Yogyakarta During Merapi's Eruption

So, yes I am very crazy as you all know very well!!!!! I guess many Indonesians also figured this out as I was still planning to visit Yogya even with Merapi erupting....I was recommended not to go, but I figured if the flight still went, so would I!!!!!! It was a very good decision as it was truely an amazing weekend with many adventures!!!!!

A new friend from Spain went with me....Ana....So we arrived Friday night and went to our hotel in Prambanan....great we were there....everywhere there in the area was closed for dinner and even drinks, but yes our room had a mini fridge!!!!! Yay....we drank all the Bintang (beer), chatted a lot and had a good time.....we slept till 10 the next morning and woke up soooo refreshed....we got dressed (in a very slow pace) and headed out for the day....1st stop lunch and shopping in Yogya.....we were warned that the ash showers had hit Yogya, so we asked to borrow some umbrellas from the hotel to make sure we did not get covered....so we head to Yogya and as we go further and further, more ash was on the ground.....you could see it blowing in the wind....people were selling masks on the side of the road so we bought a couple from the taxi on the way. We finally made it to our location, had some lunch and began our shopping adventure....I should mention that Yogya has many artistic items to buy (BATIK!!!!).....we start walking and find many cool things to buy (some Christmas shopping also...hehehehe). At one of the shops we went to, they recommended us a place to go to see Batik being made. Oh my....I was in trouble......

We start walking down this street and a man starts walking with us...super nice...just wanting to chat....he finally asked us where we were going and he knew and said he would show us exactly where....it was very funny chatting with this man, but very cool also....people are soooo nice in Yogya!!!! Finally we arrive at the Yogya Artist Center and go in....we were soooo in trouble!!!!! The batik was amazing!!!!!! Soooo beautiful.....we watched for a bit the batik being made and then started looking around.....let's just say we bought some batik!!!!!!

So we finish with the batik and the guys say "hey...have you ever seen puppets" (I should mention that they do puppets of the legends here and they are the characters from the Ramayana - Love Store).....well we said no, but we need to go soon as we promised to meet a taxi so we could go to a temple....they said "no problem....we will go by motorbike and then we can drop you back where you will meet your taxi)....so off we went....jumped on the back of 2 motorbikes with all of our purchases and headed off into the really authentic part of Yogya...it was AMAZING!!!!! Sooooo fun!!!!! Everyone was waving at us and soooo happy to see us yelling hello!!!! We arrive at a small home where a guy was making beautiful puppets out of buffalo skin...they were amazing!!!! I had no intention of buying any, but did of course!!!!! They were sooo nice and we chatted a little and he explained the characters and then we were off again...back on the bikes.......

We got our taxi and headed to Prambanan....a Hindu temple in the area....I had seen this one from a distance before, but never entered....we arrived and went in....it was getting very dark....we were a bit dirty with the flying ash and the motorbike ride, so I was talking about how much I would love to have a "BIG SHOWER".....never ask for something you think you want but don't really want right then when you are in the temple of Shiva!!!!! Shiva must have heard me or something because it immediately started pouring rain!!!!! OH MY!!!!! We were walking to dinner from there, so off we go...trying to beat the rain, but it just got harder and harder....we were DRENCHED!!!!!!! NOTHING WAS DRY!!!!!! We arrived to the restaurant looking like wet dogs....everyone was staring at us like what the hell were they doing to get sooo wet!!!!!! It was soooo funny!!!!!! We had dinner, the rain subsided and then we headed out to see the Ramayana Ballet....it was very interesting, but I think it would have been very helpful to read up on the story before as I was a little lost at some points....it was nice though!!!!!

So it was the end of the shw and we were still drenched!!!!! We headed back to the hotel we had stayed in to pick up our luggage, changed our clothes, and then headed to our hotel next to Borobudur!!!! We arrived to a very amazing hotel that was just awesome!!!!!! We were dead so we just had a hot shower and headed to bed......

The next day we got up, had breakfast and headed out to the temple....Borobudur....we arrived to buy our tickets and they told us that we could only go to the 1st level because they were still cleaning the ash from the 1st eruption (wind had shifted since then so no more ash)....we were disappointed, but still went in....we got to the temple and it was amazing....massive....soooo detailed!!!!!! We started weaving our way in and arround the 1st level....after a bit of time, we discovered that they had opened the rest of the temple to go to the top!!!!! Great!!!!!! We went up and this in my opinion is where the true beauty of the temple lies....the temple is gorgeous, but the surroundings are absolutely amazing!!!!!! Soooo beautiful!!!!!! We sat at the top for about 1 hour just looking around....oh....the funny part was all the locals coming to ask to take photos of us....yes of us.....and for us to take photos of them....entire families.....it was hysterical and soooo funny....so we talked with them and laughed a lot....it was great!!!!!

We finish the vacation with an amazing Javanese massage!!!! It was a great massage....just what I needed to finish the vacation, but little did I know the adventure was not quite done....we heard that all the flights on the airline I was taking had decided to move the flights to leave from another city 1.5 hours from Yogya.....Solo...so I was to go to Yogya and check in and then take a bus to Solo and then take my flight....sounds simple in theory, but it was CHAOS!!!!!! I arrived and checked in and they put me on an earlier flight....I did not understand...there was no way I was making that one if I had to go to Solo.....what they had done though was to put everyone on a flight as they arrived and of course they were all delayed....finally I got on the bus, sat on a bus for more than 1.5 hours.....I arrived in Solo....I thought, ok...almost done...hahahaha.....of course when you are in this type of situation in a much less touristic area there are some difficulties...no english.....I had no clue what was going on....Thank goodness I knew some numbers in Bahasa Indonesia as I figured out what flight they were on and was able to recognize when they called for my flight.....I waited there though for another 1.5 hours, oh and I figured out why we were delayed again....we had an ash/rain mix...guess it was not such a good idea to move the flights....hmmmm.....finally I was on my way and arrived at home around 11:30 when I should have arrived at 8 pm....it was an adventure!!!!

It was a great adventure and will keep a special place in my heart!!!!! I guess all in all it was not too delayed considering the conditions.....I for sure will go back (of course when Merapi settles a little)!!!!!!!!

Singapore & my family away from home!!!

My good friends Yves & Rania moved to Singapore about 2 weeks before I moved to Jakarta....we had not seen each other in 10 years and for sure the last time I saw them they were just boyfriend and girlfriend....well now they are married and have 2 amazing boys Thomas & Jean!!!!

I went to visit them for a weekend and we had an awesome time!!!! We walked, talked, played, had our feet eaten by fish at the fish spa, and much more....I had such an amazing time with them!!!! Oh...I will spend Christmas with them since I will not be home!!!!

Singapore is cool!!!! It was like jumping a bit back into western culture!!!!! It is like NYC meets Disneyland meets Las Vegas and who knows what else in between....it still of course has some Asian flare!!!! There is sooooo much to do there and I have never in my life seen sooooo many high end stores so close together....you could have seriously gone into a Prada at almost every corner (or so it felt). It is very good though cause if I can't find something in Jakarta, I know I can in Singapore!!!! They also have an island called Sentosa and it is like a "funland"....we did a street luge, took the "ski type lift", walked on the beach, and just chilled for an entire day there....it was really fun!!!!!

Great times!!!!!!! Looking forward to the next visit!!!!!!

FIrst Karaoke and Futbol Experience

So we had an external meeting followed by a party which of course was karaoke....I have never in my life seen soooo many people having soooo much fun with no alcohol!!!!! They did have some wine for those who drank, but I sure did not drink enough to sing....at least that is what I thought....next thing I know I hear my name on the mic requesting me to sing.....oh fun...at least I was not alone....it was hysterical....the evening also had a lot of dancing.....it was a really fun night!!!!

The next day we had the Danone Olympics....I had no idea what I should expect, but before I knew it they had selected me to be the keeper in Futsal (a smaller version of Futbol)....so...I could not turn it down however I did warn them that I had never done anything like this in my life....they assured me I would do great, so I gave it a try....I am proud to say that I stopped every goal and they let me kick the last penalty and I scored!!!!! It was awesome!!!! Now I will be the new goalie for the Danone Dairy Indonesia for the Danone World Cup!!!!!!

First Post Experience!!!!!

I was getting ready to head to Paris for 10 days and I received some mail....it was my first packages!!!! You see, here when you receive a package, they keep them at the Post Office for you to pick them up...they don't deliver them...I thought well, I will just leave early and go to the Post Office before I go to the airport. We get to the post office and I ask for my packages, of course not in words, but by just handing them the slips I had.....they proceed to walk motioning for me to follow....so I go...all the way through the entire Post Office....we finally reach where they store the packages and they tell me "Tutup" which means closed....With the biggest smile I could give I said "PLEASE"....so they made some calls, we walked even more through the huge building and arrive where they sort the mail....there were many people there working and suddenly they were all saying "Bule" which means foreigner and all of the men were getting up and rushing over to me to give me a chair to sit....it was soooo nice and funny.....After a lot of acting out, body language, I convinced them to call the one peson who had the key...he came opened the cabinet and I had my first packages.....

It was quite an experience considering that you would never go into the Post Office like that in the US or many western countries for that matter.....it was just funny because they soooo want to please you and help you....it just shows you what they are willing to do for each other.....

Beautiful Bali

So it has been a while since I posted, for sure I have had many amazing experiences including 5 days in Bali....Bali is soooooo beautiful!!!!!!! I stayed in the north part of Bali away from any tourist area in a village called Munduk. I had an amazing villa in the middle of rice terraces. I arrived very late and went directly to my villa....it was a place they use to store rice in and has been converted....it was covered, but still had natural air inside. I went to bed under the mosquito net and layed there.....why was I not sleeping yet? You know those noise makers where you have crickets and frogs and water, etc. to help you sleep, well I had the live version!!!!!!!! The frogs were soooo loud, the water constantly runs from one terrace to the next, and many more natural sounds!!!!! Finally I went to sleep and woke up the next morning to massive rain....ok...well maybe not how you typically want to spend your vacation, but it was soooo nice because I just relaxed, read, and took a little walk to the village when the rain stopped for a bit...it was sooo relaxing!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah...and I had an amazing massage to finish the day...

The next day I woke up and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!! I had a view all the way to the sea on the northern part of Bali.....It was gorgeous.....I forgot to mention that the smell in Bali is AMAZING also...it is a combination of incense, cloves, rain, etc.....it was so specific yet sooo pleasant!!!!!!! So over the course of the next couple of days I visited the amazing and famous rice terraces, many beautiful temples (Hindu & Buddhist), and also to Ubud.....Ubud is quite amazing also as there are soooo many artists there......I bought many things there to bring home. One interesting thing though was when I was walking close to the Monkey forest that 2 monkeys thinking I had food for them, jumped and latched themselves to my right leg...one over the other!!!!!!!! It was sooo funny and I had no clue what to do.....luckily they did not climb up me and finally some locals came to my "rescue" and swatted them off of me....it was funny!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I can officially say that I fell in love with Bali....I think it is very important to avoid the tourist beach areas in the south as it is not TRUE Bali!!!!!!! I would definitely go back to have some more amazing experiences!!!!!!11

Great Local Saturday

So yesterday I did some exploring around Jakarta....It was really great....I saw some different parts of Jakarta!!!!!! I first went to an an area that had many different fabric shops.....So I did a little local shopping...I purchased some amazing Batik made with only natural colors (grays and browns) from all different types of wood.....it is very special....I am having it made into a comforter!!!! It is very special and the people making it were soooo excited about it!!!!!!! They were telling me that when people shop for Batik, they are looking for a treasure....It will be sooo beautiful when it is finished....

After that I bought a nice fabric to have a blouse made...Buying the fabric was the easy part....the girl then took me into this huge traditional market on the 2nd floor where there were sooooo many tailors....they were every....one after the other!!!!!!!!!! All were super busy stitching away...some by hand and others by old sewing machines....she took me to one stall where I met a guy by the name of David....we discussed the design (with pictures and hand gestures), then negotiated on the price, and then he took my measurements......I hope i looks nice when I pick it up next weekend....if it does, I think I have found myself a tailor!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, I then went to a local flower market....they had plants everywhere!!!!!! But I was looking for Orchids!!!!!!!!!! I found sooo many....actually I was able to buy 6 orchids for $10...soooo cheap....they are sooo pretty!!!!!!!!!!

I had really a nice time discovering the local things!!!!!!!!!!!! Very cool day!!!!!!!!!!

Weekend in Sulawesi

I have just arrived home from a great weekend in Sulawesi outside of Manado...I met up with some friends travelling around Indonesia!!!!!!!! Great to see you Laure!!!!!! We went to Tangkoko-Batuangas Dua Saudara Nature Reserve where we hiked to see Tarsiers (smallest mammal) & Black Macaques (species of monkey that are only existing in the forest i this area in Sulawesi)...before our evening hike, we walked through the village to the beach...it was a beautiful black sand beach with many man-made boats!!!!! It was really nice, but not pleasant to swim as the current was sooooo strong!!!!!!! Later that afternoon we headed for a hike to see the Tarsiers as they are nocternal and the next morning to another hike to see the Macaques....it was great to see them...the Tarsiers are soooo tiny with cute little fingers and the Macaques were sooo cute while moving through the trees....it took us forever to find the Macaques, but when we did there were many...it was well worth it....after we hiked back to the car and started back to the village, there were some more on the way...they proceeded to jump on the side mirror next to where I was....I totally thought they were coming into the car....these ones were not as nice since they were digging through trash and it felt like they were more agressive as they were showing their teeth....very interesting!!!!!!!!!!

Later on Sunday, we headed to Manado to lay by the pool and relax at the hotel...sleeping by the pool was great!!!!!!!!!! This morning before heading home I had an AMAZING massage (1st one since arriving in Indonesia) and then had lunch and headed to the airport...It was a great weekend....on the flight I met a couple travelling around and they were telling me about another amazing experience they had on Sulawesi...I think I will be going back really soon, but to another area!!!!!!!!!!!