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Some images of the beautiful landscapes, the amazing people, and the crazy experiences I lived for 6 months during my trip « alone » through South East Asia. (more…)
Category: Oceania
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Indonesia: From Java to Bali
After a nice break at La Reunion Island, I finished my 6 month trip through Asia by Indonesia with my mom. I joined her in Java where we visited Borobudur, Prambanan and the mont Bromo. Then we visited Bali, various temples as Tanah Lot, Ceningan island, Ubud and the temples and sites around, Amed and its places to do snorkeling, Lempuyang and Besakih, and finished this amazing trip in Kuta.
Borobudur
We both arrived in Yogyakarta and took a cab to Megalang where we had an hotel booked, 15min from Borobudur. We woke up early to fully enjoy the sunrise on this incredible buddhist piramid. Full of mysteries, Borobudur is the world’s largest Buddhist temple. It consists of 9 stacked platforms, 6 square and 3 circular, topped by a central dome. It’s decorated with 2 672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa (kind of bells). They estimate its construction from the 9th century, but there are no known records of construction or the intended purpose of Borobudur.
Transport:
– Taxi from the airport to Megalang: 500.000 Rps for 2 people (1h30)
– Moto Taxi from the hotel to Borobudur: 40.000 Rps (15min)
– Taxi from the hotel to Prambanan and Yogyakarta train station: 400.000 Rps
Hotel in Megalang: Jolan Jalan, 300.000 Rps for a double room
Sunrise entrance to Borobudur:900.000 Rps
Prambanan
After visiting this amazing buddhist temple in the morning, we went to the other side of Yogyakarta to visit the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia: Prambanan (the biggest is Angkor Wat, in Cambodia). The site has suffered many earthcakes, but it’s still a beauty with crazy statues.
Informations:
– Entrance to Prambanan: 338.000 Rps
– Night train from Yogyakarta to Malang: 250.000 RpsBromo
We took a train from Yogyakarta to Malang where we arrived at 5am and met a taxi who agreed to pass the entire day with us, to go to Bromo and to leave us at Ketapang to take the boat to Bali. We arrived around 11am in a village close to Bromo, and met a jeep driver (you can also go there by horse or bicycle). There wasn’t so many wind so the smell of sulphur wasn’t so bad.
We had lunch in a small shop and left for Ketapang. We arrived at the end of the day, and finished our day in Ketapang to wait for the Ferry to Bali, a paradise on earth…
Taxi Malang / Borobudur / Ketapang:1.000.000
Jeep to Bromo: 700.000 Rps
Hotel at Ketapang: 250.000 double room
Bye Java, Hello Bali!
Seminyak and Tanah Lot
We took the boat with a new driver who wasn’t so friendly. We asked him to left us at Sanur and went by colectivo in Seminiak. We enjoyed a nice sunset on the beach, and rented a scooter to visit the day after Tanah Lot in the morning. The afternoon we booked a transfert from Seminiak to our hotel in Ceningan Island (with a taxi, boat, collectivo and scooter !).
Transfert from Ketapang to Sempidi:500.000 Rps for 2 people
Taxi from Sempidi to Seminyak:150.000 Rps
Hotel in Seminyak: Seminyak (300.000 Rps double room)
Scooter: 50.000 Rps
Ceningan
My mother had booked a magical hostel with a gorgeous room and swimming pool. We rented a scooter to do a snorkeling tour:
After this tour we decided to visit the entire island (take approximately 1h). The day after we did a second tour with our hotel owner, and he showed us the Mangrove, devil tears, blue lagoon and other beautiful views of the island.
Transfert Seminiak – Ceningan:1.100.000 Rps
Hotel in Ceningan: Twilight
Snorkeling: 600.000 Rps
Scooter: 80.000 Rps
Tour of the island: 150.000 RpsSnorkeling Tour:
Ceningan best spots:
Ubud
In Ubud we enjoyed some of the temples in the heart of the city, the market very traditionnal, and the Monkey forest. Be very carrefull of your stuff, and follow the instructions, my mother has been bitten because one of the monkey wanted to steal her a bottle of water, and when you look at them in the eyes they can just attack you !
Time to go back to Bali, we booked a transfert to Ubud from our hostel. On the way the driver invited us to stop to a Luwak Coffee plantation, and to see a show of traditionnal theater.
The next day we booked again a scooter to visit all around Ubud.
Show: 200.000 Rps
Monkey forest: 50.000 Rps
Water temple: 50.000 Rps
Gunung Kawi: 30.000 Rps
Goa Gajah: 30.000 Rps
Scooter: 50.000 Rps
Hotel: In Da Garden: 300.000 double room
Around Ubud:
Tegalalang Rice Terrace
Situated 20min in the North of Ubud, you can just stop on the road and walk around, take a drink or even use a swing.
Tirta Empul
Only 15 minutes from the terraces you can find this magical place with holy water where you can wash a bit your soul!
Gunung Kawi
It’s a funerary complex very close to the water temple, but you’ll go down 300 steps to appreciate this site!
Goa Gajah
On the way back to Ubud you can make a stop at this Elephant cave, half Indu half Buddhist…
Amed
We found a taxi at the end of the day to go to Amed where we arrived by night. We did a nice tour in scooter and found very nice diving places like Tulamben and the USS Liberty, or the underwater temple in Pantai Jemeluk beach.
Transfert Ubud-Amed: 400.000 Rps
Hotel in Amed: Putra Lebah Amed 580.000 Rps
Scooter: 50.000 Rps
Amed-Candinasa: 280.000 RpsLempuyang
The day after we took the scooter to go to Lempuyang, one of the most beautiful temple I’ve ever seen. You have there a first temple with 3 main doors, and two others hidden on the top, 45min from the first one. Lost in the nature, delivered to the monkeys, those temples are really magic. I had the chance to join a group of prayers carrying their donations.
Tirta Ganga
We also went to Tirta Ganga, a water parc very nice but also very touristic. We had lunch there but it was very small and very expensive…
Padangbai and Bezakih
Back to Amed we found a transfert to Candinasa where we just stood for one night (nothing to see there). We went to Padang Bay to fully enjoy the sea. It’s a small city full of touristic shops and with a nice port (you can go to Gili islands from there). We rented an other scooter to go to Bezakih, the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali.
Candinasa- Padangbay: 100.000 Rps
Hotel in Candidasa: Bungalow Geringsing
Padangbay-Kuta: 150.000 Rps
Hotel in Padangbai: Made Stay 170.000 Rps
Kuta
At the end of the day we took a transfert by mini bus to Kuta.
Kuta is like Seminiak a touristic city, not much to see but big malls and restaurants with nice cocktails. We enjoyed a nice traditionnal Kecak dance show, and finished our trip by visiting Uluwatu, a temple on a cliff at the very south west of the island (nice but not so impresive).
Hotel: Pendawa Gapura (300.000 Rps double room)
Summary:
Day 1: Transfert Yogyakarta – Megalang
Day 2: Borobudur and Prambanan (night train from Yogyakarta to Malang)
Day 3: Bromo Volcan and transfert to Ketapang
Day 4: Boat to Bali and transfert to Seminiak
Day 5: Tanah Lot and transfert to Ceningan island
Day 6: Snorkeling in Ceningan
Day 7: Tour of Ceningan
Day 8: Transfert to Ubud
Day 9: Around Ubud and transfert to Amed
Day 10: Snorkeling around Amed
Day 11: Lempuyang and Tirta Ganga, night in Candinasa
Day 12: Rest in Padangbai
Day 13: Bezakih and transfert to Kuta
Day 14: Uluwatu templeBest moments:
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Asian Project
Discover here my new challenge, my original plan, estimated calendar, how to follow me and the posts about this travel in Asia…
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Rapa Nui / Eastern Island
To celebrate my 30 years old I was on this mysterious island, one of the most isolated, with my mom. In 4 days we achieved to visit the majority of the sites. It’s one of my favorite trip and defintly my best birthday ever!
Rapa Nui
Eastern Island, or the polynesian name “Rapa Nui” is a small island lost in the middle of the Pacific. Discovered on an eastern day, by a dutch group in 1722, it’s an island full of Moais, those enigmatic statues built between 1250 y 1500 AC.
We rented a car to visit the island and enjoy the time there all alone. You need to know that every Moai stand up have been restored, as they were all destroyed. Some of them wear a hat, others coral eyes.
You must buy at the airport a ticket to visit two sites: Rano Kau and Ahu Tongariki. The others are free (for this moment).
Tips:
To stay: Camping Mihinoa, good price and good location!
To see absolutely: Balet Cultural Kari Kari (check the video on Youtube)
> Download the map
Day 1 – South East Coast
We started the day by Vinapu, where we saw the first destroyed Moais but also the incredible work on the hats and on the platforms (very close to the peruvian style around Cuzco). Then we took the coast road and stopped at every point.
The main sites:
Vinapu
Hanga Te’e
Akahanga
Ahu Tongariki
Day 2 – Rano Raraku, North Coast & Orongo
After seing the sunrise back to Ahu Tongariki, we went to the mountain where were built the Moais: Ranu Raraku. You can see there 397 moais, including in the heart of the volcan! They were dug directly in the rock, and put in a hole to build the back side. They all have been abandoned in the middle of their construction or during the transportation. To protect them the archaeologists left the bodys in the earth, but you can easily imagine the size of the statue watching the heads!
We kept going north to find various sites, like the petroglyphs of Papa Vaka, the stone Pu O Hiro (a natural trumpet), the red beach Ovahe,Te Pito Kura – World numbril, and finished on Anakena beach where you see the Ahu Nau Nau.
Orongo
Orongo situated on the south west is a big hill where you can appreciate a gorgeous sunset! You will start by Rano Kau belvedere, view on the crater full of water, and walk along the coast seing the original Orongo houses where started Tangata Manu celebration, “Bird Man”.
Each village chief chose his champion to perform the competition (the winner offer to his village the repartition of the island supplies during one year). The competition consisted of a race starting in the crater, then they had to swim on a board to Moto Nui island (you can see in front of Orongo). Finally they had to find a tern egg and to go back on the coast with the egg intact!
Day 3 – Around Hanga Roa & the West Coast
Hanga Roa is the only city where you can visit there a nice museum, the church (you should go there during a mass where they mix christianism and local traditions and songs), and an artisanal center.
Close to the city:
Ana Kai Tangata
A cave with birds draw on the ceiling!
Ahu Vai Uri
Situated on Tahai site, Ahu Uri and Ahu Tahai are a great place for the sunset!
Ahu Ko Te Riku
Also on Tahai place, this Moai is the only one who kept his eyes!
Hanga Kio’e
An other alone Moai back to the see!
The caves
On the west coast you’ll find the cave Ana Kakenga, with two windows on the sea (hard to find because the hole is small) and Ana Te Pora a bit further.
Ahu Akivi
The only site where the Moais seems to look on the beach (the others all look inside of the island).
Huri A Urenga
A Moai with the particularity to have 4 hands.
Puna Pau
The place where come from the hats: Pukaos.
What you can ear in the church on sunday…
What you can see in the city (Playa Pea)…
If you have more time:
– There’s a Moai in the sea: go diving!
– We didn’t have time to go on the North side west side where you can go by feet
– You can do a trekking to Terevaka Volcan (507m) or Volcan Puakatike (370m)
– The best period to go there is during february for the Tangata Manu celebrationsPictures of the best moments!
