It's been a while....

Hello all! 

Just a quick post while I am at the internet cafe waiting for a night train to Varanasi, said to be one of the oldest cities in the world!

Brad and I are currently in India, and are enjoying ourselves immensely.  We flew into Delhi from Bangkok.  We have seen the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, where we enjoyed free accommodation and free meals!  A great experience.  We went to the desert town of Bikaner and spent three days on a camel safari.  Not the most comfortable animal to travel on, but fun of course.  We headed further south to the town of Jodhpur, where we stayed in a small guesthouse and celebrated the Hindu holiday of Diwali with the family that owns the house.  Amazing.  Then to Udaipur, famous for its lake palace where scenes from James Bond's Octopussy were filmed.  It is a beautiful town.  Then to Jaipur, the capitol of Rajasthan, for a brief stop and a visit to an old for on a hilltop which rewarded us with views of the city.  We now find ourselves in Agra, the home of the incredible Taj Mahal.  Seeing it was spectacular, more than I can put into words.

India has a lot to offer, and we are trying our best to absorb it all.  Unfortunately, wi-fi hasn't caught on in this country so photo uploads and blog updates aren't so simple.  I'll do my best working with what I can.

We miss everyone and hope all is well.  Oh, and happy early Thanksgiving to everyone! 

-Renee

Making it across, barely....

We were in Sapa, northern Viet Nam when we decided it was time to move on to our next country.  The nearest border crossing for Laos from Sapa is located just west of a town called Dien Bien Phu, Viet Nam.  We didn’t know much about this particular border crossing, but based on our past experiences we decided we’d simply take a bus to Dien Bien Phu and figure it out as we went along.  

We squeezed into a minivan at around 7:40 in the morning and headed west through beautiful mountain towns and rolling hills.  We stopped for lunch at a restaurant where the only option was noodle soup with pork (I skipped lunch).  We continued on, only to stop a few hours later behind a line of cars.  Hmmm….what was the problem??  The driver hopped out to see what was going on, as did some of the passengers.  Examination of the situation found that the holdup was a giant pile of dirt in the middle of the road.  How did it get there?  I don’t know.  Action was being taken immediately, as four people with shovels were hard at work.  Motorbikes zipped by and rode over the mound of dirt, not bothering to wait.  After about ten of fifteen minutes of shoveling, one side of the mound was low enough to be driven over and we were again on our way.

Eight and a half hours after leaving Sapa, we found ourselves in Dien Bien Phu.  Uh-oh…  No one was approaching us after we exited the bus asking to take us across the border.  How far were we still?  Consulting our guidebook it looked like we needed to get to Tay Trang, a town that (according to our map) could be in either Viet Nam or Laos.  We hopped in a taxi and headed here, hoping to make it before the border crossing closed.  It took us about an hour to arrive at the Viet Nam border, where our driver dropped us off and bade us good luck.  We obtained our exit stamps and left the building, easy enough.  A security officer approached me for one final check of the passport, then told me it would be a six kilometer walk to the Laos border.  We had no option but to laugh at our situation and hope that our journey would be mostly downhill and that we’d make it before the sun was completely set.

After walking for about five kilometers, a truck was passing.  We stuck out our thumbs, hoping to catch a free ride for the remaining kilometer since it was quickly getting dark.  What luck!  They pulled right over and carried us to the Laos border.  The office window said the border was open from 7:30am – 7:30pm.  More luck, as it was only around 6:30 when we arrived.  An entire hour to spare, but not a border town or light in sight….hmmm….  We waited around for a bit, and walked from building to building looking for someone to issue us visas and legally allow us into the country.  After about 35 minutes, a man finally approached and asked us what we needed.  After discovering that we didn’t have visas or transportation from the border, he recommended we pull out our sleeping bags and wait until the morning to obtain our visas as there was no bus until around 8am the following day.  We all just laughed at the situation and went to a small restaurant to enjoy some fried rice for dinner.  

We opted to have an early night as we knew we’d have a difficult time sleeping and also have to rise early in the morning.  Luckily, the border police also sleep in the building, so the doors were left unlocked which meant we could sleep with a roof over our heads.  We bundled up in layers of clothes, and then lay down on the granite floor with a sheet hoping that the wind wouldn’t be too strong.  The night of sleep started off well, but once the real night set in and 2am rolled around, everyone was shivering.  Brad and I cuddled together and kept our heads under the sheet to create warmth.  Noel and Tim rolled around and ended up having on more than five layers by the time morning came (and very little sleep).

We rolled around on the floor after waking before finally sitting up and starting the day.  We packed our sheets away and removed our extra layers.  We were standing at the window before 7:30, waiting for the official opening.  7:30 came and went and the office still wasn’t opening.  “Wait,” said a uniformed man as he walked by us toward a restaurant to eat his breakfast.  Around 8:15 someone finally came to the window and gave us forms to fill out.  We then waited some more before being asked for our forms.  A lot of waiting and extra fees later, we were finally issued our Laos visa.  Now, how do we get to the next town??

Groggy and a bit cranky from the lack of sleep, we all stood around wondering what to do.  We were approached by a dude asking, “Bus?”  “Yes, please!  How much?” I asked.  Of course, he quoted some exorbitant amount.  Eventually, we got him down to $5 each for a 2 ½ hour ride to a small river where we left the bus and hopped on a small boat to cross over to the town of Oudomxay.  Hungry and tired, we stumbled into the first restaurant we spotted and had lunch before walking two kilometers to the bus station in order to catch a bus to Luang Prabang.

Now that we’ve made it safely across, the whole situation seems hilarious.  Definitely an adventure and another story we can add to our list!

-Renee

Legendary Hoi An, Viet Nam

We joined up with our friends Tim and Katie (both of whom we met in South Korea) in the UNESCO Heritage town of Hoi An.  The very next morning, Noel arrived.  We opted to wander the streets of the town to take in the architecture and scenery.  It is truly a beautiful town, well deserving of its UNESCO listing. 

Cool house in Old Town.

We entered houses that were hundreds of years old, and still standing after being flooded every year.  We were shown the trap doors on the second floor of these houses, where the furniture would be hoisted through when the waters rise.  We drank reptile infused medicine and were then invited to sit down to enjoy tea in the garden area.  We were shown the flood levels of the past years, and they all rose over our heads.  We stood in wonder at the houses before us, realizing their cultural value and were astonished at the way they stood up against the years of abuse from the river.  We enjoyed $1 mojitos along the riverfront at night and then shared a bottle of local wine on the balcony of our hotel. 

Feeding the dragon from the 2nd floor of a restaurant. 

The following day was Children’s Day, which also coincided with Legendary Night (which happens on the full moon).  Gangs of children dress up as dragons and go around the storefronts collecting money.  Feeding the dragon is considered good luck.  After an individual or business feeds the dragon, the dragon tamer then beckons the dragon to enter the establishment and dance as a way of blessing.  Many sticks of incense are lit, and the drums and dancing are heard and seen up and down every street.  

No electricity from 6-9pm.

From 6pm to 9pm, all electricity is turned off and only candles and lanterns light the way.  This makes the city even more beautiful and the reflections in the river are remarkable.  The streets were full of people, locals and foreigners alike, out to take part in street games, boat rides, and creating lanterns for wishes.  It was beautiful and exciting at the same time.

Hoi An is famous for its tailors, so Brad and Tim shopped around and eventually found the right tailor.  Tim had two suits made, and Brad had his wedding suit made.  They looked extremely handsome in their new digs.  I eventually caved and had a summer cotton dress made for myself (it’s pretty difficult to say no to tailor-made clothes!).

Madness on the streets for Legendary Night

We spent our final day riding bicycles around the city and eventually made it out to the beach, though just in time for sunset.  Hoi An was an amazing place full of friendly people, beautiful architecture, and delicious food.

You can see more photos of Hoi An here.

-Renee

Lots of Photo Links

I took a variety of photos in southeast Cambodia.  Some were taken on the island of Koh Rung, others are of Kampot and its surrounding countryside, and the third location is the quiet beach town of Kep.  Here are the photos taken at Bokor Hill.

Our first stop in Viet Nam was the river town of Can Tho (see Mekong post below).  From there, we went to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).  We took a day trip from here to see a Cao Dai temple and attend the service.  We also went to the Cu Chi tunnels on the same day.  Here are the photos from our day trip.

After exploring Ho Chi Minh City, we headed north to the beach town of Mui Ne.  We watched a lot of kitesurfers and spent our days relaxing on the beach.  It was nice, indeed.

We spent two full days in Da Lat, located in the central highlands of Viet Nam.  We walked all around the beautiful mountain town our first day and then went abseiling on our second day.  It was an amazing time, and one of our guides was kind enough to take many photos.

We left Da Lat and spent two days at the beach in Nha Trang before heading to Hoi An to meet up with Noel, Tim, and Katie.  We spent a day and went to visit the ruins of clusters of Hindu temples of My Son, which were built between the 4th and 14th centuries.

Hue, the former capital, was our next stop.  We spent an entire day wandering around the old Citadel grounds.  The following day we saw three royal tombs, a famous pagoda, and a beautiful old house with an amazing garden.

Here are several photos from Hanoi and Halong Bay (where we spent Brad's birthday).  Halong Bay was as gorgeous as we expected.

From Hanoi we headed north to the mountain town of Sapa.  Here we hiked through rice terraces one day, rented motorbikes for two days and got lost in the amazing views of the countryside.  Most of the photos in this album were taken from the back of a motorbike as we rode.

I know there are a lot of photos!  Hope you find them enjoyable.

-Renee

A Day on the Mighty Mekong (September 3, 2010)

In the middle of Cairang floating market.

We woke a little before 5 am, knowing that we had to be at the dock for 5:30 to catch our boat.  Walking up to the meeting place, we were greeted by a friendly looking woman and her child.  “Hello!” she said, and beckoned us to follow her.  As the day progressed, we discovered that ‘hello’ was the extent of her English.  She rowed the boat over to the dock and Brad and I climbed on.  We glanced at the sky and saw the sun was beginning to rise.  The colors were beautiful and the temperature was perfect.  Our guide started the boat motor and we were off!

Newer buildings behind the shacks and houses on the river.

We cruised down the river at a gentle pace, slow enough to take photos and fast enough to create a cooling breeze.  Activity abounds all along the river.  Houses and businesses line its edges, and even in the early morning people are awake and preparing for their days.  One side of the river is mainly hotels, restaurants, and other businesses.  The other side seems to be the residential area, with houses ranging from concrete to tin to thatch.  Seeing the two blended together at some points was quite a curious sight. 

Traffic signs along the Mekong.

The river is a main thoroughfare in the city, and boats glide past one another with ease.  Larger ones seem to have the right of way (as is the way on the roads as well).  Should two smaller boats come close to one another, the driver will stick his or her hand out to one side to signal which direction the boat will take in order to avoid collision.  The drivers are so experienced that they make maneuvering through the madness seem easy and ordinary (which to them, I’m sure it is).  To ensure driver safety on the river, there are traffic signs posted, though I couldn’t make much sense of them.

The driver's daughter and their just purchased duck.

After riding for a short while, we realized we were entering the ‘floating market.’  Dozens of salespersons fill their boats with a variety of goods and congregate on the river for swapping, bargaining, and sharing.  We immediately bought some hot coffee as well as bananas and donuts for breakfast.  Another boat passed us by offering tea and noodle soup.  Our boat driver purchased a live duck for her family’s dinner.  We passed boats filled with watermelons, some with bananas, and others with crabs.  Many of the larger boats sold only one thing, and as a way of advertising the boat owner ties whatever good is being sold (watermelon, crab, etc) to a rod and posts it at the front of the boat.

The boat with everything!

We rode on further to the larger floating market, Cairang Market. Here we found ourselves lost among numerous boats.  It seemed one could find anything.  One boat was full of clothes; another had plastic bags, toothbrushes, and other various household goods.  Some were piled high with heads of cabbage and lettuce.  I bought a small watermelon to enjoy later and simply gazed at everything else available.

The crabs on the rod act as an advertisement for shoppers.

From the market, we headed back toward the dock, but our guide took us on a small detour.  We rode through one of the smaller tributaries of the river and were able to see more houses and gardens along the way.  Our boat driver let Brad and I take turns rowing the boat.  It was much harder than it looked.  We pulled over and hopped off the boat for a short walk and our young guide pointed out lemongrass, durian trees, and other flowers.  She was really cute and enjoyed chasing the butterflies along the trail.  We then came to a homestay/restaurant area where we bought coca-colas for our guides and enjoyed lychees, coffee, and tea for ourselves. 

On the way back to the dock, the rain came.  Luckily while we were enjoying our tea and coffee, the boat driver had put the top up to block the sun.  We tied the sides down as the driver suited up in her rain gear and played with the daughter the entire ride back.  It was an eventful and exciting day, due mostly in part to our wonderful guide and her adorable daughter.  Score for Viet Nam!

-Renee

Click here for photos from Can Tho and our day on the Mekong.

Cambodge: Part 2 (August 18 - September 2)

Brad & Ruairi relax on the porch of our bungalow on Koh Rung.

The day after Ruairi’s arrival, we hopped onto a bus and headed south to Sihanoukville.  The town has several beaches to choose from, and we stayed in a hotel that was only a 2 minute walk from Victory Beach.  Free beach chairs, crooked palm trees, and white sand made me a very happy beach-goer.  The town was full of tourists, and we were seeking out a true getaway.  So, we booked a boat to Koh Rung, an island located about 2 ½ hours offshore.  We arrived to find peaceful bungalows lining an empty beach.  Perfect!  

The view from our bungalow's porch.

The bungalows were extremely simple, but we did have our own toilet as well as mosquito nets, which was all we needed.  We enjoyed a few days of sand and sun before saying good-bye to Ruairi.  Brad and I opted to stay an extra day because it was such an amazing place.  We then headed back to Sihanoukville the following afternoon.

We knew we had to get our visas for Vietnam while in Sihanoukville, so we had to spend another night there.  The visa process took less than five minutes (for both visas), so we were pleasantly surprised.  We spent the remainder of our day lounging on the beach and reading our books.  The following morning, we headed to Kampot.

Children wave to us as we ride through the
surrounding countryside of Kampot in a tuk tuk.

Kampot is a quiet town, located on the Teuk Chhou River.  We spent our first day in town on the back of a tuk tuk exploring the countryside.  We went first to Phnom Chhnork, a cave that contains a brick temple inside that dates back to the 7^th century.  It was pretty cool, and we got very muddy following our young guides through the cave.  We then stopped off at a small fishing village to see the locals’ boats and take a few photos.  After this we rode out to a pepper farm, where you could actually smell the peppercorns in the trees.  We then headed to Kep to enjoy some seafood at a restaurant perched over the water before heading back to our guesthouse.  It was a beautiful day with perfect weather and amazing scenery. 

The backside of Bokor Hill Resort & Casino.

The following day we woke up early and headed out to Bokor National Park.  Bokor Hill is home to several abandoned buildings erected by the French in the mid 1920s.  These days, a Chinese company has the rights to the land and a new resort is expected to be completed in five years.  We felt lucky to visit when we did because we were still able to see the abandoned buildings before the restoration had started.  We rode for about 15 minutes to a trailhead, where we then climbed for an hour and a half before getting back into our truck and riding the remainder of the way.  At the top of the hill you find the Bokor Hill Resort and Casino, perched on the edge.  Our guide told us that years ago, when the casino was still open, many rich tourists would come to gamble.  Some of the unlucky ones that lost all of their money would then proceed to the edge of the cliff and jump.  After seeing the edge, we knew that anyone who jumped wouldn’t have survived the fall.  

The church at Bokor Hill.

The hilltop was a functioning town in its heyday with a church, post office, police station, school, and several houses.  Our guide told us that you can find bullet holes in both the hotel and the church as the Vietnamese fought the Khmer Rouge from the church,  about 200-300 meters away from the hotel.  Imagining what the hilltop looked like in the 1920s was quite fun, but seeing the destruction brought by the Khmer Rouge was frightening.

A beautiful sunset in Kep.

As of today (August 30, 2010) we find ourselves in Kep.  This town is the quietest one we’ve stopped in while in Cambodia.  Tomorrow we plan to rent bicycles and wander aimlessly on the back roads.  We will go from here directly to Vietnam on September 2^nd.  We are really looking forward to our next country, but Cambodia has been very good to us.

-Renee

Cambodge: Part 1 (August 3-17, 2010)

Cambodia’s western countryside is rice paddies and flooded fields as far as the eye can see.  After driving on flat, dusty roads for three hours, our first views of Siem Reap were a shock.  Giant hotels and resorts line the main street, with impressive fountains and Angkor-inspired statues along the fronts.  We were dropped off at the local bus station, which was little more than a dirt parking lot.  From here we hopped onto a tuk-tuk (a small cart pulled by a motorcycle) and headed to the Rendezvous Guest House.  We were pleasantly surprised by our room.  The small cost of $5 provided us with a clean room with a fan, private bathroom, and hot water!  It was late in the evening when we arrived (around 9pm or so) and we were quite hungry after traveling all the way from Bangkok, so we set out to find some dinner.

While walking down the dusty streets of Siem Reap, you get the feeling that the town is being built up for tourists.  The downtown area has a night market, where vendors sell various knick-knacks and souvenirs.  Seems you can find anything in these markets, from bootleg movies to cobra liquor.  There are more than enough restaurants to choose from, selling a variety of foods from Mexican to Italian to French to Khmer.  There is even a street named “Pub Street” which is lined with foreign restaurants and bars.  We opted to share a pizza at a ‘fancy’ restaurant (though we opted out of sharing some wine in favor of saving some dollars).  Topped with fresh spinach and chopped tomatoes, it was delicious!

We decided that Siem Reap was a city worth exploring, so we spent our first full day wandering the streets, markets, and souvenir shops.  We found a grocery store that sold peanut butter (score) and wheat bread (double score), and we knew we were in love.  That evening we arranged a tuk-tuk for the following three days of temple exploration.

For our first day of temples, we opted to venture out of the general area and ride 70 kilometers through the beautiful countryside in the back of a tuk tuk.  The stunning temple, Beng Mealea, seems to have been forgotten about.  The surrounding trees have taken their toll on the temple, and its distance from Siem Reap ensures that not many tourists visit.  It was beautiful, and exciting.  We were climbing over mounds of rocks, moving from one hidden room to the next.  It felt like our own movie adventure.  

The following morning, we woke early in hopes of seeing the sunrise over the famous Angkor Wat.  Unfortunately, it was a bit rainy and cloudy so actually seeing the sun come over the temple was not possible, though we did get to see some lovely colors in the sky.  We spent hours wandering around the giant temple before moving on to see several more.  We had a full day of temples and were quite tired by the time we returned to our hotel.  We spent the next day wandering through the ruins of more temples and simply being amazed at every turn.  The photos we took do not do justice to the temples, and nothing can convey the feeling of actually being there and experiencing the ancient Angkorian architecture firsthand.  

From Siem Reap we headed south to Battambang.  The town was very slow paced and laid back, and didn’t have much to offer us in the way of sightseeing, so we decided to move on after a day here.  In this photo, you can see two women balancing a variety of baked goodies on their heads for sale.

We headed straight to the capitol city of Phnom Penh.  The quiet and dusty streets make the capitol city feel smaller than it really is.  The Tonle Sap River runs through the city, and the main street that follows the river is lined with restaurants, shops, and guesthouses.  

The traditional architectural styles of the royal palace and the national museum are a great juxtaposition to the colonial style architecture of the shops and restaurants found along the same street.  Here is a photo of the royal palace of Phnom Penh.

We spent several days walking around and enjoying Phnom Penh.  We visited the national museum where we saw pieces of the temples we’d just explored.  We spent a day wandering the aisles of the Russian market, where you can find name brands for a few dollars (H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, The North Face, and Old Navy to name a few).  I managed to find two wool sweaters for the whopping total price of $7.  We spent a day going in and out of all the boutiques and art shops along Street 240.  We walked along the riverfront in the evenings and enjoyed watching the locals participate in their nightly aerobics routine.

We dedicated a day to the Tuol Sleng Museum, formerly the Tuol Svay Prey High school until Pol Pot and his crew took over and turned it into a prison.  

The classrooms were turned into torture chambers and prison cells.  Today, walking through the museum is an eerie and depressing experience.  The torture chambers still contain the iron platforms and instruments used by Pol Pot’s soldiers.  The cells emit a strange feeling with their doors opened to a narrow hallway.  Some of the remaining classrooms have been dedicated to displaying photos of prisoners.  It was very creepy to look at the photos and know that every face you see was murdered.  As I said, a very depressing, but a very eye-opening day.

After spending a few days wandering around Phnom Penh, our friend Ruairi arrived to meet us.

-Renee

 

Country #7

Brad and I arrived in Vietnam today.  We are in the heart of the Mekong Delta in a town called Can Tho.  Tomorrow we will be going to see the largest floating market in the country.  It should be an exciting morning!

I have a few blogs I need to post about our time in Cambodia, but the internet connection at this hotel is very weak so I can't upload photos.  Also, Vietnam does not allow access to Facebook nor our blogpost so we're having to bend the rules to get around the government's control.  I'll be waiting until a better connection so I can post my photos along with the blog.

We are doing very well and still enjoying every moment.  Until I can post again, here is the link to some photos of the temples in Cambodia.  Hope you enjoy!

-Renee

More Links to More Photos!

Bromo Photos Here

Yogyakarta Photos are here!

Borobudur Temple here

Singapore & Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur may be viewed via this link...

Bangkok photos

Hope you enjoy,
Renee

August 6, 2010

It’s been awhile, and we’ve done quite a bit.  Sorry for the long delay in updates.  I’ll try to be brief.  Here goes….

We saw smoking Bromo (see the photo to the right) in Cemero Lawang, Indonesia.  It was great.  We missed the sunrise from the famous viewpoint (because we got lost), but still saw a beautiful sunrise and had a wonderful day walking around.  From there we headed to Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta was a nice city to visit, we only wished we could have spent more money on souvenirs.  We walked up and down the streets, exploring markets and eating fried tofu (lucky for me it’s a very popular street food in Yogya).  We went to different art galleries, got lost in the side streets of the kraton, caught a free music show, and also watched a shadow puppet show.  

We took a day trip from the city to the famous Buddhist temple of Borobudur.  The photo to the left is a close-up of one of the many bas-reliefs found at the temple.  It was beautiful and we were stopped several times by locals wanting to take photos with us.  The following day we headed up to Kaliurang in hopes of seeing lava flowing from Merapi only to arrive at our hostel and discover that there were no lava flows and little smoke.  I was feeling a bit under the weather, so we just decided to head back to Yogyakarta rather than hike.

From Yogyakarta, we took a train to Jakarta and immediately headed to the airport where we waited for our flight to Singapore, a country that is a city.  Singapore was a shock to our backpacking style.  It is an extremely clean city and has city prices that go along with it.  The architecture was absolutely amazing and we had a wonderful time walking the streets and enjoying the scenery.  The night-skyline was especially impressive as the city has a lovely sidewalk along the river.  

Due to the expense of Singapore, we left pretty quickly for Kuala Lumpur.  Here we saw the Petronas Towers, which were amazing in the daylight and beautifully lit up at night.  We enjoyed some delicious foods while in the city and spent most of our days wandering through air conditioned malls and people watching.  Because we’d already seen Malaysian Borneo, we decided that we should breeze through the peninsular section and head toward new terrain.  So, we caught a bus to Thailand.

We headed straight for the southern gulf coast island of Koh Pha-ngan.  This island is famous for its ‘full moon party’ held every month.  We didn’t realize until we were on the boat to the island that the party was to take place while we were there.  Literally thousands of tourists come to the island for the giant party, so the island wasn’t exactly the relaxing beach getaway we’d hoped it would be.  We skipped the giant party and relaxed on the beach for a few days before heading on to Bangkok.  We only spent a few days in Bangkok, exploring the royal palace and a few temples.  We were very eager to get to Cambodia.

We took a direct bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap, which is where we are now.  It’s a nice city, though it’s very dusty.  The temples of Angkor are extremely close (the park entrance is a mere seven kilometers from the city center!).  We have spent the last few days exploring the temples, which will have to be an all new post!  I’ll try to get started on that very soon.

We are enjoying our travels immensely and feel extremely lucky every day.  We hope you are all enjoying the blogs and the photos.  (We will both try to get better about keeping it updated!)  Miss you all!!

-Renee

Photo Links

More photo links:

Macro Shots Here

Randoms Here

Bali Photos Here

Rinca Photos Here

Enjoy!  -Renee

July 14, 2010 Update

Realizing that we had just over thirty days left on our visa and nearly all of Indonesia to explore, we decided that we’d shift gears and get moving.  Here’s an overview of our island hopping throughout Indonesia…

We left Sulawesi by Pelni passenger ship, bound for the island of Flores.  (Makassar, Sulawesi photos here.)  After 26 hours, we finally docked in Larantuka, Flores, Nusa Tengara, Indonesia.  The ride was a comfortable one, as we had a private cabin with beds and our own bathroom (hot water shower included!).  Very swanky, indeed.  We arrived at night, so we decided to go ahead and hop on a bus and go to Maumere.  Although there wasn’t anything we wanted to see in Maumere, we knew we could catch a bus from there to our desired destination of Moni.  We eventually arrived in Moni, where we found a homestay room for approximately $3.50 (inclusive of breakfast for us both).  We arranged for motorbikes to pick us up at 4:00am and drive us to the entrance of Kelimutu Park to catch the sunrise over the colorful crater lakes.

The alarm went off early and we bundled up before hopping on the backs of the motorbikes.  After a chilly ride up a winding road, we arrived at the gate.  For a small extra fee (about fifty cents), we had the motorbikes take us another three kilometers to the bottom of a staircase.  We said our goodbyes and began walking.   It was a very cloudy morning, but we kept our hopes high.  We climbed to the top and eagerly awaited the sun to appear and warm everything up.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see the sunrise as it was too cloudy.  Fortunately, the clouds cleared long enough that we got a spectacular view of the lakes.  The three lakes of Kelimutu have a reputation for changing colors, and we saw one black lake and two turquoise lakes.  The turquoise lakes actually looked fake, almost as if someone had dropped paint into the crater.  Amazing.  More photos here.

From Moni we shared a car with three other people to Bajawa (the jumping off point for several traditional villages).  We went to visit a traditional village called Bena.  Here we saw thatch houses with straw roofs and an interesting blend of Animism with Catholocism.  The scenery was beautiful and we couldn’t have asked for better weather as we rode on the backs of motorbikes.  Because it was such a nice day we decided to also check out Wawomunga (spelling?), Bajawa’s colored lakes.  After the beauty of Kelimutu we were a bit disappointed.  However, it was still an enjoyable ride through the mountains and a nice walk to view the lakes.  See more Bajawa/Bena photos here.

We left Bajawa and headed to Labuhanbajo.  This was our last stop on the lovely island of Flores.  From here we organized a boat to take us to Rinca (pronounced Rin-cha) for the day.  Rinca is the less popular island of Komodo National Park.  We were on a hunt for the deadly dragon!  We arrived on the island, feeling a bit nervous and excited.  We walked to the park office and paid the entrance fee.  As soon as we left the office, we spotted our first dragon.  It was huge!  Far larger than any monitor lizard we’d seen before.  I immediately understood why they are called dragons.  Walking around the corner toward the kitchen, we were surprised to see several dragons lounging about waiting for the opportunity to eat any scraps tossed out by the kitchen.  Our guide told us that they do not feed the dragons, but the smell from the kitchen draws them near.  We went on a short guided hike around the island, where we spotted another dragon lounging under a tree.  We also saw wild buffalo and several macaques.  After Rinca we had our boat driver take us to a smaller island for some relaxing and snorkeling before heading back to the mainland.

We decided to travel through the island of Sumbawa without stopping (due to lack of time), and we arranged for a ticket straight to Lombok.  This was a very long trek and I’ll spare you the details.  Eventually, we made it to Lombok island and arranged for transportation to Gili Trawangan.  We’d heard great things about the three Gili islands and we were looking forward to a few days on the beach.  We spent two nights on Gili Trawangan, eating Western food and enjoying cocktails.  Staying on the island any longer would’ve ruined our budget, so we moved on pretty quickly.  From Lombok we headed to the famous island of Bali.

After arriving on Bali, we headed straight for the Bukit peninsula in search of beach and surf.  Our guidebook told us that Kuta was great for budget travel so we made that our first stop.  We weren’t impressed by Kuta.  The place is extremely touristy (hundreds of people on the beach) and has the prices to go along with it.  Brad did get the opportunity to surf, however.  Board rental cost a whopping $3 for the entire day.  The waves were very choppy and we had to dodge the rain throughout the day, but now he can say he surfed in Bali. 

From Kuta we organized a private car to take us to Medewi, a famous surf spot on the southwestern coast of Bali.  We had the car take us to two famous Balinese temples along the way.  The first was Tanah Lot, which was perched on the water and very beautiful.  The tide was a bit high, but we waded through the water to rinse our hands and drink from the sacred spring.  We also received a blessing, which involved grains of rice being pressed onto our foreheads and flowers stuck behind our ears.  We weren’t allowed to actually enter the temple, so we just took a few photos and moved on.  

We then went to Mengwi, which had very impressive landscaping and several pagodas.  The architecture on Bali is extremely different from anything we’ve seen on the other islands, so it was really interesting to get a close-up view of the Hindu temples.

We arrived in Medewi to find great surf, but no beach.  Brad decided that he didn’t feel like surfing, so after one night here (and time running out), we headed to Java.  All this pretty much brings us up to date.  I’m typing this in our homestay room in Cemero Lawang, a small village very near Gunung Bromo.  Tomorrow morning we’ll wake up very early and hike to the top of Bromo to catch the sunrise over three volcanoes.  I’ll take photos for the next post!

-Renee

Curiosity Killed the Cat

After arriving on the oddly shaped island of Sulawesi, Indonesia Brad and I immediately headed to the bus terminal of Makassar to set out for Rantepao, located in the middle of the Tana Toraja area.  Visiting the region of Tana Toraja was the main reason we’d decided to come to Sulawesi.  Having read about the Torajans’ obsession with death, we were eager to see for ourselves what really went on at a Torajan funeral.

                

We rode eight hours in a cramped car with a puking baby and four smokers, but the scenery was beautiful.  The last three hours of the ride took us up winding mountain roads with amazing views and the nearer we came to Tana Toraja, the more my excitement grew.  Upon entering the region, I immediately saw the traditional houses the Torajans are famed for.  The roof slopes up on either end, resembling the horns of a buffalo.  Many of the homes also have several rice barns nearby with the same style of roof.  Seeing the several of the roofs grouped together makes for an impressive sight.

We were dropped off at Pia’s Poppies Hotel where we ditched our bags and sought out some food.  After talking to some of the other tourists staying there, we discovered that there was a funeral beginning the following day.  We couldn’t believe our luck!  Tour guides approached us and offered to take us, but the price seemed too high.  We decided to try our luck in the morning.

                

Over breakfast, I mentioned to Brad that I couldn’t believe we hadn’t been approached by a guide yet.  Another tourist chimed in that she was shocked as well.  I asked the young couple next to us if they had made arrangements already, hoping we could cut the cost by sharing.  They said that they had booked a car, but they’d be more than willing to share in order to save money.  After haggling a bit with the guide and driver, we finally settled on a price.  We finished breakfast and headed out for a day of exploring death. 

                

Our first stop was Lemo.  Although we’d seen photos and read several articles about the area, we were still overwhelmed.  The limestone rock face towers approximately 60 feet high, and has dozens of burial caves, some over 300 years old, carved into it.  The first thing you notice when you see the rock face is that you are being watched.  Balconies have been carved out in front of the burial caves for the upper class.  Protective tau tau, or wooden effigies, are placed on these balconies to ward off thieves and evil spirits as well as to accept gifts from family members and pass on blessings.  The tau tau are quite a sight, as they are all intricately carved and even dressed in real clothes.  They emit a feeling of eeriness, as if saying “Don’t even think about messing with my bones.”  Walking around the rock face, we saw bones on the ground with a bag hung next to them.  After asking our guide why the bones were on the ground, he explained that each cave houses an entire family.  They are neatly arranged in a circle.  When there is no more room, the oldest skeleton and its belongings are removed, hence the skull and bagful of rotting clothes.

                

A close-up of the tau tau at Lemo.

The day continued to get stranger as we headed from here to a funeral.  We drove as far as possible, but thanks to the heavy rain the night before, we had to ditch our mini-SUV and hoof it through the mud for about a kilometer.  Upon arrival at the funeral ceremony, the first thing I noticed was all of the animals that had been brought for sacrifice.  You couldn’t take more than four steps without having to step over a tied-up pig.  And, watch out for that buffalo that’s backing up because he isn’t watching out for you! 

                

We sat down in a covered room specially constructed to house the funeral guests.  We passed on a carton of cigarettes that we brought as a gift to the family.  The carton was opened and cigarettes were passed around among the guests.  We were given tea or coffee as well as some traditional Torajan cake.  The children around us were busily licking ice cream cones.  It all felt very welcoming and merry.  Then, our guide told us the buffalo sacrifice would soon be taking place.  After the sacrifice of the first buffalo, the spirit would finally be released from the body and move on to the afterlife.  Brad leapt to his feet with the camera as I deliberated whether I wanted to watch an animal be sacrificed or not.  After a few minutes, I decided that when at a Torajan funeral it’s best to get the full experience.

                

We watched as buffalo were pranced up and down, listening to the hoots and hollers of the boys and men that were leading them.  The funeral emcee was jabbering away in Bahasa Indonesia and the crowd was getting excited.  Pigs were squealing in the background when suddenly a group of about ten women began to pound bamboo poles into wood, creating the perfect soundtrack for a sacrifice.  ‘Which buffalo would it be?’ we wondered, ‘How would it happen; a slit to the throat, perhaps?’  Unexpectedly, an albino buffalo was brought down a hill from behind the house.  “It’s the crazy buffalo,” our guide told me.  I couldn’t really see what was going on as I was on the wrong side of the house and then, just like that *snap*, it was all over (for the buffalo).  We’d missed it.  The procession began shortly after the sacrifice.  The body of the deceased (which had been placed in a beautifully painted coffin that looks like a miniature Torajan house) was carried and then hoisted up a bamboo ladder to the top of a tower.  Here it would remain here for the next four days (the length of a traditional Torajan funeral) before it was lowered back down and taken to its final resting place.  There, the coffin would be placed nearby and simply left to rot away as it is taboo to reuse any of the bamboo that was used during a funeral.

                

We felt we’d seen enough of the funeral, so we headed back to the car and went for a quick lunch.  I had tomato soup, yum!  We then went to Kambira for a further exploration of death.  Here we followed a staircase down to a sacred tree.  This tree is the final resting place for babies that are less than ten months old.  The locals believe that the soul is still pure at this age because the baby has not developed teeth and therefore cannot speak any evil.  After dying, the baby’s body is entombed in the living tree.  The tree must be living as it is believed that the spirit of the growing tree will help the spirit of the young baby to continue to grow.  Our guide told us that with the spread of Christianity, the people of Kambira no longer practice this.  The last time a baby was housed in the tree was more than 30 years ago. 

We had one more destination to go, and it was the one I was most excited about seeing, the village of Londa.  We walked down a path which awarded us with a great view of the cave graves we were preparing to investigate.  We arranged for a local guide to meet us at the cave’s entrance with a gas lantern so we could go inside the cave and see the numerous coffins that waited.  As we got closer to the cave, we noticed that there were quite a few of coffins outside as well.  Tau tau lined up above the entrance to the cave and peered down at us as we stood amazed at the sights before us.  We were greeted not only by the tau tau, but also by several skulls resting upon coffins and rocks.  All of this, and we hadn’t even entered the cave!  

Our guide lit his lantern and motioned for us to follow him inside.  Coffins lined the walls and rested precariously on edges.  Empty eye sockets gazed from every crevice and corner.  We walked in further, stepping on rocks as wells as the remnants of bones.  Suddenly, the cave seemed to end.  Before we had the chance to turn around, our guide motioned toward a hole.  “Okay?” he asked.  We shrugged and looked at one another apprehensively, as the hole was very small and would require crawling on all fours to enter.  We nodded in uncertainty and I replied meekly, “Okay.”  I removed my backpack, realizing that I would have to push it along in front of myself as I crawled.  After crawling uncomfortably for about ten minutes, we reached the end of the tunnel.  As I stood up and looked around, my breath was taken away.  I felt as though I’d crawled through to a different world, one that resembled set of a Hollywood action movie (maybe a new Indiana Jones, or possibly even Tomb Raider).  Skulls lined every edge and shelf of the cave.  Rotting coffins were scattered around, some of them left open exposing the tattered clothes that barely covered what remained.  Leg and arm bones decorated the floor.  Eerie?  Yes.  Exciting?  Yes!

In the end, Tana Toraja was all we expected and more.  After spending an entire day on death, we opted to relax and enjoy the scenery for a while.  We spent our remaining days in the area strolling through neighboring villages, drinking tuak (palm wine) with the locals while we waited out the rain, and enjoying great views of rice terraces from our homestay in the northern region.  It is a truly beautiful area, full of friendly and welcoming people.  We felt we could’ve stayed for longer, but with our visa clock running (only 60 days in Indonesia, and at a high price), we opted to move on.  Besides, we had the lovely Togian Islands to look forward to….

Click here to see more Tana Toraja photos!

-Renee