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There isn't much of a reason to it other than I feel like it, but I think I'll switch my blogging to English. I find the language more flowing. In fact, I remember an interview with a Flemish singer/songwriter who brought up a study actually proving this. Aside of that I find myself reading and thinking a lot in English. English has been the main language of my travelling, so to me it feels natural that my blogging will follow.
It has been a while since I have updated my blog. I remember other travellers telling me they set out to keep a blog, but ended up not maintaining it. I don't know if this hiatus is the start of a larger pattern towards longer blog intervals or it is just a cumulation of circumstance. There is no need to analyze. It will become apparant by itself.
A sense of meloncholy has been creeping up on me. I am not sure when it started exactly but I have seen it coming up between Koh Tao and Railay Beach, between Railay and Perhentian and again since I left from Melaka to Java.
As was recommended to me by many, many people, I skipped Jakarta entirely and took the first bus that would take me out of there. Well, into the general direction of Cibodas. Turns out I had to go through Bogor and Bogor came recommended in my guide book for its more quiet nature and botanical gardens. As soon as I arrived I had one look around and decided to leave its grey dust and smog right behind me.
Sitting in a minivan with three seat rows, waiting until it was filled up with four people on each row before it departed, it was firmly confirmed that Indonesia is definitely still South-East Asia. The driver dropped me off at a town which was not Cibodas. No, instead of dropping me off where I was supposed to be dropped off, the driver did not even drop me off in Cipanas where it would have taken a short ride to Cibodas, but instead decided the best stop for me would be the town further along the road, called Cianjur.
After a look at my map, a crash course in bargaining in Bahasa Indonesia, using mostly the language page of Lonely Planet and my fingers for counting I was back on my way to Cibodas where I was dropped off right at the entrance, being ensured the Cibodas Guest House was right around the corner.
It wasn't. Another three kilometers back and 3000 rupiah lighter I finallly arrived where I needed to be. They could have charged me double for the room and I would have taken it. What a way to start out.
The next day lots of Indonesian people asked me what I thought about the place. Being diplomatic I avoided mentioning my inefficient travels through the endless rows of grey concrete, smog and rubbish and answered I only just arrived and cannot say much about it, but the people seemed nice. And they are. A bit too nice perhaps. People love to practice their English with foreigners and have their picture taken with them. This happens frequently. Or at least they shout "Hello Mister!" at me while I was still trying to get the hang of when to say "selamat pagi, siang, sore or malam" depending on the time of day. I must confess more often I opted for the easier "hello" back.
My plan after a good night's rest was to hike up the mountain, thinking I would get some breakfast along the way, except... Ramadan! Everything was closed and without breakfast it would be very unwise to hike up. I made my rounds along the botanical gardens and upon return I was greeted by a jolly fellow who soon revealed himself to be a guide who could show me the local sights on the back of his scooter. Weighing my options between just kicking back and read all day or see some of the area, I said "Why not?".
I enjoyed the day out and considered it worth the Rupiah and the trouble. But once the guide thinks he has a catch, they keep on reeling in. He asked me about my plans and offered to take me to Bandung so I wouldn't have to take the bus. I passed up on the experience of a lifetime of sitting on the back of a scooter with my legs up to my chest for two hours and he came up with another plan. Or a couple of plans really. He was planning out three days ahead for me until I told him I really don't like to make schedules and don't really need anyonelse to do it for me either.
In casual conversation with the guides hanging around at the guest house they often hinted how much Rupiah you get for your Euro and how nice other travellers were when giving them tips. How our salaries were like the salary of a minister over here, etc. It was a bit tiresome and I responded by saying that in Holland the cost of living can be equally multiplied and how travellers who don't have any income are understandably trying to stretch their Dollar or Euro as far as it goes otherwise it means the end of their travels.
I did meet some genuinely helfpul and friendly people though and if it weren't for them I would have eyed every local trying to strike up a conversation with cynical suspicion. But I won't do that. It's not how I like to start an interaction.
Maybe it's all a bit too different from the ease and convinience of Malaysia and Thailand. I am not saying it is hard. It's still easy, but a little bit more demanding. And each time I got out of a bus my first thought was "How do I get out of there fast?" Yogyakarta has redeeming qualities, but most of the cities are just terrible to be in. Even after leaving by train from Bandung it took many hours before I stopped seeing the same gray mass of concrete and garbage.
So here I am in Yogya, gotten violently ill with a stomach bug. I never had it as bad as it was two days ago. But I am steadily heading back to normal again. Being very careful and aware of my choice in food and drinks. Even the bed bug bites from the executive class train aren't itching as much anymore.
I have been hopping around from hotel to hostel to hostel (fully booked) to hotel and finally decided that tomorrow I will splurge (relatively speaking) and check into a nice room for 3 nights with a clean and soft double bed, flat screen TV, private bathroom and a hot shower. And close to the backpacker area where I can have a drink and socialize a bit.
I will be visiting the temples on Sunday and after that I'll probably head to Bali via Bromo on Tuesday. My plans for Bali: Yoga and diving. Probably I try some surfing as well. And to be honest, I could go for a bit of partying. It's been a while since I left Thailand.
- comments
Marc Gelukkig is er google translation om je blog te vertalen. Lastige taal hoor dat Engels ;-)
Richard Nou, ik heb zojuis mijn eerste 'proof read' en 'edit' gedaan. Dat was nodig ook. :) Ik was te lui om er doorheen te lezen gisteren, maar ja, als ik het leesbaar wil houden hoort dat er ook bij.
Eric Goed om te lezen, maar zie toch dat het reizen zo niet altijd even makkelijk kan zijn. Behulpzame mensen zijn dus niet altijd even behulpzaam als ze doen voorkomen en uiteindelijk draait het toch vaak om geld. Hoop dat je een beetje genoten hebt van je kamer met douche/eigenbadkamer en flatscreen tv (wat ze daar ook op uitzenden).
Richard National Geographic Adventure en HBO movie channel. Vooral die eerste was leuk. In plaats van zelf reizen weer eens kijken hoe ze dat op TV doen :) Klinkt raar, maar daar had ik even behoefte aan.