, with all of the usual stores, selling pretty much what every shopping mall sells. The fur section was a little bit special and I did spend some time looking at a fur stoal made from a white arctic fox with head intact.
Our next day was meant to be off to the Palace (officially the Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan) but it was about a 2.5 km walk and the weather (rain) set in fairly nastily. Add to this the bride not feeling 100% in the preceding days, we decided to hide and boycott until the next day. Built between 1893 and 1903, the palace is where Mongolia’s eighth Living Buddha, and last king, Jebtzun Damba Hutagt VIII (often called the Bogd Khan), lived for 20 years.
To say that the palace has seen better days in underselling the situation. Extreme temperature fluctuations (-40 to +35) has seriously taken its toll on the older buildings. Despite this the Palace houses some important items (such as the Mongolian Declaration of Independence from China in 1911) as well as some gifts received from foreign dignitaries. Some of these include: a pair of golden boots from a Russian tsar, a robe made from 80 foxes and a ger lined with the skins of 150 leopards. The Bogd Khan had a thing for unusual wildlife and there is an impressive display of stuffed animals in the palace. At one point the Bogd purchased an elephant from Russia for 22,000 roubles.
Hidden in behind the Blue Sky tower you can find the Choijin Lama Temple Museum. This is a complex of five temples with elaborate paintings, colorful masks, and ornate statues. The monastery was built between 1904 and 1908 for the Choijin Lama, a brother of the Bogd Khaan who became Mongolia’s first leader after independence.
Most of the top things to do in UB are actually outside the city. So the next day it was in a car and out of town on a day trip in and around the natural beauty that is Mongolia. A hundred Aussie bucks bought us a car and driver for the day with an itinerary to boot.
The most famous of thing to see is the Genghis Khan Statue Complex, about 54 kilometers outside UB. At its heart stands a 40 meter tall statue of guess who, perched atop a 10 meter pedestal.
The complex stands on the bank of the Tuul River and was built to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Genghis Khan’s birth. It is the world’s largest equestrian statue. The base consists of 36 supporting columns, representing 36 great Khans (Mongol kings) with the entrance gate to the complex being decorated with statues of the nine generals (noyons) of Genghis Khan.
To say that you can see this thing from afar is a tad obvious. Construction took three years, cost $4 million and used 250 tons of stainless steel. It opened in 2008, and the interior houses an art gallery, museum, a dress up shop, and the obvious souvenir and coffee shops, etc.
Most importantly, it houses the world’s largest boot (maybe). I say maybe because google doesn’t list it as such. This one is 9 meters tall and the one listed on the internet (in the USA) is only 16 foot (about half the size) tall.
There is probably some weird rule as to why this doesn’t count, but I don’t know.
Apparently, the current version of the complex is just phase one. Over time it is planned to place a whole town of the yurts to make up a thematic town, revealing all sides of Mongolian life. The complex was built here (Tsonjin Boldog) because according to legend, Genghis Khan found a whip in this area. In Mongolia, people believe that man finding a whip is a sign of fortune, good destiny, and occasion. The statue faces east, the direction of Genghis Khan’s birthplace.
After the statue it was off to the Terelj National Park. This is one of the most accessible national parks in the country, being about 70 km northeast of UB. It is known for its picturesque alpine scenery, interesting rock formations, and outdoor activities.
In short, we spent hours driving through some of the most amazing scenery that you can come across. We stopped at some obvious spots (like turtle rock) for photo opportunities, but in reality almost every second presented photo opportunities (the single lane road just wasn’t designed for stopping).
A small portion of the National Park has been developed for tourists, with hotels and tourist ger camps set up. These obviously come with the associated restaurants and souvenir shops. In addition there is a bunch of locals set up to take bus loads of (predominately) Koreans on horseback rides, hiking, rock climbing, swimming, rafting, and bird-watching trips.
Our next stop was to be the Zaisan Memorial which was built on a hill to just south of town to commemorate those Mongol and Soviet soldiers killed in World War II. Sadly the mountain it stands on was shut to shore up some landslide activity – so we missed out.
While we missed out on climbing the mountain, at the point we got turned around, we had a perfect view of the big buddha.
Built in 2006 the Buddha statue looks through the entire UB city and protects the city from any danger.
Speaking of missing out, Eastern Mongolia has the Ikh Burkhant complex which has a 90 meter high stone Buddha built into the hillside. It was built between 1859-1864.
Naadam Festival
Sadly we missed this one by a couple of weeks (we were at Brads birthday when it was on), but this is the main festival of the nation. It is the most important holiday and biggest event on the Mongolian Calendar. The Naadam Festival includes the “Three manly games”. These are sports competitions of Wrestling, Horse racing and Archery. Despite the name, women participate in the archery and horse-racing games, but not in Mongolian wrestling.
The main festival is held in the capital UB, however smaller versions are replicated though the provinces and villages (soums). It begins with an elaborate Opening Ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians.
Mongolian Wrestling (bökh), has no time or weight limits, and bouts end when one of the opponents hits the ground. Bökh wrestlers’ costume consists of 2 parts: upper part is called zodog and the lower part is called shuudag. The zodog & shuudag are usually bright red or blue. Wrestlers complete their looks with Mongol hat & Mongol boots.
Mongolian horse racing as featured in Naadam is a cross-country event, with races 15-30 km long. The riders are children (girls and boys), with the oldest being 10 years old and the youngest only 4. The racing routes are straight requiring less navigation and more speed and endurance.
Traditionally, children rode without saddles but modern consideration for the jockeys’ safety has introduced regulations requiring saddles, stirrups, helmets, vests, knee and elbow pads. In addition to this each rider must be covered by accident insurance.
Mongolian Archery involves 360 targets that are put up for the archery competition. In this competition, both men and women participate; men fire 40 arrows from 75 meters away while women fire 20 arrows from 60 meters away. The winners of the contest are granted the titles of “National marksman” and “National markswoman”.
Mongolian traditional homes – “the Ger or Yurt” are important part of Mongolian national identity. But, in rapidly growing UB’s life, you can see the ger districts on the fringes.
Mongolian Statues
Almost everywhere you look as you wander about town you end up running into some pretty interesting statues. Some are of the famous Khans etc, but many others are just there. they can be found at almost every intersection. Some you have to hunt for while others jump out at you. My favourite was the Predator riding an Alien motorcycle, or the whole caravan of camels in the middle of a roundabout.
Taxis
While wandering the city we did learn the trick of the local cab system though. Basically, every car is potentially a taxi, just wander along with your arm dangling out a bit and somebody will stop. I suggest you are more organised than I was, as my pronunciation left much to be desired. Maybe take a screenshot of where you want to go and just show the driver, knowing the distance in advance makes the price calculation and end of trip communication much easier. The fee is 2000 tugrik (about a 90c) per kilometer and I just rounded up the parts of a kilometer based on the google map distance.
The Black Market
Our last full day saw us venture to Naran Tuul or the Black Market (using the above taxi method). As sketchy as a Black Market sounds, nowadays it is all pretty legit. There are warnings of pickpockets and bag snatchers and scammers trying to elicit an entrance fee to the free market, but none of these eventuated for us.
What really strikes you about UB’s Black Market is how much and what there is for sale. This is a market aimed at the locals and seeing what is on sale makes you realise how different Mongolia is to the rest of the world. The size of the material section was huge. Rows after rows of material and sewing gear. Clearly many of the clothes remain home made.
For me most of the interest lay in the boots. Mongolian boots are truly a thing of beauty, not just the pointy toed traditional types (gutuls), or the warm felt Ugg boot type things, but just the normal everyday boot. They are magnificently made, of the softest leather, and are really nicely styled.
This is the big drawback of this sort of travel, our souvenirs and trinkets must be small and light. Otherwise the likelihood of me leaving with some fantastic boots was high.
Mongolian Cashmere
Mongolian cashmere is widely considered to be the best in the world. The harsh climate makes it an ideal environment for cashmere goats to grow thick undercoats.
Cashmere is a type of wool obtained from the soft undercoat of the cashmere goat. The wool is harvested during the spring molting season when the goats naturally shed their undercoat. Mongolia is the largest producer of cashmere, accounting for more than 50% of the global production., with India, China, Iran, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan producing the majority of the rest.
And here you can find it almost everywhere you look. Like everything else in Mongolia, it is mot cheap, but the quality is exceptional.
Mongolian Food
Food in Mongolia is certainly a melting pot. Today, you can get just about anything you want and the quality is pretty good. If you look at the surrounding nations and those that at one time made up the empire, it is pretty normal to think that the variety would be wide.
There are plenty of local restaurants offering (some) traditional dishes that are worth the effort in tracking down. And some other traditional dishes that maybe only for the more adventurous (more about that below). Veggies in summer were tough to find and I assume that this is worse in winter. Many of the local dishes are high in meat content (but there’s nothing wrong with that).
Chinese is everywhere, as is burgers and pizza, Turkish, Italian, Indian, Korean and Japanese. Then the surprising ones come into play Mexican was the one that threw me most. But we had Uzbek, saw Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz, Irish pubs, Vietnamese, Spanish tapas and a surprising number of vegan and vegetarian restaurants (we didn’t go there).
Local Dishes
Khuushuur or Huushuur – A local version of a deep fried meat pie that more resembles a pasty or an empanada. The filling is just meat and onion.
It was the first thing that we ate on night one as a beer snack (they looked small and bite sized) but they came out the size of your hand and we ended up not needing dinner.
Buuz is the Mongolian version of the steamed dumpling commonly found throughout the region. It is basically a local version of the Chinese baozi or the Nepalese Momo.
Bansh is like the buuz but smaller and boiled in a soupy kind of broth rather than steamed. The filling usually comes from either a cow, goat, sheep, horse, or camel.
Tsuivan is a local stir fry made with home made fresh noodles with vegetables and a meat of some kind. Not the most thrilling meal about, but hearty and filling.
Chanasan makh is next and it is basically just boiled meat. Not really too much to say about this one, it is what it claims to be.
Khorkhog is a goat stew that uses the entire goat and is cooked on open fire with hot rocks. The quirk here is the belief that holding the hot stones after cooking helps to relieve tiredness and improve blood circulation.
Boodog involves using the actual skin and fur of the animal as the cooking vessel. The animal is butchered with skin remaining intact and is sealed up having been filled with the meat, vegetables, and hot rocks to cook from the inside out.
Guriltai Shul is one of the most popular noodle soups in Mongolia. It is considered to be the classic dinner staple – basically just boiled mutton with handmade wheat-flour noodles.
Vitals soup is popular for being very nutritious. It is part of Mongolia’s culture that no part of an animal is wasted and so Vitals Soup is offal. Made with the lungs, hearts, intestines, liver, stomach and kidneys of an animal.
Needless to say that neither Jill nor I rushed to order the Vitals soup. Budaatai huurga is a nice simple (inoffensive) local fried rice version with mutton.
Last and definitely least is Airag, or Kumis this is considered to be the country’s national beverage. It is fermented mare’s milk. We had it in inner Mongolia a decade ago and it was terrible. The memory was strong enough for us to both avoid it at all costs.
Mongolian Beer
This was a tough one. Having once had such a mighty empire, the beer was highly variable. Some of the best beers that we have had were in Kyrgyzstan who had adopted the best of Czech brewing practices to deliver some really tasty beers, and you could find some really tasty ones here. But at the same time the empire stretched east, which brought into play the lighter Chinese style brews. These were much more gassy and less flavoursome.
Possibly the hardest part of the beers was working out what you were actually drinking. Niislel (Нийслэл), Sengur (Сэнгүр), Borgio (Боргио), Golden Gobi (Алтан Говь), Jalam Khar (Жалам Xар) and finally the only one I could get my tongue around, the Chinggis Pilsner.
Japan has long been on my list, and has been recommended to me by virtually everyone who has ever been here.
The issue that has kept us away for so long was the perception that it was prohibitively expensive. The Japanese pricing just did not fit with our cheap and cheerful travelling style.
Japan is made up of over 6,800 islands but with four main ones being Hokkaido, Honshu (the “mainland”), Shikoku, and Kyushu. Tokyo is the capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. About 75% of its area is mountainous.
The most fascinating thing about Japan is the obscure blend of ancient traditions and cutting-edge modernity. Rich and often ancient cultural heritage combines with groundbreaking technology all set in a land of amazing landscapes and wildlife.
The decision to come happened on two fronts, the first was convenience, our journey to Mongolia was easiest with a transit through Japan and secondly, the exchange rate with the AUD was the highest it had been in over two decades.
Our arrival saw us entering Tokyo, Japan’s bustling capital in mid evening, only to be jumped upon by a TV film crew, who wanted to interview us for a local travel TV show. It was a fluff show about where have you travelled to, why did you come to Japan and what did you want to see. The answer to the first question blew them away and we spent the next 30 minutes answering questions about our travels so far. Jill’s hat (with all of the pins on it) drew amazement and the thought that two people would just pack up and disappear seemed totally impossible to the Japanese mindset.
We have no idea if we were selected to be on TV (as we had left by the time it would have aired) but it was to be on Monday evening at 6:30 pm on Channel 7 TV Tokyo.
After this, we very quickly learned that our language skills were heavily lacking. Some serious bumbling about in the train station and we were on our way headed for the hotel. Some weather prompted a train change and some more confusion, but for the most part, getting about was fairly manageable. We finally landed in the hotel after 11pm having left metro Manila 14 hours earlier.
The next morning it was up for a quick breakfast and out exploring. The first thing that strikes you about Japan is how clean everything is. The footpaths are at least 4 meters wide and can be up to 10 meters wide in the busy areas. There is not a rubbish bin in sight but there is zero trash, anywhere. It was even a struggle to find a leaf laying on the ground. And there is no obvious person sweeping up or cleaning anything, people are just tidy and don’t make mess..
Not only is it clean, it is quiet. Having spent the last 2 months in the Philippines and Indonesia, this place is absolutely silent. No honking, beeping, screaming, yelling.
It was lovely.
It was so quiet that there were even decibel meters on the outside of constructions sites to make sure that things stayed at a reasonable level.
Our walk around was on a 30+ degree day with high humidity. Our first stop was to the NihombashiBridge that has been linking the city for centuries. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603 and the current one dates from 1911. In reality the bridge is dwarfed by everything around it, but it is nice.
Next we aimed for the Imperial Palace, but to get there we went via the Tokyo Central railway station. Within no time of getting to the train station we immediately felt that we were in the world’s most populous city with over 37 million people inhabitants. And the majority of them were here.
To say that this place is a maze is an understatement. There is quite literally an entire underground city here. There are kilometers of underground tunnels and passageways that link the high speed rail (shinkansen) to the subway and you can even walk to the nearest five stations completely underground (the furthest a distance of over 2 km), but is faster by train. There are more than 4,000 trains arriving and departing daily.
Having been lost underground for what seemed like an eternity, we popped out relatively close to the Tokyo Imperial Palace and Gardens Area. Here we learned an important lesson. In the most populace city in the world, if you want to do something, you must book, days in advance, and you must queue up for your allotted time slot.
We did not do this, so were content enough to view the palace and gardens from the outside and did not venture in. But suffice to say that the surrounds were also pretty amazing.
Being a cool 33+ degrees with high humidity we chose to walk. From the palace we walked through parks and gardens, stopping at the various shrines and temples that we came across on the way.
From here our exploration took us into the Ginza District which is considered to be one of the most expensive, elegant, and luxurious city districts in the world. It is a popular upscale shopping area (something that we typically try to avoid). Our aim was to go to an interactive digital art museum that offers galleries of immersive and surreal installations (but guess what, you had to book, days in advance). So we wandered around lost for a while, found a place with an (happy hour) amazing lunch which set us back $26 for four beers and a feed. We did however make the booking for 4 days later.
The next morning it was up and on our way to see the lively hub of Shibuya. This is arguably the youth heart and soul of the city. For us it is the home of the scramble crossing, the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world, with sometimes over a thousand people crossing the multi-cornered intersection at a time. The view from the Shibuya Sky observation deck offers an epic view.
When we were there, extensive roadworks had stifled the flow of both traffic and pedestrians. But the tourist trade and normal business activity still meant that the place was manic, god knows what it would be like in full flight.
Japanese Street Fashion – To say that Shibuya is eclectic would be an understatement. The streets of Shibuya are the birthplace to many of Japan’s fashion and entertainment trends.
Just down the road we headed into Shinjuku to see the Godzilla, towering over the Toho Cinema. It is probably the most famous statue in all of Tokyo but on closer inspection, it is just a head and claw.
The area is busy and lively and I was offered sex at 11am by some random dude who wanted to take me to the nearby brothel. I just had to follow him down the alley.
Next it was on a train to the old part of town (Yanaka) where the old town ambience and atmosphere (shitamachi) reminds people of Tokyo from past decades. It was a funky little neighbourhood without the lights and bling of those we had visited before. The main attraction was the Yanaka Cemetery where many of the tombs are elaborately decorated and nicely landscaped. Paths are well-kept and wide, making it a good place for a tranquil stroll (even in extreme temperatures).
From here we hopped on the local bus and made our way to the Asakusa neighbourhood. Our main reason for going there was to see the Samurai and Ninja Museum, but guess what, you had to book. Thankfully the wait was not too long so we went exploring first.
The first thing that we stumbled across was the Asahi Beer Tower and Asahi Super Dry Hall with its characteristic Flamme d’Or. This was completed in 1989 and is the headquarters of Asahi Breweries.
With some time to kill we kicked back in the backstreets, checking out some funky little shops and restaurants, and even a Kabuki theatre.
Asakusa’s main attraction is Sensoji, a very popular Buddhist temple, built in the 7th century. Having snuck in around the back (it is free to enter we just came the back way) through the side streets we came out from what is usually the main entrance Nakamise. This is a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with traditional snacks and souvenirs for centuries.
Having seen the masses of people, the temple and bought out our souvenir trinkets we headed back to the Samurai and Ninja Museum which turned out to be a great way to kill an hour or so. Some interesting history, and lots of swords and armour. You can even throw ninja stars against walls and dress up for photos if you want (we passed on the dressing up). The coolest bit was that there was some seriously good artwork on the walls.
Space being a premium here in Japan, even the parking structures were a bit different to what we were used to. I had heard of the stacking system, but had not seen it in action before.
Jill being a raw fish fanatic had been humouring me in the preceding days giving me actual cooked meals, but the time had come for her to get her sashimi fill. We found a restaurant around the corner that allowed here to load up on raw fish and all was right (for her) in the world.
Japan is highly regulated (socially) and it is easy to inadvertently do the wrong thing. But a little bit of preemptive reading and the sort of things that will cause offence are actually pretty sensible and easy to avoid, if you only bother to look. Things not to do in Japan:
be late
be loud
talk on the phone on the train
tip at restaurants
stand on the right side of the escalator
wear shoes on tatami (woven straw) mats
These are actually really really easy to avoid, and for the most part, make life a little more pleasant. Virtually everyone that we came across followed these rules easily. Except the Americans and the French. Whether these two groups are just above such petty conventions or are just too arrogant to care, I do not know. But the only voices that could be heard splitting the silences were always one or other of these two accents, consistently.
The next day was the closest thing to a fail as we have had in years. Don’t get me wrong, we had a lovely day, but apart a fleeting glance (of Mount Fuji) from a train window we did not achieve our goals. We had seen photos like the ones below and thought what a great way to spend a day, so we hopped on the fast train (it is 140km away) to see it.
Japan’s Shinkansen, or bullet trains were our transport. They are world class with some reaching speeds exceeding 321 kilometers (200 miles) per hour. The newest versions have reached speeds of up to 603 km/h (374 mph) in testing.
While in transit, Jill did snap this photo (and a few like it) out of the train window.
So we did see the mountain, just not in the way that we had planned.
Getting off the train we hopped on a slower train that (we thought) would take us closer to the mountain and more specifically Lake Kawaguchi.
Lake Kawaguchi is located at the northern foot of sacred Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain. This is one of the Five Lakes of Fuji and you can enjoy magnificent Mt. Fuji views from the lakeside. But we got on the train to Odawara and then another to Hakone (still 60kms away from the mountain). To be fair there are about six locations in Hakone where you can enjoy good views of mount Fuji (but we did not go to any of them).
Instead, we got on the Hakone Tozan Cable Car thinking that it would give us the views that we sought. This is one of Japan’s few mountain railways where passengers can enjoy scenery and be wowed as the train climbs steep slopes. In order to climb the mountain, the train zigzags up the slopes using switchbacks where the conductor and driver switch positions. The cable car connects Gora and Sounzan and meets up with the ropeway to Owakudani (which was of course shut due to the winds). So we got near the top of the mountain with the views (on the opposite side) and could go no further.
So a long story short, we left our hotel at 7 am and got back late in the afternoon, in that time we had traveled on fast trains, slow trains, cable cars and saw some amazing sights of rural Japan. But what we actually came to see we got in fleeting glimpses as we went passed it on a super fast train.
As we waited to head home, I did manage to get a few videos of the superfast trains going past.
To say that these are fast and impressive is obvious. These ones even slowed down as they were passing the station.
We did have a great day, and we did see some amazing sights, we just did not really achieve what we had set out to do.
Sumo is a thing that we missed out on while we were here. It is a Japanese style of wrestling and Japan’s national sport with grand sumo tournaments (each lasting 15 days) held six times a year (the odd months).
While we were in Tokyo, there was a tournament on 350 km away in Nagoya. When there is no tournament you are able to head to one of the Sumo Stables to watch the early morning practice sessions. But these are suspended when a tournament is on (so we missed out).
As big as Sumo wrestlers are (many over 200 kg and the heaviest ever maxing out at 288kgs), doctors reckon that they don’t suffer from heart attacks, strokes, or display other symptoms of obesity. Sumo wrestlers consume up to 7,000 calories a day. The secret is in the name, as wrestlers the regular intense exercise prevents the build-up of visceral fat, which causes metabolic and heart disease.
Manga is the Japanese term that refers to both comics and cartooning. The origin is believed to date back to the 12th and 13th century.
After WWII the manga were distributed widely to the population as a distraction from the harsh realities that Japanese people had to face after the war.
They are characterised a distinctive art and narrative style. Genres include action, romance, fantasy, science fiction, and more.
Anime is a Japanese style of film and television animation.
The style is distinctively Japanese and immediately recognisable.
Kabuki is a form of Japanese theatre that mixes dramatic performance with traditional dance.
It is known for its outlandish performances, glamorous costumes, and the elaborate makeup.
Not wanting to miss out, our reservation for the interactive digital art museum finally came up on our last evening in Japan.
The creators describe itself as an international art collective existing at the intersection of art, science, technology, and the natural world.
The group consists of a variety of artists, programmers, engineers, animators, mathematicians and architects; the collective aims to explore the relationship between the self and the world, through new forms of perception.
In reality it was a really high tech maze in darkened rooms with images and lights projected on the walls.
This is actually an over simplification, the lights sensed the presence of a person and bent around you, the exhibitions flew from room to room and around corners.
And colours changed, kids drawings were brought to life and flew across the walls, it was all pretty surreal.
To be honest we have seen almost nothing of Japan. Everything that we did see, we enjoyed but it is a seriously weird place. It is like nowhere we have ever been. Both relaxing and infuriating at the same time. I got totally sick of being lost in underground bunkers, railway stations and shopping malls. We were constantly staring at the GPS trying to work out where we were in an underground land of no reference points.
The exchange rate doubling made it actually really affordable for us, so if things remain favourable, I could envisage us coming back at some point. The food was magnificent.
A major point in us hanging about in and around Indonesia is that we had been invited to our mate Brad’s (featured regularly) milestone birthday party in the Philippines. So we returned to the Philippines from Indonesia and met up with a group of people who were similarly inspired to attend.
Before the festivities began in earnest we managed to get a few days catching up with people in downtown Makati.
We got to see some great friends (some long time readers of our travels), met some new ones and got to know some previously casual acquaintances better.
Our accommodation was in downtown Makati and was perfectly reasonable, with a rooftop pool and ideally located amongst the bars and restaurants.
The only issue with the hotel was that it had the slowest lifts we had ever experienced, and that there was no separate service lift for the staff. This meant that every time you entered the lift, there was 2-3 staff members moving about from floor to floor. This included large cleaning trolleys, maintenance staff with tools and ladders, room service trolleys. Virtually every trip in the lift (which fits about 6 people) had at least two staff members in there.
This got even worse when you worked out that floors 3 to 5 were administration floors and the office staff would routinely get on at 3 and off at 4, for the next to get on ad 4 and off at 5. And the same in reverse as you went down. It is a symptom of having old buildings, with no service elevators, but it is something that is very rarely encountered and was more than a little annoying.
A relatively large group of Brad’s friends assembled for the do, with most flying in from Australia. The main party was to be on a boat on the weekend, but the crew started assembling from about Wednesday night. This meant that some pre-party get togethers and catch ups were to take place, well before the actual event.
When the day of the party finally arrived, several of us had already embarked on 3-4 late and liquid nights in a row. This may be fine when we were in our 20’s, but none of us fit that bill any longer. The party boy had arranged (or rather Nora had) for a bus to pick everyone up and take us to Subic Bay and return us a couple of days later. Needless to say, there were esky’s on the bus, and a couple of comfort stops (and a rare appearance of Mike’s legs in shorts)..
Subic Bay
The actual party was to be held on a boat cruising the magnificent Subic Bay. This is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon about 100 kilometres (or 3 hours) northwest of Manila Bay. The Bay is a protected deep-water harbour and has been the focus of maritime conflict for hundreds of years. Subic Bay has been occupied by Spanish, Japanese and American military forces and played a pivotal role in both the Spanish-American War and World War 2.
Brad had us all checked in at a (once) amazingly lavish hotel right on the beach. While not a shadow of its former glory (there were photos) the place was lovely and a great time was had by all there (still not party day).
Finally the day came and we all loaded on the but from the hotel to the marina where we were surprised, nay shocked, to find a tiger on a leash (baby) wandering about the carpark.
It was from a local wildlife park and was a promo to try and get people to attend.
It was an unexpected surprise.
At the marina, a minor miscommunication and panic, followed by a very calm and pleasant boat journey and meal.
The only real issue that was felt was the Philippine contingent’s excitement over singing happy birthday. Having done the song, there was ‘a one more time’ and another, and another. After the fifth rendition the Aussies tapped out and walked away. I believe that there were several more after that.
Party over, back in Manila, some departed on early flights while others hung around for a few more days. Those that stayed, planned an impromptu visit to the neighbourhood of Intramuros and more specifically Fort Santiago. Intramuros was the seat of government during Spanish rule (1571 until 1898). Spain surrendered the Philippines and several other territories to the United States and the American flag was raised at Fort Santiago on August 13, 1898.
In December 1941, the Japanese Army invaded the Philippines, taking the city. In January 1945, the battle for Manila began when American and Filipino troops (including guerrillas) confronted the occupying Japanese force of 30,000. The result was heavy damage on the city.
At one point on the second last day we were seated at a restaurant having lunch and decided to share photographs with those in attendance. This saw Jill and I as the youngest at the table and a bunch of people trying to work out what buttons to push on the technology in order to get the desired result. Needless to say that this was not a quick or simple exercise.
During the conversation the concept of how to make the ‘airdrop’ function work arose and much bumbling ensued. After a while I commented (to an unnamed member of the party) that you needed to turn yourself on first. Within a fraction of a second his darling bride responded with no worries there, he knows how to do that.
Indonesian food is both incredibly diverse and also incredibly boring at the same time. Initial impressions are amazing, but after a few days it all seems the same (Satay, Nasi Goreng and Mie Goreng). But if you persevere, it becomes really interesting again.
Satay is the first thing that you will likely find and fall in love with. Simple meat skewers, cooked over coals and served with a spicy peanut sauce poured all over the top.
It is a national dish conceived by street vendors and is practically everywhere but be warned, the quality varies dramatically.
Nasi Goreng is a basic fried rice with a fried egg on top. A breakfast staple and perfectly acceptable.
Mie Goreng is identical to Nasi Goreng, but made with noodles instead.
Equally as tasty and equally ubiquitous.
Siomay is Indonesia’s version of dim sum but nowhere near as good. This version contains steamed fish dumplings, with potato, cabbage, and egg, all served with peanut sauce.
Usually sold on the streets from a bicycle vendor with a large steamer at the back of his bike.
Gado Gado is a vegetable salad served with the magic peanut sauce.
Some come deconstructed and others come as a sticky mess. Most have boiled eggs and tempeh (fermented soy bean cake).
Ikan Bakar is everywhere. It is basically just grilled fish with a spicy marinade and an even spicier side sauce.
This is where many people run out, and while they are all fine, the Mie or Nasi Goreng breakfasts every day do tend to wear a bit thin. Indonesian food does typically tend to be quite spicy, so those seeking to lessen the chilli impact tend to settle for these safer choices. But if you box on and delve a little deeper into the cuisine, it gets interesting again.
Beef Rendang is ubiquitous throughout the region but originated in Sumatra, Indonesia (although my previous forays were always in Malaysia).
It is essentially beef, slow cooked in coconut milk with a bunch of chilli and spices.
And it is delicious.
Nasi Rawon is a beef stew with a nutty flavour and a deep, black color from the use of keluak nut.
It is rich in flavor and is generally eaten with a bowl of rice (big surprise there).
Sop Buntut is basically just an oxtail soup.
The Indonesian version is as popular as ever and is a healthy and hearty soup.
The oxtail is usually fried or barbecued before being combined with the soup base.
While on soups, the Soto Ayam is the local version of a basic Chicken soup.
Super simple and tasty and filled out with vermicelli noodles.
Bakso is the local meatball noodle soup.
Usually sold out of a pushcart on the street means that you can expect to get your fill for a couple of dollars.
Martabak – in Indonesia, there are two types of martabak, namely salted/egg martabak which is made from a mixture of eggs and meat , and sweet martabak, which is usually filled with chocolate and goats cheese (Jill’s favourite).
Nasi campur literally just means mixed rice. But in Indonesia it refers to rice with a variety of Chinese meats like char siu, pork belly, roast chicken, or egg, all served with sweet tangy sauce.
Typical side dishes
Sambal, this is on every plate, all the time, Tempe is next and has already been mentioned, the next most obvious is the water spinach that accompanies almost everything, Singkong (chips made of Cassava rather than potato). Acar is a mixed vegetable pickle (cabbage, carrots or beans, shallots that are heavily spiced with chilis), Krupuk is the prawn cracker type thing that you are used to, Lemang is a coconut sticky rice (typically cooked in bamboo over fire).
And of course my favourite, Belado (a spicy blend of ground red chilies, shallots or onions, garlic, tomato, tamarind, sugar, and salt). Belado means hot and spicy. Usually served on eggs as Telur Belado but also smeared on almost everything (the crispy tempe was particularly good). This became my regular daily breakfast.
A long story short, if you cannot find a great meal in Indonesia, you are not trying. Everything is easily available from your local Warung (roadside stall) and you will pay very little for it. But if you really need to eat what you know, then (as long as you stay on the beaten path) there are western options everywhere you look in the tourist hubs. These quickly disappear once you get off the beaten path though.
Leaving Sorong (thankfully), we hopped an early morning flight to Jakarta and than on again to Belitung. While it was just a transit we were struck with the ingenuity shown at Jakarta airport with their fire extinguishers. Rather that being necessary ugly lumps on the wall they have been painted in a way so as to simultaneously disguise them while at the same time highlighting their location.
Belitung
Beltung is an island north of Jakarta and off the east coast of Sumatra , Indonesia. It is famous for white pepper, seafood products and tin mining.
It is slowly becoming known as a natural tourism destination, particularly for its white sand beaches and granite boulders.
The first thing that struck us about Belitung was that the place was really clean. The telltale (Indonesian) rubbish was not everywhere, there were not burning piles of green waste polluting the air and the whole feel of the place was good. The roads are in great shape and compared to almost everywhere else, the traffic is surprisingly light.
We either stayed too short or too long on the island, depending upon your point of view. It is a place that you can blitz in a day or two, or it is a place that you can kick back for a month.
When choosing location Jill picked the close to town (and food) option rather than the further away beach option. Our hotel was nice, right on the water with an infinity pool facing west. During low tide there was almost a kilometer of sand before you hit the water and at high tide you were surrounded. Facing west, the sunsets were pretty good.
There are not too many things to do in Belitung, with the majority being on the northern part of the island. It is surrounded by lots of tiny islands and granite rock formations. With such surrounds it has made it the perfect place to get in a boat and go island hopping, which was written up as by far the best thing to do.
With that as the benchmark, after a couple of days we signed up to do the day tour. The majority of these involve a pickup from and drop off to the airport or sometimes a hotel. This suggested that the island was a literal day trippers location from Jakarta (one hour flight). The itinerary of the tour was to include: Tanjung Kelayang Beach, Sand Island, Batu Berlayar Island, Lengkuas Island, Kelayang Island & Kelayang Cave, Tanjung Tinggi Beach.
Tanjung Kelayang Beach was the boat meeting and launching point.
Tanjung Kelayang also has the Tanjung Binga Fisherman’s Village nearby for those that want a taste of local traditional life. The beach itself was nice with the renowned granite boulders.
A short distance away you get to Garuda Island With the mythical bird shaped rock formation poking high above the others. Here it is a quick stop (for us at least) for some photos. The local tourists spent about three times as long making sure that they got their pictures.
Next was Batu Berlayar Island and this is when both Jill and I looked at each other and decided that this is where we should have stayed. Not the island, but on the mainland opposite. The stunning white sand beaches, turquoise water, rocky granite islands, underwater coral reefs, and even the Dutch lighthouse were all visible and it was amazing. Oh it was also the location of the big 5 star chain hotels, but there were a few cheapies interspersed in there for us.
Just off the beach (and not mentioned in the spiel) is the Lenkaus Island and the Old Indie Lighthouse. This is an old Dutch lighthouse dating back to the 1800’s.
After the lighthouse we had our obligatory snorkelling stop. The snorkeling was ok quality, however after Raja Ampat really did not compare. There was certainly lost of (hard) coral and small fish but the turtles, tropical fish and larger predators where nowhere to be seen. I did however manage to perfectly capture on film (above and below the water) exactly why the reefs of the world are in such a terrible state. It was a group of local tourists pausing for a selfie while standing directly on a live head of coral.
The next stop was to our lunch location on Kepayang Island. A nice (clean) sandy beach a restaurant in the sand and an included local lunch. A beautiful mix of prawn, crab, calamari, and grilled fish all served with steamed rice, grilled water spinach and a healthy amount of sambal and chilli on the side.
Last stop was possibly the most photogenic of the beaches in Belitung, Tanjung Tinggi Beach. It has perfect blue-green water and giant boulders.
Most of the clouds that had been stalking us all day had mostly burnt off and this was very clearly a beach for the locals. Tons of local restaurants, more inflatable animal floaties than I had seen in years and a nice, flat calm ocean.
But most importantly for us, they had beer. We had been dry for the preceding five days. On a local, Muslim island, beer can sometimes be a bit tough to find. Our hotel did sell them but at prices that exceeded what you would pay back home. So we stopped and had one and took a couple home. Oh the beach is a good sunset spot too.
The tourist walk to town was fairly uninspiring, with very little around to see or do. The roundabouts were a little entertaining, but for the most part we were just in a local community on an out of the way island.
On our tourist wander we went past Pendam Beach which is the beach closest to the main town Tanjung Pandan. As a west facing beach it is popular as a spot to watch the sunset.
Penyabong Beach is a more secluded beach in the southwest about 1.5 hours from town. We did not make it but reports say that it has white sand and no crowds, but recent commentary indicate that trash has built up over the years.
As I mentioned at the beginning, we either stayed too short or too long on the island. A short trip could be done and dusted in 2-3 days but we stayed six. This was mostly to avoid being in Yogyakarta (and the temples) on the busy weekend. But the island is nice, accommodation and food is very affordable and if we had stayed further north (which we would do next time) the access to beer is a little easier.
But paying local prices and staying close to the beach up north, could warrant a bit more time and some further exploration.
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta is one of the foremost cultural centers of Indonesia it was the seat of power during the 8th and 9th century and was the driving force behind the creation of the temples of Boribudur and Prambanan. It is a city that maintains the traditional concepts of Javanese culture.
The town itself was nice. It was clean with plenty of food and drink options available. The sights around town were interesting enough, without being amazing. But the real attractions were just outside of town. While I say just outside 42 km (Borobudur) and 17 km (Prambanan) respectively. But these still take at least an hour and a half to two hours to drive to due to the terrible state of the traffic. Not the roads, they are fine, the traffic.
PrambananTemple
Prambanan Temple was our first port of call, it is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. It is not certain when this temple was built but it is thought that it was built around the middle of the 9th century by the king of the Sanjaya dynasty.
The complex is actually a series of four temples (Prambanan, Lumbung , Bubrah and Sewu) with the main one giving its name to the complex.
The original plan of Prambanan Temple was rectangular, consisting of an outer courtyard and three courtyards. The outer courtyard is oval in shape with an area of 390 sqm and was surrounded by a stone fence which is now in ruins.
The second courtyard, is rectangular covering 222 m2. This courtyard consists of four terraces, with a total of 224 identical (6m square and 14m tall) temples. Almost all the temples in the central courtyard are currently in ruins.
The inner courtyard is considered the most sacred place it has a rectangular floor plan covering an area of 110 sqm. Three of the 8 main temples are called Trimurti (“three forms”) temples, dedicated to the 3 highest Hindu gods: God Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer (the biggest and central one).
In front of the Trimurti temple there are 3 smaller temples that have been dedicated to the transportation of the gods (the ox Nandi is Shiva’s vehicle, the swan is Brahma’s vehicle, and the Garuda is Vishnu’s vehicle).
At 3pm every day you are kicked out of the main temple (zone 1) but can hang out (in zone 2) for the next few hours. In the same complex as the Prambanan Temple you will also find the Lumbung , Bubrah and Sewu Temples (allegedly the best place for the sunset photos). Added to this is the Archaeological museum.
There has been a lot of effort that has gone into the restoration of these temples and the newer works are quite obvious (possibly even amusing). There has been an element of improvement as opposed to restoration that has been taking place.
In reality it was only the western tourists that ventured beyond the main temple (on foot anyway). The local tourists looked at Prambanan and the really adventurous ones caught an electric golf cart to Sewu and ignored the rest. It was only the few of us that hiked the whole complex and viewed each of the temples.
Borobudur
Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple or shrine in the world, it was established in the ninth century and covers a square of 123 meters, with 9 platforms – the first six are square and the last 3 are circular.
In the 14th century, when Java’s population converted to Islam, the temple was abandoned and people forgot about it. In 1814, the British ruler of Java (Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles), re-discovered the temple with the help of a few locals. According to Buddhist teachings…this monument is a model of the universe and was built as a holy place to glorify Buddha as well as functioning as a place of pilgrimage to guide mankind from the realm of worldly desires to enlightenment and wisdom.
Borobudur built in the style of Mandala which symbolizes the universe in Buddhist teaching. This structure is square shaped with four entry points and a circular center point. Working from the outside in apparently the three zones of consciousness are represented, with the central sphere representing unconsciousness or Nirvana.
The temple walls are decorated with 2,672 relief panels and (originally) 504 Buddha statues, the largest and most complete collection of Buddhist reliefs in the world. The main stupa crowns the building and is surrounded by three circular rows of 72 perforated stupas (with a Buddha statue in lotus position in each).
As a tourist 400,000 ($40) rupees will get you in and the price for locals is 50,000 ($5). It is an extra $7.50 to climb to the top but be warned, these are bought out by the tour operators days in advance. They are available on the day but at full price (even if you have already bought the normal entry ticket on line).
Borobudur is on all a bunch of the bucket list items that generally surface. The spiels say that it ranks with Angkor Watt and Bagan as one of the great archaeological sites of Southeast Asia. Having been to all three, suffice to say that Jill and I were underwhelmed. It was ok but it was not worth the flights, accommodation, hellish car ride, high entrance costs and return journey. This will go in the OK been there done that category rather than the wow box.
Our next big adventure was to visit an area known as Raja Ampat. We had never really heard of it before, but in speaking with some of the Indonesian staff on cruise ships they mentioned that it was amazing and should not be missed. So we did some googling and found it to be one of the last (relatively) untouched wildernesses left on the planet.
But we were later to find out that ‘relatively untouched wildernesses’ meant that, for the most part, there was bugger all here other than wildernesses. This was not a major issue but it did mean that everything was an effort, involved great expense, or once you got there you found very little (except for the natural beauty).
The research also told us that the area was highlighted on the Indonesian 100,000 rupiah ($10) note. Our experience in China suggested that if it was good enough to be on the note, then it was probably pretty good.
So it was decided then, but getting to the Raja Ampat Islands is not so simple sadly. They are in the easternmost part of Indonesia and the westernmost part of Papua. They stretch over around 4.6 million hectares and consist of 4 large islands, (Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool) along with another 1,847 other smaller islands.
Our journey to get to Raja Ampat started in Bali at midnight with a taxi ride to the airport, to check in to our 2:15am flight to the town of Sorong in Western Papua. Landing at 6am it was then in a cab (read bongo van) to the port where we would hang about for the next 2 hours waiting for the port staff to arrive (bear in mind, island time seriously applies here). Once they got to work (15 minutes late) the next 15 minutes were spent waiting for the systems to wake up. Then at 8:30 the ticketing for the 9am ferry could commence.
At this point, the hundreds of people who had surged to line up (about 40 minutes earlier, prepping for the 8am opening) started to get pissed as the, just arriving, locals yelled their order from the back and got served, ahead of all those who had (like us) been waiting the preceding two and a half hours. Add to this those that just pushed their way to the front of the queue and tempers were flaring as the ever ticking clock kept marching forward as did the looming boat departure. If you miss this boat, you have another 6 hour wait to get onto the next one.
The first thing that strikes you is that this area is much more like PNG than it is like Indonesia. The faces of the people have changed from the more typical Asian to a greater prevalence of Melanesian features. The forests also seem denser and more fearsome than the ones on the other Indonesian islands.
The name Raja Ampat (the Four Kings) itself is believed to come from a local legend that claimed that long ago there was a woman who found seven eggs, four of which hatched into kings who ruled the four main islands. There are three others left, one is a rock, one is a woman, and the other is a supernatural creature or ghost.
According to the experts, Raja Ampat is an area with the healthiest reefs found almost anywhere on the planet. The reefs host hundreds of species of marine life as well as the passing currents bringing other migratory visitors. It is estimated that around 75% of all coral species in the world can be found here (these photos are courtesy of the Blue Water Dive website).
WaisaiCity
Once off our bout we found ourselves in Waisai City (township more like) which is on Waigeo Island. The town has a population of around 21,000 with most of these being from the indigenous Ma’ya , Biak , and Ondoloren tribes. Most of the indigenous people continue to live simple, traditional, subsistence lives with the main goal being to simply meet their daily needs.
This became very obvious when we ventured to town and to the markets for our tourist walkabout.
And this would be our home for the next 5 days. Well sort of. We were on an all inclusive resort a couple of kms out of town. The resort was about 3 times more expensive than we would normally pay but id did include full board (three meals a day), and quite frankly, everything over here is way more expensive than the rest of Indonesia.
The meals were all very nice, if a little limited in range. Every meal (except breakfast) was either chicken or seafood (fish, prawns or squid), served with a soup (potato, spinach, garlic or tofu) with sides of either tofu (various styles), tempeh (a soy bean paste style muesli bar thingy) and veg (typically bean or spinach). Don’t get me wrong, they were tasty, and it was all super fresh, but chicken and fish with rice and veg wears pretty thin.
The all inclusive food was an interesting concept for us, but that is the way things go out here. There are virtually no restaurants, certainly no food delivery, and given we were a few kilometers out of town, very few options other than what they supplied. It was all absolutely fresh and totally seasonal.
Our hotel sat on the edge of a mangrove. There was a wooden jetty that took you through (over) the mangrove out onto your own private jetty and coral garden. At low tide the low lying sea grass was largely exposed with the coral barely covered, but at high tide the reef was blooming with life.
The ringed Jetty was the first stage in what I am sure would end up to be a bunch of over water villas (as they were a couple of doors down). Just to the right of the dock was a field of sea grass that (we were told) was the favoured grazing area (if the tides are right) for our own personal dugongs (or manatees if you prefer). The owner said the dugongs like to feed at high sun (around noon).
Sadly we were unlucky with the timing and (while we were there) the noon tide was low, meaning that there was no swimming with manatees for me. While we did not get to swim with the dugongs, our private coral garden was teeming with fish, and had some of the healthiest soft coral we had ever seen. Typically you can still see nice hard coral, but clumsy tourists with fins tend to destroy the soft corals. The only place we have seen better was on the Great Barrier Reef.
Our reef had regular visits from stingrays, a semi-resident turtle and the odd appearance by baby reef sharks. All of this along with a bunch of tropical fish. Our dock was lovely and became our sunset beer location, with Jill typically dangling her feet in the water.
The hotel owner was apparently approached one day by local fishermen trying to sell giant clams. the owner asked what they do with them (the response being cook and eat them). So the owner bought the giant clam (at an exorbitant price), and directed them to put it back in the water as the Center-point of their private reef. Today, there are several smaller ones that have also taken up residence (not really too sure on the breeding or migration habits of giant clams) but at the moment there at least six of them at varying sizes.
WTC Beach
Right in the heart of Waisai township you will find the Waisai Torang Cinta Beach, which is now commonly known as WTC Beach. It used to be called Beloved Waisai Beach but the first governor of West Papua Province, (how cool is this name) Abraham Ocktavianu Atururi, officially changed it.
It has had a grand entrance built, replete with matching dolphin fountains (empty), but there is no real beach, just a rock wall and general community meeting point.
The park itself is in a pretty poor state of disrepair but a lot of effort has been put into developing the surrounds (maybe some effort is needed in the upkeep). The park, if tidied up, could be nice with paved walkways and heaps of coconut trees. It is now more a local fishing spot with many fish regularly caught straight off the rocks.
The main event
Having enjoyed the area we bit the bullet and paid the (comparatively) exorbitant price tag to go and see the Raja Ampat lagoon that was the subject of all of the tourist photos. When we took off at Gili Trawangan for a 6 hour snorkelling and sightseeing tour our bill was 200,000 ($20) a head. But here it was 1.85 million ($185 each) for the same duration with fewer stops.
The planned day took in the Star Lagoon, Manta Lagoon, and the main attraction of Painemo Lagoon. Add to this some snorkelling and a sand bar and the day was complete. The start was not auspicious when we got to the dock and the engines were in pieces while the mechanic feverishly worked away. We were told that it was just a fuel filter change and that all would be good.
Star(Bintang) Lagoon
The first port of call for us was to the Star Lagoon (Bintang along with being the local beer is the Indonesian word for star). As the name suggests, it is a lagoon shaped like a star, that is filled with amazing green water. the dock is low and to get the full effect of the star, you have to hike up to the top of the hill along the sketchiest path that has existed, made of rugged and jagged coral.
I started to climb the stairs and quickly decided that this was not for me. Sharp jagged rocks and step widths of less than 2 inches were enough for me to know that my size 11-12 feet would not fit with this scaling well at all. Jill on the other hand, intrepidly boxed on. She came back down claiming that there was no way that I could have made it as the path (and stairs) got considerably worse and sketchier the higher you went.
Manta Lagoon
Having checked out Star Lagoon, it was on to Manta Lagoon next. Sadly the lagoon is named this way due to its shape and not because of an abundance of Manta Rays (although there are such areas in the region). If the first set of stairs was sketchy, then this one took the cake.
These were man made wooden stairs and the guide forbade us from even attempting the stairs. He had a very long and earnest conversation at just how dangerous these particular stairs were, and how they could not be trusted.
We looked up and saw the platform at the top (giving the Manta shaped view) and decided that there was no way that we were going to trust the West Papuan engineering standards. Rotten boards were clearly visible and the viewing platform was nothing even resembling sound.
Painemo Lagoon
Next stop the main attraction, Painemo Lagoon. This too had a ridiculous climb to get to the top (300 stairs each way) but the quality of the stairs and platforms were good. They were sturdy, secure, and were built of railway style sleepers that were thick and well made. But they still required some serious climbing.
But having made the effort, the pay-off was definitely worth it. The view was exactly as promised, breathtaking (maybe it was the stairs). This really was something very special.
It has been estimated that there are 1,318 different types of fish, 699 types of mollusks (soft animals), and 537 types of coral reefs in and around the Raja Ampat Region. Having ticked the magic view box, it was time to explore the reefs and wildlife (more broadly than our own private coral garden). So the next stop was at another small island for some snorkelling amid the most amazing array of fish that we have seen in decades.
There were so many fish, so many colours and of sizes that guaranteed you an amazing experience. Raja Ampat really was delivering.
Our final port of call before heading home again, was to a sandbar that pops up at the right time of the tidal flow. Crystal clear waters, white sand, seriously…what more could you want. Add to that a guide with a drone to get aerial images of you lazing in the water (and some stupid group shots).
Tour over, it was back to our hotel for a couple of more days kicking back and enjoying our private coral garden and reef. According to the owner, about 50 meters past the jetty was a major drop-off with even more coral and fish species. Jill and I went a couple of times, but neither of us felt comfortable enough with the tides and currents to brave exploring this.
Sorong
While Sorong was our entry point, we didn’t get time to explore it (other than the port) until at the end when we had some spare time on our way out. Sorong City was settled by the Dutch in West Papua to support their oil operations. The city is known as the City of Oil as it was the home of Dutch oil activities since the 1930’s. Sorong is the largest city in West Papua Province and the second largest city in Papuan Indonesia, after Jayapura City.
The area is inhabited (mostly) by the indigenous Moi tribe which are one of the Papuan tribes inhabiting most of Sorong district, Sorong city and the Southwest Papua province.
The Moi tribe have a traditional territory spanning about 400 thousand hectares of land. The people believe that the forests and humans are inseparable, and depend on forests for food and other resources to meet their families’ economic needs. The tribe has a distinct forest management strategy that is clearly defined and mapped, to minimise inter clan conflicts.
This forest management sophistication has brought the tribe into conflict with the central Indonesian Government who has authorised logging increases at odds with the tribal management. The central government policy is at odds with Egek which is a cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation. Egek aims to provide an opportunity for nature to renew and restore before its resources are processed again to meet people’s needs. Philosophically, the Moi tribe recognises that forests and land are a lifeline.
The remainder of the inhabitants are from all over the region who have migrated to the area for a simpler life.
Sapta Ratna Pagoda is a Chinese Buddhist style temple built about twenty-five years ago.
The Pagoda is a 7 tiered structure that can be visited for about a buck.
Puri Bridge Fish Market is one for the early risers. A small harbor with that morning’s catch, no ice, no stalls just fresh fish on blue tarpaulins.
Remu Market was around the corner from our hotel, near the airport. It is the main market in Sarong and is full all day every day. A combination wet market and everyday goods.
If the markets in Waisai were basic, then these ones in Sorong were much worse. The town is on the fringe of a tropical rainforest and gets the rainfall that goes with it. While we were there it rained almost non-stop. When it does, the dirt floors and streets turn into either muddy messes or straight out puddles.
Thankfully we found an actual shopping mall and managed to avoid this mess entirely. Surprisingly, the quality of the products and produce in the indoor mall was top notch.
In reality, Sorong is as close to a shithole as you will find. Open drains, rubbish everywhere and just a generally primitive and run down location. Apart from being the launching point for something truly amazing, there is very little to recommend the place. The people we came across were happy and friendly, but the approach to rubbish and burning of trash was quite frankly atrocious.
Next time – Liveaboard Cruising
While we really enjoyed our time here in Raja Ampat and it was amazing to see and experience, I’m not entirely sure that we did it the right way. There are a bunch of liveaboard cruises setting out from Bali and Sarong that do 3-7 day explorations of the area on small four room yachts. These are run by any number of dive companies and offer incredible package deals.
It will cost a lot of money but they really look like the best way to get a sampler of the area (without the primitive exposures that we caught). They take in everything that we saw and a whole lot more, the remove the dramas and they look really informative. There is even a Rolls Royce 12-14 day itinerary.
Many of these are specific to divers but a little bit of research and you can find one more for snorkelling and kayaking. Or if you a have always wanted to get your dive ticket, then there are combo offers where you can learn to dive at the same time. I think that a 3-4 day version of this would be about spot on.
Having ticked the major Komodo Dragon box for me we decided to take the slow route back to Bali, taking in some of the lesser-known and less touristy places. This meant that rather than hopping a one hour flight from Labuan Bajo we would hop a ferry (many of them in fact) and bounce from island to island on our way back in the general direction of Bali.
So the first thing was to get a ferry. This led to some very strange looks from people as nobody did this. Why would you go to nowhere places, when you can be back to relative civilisation within an hour’s flight. But they weren’t married to Jill, who wanted the adventure. So we moved from our nice hotel to one that was closer to the shoreline (still pretty nice).
Sumbawa Island
We hunted down the ticket office and worked out that for $10 we could invest ten hours on a local ferry that would take us over to the island of Sumbawa and and more specifically the town of Sape. Given that we would be in for the long haul we sprung for the extra $2.50 to upgrade to first class tickets and settled into the air conditioned comfort of the lounge – such as it was.
Sape
After our ten hour journey we arrived on the dock of Sape which is a small fishing village in the far east of Sumbawa. The main claim to fame is as the cheap way (used by the locals) to get to Komodo Island and neighboring Flores. The town consists of a fishing village and a nearby harbor. And not much else.
Jill in doing her research on where to stay found that the usual (hotel booking) websites had absolutely nothing on offer in Sape. But as we would be coming in late, after a lengthy commute, she hunted hard and found us a bed for the night. The alternative was to continue our journey for a 2 hour road trip on highly suspect roads at night to get to the other side of the island.
Having found a place (god knows how or where) we found it was about a kilometer walk from the ferry. So we chose to walk, avoiding the numerous touts offering lifts to the opposite side of the island (because nobody stayed here).
Possibly the only two westerners to have ever walked the streets of the town, we were quite the novelty, especially to the children. As we walked we had large swarms of kids saying hello and god knows what else in their own language.
Our accommodation was acceptable and we managed to get what passed as a meal. Getting a beer however proved far more difficult. In Bali you can get a large (620ml) beer for about $3.90 here it was $8.20 and had to be ordered in specially. Then they passed on the transportation costs (another $2), and after all of that, the beers were hot.
The town did not have the usual issue of stray dogs roaming the streets, rather, it had the issue of stray goats.
Long, floppy eared goats.
And they were everywhere, off leash, darting in front of cars and motorbikes and eating virtually everything in sight.
Some were housed in little roadside shelters, but for the most part, they were free range.
The next morning it was up and out. The hotel manager would organise a ride for us but at a highly inflated price. Having been inundated with offers of a ride the night before, we figured that the same would be true the next morning. How wrong we were.
About 500 meters from our hotel was the major crossroads between the town and the dock. We figured if we went down to there, everyone would go past, and we would be flooded with offers to get a ride (the two hours) to the other side of the island, to the town of Bima.
So we wandered down to the intersection.
On the way, we were once again local superstars, especially among the school children who greeted us, waved, smiled, high fived, and fist bumped us every step of the way. Having milled about at the intersection for a bit, there were no offers of transportation, and no obvious sign that there would be any. The night before we had seen (god bless google maps) that the local bus station was to the right, so we figured we would walk in that direction while we waited for our ride.
As we wandered a local lady stopped her motorbike (with her son on the back) so that her son could say hello, practice his English and introduce himself to us (as well as shake our hands). Did I mention that we were quickly becoming the talk of the town. When she found out we were headed to the bus station she looked mortified. Saying “no too far, too far”.
She then rode off, stopped a few hundred meters up the road and handed her phone to me, when we caught up again. It was her brother, who spoke better English, who proceeded to tell me that we were over 5km from the bus station and that it was a very long walk in the heat. I thanked him, and her, and the son and took the hint.
At this point I hailed down a ute, that seemed to pass as the local taxis. Asked for a lift to the bus station (Terminal Bis), he nodded and Jill and I hopped in the back of his ute. The back of the ute was filled with fish from the harbour, and what I hailed down was not a local taxi, but rather just some dude on his way back fro mthe fish market. Anyway, we had successfully hitchhiked and he happily drove us to the Bus station. Jill sat perched on a polystyrene box full of fish while I stood on the back, ducking low lying branches every time we passed a tree.
Now if we were the talk of the town before, the sight of Jill sitting amid the fish and some big monster ducking trees as he perched high above this ute, really sealed our fate. I am certain that our visit will be talked about for a while to come.
Our mate (as it happened) was not a local taxi, just a bloke willing to help out. So we flinged him $5 and thanked him greatly as we got off at the Terminal Bis.
The bus station was hovel in the middle of nowhere, with some of the shittiest buses that you have ever seen. We negotiated our tickets (at seemingly highly inflated westerner prices) and got on the dodgiest bus that either of us had ever ridden in (which after India is really saying something). We sat in the back seat, the door next to me would not close and within the first five minutes we had blown a tyre.
We passed the true version of rural Indonesian life. There was corn drying by the roadside, every type of landscape that you could imagine and of course roaming gangs of monkeys (tree rats). All of this highly visible and accessible through my open door.
At one point we even passed a truck that had fallen off the side of the road and was laying on its side in the gutter.
There was a crowd of people scratching their heads about what to do about this.
But it reassured us that the idea of staying the night in Sape was a good one, rather than try to negotiate that road at night.
At one point it was time to pay. So the driver came around to get the money and the exorbitant Westerner rate they had quoted disappeared and he only took $5 for the both of us. Whether this was a miscommunication or a burst of conscience, but we travelled the 2 hours across the island for $5.
Bima
Bima was the big town (about 150,000) on Sumbawa and was the home of the airport that would get us out of here and back to something resembling civilisation. But first we would poke about, have a look and spend the night. Needless to say that our bus ride dropped us at a similarly dodgy bus terminal at the other end of the island.
Thankfully Grab worked here (which it did not do in Sape) and we were able to get a car to the hotel that we were booked into. The alternative was that Jill and I would sit pillion on a scooter each while they drove us the 14km, up the steep hill, with our bags to where we would stay. But first we would have to hear all of the touts telling us that no car would come for us and that the only option was the bikes. This continued right up to when the car arrived.
Having got to our hotel we then found that it did not serve food, and that there was nothing within about 5km of us. We decided to order food from the Grab app and have it delivered. This was able to be achieved simply and seamlessly.
Our foray into the less touristy areas of Indonesia was highly enlightening for us. While it is manageable it is quite challenging once you get off the beaten path. Too many tourists is not great, but you do still need enough so that you are not a curiosity having to hitch hike in the back of fish trucks.
Lombok
Lombok is east of Bali and west of Sumbawa and is part of the Lesser Sunda Island chain.
It’s known for beaches and surfing spots, and was somewhere that I had visited, way back when. Our time in Lombok was really more about relaxing rather than racing about to see things. Jill had us booked into a lovely hotel, so when the rain started, we just kicked back and enjoyed some quiet time.
If we had been more motivated, Lombok does offer a fair old range of sights to see. Nothing startling, but the usual mix of Indonesian style attractions, tons of beaches, snorkelling, volcanos. trekking, waterfalls and rice terraces etc.
But our interest, and the reason for coming, lay in the Gili Islands.
The Gili Islands
The Gili Islands (the word “Gili” means “small island”) are a trio of islands off the northwest coast of Lombok. All share similar traits but each has its own style and character. They are all fringed by white sand beaches and all have banned motorised transport. This gives you a small respite from the usual Indonesian traffic.
You can literally go swimming and snorkeling off the shore from anywhere in any of the Gili islands. The islands are home to coral reefs, colourful fish, small reef sharks, sea turtles, and even a few underwater statues. But be warned…there will be lots of people trampling and ruining the reefs. What was probably once an idyllic location is becoming increasingly ruined.
If you didn’t bring your own snorkeling gear, it’s easy to rent a mask, flippers, and a snorkel at any of the dive shops in town or even from locals on the beach.
Gili Trawangan
Getting here from Lombok was a simple car ride to the port and a few dollar (30 minute) boat ride across the water. We had the option of the fast boat or the local boat. The fast boat ($8.50) left on the hour every hour and took 20 minutes while the local boat was cheaper (about $2.25) and had a more laissez-faire timetable. Being in no particular rush, and having just missed the 11am fast boat, we opted for the local boat.
This had multiple benefits, the boat left when it was full (which happened every 20-30 minutes or so) so we were on Gili T before the fast boat was even due to leave.
The local boat drops you on the beach, away from the dock, so you also avoided having to pay the island tax ($2) on arrival.
Gili Trawangan is where we stayed, it is the more developed of the islands with a buzzing beach strip, bars and restaurants and is the launching point for most of the tours, ferries and day trips.
The island is about 3 km long and 2 km wide with a permanent population of around 1500 and at least that much again (if not much more) in daily tourist influx.
On Gili Trawangan (as well as the other two Gilis), there are no motorised vehicles.
The main means of transportation are bicycles (rented by locals to tourists) and cidomo (a small horse-drawn carriage).
For travelling to and from each of the Gilis, locals usually use motorised boats and speedboats.
Most people rent bicycles to get around. There is only one main road on the island so if you just follow the road, you will ring the island within about an hour. You can rent a bicycle for $5 a day or $1.50 an hour. But beware, there are many uncoordinated and not road wise people who also rent them who are a danger to themselves and others. Not to mention many pedestrians with their heads up their ass.
A short walk to the hotel, get settled, a swim, line up our snorkelling adventures for the next day and find a sport for dinner. And what a spot we found. Feet in the sand, sunset views, cheap food, great service, daily catch seafood, western and local menu, reasonably priced beer and 3 cocktails for $10. We ended up eating here all 3 nights.
Gili Trawangan has had a reputation since the 1980s as a location where magic (Psilocybin) mushrooms are openly advertised and sold. Police presence is low and within the last 10 years finding drugs on Gili Meno and especially Gili Air has become very easy. On Gili Air intense psychedelics are being sold openly to tourists for beach parties. While the police presence is low, Indonesian drug laws remain extremely harsh. Drug possession and use is prohibited and carries potentially grave risk (up to and including the death penalty).
There are several beaches in Gili Trawangan, all offering epic views, perfect swimming conditions, and plenty of beachside stalls, restaurants, and bars where you can grab a bite or enjoy a freshly cracked coconut.
Gili Meno
Gili Meno is the quietest of the Gilis and is mostly for couples and honeymooners. It has a few stylish boutique resorts (read expensive… comparatively) that are favoured by couples seeking an idyllic escape on pristine beaches. It has virtually no nightlife and very few restaurants (that are not attached to the resort).
The main attraction of Gili Meno is the sunken statue sculpture that sits just off the beach.
It was commissioned by the local eco-resort and was created by British sculptor, Jason deCaires Taylor. It consists of 48 life-size statues, formed into a circle. Embracing figures surround curled up statues on the ocean floor. It has become a must do stop for Instagrammers and punters alike, all seeking photos like the one above.
But the reality is quite different. Every boat, every snorkelling tour will take you here, typically all at the same time so rather than getting this view, you are fighting about 150-500 of your closest friends to get your idyllic photo.
The next stop was onto the beach where you find yourself at the turtle sanctuary. This is where you get to see the tiny turtles that had the eggs saved from predators (ghost crabs, dogs, cats monitor lizards, foxes, monkeys etc.) were hatched and raised for 1 year until they are strong enough to be released.
From here it is off to turtle point, where you are virtually assured to see and swim with turtles. But much like the statues, there are several boat loads of people all stalking the same few turtles that are just trying to get a feed. So you are met with the bizarre circumstance of about 100 people in the water chasing after some poor unsuspecting turtles. But that said, you can get some great photos and while we were there, nobody tried to harass or touch the turtles.
Gili Air
Gili Air is the smallest of the islands and is the closest to Lombok, it has a few bars and a bit of accommodation, but on a much more affordable and laid back style than the other two islands. It is the only island in the Gili islands that has its own water table which it can draw fresh water from.
Gili Air has the best of (least trampled) the snorkelling and some bits set up just for the Instagrammers (water swings etc).
Penida Island
Nusa Penida is a relatively undeveloped island south-east of mainland Bali. It is mostly a day trippers island, being only a short hop from both Bali and Lombok, You won’t find snazzy beach clubs, organic cafes or trendy restaurants here, but Nusa Penida is still worthy of a visit. It houses some of the most photogenic sights in Bali.
The main reason people (Instagrammers) come is to get a photo with the rocky outcrop shaped like a T-Rex. The island scenery is pretty spectacular with some pretty amazing cliffs and beaches, but you do need to work to get to them.
If you spend the night on the island this is easy as you can go early in the morning, before the day trippers arrive. But if you sleep in it quickly becomes a nightmare. The first of the ferries and fast boats tend to leave at around 8am so by 8:30 the hordes are arriving. The roads on the island are single lane and full of potholes. Everyone is going to the same places and you end up in a line of traffic and then a line of people all looking for the same photograph.
The same then happens when it comes to lunch and snorkelling, before they all fight for the jetty and dock to go back to either Bali or Lombok. The best way is to arrive mid-late morning with the intent of spending the night and do the tour in the afternoon while the day trippers are all scrambling home. Then you can have a leisurely breakfast the next day and leave on one of the many departing fast boats.
Sanur
Having arrived at Sanur in Bali it was a simple (eventually) matter of getting a Grab and heading to the boy’s place. I say eventually as the taxi industry had taken over the port and had banned all ride share companies access. This meant that you had to schlepp it out of the port for about 1.5 km before the Grab driver could pick you up.
This was not really the issue. The main issue is that you get set upon every step of the way by some of the most aggressive and pushy touts that we have come across in some time.
Anyway, we made it back for some kick back for a few days before launching on our next round of island hopping.
Having arrived in Bali and caught up with the boy and his bride, they promptly abandoned us and flew off to Singapore (that work thing tends to get in the way). So with a ready place to use as our base, we dumped the big bags and started making plans to do some island hopping through some of the 17,500 islands in Indonesia.
The island of Flores
Our first port of call was on the western tip of the Island of Flores which is where you will find the town of Labuan Bajo. What was once just a small fishing site, has become the main gateway to the many exotic destinations in East Nusa Tenggara. The reality of this (and the whole reason we bothered) is that Labuan Bajo is the launching point to go and see the Komodo Dragons.
A quick one hour flight from Bali to the Komodo International Airport, which is on Labuan Bajo, as the actual island of Komodo is a national park. So Labuan Bajo serves as the gateway to get to both Komodo and Rinca Islands, where the dragons can be found.
So we settled into our very nice accommodation, organised our full day adventure for the next day and prepped for what was sure to be a huge adventure.
Padar Island
Padar Island is a small island within the Komodo National Park, located between Komodo and Rinca islands. It is the island that did not have any of the Komodo Dragons but does have some pretty spectacular landscapes and an Instagram worthy lookout. While the dragons were suspected to be extinct on the island, recent surveys have found 12 of them on the island.
The island is rugged, with steep volcanic mountains and hills and four deep bays. These bays predominantly have white sand beaches however some have grey and pink sands. The reality of the stop here was for the Instagrammers to get their amazing landscape selfies.
But you had to work for it.
You get dropped off at sea level and pay your park entrance fee, from here it is all uphill for the magic photos. And it is seriously steep and has a ton of non-standard monster stairs that you need to climb to get to the top (where the amazing views were). I did the first few hundred stairs (up to photo point number 2) and looked at the rest and thought F this. So I sat in the sun (there is zero shade) and marvelled at my bride who willed herself (albeit slowly) up the remaining 500+ stairs to the top.
From up the top she got some amazing views of the island and the various bays and beaches. But then she had to come back down. It must be said, after the first 10 meters, there is nothing. No drinks, no shade, just stairs and lots of them. And they are dodgy as all get out. One step may be 10cm while the next will be 60cm and the next anywhere in between. This means that there is no pattern that you can get into and that every step is a lottery.
And coming down is even more of a challenge.
Having done the lookout Instagram thing, it was back on the boat where you could finally get a cold drink. And the cold drink that they handed us was Pocari Sweat.
This is a well known Japanese sports drink.
But neither Jill nor I were too keen to ingest something called sweat.
We had one and it tasted a bit lemony, but the name precluded us from having any more and we settled for water from then on. So on the boat, we bounced around the island to one of the bays (particularly one of the ones with pink sand) cleverly named Pink Beach.
And believe it or not, the sand is actually pink. Pink Beach gets its colour from the crushed shells of millions of microscopic bright pink sea creatures called foraminifera.
Komodo Island
Next stop was the main attraction, Komodo Island. This has an area of 291 square kilometres, and a human population of about 1,800.
Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis) or Ora as they are locally called are survivors from the Jurassic period.
It is the largest species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of 3 m, and weighing up to 70 kg.
Seeing the Komodo dragon has been on my list of things to do since seeing an old James Bond movie (Skyfall I think). Being Australian, I have seen some big goanas and in Thailand we saw some almost 2 meter water monitor lizards, but the Komodo Dragon is the big dog in this fight.
And we got lucky.
We had heard stories that they tend to overfeed the big ones so that they stay about the main area to guarantee a sighting. But we had met people at our accommodation who had gone the day before and saw only little ones.
Our first encounter was a baby (about 30 cm long) that scuttled up a tree and impressed absolutely no one.
We then saw a juvenile one about 2 meters long under a tree by the beach and then we saw the big 3 meter monster. This one fit the bill of the overfeeding type. It was massive, but it was also in a food coma under a tree, virtually incapable of moving more than to raise its head and look about a bit.
And then we hit the real mother lode. A huge dragon (over 2.5 meters), that had not been overfed and incapable of movement. This was an adult dragon that was walking and stalking about, and that was (quite frankly) a terrifying sight to behold (exactly the experience that I was after). I really wanted to get a sense of just how imposing these bad boys would be to meet in the wild.
And this one certainly delivered this.
Once he settled down a bit, it was time for photos.
Being good guides, they are masters of getting the good photo and they know how to line it all up to look the most impressive.
So based upon that, I got my Instagram shot that looks like I am patting a huge lizard.
In reality I was at least 2 meters behind him with my hand raised as if I was petting him. Neither I nor the guides are stupid enough to actually pet (or let me pet) one of these monsters. But the photo looks good.
In checking them out I found out that their main food source is the Javan rusa. This meant nothing to me until I googled it and found it to be a full grown deer over 6 foot long and weighing around 160kgs. As it happened, we were also lucky enough to see about 6 of these as we trekked through the Komodo jungle.
While the majority of us in the group were amazed at actually seeing wild deer up close and personal, the American in the group was lamenting the fact that he did not have his gun to shoot these majestic animals. The dragons hunt and ambush prey individually but have also been known to hunt in packs when required. Their saliva contains both a poison and bacteria that lead to death.
So once a Komodo dragon bites a rusa (deer) it then follows it about for 3-4 days until it dies. If a human is bitten, you have 5 hours to get a fast boat to Labuan Bajo to get the antivenom (cos of course they don’t have any on the island where all the dragons are). If you miss the 5 hr window, you will lose that limb. You then have another 3 hours, and if you miss that, then there is no point in giving it to you as you will be dead in 3-4 days, just like the deer.
Taka Makasar
According to the blurb, the sensation of enjoying a tourist destination in Komodo National Park will not feel complete if you don’t stop at Taka Makassar, a piece of a lost island that appears there. This island is the size of a football field in Komodo National Park will only be visible at low tide.
When the sea water recedes, the island appears in the form of a stretch of white sand surrounded by blue sea.
So our boat (along with every other damn boat) stopped there so that we could be buffeted by waves to walk on a sand bank and then do the whole lot in reverse.
Kanawa Island
The island of Kanawa is only 15 km from Labuan Bajo and is renowned for being fringed with coral reefs teeming with colorful fish all around. The turquoise water is calm and clear making it the perfect swimming and snorkeling stop on our island hopping tour.
The island itself covers only 32 hectares with two bulging hills offering fantastic panoramic views. There is nothing really to do on the island, except to take in everything that the water has to offer.
Sadly the coral was flogged. Tons of clumsy tourists stomping all over everything has pretty much made this a dud stop. The island is pretty and the water is clear, there are still some fish about, but as a snorkelling destination, most people passed.
Day over and we were back at Labuan Bajo for some well earned rest.
When we started round 2 of the adventure we came to the Philippines and stopped in on Cebu island but only made it to Cebu City and Mactan (the airport area). We saw the main tourist sights (the old fort, a ton of churches and the cross that Magellan planted in the 16th century). We shopped (as much as we do) the main district and sampled the infamous local lechon.
This time my good mate Brad had moved to town with his partner Nora and they were now living in downtown Manila (Makati really). So this gave us a few days of midweek catch-up while he worked and a weekend blowout to Cebu Island.
The thing that we really missed on our first visit to Cebu, and that has been bugging me ever since, was to swim with the whale sharks. So on this fact alone, we were destined to return. The island itself is about 200 kilometres long and 20km wide with coral reefs virtually surrounding its entire perimeter.
We hopped an early morning flight from Manila, bounced to Cebu (70 mins), hired a car and headed to town as they had not seen the churches and Magellan’s Cross etc. The biggest challenge to this was trying to find a parking spot.
From then we started the 4-5 hour drive down to the town of Oslob. The distance is not that far (120kms) but the road and traffic conditions means that it is time to settle in for a long and stressful drive. Getting access to our hire car was in itself a nightmare. The Filipino systems are brutally inefficient. To achieve even the simplest of tasks can sometimes seem monumental. Yet other times things will run a smooth as silk.
Having negotiated the 5 hr drive, with Brad driving and the rest of us clinging on for dear life, we arrived at our hotel, which on first glance seemed idyllic. A beautiful spot overlooking the ocean, with 25 attentive staff grinning and welcoming us.
On the surface this hotel was amazing, but we would soon find out that it was far from ideal. Initially you are greeted by a grassed area on top of a cliff with a whale shark statue and the fading light of late afternoon sun. Next to the grass was a couple of beautiful blue pools surrounded by cabanas and tables. And then there was the check in. There were quite literally 25 of the friendliest people that you could ever meet smiling and greeting you at every opportunity.
But it seemed that it was not any of those 25 people’s jobs to get our room ready. Similarly it was none of their jobs to ensure that Brad and Nora’s room did not stink of sewage. Our room was a bunk bed with a TV and bean bags underneath it. This may be fine for the local crowd, but at six foot one the underneath area came to below my armpit, and to climb onto the bed I smashed my head. It was physically impossible for me to sit on my bed as I would have sconned myself on the roof. Anyway, the pool looked nice, so why don’t we head to there.
Brad and I settled in, ordered a beer and soaked away the stresses of the long drive and the inefficient staff. As the first beer seemed to evaporate, I then spent about 10 minutes trying to get the attention of one of the 25 staff that were milling about, in an attempt to replace and refill our beers. This became the pattern for every subsequent beer.
After about 15 minutes we tried to order round 3 to find that we had drank them out of the local San Miguel Pilsner. Five people at the bar stared at each other, unsure what to do. We suggested that we remained thirsty and that they should remedy this however between the five of them they remained stumped.
Totally perplexed as to what to do, I suggested that perhaps one of the 25 people standing around with their thumb in their ass could maybe go down the shop and buy a case or two to restock the bar. After some head scratching an several long conversations they agreed with my solution and 20 minutes later someone arrived with the proverbial mouse, proudly displaying it to us as they headed to the bar.
The sunsets were stunning and the moonlight over the water was amazing.
Whale Sharks
The next morning we were up early and out the door by 5 am, foregoing our free breakfast to be there in time to register for our whale shark experience. This is something that you must be there in person to do. So despite our 5am start, the volume of people saw us registering to board boat number 87. So we poked around the trinket shops, had some breakfast and even found a pretty decent cup of coffee.
There was about 10 outrigger style boats that held between 4 and 10 people on each that would paddle out to a mooring rope and give you access to the whale sharks. Here they would moor to the rope as smaller canoes would feed the sharks shrimp, ensuring that the sharks did laps in front of you. Each boat got a 30 minute viewing window, so at number 87, we were in for a bit of a wait. After sitting around for a while, by about 8am (bearing in mind the boatmen had breakfast in the middle of this) our turn came.
And we were not disappointed. The first sightings were from the boat as these huge mouths came up to the surface to feed. The huge heads, gaping mouths and spotted bodies are unmistakable.
Once moored to the lines it is into the water that you go. And now the real show begins. Armed solely with a mask and snorkel and a go pro your adventure goes to full speed within seconds of getting wet.
And then either your boat dude or your mates aim their go pro at you and you have evidence of one of life’s greatest experiences.
The reality is we probably shouldn’t encourage this as the act of the local fishermen feeding the Whale sharks makes them want to stay in Oslob and potentially domesticates them. This then messes up their migration cycle potentially impacting their breeding habits which may have a negative impact on reproduction.
But it is really cool.
Sardine Run
From here we headed down to the bottom of the island and partially back up the other side to the town of Moal Boal. This is a touristy town that was full of western tourists (as opposed to Oslob which was 70%+ local tourists). The town is famous for its diving and most of all for the Sardine Run and abundance of turtles.
We all got to see the millions of sardines swarming and schooling around us but sadly, my camera work was not good enough to capture it well so had to steal a couple of tourist shots. The turtles thankfully moved much slower and gave me some great shots.
Sadly the thing that they didn’t mention about the Sardine Run and Turtle experience was that the area was also swarming with jellyfish. The others managed to dodge it (mostly) but I got caught swimming through a swarm of them. This saw me applying vinegar at the restaurant afterwards and then taking anti-histamines that night as the buildup of toxins were having negative effects.
Kicked out
The next morning we were up for breakfast and I had recovered from all of my jellyfish stings. Jill had woken at 4am and could not get back to sleep so did some computer work while taking in the sunsets on offer.
As we all rose to join her (eventually) she alerted us to all of the reserved signs around our pool and the associated cabanas. I asked them what they were for and was told that they had a group of 35 people who were coming in as they had bought day passes at our resort. I asked him politely where were we to sit then if all of the areas had been reserved. He grinned at us stupidly and clearly had no way to answer. So I asked again, yet another grin.
In essence they had sold out the entire hotel to day trippers, leaving no room for the staying (and paying) guests.
Sumilon Island
Sumilon Island is found about 125 kilometers from Cebu City and the ferry to get there is about 5-10 kms south of the whale shark viewing area. The island is the first marine protected area in the Philippines and was made a fish sanctuary in 1974. Now it hosts a resort with an area of 24 hectares and is surrounded by crystal clear waters.
Having been all but kicked out of our place we hopped in the car and headed down here, took the ferry across and settled into the infinity pool at the top of the hill. After a while we migrated to the other side of the hill for the included buffet lunch.
The reason that we had to migrate was the fact that day trippers were removed from the main resort facilities at noon so that the paying guests got uninhibited access to their own facilities. Brad and Nora opted for all the activities (snorkelling, paddle boats etc) while Jill and I lazed by, near or in the pool.
Mama Mary
Typically referred to as the Simala Shrine this area is about 10 minutes off the main ring road and is the site of the image of Our Lady of Lindogon or more commonly Mama Mary. Devotees believe that this image is miraculous with claims that it has shed tears and it was credited with healing those with dengue fever back in 1998.
We came past on a Sunday , which meant it was manic. But it was a pretty impressive church, set high on a very scenic hill, surrounded by people selling religious icons. We saw the church but did not buy any of the trinkets.
House of Lechon
With Cebu being the home of Lechon, we could not leave before stopping into the most famous of the venues and settling in for some crispy porky goodness. Whole pig, roasted and served with spicy chilli sauce, how could anyone say no to that. Certainly not the four of us, so we settled in before our flight back to Manila.
Our time in Cebu (apart from our hotel) was incredible. The hotel looked stunning and was an Instagrammers paradise, offering great photos and awesome views. But as a hotel it barely functioned. Brad kept making Fawlty Towers references throughout our stay.
On the second night, we were lazing by the pool in the evening and Jill all of a sudden raised her foot and pulled out large sheets of plastic. It turned out that this was the pool insulation that was peeling off in long strips and just floating about the pool.
To be fair, the kitchen was good and the meals were lovely. The staff were friendly and polite but not attentive and totally incapable of problem solving. It was about $70 a night for our basic room and only $100 for Brad’s deluxe room.
Travelling the world in a pre and post COVID state
