Bukittinggi, stink flower, and a crater lake

Like many visitors, we decided to use Bukittinggi--a medium size town with about as many mosques as it has city blocks--as a sort of base camp to explore the sights in the highlands of West Sumatra. After several rounds of Hearts and having arranged transport for the following day, we went to bed but were soon woken by the beautiful and eerie and LOUD incantations from the neighboring mosques. Most mosques in Indonesia have several loudspeakers just below the minarets, and because it is still Ramadan, for hours on end all through the night cities fill with the sound of melodic prayer. Throughout this trip, our sleep cycles have been highly contingent on our proximity to local mosques.

The following morning, a friendly young guy drove us (early-to-mid 90's mixtape blasting) to a nearby preserve to see the rafflesia bloom, the world's largest flower and a big tourist pull here. After a 30 minute trek into the jungle, we encountered, first, the enormous phallus of a rafflesia bud and then the amazing flower itself. Its petals are tough and rubbery, like a succulent's, and it stinks of garlic çheese and fermented cabbage. People call it "corpse flower". Like the foul-smelling durian fruit, I think the rafflesia's odor is nature's attempt to mimic rotting flesh, which attracts pollinating flies. Rafflesia bloom once (and only for a week or so), then die, and guides have to keep tabs on where they are sprouting up in the jungle in order to sustain the region's eco-tourism.

Our guide then took us to a nearby woman's house and we drank Civet Coffee, a local specialty. After selecting and eating the best coffee beans, civets (picture a big ferret) digest them using a special enzyme in their stomachs and then shit them out, at which point people collect the beans and grind them into a coffee that, according to connoisseurs all over the world, is really good. None of us thought so, but if you're curious you can order directly from this lady online. we have her card.

Moving on...

After 46 hairpin switchbacks into a crater lake, we arrived at our next destination, Danau Maninjau, a village on the shore of that lake. We rented scooters and did the perimeter. Many segments of hte road (and several houses) are overrun with boulders and mud, evidence of the quake the rocked the area this time last year. Bouncing over the rubble it was perhaps inevitable that one of us would get a flat, and we did. A local fixed it by finding the holes and melting thick pieces of rubber over them then filing it down. the whole process took an hour and cost a dollar.

While we were waiting, a man passed pushing a wheelbarrow full of coconuts with a chained monkey on top. later we watched a different chained monkey climb a palm and twist off coconuts for another man pushing a wheelbarrow. Back at our bungalow, Sarah and Mark swam 30 minutes through wavy water to a small island, and later we chilled with a charming young local boy named Yogi, who showed us magic tricks.

We were virtually the only tourists Danau Maninjau, and this will become a theme for the remainder of Sumatra as well. Many touristy things now defunct. A combination of a string of natural disasters and the sinking world economy has left much of Sumatra with far fewer visitors than before. we see evidence of this everywhere.

Visas in Singapore

We flew into Singapore for one night in order to renew our visas for our final two weeks in Indonesia. Our customs ticket warned that drug traffickers would be put to death. Singapore is a republic and since 1959 has functioned as a city-state. About 5 million people live there, a huge mix of ethnicity and religions. It is one of the most productive ports in the world, which its rising skyline and weirdly modern architecture appears to be advertising.

Drug-trafficking aside, we'd read Singapore has famously steep penalties for transgressions like spitting (a tourist was recently caned), j-walking, smoking in smoke-free zones, public peeing (apparently some elevators have "sniffer alarms"), littering ($500), and not flushing a public toilet (enforceable?)... But of course it is all utterly overblown. Everyone j-walks, many smoke, public restrooms are like public restrooms everywhere, and stores openly burn their trash on the sidewalk. Moreover, the people we encountered were relaxed, friendly, and as cosmopolitan as any other place we'd been in Asia.

It was brutally hot that day, and we each learned mid-90's humidity doesn't mix so well with all-you-can-eat Indian buffets. Mark learned the lesson especially well. However, by evening things had cooled down and the skyline began to gleam. One of the more interesting architectural feats in Singapore is the Marina Bay Sands. Completed in June, it looks like a giant version of the AT-AT walker from Star Wars or some futuristic noah's arc.Sarah and I took an elevator to the top (almost 60 stories), where there is an sprawlin wooden deck, trees and a grass garden, and possibly the most amazing vanishing pool on Earth (for hotel guests only). The opening ceremony to the International Youth Olympic games happened to be going on that night and at 10pm the ceremony concluded and we were treated to fireworks, which we watched from above, which was cool.
















Early the following morning we would head by boat and plane to Sumatra.

A week in Java

We landed in Java in the port city of Surbaya at 6am. Much to Lindsay and Chris' dismay us Gohmann's have a habit for booking flights that leave no later than sunrise. From Surbaya we experienced our first bus travel of the trip down to the quaint college town of Malang. The three hour trip was remarkably smooth, and we were fortunate enough to even have entertainment during the trip (Indonesian karaoke blaring the whole way).

Malang was our base camp for Volcano #2 of our trip, Mt. Bromo. It turned out to be a great little city and our first glimpse at a less touristy and more authentic Indonesia life. While severely lacking sleep throughout our stay in Malang we managed to explore much of the city including the pandemonium of the local bird market (see photo of Chris to the right), and sample some fantastic foods including soto ayam (chicken noodle soup) and bakso (a delicious soup with meatballs).

Mt. Bromo. In order to get to Mt. Bromo for sunrise we left from Malang at 1am, arriving at 4am to begin our accent. We decided to be a bit spartan and do the hike up to the volcano summit sans guide. This soon proved to be a bit disastrous, as within a few minutes of our hike we were stumbling through the the darkness of the volcanic lunar landscape in temperatures barely above freezing. Fortunately our wandering became slightly less aimless as the sun began to peak its first rays over the crater rim and out of seemingly nowhere a band of touts began to offer us horse rides to volcano. We spent the remainder of the day soaking up the sun's warmth and the breathtaking views (see below).

Yogykarta
Aka Yogya (pronounced Johg-Ja)- bustling city of about three million people all governed by a sultan who lives in a big walled palace in the middle of the city. Something we may not have mentioned before is that is is Ramadan here and as you may or may not know, Indonesia is majority Muslim. Translation for us-we are not supposed to eat/drink on the street and a bunch of places are closed for lunch, or you eat behind a curtain, so people on the street don't have to watch you eat. Otherwise, we have been told that Yogya is normally filled with much more traffic-which has been nice to miss, since we felt it was already pretty busy. In addition, we hear the call to prayer throughout the night, esp 3am-5am as it is projected over a loud speaker from all mosques. After asking around though, we have been told that this happens all year round, not just during Ramadan.

Back to Yogya. On the first day, Sarah tripped on the uneven sidewalks of the city and awkwardly landed on her foot, causing it to bruise and swell up. Fearful that she had broken something, she and Chris headed to the hospital the next morning, while Mark and I went to visit the sultan's palace. Fully expecting Sarah and Chris to be at the ER all day-we found them relaxing at our lovely hotel (which had both a pool and a gym) upon on return. Turns out it was one of the nicest hospitals they had ever been to and they received the royal treatment-in and out in one hour and no broken foot! Great news. An aside-please see photo below of us trying to work off some Nasi Goreng (fried rice) and Mie Goreng (fried noodles) at the old school hotel gym. We have been eating a lot of both.

The walled palace was cool-Mark and I saw some traditionally dressed women, ritualistically bringing the sultan his lunch under an umbrella. We also did a walking tour of the city with a great guide named Alice, who kinda just acted as our friend while we walked around the city for five hours.

Mark trying his hand at making a traditional leather puppet....



One of the many sweet graffiti clad walls in Yogya...



We also took two day trips from Yogyakarta two see two large temples-Prambanan and Borobudur. Prambanan is a Hindu temple built in the 9th century and consists of three central temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma and many smaller shrines around it. The central temple is about 60 meters tall and all three temples were an incredible sight to see. It reminded me of being at Macchu Picchu since all of the stones have no mortar between them and are carved to perfectly fit together. On the evening of our visit to Prambanan we watched a traditional dance performance on an outdoor stage with the temples glowing behind. Another aside-before the dance performance began, an earthquake struck. It was nothing major-but enough to feel everything shaking a bit for about one minute. Sarah and Chris are used to this having lived in LA, but it was my first earthquake and it totally weirded me out. I kept thinking I was feeling aftershocks for a couple days after.

Interesting wall carving at Prambanan, though I forgot this bearded dudes name...



The gang in front of Prambanan...






Borobudur was also an incredible sight. It is a Buddhist temple, with ten levels forming a pyramid. The trip to the top represents the path to nirvana-with the bottom level full of stone carvings that depict people enjoying life's vices and the apex of the structure symbolizing nirvana. The carvings were incredibly well preserved (the structure was not "rediscovered" until about 1814) under volcanic ash from the three volcanoes nearby. The top of the monument was void of decoration, carvings or buddha statues (of which there were hundreds on the monument) symbolizing the nothingness and serenity of nirvana. It was pretty impressive.

Lindsay Trying to reach inside the wall and rub the Buddha's foot for good luck...


Us in front of the mighty Borobudur....


Taking a break on our journey towards enlightenment....


Random aside-on the way back from Borobudur we stopped to pick up a loaf of grilled bread called Roti. It was made hot, right in front of us at a street food cart. There were an infinity of possible fillings to put inside the bread including nuts, jams, butter, chocolate, fruit, but we really went all out and asked for chocolate and cheese! We watched as the chef slathered the bread with butter, condensed milk, chocolate, and cheese and grilled every side of the loaf to perfection. Needless to say it was one of the most glorious things i have ever eaten. We made it back to our lovely hotel in Yogya and though we were sad to go, we left in the morning to head to the airport for a quick one night stop in Singapore to renew our Indonesian visas.

Achieving Nirvana.....

Relaxing in the Gillis

After our difficult trek up Rinjani, we headed to a small island called Gilli Air with Kristine and Mathais. Gilli Air is one of 3 islands known as the Gillis that are located just off of Lombok. It takes about 15 minutes to get there by boat from Lombok. During our most difficult moments in Rinjani we kept telling ourselves to just get through it because soon we would be in the tropical paradise known as the Gillis. When we arrived we were not disappointed!


Perhaps the greatest thing about the Gillis is that they are closed to all motor traffic so the only way to get around is on foot, bicycle or by horse cart. It's the Mackinac Island of Indonesia.
We also chartered a boat for the day and went on an amazing snorkeling trip. We saw lots of sea turtles, parrot fish and Mark spotted an eel.

We stayed in cottages that were a 2 minute walk inland. The interior of the island is also equally idyllic with cows, goats and chicken grazing in the shadows of palm trees. Here I am in my newly purchased sarong in front of our cottage. Lindsay & I walking home from the beach bellow.

Some more Gilli Pics

Gili Islands

Mt. Rinjani

We made the trip to Mt. Rinjani (Indonesia's second highest peak) via a four hour ferry across the Bali Sea followed by a 3 hour van ride through the eroding switchbacks of Lombok. We were surprised to find that our driver had a 15 year old mix tape that was heavy on Boyz II Men. After arriving in Senaru, a small village at the base of Mt. Rinjani, we negotiated for a reputable guide to lead us on the daunting three day trek up the mountain.



Day 1…

Day ONE: we woke, swallowed some banana pancakes and then rode in the back of a pickup truck to the trail head. We should note that in addition to the regular "sights and parasites" crew (Mark, Lindsay, Sarah and Chris) we were also joined by Sarah’s attorney friends from L.A., Christine and Mathias, as well as a German named Andreas. The seven of us were accompanied by Itra, our guide, who, at the end of our first day's hike, would carry a 50lb log up the side of the mountain to the campsite so we could have our dinner served hot). five porters accompanied us as well, ranging in age from 17 to 45, all in astronomically better shape than us. And so it was that the whole Rinjani gang was about a baker's dozen in size.

The first morning's hike was pleasant enough, through savanna, rolling hills of waist high grasses and the occasional wandering bovine. We broke for lunch after an hr, and any worries about going hungry on the mountain were quelled when we downed a large Indonesian style noodle soup. Stretching out after our meal we shared our optimistic impressions of the trek, believing our initial 2 hour hike and 1.5hr lunch might be the pace throughout.

By 3pm we were scrambling on all fours up a steeply graded trail resembling the loose bed of a former avalanche We powered through and by 4:30pm we arrived at our first campsite, perched on the rim of Mt. Rinjani's crater, 1600meters higher than where we'd started. The views from the rim were all the reward we needed. We ate and hit the sack by 7pm, for Itra would be waking us in less than 7 hours to start our ascent to the summit.

Day 2…

2AM… we sit outside our tents and consider the 1100meter climb ahead of us. tea and cheese sandwiches were all the sustainence we'd need. above us, the Milky Way gleamed so vividly that its clouds of cosmic gas were visible (a dark smudge with a purple-ish white perimeter). Under the guidance of Itra and our headlamps we began to climb. The grade of the trail was even more daunting then the day before. Making matters worse, the trail was comprised entirely of tiny bits of volcanic pumice. Progress was slow and demoralizing. With every two steps forward we slid one back, a Sisyphean ordeal, like climbing a waterfall.

6AM…Summit. eventually, all of us who tried to summit DID-- some much quicker than others! The sunrise was astounding; at 3700meters we were well above the clouds and will let the pictures speak for themselves. Oreo's were eaten and then we made a much more rapid decent back down to base camp and more banana pancakes.

NOW 9AM… the day was far from over. we stretched our dogs (aka our feet) in the morning sun, thinking we'd happily spend the remainder of the day napping and recuperating. However this was not part of the itinerary, and by 10AM we were stumbling down a precarious switchback with sheer cliff drops into low hanging clouds, which pour into the crater basin every morning and keep the northern side of the volcano green and tropical. The trail descended 600 meters to the edge of the crater lake. We took a 2 hour break for lunch and some (very) hot springs and then (again, after thinking we'd happily spend the remainder of the day here, recuperating) left the stunning lake behind and began a 600meter climb to the other side of the crater rim, where we would spend the night. finally, now at the campsite, what remained of our energy was used chewing dinner, afterward which we collapsed in exhaustion before the sun had even set completely.

Day 3…

All down hill! Despite some very sore legs (esp knees) we all managed to get down the mountain by noonish on Day THREE. the group photo shows us at the bottom of the trail, tired but fulfilled!