Caught the bus from Régua to Lamego. It was a very scenic drive, through tiny little streets barely able to fit the bus. At Lamego we changed buses for Viseu, which turned put to be the same bus (except we couldn't buy the ticket to Viseu in Régua).
There was an hour wait in Lamego, which gave me enough time to go into town and take a picture of the 600+ steps up to Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios.
We arrived in Viseu with just enough time to get to our hotel (Pensão Rossio Parque) and catch lunch at 2pm. We got the prime room, with a balcony overlooking the plaza.
We walked arond Viseu after lunch. It was pretty hot (30C), plus we were getting tired of nice medieval old towns and cobblestone street, so didn't spend too much time touristing.
My backpack had the stitching come undone at the straps, and we had seen a repair shop, so I unpacked all my stuff and took it over. It cost €4 and they had it ready for the next morning.
Heather was feeling a bit off so we found a simple little place for dinner. They did have a couple things I was looking to try: pig's ear appetizers (pickled, tasted okay but the texture was an acquired taste), and roasted kid (a bit of an effort to eat, sort of like rabbit, except goat taste). The house red was fr the Dão, and was excellent.
The next morning picked up my repaired backpack, and took an express bus to Coimbra. It's a pretty big city (just over 100K). We stayed at Casa Pombal Guesthouse. We were lucky to get in -- it's been fully booked this month, no doubt because it's the place of choice in both the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. This is the first time this trip we've found a fully booked hotel. Our room is in the attic, with a beautiful view in three directions. Unfornately it's books tomorrow so we have to move to a room with two single beds. The hotel is in th old city, which meant a lot of walking up to get to it.
Walked a bit around the old city this afternoon. It was really hot again, so stayed to inside things -- the old library (Biblioteca Joanina, which was well worth the €5 admission), the old cathedral (Sé Velha), and Igreja de Santa Cruz. We've noticed a lot more bus tour people here than in other places. Cooled down with a beer in Largo da Portagem.
Tomorrow we're planning a day trip to Mata Nacional do Buçaco, a national forest. Well we're off for dinner now.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Viseu, Portugal
We had a nice breakfast overlooking the river and bridge before catching the bus from Amarante to Régua. There were five of us trying to figure out from where the bus actually departed. The bus driver must be used to people waiting on random corners because he was looking out for passengers.
It was a beautiful drive down the valley to Régua. We had thought about renting a car for this trip, but we're glad we didn't because I wouldn't be able to enjoy the view if I was driving.
Decided to stay in Régua instead of carrying on to Pinhão as most tourists do, because our next leg was easier from Régua. Régua used to be an important port town, before losing the title to the prettier Pinhão.
We booked into the Hotel Douro Régua, a 4-star hotel frequented by the bus tours (only €77 for a river-view room).
We had lunch in a churrasqueira (grill house), which was packed with locals. It was great. We've finally figured out to always order the house wine, because it's far cheaper and is always a good match for the food.
We tried to walk around town, but it was too hot in the sun. Relaxed at the hotel, with the balcony sliding door wide open to the river view. (It was perfect weather out of the sun, about 24C). The previous towns were slightly chilly, so it was great to finally have tshirt weather.
Had dinner at a cool-looking place that served tapas. Unfortunately it was just trendy and average food. After the great meals the past few days it was a bit of a letdown.
We were up early the next morning for our day trip up the Rio Douro. Took the train round trip to Pocinho and back. The best views were between Pinhão and Pocinho. I took over 100 pics. The day trip had been recommended by a couple locals in Porto, and it was well worth it.
We arrived back in Régua around 2:40, a little late for lunch (most places close at 2pm). A tourist restaurant was open, we had the set menu (another lesson we've learned -- this is far cheaper and better than ordering àbla carte). We had soup, grilled beef with rice and salad, 75cl house wine, espressos and dessert, for €16 between the two of us.
Relaxed back at the hotel again, then headed out for dinner. Found a little local restaurant in a side street (Restaurant Jéréré) which was amazing. Had appetizers of octopus, and grilled sausage. I had suckling pig for my main which was my favourite meal so far this trip. Heather had beef medallions in a cream sauce which was also delicious.
Finished with a dessert and port. The owner wouldn't let us order our first choice for dessert (non!) because it didn't go with port.
Walked down the boardwalk after dinner to help digest. There were lots of people doing the same -- it was very safe.
It was a beautiful drive down the valley to Régua. We had thought about renting a car for this trip, but we're glad we didn't because I wouldn't be able to enjoy the view if I was driving.
Decided to stay in Régua instead of carrying on to Pinhão as most tourists do, because our next leg was easier from Régua. Régua used to be an important port town, before losing the title to the prettier Pinhão.
We booked into the Hotel Douro Régua, a 4-star hotel frequented by the bus tours (only €77 for a river-view room).
We had lunch in a churrasqueira (grill house), which was packed with locals. It was great. We've finally figured out to always order the house wine, because it's far cheaper and is always a good match for the food.
We tried to walk around town, but it was too hot in the sun. Relaxed at the hotel, with the balcony sliding door wide open to the river view. (It was perfect weather out of the sun, about 24C). The previous towns were slightly chilly, so it was great to finally have tshirt weather.
Had dinner at a cool-looking place that served tapas. Unfortunately it was just trendy and average food. After the great meals the past few days it was a bit of a letdown.
We were up early the next morning for our day trip up the Rio Douro. Took the train round trip to Pocinho and back. The best views were between Pinhão and Pocinho. I took over 100 pics. The day trip had been recommended by a couple locals in Porto, and it was well worth it.
We arrived back in Régua around 2:40, a little late for lunch (most places close at 2pm). A tourist restaurant was open, we had the set menu (another lesson we've learned -- this is far cheaper and better than ordering àbla carte). We had soup, grilled beef with rice and salad, 75cl house wine, espressos and dessert, for €16 between the two of us.
Relaxed back at the hotel again, then headed out for dinner. Found a little local restaurant in a side street (Restaurant Jéréré) which was amazing. Had appetizers of octopus, and grilled sausage. I had suckling pig for my main which was my favourite meal so far this trip. Heather had beef medallions in a cream sauce which was also delicious.
Finished with a dessert and port. The owner wouldn't let us order our first choice for dessert (non!) because it didn't go with port.
Walked down the boardwalk after dinner to help digest. There were lots of people doing the same -- it was very safe.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Peso da Régua, Portugal
From Guimarães we took a 50 minute bus ride to Amarante. I wanted to go here because the town is known for its cheeses and cured meats.
We checked into Residencial Estoril, with a view of Ponte de São Gonçalo. The hotel's restaurant actually juts over the Rio Tâmega. Had a quick lunch, and then tried to find th train station for the next day. Unfortunately the narrow gauge train no longer runs (it was supposedly pretty scenic). The replacement transport wasn't clearly marked and we trekked back and forth through the town (there's only one major road in the old centre, which goes across the river, pedestrians and cars sharing the 12' wide bridge).
Found out there was a cake festival going on, so checked it out and had the free samples. Next visited the Museo de Souza-Cardoso, which was pretty impressive for a town of 11,000.
For an afternoon snack we went to a local adega, filled with old men having cheese and smoked meats and wine. It was exactly what I was looking for. The old men were very friendly, although we couldn't understand a word. With some difffliculty, ordered a couple different kinds of prosciutto, and a cured choriço (also some cheese, olives and great bread). For wine we had vino verde, a young white (!) wine which everyone was drinking. It was amazing.
We walked around town a bit more, stopping into the cafe right on the corner of the bridge for tea and sweets.
Later went for dinner in a little restaurant (we didn't want anything too fancy cause we were pretty full from the meat and cheese place). We though we were late (it was about 9pm and there was only one table of people). Turned out we were early! The restaurant filled up as the night went on.
After dinner, walked by the cathedral because we had seen posters that there was a symphony performance that night, open to the public. It was a great way to finish the night, listening to the orchestra in a beautiful cathedral.
We checked into Residencial Estoril, with a view of Ponte de São Gonçalo. The hotel's restaurant actually juts over the Rio Tâmega. Had a quick lunch, and then tried to find th train station for the next day. Unfortunately the narrow gauge train no longer runs (it was supposedly pretty scenic). The replacement transport wasn't clearly marked and we trekked back and forth through the town (there's only one major road in the old centre, which goes across the river, pedestrians and cars sharing the 12' wide bridge).
Found out there was a cake festival going on, so checked it out and had the free samples. Next visited the Museo de Souza-Cardoso, which was pretty impressive for a town of 11,000.
For an afternoon snack we went to a local adega, filled with old men having cheese and smoked meats and wine. It was exactly what I was looking for. The old men were very friendly, although we couldn't understand a word. With some difffliculty, ordered a couple different kinds of prosciutto, and a cured choriço (also some cheese, olives and great bread). For wine we had vino verde, a young white (!) wine which everyone was drinking. It was amazing.
We walked around town a bit more, stopping into the cafe right on the corner of the bridge for tea and sweets.
Later went for dinner in a little restaurant (we didn't want anything too fancy cause we were pretty full from the meat and cheese place). We though we were late (it was about 9pm and there was only one table of people). Turned out we were early! The restaurant filled up as the night went on.
After dinner, walked by the cathedral because we had seen posters that there was a symphony performance that night, open to the public. It was a great way to finish the night, listening to the orchestra in a beautiful cathedral.
Guimarães, Portugal
I think I just had one of the best meals ever! Tonight, Eric and I checked out a restaurant called "Cheers - Wine and Tapas"...and it was excellent. I ordered the leg of duck, with chestnuts and raisins - and it was divine. If someone had said "this will be your last meal, ever," I would have happily agreed :) Amazing.
(written by Heather)
(written by Heather)
Friday, May 14, 2010
Guimarães, Portugal
In Guimarães we stayed at Residencial das Trinas, located on a very narrow cobbled-stoned street in the old town. We got a room overlooking the street.
The weather wasn't too great, rainy and a bit chilly. We'd asked the hotel owner for restaurant recommendations, he thought for a bit and then circled some places on the map. We tried out a busy narrow place full of local business folk on lunch. We both had bife no pao, (steak on a bun). The steak was done perfectly, medium rare, and went really well with the glasses of wine.
After lunch, we wandered around the medieval centre of Guimarães. The rain kept most of my pictures tourist-free. Scouted out places for dinner. The sun poked through around evening, just as we went for dinner at Cheers (as the Lonely Planet says, don't judge a restaurant by its name).
It was one our favourite meals ever. Started with an appetizer of hoira (a Portuguese sausauge) on fried onions, followed by another of phyllo-wrapped sausage on with oyster mushrooms. Heather's main was duck breast with chestnuts. The duck was done perfectly, and was a surprisingly perfect match with the chestnuts. I had the cod, served with spinach and cornbread. We finished with chocate cake and port. Mmm good.
We walked back through a lively nightlife, with a number of bars and clubs open for Friday night. We were too full (plus we're no longer 20) so just went back to our hotel.
The weather wasn't too great, rainy and a bit chilly. We'd asked the hotel owner for restaurant recommendations, he thought for a bit and then circled some places on the map. We tried out a busy narrow place full of local business folk on lunch. We both had bife no pao, (steak on a bun). The steak was done perfectly, medium rare, and went really well with the glasses of wine.
After lunch, we wandered around the medieval centre of Guimarães. The rain kept most of my pictures tourist-free. Scouted out places for dinner. The sun poked through around evening, just as we went for dinner at Cheers (as the Lonely Planet says, don't judge a restaurant by its name).
It was one our favourite meals ever. Started with an appetizer of hoira (a Portuguese sausauge) on fried onions, followed by another of phyllo-wrapped sausage on with oyster mushrooms. Heather's main was duck breast with chestnuts. The duck was done perfectly, and was a surprisingly perfect match with the chestnuts. I had the cod, served with spinach and cornbread. We finished with chocate cake and port. Mmm good.
We walked back through a lively nightlife, with a number of bars and clubs open for Friday night. We were too full (plus we're no longer 20) so just went back to our hotel.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Braga, Portugal
We caught the one-hour train from Porto to Braga this morning, which cost €2.10 each (less than a ride on the TTC). It's on the suburban run (similar to a GO ride) from Porto. The scenery was okay, we both napped a bit. Every spare bit of land seems to have grape vines growing.
We checked into the Albergaria da Sé, a conveniently located hotel in the centro (and the Rough Guide's author's pick). Braga has a bustling old town, with pedestrian-only streets. (We both wish Toronto had the same.) Visited the Sé, (cathedral), which is also the reason I figured out how to type accented letters on the iPhone. The Sé in Braga is the oldest in Portugal (circa 1100s). The interior is impressive, most so the elaborately decorated pipe organ.
Had a beer at a café watching the street scene, but it was getting colder (the sun was hiding behind clouds, and the wind was picking up), so we went back to the hotel to relax before dinner.
We had dinner at Feliz Taberna, which is our favourite place so far. Split an appetizer of baked oyster mushrooms with garlic, sel de fleur and parsley. For mains I had the breaded sardines, an Heather had the grilled bass. Heather's had fish every day so far, and it's always been cooked perfectly. Mmm good.
Tomorrow we're heading to Guimarães.
We checked into the Albergaria da Sé, a conveniently located hotel in the centro (and the Rough Guide's author's pick). Braga has a bustling old town, with pedestrian-only streets. (We both wish Toronto had the same.) Visited the Sé, (cathedral), which is also the reason I figured out how to type accented letters on the iPhone. The Sé in Braga is the oldest in Portugal (circa 1100s). The interior is impressive, most so the elaborately decorated pipe organ.
Had a beer at a café watching the street scene, but it was getting colder (the sun was hiding behind clouds, and the wind was picking up), so we went back to the hotel to relax before dinner.
We had dinner at Feliz Taberna, which is our favourite place so far. Split an appetizer of baked oyster mushrooms with garlic, sel de fleur and parsley. For mains I had the breaded sardines, an Heather had the grilled bass. Heather's had fish every day so far, and it's always been cooked perfectly. Mmm good.
Tomorrow we're heading to Guimarães.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Porto, Portugal
I forgot to mention the best part of the trip so far -- a 1L carafe of house wine is about €5 in restaurants! Yesterday we had dinner in a cozy little place near the main plaza. The mains were okay (and a little small, even for the half portions we've been ordering). But we had smoked meat and cheese as appetizers which were amazing. The smoked meat was homemade, and likely the cheese as well. We made the mistake of declining bread at the start. You get charged for all appetizers such as bread, or butter, and the mains typically come with rice and potatoes so we found we didn't really need bread as well. However the waiter took it as an affront that we didn't want bread, and we think that's why we got poor service after. So it'll be yes to pao (bread) from now on.
Today we toured a little west from the centre. First we walked by the Casa da Musica, a cool looking building by Rem Koolhaus (I've added a pic to the album on Picasa). Next we dropped into the Museu de Arte Contemporanes. The exhibits were okay, but the gardens were really nice to walk through.
We took the trolley along the riverside back to the centro, had a beer overlooking the river, bridges and the port houses across the river.
Our legs are getting a good workout from the hilly streets. We saw a restaurant with an interesting menu (including liver, and tongue as mains) that we're going check out tonight. Tomorrow we'll catch the train to Braga, about an hour north of Porto by train.
Today we toured a little west from the centre. First we walked by the Casa da Musica, a cool looking building by Rem Koolhaus (I've added a pic to the album on Picasa). Next we dropped into the Museu de Arte Contemporanes. The exhibits were okay, but the gardens were really nice to walk through.
We took the trolley along the riverside back to the centro, had a beer overlooking the river, bridges and the port houses across the river.
Our legs are getting a good workout from the hilly streets. We saw a restaurant with an interesting menu (including liver, and tongue as mains) that we're going check out tonight. Tomorrow we'll catch the train to Braga, about an hour north of Porto by train.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Porto, Portugal
Porto is a wonderful town to spend a few days relaxing. The centre is filled with narrow cobblestone streets, picturesque old buildings and cool little cafes and restaurants. We both loved the train station -- it's my favourite out of all the ones I've seen.
Yesterday we walked around before dinner and couldn't stop taking pictures. You can't take a bad photo here. (The Pope is coming to town on Friday and it's the talk of the town.)
Today we were up at a decent hour to catch the included breakfast at the hotel. The day looked to be sunny, but clouds rolled in just as we were ready to head out for the day. We touristed around in our waterproof jackets for the first hour, and then the rain stopped. Again I couldn't believe how everything you look at is a photo waiting to be taken.
We walked through town to the riverside, stopping in at Igreja de Sao Francisco for a look at the gilded Gothic interior, and the catacombs below (€4). Then we crossed the double decker bridge, Ponte Dom Luis I, (it's in all the pictures of Porto) to Gaia, where all the port houses are located.
We stopped in at three houses: Croft; Wiese & Crown; and Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman. All three included free tastings after the tours. As the guide book says, it's a good way to learn the difference between tawny and ruby ports (the tawny are moved to smaller barrels where they get more exposure to the oak). We spent a few euros and had a vertical tasting at Taylor's. In between had lunch at a riverside cafe, a tasty sandwich of prosciutto, cheese, tomato and fried egg (!?) which hit the spot.
It's a good workout walking about Porto with all the hills and valleys. Right now we're relaxing at the hotel bar (Heather's reading up on where we want to head next). We'll be heading out for dinner shortly.
Yesterday we walked around before dinner and couldn't stop taking pictures. You can't take a bad photo here. (The Pope is coming to town on Friday and it's the talk of the town.)
Today we were up at a decent hour to catch the included breakfast at the hotel. The day looked to be sunny, but clouds rolled in just as we were ready to head out for the day. We touristed around in our waterproof jackets for the first hour, and then the rain stopped. Again I couldn't believe how everything you look at is a photo waiting to be taken.
We walked through town to the riverside, stopping in at Igreja de Sao Francisco for a look at the gilded Gothic interior, and the catacombs below (€4). Then we crossed the double decker bridge, Ponte Dom Luis I, (it's in all the pictures of Porto) to Gaia, where all the port houses are located.
We stopped in at three houses: Croft; Wiese & Crown; and Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman. All three included free tastings after the tours. As the guide book says, it's a good way to learn the difference between tawny and ruby ports (the tawny are moved to smaller barrels where they get more exposure to the oak). We spent a few euros and had a vertical tasting at Taylor's. In between had lunch at a riverside cafe, a tasty sandwich of prosciutto, cheese, tomato and fried egg (!?) which hit the spot.
It's a good workout walking about Porto with all the hills and valleys. Right now we're relaxing at the hotel bar (Heather's reading up on where we want to head next). We'll be heading out for dinner shortly.
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| From 2010 Portugal - favourites |
Monday, May 10, 2010
Porto, Portugal
We made it to Porto, with an extra hour of flight time to get around Iceland. We had paid $25 extra to get the rows with just two seats (which were wider and had more legroom) so we were pretty comfortable for Air Transat. The meal was surprisingly not too bad, and came with a complimentary wine.
I slept about four hours, using one of those inflatable neck cushions. I have to admit, although they look dorky, they do work. Heather slept a bit too, but she had to get up to stretch every hour or so (doctor's order) so it wasn't as deeply.
We arrived in Porto around 2pm. It took almost an hour for our luggage to appear. Heather I think was fearing the worst given her track record with lost luggage.
Normally I take a taxi to the hotel on the first day of a trip, but I was mostly awake and we gave the public transportation a go. Caught the 602 bus at the airport. The other passengers bemusedly watched me trying to track our progress in the Rough Guide map. We didn't do too badly, ending up with a five minute walk to our hotel, Eurostars Das Artes. (They have free wifi so I'm typing while Heather's doing more stretches).
We just had lunch and an espresso which should keep us going through the jetlag. It's been rainy and about 15C so far today.
I slept about four hours, using one of those inflatable neck cushions. I have to admit, although they look dorky, they do work. Heather slept a bit too, but she had to get up to stretch every hour or so (doctor's order) so it wasn't as deeply.
We arrived in Porto around 2pm. It took almost an hour for our luggage to appear. Heather I think was fearing the worst given her track record with lost luggage.
Normally I take a taxi to the hotel on the first day of a trip, but I was mostly awake and we gave the public transportation a go. Caught the 602 bus at the airport. The other passengers bemusedly watched me trying to track our progress in the Rough Guide map. We didn't do too badly, ending up with a five minute walk to our hotel, Eurostars Das Artes. (They have free wifi so I'm typing while Heather's doing more stretches).
We just had lunch and an espresso which should keep us going through the jetlag. It's been rainy and about 15C so far today.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Toronto, Canada
The volcanic ash watch starts.
The Aeroportos de Portugal site is showing all flights into Porto originating from Europe as cancelled. The Lisbon airport has lots of flight statuses as chegou (arrived), which is a good sign. The only recent transatlantic flight to Porto was on SATA, and it was diverted to Lisbon this morning.
Our flight is scheduled to continue on to Faro (in the south of Portugal). Currently the Faro airport is showing flights arriving with slight delays. My guess is we'll be diverted to Faro directly.
The Aeroportos de Portugal site is showing all flights into Porto originating from Europe as cancelled. The Lisbon airport has lots of flight statuses as chegou (arrived), which is a good sign. The only recent transatlantic flight to Porto was on SATA, and it was diverted to Lisbon this morning.
Our flight is scheduled to continue on to Faro (in the south of Portugal). Currently the Faro airport is showing flights arriving with slight delays. My guess is we'll be diverted to Faro directly.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Toronto, Canada
Heather and I spent the day running errands, getting ready for our trip to Portugal. It's much more relaxing leaving on the weekend, although the trade-off is one less day in Portugal.
On each of my previous trips, there was a major highlight to check off the list, such as a famous ruin or waterfall. There's no must-see on this trip -- it's going to be all about the food and wine and relaxing. We're flying into Porto, and have 20 days to end up in Lisbon.
Also for the first time, I'm not relying on the Lonely Planet. I got hooked on traveling when I took my three weeks vacation in '94 at P&G and went to Israel and Egypt. My friend Kirk gave me the Middle East LP as a gift (it still sits on our bookshelves). Back then, the LP "assumed you knew how to get your luggage off the carousel", as they proudly stated on the back cover. At some point they dropped that reference, and the writing and coverage has become less interesting every year. We're taking both the LP and Rough Guide to Portugal; and will likely switch to the Rough Guide for future trips.
And on the technological change front, instead of carrying paperbacks and trying to find english book stores when I'm done, I downloaded a bunch of ebooks on Stanza on my iPhone. I also installed the BlogPress app so that I can blog on the go, and upload posts when I find a wifi hotspot.
See you soon from Portugal!
On each of my previous trips, there was a major highlight to check off the list, such as a famous ruin or waterfall. There's no must-see on this trip -- it's going to be all about the food and wine and relaxing. We're flying into Porto, and have 20 days to end up in Lisbon.
Also for the first time, I'm not relying on the Lonely Planet. I got hooked on traveling when I took my three weeks vacation in '94 at P&G and went to Israel and Egypt. My friend Kirk gave me the Middle East LP as a gift (it still sits on our bookshelves). Back then, the LP "assumed you knew how to get your luggage off the carousel", as they proudly stated on the back cover. At some point they dropped that reference, and the writing and coverage has become less interesting every year. We're taking both the LP and Rough Guide to Portugal; and will likely switch to the Rough Guide for future trips.
And on the technological change front, instead of carrying paperbacks and trying to find english book stores when I'm done, I downloaded a bunch of ebooks on Stanza on my iPhone. I also installed the BlogPress app so that I can blog on the go, and upload posts when I find a wifi hotspot.
See you soon from Portugal!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Toronto, Canada
We've been back home now for almost a week. I thought I was over the jetlag, but we were both up at 4am this morning.
Here's the best pics from the trip. My favourite is the woman sifting rice.
I was able to get the pics from one of the damaged SD cards, simply by plugging it into my Mac. The other one is still corrupted -- however, I did previously offload the best pics, so I'm not too concerned. There seems to be plenty of freeware that may fix the problem, I just haven't had a chance to try yet.
All of our souvenirs made it back in one piece, with no overweight charges. The staff at Cathay Pacific were great -- they gave us packaging for the rolled-up paintings, stuck a "Fragile" sticker on it, and then actually treated it as fragile.
The flights back were uneventful. Thank goodness for video-on-demand in airplanes -- it helps the hours go by.
The highlights of the trip included the hike to see the turquoise waters of Kawah Ijen, and relaxing on Nusa Lembongan for a couple days. Borobudur was cool to see, but not in the same league as Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu.
This trip was a bit different in that we rarely used public transportation. It was about the same cost (and much more convenient and comfortable) to get private transportation for the two of us.
As well, (and strangely for 4th most populated country in the world), we didn't spend a lot of time in large urban centres. We passed through Jakarta because our flight took us there; and we spent a couple jetlagged days in Yogyakarta, but that was it. I didn't realize I missed cities until we were waiting to fly home, looking out from our hotel room balcony at the downtown skyline of Jakarta.
Next trip is most likely to Peru (to see Machu Picchu) and Argentina (through the wine region around Mendoza). Machu Picchu is the most impressive site I've seen in the world. Heather's never been and I'd like to see it again (I did the Inca Trail in 1994).
Here's the best pics from the trip. My favourite is the woman sifting rice.
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| Indonesia - favourites |
I was able to get the pics from one of the damaged SD cards, simply by plugging it into my Mac. The other one is still corrupted -- however, I did previously offload the best pics, so I'm not too concerned. There seems to be plenty of freeware that may fix the problem, I just haven't had a chance to try yet.
All of our souvenirs made it back in one piece, with no overweight charges. The staff at Cathay Pacific were great -- they gave us packaging for the rolled-up paintings, stuck a "Fragile" sticker on it, and then actually treated it as fragile.
The flights back were uneventful. Thank goodness for video-on-demand in airplanes -- it helps the hours go by.
The highlights of the trip included the hike to see the turquoise waters of Kawah Ijen, and relaxing on Nusa Lembongan for a couple days. Borobudur was cool to see, but not in the same league as Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu.
This trip was a bit different in that we rarely used public transportation. It was about the same cost (and much more convenient and comfortable) to get private transportation for the two of us.
As well, (and strangely for 4th most populated country in the world), we didn't spend a lot of time in large urban centres. We passed through Jakarta because our flight took us there; and we spent a couple jetlagged days in Yogyakarta, but that was it. I didn't realize I missed cities until we were waiting to fly home, looking out from our hotel room balcony at the downtown skyline of Jakarta.
Next trip is most likely to Peru (to see Machu Picchu) and Argentina (through the wine region around Mendoza). Machu Picchu is the most impressive site I've seen in the world. Heather's never been and I'd like to see it again (I did the Inca Trail in 1994).
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Jakarta, Indonesia
We're back in Jakarta at the end of our little trip. We've been watching BBC News in the hotel rooms, with all the stuff going on in Mumbai and Bangkok. Fortunately we're not flying through those countries on our way home. (Although I read that the Indian Presdient is currently in Bali and flies to Jakarta on Sunday, but we'll have departed for Hong Kong by then).
The fish market in Jimbaran was very romantic. There's rows of restaurants along the beach, all with candle-lit tables set up on the sand, stretching hundreds of metres. We pointed out the fishies we wanted (in our case, crab and squid), which is then cooked as requested and served on the beach. The food was good, but it's more the ambience that's the draw. We were lucky that it was a rain-free evening, one of the few we've had.
The next day we had a day-trip to Kuta, about a 25 minute taxi ride to the west side of the peninsula. Kuta is the party town which was bombed in 2002. It's much more touristy than Sanur. We walked along the wide beach, and then stopped in at a restaurant for some Bintangs. We were feeling a bit grubby to stay for dinner so headed back to our hotel.
We had a morning flight back to Jakarta which went very smoothly. We were fortunate to see Gunung Bromo on the flight -- we were both napping on the almost two hour flight, and I happened to wake up and look out the window just as we flew over. I took a few pictures. (I don't want to risk another USB card so I'll just upload the rest of my pics when I'm back in Toronto).
We checked into the same hotel in Jakarta that we stayed on at the start of our trip. Last night we ate at a fancy restaurant (Lara Djonggrang) near the hotel. We had made reservations earlier in the afternoon, and when we came for dinner, a cute little "Erick - Mr." sign written on a leaf held our table for us. I didn't have my camera with me so we took the leaf back to take a pic. We ordered something different -- I tried the eel, and Heather soft-shell crab. They were both heavily breaded and not so much to our liking. But the food was really well presented in large sea shells and the restaurant was like an art gallery or museum, with large art pieces all around.
Today we walked to the main square. Jakarta (and most of Java and Bali for that matter) is not really pedestrian-focused. We were the only pedestrians on the sidewalks (where they existed). Dropped into the National Museum. Heather's back was feeling a bit sore so we just took a taxi back (what with the long flights tomorrow).
We bought a large suitcase in Bali to help fit all the souvenirs we've purchased. The bulkiest (and heaviest) is a life-sized stone Buddha head. It's about 20kg. Our two pieces of luggage total 51kg, and we have some large oil-on-canvas paintings rolled up. We were okay on the domestic flight (both with the weight, and taking the paintings as carry-on). I'm not sure we'll be as lucky on the international flights, but we'll see.
See you all soon!
The fish market in Jimbaran was very romantic. There's rows of restaurants along the beach, all with candle-lit tables set up on the sand, stretching hundreds of metres. We pointed out the fishies we wanted (in our case, crab and squid), which is then cooked as requested and served on the beach. The food was good, but it's more the ambience that's the draw. We were lucky that it was a rain-free evening, one of the few we've had.
The next day we had a day-trip to Kuta, about a 25 minute taxi ride to the west side of the peninsula. Kuta is the party town which was bombed in 2002. It's much more touristy than Sanur. We walked along the wide beach, and then stopped in at a restaurant for some Bintangs. We were feeling a bit grubby to stay for dinner so headed back to our hotel.
We had a morning flight back to Jakarta which went very smoothly. We were fortunate to see Gunung Bromo on the flight -- we were both napping on the almost two hour flight, and I happened to wake up and look out the window just as we flew over. I took a few pictures. (I don't want to risk another USB card so I'll just upload the rest of my pics when I'm back in Toronto).
We checked into the same hotel in Jakarta that we stayed on at the start of our trip. Last night we ate at a fancy restaurant (Lara Djonggrang) near the hotel. We had made reservations earlier in the afternoon, and when we came for dinner, a cute little "Erick - Mr." sign written on a leaf held our table for us. I didn't have my camera with me so we took the leaf back to take a pic. We ordered something different -- I tried the eel, and Heather soft-shell crab. They were both heavily breaded and not so much to our liking. But the food was really well presented in large sea shells and the restaurant was like an art gallery or museum, with large art pieces all around.
Today we walked to the main square. Jakarta (and most of Java and Bali for that matter) is not really pedestrian-focused. We were the only pedestrians on the sidewalks (where they existed). Dropped into the National Museum. Heather's back was feeling a bit sore so we just took a taxi back (what with the long flights tomorrow).
We bought a large suitcase in Bali to help fit all the souvenirs we've purchased. The bulkiest (and heaviest) is a life-sized stone Buddha head. It's about 20kg. Our two pieces of luggage total 51kg, and we have some large oil-on-canvas paintings rolled up. We were okay on the domestic flight (both with the weight, and taking the paintings as carry-on). I'm not sure we'll be as lucky on the international flights, but we'll see.
See you all soon!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sanur, Indonesia
We're back in Sanur after a couple nights on the island of Nusa Lembongan.
We stayed at Waka Nusa Resort which was our splurge on this trip. Our room was a round thatch-roofed bungalow, creatively decorated (and a full mosquito net). The grounds were impeccable, with all the beach sports available. (We played a short game of bocce ball (which was interrupted for complimentary tea and cakes - it was almost like cricket), and some pingpong).
The resort was on Mushroom Bay, which is a nice secluded little beach. It's small enough that there's only about eight hotels (each hotel having maybe ten rooms) lined end-to-end over the whole beach, but large enough that it had a couple restaurants (to provide variety from the resort). In busy season we were told that you need to book at least a month in advance! We booked the day before. There's nice views across the water of Bali (nicer in dry season :) ) & Gunung Agung (the tallest peak in Bali), a cool ocean breeze and not so many tourists.
Yesterday I went diving with Lembongan Dive, arranged through the hotel. It was pretty cheap (only $30 / tank!). Heather joined along and went snorkelling while I dived. I dived at a couple sites, SD and Lembongan Point. Both were fast drift dives, which I'm relatively inexperienced at (previously I've only done drift dives when I did my Advanced Open Water). It was pretty cool. My previous dive was three years ago, so it took me my first dive to get my feet wet (pun intended), and on the 2nd dive I was able to look around at the coral and fishies. The water was only 24C so we wore a full wet suit and boots. Didn't see any manta rays or sunfish.
In the afternoon Heather and I walked about 15 minutes from our hotel through the island to Dream Beach. It was like a beach in a movie scene. Most of the time we had the beach to ourselves (technically we were in the restaurant overlooking the beach). It reminded Heather of PEI, except for the colour of the sand. We had lunch and a couple Bintangs, and then walked back to our hotel.
We had dinner at Winda Sari Warung, right beside our hotel. We both had grilled squid, which was really good, and shared a banana crepe with palm syrup and cocoa shavings, the best dessert we've had so far. I've been having grilled squid at every occasion on ocean-side towns, trying to find a place as good as the place in Zanzibar. So far at places here it's been really good to great.
This morning we had plans to wake up at 6am to see the fisherman come in; but at 6am those plans didn't seem like a great idea. So we slept in till 8am. Had breakfast, read a bit, caught the ferry back to Sanur, checked back into Tamukami Hotel. Most likely we'll be staying here until Friday when we fly back to Jakarta, although if we get bored we may spend a night in Kuta. Tonight we're going to eat at the fish market in Jimbaran. There's rows of places serving fresh fish with garlic, lime and chili marinade, grilled over coconut husks. I'm hungry already just thinking about it. It's about 15km from Sanur on the west side of Bali, so if it wasn't rainy season we'd also get a nice sunset. We've arranged for a driver to take us there and back for about $10 -- not sure if that's the going rate but it seemed good to us.
We stayed at Waka Nusa Resort which was our splurge on this trip. Our room was a round thatch-roofed bungalow, creatively decorated (and a full mosquito net). The grounds were impeccable, with all the beach sports available. (We played a short game of bocce ball (which was interrupted for complimentary tea and cakes - it was almost like cricket), and some pingpong).
The resort was on Mushroom Bay, which is a nice secluded little beach. It's small enough that there's only about eight hotels (each hotel having maybe ten rooms) lined end-to-end over the whole beach, but large enough that it had a couple restaurants (to provide variety from the resort). In busy season we were told that you need to book at least a month in advance! We booked the day before. There's nice views across the water of Bali (nicer in dry season :) ) & Gunung Agung (the tallest peak in Bali), a cool ocean breeze and not so many tourists.
Yesterday I went diving with Lembongan Dive, arranged through the hotel. It was pretty cheap (only $30 / tank!). Heather joined along and went snorkelling while I dived. I dived at a couple sites, SD and Lembongan Point. Both were fast drift dives, which I'm relatively inexperienced at (previously I've only done drift dives when I did my Advanced Open Water). It was pretty cool. My previous dive was three years ago, so it took me my first dive to get my feet wet (pun intended), and on the 2nd dive I was able to look around at the coral and fishies. The water was only 24C so we wore a full wet suit and boots. Didn't see any manta rays or sunfish.
In the afternoon Heather and I walked about 15 minutes from our hotel through the island to Dream Beach. It was like a beach in a movie scene. Most of the time we had the beach to ourselves (technically we were in the restaurant overlooking the beach). It reminded Heather of PEI, except for the colour of the sand. We had lunch and a couple Bintangs, and then walked back to our hotel.
We had dinner at Winda Sari Warung, right beside our hotel. We both had grilled squid, which was really good, and shared a banana crepe with palm syrup and cocoa shavings, the best dessert we've had so far. I've been having grilled squid at every occasion on ocean-side towns, trying to find a place as good as the place in Zanzibar. So far at places here it's been really good to great.
This morning we had plans to wake up at 6am to see the fisherman come in; but at 6am those plans didn't seem like a great idea. So we slept in till 8am. Had breakfast, read a bit, caught the ferry back to Sanur, checked back into Tamukami Hotel. Most likely we'll be staying here until Friday when we fly back to Jakarta, although if we get bored we may spend a night in Kuta. Tonight we're going to eat at the fish market in Jimbaran. There's rows of places serving fresh fish with garlic, lime and chili marinade, grilled over coconut husks. I'm hungry already just thinking about it. It's about 15km from Sanur on the west side of Bali, so if it wasn't rainy season we'd also get a nice sunset. We've arranged for a driver to take us there and back for about $10 -- not sure if that's the going rate but it seemed good to us.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Sanur, Indonesia
We're finally in a beach town in Bali, after five days in Ubud.
Yesterday we had a day trip through some of the sites north of Ubud. We hired a driver, and visited Tampaksiring, Penelokan and Sukowati. This is a very common thing to do, and the day was filled with tourist traps, although still worth it.
Tampaksiring contains both Tirta Empul (holy springs) and Gunung Kawi (10 rock-cut shrines). We only wanted to see Gunung Kawi, but our driver first dropped us at Tirta Empul. We spent about 10 minutes wandering around Tirta Empul, asking for Gunung Kawi, before we realized we were in the wrong spot.
Gunung Kawi is quite cool. We descended around 350 steps down from the parking lot to the river valley. The path at one point is cut through solid rock. At the bottom are 10 shrines, about 7m tall, also cut from solid rock. There were no other tourists there when we arrived, which was nice.
Next was Penelokan for a view of Lake Batur, between the two peaks of Gunung Batur and Gunung Agung. It was okay, not any more spectacular than any lake back home.
We skipped Pura Besakih, a very big tourist trap according the Lonely Planet, and instead went shopping around Sukawati.
There are a million shops around Sukawati, all selling rather high-quality crafts from wood and stone, and oil-on-canvas paintings. We bought five paintings, the largest 1m x 2m, plus some other crafts. It was a busy day of bargaining.
We arrived back at the hotel around 5pm and cleaned up, and then headed to our favourite restaurant (Sura's Warung) for dinner. (Oh yah, the duck last night was excellent, very tender and rich).
This morning we shopped for more souvenirs at the local market in Ubud; and then took a private transport to Sanur. We're staying at the Tamukami Hotel, another nice boutique hotel (it's not in the LP -- Heather found on the web). We've been waiting to get back ocean-side for some seafood; and found a place for lunch (Made's Pub) near the hotel that had very good grilled squid (mmm yummy).
Tomorrow we take a sailboat across the Selat Badung to stay for a couple nights on Nusa Lembongan (Nusa means island); the island is supposed to be relatively untouched but maybe by now they'll have internet access. I'm planning to go for a dive, and relax on Mushroom Bay beach with Heather.
I forgot to bring my SDcard-to-USB thingy so I'll upload some more pics next time. Unfortunately I had some more problems trying to eject my SD card the other day in Ubud (stupid Windows again wouldn't let go of it), so now I'm carrying around two corrupted SD cards. I'm hoping there's a place back home that will be able to restore the pics for me.
Yesterday we had a day trip through some of the sites north of Ubud. We hired a driver, and visited Tampaksiring, Penelokan and Sukowati. This is a very common thing to do, and the day was filled with tourist traps, although still worth it.
Tampaksiring contains both Tirta Empul (holy springs) and Gunung Kawi (10 rock-cut shrines). We only wanted to see Gunung Kawi, but our driver first dropped us at Tirta Empul. We spent about 10 minutes wandering around Tirta Empul, asking for Gunung Kawi, before we realized we were in the wrong spot.
Gunung Kawi is quite cool. We descended around 350 steps down from the parking lot to the river valley. The path at one point is cut through solid rock. At the bottom are 10 shrines, about 7m tall, also cut from solid rock. There were no other tourists there when we arrived, which was nice.
Next was Penelokan for a view of Lake Batur, between the two peaks of Gunung Batur and Gunung Agung. It was okay, not any more spectacular than any lake back home.
We skipped Pura Besakih, a very big tourist trap according the Lonely Planet, and instead went shopping around Sukawati.
There are a million shops around Sukawati, all selling rather high-quality crafts from wood and stone, and oil-on-canvas paintings. We bought five paintings, the largest 1m x 2m, plus some other crafts. It was a busy day of bargaining.
We arrived back at the hotel around 5pm and cleaned up, and then headed to our favourite restaurant (Sura's Warung) for dinner. (Oh yah, the duck last night was excellent, very tender and rich).
This morning we shopped for more souvenirs at the local market in Ubud; and then took a private transport to Sanur. We're staying at the Tamukami Hotel, another nice boutique hotel (it's not in the LP -- Heather found on the web). We've been waiting to get back ocean-side for some seafood; and found a place for lunch (Made's Pub) near the hotel that had very good grilled squid (mmm yummy).
Tomorrow we take a sailboat across the Selat Badung to stay for a couple nights on Nusa Lembongan (Nusa means island); the island is supposed to be relatively untouched but maybe by now they'll have internet access. I'm planning to go for a dive, and relax on Mushroom Bay beach with Heather.
I forgot to bring my SDcard-to-USB thingy so I'll upload some more pics next time. Unfortunately I had some more problems trying to eject my SD card the other day in Ubud (stupid Windows again wouldn't let go of it), so now I'm carrying around two corrupted SD cards. I'm hoping there's a place back home that will be able to restore the pics for me.
Sanur, Indonesia
Today we arrived in Sanur from Ubud. We spent the last 5 days or so in Ubud, so we were ready for a change of scenery. Our time in Ubud was very relaxing. I took in a few different treatments at the health spa down the street from our hotel (deep tissue massage, facial, and, just out of curiosity, an assessment with a elder spiritual healer from the community). The latter didn't really offer much insight to me, but the session was very interesting, nonetheless.
Ubud was a very tranquil town - once you managed to get away from the major tourist centre of Monkey Forest Rd, that is. Luckily, we were staying in a hotel off the main drag, so we were quite fortunate not to have to contend with the constant barrage (kind of a cross between Cavendish in the summer in PEI and the Beach in Toronto on the weekend). Our hotel was quite peaceful, and was very much Balinese in architecture and design. The room was basic, but the exterior was quite lovely, especially for breakfast. We found a neat little restaurant up the road (close to my spa), so spent a few days enjoying the food, street traffic, and surroundings that the restaurant had to offer.
Yesterday, Eric and I hired a driver for the day to take us to some of the surrounding areas around Ubud. We saw the highest peak on Bali (Gunung Agung (3142m)) and a couple of Hindu temples along the way. Eric was able to stop at a number of rice fields to take some pics - a few excellent ones, I might add, which I'm sure he'll soon post.
To finish the day, we stopped at a village called Sukowati to shop for artwork. There is a large, bustling bazaar in the centre of the town. We were on the hunt for abstract art, and our visit did not disappoint :) Ubud (and its surrounding environs) has a high concentration of very talented artists (painters, wood carvers, stone carvers, musicians, and so on). We were so impressed with what we were seeing in town that Eric and I decided we wanted to buy a few pieces at the market - if we could find, and, most importantly, agree on something to buy. In the end, we purchased 2 large pieces at the Sukowati market, and a couple of others back in the Ubud local market when we arrived home that evening. All were very reasonably priced, so we were very happy with the day's outcome!
Right now, we're in Sanur, a beachfront town in the south of Bali. We'll spend tonight here, and then we'll take a boat of some sort over to a small island off Bali called Nusa Lembongan for a bit of diving and snorkeling for a couple of days. It's supposedly very tranquil here, so it'll be nice to relax by the ocean.
Our hotel on this island is a bit of a 'splurge' hotel for the trip (comparatively speaking, compared to the relative affordability of the rest of Indonesia), so it'll be nice to be close to the water again for a few days. After this jaunt, we'll return to Sanur for a couple of days, and then fly out to Jakarta.
Now that we're on the coast again, we're really looking forward to indulging in seafood!!! We're been holding off ordering it on the menu when we've been more inland on the trip...but, now that we're on the water, we can enjoy!
Overall, we're having a great time. Bali has been very relaxing, and we're looking forward to checking out more of the island.
Ubud was a very tranquil town - once you managed to get away from the major tourist centre of Monkey Forest Rd, that is. Luckily, we were staying in a hotel off the main drag, so we were quite fortunate not to have to contend with the constant barrage (kind of a cross between Cavendish in the summer in PEI and the Beach in Toronto on the weekend). Our hotel was quite peaceful, and was very much Balinese in architecture and design. The room was basic, but the exterior was quite lovely, especially for breakfast. We found a neat little restaurant up the road (close to my spa), so spent a few days enjoying the food, street traffic, and surroundings that the restaurant had to offer.
Yesterday, Eric and I hired a driver for the day to take us to some of the surrounding areas around Ubud. We saw the highest peak on Bali (Gunung Agung (3142m)) and a couple of Hindu temples along the way. Eric was able to stop at a number of rice fields to take some pics - a few excellent ones, I might add, which I'm sure he'll soon post.
To finish the day, we stopped at a village called Sukowati to shop for artwork. There is a large, bustling bazaar in the centre of the town. We were on the hunt for abstract art, and our visit did not disappoint :) Ubud (and its surrounding environs) has a high concentration of very talented artists (painters, wood carvers, stone carvers, musicians, and so on). We were so impressed with what we were seeing in town that Eric and I decided we wanted to buy a few pieces at the market - if we could find, and, most importantly, agree on something to buy. In the end, we purchased 2 large pieces at the Sukowati market, and a couple of others back in the Ubud local market when we arrived home that evening. All were very reasonably priced, so we were very happy with the day's outcome!
Right now, we're in Sanur, a beachfront town in the south of Bali. We'll spend tonight here, and then we'll take a boat of some sort over to a small island off Bali called Nusa Lembongan for a bit of diving and snorkeling for a couple of days. It's supposedly very tranquil here, so it'll be nice to relax by the ocean.
Our hotel on this island is a bit of a 'splurge' hotel for the trip (comparatively speaking, compared to the relative affordability of the rest of Indonesia), so it'll be nice to be close to the water again for a few days. After this jaunt, we'll return to Sanur for a couple of days, and then fly out to Jakarta.
Now that we're on the coast again, we're really looking forward to indulging in seafood!!! We're been holding off ordering it on the menu when we've been more inland on the trip...but, now that we're on the water, we can enjoy!
Overall, we're having a great time. Bali has been very relaxing, and we're looking forward to checking out more of the island.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Ubud, Indonesia
We've spent the past few days relaxing in Ubud. Despite all the tourists, the town has maintained its authenticity once you get off the main streets. There's a very nice spa at the end of our street at which we've had almost daily appointments. When you get a massage, there's sounds of a bumbling stream, gentle raindrops in leaves, birds chirping... Except it's not a CD playing -- these are real sounds you hear in the massage rooms which are open on one side to the natural surroundings.
Yesterday we went for a walk along a ridge between two rivers, with views of rice terraces cut into the hillsides. Back in town, we had lunch in a small little cafe on our street. It started raining after we ate, so we decided to have a beer and wait out the rain. Fortunately it's rainy season and the rain continued for a few hours. "A beer" turned into many. There was a break in the rain later in the afternoon, which gave us enough time to get to another little cafe and have a beer. Later we had dinner at Cafe Lotus, a restaurant on the grounds of Pura Taman Saraswati, one of the major temples in Ubud.
This morning I took a Balinese cooking class at Casa Luna. It was more of a cooking show; but still worth the time. Unlike cooking classes I've taken in other countries, the instructor did most of the cooking while we watched. I did get to grind spices into a paste, and chop up some eggplant, but that was it. I also got a nice souvenir apron, and a recipe book. The recipe book gives good descriptions of the ingredients used in Balinese cooking, as well as suggesting alternatives.
Tonight we're having bebek betutu. It's a balinese specialty of duck stuffed with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and coconut husks and cooked in embers all day. You have to order 24 hours in advance -- yesterday's lunch was really tasty so we booked it at that same restaurant.
Tomorrow we've arranged for a driver to take us to some of the sights in northern and eastern Ubud. The last stop is the craft market at Sukawati, where we'll load up on souvenirs.
Yesterday we went for a walk along a ridge between two rivers, with views of rice terraces cut into the hillsides. Back in town, we had lunch in a small little cafe on our street. It started raining after we ate, so we decided to have a beer and wait out the rain. Fortunately it's rainy season and the rain continued for a few hours. "A beer" turned into many. There was a break in the rain later in the afternoon, which gave us enough time to get to another little cafe and have a beer. Later we had dinner at Cafe Lotus, a restaurant on the grounds of Pura Taman Saraswati, one of the major temples in Ubud.
This morning I took a Balinese cooking class at Casa Luna. It was more of a cooking show; but still worth the time. Unlike cooking classes I've taken in other countries, the instructor did most of the cooking while we watched. I did get to grind spices into a paste, and chop up some eggplant, but that was it. I also got a nice souvenir apron, and a recipe book. The recipe book gives good descriptions of the ingredients used in Balinese cooking, as well as suggesting alternatives.
Tonight we're having bebek betutu. It's a balinese specialty of duck stuffed with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and coconut husks and cooked in embers all day. You have to order 24 hours in advance -- yesterday's lunch was really tasty so we booked it at that same restaurant.
Tomorrow we've arranged for a driver to take us to some of the sights in northern and eastern Ubud. The last stop is the craft market at Sukawati, where we'll load up on souvenirs.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Ubud, Indonesia
We're now in Bali, after seeing some beautiful natural wonders in east Java.
We ended up keeping our driver for three days, seeing Gunung Bromo, staying on a coffee plantation, doing the Kawah Ijen hike, and finally getting dropped off in Ubud, Bali. There were quite a few other couples who we bumped into along the trip that were doing similar itineraries, also with a hired car and driver.
First was a long eleven hour drive from Yogyakarta to Cemoro Lawang, a town on the edge of the ancient Tengger caldera. Inside the 10km crater are three volcanoes, including Gunung Bromo (2392m).
We woke up at 3:15am to get to a viewpoint well above Tengger. We arrived just before the break of dawn, and found maybe 300 other tourists (half Indonesian, half foreigners) also at the viewpoint. It was a cloudy morning, and we waited for an hour to see if the clouds would break. We jostled with the other tourists for photo ops. There were occasional great views of Gunung Semeru (3676m) in the background, which spewed up dark clouds of smoke every few minutes. We did manage to get a big picture view through the clouds, but nothing picture-worthy.
Next we drove down a very steep (45*) "road" to the foot of Bromo. The enterprising locals have set up a fence about 500m from the base; and offer horse rides across the short distance. We chose to walk :)
Due to the altitude, it was a tiring climb up 253 stairs to get to the rim of Bromo. The smell of sulphur didn't help. About half way up, we sat down on some rocks to rest. We were soon surrounded by teenage kids wanting to take my picture. I felt I had to uphold the reputation of my doppelganger, the Bollywood star, so posed for a few pics, signed an autograph etc. We resumed our climb after a few minutes. Once at the top, there were great views into the crater, with smoke billowing out. Very smelly, though.
Back at the hotel we had breakfast (it was only 7:30am!) and then settled in for the drive to the Ijen Plateau. About six hours later we arrived at Catimore Homestay on the Balawan coffee plantation. It was a great setting, in a big old Dutch house. We relaxed, had some tea by the garden, and read a bit. Later in the evening we had dinner and a couple beers, and then went to bed around 9pm.
We were up early yet again to visit the coffee factory at 6am. There was a noisy room where dozens of women graded the coffee beans, tossing them into the air with large trays. We also saw a large heated warehouse where the beans are dried. It was pretty cool. I had no idea what a coffee plant even looked like before this trip.
I had to have coffee with breakfast on the plantation (I'm more of a tea drinker). It was excellent. If there was coffee like this in Toronto, I may even become a coffee drinker.
It was a short 30-minute drive from the plantation to Kawah Ijen, which is a beautiful turquoise lake. Sulphur is collected inside the crater by workers who carry 80kg loads along a difficult trek. It was tiring for us and we weren't carrying anything. The path is 3km up the crater, pretty steep for parts; and the smell of sulphur was overpowering towards the crater rim. We stepped aside every few minutes to allow the sulphur collectors to pass going downhill with their loads. Along the path were loads of sulphur waiting to be carried; the yellow sulphur made a nice subject for pics.
We finally reached the lookout point on the rim of the crater. The smoke from the crater obscured views of the turquoise lake and so we waited, breathing through our clothing, hoping for the wind to shift the smoke and give us a view. After about 20 minutes, we were rewarded with a partial view. We started trekking back, and just before we left the rim, the smoke cleared completely! Another 10 seconds and we would been downhill and missed the view. It was gorgeous and well worth the journey. It's off the beaten path, and the lack of tourists was nice compared to Bromo.
We trekked back to our vehicle, and were off to Bali. It was a short one hour drive to the ferry, about an hour across to Bali, and then a four hour drive to Ubud, in the middle of Bali. We said goodbye to Eko (sp?), who had been our excellent driver and guide over the last four days, and checked into the Pradha Guesthouse.
The Pradha Guesthouse is in a beautiful Balinese setting. There grounds are enormous, with intricate carved pillars and roofs, ponds, lots of seating, and a view into the Pura Desa Ubud temple next door. Last night we were pretty tired from the past couple days of travel; and we also had a bit of culture shock with so many tourists (it's like in the movie The Beach when they come back to the partying on the mainland). However, our guesthouse is a bit off the main drag, and there's many walks through rice paddy fields that start from our front door. We'll be relaxing here in Ubud for the next few days, doing walks, maybe hiring a driver for a day trip to surrounding sights, buying souvenirs, (and getting back to a civilized sleep schedule!)
We ended up keeping our driver for three days, seeing Gunung Bromo, staying on a coffee plantation, doing the Kawah Ijen hike, and finally getting dropped off in Ubud, Bali. There were quite a few other couples who we bumped into along the trip that were doing similar itineraries, also with a hired car and driver.
First was a long eleven hour drive from Yogyakarta to Cemoro Lawang, a town on the edge of the ancient Tengger caldera. Inside the 10km crater are three volcanoes, including Gunung Bromo (2392m).
We woke up at 3:15am to get to a viewpoint well above Tengger. We arrived just before the break of dawn, and found maybe 300 other tourists (half Indonesian, half foreigners) also at the viewpoint. It was a cloudy morning, and we waited for an hour to see if the clouds would break. We jostled with the other tourists for photo ops. There were occasional great views of Gunung Semeru (3676m) in the background, which spewed up dark clouds of smoke every few minutes. We did manage to get a big picture view through the clouds, but nothing picture-worthy.
Next we drove down a very steep (45*) "road" to the foot of Bromo. The enterprising locals have set up a fence about 500m from the base; and offer horse rides across the short distance. We chose to walk :)
Due to the altitude, it was a tiring climb up 253 stairs to get to the rim of Bromo. The smell of sulphur didn't help. About half way up, we sat down on some rocks to rest. We were soon surrounded by teenage kids wanting to take my picture. I felt I had to uphold the reputation of my doppelganger, the Bollywood star, so posed for a few pics, signed an autograph etc. We resumed our climb after a few minutes. Once at the top, there were great views into the crater, with smoke billowing out. Very smelly, though.
Back at the hotel we had breakfast (it was only 7:30am!) and then settled in for the drive to the Ijen Plateau. About six hours later we arrived at Catimore Homestay on the Balawan coffee plantation. It was a great setting, in a big old Dutch house. We relaxed, had some tea by the garden, and read a bit. Later in the evening we had dinner and a couple beers, and then went to bed around 9pm.
We were up early yet again to visit the coffee factory at 6am. There was a noisy room where dozens of women graded the coffee beans, tossing them into the air with large trays. We also saw a large heated warehouse where the beans are dried. It was pretty cool. I had no idea what a coffee plant even looked like before this trip.
I had to have coffee with breakfast on the plantation (I'm more of a tea drinker). It was excellent. If there was coffee like this in Toronto, I may even become a coffee drinker.
It was a short 30-minute drive from the plantation to Kawah Ijen, which is a beautiful turquoise lake. Sulphur is collected inside the crater by workers who carry 80kg loads along a difficult trek. It was tiring for us and we weren't carrying anything. The path is 3km up the crater, pretty steep for parts; and the smell of sulphur was overpowering towards the crater rim. We stepped aside every few minutes to allow the sulphur collectors to pass going downhill with their loads. Along the path were loads of sulphur waiting to be carried; the yellow sulphur made a nice subject for pics.
We finally reached the lookout point on the rim of the crater. The smoke from the crater obscured views of the turquoise lake and so we waited, breathing through our clothing, hoping for the wind to shift the smoke and give us a view. After about 20 minutes, we were rewarded with a partial view. We started trekking back, and just before we left the rim, the smoke cleared completely! Another 10 seconds and we would been downhill and missed the view. It was gorgeous and well worth the journey. It's off the beaten path, and the lack of tourists was nice compared to Bromo.
We trekked back to our vehicle, and were off to Bali. It was a short one hour drive to the ferry, about an hour across to Bali, and then a four hour drive to Ubud, in the middle of Bali. We said goodbye to Eko (sp?), who had been our excellent driver and guide over the last four days, and checked into the Pradha Guesthouse.
The Pradha Guesthouse is in a beautiful Balinese setting. There grounds are enormous, with intricate carved pillars and roofs, ponds, lots of seating, and a view into the Pura Desa Ubud temple next door. Last night we were pretty tired from the past couple days of travel; and we also had a bit of culture shock with so many tourists (it's like in the movie The Beach when they come back to the partying on the mainland). However, our guesthouse is a bit off the main drag, and there's many walks through rice paddy fields that start from our front door. We'll be relaxing here in Ubud for the next few days, doing walks, maybe hiring a driver for a day trip to surrounding sights, buying souvenirs, (and getting back to a civilized sleep schedule!)
Ubud, Indonesia
After a few exhausting days, we finally arrived on the island of Bali late yesterday afternoon (with a 1-hr time change from Java - so, now it's a 13-hr time difference for us...not that it really makes much of a difference at this point :))
(Eric and I are both typing our posts at the same time, so there may be a slight bit of overlap).
Over the past few days, we've been in a very mountainous region of Java province (north/central). We hired the same driver (Eko) to take us to the last few spots: Mount Bromo, to see a couple of active volcanoes in the region; and, Kawah Ijen (Ijen Crater), to see a turquoise lake located inside a volcano. The latter was situated in a heavily forested area, so the roads were VERY rugged. Luckily, it wasn't raining, so we were able to drive up the mountain.
I really liked Bromo and Ijen. At Bromo, we woke up around 3.30am to get to a wonderful look-out point to catch a view of 3 rather large volcanoes. They are still active, so when the clouds cleared, and the sun rose, we were actually able to see the smoke and ash billowing out (no lava, though). From here, we drove to Mount Bromo (one of the mountains) to hike to the rim of the volcano. This was an interesting climb. Unfortunately, there were quite a few tourists here and at the lookout, but that was okay. We are traveling in the "low season" in Indonesia (and at the beginning of rainy season), so I can't imagine what "high season" numbers must be like!! Java is the most heavily populated island of Indonesia, with over 120 million people alone.
After Mount Bromo and region, we traveled to the Ijen Plateau area of Java (central/east). This was about a 6-hr drive from Bromo. Ijen is full of coffee plantations, and the hotel we stayed actually bordered on one. We had the chance to tour the plantation yesterday morning, which was very cool. So, needless to say, the coffee for our breakfast that morning was awesome! The accomodations were a bit rough (I kind of felt like we were sleeping outdoors with the animals and insects rather than indoors!), but it was worth it given the scenery and proximity to the Ijen Crater and Bromo. Next time, we're packing a mosquito net (we're in a part of Indonesia where malaria isn't a real threat, so we didn't bring one with us).
Once we left our hotel, we headed for the Kawah Ijen. It was about a 1.5 hr trek up the mountain (probably about 5-6 kms in total). It was incredible! Luckily, the clouds broke a few times at the peak (around the crater rim) so we could view the surreal turquoise lake and sulfur mine. The fumes from the sulfur pit were, at times, overwhelming, tho. At this altitude, breathing was a bit difficult with the fumes. Eric will likely post some pics of the sulfur and the miners. It was well worth the journey!
After Ijen, we headed for Bali. We'll likely spend the next few days in the town of Ubud (according to the Lonely Planet, it's the cultural apex of Bali). The rice fields surrounding the town look amazing! Our hotel is close to the centre of town, so it's convenient for doing walking tours around the town. The hotel is very Balinese in architecture and in furnishings. It'll be relaxing to hang out here for a few days. So far, our trip has been quite active, so both Eric and I feel that we haven't had a chance to get caught up on our rest or relaxation yet (as a lot of mornings have been 3am or 4am starts). Today, we'll likely do a bit of reading by the pool, maybe walk down to a local market and buy some fruit, and rest my back...it's a little tired after all the mountain hiking!
(Eric and I are both typing our posts at the same time, so there may be a slight bit of overlap).
Over the past few days, we've been in a very mountainous region of Java province (north/central). We hired the same driver (Eko) to take us to the last few spots: Mount Bromo, to see a couple of active volcanoes in the region; and, Kawah Ijen (Ijen Crater), to see a turquoise lake located inside a volcano. The latter was situated in a heavily forested area, so the roads were VERY rugged. Luckily, it wasn't raining, so we were able to drive up the mountain.
I really liked Bromo and Ijen. At Bromo, we woke up around 3.30am to get to a wonderful look-out point to catch a view of 3 rather large volcanoes. They are still active, so when the clouds cleared, and the sun rose, we were actually able to see the smoke and ash billowing out (no lava, though). From here, we drove to Mount Bromo (one of the mountains) to hike to the rim of the volcano. This was an interesting climb. Unfortunately, there were quite a few tourists here and at the lookout, but that was okay. We are traveling in the "low season" in Indonesia (and at the beginning of rainy season), so I can't imagine what "high season" numbers must be like!! Java is the most heavily populated island of Indonesia, with over 120 million people alone.
After Mount Bromo and region, we traveled to the Ijen Plateau area of Java (central/east). This was about a 6-hr drive from Bromo. Ijen is full of coffee plantations, and the hotel we stayed actually bordered on one. We had the chance to tour the plantation yesterday morning, which was very cool. So, needless to say, the coffee for our breakfast that morning was awesome! The accomodations were a bit rough (I kind of felt like we were sleeping outdoors with the animals and insects rather than indoors!), but it was worth it given the scenery and proximity to the Ijen Crater and Bromo. Next time, we're packing a mosquito net (we're in a part of Indonesia where malaria isn't a real threat, so we didn't bring one with us).
Once we left our hotel, we headed for the Kawah Ijen. It was about a 1.5 hr trek up the mountain (probably about 5-6 kms in total). It was incredible! Luckily, the clouds broke a few times at the peak (around the crater rim) so we could view the surreal turquoise lake and sulfur mine. The fumes from the sulfur pit were, at times, overwhelming, tho. At this altitude, breathing was a bit difficult with the fumes. Eric will likely post some pics of the sulfur and the miners. It was well worth the journey!
After Ijen, we headed for Bali. We'll likely spend the next few days in the town of Ubud (according to the Lonely Planet, it's the cultural apex of Bali). The rice fields surrounding the town look amazing! Our hotel is close to the centre of town, so it's convenient for doing walking tours around the town. The hotel is very Balinese in architecture and in furnishings. It'll be relaxing to hang out here for a few days. So far, our trip has been quite active, so both Eric and I feel that we haven't had a chance to get caught up on our rest or relaxation yet (as a lot of mornings have been 3am or 4am starts). Today, we'll likely do a bit of reading by the pool, maybe walk down to a local market and buy some fruit, and rest my back...it's a little tired after all the mountain hiking!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Today we saw the Hindu temples around the Prambanan plain. We had hired a private car and driver for the day to get to all the ruins, and it was well worth the $22.
We were up at 5am, our internal clocks still a bit messed up. Breakfast at the Ministry of Coffee didn't start until 8am, but we couldn't fall back asleep so just stayed up. Breakfast was great, the best on the trip so far (although still short of breakfasts we had in Morocco). Our driver arrived at 9am and we started our day.
First we stopped at Candi Sambisari (Candi translates as temple), about 10km outside of town. This is a ruin 6m below ground level that was discovered by a farmer. It now sits fully uncovered, surrounded by farms in the village. We didn't even see until we were right upon it. I went to take a pic and realized that my memory card was corrupted, most likely when I uploaded pics yesterday (stupid Windows). So we were now on a SD card hunt as well as ruins.
Next we saw Candi Kalasan and Candi Sari. These are also in the middle of farms and villages, which continue on with life as if nothing's extraordinary about a temple sitting next to your house. There were no other tourists at any of these ruins.
Before getting to the Prambanan complex we headed to a market and found a camera store, and picked up a 1GB card for $12. Yippee!
Just east of the main complex is the Plaosan group of temples. This was our favourite site, (maybe even better than Borobudur). Again, it's set surrounded by farmer's fields. Most of the site is an archaeological work in progress, with big mounds of rocks waiting to be arranged into temples and shrines and stupas. Two of the main temples are restored; the rest just a jumble. It was quite beautiful and peaceful.
Finally we headed to the Prambanan complex. Most of the temples (the highest reaching 47m) were damaged by the earthquake in 2006; and so access is very restricted. However they're still amazing to see.
We had a quick stop at Kraton Ratu Boko, primarily to see Prambanan from a lookout spot in the hills surrounding the plain. You need a pretty good zoom to get a decent pic -- my five-year-old camera with a 3x zoom just didn't cut it. Boko also has some basic ruins to see, which we glanced at.
...
A couple days ago while I was about town, I was stopped by a few groups of girls so they could take their picture with me. Heather and I figure I must look like some Bollywood star or the other.
...
We're now finished with ruins for the trip. Next up are a couple of natural wonders: Gunung Bromo volcano and Kawah Ijen (a turquoise sulphur lake). We've booked the same driver to take us for the next two days. The driver was great, and the car has good lower lumbar support (it's a couple of long days in the car for Heather's back). After that we're off to Bali for the remainder of the trip.
We were up at 5am, our internal clocks still a bit messed up. Breakfast at the Ministry of Coffee didn't start until 8am, but we couldn't fall back asleep so just stayed up. Breakfast was great, the best on the trip so far (although still short of breakfasts we had in Morocco). Our driver arrived at 9am and we started our day.
First we stopped at Candi Sambisari (Candi translates as temple), about 10km outside of town. This is a ruin 6m below ground level that was discovered by a farmer. It now sits fully uncovered, surrounded by farms in the village. We didn't even see until we were right upon it. I went to take a pic and realized that my memory card was corrupted, most likely when I uploaded pics yesterday (stupid Windows). So we were now on a SD card hunt as well as ruins.
Next we saw Candi Kalasan and Candi Sari. These are also in the middle of farms and villages, which continue on with life as if nothing's extraordinary about a temple sitting next to your house. There were no other tourists at any of these ruins.
Before getting to the Prambanan complex we headed to a market and found a camera store, and picked up a 1GB card for $12. Yippee!
Just east of the main complex is the Plaosan group of temples. This was our favourite site, (maybe even better than Borobudur). Again, it's set surrounded by farmer's fields. Most of the site is an archaeological work in progress, with big mounds of rocks waiting to be arranged into temples and shrines and stupas. Two of the main temples are restored; the rest just a jumble. It was quite beautiful and peaceful.
Finally we headed to the Prambanan complex. Most of the temples (the highest reaching 47m) were damaged by the earthquake in 2006; and so access is very restricted. However they're still amazing to see.
We had a quick stop at Kraton Ratu Boko, primarily to see Prambanan from a lookout spot in the hills surrounding the plain. You need a pretty good zoom to get a decent pic -- my five-year-old camera with a 3x zoom just didn't cut it. Boko also has some basic ruins to see, which we glanced at.
...
A couple days ago while I was about town, I was stopped by a few groups of girls so they could take their picture with me. Heather and I figure I must look like some Bollywood star or the other.
...
We're now finished with ruins for the trip. Next up are a couple of natural wonders: Gunung Bromo volcano and Kawah Ijen (a turquoise sulphur lake). We've booked the same driver to take us for the next two days. The driver was great, and the car has good lower lumbar support (it's a couple of long days in the car for Heather's back). After that we're off to Bali for the remainder of the trip.
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