Pool, Palms, Paradise

OK. I finally clicked the button and paid a vacation online for a 5 days 3 nights stay at the Imaj Private Villas Lombok on one of the 3000 islands of Indonesia.

Yes, it was with Wifeys' blessings of course.

For a USD40 a night's stay in a 2 bedroom villa, we have the whole place overlooking the ocean and sunset and a private pool all to ourselves. It is indeed a good bargain as far as the accommodation is concern. The airport taxes and airport transfers to and from the villa are already included.

It is from a promotional email newsletter from MIW that got me hooked on this paradise in the east. An island east of Bali, that is.

We will have to book our own 2 hours 45 minutes direct flight from Singapore's Changi International Airport to Lombok's Salapangan Airport on board Singapore Airlines' SilkAir Airbus 319.

We need to fork out the flight cost of about S$316.00 per person with a return flight. The actual flight is costing only S$188, but the cost become quite extravagant for a short distance with the inclusion of an airport tax of S$128 each.

Anyway, money aside... we are hoping to get away for our vacation this year either in March or June, during Sonny's school holidays. A week of sunshine and lazying around in paradise ought to get rid of the blues and stresses of everyday life away.

Sun, sand, sea... and lots of mountainous scenery, village to village visits, nature hikes and waterfalls... for a quiet vacation, just the three of us.

Jakarta To Cirebon

Waking up on the first morning in Jakarta, Indonesia was nostalgic.

It was like waking up young... like a child still living in my Lorong Ternak village when the still of the predawn hours broke by the call for morning prayer from the nearby mosque.

It was 4:30AM Indonesian time in Hotel Grand Cempaka.


Mom and Dad already awoke with the sound of water running in their toilet in the adjoining room. We went for breakfast at 7:00AM.

It was the first time I could see an aerial view of Jakarta from our 5th storey hotel room. Only then I realized how dense and well, disorderly cramped the city was. It was no wonder that traffic jams were the order of the day, everyday.


One heartening observation was that there were mosques almost every 100 metres apart, interspersed within the city with varied sizes buildings... distinctive, with its 3-tiered roof and a pointed dome right on the very top.

Although Indonesia is not a Muslim country, with over 300 native languages, the population is about 90% Muslims, thus finding Halal food was not at all a problem.


While the city outside woke-up to its usual bustling day, we had plenty of time enjoying our breakfast and each other's company. Mom was exceptionally chatty this morning.

Knowingly so, everyone was excited since it was our first day to embark on a 6-day journey of Central Java.

We checked-out before 8:00AM and was on the coach with our tour guide Pak Rizal waiting with a smile as everyone boarded. All smiling with zest to begin our Java Overland Tour.


As we headed further away east from the capital, the chaotic concrete and makeshift houses gave its landscape to the vast, unobstructed view of padi fields... as far as the eye could see. All serene with beautifully shades of green.


First Stop.


Lunch was at Pesona Laut Restaurant in Pantai Utara or north sea coastline. A seafood restaurant overlooking the ocean.

A quaint feature of the restaurant was a nostalgic ambin or seating platform where people had their meals on it while seated cross-legged. A true old kampong style.


The food served there was probably one of the best meals in the entire tour, simply because seafood is my favorite.


Second Stop.


A visit to Sunan Gunung Jati Tomb. Our tour guide enlightened us on 1 of the 9 men they called Wali or the holiest men in Java. He united the Indonesian people in Jakarta that soon spread wide the neighboring provinces to embrace Islam from their centuries-old practice of Hinduism.

Before his death, he requested that his grave be cordoned-off in anticipation to avoid skewing of faith by worshiping him at his grave instead of The Almighty.


His grave was not open to public... not even dignitaries. It was believed that one had to pass through 6 more sealed doors excluding the outer thick timbre door that was padlocked to reach the inner sanctum where his grave was. The reason for the 7 doors was unknown.

Out of respect, no photos were taken within the tomb grounds.

It was just too crowded with local visitors pouring in to the courtyard to offer prayer to him, while the Chinese visitors visit Wali Jati's Chinese Wife's grave to offer her their prayers.

So, we cut short our visit there.

The highlight of palce was not so much about the tomb, but the ever persistent and aggressive nature of the children there begging for money. We were already warned by Pak Rizal of such a situation well before we reached alighted from our coach.


Each of us had children surrounding us; even Sonny was not spared... tagging along and tugging on our shirts asking for money. There were lots of shops there, but we could only get a reprieve once we were back on the coach. So, no opportunity for shopping there.

The visit conjured-up a very sad sight to many of us, but an embarrassing one for Pak Rizal. He was disgusted believing that the children were taught by their beggar-parents to lead such a life too, instead of an honest living, working in the fields.


Third Stop.


A visit to Gua Sunyaragi. It was built as a rest house for royalty. Sunan Gunung Jati built it in the 15th century for his Chinese bride who died 3 years after coming to Java.

The isolated place was used for meditation to seek inner knowledge and strength for spiritual discipline within the many chambers. Outsidewas a landscaped garden where once small lakes meandered through the garden.


It must had been a beautiful place, but with the numerous transformations with its grotesque red brick building and concrete grotto, I could not help to feel that it had become more like a theme park than anything historic, unfortunately.


Last Stop.

The journey to our hotel called Hotel Prima in Cirebon took us late into the afternoon.

Enough time to freshen-up after checking in and had our dinner at the hotel restaurant.

We did our own night tour of the city while my parents stayed back in their room.

Did some shopping for some unbelievably dirt-cheap T-shirts and jackets before we called it a night.

Singapore To Jakarta

Leaving Singapore Changi Airport on Friday was not an opportune a timing for us Muslims.

We had to skip the afternoon Friday mass prayers since the Qatar QR638 flight was at 2:35PM on a weekday.

The normal big group of family members who finds any reason to gather together for a big send-off was non-existent this time. Only my youngest brother and his family came to drive our parents from their home to the airport.



Touch-down, Jakarta

That short flight to Jakarta was not an ideal one if given a choice.

Being a transit flight from Dubai, each of our seats were scattered around. Fortunately our parents got their seats together.

The flight was a 200-odd Indonesian maids-strong who were heading home after finishing their stints in Riyadh and Dubai.

The first day of the trip was nothing memorable at all. I could sense the rush for our meals to be served and for the passengers to eat before it was time for the plane to start descending.

Oh yes, I will always remember this one. I was aghast to witness for the first time in my traveler-life, a passenger seated beside me spitting on the carpeted floor of the plane while seated!

Sonny was not so lucky either. Seated behind me, he was very trying to swallow his meal while both ladies seated on both sides of him puking for the most of the flight into the air-sick bags.

It was a relief to get our of the plane. Jakarta, however greeted us with a massive traffic jam. A daily, twice-a-day peak-hour workweek event. As the tour guide mentioned, a 20 minutes journey would take about a hour during peak hours.

We took 3 hours to reach our hotel, but before that, dinner... Padang style was waiting for us. Notice the numerous dishes served stacked-up on the table. Tea was normally served at meal times.

After dinner, we get to "renew" our wedding vows and posed on the Minangkabau Wedding Dias specially for the Salero Jumbo Padang Restaurant customers.

We got to sleep the night at a beautiful and modern Hotel Cempaka... excited but also bracing for the long journeys ahead.

The mini-coach was to be our home for the whole of the Java Overland Tour, while each of the hotels became just a nightly affair to rest our tired bones in.

To be continued...

Sumatra's Minangkabau Wedding Dias

Mom & Dad reliving their wedding days

Wifey & I feeling nostalgic

Glad We're Home

At Borobudur with a Buddha in an exposed Stupa

Phew!

We are back home again!

The vacation was fast-ending as it was fast coming when we first yearned for an escape.

Yes, we had fun. Seen lots in a foreign land and experienced plenty... the beautiful culture, the magnificent landscapes and the sad human realities there too. An eye-opener especially for our Sonny.

Central Java, Indonesia has a rich past dating from ancient times. From ancient ruins showing testaments to their past Hindu and Buddhist civilizations, to the old buildings of once occupied country by the Dutch, the English and the Japanese before their centuries-long fights for freedom gained their independence in 1945.

Going from places to places together with the rest of the tour group - our family of 5 people and 3 middle-aged couples from Singapore, the trip was made fun and alive especially from a hilarious and very animated guy, not our tour-guide but our own local man named Pak Shukri from Ang Mo Kio.

The Java Overland Tour Group

11 of us were the closest to a family we got with Pak Rizal as our tour guide and time keeper, we spent during our 6-day Java Overland Tour as we journeyed together across the vast land.

Starting from the capital city Jakarta in the west, stretching all the way to end of tour coverage as far as Jogjakarta, about the centre of Central Java island.

A nice experience overall for me simply because I have the most favorite people to share it with... my family and parents.

The only drawback is my weak stomach. The second last day proved that I am not that tough after I eat a packed of steamed ground nuts Mom bought from a street peddler who came to our coach.

Mom eat a few, so did Sonny, but I eat most of it and finished it all, so I got the worst reaction... only me!

This time around, Wifey got to tell me "I told you so" when I fell ill coming back to Jakarta from Bandung. My stomach was in so much pain as I felt it twisted and turned upside-down inside of me from food poisoning.

She kept reminding me not to buy food or drinks from the street peddlers. I did not, but my Mom did. I am not blaming, I just tend to forget the hygiene level there as our stomachs are accustomed to living in Singapore.

The vast padi fields dominating most of country's landscape

That was the most longest and painful, grueling 3-hour coach ride of my life!

The medication we brought for the trip took a long time to take affect but did a good job nonetheless reducing my trips to the toilet... everywhere we could stop at one along our journey.

Disposable underwear came in handy too, I tell you! Fortunately the toilets at all pit stops were surprising clean. Phew!

Well, I have to stop here as nature calls again, the third time today.

I promise the next few posts will be pleasant ones... the ones we immersed ourselves with enjoyment entirely.

To-the-loo... for now!

Packed And Ready

There! We are finally packed for our vacation starting tomorrow.

Wifey was exceptionally chatty while we were packing... a little bit too excited at times. I have been focusing on the photography department, checking and packing the camera and video cam and all its accessories.

Sonny was focusing on the gaming department. Loading-up on all the games, songs with is laptop, PSP, PDA and accessories into his knapsack.

Wifey has a medium-sized luggage all to herself, while the larger one is shared by both Sonny and me. We also packed some snacks and sachets Milo, 3-In-1 coffee and tea for our late night chats there.

I am beginning to feel the excitement, but at the same time cannot help but feel sad to leave our pets behind. We will have to say good bye to our fish, plants and especially our hamsters. Actually, I am quite sad that we will not be seeing them for the whole week.

Fortunately they are not home-alone. My Niece has graciously agreed once again, to come by our home at least every other day after her class to help water the plants, top up the automated fish food-feeder when its running low and feed our hammies.

The last time she did the same was when we left for Bangkok, Thailand in December last year.

Our Qatar Airways flight which will depart from Singapore from Changi Airport Terminal 3 at 2:00PM for a 1 hour and 45 minutes flight reaching Jakarta, Indonesia, with a time zone an hour earlier.


We will travel across Central Java going to interesting natural wonders - caves and volcanic mountains, hot springs and historic places. We will also visit one of the seven wonders of the world, the ancient Borobudur temple.

Going from one tourist destination to another everyday, most of our time will be spent in the coach, just like our trip to Perth Australia with my parents too. So Mom and Dad are quite accustomed to what the trip entails.

Hotels will therefore be different everyday in every province.

All together we will be visiting 5 provices throughout the 7-day tour.

Hopefully it will not be taxing to both Mom and Dad. Definitely, some places will be almost inaccessible to my wheelchair-bound Mom, but the tour guide assured us not to worry.

We will just pray that this is true. I would hate it if Mom were to miss out on any once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We pray for a safe journey there and back. Hoping that we can enjoy ourselves thoroughly together and bring lots of fond memories and experiences back... souvenirs, pictures and all!

See you in a week's time! Have a super-great week everyone!

Clear For Takeoff

Mom brought more good news about Dad.

She has diligently been calling me back to inform that Dad has since been back to his usual routine and is now back active helping Mom doing house chores and tending to his garden like he always does.

Finally today, Wifey and I are able to make the decision and booked our intended Java Overland Tour package with Halijah Travels at Golden Landmark Shopping Complex.


As the itinerary goes, we will be touring Indonesia.. my first step onto its mainland after going Padang Sumatra and Bali Island for our first and second honeymoon respectively and then to its nearer island resorts in Bintan and Batam for shorter holiday trips.

It will be everybody's first except Wifey's to visit its capital, Jakarta for one day on Friday, then onward to Ceribon, JogJakarta, Wonosobo and then Bandung... each for a day before heading back to the capital for another day before our flight back home on the following Thursday.


We will fly off early June 2008 a week after school holiday starts... well after Sonny finishes with all his clubs and extra curricular activities at school.

This 7-day tour is ideal especially because its full-board. Lodging and all three meals a day have been catered to, so its hassle-free for my old folks and especially Mom who is wheelchair-bound.

At S$704.00 per person, inclusive of airport and security taxes, except that we have to fork out about S$20.00 or $100,000.00 Rupiah airport tax each at the Indonesian airport.

My parents will only have to worry about how much they will need to bring to spend shopping there as I am treating them with the tour... for being the loving parents they are to us, all their lives.

Wifey is exceptionally excite about this vacation, simply because she is an avid fan of South-east Asian history... Indonesia in particular, thus this trip she suggested.

Her love for history stemmed from when she studied history in high school and excelled in it. Her testament to her interest is her effective tuition to Sonny who has been good in this subject and has scored first in class again from his mid-year exams a week ago.

Indonesia is rich in history and culture; Wifey's buried interest is just waiting to be dug-up rediscovered when we reach there. I personally felt that Wifey should have pursued this field which she would excel, definitely. If only we can turn back time.

Then again, I may not meet her... which will be to my detriment as she is the one who keeps me sane and keeps my faith close to The Almighty. As selfish as this may sound, I am glad that we cannot turn back time and I am happy that I have her.

As always, whenever we travel, I am the self-appointed cameraman and bellhop... beside being the banker. I thrive wonderfully when I am away from work and adult responsibilities.

Traveling is one of my top favorite things to do as with anyone. The extra bonus is sharing the privilege that I get with family and parents... the experience of enjoying the world and its wonders.

I am pumped to see new things, well, very old things but with new perspective personally and lots... I mean tons and tons of digital photos that I will be taking. Thank you technology... no film will be wasted, just shaky pictures.


In the meantime, having lunch at Victory restaurant in Jalan Sultan where Golden Landmark is situated has its own stash of historic buildings, splashed richly with Malay and Arabic cultures.

No Lumix FZ10 camera in my hand, but I guess my iPhone camera will do...

Cameron's Tea Time

I know I have been talking so much about my vacation, and would probably be stale by now after all, it has been two weeks since we came back... but I will talk about it still, until I get myself bored too.

Anyway, I have tons of pictures that I have taken on the trip to show... and with my poor memory I think I better keep it in writing before everything becomes mush in my head.

So, here goes...

After our interesting Strawberry Farm tour, Jaz brought us to the famous man-made landscape in the highlands... the Boh Tea Plantation and its factory.

That was after driving through endless winding roads and several hundred honks at every corner later, we reached the ever famous tea brand, this side of the world... Boh Tea.


Never thought I would actually set foot on its origin... all I did as a child was to buy a pack of Boh Tea when my Mom asked me to from our village shop... just because we were expecting guests.

Though I am not a tea person, more of... well a coffee addict actually, setting foot in that place was very interesting for me and I am sure for Wifey and our Son, just the same.

Our good luck to get Jaz as our tour guide for the day brought us right up to the factory entrance since Jaz is a familiar face there. We were allowed to drive into the factory vicinity to park instead of down the hill at the visitor's carpark like everyone else.

We really did not mind to walk a bit since the scenery was fantastic and the weather just right - cool and bright. Well, more time at the factory and cafe later.


We learned from Jaz that all the tea plants there were planted in 1929, brought in from India onto the thousands of hectares of hills and valleys... and are still being harvested today.

Also, most of the Indian workers there are descendants of the migrants the British brought in to work in the plantation. The place was like a self-sufficient Indian community in itself.

Having its own village quarters, Indian school, a clinic and an impressive looking temple too. The statues were hand-crafted in detail by temple-building experts from India paid to come and build them for 6 to 8 months at a stretch.

"It is just like one big green carpet..." quipped Wifey when we stopped at one of the panoramic views overlooking the undulating hills as far as the eye can see.

She was right, the place really looked like somebody was sunning carpets to dry... except that instead of stale air, it was fresh.


The factory tour had an interesting fact too.

The tea-leave grinding machines and several of the gunny-sack packing machines were from that same year too... and still are functioning to this day. Awesome engineering.

We got to sip tea at the cafe, after going through the standard souvenir shop at the path's end of the tour. Being the true tourist that I am, I bought a Boh Tea mug for my hall of fame at home.

Cameron's Strawberry Love

Cameron's Strawberry Fields

Continuing my show and tell week-long vacation in Cameron Highlands, after our Cactus Valley tour, our next stop was the Strawberry Farm.

That was interesting for us all simply because we had never seen strawberries still attached to its plant. Like most people, we only see these fruits nicely packed in a plastic packages in supermarkets.

As we ascended higher into the highlands, and after what seemed be endless but interesting maneuvers of corners after corners along the edges of the lush hills, we reached the farm. The fresh air was obvious to the senses.


Interesting because, honking would be considered rude in Singapore, but in the highlands, it was essential for the purpose of safety. With many blind-spots around corners and a one lane road going both directions, all drivers would honk to alert the oncoming vehicle that they were coming.

Even more interesting was the fact that people the thought that it was tougher to drive in the day then at night as Jaz, our Tour Guide for the day explained.

At night, the drivers switch on their headlights high to make themselves obvious to other vehicles from the opposite direction and especially visible around corners.

I could never imagined that was so until we actually took a cab and went out at night the day after to go the night market... but that is another story and tons of photos later.

Cameron Highlands is synonymous with strawberries. Thus, the famous Holland architecture -hotel name Strawberry Park that we were staying while we were there.


Truly so, because when we reached the farm, there were already a lot of visitors there, even though there were so many other strawberry farms everywhere, dotting the highlands.

With narrow pathways in between the rows and rows of propped-up strawberry planters, we had to take turns to be let-in to the farm.

They sectioned off parts of the farm and closed them once visitors had picked their strawberries themselves to purchase.


With the chilling climate, we braved ourselves to order and drank the strawberry shakes and ice-cream waffles there, made fresh from their morning pickings.

Fresh strawberries and dried ones were each sold for RM$6.50 per pack. There were lots of visitors there grabbing the packs like they were free.

There were pure strawberry jam in jars and strawberry syrups in bottles, to everything strawberry in the form of souvenirs could be found at Raaju Strawberry Farm shops after the farm walk-abouts.

Again, I was not the one to walk out of a tourist spot without getting a souvenir for myself.

So, I bought a mug with Cameron Highland and strawberry pictures on it for my touristy-mugs collection rack at home.

Strawberry fields forever.

Cameron's Cactus Eden

For RM$25.00 per adult and RM$15 per child, the 3-hour Flower Tour was an interesting outing for all three of us indeed.

We got Jaz - the hotel's tour guide for our exploration of what Cameron Highlands had to offer.

First stop, Cactus Valley.

After a 10 minutes ride down the winding road near the edges of the hills from our hotel, we were the first few visitors to arrive at the nursery that morning.

After paying an entrance fee of RM$4.00 per person, we got to see the hundreds of varieties of cactus we would probably ever see in our entire life in just one place. Totally awesome sight!

The cactus and flowering plants nursery-cum-garden really made us gawked in awe.


Already, we were amazed by the strange and unique shapes the flowers we saw there, now the variety of cactus, each with its own uniqueness... funny shapes even, was equally mind-boggling.

The Almighty's creations is totally mind-blowing!

The nursery was actually vast! It sure fooled us earlier.

Due to its hilly terrain, it looked manageable from the entrance, but once you passed the little potted cactus that were on sale for RM$5.00 for 3 pots, the way to go was up and up the hill.


If Deserts Were This Cool....

From on level to another, the cactus gardens never failed to amaze us all.

Being in the garden, it reminded Wifey the sight we saw when we passed by the desert in Nevada while heading for Las Vegas a few years back.

Instead we were in the cold Malaysian highlands... only difference was, this place was a little more exotic minus the usual skin-burning desert heat.

We we told by Jaz earlier before we entered the nursery, to be back within 40 minutes, but we ended-up spending time exploring the nursery a little over a hour. We were having a good time there.


The spectacular view once at the top of one of the peaks was breathtaking.

Even then, there were more places that we could not cover, simply because it was quite taxing, especially for Wifey to climb-up all those steps, some quite steep too.

A wonderful way to start the morning, amid the beautiful flora to enjoy, we got some exercise done too! Just perfect!

We ended-up buying 3 potted baby cactus for RM$5.00 which was packed neatly with a 3-in-1 plastic carrier for our home.

If I had my way, I would have bought even more variety and start a mini cactus garden in the empty fish terrarium for our home. Should be easy as cactus needed little maintenance.

Wifey thought otherwise. We would have the hassle of bring the cactus back together with all our luggages and purchases later.

She was right... 3 pairs of hands were not enough when we headed home after our vacation.