In May 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful trip to Indonesia in Eastern Asia. 36 1/2 hours of travel took us from Madison, Wi to LA, to Taiwan and finally to Jakarta! We decided that travel at our age is not for wimps! As we crossed the International Dateline, the time difference was 12 hours.
Jakarta is the largest Asian metropolis, with a population of 14 million people. It also has millions of motorbikes, 53 years of independence, the major religion is Islam, the US dollar is worth approximately 10,000 Rupiah, and there is a very large difference between the rich and poor. Our tour of Jakarta included The National Museum, which houses the world's largest collection of Southeast Asian ceramics and Hindu (Javanese) art.
Groups of school children smiled and posed for pictures as they passed by!
After visiting the National Monument, located in Freedom Square,
We stopped to stroll around the old city of Batavia, a very clean and charming town square with shops and restaurants. There was also a colorful display of bicycles with matching hats. The square seemed solight and airy and was probably like Jakarta in the early days.
At the end of the day, we took a flight to Solo City in central Java. After a really busy and hot day, we were happy to check into The Lor Inn, with it's beautiful landscaping and cascading pools. It was a refreshing stay at a grand hotel. The next day we set out to explore Solo City, visiting the Maghunegaren Palace and the local food market, where we were able to get some great "people pictures". They loved posing for us!
The last place of interest on our schedule was Prambanan, a 9th century temple dedicated to a trio of Hindu deities.
From Solo City to Jogjakarta (pronounced "yogikarta), an early departure was necessary in order to beat the crowds and the heat of the day. Our first stop was a visit to Borobudur, a spectacular Buddhist Temple Complex. The name means "temple on the hill" and is a beautiful, massive site from the 8th century A.D. It's dome-like structures are called "stupas". The temple is the highest point in Java, it is next to the water and faces the volcano. When it was excavated, it was forgotten about for a long time, as Islam had taken over as the main religion. Later the Buddhists reconstructed it brick by brick. We climbed many, many steps to the different levels before reaching the "Sphere of Nirvana" on the top where there many "stupas" or dome-like structures. Some facts I learned: 1) Buddha was a teacher 2) Buddhism has no gods 3) Hinduism has 3 gods 4) both avoid the "caste system" 5) both believe in nature
Next stop was "Taman Sari", a beautiful park built for the Sultans in the 18th century. We visited the Sultan's Palace, where the current Sultan lives with his one and only wife! He has 5 daughters attending universities in the USA and Europe. The people love him!
Our day in Jogjakarta ended with a dinner show on an outside stage. It was a production by the traditional Ramayana Dancers. They told a love story with only their dancing. The show was very beautiful and entertaining, but very long and it got very hot sitting outside!
Finally it was time to leave for Paradise! After a beautiful sunrise over the Merapi volcano,
3.8 million people
Ring of Fire - 2000 active volcanoes
95% Hindu, Protestant and Catholic
No high rise buildings
2000 temples
Our first destination on Bali was the small city of Ubud where we strolled through the markets, visited the old palace in the city center and dined at "Bridges" on the river.
One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen is "Goa Gajah" or Elephant Cave on the Elephant River in Ubud. The site is an 11th century meditation place dedicated to the Buddhist Monks to live in harmony. It's a very, very beautiful and serene complex with lush walking paths, fountains used by Monks to bathe before meditation, and a huge statue of "Ganesh", who has the head of an elephant and the body of a human. It was heaven and millions of photo ops!
I think we really saw as much as possibly ! Although it could be tiring in the heat, we didn't want to slow down! We wanted to see everything! We witnessed a wood carving demonstration and making of shadow puppets, saw the lovely green rice terraces in the small town of Sebatu, coffee tasting at a plantation in Tegalang, viewed the Batur Volcano which last erupted in 1999 in Eastern Bali, then to a huge art gallery and silver factory. Thus ended a long day of exploring Bali! Makes me tired to remember it all!
We finally arrived in Seminyak, on the west coast of Bail, where we had a great hotel right on the beach of the Indian Ocean. This was to be our home for the next 3 days and nights in Paradise!
Our last day of exploring included a stop at Mengwi Temple, a beautiful and exotic temple from 1634.
Last stop was at another temple complex on a cliff over the ocean. The grounds were absolutely beautiful, but was inhabited by lots of pesky monkeys!! We were warned to take off our glasses and hats or they would steal them! And they sure did harass the tourists!
Our last day in Paradise!!! No wake-up call, no bus rides or crowds of people!! Just a luxurious lazy day in "Nirvana"! What Bali is all about! After a leisurely breakfast by the ocean, we walked on the beach, shopped from vendors, played in the waves, read and just continued to be lazy! After lunch, we enjoyed a 2 hour hot stone massage in the spa. How to get really spoiled in one day!! Found a restaurant on the beach, took a last walk on the ocean and witnessed a beautiful sunset.
Back to the USA with wonderful memories of a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Bali is indeed a beautiful, relaxing, exotic and cultural experience. I leave this paradise with a heavy heart and a resolve to return someday!
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