From 'Yogya' we decided that it was time to experiment with a different form of transportation (mainly due to the fact that we had used most of our 9 lives on the roads already). Java unlike Bali has a train service, so we decided we should experience a train journey. However after hearing many other travelers stories of hot, squashed, smoke filled travel where foreigners are stared at in economy, we decided that we would upgrade, bypassing business and go for ‘eksecutif’. It was definitely money well spent, the seats were comfortable, there was a TV, the A/C worked, a free meal and drink was provided, no smoking and the little girl sitting on the opposite seats was so scared of us she could barely look at us, everything as you would say was perfect, then it started to rain. Shortly after, the roof started to leak onto the arm of Jo’s chair, having looked around we noticed that the only spare seats were in front of us and they too had sprung a leak but of course nobody else was affected, after a wry smile we managed to nullify the issue by placing a cup on the arm of the chair to stop the splash and we continued on our merry way, arriving in Jakarta on time!
We only spent an evening in Jakarta due the fact that everyone we spoke to about it had said that it wasn’t a nice place and they wouldn’t recommend spending any more time there than you had too. Like New York, Jakarta is also known by the name of a fruit, the ‘Big Durian’, a prickly armored fruit with one of the most pungent smells imaginable, so much so that along with the no smoking sign in the hotel room, there was also a no durians sign. It’s probably not fair to judge a city on such a short period of time, but in the evening we already decided spending the extra day in Yogya was worth it, and in the morning things actually looked worse. All that said the journey to the airport was pleasant and we arrived earlier than expected.
We arrived so early that the our flight time was not yet listed on the departures board and a check in desk was not yet open for our flight. We decided to try the frequent flyers desk to see if we could check in early and we told that i flight had been canceled! Thankfully as we had arrived so early we could leave on an earlier flight, however the only problem now was that it drastically reduced our time in the book shops, which as it turns out was probably a blessing as 6 books is probably enough! We managed to board our plane without further incident, saying Selamat Tinggal to Indonesia.
Highlights
Place - Ubud (Jo) , Yogyakarta (Ryan)
Attraction - Monkey Forest (Jo) Borobudur (Ryan)
Food - Sate Ayam (Jo) , Pedas Mie Goreng (Ryan)
Beer - Bintang (Jo), Storm Pale Ale (Ryan)
LowLights
Kuta (Both)
Probolinggo to Yogyakarta journey (Jo)
Gili belly (Ryan)
Ryan’s Gili belly (Jo)
For those of you thinking of possibly traveling to the region: Averages in USD
Accommodation - $8-10
Main meal - $2
620ml Beer - $2
330ml Soft Drink - 40c
Bottle of water - 20c
No photos, so until the next blog, so long
Ryan & Jo
