The Motherland

We arrived in Jakarta on Chinese New Year's Eve close to midnight and were welcomed with fireworks all along our taxi drive to our hostel. We left early next morning to catch the 8 am train to Yogyakarta... While this is in no way a substantial time in Jakarta, I was hoping to recognize SOMETHING in those few hours... Some glimmer of what I recall as some of my favorite years of my childhood that were in Jakarta. Granted, my memories include my best friends' houses and my elementary school, not the banks and high rise buildings in downtown Jakarta. So as I looked out the train window (which, btw, super nice train complete with cheap lunch service delivery, good way to travel in Indonesia), nothing stirred a familiar memory of this city.

However, as we got out of the city, the rice fields with workers wearing the typical cone shaped hats appeared and the lush green landscapes with palm trees and banana trees. Not to sound dramatic here, but something hit home. A part of me is FROM here and belongs here, these are the people I look like. This is my country.

As we spent the next few days in Yogya with our host showing us around, more familiarities showed up: the Indonesian words my mom uses in her daily language, like barang (baggage), adu! (goodness!), kasian (poor thing), and more (which makes me miss her); Indonesian foods I remember fondly (nasi goreng, soto ayam, sate, babi kecap, krupuk, etc.); and slowly some words and phrases were coming back to me. Not in any way where I could hold a conversation with anyone, but just that I would smile when I caught a word or two while others were conversing :)

In Yogya, we went to Borobudur (buddhist temple), saw a Ramayana dance at Prambanan (a Hindu temple), got to "teach" English to young kids at our host's school foundation (adorable!), went to one of his senior centers, and ate at a lot of great local restaurants. This is the country where I'm waking up ALL of my taste buds.

Next we headed to Malang, to be in proximity to Mt Bromo, the volcano we wanted to visit. Malang was the best choice ever (thank you, Kyle). We stayed with THE nicest people there. Richard and his family treated us like family, giving us one of their bedrooms (!!), feeding us, and taking us around EVERYWHERE! More than family, we were being spoiled :) Firstly, Richard picked us up from the train station at 5 am (we had taken the night train from Yogya and had planned to wait a few hours until a decent time) and after a nap, took us around the city with his friend on their motorbikes. The next day we went to Sempu Island with their friends and hiked through the jungle to arrive at a most pristine lagoon. Day after, trip to Batu waterfalls and the Eco Green Park (fun, even though it rained buckets), ate durian (yesssssss!), and then got picked up near midnight to catch the sunrise at Bromo. Did I mention the whole family was wonderful? The dad drove us to the bus station, despite the traffic, and leaving them felt like leaving our family (mom even gave us boxes of baked goods she made for us). Richard and his sister waved us out as our bus departed. I hope we see them again :)

We are now on our way to Bali, the last trek to our whole trip... I won't lie, I'm sad this trip is ending. Two and a half months really flew by and we experienced SO much. India feels like years ago and don't get me started on Ireland (that was THIS trip??). We have one week left here, then back to the US (with a small 2 day stint in Ireland). The kick off for NOM is the day after I get back and I'm excited to immerse myself in that again, especially since Sally has been doing all the work since I've been gone (thanks, Sally!). Even though I don't have a job I'll be coming back to, I'll be staying busy, which I'm looking forward to :)

Ok. So, Bali for one week. We're staying at my mom's friends' vacation home (SO nice of them!) in a more remote part (bring on the relaxation!). Planning to soak up as much of this while I can!

Wats Wats & More Wats

People had warned us about the ordeal to cross the Cambodia-Thailand border, but what's a backpacker trip without experiencing the real deal?

The plan was to take a bus to the border, walk over, grab a tuk tuk to the train station, and do the last leg to Bangkok by train. We left our hotel in Siem Reap (the same one Maria had stayed at almost exactly a year ago!) at 6:30 am to wait at a pick up point at 7. We got transported from one location to another and were finally underway on bus around 9. The border took more than 2 hours of waiting in the sweltering heat (insert nice little mental image of Kyle and I dripping with sweat), so by the time we crossed the border, there was no way we'd catch the train at 1:45 pm. Finally got put into a minibus that flew over pot holes like crazy and seemed to stop at every other gas station and made it to Bangkok around 7 pm, where we got dropped off at the skytrain to find our way to our hostel. Success!

[Two] nights in Bangkok. A short stint there, but nothing but extraordinary. Thai people are super helpful. Every time Kyle and I pulled out our map, an elder Thai man would come up to us and ask if we needed help and gave us suggestions of where to go. Two out of those 5 times, we were shoved into cheap tuk tuks after the elder man negotiated a cheap price with the driver (note: if you travel to Thailand, drive with the government tuk tuks... Way cheaper) and taken our merry way to a bunch of attractions. It just so happened that it was a special buddhist holiday while we were there so we got to go into a bunch of wats that are usually not open to the public :) So many wats. I think we saw 5 in one day. Very cool. (Towards the end... "another wat, another Buddha"). Went on the backwaters of Bangkok, ate street food in the back alleys, and saw more wats. The second day we were resting up from a day of walking in Lumphini park (where the Thai like to group exercise) when I noticed everyone had stopped dead in their tracks. A second later the national anthem started playing and after it was over, people resumed their jogging. Interesting, and weirdly twilight zone-ish. Apparently this happens everyday at 8 am and 6 pm. One can even be arrested for not stopping during the song because it's disrespectful. Good thing we stopped walking too. We made a quick beer stop at Patpong, I got pooped on by a bird (that's lucky, right?), and then we caught the night train to Koh Tau.

We arrived in Koh Tau at 11 am after the train/ferry (the latter of which the people's  nausea on either side of us couldn't handle). Met up with our French host and during our 4 days, met half the French community of Koh Tau ;) It was the night before my birthday and the Frenchies decided to help me celebrate. Thank you, Kyle, for taking care of the aftermath :) Our last full day on Koh Tau we went diving and snorkeling. Best.diving.ever. (Well, of the 3 places I've been to, but this IS considered a diving paradise). Saw stingrays, turtle, lionfish, baracuda, and other creatures whose names I can't remember :P

Koh Phangan is where we reunited with Kelly :) For the couple of days we were there, we balanced our big habit of eating a lot with a LOT of hiking. A larger island than Koh Tau, but less touristy and more habitable (whereas everyone on Koh Tau was a scuba instructor and an expat).

Two days later, we made our way to the west side of Thailand: Krabi. Definitely a more family friendly destination (and honeymooners for that matter) and understandably so... We took a boat to Railay which so far has my favorite soft sand beaches surrounded by giant cliffs.  We treated ourselves to a nice hotel with AC, got upgraded (again, my luck ;), and scoped out the beaches on this peninsula.

Our last day in Thailand we spoiled ourselves with some Thai massages. Oh my God. These ladies worked their full muscles into our bodies, it hurt, but felt so good. Knots? Gone. A very intimate back cracking experience...

Twelve hours of travel (another 6 hour layover in our favorite airport: Singapore, where we explored the butterfly garden and koi pond) and now we're in Indonesia, the motherland :)

Same same but different

Here's an attempt to writing a post from my phone, since I can't seem to find the time otherwise :) Currently en route to Krabi from Koh Phangan via bus after catching the ferry this afternoon. This so far has been the least stressful day of travel compared to others. Whoever started managing "joint tickets" combining ferry, bus, and trains in Thailand... Bless them.

Ok. So since last time a lot has happened. Let's start with Cambodia!

Jan 15- 25 Phnom Penh (and Kep)

Our first week Kyle and I stayed with Craig, who I had met in Cincy once. Blast of a time. Ate a lot of good food and learned a lot about the Cambodian culture (including about bar girls which the title of this post is a movie of). The prior king had died in October, yet they were still mourning until February and had his picture posted everywhere.

Cambodia. To be completely honest, I knew little to nothing about it or their history. "Khmer Rouge" was just a faint memory from high school history, but after our 2 weeks there, I can assure you I'm now more knowledgeable (Mr. Powell would be so proud). Despite their horrific and bloody (and pretty recent) past, they are the friendliest folk. Maybe because tourism is still relatively "new" to their country, but they treated us with honesty everywhere and not once did we get scammed. Tuk tuk drivers became friends and moto taxis were safe modes of transportation (especially compared to India ;)).

Went to Cambodia because I wanted to meet up with Kelly who is doing this cool project where she's painting murals for non profits. I was supposed to go to Zimbabwe with her in November, but the timing hadn't worked out then :( What we thought would take 2+ weeks of painting, we ended up finishing in 3 days ;) That's what we call amazing teamwork, people! Had a lot of fun painting with her.

The weekend before we took a quick trip to Kep and Rabbit Island (a 20 min boat ride). While this is the "holiday getaway" from the city, it was the most peaceful laid back town with little tourists. Granted, a lot more French people, but overall tourism hadn't chirped this beachside town yet. Spent a day at Rabbit Island trekking around in the jungle and laying on the beach, then eating delicious blue crab at night. I even had another successful bike ride there! ;)

Jan 25-28 Siem Reap

A seven hour bus ride to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh but totally worth it. Cambodia's landscape its hiked with these beautiful gates that mark each of the provinces. On the bus ride (and the one from Kep), I started capturing some of them when I could. Each is so intricately detailed and different from the other, even for what looks like the poorest of towns. I think I'll make a collage out if them. Other things noticed on the bus rides: all cows are white (or off white) and houses are built on stilts for the rainy season in the summer. Apparently then the water levels can get so high, villages look like they're floating on water (some are). Our bus also made a couple of pit stops where you can get your fresh array of fried tarantulas, crickets, and beetles. Yum.

Siem Reap is where Angkor Wat is located. Actually, Angkor Wat is just one of the many amazing temples. There's a whole hoard of them! We spent a whole day climbing them (in the western world this would never be allowed)... Temples over 800 years old, some covered with overgrown trees. Awesome. Note, if you decide to climb all the temples, you will be utterly pooped by the end of the day.

The next day we got a blind massage (mom, if you're reading this, my masseuse wasn't as good as yours), went to the Old Market, and took in an Apsara dance with dinner.

Alright, we're supposedly close to our destination, so the Thailand post will have to wait. P.s. I'm still loving my life :)