Traditionally, going to ubud means going to ubud monkey forest! Weeeell, we didn’t!
Instead we went to beji hidden canyon (which was amazing and involved trekking through three canyons and rice paddies!), had some street food, and headed to ubud street market in a hectic rainstorm!
Now we’re off to Mama’s warung again for dinner with the germans!
Exploring Ubud is both frustrating and amazing, all at the same time!
There are tourists everywhere (and traffic!), and the locals are annoying – not like the amazing people we met in the rest of Indonesia. But once we got our scooters and left Nanie House 2, the Telalalang rice terrace was ahead of us and the tourists became less.
We met up with a guy who introduced himself as Harry Potter, and we joined him at his loewak coffee plantation. The coffee and teas were amazing! Harry recommended a restaurant called Mama’s Warung, so after exploring a bit and seeing a volcano and lake from afar, and a temple from up close, we returned to Mama’s for much needed foods. What an amazing lady!
This was followed by drinks in town with our new German friends – Birgit and Alex, and then back to Nani House 2 for some sleeps!
Coffee and tea tasting at a local coffee plantation
Epic day! We flew to Bali, got a local bus to the east, ferried across to Java, drove to Banyuwangi and arrived at an epic backpackers called Didu’s homestay.
We had a quick nap, before heading out to Ijen crater at 00:30. The hike was strenuous but worth it! Seeing the blue sulfur flames, and watching the sunrise, was just amazing. Thereafter we headed to a close by waterfall, then finally back to Didu’s for breakfast and rest!
Ijen crater with the crew
Matthew showed up!
Day made.
Perfect Christmas day.
The morning started off with a cup of loewak coffee, a pristine drive to Sodiharjo waterfall, with some laughter and very steep hills along the way.
The waterfall is 75m high, and was a sight to behold!
We then had amazing vegetarian food at Milas Resto, followed by the “blindfold game” where we tested the purity of our hearts. Sadly, my heart is apparently the least pure!
Christmas day ended with gelato, Bintang Radler, and a pool game with MJ against Ricky!
Such roadtripping, much wow!
Today we experienced Prambanan temple, Chicken Church, and a whole lot of Yogyakarta by motorbike!
We had (real!) pizza at Nanamia Pizzeria, and thereafter went to our first Jogja backpackers, Hati Hati, for some Christmas songs and drinks.
OstiC house is insane! Amazing accommodation. We are prolonging our stay.
Today was lazy day. We woke up late, checked out of abrakadabra late, came to ostic house, and here the owner told us about a R50 infinity pool swim, nasi goreng, and drink at a hotel.
We followed that up with a full body traditional Javanese massage and reflexology session, and then AMAZING dinner at a restaurant that basically serves only mushrooms!
The best way to travel around here is without a doubt by motorbike. We set off this morning exploring the city, and met a local man who took us to the water palace, the underground mosque and the sultan’s pool.
After that we went back to out accommodation (Hati Hati) and they suggested a drive out to an extinct volcano, where we hiked to the summit! Amazing views! We then headed out to Manglung restaurant, with an equally impressive view.
Driving home we got caught in the downpour, which was a relief after the hot day we had!
View from the top
Renting a car from smearing to yogyakarta via dieng plateau was possibly our best idea yet! Although it was possibly a total of 11hours in the car, it was worth it. Dieng Plateau is amazing, with craters and lakes surrounded by green volcanoes! We ate at a street food buffet place, then headed to the heat of yogyakarta. What an awesome place!
MJ, Ricky and I walked to the busy Jalan Malioboro, where we had croissants, beers and a rather sweet pizza.
The chaos that is Jalan Marioboro
What a day!
Firstly: sleeping on a train is AWFUL. We got to Semarang at 5:30 (after 9hrs on a train!) and made our way to our accommodation (Omah Pelur guesthouse) where we were lucky enough to check into our rooms. Courtney is sharing with me. The view from here is awesome, teetering over a red-roofed valley.
We had some amazing Nasi Goreng at the guesthouse for, breakfast, then rented some bikes and set about exploring the city! We went right into the rural areas, visited the mall, and rented a car for our activities tomorrow!
View from the guesthouse
What a day!
No sleep, 5am train from Jakarta to Bandung, and then finding a place we can drop our bags.
We then went to City Forest (it definitely has an official Indonesian name..) and were immersed in nature!
a single moment of happiness 