Another sunrise.....

This time I hopped into a catamaran canoe with an outboard motor just before sunrise to go dolphin watching. We headed out to sea where we joined about 40 other canoes, so hardly the peaceful, magical experience! As soon as a fin was spotted all the boats converged like moths to a flame! So more "dolphin harassment" than "dolphin watching"!!!! But at least we were in their territory do they could disappear when they felt like it! Saw a fair few, and some of them jumped and spun. After a quick breakfast I convinced my new best friend, Abdul, to take 4 of us to the reef about half a mile offshore so that we could snorkel. The reef was not much to talk about, quiet bleached, but with the odd blue star fish, however the fish were awesome. Saw a huge turtle too! And at one point Sandi and I were in a huge shoal of fish, Dori's, parrotfish, puffa's, zebrafish and teeny tiny ones of the most vibrant blue. I did panic at one point wondering if they were seeking shelter from something bigger but Abdul assured us there were no sharks! An hours snorkelling - £3.25!

We avoided the beach hawkers, who all seem to know my name?!, and headed to the pool, and the pool side bar! A bit of a shop and it was time to take the excitement levels down a notch, so I whizzed up to a hill side spa for a pedicure. 

I had the place to myself! They fed me jasmine tea and papaya and by the end I would have moved in if so could! It cost all of about £6.50, and they even drove me home!

Bali-tastic!

Well we have now arrived in Bali!

Yesterday was a fabulous day of rest and relaxation. We could get up when we wanted for the first time this trip. It was then a morning of reading, snoozing or chatting by the pool, or wallowing in the pool. We watched the little coconut man shimmy up his trees, and waited for the satisfying thud when the coconuts hit the deck!

In the afternoon some of us visited an orphanage. They are self funding by running a plantation and then selling their produce. We saw cocoa trees, nutmeg trees, peppercorns, palm sugar, lemongrass, rice, vanilla, all sorts. Some of the smallest children put on a dance for us and showed us how they make the most amazing art with palm leaves.

This morning we packed up and left our little sage haven and headed to the harbour. I must admit having been women by the mosques at 03:40 and then 05:25 I was pleased to be heading to the mostly Hindu island! I thought the Indonesians slept in the day due to the heat but I have come to realise they are all sleep deprived due to the constant praying!

A quick ferry ride, and a two hour bus journey and we have reached Lovinia, a beach resort in the north of the island. There is a narrow strip of black volcanic sand, and then the ocean. I decided to head out and find the shops! 5 minutes after I left the tropical downpour began! Our first proper rain since we arrived. After 30 minutes and still no shops I was getting a bit fed up. After 45 minutes the path ran out and I was being followed by a man on a scooter! Rather than admit I was lost I headed off down a lonely track and ended up in a kampong, where one of the locals took pity on me and pointed me in the direction of the beach!

The beach is home to a large number of locals, boats, dogs and chickens! There have been very few dogs on our travels, lots of cats, as Muslims view dogs as dirty animals. In this predominantly Hindu Island they are obviously trying to compensate! An hour if walking along the beach dodging rubbish, children, chickens and the ever vigilant hawkers I made it back just before the sun went down.

Priorities......

So we arrive late afternoon in Kalibari, the most easterly town of Java, although I still can't see the sea! Just to prove that I can slum it, with Colin the cockroach, last nights accommodation was fairly basic and......brown!

Getting up at 3:30am was bad enough, but to use this room was the final straw. I would have taken a photo of the bedroom but it was too dark and brown!

Then this afternoon we arrive at a small plantation with individual huts in the garden, lovely big, bright, clean huts, with verandas and a garden. We were given the chance to climb overnight another volcano, but I had already spotted the pool and massage hut by this point. In fact 20 minutes after arriving I was in the pool and had a massage booked! Seen one volcano seen them all!!! After said massage, which was an experience in its self, I came back to my hut to find that Neil had tracked down a bottle of Java's finest red and a mini party was occurring on my verandah! It would have been rude not to join in! As for the massage I had laid down at 5pm on a Friday evening. Who knew that that is the call to prayer time? At precisely the time the lady started a cocaphany of mosques struck up their whaling in an effort to outdo their neighbours! At one point the noise was so deafening I could no longer distinguish how many mosques were in action, probably about 47!!! And they didn't finish until after my massage! Given that it cost the princely sum of £7.50 I felt dutibound to book another one for tomorrow.

So whilst some of the group will slog it up a volcano tonight and see nothing because it is dark, I will sleep, have a bit if a lie-in, a leisurely breakfast, maybe a few laps of the pool, a wander round the plantation and another massage. GET IN!!!!

I am not a morning person, but.....

Despite a night time visit from Colin the cockroach I managed to haul myself out of bed at 3:15am with the promise of a sunset! It was outrageously cold given how close we are to the Equator. I had 4 layers on! 

We piled into jeeps and headed off across the huge larva flow, known as the "sand Sea", which was thick with ash. Mt Bromo last erupted in 2010. The ash is so fine it felt like we were driving on sand dunes or ice, slipping everywhere. In the dark you could just see car lights punctuating the blackness as they snaked across the larva flow and up the side of the mountain.

We were surprised to get to the top and find about 400 people had beaten us to it! We have been so used to seeing very few tourists that we weren't expecting company! And there we stood, waiting, and very cold in the gusty winds. At 05:11 the sun finally peaked above the distant volcano. 

Very quickly most of the onlookers took their photos and left, but we hung around for a while to drink tea and eat deep fried banana's (my general ban on bananas being lifted for exceptional circumstances!), and generally soaked up the views and changing light.

How many volcanoes can you spot!

All of that before 7am. Now packing up and heading further East, and downhill, so I am hoping for 33c before lunchtime! Am also counting down until I see the sea! It's been two weeks and I am having withdrawal symptoms!!!

Up we go again....

Back up through the plains, past the rice paddies and higher than the tea plantations. Even up past most of the vegetable crops, and the clouds to Bromo village and a view of an immense lava flow surrounding a volcano.

It's quite difficult to appreciate the scale of the vista. After all of lushness of the past few days it is quite a shock to see such a barren view. Also it feels really cold for the first time in two weeks! We are at nearly 2,800m so not quite altitude but not far off.

Tomorrow is a 03:30 wake up call to get to the top of the mountain to watch sunrise. Fingers crossed it is clear, as you all know how much of a morning person I am!!!!

Oh dear.....

It appears that I have slipped up. Somewhere about 5 days ago I crossed the Equator and I never really noticed! No fanfare, no ceremony and no fireworks. I feel somewhat let down that the occasion wasn't marked. Whilst I may have been to the Southern Hempishere four times before Reverence should surely be paid at the passing from one hemisphere to another? So apologies for having let the side, and the Equator, down. Tut, tut.

A full day of travel. 10 hours in a bus to Malung in East Java. We have come down from the hills and are on the plains, so we are surrounded by scenery that you see in the brochures, coconut trees, teak trees, cassava plants, coffee plantations and lots of rice paddies, all surrounded by volcanoes.

We arrived in Malang, a city of 3 million mostly students. Dinner was pizza which made me very, very happy! A change from the chicken & rice!

Neil, Stafford, Karen and I decided to head out for one more beer and ended up in some high class night club downtown. There was no one there. Just us, a DJ and 13 bar staff! Not that this stopped us! A live band came on and sang covers. The lead singer had 12 inch platform heels on and a dress that looked like she had used the foils from an entire tin of quality street! I bet that Robert Smith had never expected Lullaby to be sung in an Indonesian nightclub in quite that fashion! When other people started to arrive it was apparent that they don't really "throw shapes"! The girls just sit there looking glum, waiting to be bought drinks, so we dutifully provided the entertainment off them and even attracted a couple of groupies! Luckily there are no photographs to evidence our evening!

Bit of a mixed day.....

In Java there are an awful lot of motorbikes, which cost about US$1,000 and are bought on HP. The driver must wear a helmet, but not the passengers, and insurance is not compulsory. Whole families pile on, from the very young to the elderly. Or they are laden with incomprehensible amounts if cargo! This morning we passed an accident between two bikes, both of which had very small children as passengers. We didn't hang around but it was quite sobering. 

We headed to another sultan's palace. Dime a dozen! It does make you appreciate how lucky we are to have access to such amazing museums and stately homes. 

After a bit of a drive up into the hills we visited another Hindu temple from the 15th century. It had some interesting carvings....

Then it was another 3 hour trek through the rural villages. It was really tough. At 36c it was baking and all the paths were either really steep going up or really steep going down, there was no in between! The views were fabulous, every inch of the mountainside being cultivated.

They were growing onions, beans, tomatoes, cassava, carrots, chillies, roses, mangoes, avocados, jackfruit, and bananas (euck!). The way that they irrigated everything was brilliant, and they were all really friendly.

Towards the end of the trek we went to see a waterfall and found a monkey tied to the bottom of a tree. Our guide decided to give it some food and the monkey jumped on him and bit him. The poor thing was neglected and hungry, and not able to be in its natural habitat. I must admit I found it all quite upsetting, especially as we bumped into a whole group of wild monkeys just around the corner, just hanging out and waiting to terrorise passing tourists, which this poor monkey should have been doing too.

Highs and lows today!