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Indonesia 🙆
  • Rhonda Kraak
  • Rhonda Kraak

Indonesia 🙆

Hell bent on bent on pleasure we traverse the coffee plantations and wilds of Java before a bogan bule in Bali. Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 19, 2024
    Rhonda KraakIndonesia 🙆Traveler

    Above the clouds

    July 19, 2024 in Indonesia 🌙 24 °C

    Far too early and far more cold we set off for the airport, not able to sit down, our pockets bulging with phones and chargers nervous like jockeys for the 7k weigh-in.

    Not really surprised to see the Bali-bound newly minted millionaires beer-swillering at 6:30am. Better option than watching the origin replays on the big screen TVs 😵

    Landing in Denpasar we shook off 98% of our fellow travellers as we wound our way through myriads of tiled empty walkways to find our domestic flights.

     We fast became the 'bule' minority but only in looks as the locals seemed surprisingly English fluent. We feasted on our first Nasi Goreng and some strange square meatball soup Rach had to have.

    Timezone miscalculations aside, we arrived at the capital Jakarta, grabbed a 'Grab' driver and strapped ourselves in fully expecting another near death taxi transfer. To our surprise and shock we putt putted through the heaving traffic performing a graceful, but jerky ballet, as every size vehicle weaved and tucked in every which way but loose without incident. Minor miracle we thought 🙏 mind you no-one is driving about 40 clicks 🤣

    Had we found the planet Tolerance???

    After a quick bomb search of the taxi (consulate policy) and security eyeball we rolled into our sepupu's (cousins) flash stone tower digs.

    Dinner was a fiery affair of non stop Padang region dishes appearing. A tussle was made for the cold fruit plate when Bills mango smoothie (with corn kernels for decoration) emptied. Rach won the chilli eating contest, Bills lips swollen and Eric's face red and sweat mopped. Bules we were.

    We slept like the dead... Until a 5am very loud 30min sing sing from the church nextdoor with a pointy roof.

    All part of the cultural experience 😜 if you look hard a line of active volcanoes poking heads out in pics.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakIndonesia 🙆Traveler

    Two bites in Bandung

    July 20, 2024 in Indonesia ⛅ 25 °C

    The second bite of chilli not being very enjoyable, we gave our host's weetbix and exotic fruits a very hearty welcome for breakfast. Fuelled, we procured a gutsy ute and started on our road trip to blessed, green and cool Bandung.

    Traffic expertly manoeuvred through by Sirpupu, we arrived at our luxury mountain chalet. Hot springs gushed through the green Feng Sui and we found ourselves in our private grotto sipping a lovely WA Riesling in tea cups, John Butler organically soothing us all and a knock at the gate brought us delicious spiced banana fritters, and some kind of banana/chocolate quasi soup herbal tea.

    The next morning our sirpupu's fearless little 💪 numbat from WA took the wheel and safaried us to the Tangkuban Perahu (volcano that produces the hot springs)
    It has a distinctive shape; it looks like an “overturned boat”. We watched the hot bubbling pools of liquid hot enough to melt a terminator 😁

    After a quick frollick in the tea bushels, that didn't smell like tea,
    we 4WDrived (with Eric supplying the traction) up a steep road to find the onsite waterfall. Very lovely cool spot, man-made and extremely beautifully cared for gardens and bonsai looking plants.

    The ute only fitting 5 pax, Rhonda and willing William volunteered the 2 hour taxi ride to Bandung to catch the fastest train in the world (338k) back to Jakarta. The fiery Padang was scared out of us by white corpse-costumed characters, moaning and baring teeth through the window in the stopped traffic. William slipping the obliging taxi man a 'tenner' the windows wound up and the aircon came on, forcing the ghouls to resort to pressing their faces against the closed windows and grimacing. See photos.

    Our trip: 30 min speed train, the others 3.5 hours by road. You can imagine how fast was the blur.

    Heading now to Hause Rooftop Bar while we await the others return.
    Mardi 🖐️    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakIndonesia 🙆Traveler

    The harvest and the paparazzi

    July 22, 2024 in Indonesia ☀️ 27 °C

    Early start flying to Yogyakarta (Yogy) away from our beloved 'lations. Big kisses to Hoolia (Julia) and Sipupu for your amazingly generous hospitality 😁 Washerwoman Eric spent most of the night in the laundry 🤣 carry on luggage limiting our wardrobe

    Our guide, Dhedy, most punctually arrived and up to the higher plantation elevations we sped.

    The padi fields opened up before us and the road deteriorated as we chugged up to the mountains.

    Our lunch destination seemed a reasonable enough distance up the hill, through the wavering heat haze and doused in DEET and permethrin we trod carefully on a goat track slightly too narrow for Eric and Bill's big cloppers. Huffing, sweating and puffing we paused to chat with wizened putris (grandmothers) with elastic muscular skeletal systems, big smiles and daunting work ethics as they planted the rice in swaying, backwards moving formation.

    I came across the expression: "rukun agawe santosa, crah agawe bubrah" : our strength lies in our ability to work together. Java has amazed us with how all strive for tolerance and forbearance in all things despite there being 160 million people all needing to co-exist.

    Back to our hard slog 😉 we finally reached the, at times, seemingly mythical coffee shop and were treated to lunch in our own pagoda overlooking a vast, expansive view of green rice fields, lush rainforest and shimmering distant purple mountains. Lunch was waiting in neat woven boxes of the freshest and most tantalising treat of rendang, satay, noodles, yellow rice and fresh fruit; we squished our long caucasian legs into some form of cross leggedness - (Eric failed) to eat our Indonesian feast (after we swallowed a good handful of tummy tabs to be safe).

    Being a coffee plantation we were of course treated to a very smooth brew and then the paparazzi closed in...

    Being a new business the 'Bules' in the pagoda were prime fat marketing material. So along came Dodi the smooth, snake charmer and whisperer of coffee beans and with a large retinue of cameraman and curious randoms, our coffee picking apparatus provisioned, up the mountain we were marched to earn our lunch.

    To be continued...    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakIndonesia 🙆Traveler

    Movie Stars✨ & Machetes

    July 22, 2024 in Indonesia ⛅ 29 °C

    With honeyed coaxing the prime, fat bule were herded up the hill, every step and drop of sweat recorded by the faithful camera crew retinue as we entered the forest. Just "one kee-lomita" we were encouraged as the elevation and puffing increased.

    The forest closed in and darkened, the track grew narrow and muddier as we starting passing coffee trees bursting with red beans that would easily sufficed for our slave labour... but still we stomped on, the video cameras and random's mobile phones filming the huffs and puffs. It was starting to feel like a movie but not with a good ending.

    After a lot more steps we paused and Koffee Kamal set the filmset crew and began to soliloquy the plantation's advantages straight down the lens, the green leaves and red beans of the coffee tree all around.

    We were then pushed up through the scrub to the most inaccessible bushel and shown the dexterous speed and efficiency required. Ants ran down our hands, leaves slapped our faces as our clumsy attempts did little to fill our baskets. The cameras eyes then moved to focus on Eric, the fattest one, and he blossomed and shone under the spotlight, posturating and pantomiming as directed.

    Meanwhile my suspicions of being kidnapped and buried grew as did my dire need for white porcelain. Eric finally appeared with his supporting actors and crew with lots of male guffawing and bravado.

    Then the machetes appeared... as did a gang of plantation workers all curious what the fuss was with the bules.

    In panic I determinedly intoned our intentions of wanting to leave but Eric was able to dodge the arrows I stared at him and continued to bask in the adoration. Eventually he picked up on my psycho panic vibe and intimated it was time to go but was still persuaded and press ganged into joining in the coffee washing process and a revelation of a 9th century temples on the return trek.

    The temple was very beautiful even though earthquakes had forced many rebuilds. A dreamlike and tranquil green floating cloud.

    To fast forward, we made it back, after copious coffees, profusions of wanting to leave, promises of fame and most importantly a once white porcelain throne.

    4 hours of traffic later we arrived at our accom, but in my weariness and hunger found I still found enough fault to force me to take action and find accom with less stained sheets.

    Phew 😐

    Dinner consisted of the blackboard special at our digs: 3 margherita pizzas and 3 mojitos for $20. Tomato-less and basil free circles of bread arrived and mojitos that had lost their rum. We had a lot to be thankful for narrowly escaping Eric being made their Jungle King George Clooney.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakIndonesia 🙆Traveler

    Merapi Golf & ancient craft

    July 23, 2024 in Indonesia ⛅ 27 °C

    No championship results to record for our golf experience and no lava or explosions seen from Merapi hulking the sky behind us. Slightly confused by the extra four players hanging off the carts, we just rolled with it. Our un-speed-limited carts sped across the grass.

    Begging is illegal in Indonesia and there is much unemployment so the Javanese must deploy their inventiveness (hence the ghosts - performance busking and we have seen a collection can taped to the end of an active ukulele).

    The golf ⛳
    My first hit of many into the palms was rewarded by a visit from a ball gatherer (would be begger) who offered me a pack of balls and my caddy told me I had to pay $100,000 for the offering which gave much incentive to hit the ball straight. Much to my embarrassment this little grandma had singled me out as the weakest link 😭 and headed for the trees on the left again as that was obviously where my ball would go.

    Thankfully Eric wasn't having the best day either but his shots went further at least. Rachel and Bill powered ahead, the young caddy's all oohing and ahhring over Rachel's prowess 😬.

    My caddy 'Noodle' was fantastic at finding my balls even with the tropical flowers being the same colour as most of the balls. It was a beautiful course and very enjoyable except for Bills caddy who received the tackle of the week when Bill attempted to catch my wayward, high shot on the green and bowled her clean over. It took her a while to move but up she did get, her little mates no help as they were rolling around on the ground laughing.

    We decided to give our caddy's the 9th hole to play. After much consternation and reassurance they took the clubs and6t5 had a mad time running, hitting and giggling - they were hopeless which was surprising but had lots of fun just the same, with the role reversal of us polishing and proffering the desired club. International relations was the eventual winner.

    I managed to talk Rach and our guide, Dhedy, into driving to a regional area to buy handmade traditional batik, on a tip from Julia, the wise.

    A family home shed situation with very dodgy power extension combinations that melted the bees wax no trouble. With our little chanding tool we traced the pattern with hot oil onto cotton under the young daughters instructions, our guide informing me s Rach's was much better than mine 😒

    After parting with a slightly modest fortune we returned to Yogya to show off our purchases with some curiousity that the patterns and colours appearing not dissimilar to our first nations art and craft back home. 🤔 Further investigation required...

    Lunch was traditional rice and chicken, musically accompanied by 'Blind Boys of Yogyakarta'

    We garnered an 'Aussie' corner of our hotel pool on return for some Bintang time and laughed at The waitresses' reaction to Rach's most indecourous order of Bintang tallie - no glass.

    Tomorrow we head to the temples, stopping briefly for a 12pm video call job interview in the car red faced and messy hair with noisy aircon trying to keep up with 30 degrees humidity. Hopefully seen as tenancity and courage under fire 🤣    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakIndonesia 🙆Traveler

    Temples and tantrums

    July 24, 2024 in Indonesia ⛅ 26 °C

    Too many episodes of Netflix made for a bleary start for a 9 hour day of temple visits.

    Once again fragile male egos have been the cause of the erection of sizeable temples or maybe just healthy family rivalry, but as a result of temper tantrums Borobudur (Buddhist) and Pranbanam (Hindu) still both stand really tall and have been carved from black basalt and look quite charcoal coloured. Lots of massive steps, shod in provided grass woven shoes and much needed water bottle swigs. Both temples have been razed to the ground multiple times by the earthquake thrown tantrums.

    I really liked the bells with the Buddha's inside at the top of Boro.

    Dinner is best not spoken of again with even Eric having something to say about the strange food, cutlery being held for ransom and the biggest crime against Australian humanity: luke warm beer. The tiredness also caused some tantrums of our own.

    Tomorrow we fly to the Isle of the Gods 💃    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakIndonesia 🙆Traveler

    INXS in Bali

    July 25, 2024 in Indonesia ⛅ 28 °C

    Sorry did I say INXS? I meant EXCESS.

    We have arrived in the land of excess but they were playing INXS.

    Not an easy juggle of conscience but we fell into the familiar ways of resort, food, cocktails, Bintang and lots of resting/lying about. A lot more attentive and inventive employment methods here but the majority of Bules have come to spend.

    Watched a beautiful sunset on a rooftop, serenaded by an amazing girl singing. Bought her a Bintang and we had a chat. We were feeling slightly shameful tipping equivalent of $1 AUD for the band to play our requests. I asked and she confirmed she is sick of tourists. Poor pet. Originally from Bandung she came to find employment. I have seen staff being treated pretty rudely by tourists sadly quite regularly.

    Conscience aside we have had a very relaxing time and Ramayana Resort has been beautiful with the most stunning orchids displays and attentive service. They miss nothing and are so obliging to help.

    No funny stories this time due to the reverse fleecing feelings.

    Hopefully Ubud will restore our equilibriums and peace ✌️ 🕊️ and I will feel free to join Eric in his Bintang 🩰    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakIndonesia 🙆Traveler

    Mossy Ubud

    July 28, 2024 in Indonesia ☁️ 26 °C

    Like a scene from a Laura Croft adventure Ubud rises out of the jungle, elephant-grey in colour with delicate arches, temple walls and fluroscent flowers. The main street heaves with humanity and every form of diesely contraption. Surprisingly so many Tattoo shops as doesn't appear to be Hindu traditions but like Kuta everything seems to focus on the tourists.

    Dumped the boys at our accommodation: Nick's Hidden (in a rice padi) Cottages and a minibus pulled up for our cooking class in the hills. 'Rubber time' (like island time but more flexible) in full swing our 1.5 hour class went for 4 hours but notice we did not as we were busy with the freshest galangal, garlic and kaffir limes on chopping blocks of tamarind wood and pestleing and frying up a feast. The chef was amazing and we learnt heaps but not sure the 3 hours preparation will translate to my kitchen after work day or should I say the couch?

    Van driver chickened out and dropped us at first opportunity with 20 mins still to walk. Slacker but walking was much faster than peak hour Ubud traffic. The boys messaged they had found a Mexican cantina which meant theyd found some cold ones and snacks. Being a bali belly day I went back to our temple-like digs to rest. Can't remember anymore about that day...

    Massage Day 😄
    Bill and Eric, excited maybe by the Laura Croft ideal, ventured out early and found some monkey friends and a not so friendly stray dog. Eric being the only one conned into rabies vax ($700 worth) they retreated.

    How to choose the right massage from 297 listed establishments and to avoid criticism from those naughty travellers that don't contribute to research 🤔 but complain.

    Bill and I did well and we had 3 x blissful massages. Eric didn't fare as well as he was left with the 'vely special' male masseur who was apparently mute and didn't hear Eric's groans of pain.

    After a very strong pain killing lunch (margaritas to blame) we joined the western throng in shopping pilgrimage. So many shops !!

    Sun came out in the arvo bringing with it memories of FNQ and Kuranda and the heat that matches with it. We were refreshed in our beautiful deep blue pool before heading out for our last night in this diversely beautiful country.

    Mexican cantina for dinner and all that comes with it when it's $8 a cocktail. After dinner, dream-like we followed the vibes to find the source of familiar guitar tunes that were floating on the balmy mist. A 4 piece boy band was in full swing and playing everyones personal favourites. We settled in with a couple from Manchester and sang our nostalgic hearts out even getting up for a boogie.

    Early start and sad thoughts of the wonderful and cultural interlude coming to an end. Without my glasses I mistook Kwells for nurofen and snored the 2 hour drive to the airport 'apparently'. No proof was given tho.

    As we say goodbye and thank you (Terima Kasih - “it is accepted with love we to” to this warm friendly tropical island group we wish you all the best with so many tourists and that you will keep your good will and tolerance candles burning bright 🙏 Jakarta with 32 million inhabitants and only 1/4 of the DV rates in Australia.

    An inspiration for us living with plenty to take some rubber time out, to improve our manners when behind the wheel, and to decorate our steps with flowers 🌺    Read more

  • Trip end
    July 29, 2024