December 2009
60 posts
Borobudur
The final touristy place I went to in Indonesia was Borobudur, Yogyakarta.
I’m incredibly proud that the final touristy thing I did is something that’s actually on the World Heritage list. Win on my part!
Borobudur is a 19th Century Mahayana Buddhist monument. It’s located in Central Java, close to Yogyakarta in a place called Magelang.
The monument is HUGE.
It’s a temple compromised of size...
Kampung life.
On our second day in Yogyakarta, we planned to take a trip up the mountains to visit Pur’s family.
“It’s a two and a bit hour trip,” Dad assured me. “Not long at all.”
FOUR HOURS LATER we arrived.
Just. Pur’s son drove like a madman. So much like a madman that we had to stop for ten minutes along the way because WE HAD HIT A MOTORIST!
Cringe.
I eventually found out that Pur’s son had only...
Rawhide!!! Yah!
After eating, we went back to the hotel where I slept for a good solid 5 hours.
Once awake, I stumbled down to reception to meet Dad and Pur so we could go and hunt down some food.
The night was simply spent wandering and shopping. We found cheap places with fantastic clothes and jewellery and cloth… The shopping in Jogja is pretty spectacular and I did very well out of it.
As is so often found...
Chopped Liver
Sometimes I wonder whether my bravery with food is actually stupidity.
For lunch that day in Jogja… or I guess breakfast, given that it was about 10am… we had traditional Yogyakarta food – Nasi Gudeg.
The rice I recognised.
The egg I recognised.
There was something on my plate that looked like beef.
All of those I ate happily.
However, I also chowed down on what looked like chopped liver....
The Kraton
That is, until we realised that the palace didn’t open until 10am.
It was 9:20 by the time we got there… and that included the reverse-park of the century. Pur’s son was guided into the parking spot about fifty times until we got it right.
Thus began my suspicions about his inability to drive… but more on that later.
We began walking towards the palace, passing by the beggars and street...
Babes on a Train.
Just so you all know: I think I’m actually cursed.
The curse of the crying baby.
It’s like they KNOW that I’m going to be travel and they send secret semaphore signals to their mothers “get me close to that lady, mommy, I must burst her ear-drums with my wailing!”
I shudder.
The horror settled in on me when I saw the little one park down in the seat in front of me. Likewise when, on the train...
Things you do at home...
Here’s a couple more I can add to my list:
Be chummy with cafe staff. (Did this in Gloria Jeans in Bali while killing time before my plane - happy Luce?)
Get my hair coloured. (I’m officially that reddy colour now!)
Watch Oprah. (Which I’m doing right now :) WIN)
Go see a Christmas show (If you can call Dad’s panto that…)
WatchDad in the pantomime
“I’ve only been drunk 3 days this week!”
– Trevor… on THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
Pantomime!
Throughout this week Dad has been teaching at BINUS University in the city as a substitute.
It’s the last week of semester there, and to celebrate they’ve been having ‘ENGLISH WEEK!’ - A fun-filled activity-ridden fair of sorts for students and teachers alike.
The culmination of this week came in the form of a Christmas-but-not-remotely-involving-Christmas pantomime, in...
Only a SMALL hissy-fit...
So, this morning I threw my first hissy fit in Jakarta (how’s THAT for ‘things you do at home..’?).
It wasn’t a giant one, but I was so cranky and snappy that Dad caved and let us get a taxi to the city instead of a copet-laden angkut… I was that lovely shade of biatch that I turn sometimes when I get frustrated.
I was about ready to cross my arms and stomp my...
WatchThe people who filmed this (Pur’s son and wife) SWEAR it’s real.
This is how gross my work is...
Remember how they found a dead cat inside the walls of a classroom?
I think this beats that story.
The staff couldn’t figure out where the smell was coming from. Eventually, Paul (Head Teacher) went searching for the source.
Boy, did he find it…
Turns out that a cage trap they’d lay down for the rats was working. Inside were several live rats… and one deceased rat.
A...
...Accomplishment of the Week!
As always, the class is late. Its 5:15 (I start at 5:00) and my only student is Ambara. He’s diligent and polite, shows a genuine acknowledgement of my being a person (not just a teacher), and is just a dream to teach.
After exchanging pleasantries, he walks up to my desk.
“Miss Abby?”
“Yes……..?” Usually they wait until the other students are here...
Bad Santa
While I was sinking into dreams of singapore slings and sunsets, Dad was doing his bit for the festive season.
Ladies and Gents, I present to you…
SCARY SANTA!
Poor Lil Puddy Tat
I really hope that, when I get home, I still look at my cat the way I used to… So many of these rotten feral cats scrounging around by my feet for scraps have turned my affection for them into …distaste?
Basically, they are just rats to me… only, in cuter outfits.
If I treat my cat like he were a rodent he would be MOST displeased with me…
Here we go a'shamble-ing..
So, after my week off teaching, I’m back in the office…. Hoo. Ray.
It is a complete shambles.
Nobody knows what happened with my classes last week…
Nobody knows where my class folders have gone.
Nobody knows which students showed up for the class…
Nobody knows which teacher led the class…
Nobody knows ANYTHING.
I’m mildly infuriated at the incompetency...
“Dad: Well, he certainly fancied you.
Me: Who doesn’t?”
– This morning
Just got my hair coloured - I figure, why leave it til I’m home and have to spend $60 on it when I can get it cheep cheep here?
Exactly.
So I now have a mane of what looks like slightly brown red, as opposed to the slightly red brown i’ve been rockin prior to this..
It works.
Taman Mini
Today I went to another touristy landmark here in Jakarta - I took Friday and Saturday to just sleep and watch Alias (with Indonesian subtitles so at least i’m mildly cultural) - Taman Mini Indonesia Indah…
Known locally as just ‘Taman Mini,’ it’s a ‘culture-based recreational area.’ It completely reminded me of Disney World. Maybe the epcot centre…...
Watch
Wanted: Dead or Alive
As if I hadn’t had enough annoyance ON the plane, things became complicated one Pur picked me up at arrivals.
We set out onto the pavement, watching the cabs offload and drive off. At least I wouldn’t have to walk too far to a taxi, I thought.
Oh, lord, if only it’d been that simple.
We hailed a taxi, who was a little jittery and strange (insisting on not using the trunk of the car, but putting...
Babes on a plane - more terrifying than snake
My last day in Bali was not one of any stories. As Wayan and I’d dropped SJ off at the airport the night before, all I had planned for the day was to get my hide to the airport by 4pm (flight at 5:40pm).
I was a lazy lizard. I took about an hour at breakfast, slowly munching through my omelette and fresh fruit. I think I had about four coffee refills.
After that, there was showering and packing…...
Meet the Geckos
On the night before SJ flew the coop, we travelled to Nusa Dua for dinner.
Nusa Dua is famous for being a huge enclave of international 5-star resorts and hotels. It’s in south-eastern Bali (about half an hour from Kuta, about 40km away from Denpasar – the capital of Bali). Nusa Dua translates to ‘Second Island’… which is nice.
Based on this info, and the fact that Dad called it ‘dead posh,’ we...
SJ, Abby & Julia
On Tuesday morning, SJ and I decided we’d go to the cultural centre of Bali – Ubud.
Ubud is in the middle of the island of Bali – It took us well over an hour to get there by car. It’s generally known as a centre for fine arts, dance and music, and is a major hotspot for literati, celebrities, art collectors and connoisseurs.
Five star hotels and mansions have been built around the town’s...
My Pet Masseuse
You don’t know HOW good it is to get a pedicure after walking around in a hot and sweaty country for hours. Or perhaps you do.
Regardless, after our Jimbaran Bay romantic evening now, I experienced the wonder of The Mani-Pedi. Win.
Wayan was driving us home along the main street when SJ nudged me.
“What about that place?” she asked, nodding her head in the direction of the fancy spa we’d slowed...
Unchained romanticly
On the Monday night, after Dad left, SJ and I went on the most romantic date known to man.
Inspired by an advertisement outside Gloria Jeans (hah!), we decided to go to Jimbaran Bay.
We had NO idea what it was like other than the sign said the food was good. I guess that’s all we needed!
So we walked outside of our hotel, dressed up and ready to see the island, when two taxi drivers stopped...
BFA (Bali Fried Abby)
We spent hours by that pool.
And it was suuuuch a beautiful pool – the water was at that temperature where it wasn’t a shock to the system when you dipped in, but it was cool enough to sooth your sizzling skin.
Shame about all the Australians that spent their time there.
I know that sounds snobby but ooooh lord, they were AWFUL.
Naturally, like at any middle school mixed social, the boys were...
Ugh.. As IF!
So, my telling of the Bali stories isn’t going to be chronological. If it were, it’d last about 20 000 words and I know how much you guys hate that (damn Gen Y attention span…).
I’ll begin with an observation on the people of Bali. When I say ‘the people of Bali’ I don’t mean everyone, just so we’re clear, I mean the people of Bali who were unrelentingly in my face for the past week.
This...
Drink of choice? Blood.
As Dad was with us, we went to a lot of bars.
And if we went into them, they HAD to have live music.
I heard far too many Bon Jovi covers this week.
But a white (predominantly, aside from Pur and Dad’s tan) family is always cause for spectacle, even in a touristy hot-spot.
After a particularly boppy song that my Dad danced along to (in his chair, thank god), the lead singer cried out,
“Hey...
"If you have to plan anything.. Plan to be...
The touristy side of Bali was left relatively untouched.
When planning for our trip, Dad took me aside and asked me which day I think we should all go to the monkey park, the temples, the reptile park and so and on and so forth.
My immediate response was, ‘SJ won’t want to. Don’t plan anything.’
Aghast at his off-springs reluctance to see the wildlife and history of our holiday destination...
The more I travel...
mootpointer:
The more I realise: I was not built to do this alone.
amen, brother.
I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!
That’s right folks, I’m back in Jakarta - and already sweating.
I have the weekend to catch up on normality, and to blog. So be expecting lots of updates on what exactly I’ve been up to the past week!
Right on.
Kuta Facts
Technically, Kuta isn’t a town or city - it’s a district (Kecamatan) and a subdistrict (Kelurahan) in the south of Bali.
It used to be a fishing village and was one of the first towns in Bali to get proper tourist development. It’s pretty much the main tourist destination in Indonesia, on account of its lovely climate and it’s beaches/Beach Culture.
It’s famous...
Kuta beach sounds like something from MarioLand
Ta daaa!!! I’m here in Bali!
I feel compelled to tell you just one thing:
Right now, I’m wearing a short sleeveless dress!
YAY!
I am in Kuta Beach, Bali, where the main religion is Hindu (as opposed to Islam), and they don’t mind if you show a little skin).
This is an especially glorious thing as it is stinkin’ hot here. And I mean stinkin’ - sometimes the...
What's wrong with the world today??
I just read an article about a 20 year old woman who killed her 18 year old sister after fighting over - get this - A HAIR STRAIGHTENER…
REALLY!?
Apparently, this Sydney woman stabbed her sister in the neck after the row.
Stabbed. In the NECK.
Eyeeeew…
SJ? … I’m sorry I stole your clothes/shoes/bags/jewellery… Please don’t stab me?
...