JAKARTA - last days

We had yesterday all planned. We were going to the big ACE hardware and shopping at Mangaa Dua.

Ancol - huge openair Fun Park

Another tip, always, always ask for a driver who understands and speaks English!! Otherwise you better make sure you have a pretty good map book and your wits about you. We were taken on a looooong trip around the city a couple of times and ended up at Manga Dua at the wrong place.

Walking through Arts Market Ancol

Wed we were supposed to go to the Kantor Pos (Post Office) but it was a holiday so we went out to Ancol. This is a huuuuuuge outdoor super big fun park. It was huuuuuuuuge! Too big to stay for a couple of hours you have to go for the whole day. We went to check out the arts village.....amaaaaazing. It was totally worth the look even though it was a bit unkept the artwork was stuuuuuning!!! The carving was spectacular just trying to figure out how to get it all home.......maybe next time!!!

Sculpture at Ancol Arts Market

Today we were highly planned. Took off to see the Embassy across the road where Yvonne works. Met all the nice staff and strolled off for a coffee before heading for Bloc M. Got some great bargains and then back to Lotte Mall before walking around the corner to FX Mall for another coffee. Now all we have to do is try and pack all our goodies into our bags.

Awesome travel tool box in ACE Hardware - Loooove this!!!

Had an awesome time here with my friends. Great moments and some beautiful landscapes. My bestest place was Yogja and Borobudur. Favourite food was the fish and chips I had last night. Best buy was my camera at Sydney airport before coming out. That little thang is just awesome. Bestest moment was being with my friends enjoying all that Indonesia - Jakarta and Yogja had to offer. I will be back.

See you when I get home!!!! :)

Arohanui - Salamat Siang

I'll post some more things on the blog when I get home and sort the pics out. If you want click onto the website to see all the korero travel diary. 

http://moko-iacreativehouse.blogspot.com/

Henri

BACK IN JAKARTA

Well, I think I've done a great job with this blog thing......besides re-blogging and updating causing an influx in your inboxes. The  internet is playing havoc with my patience and so have had to pace myself on the computer. Which is slower than I'm used to but now, it seems, I've got the hang of it.

We've been back in Jakarta since Sat night. Sun & Mon was catching up on sleep, processing all the interesting experiences we've had, and planning our coming week......whew!! It rained yesterday, not that you'd know it but you can feel the smog thicken then it got really humid......thank goodness for aircon yay!

Jakarta is a full on city. There is a constant barrage of noise - people working, scooters and cars on the streets, low flying planes, there's just always NOISE. The energy here is full on too - changing, moving with people always going somewhere. You don't feel like there's a million people around you or that the thousands of high rise buildings within walking distance are full of workers. It's not suffocating, it's more like it's alive. That's how I'd describe it, the city is very much alive. And it can be a good or bad thing depending on whether you can find your own space within it.

Seen as though there's not much happening - new mall different day sort of thing. I thought I'd use this time to share some quirky things that happened to us on our adventures and share some classic tips.

Firstly, thinking about what to bring pack some good walking shoes, nice shoes to shop in that don't slip on buffed marble floors - which are used as your typical flooring all malls, everywhere. Pack nice and comfortable clothes remembering you're going to a country where they don't have Pacific sizing's of anything. And don't get too upset when you're just about to ask the sales assistant if they have bigger sizes and before you can get the first word out she's smiling and saying 'NO'! Hee, hee, that happened to us everywhere.

So much so, my friends and I decided a great business idea would be to open up a 'Boleh' Pacific sized shop that sold Indo clothes and shoes for bigger sizes - not just wide but tall too. Well, it's an idea. We'll see tomorrow when we go to Mangga Dua shopping meca there maybe something there for us Pacific sisters.

Try and learn a bit of the language to get you by or at least do some sign language......it does help in the most stickiest situations :)

Also try and teach yourselves how to calculate Rupe back into NZ Dollars fast. Otherwise, like me, you'll miss a bloody good bargain........duh!!! Happened all the time.....just now clicking on to it.

When you get to Indo buy your antiperspirant here. Their roll-ons will keep you dryer, longer! Buy your travel wipes from NZ in small (handbag sized) convenient lots along with small containers of hand sanitizer they come in handy dandy. NZ has nicer thicker towelettes.

Now, my friends think I have a fetish about food napkins....which is not true. I think, when you go for a meal or kaikai you need a descent sized napkin. I don't spit much or make a mess, it's more for 'just in case'. Well, the places we've been to (and there have been many) that don't have the required sized napkin is ridiculous . My friends however, think I'm quirky and have started taking photos of my napkin experiences. I'm sorry, two bits of re-recycled thin as tissue about business card size does not a napkin make. Note: always, always take your own back up just in case this happens to you. by the way, I bought some nice Batik napkins at the Batik museum, full size yay!

Check the food halls out over here. Some have their own designated space where you can wash your hands after eating. It's so convenient insted of going all the way to the wharepaku down loooong corridors. Talking about wharepaku - make sure you go twice before leaving the comforts of your apartment. You never know if you'll get a Euro style or local wharepaku. Unless you're used to it - and if you haven't been to a local wharepaku you have to try it - it is an experience!! :)

Don't be too scared to look out the window when being taxied about the city. There maybe only two lanes for traffic but you'll see that at least 4 lanes of cars and buses can fit into 2 lanes, not to mention all the motorbikes inbetween. And everyone uses their indicators which is very respectful.

In Yogya however, hang on for dear life. I'm not sure whether they have road rules but motorbikes can fit into the most smallest of places, like in between a truck and a bus. and don't get me started on the legal driving age!!! I've seen mother's feeding babies on the back of a moped. People txting while riding. But the funniest thing was seeing these jars of liquid being sold just about everywhere in the street stalls. On a hot day they looked quite freshing until our driver said it was petrol. I kid ya not, petrol for bikes being sold on the side of the road in glass jars in the stinking heat of the day.

Marie and I thought we'd experience crossing the road in Yogya. The street wasn't that wide it was just that the traffic was never ending. And it's hard to dodge bikes although cars and buses are ok you can kind of gauge their speed.

Back to food again......I had to try the Nasi Goren for breakie. A traditional Javanese breakie. It was either that of rice porridge with chicken and corn.........mmmmm not my cuppa tea. It was nice just tooooo hot. Remember to always, always ask if the food is spicy hot. Didn't put me off my Java coffee though......mmmmm!

I've got heaps more stories to share and lots of pics too. For now we're getting ready to venture out to one of the biggest hardware stores.........yay! And to find a post office. 

Salamat Siang

Henri

FRI: YOGYA

Candi Sambasari & Prambanan in the province of Solo

Chandi Sambasari - the buried Hindu Temple

A full on day......Amir told us about this buried temple......it wasn't on our list but we took a look cause it was on our way to Prambanan. We're sooooo lucky we did because it was sooooo awesome! A temple that was found when a farmer was digging his gardens. What he unveiled was this incredible Hindu temple. Another restoration project. Not as well looked after or visited but nonetheless stunning temple. 

Prambanan - entrance to 1000 temples being restored

Prambanan was another one of my affirmation pics I had on my computer......little did I know I would be standing in front of it taking a pic let along walking around it and experiencing it. This temple has a great story to it of a beautiful princess being wooed by a troll. To win her heart he had to build her 1000 temples within a certain number of days. She outwitted him on the eve of the deadline by bringing what seemed to be sunrise which meant he missed his deadline with only 999 temples. He got his own back when he found out she tricked him, he turned her into the last statue in the last temple where she stands to this day.

It was soooo hot we had to lease umbrellas they were cool!

Had another good guide.....note: always pay the money for a guide. You'll get more from the experience than just doodling around the place. 

Me @ one of the many temples with the temple.

Next stop Malioboro the shopping meca of Yogya!!! Well, not really. It's a well known shopping area where malls meet street markets. When all you can see for miles are scooters, motorbikes and rickshaws. Found some great batik and also got stalked by a shop owner trying to get us down to his shop which happened to be down a street and off an alleyway. I don't think soooooo, we got sick of him hassling us and told him to talk to the hand!!!! Bought McD's for kaikai........ok I needed to go wharepaku and the only place where we knew there would be a Euro style wharepaku was McD's and it was great. Very clean......whew! McD's on the other hand weren't so nice n tasty!!

Marlioboro - a small % of bikes we saw, they're everywhere!

After that it was home Amir - this was our last day with Amir. He was great fun, laughed and have a good time showing us around. He put up with all our bad jokes and even bit back. It's worth the $$$ to pay for a local driver, they know where to eat, shop and will make sure you get home safe. 

Marlioboro - markets in front of shops.

Because the d'Omah was booked we all had to bunk in together for the last night which was great cause we got to stay in our private pool area. 

That night we had a 16 course Javanese meal.......what an adventure! I only could do about 14courses cause they like their spices so I had to ask which ones where hot or cold. It was really tasty and our local band was awesome. They asked for requests but we didn't know any of their songs. So, just listened to their music it was great.

Whew that was heaps...........had an awesome day at some beautiful sights, walked for kms, ate great kaikai, what more could we want.

A nice leisurely coffee by the poooool!!! Yay!!

Day bed lounge @ d'Omah. Through the door at the back is our private pool area

THURS: Yogya

Borobudur

Yvonne, Marie, Me and Didi with Borobudur in background

Up early in the morning @ 4am to leave with Amir for Borobudur @ 5am. It takes about 45mins drive through some of the most interesting places, early local street markets and villages devastated by the volcanoes......we're going to the heart of volcano territory to visit one of the most stunning Buddhist Temples. 
Note, when I goggled Yogya months ago I found this pic of a temple and had it as an affirmation pic on my computer. Wouldn't ya know it, it was a pic of Borobudur!!!!.....a coincidence.....!!!!

150 stairs, 4 stairways leading up to 5 levels of enlightenment

We get through the gate and find rows and rows of markets. Too early for selling....not even. Went to a special visitors centre, had a coffee and got our lavalava's to wear for our trip up the temple. Everyone got one. Our guide said it was to bring back the respect to the culture......can't remember what locals name for the skirts, it was too early to take in and we were captivated by this stunning piece of architecture. It was nice to participate in the culture, but it kept the heat in......never mind just think of the calories I'm sweating off ... :)

Beautiful reliefs carved by hand

Stunning, awesome, magnificent.......doesn't even rightfully describe this iconic place. Over 20-40,000 people in the high season visit daily with over 2mil visitors last year. The surprising thing about the heritage sites we visited is that they are in constant state of repair and revival. UNESCO funded local workers to learn how to restore most of the temple after the volcano erupted. Most of the damage was due to earthquake, rain and acid rain from the ash. we entered from the West as our guide awesomely explained just about everything to us. He was a huge deposit of knowledge. Got his training in tourism and came back to Borobudur to help with the efforts at the temple. He explained the intricate drawings and stories about the way in which the temple was hand built with NO CEMENT!

One of the many Buddha, stunning and peacful

Encapsulated in each of the bell-like shapes surrounding the temple is a Buddha. Each Buddha has a different expression and hand position. You can see the restoration and you're in awe of the expansive amount of work that has been completed already. This is just one of many temples undergoing a rebuild. All with locals as the main workforce.

This place was an experience - there were buses of school children visiting from outlining areas that wanted to practice their English on us. Of course they hadn't seen anything like us before so bombarded us with simple questions and wanted photos with us. It was interesting being a tourist attraction.

Walking tourist attraction

Borobudur really touched me because of its artistic beauty, attention to detail, and the mind full design.....certain number of layers, certain number of Buddha's, their placement in terms of each layer and to each other. Each layer pertains to the evolution of attaining enlightenment. The lower levels are earth, the middle is growth and the upper levels describe nirvana. I wish I had hit 'video' on my camera our guide was awesome.

Ok, so after that wonderful experience we exited through the East door and down to the hawkers again. Some of which were Yvonne's friends......she said she got good deals and I believe her!!! 

The sleeping Buddha at the Mendut Buddist Monastery

After negotiating ourselves through the market coming out virtually unscathed, we stopped in at Mendut Buddhist Monastery. It was soooo awesome......... you can go there for a 20day meditation accommodation & kai included for 600,000rupe.......that would be awesome! And of course another group of markets where we got a nice dress each. 

It was off to the Volcano museum on the side of Merapi, an active volcano. It was an architecturally interesting building from the outside and full on info on the inside. Not your average museum as it's still under construction. Then off to the Batik Museum - a historical account of the Sunltans reign. Mostly about the wives and daughters which was a nice change. It was described as a floating museum because of the stone rooms which were surrounded by water. Very beautiful with lots of historical info. The Batik was stunning and even more interesting was reading the letters from cousins to one of the young princesses to help mend her broken heart. So poetic and such beautiful handwriting. It had a shop called Muse which had contemporary products and a restaurant where we had kaikai.......yes kaikais again.

Back to d'Omah for a massage.........mmmmmmmmm neck, back, shoulders and facial. I really deserved that.....90mins of complete and utter bliss!! Tomorrow has to be the foot scrub and reflexology.....mmmmmmmmmmm!!

WED: Yogya

Kia ora ano

Woke up to the sounds of the Muslim karakia @4.30am. Took time to take some nice pics of our digs, planning our day then off to try the open air gym........mmmmm first gotta find someone to open the bamboo blinds for me. First thing I noticed it was a 'Manly' gym.........ya know da kind where all the machines were set to heavy weights and the only thing that seemed to work for me was the walking machine, once I figured out how to turn it on and get it started. All good until I hit 1.4kms then I ran out of power.....hee, hee. Back to the pool to get dressed for breakie.

d'Omah Fitness Centre

For the next couple of days we had limited time and sooooo much to experience. Yvonne had it all worked out. She knew all the best places to go and we just followed her lead..........the theme of the week was - 'go with the flow and let it all go!!' And that's just what we did. And it seemed to work in a place like Yogya.

The d'Omah is just beautiful........check out their website, http://yogyakartaaccommodation.com/

Peacock in tranquil garden - they peck, true

Nice little spaces everywhere, thoughtfully laid out with little room clusters surrounding a private pool dotted around the complex of small areas with day beds and lounges. In nice secluded places are chairs, tables and beautiful lamps. You never see or hear the other guests only at breakie or dinner. Nice attentive staff that will do anything for you if you talk slow so they can understand you. They do really well to understand and like it when you try their language.

Breakie on the outside front area

The owner Warrick Purser whakapapa to Whanganui, he Pakeha ia but you can tell from his hotel that he loves Javanese people and the place. He's worked hard to help the people in the surrounding village.....and is really into the arts. Everywhere around you'll find nice pieces of historical and contemporary art & craft. I just loved it.

Traffic jam - 4x4 taking on a bus and motorbikes just fitting their way through

WATER CASTLE

Of course on the way to our first stop, the Water Castle, there was an antique store Amir took us to. This was a treat......I'm not that much into antiques but loved the workmanship in the pieces. I noticed there was heaps of dentist/barber chairs and lamps......how to get it all home!!!

The Water Castle

Things that stand out for me about Yogya, their entrepreneurship is everywhere.....on every street down every ally. From selling petrol in jars on the side of the road (this is sold everywhere on most of the streets) to dairy-like stores, to wood carvers, bike repairers, rice fields, etc.

Also they have a unique take on health & safety. Bamboo scaffolding, no hard hats or safety harnesses. This place is a constant stream of change and evolution. On the one hand there are the very rich and on the other, the very poor. There is a clash of high fashion technology meets beggers and market stands. It took a while to harden up and not feel sorry for the people. I don't like that side of it much, but it is an experience.

Sitting at the Sultan's pool

The Water Castle, an awesome stop where the Sultan who had over 50 wives used to bath in the spring waters before the erruption.......didn't take much notice of the korero from our guide as it was hard to understand his English.......bless him. The wahine used to bath in their big pools while the sultan would stand and choose which number he wanted to bathe with in his private pool and incensed bedroom.......I kid ya not. Interesting lives.....I wonder what it would be like if the roles were reversed!!! :)

Opps picked up the wrong bottled water from the hotel room fridge, then I read the label.......had to get a pick of that. The label reads 'Pocari Sweat' and it tasted like sweet sweat too....yuck!

Bought a nice handmade Batik and would've bought more only the explanation of the designs didn't turn me on......they were mostly about woman serving the husband, the male being the successful one full of prosperity while the woman is on her knees being thankful......I don't think sooooo!

Amazing Race caught on camera!

Meanwhile Amir was txting us, very worried about us. He didn't have a good feeling about our guide and was very relieved when we showed up. Little did he know that we could take care of ourselves....:)

News flash, on the way to the palace we spotted some of the amazing race contestants so had to get a shot of that. That was exciting!!!! You can just see the cameraman running in front of the contestants.

Stately room in the palace

SULTAN'S PALACE

Off to the current Sultan's Palace, who only has 1 wife and 5 daughters. He's opened up his palace to the people and lives just off to the side surrounded by his little army of guards.

The Palace is huge and full of historical items, beautiful craftsmanship and culture. You begin to wonder what life would've been like living in a palace. Heaps of tourists, mainly Indonesian school groups. Usual markets outside the gate......when Yvonne suggested Amir to drop us off at the beginning of the market he just laughed and dropped us right at the gate. Now we know why, when we finished we bought one thing from a seller only to be inundated by others selling us the same thing. 

Yes, there is a resemblance there........hee, hee.

Interesting fact about Yogya: anyone can be a parking valet and traffic controller if you have a whistle and wear an orange jacket. Valets sell you space to park even if the space is not owned by them, everyone gets a %. Then when you have to pull out into the busy street they become traffic controllers and stand in the way of oncoming traffic so you can pull out. Very handy to pay for that privilege, you need someone to control the traffic otherwise you take your life into your own hands.

Off to the Silver factory.......one of many. It was incredible to see the intricacy of the work. Didn't find anything except for postcards. I was looking for some nice silver chains but nothing nice. Lots of things I wanted if I have the $$$$$

My poor feet.......they just love the pool...mmmmmmm!

Back to d'Omah for a relax.....now it may seem like we're not doing much but between the lines of korero there are hours of walking, listening to guides who may not have the best English, and then trying to find somewhere nice to eat. The feet needed a bit of pampering so off to our private pool....:)

Good Java coffee before getting dressed for dinner. Then sitting by the pool again with a vino enjoying the stars and planning our next days trip... :)

TUES: FX MALL & YOGYA

Slide inside the FX Mall

Hit the gym in the morning.....my roomies think I'm a bit obsessed with the gym.....not even! Back up to breakie, pack then off to FX Mall just a short walk down and across the road. This mall had an enclosed slide from the top floor running to the bottom......wow!

It was amazing - another nice mall with one whole floor dedicated to kids. It had educational learning centres, play areas, shops, even a water world and outside play space as well as an indoor entertainment space. There was a shop called Animalia where you can make your own stuffed animal - all the animals looked liked they were skinned hanging up. Besides that it was the cutest thing.......Marie and I had to do that.

Animalia

After looking around the other floors at the shops and tried to get into a spa for a massage......didn't work, we had kaikai really nice and tasty as. Then it was a short walk back to the apartment to finish packing. 

Things to pack when going to Yogya - bug spray, antibacterial sanitizer, wipes, good walking shoes, dress clothes for dinner and an endless supply of a sense of humour.

Rūma kaukau

Had an hour trip to the airport then an hour flight down to Yogya. We were met by Amir out awesome driver that took us everywhere and who would be our personal guide during our stay. 

The hotel d'Omah is situated in Tembi an hour drive from Yogya airport. Not your average hotel, this is a boutique spot in the heart of Tembi village. Very tastefully decorated with art and local crafts. All locals are employed and trained and the grounds are spread out so that you don't get the feeling that you're cramped. It's spacious and it was a nice stroll in the gardens to our rooms.

Our rooms connected to a private pool area. Stunning rooms, comfortable beds and lovely furnishings. Aircon and fans in the rooms. The one thing I liked besides the private spring pool was the bathrooms - Euro style wharepaku and an open air shower with live plants with all the stone tiles. Everything smelled divine hard to believe this is so reasonably priced!!! Good thinking Yvonne, we LOVE the d'Omah.

Private pool just outside our room doors.

Lovely rooms - just outside those double doors is the pool

DAY 1: Monday Mall day

Woke up to the city. It's sooooo hot, not just because the aircon wasn't working but it's hot.......it was just like being on the beach in Hawaii......well that's what I was dreaming of.

The beds are nice and Euro styled so my legs didn't hang over the sides!!

Now when I mean Euro style wharepaku, I mean a sit down flush toilet. This is something to appreciate when everywhere else, even malls have a hole in the floor - Indo stylez with a water jug or spray gun.
At the appartment, Yvonne's ensuite has two water pressures, a heated seat, bum dryer, etc. Something different, styly and something to get used to..... :)

The smog is thick as, although it made a nice colourful hue in the sky. This is around 6.30am with the sun just rising over the hotel with the red accents. 

These buildings are surrounding our appartments. Most are hotels, malls and businesses. There are at least 5 huge malls within walking distance. There are heaps of trees which surprised me. There is a park to the left, to the left, and a stadium by a Mosc to the left as well.

We're on the 14th floor and these buildings across from us are even taller!!

Each floor has 4 appartments - 2 x 2bedroom and 2 x 3 bedrooms. Most of which are inhabited internationals.

To my friends surprise, I took myself off to the gym......down 14 floors (via lift) only to go back up cause I left my ipod in the room. 

Not sure how these machines work but I'm sure there's instructions. 2.5km walk to get the heart rate pumping and then on the machines and down to the abs......Suzie my trainer would be very proud of me. 

While on the walking machine I was watching Asian TV where the male interviewer was at a Seafood place........he was eating the fattest oyster I had every seen this side of the East Coast!!! True, I was hungry after watching that. 

As you can see, no one else there except me and my ipod. Had to do the Ab crunches on the mat.......OMG I do have muscles there.......I just can't see them most of the time :)


After breakie we kinda planned our day which was meant we just went with the flow. A couple of hours later and it was lunch time.......off to the mall. How convenient that it was just a short walk across the road......the most spotless mall I've every been to. It was soooo squeaky that our shoes slid on the marble. Didn't really shop there just changed money. The thing about this mall is that it's expensive. The only thing we could purchase there was kaikai.....which we did. Yes, we had to try the 'Fat Burger' soooo tasty.....I'll work it off in the morning.

Market Mall with more flights than I can count.

So, after we had a look around for a travel agent to book our flights to Yogyakarta......which we got a real good deal....it was off to the other side of the city to the market mall. Not your average mall.........I can't even compare it to anything I've been to before. All the knock off of handbags, music cd's, dvd's and games. Tried to see if we could find some Pacific style clothes to no avail..........everyone is sooo tiny and short......even the shoes don't fit. It was like an outside market in an big disused mall. Each 2x2mt space was leased out on a weekly basis to however could sell stuff. Amazing.....floor after floor of sellers selling the same thing. Oh well, just a look and and stroll around then off to Starbucks for much needed coffee.

The nice thing was they didn't hassel us. Heaps of stares because they don't get many boleh in that part of the city. The not so nice thing was it was a way from our apartment which meant we had to find a good taxi to take us home. Yvonne was telling us about just the week before we came out, the Bali bomber was being sentenced. The ministry was on high alert and seconded people were getting ready to evacuate. But it was all good.......thank you.
We were briefed that we couldn't go into some places and never go places where big groups of the public assembled.


It never put me off or made us scared to go out because we were prepared - Yvonne gave us a good overview and we all wanted to have experiences, to be adventurous, and Yvonne is a great host. 


Learnt a kupu hou/new word - boleh which means tourist. After coffee it was off to the hardware store just a short stroll away....one of our most favourite shops and it didn't disappoint. Except we all wanted to buy heaps there, just didn't know how we were going to get it home!! Bought a good small travel hip bag for my adventure to Yogyakarta.


Off home and into nice air conditioned room. Tues evening fly out to Yogykarta so in the morning we're going to try another mall.......... :)