Before we left, I wrote a post about wanting to make Indonesia new again. B has not been there, but Murray and I have been there a number of times.
While in Denpasar and Sorong, we visited temples and markets we had not been to before. In Ubud, we travelled familiar roads and saw familiar sites but time goes by and shops, galleries and sites do change. It was nice to go to a favourite restaurant we found last trip and find out it is still in place and the food is just as we remembered.
Diving Raja Ampat, even though we have been there, was new as we went to a different area than previously. And when we did go to a dive site we had visited before, we did not remember what was underwater. The diving in Menjangen was all new as was Sumberkima. We are slowly visiting all the dive destinations in Bali.
I think we did a good mix of brand new experiences and familiar experiences on the trip. We all enjoyed Indonesia very much.
While in the Gold Coast, Murray and I had gone to all of the sights we visited but it was enjoyable to take B and see them through new eyes.
B is now home and we are at our son’s place visiting, resting and enjoying the Gold Coast life style. See you on the other side.
B has not been to the Gold Coast so we want to hit the highlights of the area.
Our first stop is Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Yeah, it is kinda zoo like, but I love it there. We spend three hours wandering the paths peering at capybaras, red pandas, wombats, an emu, kangaroos, a salt water crocodile, birds of all descriptions and, of course, koalas.
Since we are in the south end of the Gold Coast, we hit Kirra Beach also. Kirra Beach is sheltered so it is a spot on the coast where the waves are not so daunting. We all swim and frolic in the water, which is refreshing after the walking in Currumbin. Our lunch stop is a bakery where we munch down beef pies. The bakeries here serve these pies and they are a favourite for the locals for lunch. Hot and tasty, they satisfy our hunger.
Red Panda
Shopping. The next day we spend the morning at a huge dive shop (no one bought anything) and then at the Speedo outlet store in Harbourtown Outlet Mall. We attempt to buy swim suits for some ladies we swim with but the selection isn’t wonderful, after all it is an outlet store, and we only get two of five.
HOTA, the Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts is our destination the following day. It is free and very accessible for all ages. We wander the exhibits on the three levels of the gallery. From there we walk across Chevron Island to reach Surfers Paradise. A trip to the Gold Coast would not be complete without a trip to Surfers (and a walk past the Condom store). We do a loop down Main Street, which is shops and more shops, and then down the beach. The water rolling up the beach washing over our feet is relaxing and cool. I could walk for miles. But, it is time to go as we are driving back to Brisbane to deposit the rental vehicle and then B at the airport hotel as she flies out in the morning.
View from HOTA towards Surfers Paradise
We have been navigating using the GPS in the vehicle and it has worked quite well. We only take one wrong turn and it is easily corrected. I have done all the driving in Australia and am glad to arrive safely at the airport and hand over the vehicle. Phew!
The beach at Surfers Paradise
Since it is earlier (4:00pm) than we planned, Murray and I head back to the Gold Coast. The plan is to take the heavy rail train, like we always do.
Murray writes…..
We planned to take the train back to Robina to continue our visit with our family. Seems the train route is being worked on and it is only operating between the airport and south Brisbane. We rode the train for two stops and were then shunted to a bus to take us most of the way south. The bus started out on ‘normal’ roads and then ducked into a secret road system. Buses only. I have never seen anything like that before. Soon we were underground and only buses were in sight. No cars, no peds, no buildings, only buses. It was, to say the least, weird and very eerie. It was like being in an alien land. We soon popped out onto the surface but still buses only. This went on paralleling the M1 for miles to the south. We finally joined the real world and the bumper to bumper traffic on the M1 as we hit the outskirts of Brisbane. We expected to get back on the train at Helensvale but instead an express bus was waiting. It only stopped at the regular train stops so the trip was relatively short. It still took us 4 hours for a 1.5 hour train trip. We finally arrived at our son’s place exhausted after a busy day.
For our last day in Ubud, we walk a path through the rice fields called the Sweet Orange Walk Trail. It is well used by walkers and folks staying in the various hostels and home stays along the trail.
Some of the rice fields look in disrepair, weedy and unkempt, while others are well tended and healthy. We spot egrets standing in the mud of a recently flooded rice field. Ducks are plentiful and delight in bathing in the water channels used for irrigation.
It is peaceful on the trail, but very very hot. Before we know it, we are at the end and turn towards the path that will take us down the market street and back to the hotel. The vendors call out, want to buy a sarong, wooden bowl, trinket, coaster? At the end of the street, we sit down for a rest and are approached by one of the numerous taxi drivers in town. As we do need a ride to the airport the next day, Murray commences bargaining with this fellow. They both know the game and bargain hard and laugh and have fun doing it. They settle on a price, get the details straight and we have a ride. Nice fellow.
We actually spend the afternoon in our room, where it is cool, resting packing for our flight the next day. We think we might have over done it in the sun as we both feel slightly off. We want to make sure we can go out tonight as we have tickets for a dance performance.
Some unknown impulse makes me grab an umbrella on the way to the dance performance. We arrive 40 minutes early and are about half way back in the seating. We while away the time waiting by chatting with the folks sitting around us. And then the music starts up.
There are six female dancers and one male. The females do most of the numbers and they wear beautiful costumes. They use their hands and eyes for expression. Hands bend and fingers move.
The music is performed by men playing gamelans, hand drums and xylophone type instruments. It is mesmerizing.
During the third number, he skies open up and it pours. Out come our umbrellas and the crowd scampers to find cover. The troupe finishes the number and we all relocate to a covered venue across the street. Our location in the first venue (at the back) facilitates getting seats in the front row in the covered venue. Ten minutes later, the show starts up again. B and I enjoy the show and are glad we decided to go.
The streets are crowded. There is enough cars to create a traffic jam and the there are 10 as many scooters as there are cars. The talking horns of years ago seem to be a thing of the past. The horns are still have alternative uses other than to express anger like they are used for in North America. They still say, ‘hello’, or ‘hey I am on you left (right), or ‘I am just around the blind corner’ and a few dozen other things but they are now used with discretion.
The drivers are extremely polite. In NA a driver trying to enter a long line of traffic from a parking area is likely to have a long wait. Some considerate driver in the line MIGHT wave them in but most people have their own agenda and just keep driving. In Indonesia drivers are more likely to make a space for a diver trying to make a left-hand turn or squeeze into a line. I am quite sure the gesture generates good karma and sooner or later that Karma comes back.
You can tell where people are from in the world by what side of the sidewalk they TRY to walk on. It not an infallible method of determining their home country but if a group of people are trying to walk on their right side they are most likely from NA or Europe and have not been in Indonesia long enough yet to do as the Romans do.
I did not see one e car in Indonesia the entire month we were there. There were only a couple of e scooters and no e bikes. As a side note very few bikes at all. I don’t think there is any infrastructure for charging the e vehicles. Petrol is king and it will be that way for a while.
Sidewalk maintenance is a low priority. Even in major tourist areas where sidewalks were once in place they have deteriorated to the degree of being a danger. As you walk along the walk window shopping is; glance at the walk ahead and analyze your next few steps, look at the shop beside you and repeat every few seconds.
Indonesian food is, I think, easy on the stomach. I had very little heartburn the entire two weeks we were there. At home I chew a tums tablet at least every couple of days. We did not eat at any truly Indoesian warungs but we did eat a some not so touristy warungs. We made sure we the food we ordered was cooked on site at the time we ordered it and did not suffer any ill effects. Things have improved for the tourist in the last few years. You can pretty much not worry about ordering ice in you drink but it is still a decision to be made with caution. If it is a place frequented by locals only I think it is best to err on the no ice side.
I am not much for air conditioning. Most of the time I find it too cold and prefer the cooling effect of a ceiling fan. I found Indonesia stinking hot this time. Especially when on land without the tempering effect of the water when you are on a boat. The AC anywhere, in a shop when we were window shopping, in a restaurant/warung when it had an indoor section, and in the hotel room when we returned from one of our 4 hours jaunts, is completely necessary to bring down the core temperature.
Normally I put my foot down when it comes to ‘tourist shows’, shows of cultural dance or the such put on specifically for tourists, so Debbie and I do not go. B expressed interest in attending and Debbie found a way around my refusal to attend. I picked the shadow puppet show and you may have already read I was somewhat disappointed. The next night we attended the traditional dance show. It was OK but I can assure you it will be the last time I go to see one no matter how many times we return to Indonesia.
I think I also mentioned, and maybe not, Indonesia is a cash society. It takes a bit to get used to using cash again. Counting out bills and coins and making sure you get the proper change. In many ways it is easier and more fun than using a card. When using money you are definitely more aware of the amount you are spending. The thing about money in Indonesia is has devalued so much you must carry around a very large wad of bills. The coins are almost worthless but are still in use, they are very light in weight so they aren’t much of a bother and don’t weight down your pockets. It would be more convenient if the government would either issue larger denomination of bills or revalue the existing money to meet the current value of goods and services.
These are just some odd thoughts about a very interesting country. A place worth visiting. A place where the people are so friendly and accepting of us aliens. Go but be respectful of their way of life and preserve what is there for next person to enjoy.
It’s Monday and we are scheduled to pick up a car and drive in Australia. Haven’t driven there in quite a few years, you know driving on the wrong side and everything. I (we) still prefer paper maps. They give a much larger view of where you are travelling with more detail than the digital alternative that shows the route quite clearly but as the scale is enlarged does not show detail on the areas surrounding the route. This severely limits opportunities for spontaneous changes to the itinerary. The paper map was put to the test right from the Brisbane airport this morning.
The route was preplanned and it was quite hard to follow the streets through the north part of the city. We did pretty good until we got to the downtown area. We arrived at one corner, and although it was not indicated on the map, we could not make the turn required to continue on our planned route. We ended up in downtown Brisbane. With a bit of quick location finding we were headed back to try to connect with the street we wanted once more. Again, we could not make the proper turn on the same street we were denied access previously and again we were headed into downtown Brisbane. Debbie finally insisted we hook up the GPS. Funny as it seems we were a perfect spot to make a couple of right hand turns and end up exactly on the street we had tried twice to connect with.
For the rest of the day we toured the Australian hinterland with the GPS and several paper maps as tour enhancers. We did vary from the GPS routes a couple of times and the guide lady was quite persistent that we continue to follow her route. We ignored her and still arrived where we wanted to go.
Our objective today is to tour the Scenic Rim and give our friend B a trip through the Aus hinterland. The trip is a day trip so we spent all day getting to the Gold Coast. It is quite a chill drive and it is a good example of what the Australian landscape is adjacent to the east coast. We did the drive counterclockwise starting on the NW corner.
Our first port of call is Kalbar. It is quite a small place but when we pull over to adjust the GPS to get us to the next place we noticed a sign for the local gallery and restoration shop. We walked in the open door. The lady told us opening day for the new gallery is Saturday but if we were welcome to wander if we wanted. The display is of local artisans and some restoration work done by the lady’s husband. There is some really nice stuff. Of course, with our minimalist packing we did not purchase anything but enjoyed the tour.
Aratula is, according the Scenic Rim promo info, an artsy place with crafts and art displays. Not so. The only things crafty we found were in a café/craft shop and there was very few, if any, locally crafted items and I didn’t see any ‘fine’ art at all. The town is a bit out of the way and I personally don’t think worth the diversion.
Boonah is a bit bigger town. We stopped and wandered along the main street. Some nice old buildings and many eateries, any of which are suitable for lunch or midafternoon snack.
We took the side road to Mount Barney and didn’t really understand what we were suppose to see or do there. It is not explained in the literature the purpose for visiting the area. This would be another place I would skip.
Although we nearly missed it, we did stop in Rathdowny. I think the entire town had 7 buildings. Parched as we were it was time to buy a bottle of Coke or two.
Two more stops. Beaudesert was quite a big center. By the time we got there we were late so we drove right through. If you plan to pause, I would say it would take quite a while to tour.
The last place on our list is Canungra. We were told there was quite an active arts and crafts community there. It is a really welcoming town but we wandered around a bit and did not find any galleries or craft shops to poke our noses into.
All in all we enjoyed the drive and the countryside. Way more laid back than the typical Australian city. Not having been to that particular area it was well worth the trip. Aus is so big and there are so many other places to go it is not likely we will do it again but if you’re in the neighbour hood. Spend a day a do the tour.
It is a day of batik for B and me. We arrive at Nirvana Batik and are put to work immediately. The first step to pick a pattern and pencil it onto a piece of lightweight cotton. They do not have much choice in premade patterns, as it seems they want you to draw it. That’s not happening, so I choose a two mask piece and B picks a fishscape.
The next step is to practise using a chanting to “draw” the wax lines onto the fabric. When we are proficient enough, we wax our own pieces. This is the part that has a very steep learning curve, but the best part is that the instructor can remove any drips or mistakes.
Dyeing
Dyeing is next. That takes some time as I ponder what colours to use and do not have a sample to draw from. The pieces are placed in the sun to dry, and have fixer painted on them.
Batiks drying in sun
Next is covering the dyed portions with either beeswax or paraffin wax. The paraffin wax is brittle and creates a “crackle” effect. The borders are done this way. Then the works are placed in a blue dye to dye all the areas not painted.
Background dyeing
The wax is removed in boiling water, the pieces dried and ironed, and voila, we are done. It is constant work for about 4.5 hours but we get fed lunch and it is fun to create.
Finished batiks
I learned a few techniques that I will employ in my batiking at home, so I am glad we did the class. Play we had FUN!
It’s 32C and the humidity is 65%. Holy cow it is hot. 32C mid summer in Edmonton is hot but not like this. With the sun directly over head and very little shade on the street I am swimming is sweat. Heat does not bother me too much but still, today every ½ hour or so I have to sit down in the shade on the step of some shop and guzzle a few gulps of water. Coke, my drink of choice is readily available for about 50 Canadian cents. Even on a relatively short morning jaunt I will drink at least one bottle of that. When I get back to the cottage I have to peal my shirt off my back. Debbie is not here to help and it is a bit of a struggle.
Yesterday we were a bit impulsive and bought tickets to a dance performance for this evening. We have been to Ubud before and missed the shadow puppets show and it is something that interests me. When we got back to the hotel we looked up when the puppet show takes place and it is tonight. While Debbie and B are at a class to further their batik skills my task is to see if I could exchange the dance tickets for tomorrow evening and if successful to purchase puppet show tickets for this evening. Thus the long walk in the heat. Partially successful we will attend the shadow puppets tonight and the dance tomorrow. Being every bit accommodating, the fellow at the dance venue exchanged our tickets with a smile. When I went to purchase the tickets to see the puppets I looked into my wallet and had nowhere near enough money. Not used to carrying cash anymore I did not check my wallet when I left this morning. I managed to purchase one and put two on reserve. We will pay for the others this evening. B, Debbie and I will attend the show tonight.
The purchase of one ticket left me in rather a precarious position money wise when it came to lunch. When we were in Sumberkima, the lady at the desk of the hotel told me I must try empal jugung. Corn fritters in English speak. I have been on the look out for them. She mentioned I would not be able to find them in a ‘tourist’ place I would have to go to an Indonesian Warung. Today, being on my own, I thought I might be able to find them. I tried at a couple of traditional warungs, of which there are not many in Ubud, but to no avail. I started to ask at more upscale warungs, the ones that advertised ‘authentic Indonesian food.’ Bingo, about the third one I asked said yes they have them. It cost me 20,000 rupiah for two. I did not check my wallet when I ordered two fritters and a can of Coke. I went to pay and I just have enough cash. All done I had 7000 IDR left, about 70 cents CAD. Luck, sometimes is on your side and today I had some.
Shadow Puppets
I think my expectations were too high. I am glad I went to see the shadow puppets but I am a little disappointed. We got a chance to see some of the puppets before the show. They are hand done and quite beautiful. My disappointment came from the fact that behind the screen as the show went on, the top half of the puppets was in focus but the bottom part was too far away from the screen and was blurred. I thought the entire work of art was worth the vision from the audience’s side. The second thing I found odd was the show did not match the story on the program we were handed when we entered. We thought it was the story of what was going to be presented. The show started and the actions and dialog had absolutely nothing to do with what we had read. From what I could make out it was kind of a comedy/slapstick routine. To bad, because the story is some historical Balinese folklore.
I guess we will see how the dancing goes tomorrow.
Our destination today is the Agung Rai Museum of Art. On the way, we walk past the Monkey Forest entrance and fortunately are not accosted by any of the furry creatures. It is only about 9:00 am and it is smoking hot already.
The museum is mostly the private collection of Agung Rai, his wife and family. The paintings range from traditional to modern in two buildings. The grounds are lush and peaceful. Chickens, guinea fowl and a turkey roam freely. The flowers are delightful and B and I stop often to take photos.
With the entrance ticket, we are treated to an iced tea in the coffee shop, which is a welcome reprieve from the heat. Once we are refreshed, we head back into the melee of the streets of Ubud.
The traffic, both vehicles and scooters is nonstop. We walk single file along the narrow sidewalk or road side, always keeping an ear open for approaching vehicles. The shops are enticing with jewellery, clothing and handicrafts. Ubud has an unusual volume of “wellness centers” or spas. You can get a massage, your nails done, get detoxed, go to yoga, get tattooed and many other pampering practises.
We window shop as we walk back to Jalan Bisma, the street where our hotel is. Bisma is filled with restaurants with prices below what you would pay on the Main Street. We stop at a Japanese/Western/Indonesian place and plunk ourselves in a booth inside in the air conditioning. Sushi rolls for B and me and satay chicken for Murray.
We are now relaxing after our long walk in the heat. After our rest, we will go for a short walk down a market street and find a light supper.
Our driver, Komang, arrives right on time, we pile our bags and wet dive gear into the back of the small SUV and we are off for the four + hour drive to Ubud. It turns out Komang is the son-in-law of Putu, our dive guide for the last five days. Komang wears many hats, he is a driver, snorkel guide, dive guide, hiking guide, farmer, husband and father.
As a farmer, he has two cows which he fattens and then sells and a number of chickens that are sold or used for ceremonies. The eggs are not big enough to eat. There are banana, mango, star fruit, rambutan and coconut trees on his property. He also helps his uncle farm a 400m x 400m plot of rice, which they share 50/50. He is a very busy man as he also has two children.
Here are some of the interesting tidbits from our conversation.
Even though Sumberkima, and nearby Pemuteran, have medical clinics, the nearest hospital is an hour away.
Komang uses his father-in-law’s car to drive guests. He does pay rent to use the car. He makes sure to keep it in very good condition. Very fair.
We pass by an electrical plant. It is coal fired and the coal is from the Indonesian Kalimantan area of Borneo and is shipped directly to the plant, located by the water.
As we chat we drive through Munduk, an area higher in elevation. It is a great growing environment for flowers, cocoa, oranges, cloves and coffee. We make a quick stop at a view point to see the twin lakes of Buyan and Tamblingan.
I read that the temple Ulan Danu Beratan is worth a visit and it happens to be on our way. It costs about $6 Cdn to enter. Right away, I notice the colourful flowers everywhere. The gardens are well cared for. As we walk towards the temple, situated on the water of Lake Beratan, it starts to feel a bit like Disneyland. Over here there are dinosaurs, over there is a giant fish, there are photo op creations everywhere. The visitors are taking selfies and posed photos in front of ceremonial gates, heart shaped trellises, flower arrangements. I recall what we saw in Bruges, Belgium with photo ops…”Look at me! Don’t I look fabulous! And here I am in Indonesia!”. We, of course, did not do any posing.
The temple itself is quite striking, with its thatch roof creating movement and grace. It is majestic and serene.
And then the skies open up. We hide under an awning and when it abates, we make a dash for the car. Half way back we have to find shelter again so as to not get soaked.
Once back in the car, it pours torrential rain on and off for miles. Komang gets off the main road so show us some rice fields. Murray and B hop out to look, but I stay in the car as I do not want to get wet again. B gets a quick lesson on how to grow and harvest rice.
The traffic gets horrendous as we near Ubud, so many scooters. It takes us some time to navigate to Sama’s Cottages where we are staying. And now for three days in Ubud.
We only dove 2 dives on Monday so there was time to do a little exploring. Most of the things we found to do here involved long treks but there were a couple of temples that looked worth a visit, Pura Pulaki and Pura Pabean. They are just across the highway from one another and supposedly adjacent to a beach. They are in Pemuteran and that is too far to walk from Sumberkima so we arranged for a taxi to get us there and then pick us up.
Frankly I don’t think the temples were worth the trouble. They are very colourful with lots of gods, and guardian animals like dragons and tigers, and there is a whole group of generally docile monkeys to see but the temples themselves are rather unspectacular and all of the installations are covered in wire mesh to keep the monkeys at bay. This definitely takes away from the presentation.
As an aside, the monkeys can be seen swimming in the ocean. We presumed to cool off on a very hot day. A couple of the monkeys took offence when I approached the sea wall where they were sitting and moved toward me with bared teeth. So I bared my teeth and loomed large, they stopped their advance. So, some caution is required, they are not all docile.
At the entrance to both temples are guest info kiosks where you can hire a guide if you so desire. Again, unless you are interested in the details of the Hindu significance of the gods and animals, I don’t really think it would be worth it. You also MUST wear a sarong when you tour the grounds, you get one at the info kiosk but they expect a “donation” once you have been outfitted. We have visited so many temples and churches we normally don’t pay to see one but we had just spent money on a taxi to get to these temples so we were sort of a captive audience.
The adjacent ‘beach’ is definitely not my idea of paradise. There is quite a large seawall between you and the fist sized rocks that hinders access. The only stairs are at the east end and it would require some wading to get to a place where you could place a towel. You would be in for a very hot day. There is absolutely no shade. Again, quite disappointing, we had arranged for the taxi to pick us up in 1.5 hours expecting to spend some time walking along the beach and since it was so dismal we ended up killing 50 minutes just waiting for the cab.
My take is you are better off heading elsewhere or spending your time recovering from your days dives.
