Indonesian Critters

The first thing I should mention about the Pangandaran Beach area is that it was devastated by a huge tsunami in 2006.  This was not the same tsunami that hit Banda Ache and the Indian Ocean a few years earlier.

550 people were killed, and over 50,000 were left without homes or businesses.  The area started to recover after only 2 months, and today, things look pretty much normal.  Only the new tsunami evacuation route signs are a physical reminder of what happened.

The whole group took part in an evening walk through a nearby Nature Reserve.  Our guide was absolutely uncanny about spotting animals in the forest.  The pictures I have posted are from before we got deep in the forest.  We tried to get pictures of flying squirrels in flight right over us, but you know how hard photography like that is.

We saw barking deer, macaque monkeys, monitor lizards, various birds and insects, plus we had a couple of other surprises.  The edge of the forest had ruined remains of Japanese bunkers from WWII.  Our guide insisted that we go into one, and as it was almost high enough to stand up in, and many of us had flashlights, we went for it.

It was set up in a T-shape underground, and he showed us down to the base of the "T".  When we got there, we were confronted in the darkness by a very large monitor lizard (no, not a Kimodo Dragon!), but he was pretty big and scary looking.  Some people in the group started getting a little freaked out, and decided that a hasty, but quiet retreat was required.  I was one of the last in, so they passed me just as I was approaching the area with the lizard in it.

All of a sudden, there was a loud noise right by my feet.  I looked, and the monitor lizard went charging by me, just inches away.  It happened so fast, I didn't bother to panic (hey, he had just passed me).  But the people exiting were just ahead of him.

The screaming (male and female) was just hilarious, as most of the rest of the group paniced, and headed back out, turning right at the "T".  Mr. Lizard took a left, but of course the group was unaware of that.  I calmly took a right as well, and exited the cave laughing so hard!  Hey, these are the things that are starting to bond our travel group.

We continued on through the forest, with our guide spotting all kinds of wildlife.  Several time, flying squirrels went gliding right over us.

There was to be yet one other dark and scary surprise.  We entered a huge and very magnificent natural cave.  We had our flashlight on, so no problem.  By the way, I broke down this trip and got one of those "Amazing Race" type flashlights that you wear on your head.  Mine has adjustable light levels, and can be clicked into aiming at different levels vertically.  It has amazing LED light technologies, and I am sold on it!  Won't leave home without it travelling again.

Anyway, we stopped at kind of a junction area in the cave, and out guide ordered all of us to turn off our lights.  Still fresh from the monitor lizard scare, many did not want to do it.  Everyone finally relented, and we stood there frozen in the absolute pitch black.

Our guide made some strange noises, and threw what sounded like food on the cave floor.  Suddenly, all around us in the dark there was the furious scurrying of come kind of critters.  What they were we had no idea.  There were a couple of stiffled squeals, and the guide said to turn on our lights.

There all over the floor of the cave, were about 8 to 10 porcupines, chomping away on the food our guide brought.  They seemed quite gentle and harmless, so we did what traveller do... we took pictures.

We exited the cave to dusk on a beach on the other side.  Above us, hundreds of fruit bats from other caves took to the skies above us, heading out for the evening.

We walked back to town, feeling like we had had an adventure.  After a nice dinner by the pool at our hotel, we headed out to find a couple of beers on the beach.

As it was not the weekend or holidays, the town was pretty quiet.  We did happen upon some kind of Indonesian private party happening, and soon found ourselves dancing with complete strangers (yes, even yours truly).  Adventure travel has a way of loosening you up.

Let's go to the Beach

The next morning we headed south and east, zipping through the lush tropical countryside of Java in two very comfortable air-conditioned minivans.  We were headed to Pangandaran, one of Java's few beach resort areas.  Although Indonesia is famous for having some superb beaches on various islands, including Bali, there are not many on Java.  Pangandaran is one of those few, so it is packed on weekends and Indonesian holidays.  We were there on some weekdays, so it was pretty laid back and relaxed, the perfect antidote to the busy cities.

Intrepid, our travel company, proved to be like GAP (g adventures) again by surprising us with some pretty spiff accommodations for budget travelers.  The Sunrise Beach Hotel was right on one of the beaches, and the rooms were spacious and very nice.  We all had private balconies with very nice upholstered rattan furniture.  We settled in and got comfortable, checking out a very nice (and clean) pool, complete with poolside restaurant... ahhh, this was going to be nice.

Further adventures awaited us, and I will try to update you with the details soon.

By the way, I know many of you don't bother with all the photos on my flickr account, but it is way ahead of this blog timeline wise so far.  Instructions to access it are in the main headings in my blog.

Salamat datang from Pangandaran, Indonesia.

Another huge Indonesian City

After many comfortable hours on the train, we arrived in Bandung, the fourth largest city in Indonesia (7 million in the metro region).  Bandung is at a slightly higher elevation than Jakarta, so the temperature is not quite as hot (read 28 compared to 33).  Bandung was once known as the "Paris of the East"; but like so many things in Indonesia, the old colonial building preservation is spotty.

Our hotel was within walking distance of the train station, an after getting settled we set out to explore Bandung with our guide, Nova, and a local driver.  We had a fantastic lunch in a covered open air "galleria" of sorts.  Food here is very good, not too scary at all for my more conservative friends, and of course ridiculously cheap.  A huge plate of fried noodles with chicken and vegetables plus a Sprite in a very upscale place was about Rp 30,000 (approx $3.).

We did a walking tour of the colonial area of town, and it was very nice.  Among other things, Bandung is famous for holding the first Asia-Africa conference, presided over by Indonesia's first president.

We then proceeded to Bandung's Technical University, one of the finest in the country.  Many of Indonesia's leaders went to school here.  The University features some beautiful architecture, build with gorgeous exotic Indonesian hardwoods.  We walked around and got to snoop inside some of the buildings.  Most of the University is non-smoking, with a tiny outside area designated for smoking.  I have not mentioned this yet, but Indonesians smoke like chimneys... but at least is it usually their own type of clove cigarettes that have a somewhat pleasant smell.

We then drove a little outside town to see a traditional Sundanese bamboo music performance by Udjo Angklung.  It was to last about 1 1/2 hours, and I must admit I thought it was going to be tedious..... Not!

The group, which has toured all kinds of major world cities, played traditional Indonesian instruments, which are mostly percussion.  There was a couple of good (but very corny) MC's.  But the cute part was all the dancers, including lots of cute little kids that danced to the music.

They also did a traditional Javanese hand puppet show, where a single and very talented puppeteer manipulated 6 different puppets while providing the voices.  It was in Bahasa Indonesian, and again, pretty corny, but we got the idea.

Then came the fun part.  They handed out these bamboo instruments to all of the audience members.  The little girls in the picture below are holding examples.  Our instruments were labeled 1 through 8, corresponding to the notes of a C major scale (I was E).  The notes were scattered randomly throughout the audience.

Now as we all know, many people cannot read music.  No problem, the clever Music Director "conducted" us using a system of calling out numbers and using hand gestures... he was a master!  We warmed up doing Doe Rey Me, and by the end of the program, were doing somewhat complex numbers in harmony, aided by a giant chart (again using numbers).

The audience was full of people from all over the world, including lots of local Indonesians.  Everyone was laughing, having fun, and grinning ear to ear.

It ended with a kinda "We are the World" finale where everyone danced around together on the floor.  This was not a tedious performance!

I just love moments like this!

Escape from Jakarta

It is a telling thing that Intrepid's itinerary leaves Jakarta right away; there really is not much to see here.  Met my new group who seem very nice.  Canadian, Dutch, English, Irish and American.  After a good night's sleep, it was off to the train station, and an Executif (Indonesian spelling) class train to Bandung.



We rolled out on the really comfortable air conditioned train, passing dozens of highrises, busy streets and horrific slums.

Arrived in Bandung, and checked into an OK hotel.  

The Governor's residence in Bandung

Maxonehotel at Sabang, Jakarta, Indonesia

Had an incredibly long day on Friday/Saturday (International date line), flying 13 1/2 hours to Hong Kong, with a tight connection to Jakarta on Cathay Pacific.  4 hours later landed in Indonesia.  Was very tired and just wanted to get to my hotel.

I used the prepaid taxi booth to get me into town, a little expensive, but really $20 for about an hour in a really nice taxi was OK.

This is my hotel in Jakarta.  I knew the rooms were small, but that was just fine for me.  The bed and linens were very nice, very contemporary decor, flat screen TV and "rainforest" shower.

I will let the pics speak for themselves.

I just moved to Intrpid's hotel in Jakarta, a dump in comparison!

A Day of Vouchers

The plan for yesterday (Thursday) was to take Air Canada Executive First from Vancouver to Tokyo, and overnight at the Narita Hilton, then continue on to Jakarta the next day.

Well, I sit here today (Friday), in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, feeling like I am in a time loop.

The day started with a call from the Air Canada concierge telling me my flight would be delayed by 2 1/2 hours.  The plane used for the flight was late coming in from London.

OK, so off to the airport I go, not rushing as there was now additional time.  I checked in at Executive Class, and was given a $15 lunch voucher, good at any restaurant at the airport.  I had not eaten, anticipating food in the lounge, but decided a light meal might be nice.  I cleared security with no problems, and headed to Milestones, in the International Departure area.   They were still serving eggs benny, so I decided to go for that.

More freebies awaited me in the Maple Leaf lounge - nice snacks, drinks and reading material.  Our plane was a beautiful state of the art 777-300ER, and I was in seat 3A, a private pod.  The plane finally took off for Tokyo at 4:45, and we were offered the usual champagne as we got seated.

The service was lovely, with starter seafood and salad served with a wonderful Sauvignon Blanc.  A prime beef tenderloin was to follow with a red Malbac, then a cheese and fruit plate.  While I was indulging in all this, an announcement was made asking if there was a doctor or nurse on board.

To make a long story short, both a flight attendant and a passenger were having problems, and as we flew over northern BC, the captain announced that we were to return to Vancouver.  We made a wide circle, and were given priority clearance to land at Vancouver.

Stretchers were waiting to take away the 2 ill people, then we were given Customs forms to clear back into Vancouver... weird.  Got to give it to Canada Border Services, clearing through was a breeze.  Air Canada personal were waiting for us, with hotel vouchers for Executive First passengers at the Fairmont Airport Hotel.  I think rooms there normally start at $300, so it was pretty nice.

I resisted the urge to open the $6.50 bottle of water, and declined to order the $30 breakfast, which with taxes and manditory tip would have come to about $40.  They did give us a $32 meal voucher, and as I had just eaten a steak dinner, I used for some wine at the bar (this sounds like the Neil you know!).

There was a huge crowded area set up to re-book everyone, but I skipped over to ticketing.  The lady said I should go to the special area, but then as ticketing people tend to do, she started typing like a fiend.  I told her going through Tokyo was not important, I just wanted to get to Jakarta.  Within 5 minutes, she had a new itinerary for me for the next day.  I avoided an early start for our now 7AM Tokyo flight, as she put me through Hong Kong, with a tight connection on Cathay Pacific to Jakarta, and yes, Executive Class all the way.

So here I am in the lounge again, thinking I may have the Salmon on today's flight.  This computer will not let me post pictures, but I will try to add a couple later to make this blog more interesting.

Experienced traveller that I am, I never once got stressed or worried, just went with the flow.  Interesting start to what I am sure is going to be a fantastic trip.



Oh, I almost forgot - checking in beside me this morning were the members of Bachman Turner Overdrive!

The Adventure Continues... again!

Well, at the risk of sounding exactly like my first blog regarding Ecuador, it feels sort of like the Around the World trip is continuing. This is actually a missing piece from the RTW trip. My biggest fans (you know who you are) may recall my trip plan called for a trip across the length of Indonesia. For a variety of complicated reasons, I ended up flying right over Indonesia without stopping.

So, this time I am not travelling the full length of the country, but am covering the length of Java, ending in Bali. As I am too "old" to go with G Adventures, I am trying Intrepid this time. Details about the trip are on their website; the trip is called Jakarta to Ubud.

And of course, just like the RTW trip I am travelling Business Class again. I have burnt up all my Aeroplan points now, but managed to get Executive First all the way. Vancouver - Tokyo - Jakarta... open jaw... Denpasar (Bali) - Singapore - Shanghai - Vancouver.

Will do my best to keep this blog updated and interesting.

I am back doing what I most love to do in life!!!!