Malang

23 – 25 March 2010

Travelling to Malang by public bus got me off the tourist route again. The public bus was great fun at each stop 1 or 2 people get on who will be selling drinks and snacks, you are also likely to get some buskers, these pass along the bus then get off the next time it stops.

Apart from the brain ache of reading through and critiquing Sonya’s final year project on three occasions I spent a pleasant couple of days wandering around the city and travelling further afield on local bemo and buses. There is nothing spectacular or exceptionally remarkable about the area but sometimes it is nice to be somewhere where you are not over stimulated. When I eventually got to it I did enjoy Kibun Raja which is a large botanical garden and arboretum. As so often in Indonesia people do not know where the place you want to go to is but tell you confidently to head straight, left or right and I went round in a very large circle and was put on bemos that did not go anywhere near the gardens but at least I saw a lot of different villagesJ

There is a very large bird market in Malang – these are primarily sold for their songs. From what I gather these are captured in the wild then kept crammed into communal cages before being sold to spend the rest of their lives in solitary existence in a small cage. The market also had a small selection of other pets, rabbits, dogs, cats, lizards, snakes and monkeys and all the cages and food needed for their keep.

Gunung Bromo

21 - 22 March 2010

Well I expected to arrive in Cemoro Lawang on the edge of the crater overlooking Gunung Bromo yesterday but my travel plans did not allow enough time for waiting for other passengers. I had used ojek, ferry, bemo and public bus to travel to Probolinggo about 6 hours travelling and 3 hours waiting at various points along the journey. At least there was a steady stream of buskers and food sellers jumping on and off the bus to keep me entertained as well as ever changing scenery. I had not allowed for quite this level of delay so by the time I arrived there were very few people wanting to travel further. I was not prepared to charter a bemo to do the trip alone so had to stay in Probolinggo over night.

Cemoro Lawang is on the edge of the Tengger caldera in which three volcanoes have emerged from the sea of ash. Gunung Bromo is one of these and send out a constant stream of sulphurous steam. The rainy season is not the best time to be visiting any high peak but I did manage to catch some excellent views during my stay here. The area around Cemoro Lawang was incredibly fertile with lots of small vegetable fields clinging to the steep hills.

I did not particularly enjoy my stay here as I found the locals totally money and the men sex obsessed. It did not matter how much I spoke with them they are convinced all Westerners have loads of money which they should be parted from by paying extremely inflated prices for everything and that any Western woman travelling alone must be desperate for sex; a service they all seem to want to provide.

Bali barat

17 – 19 Maret 2010

Travelling the day after Nyepi was not the brightest idea the roads were very busy with people heading home from their villages after the holiday. We encountered four or five broken down lorries which caused absolute chaos with the already dense traffic on the narrow winding road from Denpasar to Gilimanuk. Gilimanuk is the port where ferries leave for Java and little else happens there.

I took a local guide to the National Park where we spent three hours walking. He was an excellent bird mimic and managed to bring several males of different species close to us. We heard but never managed to see barking deer – the vegetation is too lush due to the rainy season to see them as they are timid. We did however see a large family of monkeys and lots of insects and an amazing selection of snails.

I also travelled back along the south coast to Medewi which is another surfers mecca. The surf break is very close to shore so I was able to get a good view of the surfers whilst talking to some of the locals.

I discovered a great warung near my hotel and spent several hours talking to the proprietor and customers. At one point a soldier left only to come hurrying back about 5 minutes later – he had put his gun on the side at the back of the warung and forgot it when he left!

Ubud for Nyepi

15 – 16 March 2010

For details of Nyepi read entries for March 2009 earlier in my blog.

This year the ogoh-ogoh (monsters) parades were allowed to take place and as I travelled from Lovina to Ubud I saw vast numbers of these being prepared for the local parades which take place in each village. In Ubud the parade was massive with all the ogoh-ogoh initially being taken to the football field then in turn going to the main square where the teams carrying them made them ‘dance’. Most villages seemed to have submitted 3 ogoh-ogoh, one from the kindergarden, one of school children and then a very large one from the adults. To get these large ones through the streets needed guys with long poles to lift the wires up whilst the teams lowered the monster as much as possible to get underneath. As if the monsters on their bamboo plinths were not heavy enough a couple of men would be stood on the plinth to help the monster to gyrate and to let of fireworks, doves etc.

For the day of silence I stayed in a small hotel with two other volunteers. We had the luxury of a swimming pool and WiFi. There were lovely views over rice fields and it was wonderfully tranquil. Basic Indonesian food was provided for out meals.

Lovina

11 – 14 March 2010

Lovina is an area in the north of Bali consisting of several villages along the main road. It has a narrow black sand beach. The main attraction here is early morning dolphin watching boat trips followed by snorkelling.

I was here in the run up to Nyepi – the Hindu New Year and there were various ceremonies going on including one on the beach that I attended at the invitation of the homestay proprietor.

I used the homestay as a base to go walking and exploring further afield by local bus. I did struggle to get anything approaching local prices anywhere in Lovina or on the buses. Even when passengers did the same journey as I did and the conductor knew I had seen what they paid they tried to charge me more.

Singapore - visa run

5-6 March 2010

My contract with VSO ended as I was unable to extend my visa to work in Indonesia due to issues with the Memorandum of Understanding. However VSO pay for health insurance for volunteers for a further 3 months at the end of the contract to allow time for travel on the way back to the home country. I decided I wanted to travel more in Indonesia but therefore needed a new visa. This entailed a 24 hour trip to Singapore.

My second impression of Singapore was much like my first – it is not a place I would choose to spend time. It is so Westernised and organised. I did manage some sightseeing but the best sight was the lights of Singapore receding as I flew back to Bali.

Finishing my contract with VSO

The next few days were spent sorting out the final end of placement issues with VSO and putting my luggage into storage at the office.