WanderChai

Gallery: ifugao land- haven in the mountains.

sea2summit — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:12:00 GMT

a self induced cultural immersion

the backpacker's mecca- lombok

sea2summit — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 02:53:00 GMT

Alfred Russell Wallace, a natural scientist in the 19th century marked a point of transition between the flora and fauna of the western and the eastern Indonesia, this is called the Wallace line. The western boundary mark being west nusa tenggara (nusa tenggara barat), the main islands being Lombok and Sumbawa.

Lombok island is in itself an island of vast cultural and natural diversity. Its northern part being mountainous and lush with tall trees and shrubs. The mountains are clustered from east to the west. The highest volcano in the island, Mt. Rinjani 3,726 m asl, is the country's third highest. This area is flocked one of the richest flora and fauna, it was awarded by the National Geographic and Conservation International, as the Destination Stewardship award of the 2004 World Legacy Award for environmental and social leaders.

The south, on the other hand, is arid and covered by savannas. The beaches are ravaged by large surfs (Tanjung A'an -this maybe the only place wherein one can surf everyday). Large mammals are absent and are instead replaced by marsupials, lizards, cockatoos and parrots. The eastern part of the island further pronounces the difference, wherein dry seasons are more prolonged. The staple food being corn and sago instead of rice.

During the 16th century, at around the first time the Islams came to the islands, four Hindu kingdoms co-existed with them in apparent peace with the neighboring west nusa tenggara. Lombok experienced a strong Balinese influences, but has strongly retained their unique identity. A small population of Buddhists also exists, them being the first inhabitants of the island. The indigenous people of the island are predominantly Moslems - the Sasaks. They have successfully retained a strong and distinguished traditions as do the neighboring island Sumbawa.

The island is famous for soft, white sand, virgin beaches. It is an unspoiled and peaceful version Bali where one can observe a stronger Indonesian ambient. Literally and figuratively: "You can see Bali from Lombok but not Lombok from Bali." The island has a mystical and exceptional charm and is relatively undiscovered except for Sengiggi and the now famous Gili islands (dubbed as Backpacker's Mecca).

Lombok's capital is Mataram. It is one of the safest and most peaceful cities in Indonesia. All over the island one can see the island's campaign slogan: B-ersih, I-ndah, S-ehat, A-man (Clean, Beautiful, Green and Safe). During the night the island, especially Senggigi is stamped with policemen on large occasions.

Must haves

Visiting the island, one must get a hold of the distinctive ikat handwoven tiles called "Songket." The cloths have a very rare designs that are somewhat reminiscent of Afrikan textiles. To appreciate it better you can drive the village of Sukarara wherein one can see how these textiles are handwoven. Prices in this village are relatively cheaper. The value of the textiles gets higher as it gets older.

Gallery: Lombok

sea2summit — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 02:39:00 GMT

ultimate island for wanderers

island of the gods - Bali

sea2summit — Thu, 1 Jan 2009 18:01:00 GMT

i landed at the famed island on the wee hours of the morning last dec 27. i was about to meet my friend, but he arrives late in the evening. so ive got all day for meeself.i wanted to poke around alone to practice my bahasa indonesia. thinking its just as small as boracay island (philippines), i was in for a shock. i took a cab from kutta beach to canggu, where the icononic tanah lot is. by heavens, the cab ride cost me 210,000 rp (about 600 pesos). not worth it, dont get me wrong, the view is spectacular, but i only get to take a few shots i needed to fly back to kutta because i booked a bus ride to ubud. i missed my ride. so i needed to sit still and wait for a few more hours. i decided to check out the beach. its weird i dont get to see, hear, smell and feel the beach from where i am seated- the starbucks chaise.

first off, i needed to eat, my stomach was waging war against me. i was looking for a place where i can grab cheap meal. 'there are warungs there,' a friend tipped me. warungs are small 'canteens' to our standard. cheap yet they serve genuine javanese and balinese meals.

after a full meal i decided to walk towards the beach (or i thought was the direction towards the beach). i followed the dripping men carrying boards of different shapes and sizes. really you can get lost here. buildings are as high as malls and alleys go on forever. its not the typical puerto or boracay (famous beaches in the philippines) scene wherein you smell, hear and feel the beach. no sands to signify hey this is beach area.

in short i was a bit scene shocked (not culture shock, been living in indonesia for quite some time, but i was surprised to see a very few locals). anyway after a ten minute scorching hot walk. i finally saw the beach. its not so inviting.

strong current and surf, the sand is not as white as they say, the beach is somewhat dirty too. there were hawkers everywhere. when i say hawkers they really are, they'll hawk til u scratch your eyeballs out.

after a few minutes i was on my way to ubud. a village said to be the heart of balinese art. as i biked around, im quite disappointed to see foreign shops lining along side of art shops. there were CK, DG, Ripcurl etc. well they spoiled the quiant peaceful atmosphere. i originally planned to stay overnight but i decided against it. i visited small art galleries and the Ubud museum. i fell in love with balinese art. after a few more bike trips i went back to catch the bus ride back to kutta. on our way we saw a roadside gathering of hindus, in time for their sunset prayer. they were seated by the road (creating a well received traffic) a priest showers them with flowers and water. in front of the crowd is the famous bull god.

the trip to ubud is around an hour and a half. but the traffic in denpasar is so heavy. we arrived in kutta around 9pm. i was getting worried about my friend not showing up so i decided to call an amal, an english speaking ojek driver(a motorcyce) whom a friend of mine referred. i asked him to help me look for a cheap place to crash just in case my friend doesnt show up. my chances are a little slim because it was holiday season after all. fortunately my friend saved me from my dilemma and finally gave me ring. he just landed in denpasar and he is on his way to Bali Dynasty. so i headed to the 4 star hotel and met him up. took a badly needed bath then headed on to check out the night spots. unfortunately it rained. my long thin dress was no match to the heavy rain falls so we decided to go back and grab our jackets. we walked an excruciating 20 or 30 minutes along the coast looking for a good bar. not quite happening. we ended up at hard rock, were surprisingly the in house band are filipinos - the redemption, a rock show band.

they were awesome, a relief from the none too great local bands. we met the bassist of the band (forgot his name teehee) so great to hear and speak tagalog! after a few self induced dances, two pitchers and two sets, we headed (light headedly) back to bali dynasty. havent slept a wink for 26 hours straight and my friend just came straight from kuala lumpur, soon enough we were snoring to each other. I was risen out of my coma by a phone call. it was near noon. i decided to dress up and explore the wonderful hotel. i left my snoring friend at his retreat (i am not too keen on waking a drunk snoring man). so i lounged by the pool area, drank coffee and read chinua achebe. my growling stomach reminded me to go back and drag my friend somewhere we can eat. we headed to a nearby warung. not the same one where i ate. its a little upscale. i wanted my friend to try a local dish, beef rendang. it was heaven and hell. its delicious and tender and spicy!

after the sumptuous meal we went to the beach and get our hands on one of the boards. not too good because people are everywhere like swarming flies. i decided against surfing and took on the role of photographer. we wanted to wait for sunset, but we got bored and headed back to the hotel to take a dip at the immense pool. the pool is like an oasis in the dessert. its jam packed. i lounged by the 'lounge pool.' chatted away with some westerners. this is the life i may say, i grabbed a cocktail drink to top it off.

time flew and my friend almost missed his flight. he needs to go back to KL. we parted ways. after prepping up i went to the irish pub then moved to paradiso bar. endured a couple of 'insisted' drinks, a bad band, worst conversations, even worse looks, then i headed back to the hotel before dawn. i booked a trip to padang bai, which i missed once again. i was on the 10 am trip packed with backpackers with oversized backpacks and oversized boards. the trip is around 2 hours. we arrived around lunch time. i headed to look for a beach front hotel. there were a lot. and they are way cheaper than kuta's. mine particularly is just 70,000 rupiah around 350 pesos. spacious, clean, western bathroom that has an open roof. quite nice ;) i immediately collapsed into the bed and dozed off. woke up around 2pm to my growling stomach. i went out to grab a meal and biked around. i found a great reggae bar to hang out later that night. i biked more towards the pura. but its too far i biked back and decided to just lay by the beach and watch the sunset. i took a couple of shots with my camera then i headed back to my room.

i met a couple of german divers. amazingly they speak bahasa indonesia. they invited me to go with them to the bar. padang bai might not be as upscale as its sister, kutta. but i like it better here. i felt the beach vibe here more than in kutta. people know each other and reggae music has never sounded better. i left the bar after a couple of bali hai. i can hear the ocean from my room. this is more like it. i got a good night's (or morning's since its technically morning) sleep.

Gallery: bali

sea2summit — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 18:52:00 GMT

being balinese

Gallery: mt. bromo

sea2summit — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:31:00 GMT

the tengger caldera volcanoes

a kiss of life and death

sea2summit — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:49:00 GMT

circa. Sept 21 2008 mount bromo was the first place i visited in indonesia. i saw it in websites but i didnt expect much but what i saw never left my internal memory. its an amazing place. no wonder national geographic featured it some years ago. we left around 1 am, from Malang, in time for sun rise. i joined a group, which is cheaper and sensible (only 250,000 rupiahs about 21 USD). its four hours of ride, half of which is on smooth amiable roads and the other on a rugged and punishing one. fortunately, i was asleep the whole time. we arrived at mt. penanjakan for sunrise viewing. the look out point is packed with tourists and large cameras. pity small me. the temperature is around 6 degrees celcius. my hands are almost numb but you can not miss the view of a lifetime. its a perfect day there were no clouds between us and the three mighty volcanoes. three because right in front of us is not only bromo. at the the background is the majestic mt. semeru the tallest mountain in java. and beside bromo is mt. batok. which is recognizable by the almost-perfect trenches running from its mouth down. and of course sandwiched in between them is bromo. this mountain became famous when a few years back it blew its entire top giving everybody a sneak peak of a volcanos' heart. now the blown away part crated a large crater- trudging the mouth and back (which in fact you can) will take you 45 minutes according to my guide. bromo is just one of the peaks inside a massive caldera that was formed thousands of years ago, called the tengger caldera. (caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption). inside the caldera are remains volcanic ashes dubbed as pasir laut (sea of sand). i was squeezing myself between large westerners in order to take a good shot of the caldera. it is an amazing sight. it seemed eerily out of this world. unearthly. like a scene from the moon. no kidding, it momentarily took my breath and memory away. i forgot that i was freezing and that i have to push the button of my camera. after the sun fully rose the weather went a little friendlier. we had breakfast of eggs and toasts and headed down to the sea of sand where we would begin the hike to the crater. i opted to ride a horse, as the tenggerese wont to do. the local people (tenggerese) are well known horse riders. my ride was named pelan (which ironically means slow) a mighty and strong (the mightiest and strongest looking amongst all) stallion. my guide dropped me off at the foot of bromo. its not a real hike because stairs with 140+ flights were built leading to the crater. youll know when you are near the brim, the strong pungent smell of sulfur will shall permeate your nostrils. after ten minutes of punishing assault (140+ flight of stairs is no joke, id rather be trekking on soil). the view loomed before me. i was on top of it all literally. i never saw an inside of a volcano nevertheless be on an active one. well, i swam at pinatubo's crater but its a lake now, 2.5 km caldera of water. but right there smack in front of my face is a fuming smoke of sulfur. looking keenly, you'll see the crevices where these fumes come from. whatever's beyond i don't want to know at that time its too freaky. i trudges along the brim just a few feet away from where i began. its exhilarating but the soil that i am trudging on is treacherous and could prove lethal. its a two-feet wide crumbling soil. you gotta be extra cautious or you've got two fates- left or right. left is roll down the volcanos' slope and right is the way straight to its flaming heart. grazing the lips of a volcano. a strange warm sensation overcame me, don't blame the sulfur, this always happen when i experience such sights. maybe its a sense of awareness. a great sense and appreciation of life and the living. whatever it is, its what keeps me going. what makes me want to endanger myself and explore. i know ill be back here.