Asia (South East)

Sri Lanka Singapore Java:June/Aug 07

This article is from Angie Whitehead. Check her website at http://www.srilankaundiscovered.co.uk

Cairo (Egypt)–Kuta (Bali) via UAE Sri Lanka Singapore Java: June/Aug 07

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka (exchange rate  1 US$ =  SL Rupee 110; I GBP =  SLR 220)

Sri Lanka forms part of another ‘report’ as it is where I have my 2nd residence!  I was in the Island to check up on my house and the plantation (I have pepper, tea and coffee), sort ouf staffing problems, and attend  2 weddings, hence the papyrus presents from Egypt – the children of friends were getting married, one in Colombo (on the coast), the other in Kandy (in the hills).

Singapore

Singapore  (exchange rate  1 US$ = SGD 1.50; 1 GBP = 3 SGD)

I left mid-July from Colombo to Singapore, taking the 10.30 am Emirates flight, which was direct, taking 3 ½ hours with a 2 hour time change.  The plane had come from Dubai and was full of all sorts of nationalities.  Martha and Elise, who I had met in February during my trip to Thailand, met me at Changi Airport, a vast ultra-modern affair complete with armed guards at the exit points.  A one-month visa is issued free to EU citizens.  A bus took us into the city centre, although Martha’s flat was about  ½ way and took around  40 minutes to reach.  It is in the Malay area of the city and the area is called Joo Chiat.  The flat was on the 13th floor and had a fine view across Singapore City as well as being handy for transport – the metro (MRT) was 5 minutes’  walk and buses ran just in front of the block.  Many small shops, cafes, restaurants and so on were close by.  Martha gave me her EZ transport card for me to get about free and I had 2 full days exploring the city alone and ½ a day on the back of her motorbike, on her day off work. 

Noteworthy sites include the Botanic Gardens (free entry and with a fantastic orchid garden  - not free!) , the Marina and Esplanade (the site of a huge parade for National Day or the day to mark Independence from UK) , Orchard Road and Raffles Square (many ultra modern shops and cafes),  Canning Fort  on Canning Hill (boasts an old British cannon – is that why it is called Canning? -  but little remains of the actual fort!) and  the National Museum.  But as a museum lover the better bet is the Museum of Asian Civilisations (entry SGD 8) on the Singapore River waterfront, which gives a free guided tour. 

I had dinner one evening in Little India, which looks just like a South Indian town imported into Singapore, complete with South Indian-style temple, shops, cafes and the rest.  Plus the staring men, who don’t like to see women out and about ; I had to choose my café carefully and ate  Masala Thosai (vegetable pancake) for around SGD 2.  The next evening we all went to a Chinese café near Martha’s flat, where we had rice, vegetables and eggs for around $2 each.  It is quite cheap to eat at these outdoor cafes and some serve Malay food, which is much spicier, for a similar price. 

One of the highlights of the visit was the tour on the back of Martha’s motorbike to the beach at Sentosa Island; as it was Singapore National Day and a public holiday whole families were camped on the beach (they had spent the night) in tents and were busy cooking lunch when we passed by.  The sand has been imported as have the palm trees and the  place is clean and tidy – no litter, no mess and no out of order parking (Martha cruised for ages to find a suitable place to park the mo-bike). 

I had an evening  flight  (6 pm) with Emirates from Singapore to Jakarta in Indonesia; it was actually the same plane I had come from Colombo on – it flies from Dubai to Colombo to S’pore to Jakarta! 

Comments :   Singapore is very impressive - ultra-modern, clean, well-organised, with an excellent infrastructure.  English is the national language; the main ethnic groups are Malay, Chinese, South Indians and Westerners.  Generally people of Chinese origin dress in western-type clothes and people of Indian/Malay origin in more traditional clothing; this is true throughout South and East Asia.  So there is no real concept of foreigners here – great!  The cost of living is relatively high but you can get by on a low budget by being careful.  Weather was hot, around 28 deg. C and high humidity, with some inter-monsoonal showers.  Sunrise is at around 6.30  am, sunset at around 7.30 pm (Hong Kong time).

Indonesia

Indonesia  (exchange rate 1 US$ = 9000  Rupiah;  1 GBP = 18 000 Rupiah)

Java 

After a 1 ½ hour flight followed by a 1 hour time change (backwards) I arrived in Jakarta, capital of Java Island, which was initially like stepping back another century or more in time never mind just 1 hour.  Or should I say to another planet - travellers will know the initial reaction when going from one culture to another!  Visa formalities were slow and there was a long queue of foreigners, mainly Dutch and French people, who had got off my huge plane!  The visa cost US$ 20 for 30 days.  The luggage took even longer to arrive than the visa and so it was around 8.30 pm when I finally got a taxi; I got an Avis car from an office inside the airport and pre-paid Rp 180.000 to take me to Yanni’s Guest House in the Cikini District (around 45 minutes drive).  The Guest House is almost opposite to Cikini Hospital, useful as a point of reference  The room cost Rp 120.000, had private bathroom and air-con and included breakfast (coffee, orange juice and toast).  The owner is very friendly and helpful and speaks excellent English. 

I had one full day in Jakarta, seeing most of the sights on foot.  For most of the day I saw no other western people at all, not even around Merdeka Square, where there is a tall monument set in a large park, flanked by shacks full of poor people, and patrolled by army and police.  This was because of a large demonstration against low wages in foreign shoe-making companies (notably Nike), which I saw passing.  The nearby museum and art gallery were closed so I headed for Jalan Jaksa, the backpacker district.  This too was deserted but I found one Dutch family and a resident American in the Hotel Margot café.  From here I wandered through various suburbs reminiscent of India (this means they were quite poor) and got lost.  No English is spoken outside touristy areas, as I now found out!  Back at the guest house I got my train ticket  for Jogjakarta – cost Rp 160.000 – so the next day I headed off south on the 8.45 am train (though scheduled to leave at 8.15 am).  The station looked like those in India or Sri Lanka  (read – quite poor) and was swarming with porters, who for around  Rp 8000  will carry your bag and then wait till the train comes and put it on the rack for you!  The train was excellent, with pre-booked seats, air-con and food provided.  The scenery across Java (around 900 km taking 11 hours) is magnificent – volcanoes, rice-fields, water buffaloes, coconut palms and endless villages and small towns (Java has a population of 140 million!). 

The train arrived just after sundown (therefore dark – it is always better to try and get to your destination before dark!) and I took a taxi to the hotel (it was actually a van and cost Rp 30.000  for around 4 km – yes I know the train only cost Rp 160.000 for 900 km but that is economies of scale in Asia; the train is subsidized by the state and the private taxis are not!)

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I had a room at Duta Guest House, in the south of Jogjakarta on Jalan Prawirotamen, booked by the owner of Yanni’s in Jakarta, which cost Rp 110.000, including breakfast.  As the room was rather small and overlooked a busy corridor I moved to Rose Guest House next door the following day.  I got a big room with private bathroom, TV, for Rp 80.000.  Breakfast (Javanese or thick black coffee, eggs, jam and toast) was included in the price.  The Guest House also has a pool and can organize tours  to places of interest in the area. 

Touting is rather a problem in Java and becaks (bicycle rickshaws) line the streets outside the guesthouses (they shout ‘Meester’ (Mister) which  comes from Dutch!).  It cost about Rp 8000 to go to the town centre, a distance of around 3 km.  Places of interest in Jogja include the Kraton or Sultan’s Palace, which houses an interesting museum of history and also batik art.  At 10 am daily there a free performance of gamelan (traditional Javanese music).  Close by is Taman Sari, an attractive water garden (minus the water), used by the Sultans.  A short walk brings you to the main square, a dusty, weed-infested place with sheep grazing on little or no grass, passing the President’s palace and a museum and so into Jalan Malioboro, the main street, which is lined on one side with batik shops and on the other with motorbikes.  Here I found a McDonalds and settled on a fishburger for lunch as a change from the staple fare of Nasi Goreng (fried vegetable rice with an egg on top, usually costing from around Rp 5000 in a local eatery to Rp 15 000 in a tourist trap).  The smart crowd of Jogja were all here, tapping on their mobile phones and adjusting their tight jeans (boys and girls).

I made 2 separate day-trips – one to Borobodur 42 km away to see the huge Buddhist temple there, and one to Prambanan, 17 km away to visit the Hindu temple complex.  Borobodur was spectacular, the massive stone edifice overshadowed by an active volcano, while Prambanan had suffered damage from an earthquake the previous year (this had triggered a tsunami off the coast) and some of the temples had been badly damaged. Entrance fees for these sites are quite high – around Rp 90.000 per site. – but worth it for fans of Asian Archaeology and History.  Not far from Prambanan is the Palace of Boko, on a hill above the town.  There are hardly any tourists here (the other places have their fare share plus loads of touts and shack-like shops selling souvenirs), the site is extensive and most interesting and the view superb. A free pot of tea with biscuits was served to us in lone splendour, accompanied by a sweet pussycat.  Another excellent excursion was by motorbike (pillion that is) to Parangtritis, a seaside town some 25 km  away on the Java Sea – next stop Australia!  The beach was long, the sea cool and the cliffs reminiscent of Devon!  Jeans-clad teenagers were bathing in the sea and local people offering horse-cart rides. I also visited Imogiri, a hilltop Muslim shrine, and the village of Kotugede, famous for its silversmiths.
My guest house also booked my trip to Bali, via Probolingo and Mount Bromo Volcano (with an overnight stay here at around 2000 M, where it was quite cold!).  This was not such a great success as the trip was overbooked and I almost didn’t get a hotel room! 

However the scenery en route was great though the roads were dreadfully crowded, chiefly with trucks.  The journey began by minibus and the next day switched to an air-con coach in Probolingo, which dropped us at the ferry for Bali.  The N E coast of Java is more sparsely populated and skirts a large area of scrub jungle. 

The ferry to Bali takes about 1 hour and the journey from Gilmanuk to the N Bali coastal resort of Lovina about another 2 hours.   I stayed in the Ray Beach Inn (Rp 80.000  for a room with bathroom, fan, balcony and breakfast, also use of a pool) where the minibus driver dropped us.  (This is often the case when traveling in South and East Asia – the driver will have a deal going with some guest house)  This 2-day trip cost Rp 380.000 and this included jeep transport to the Bromo volcano, b and b at Yoshi’s Guest House and the transport from Jogja to Lovina.  The other passengers in the minibus were Dutch and French (the main foreign groups in Indonesia). 

Bali 

  Whereas in Java you are woken around 4.30 am every day by mosque loudspeakers all is quietness in Bali – it is Hindu and the temples don’t chant early morning either!  It is also much more commercialized and geared up for tourism than Java.  Lovina Beach and area is pretty but the sand is black lava.and the beach quite narrow, with overhanging trees, under which sit whole families of touts, with small girls selling necklaces.There are lots of hotels, restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops, but there were few tourists (they were all at Kuta Beach I later found out).

After 2 days here I headed south to Ubud  in a minibus booked by the hotel for  Rp 60.000, which I shared with a French couple I had met at Borobodur.  It was only 1 ½ hours’ drive to Ubud across a range of mountains.  I got a room on Monkey Forest Road – near the Monkey Forest end – at Ubud Terrace Bungalows for Rp 100.000 (private bathroom, fan, balcony and breakfast).  The bungalows were set in a pretty garden, complete with temple and pool.  Ubud was once the capital of Bali and has an interesting palace, also used as a hotel, lots of  Hindu temples, a Modern Art Museum and a jungle sanctuary for monkeys.  It is choked with traffic and tourists and very commercialized (loads of restaurants and designer shops!).  It is a good centre for visiting ancient temples, one of which resembles a mini Angkor in Cambodia.  I also made a day trip to Danau (Lake) Bator and Gunung Batur, a volcano.  Ubud is in the central hills and is quite cool so when it began to rain I took a minibus to Kuta Beach on the coast, just near the capital, Denpasar.   This cost  Rp 40.000 and took about 1 ½ hours. 

I stayed at Legian, just north of Kuta Beach, in Kumala Indah 2 for Rp 50.000, which gave me private bathroom (cold water only), fan, balcony and breakfast (Balinese coffee, which is same as Javanese, and a jaffle – toasted sandwich, this is an Australian term).  Kuta Beach is lovely – very long with white sand and great surf (not good for me though as the sea is scary!).  The town is jam packed full of shops and cafes and tourists from all over the world, but mainly Australia, Holland and France.  A notable sight is the monument to the Bali Bombings which took place here in 2003.  I walked the whole length of the beach and came across a charming Hindu temple right by the shore at the northern end. 

On my final day in Bali I took a taxi (van actually – arranged by the hotel) for Rp 40.000 to Denpasar Airport for my Air Asia flight to Jakarta (cost Rp 550.000 on the Internet), which lasted 1 ½ hours and left me with plenty of time to catch my onward connexion to Singapore at 20.30 – too much time in fact, so I whiled away some of it in McDonalds, the rest of it chatting to 2 Indonesian families seeing their girls off to get married in Europe.

Comments :  Indonesia is in stark contrast to Singapore.  With a population of 240 million it is difficult to look after everyone in the way that Singapore does.  There is bound to be a great difference between rich and poor! Infrastructure is quite good – in populated areas there are adequate roads and railways.  The people tend to wear traditional clothes in Java – sarongs or lungis (long wrap-over skirts) or baggy trousers with shirts for men and blouses or tunics for women (who also cover their heads quite often) and western clothes in Bali.  Generally they are friendly towards foreigners although many can be a nuisance, touting their services (the most common one is ‘transport’).  I visited mainly tourist areas and experienced no special problems as a woman, though Java is more conservative than Bali and some care should be taken here to dress modestly.  English is only spoken by those concerned with tourism and no Dutch at all (despite it having been a Dutch colony).  The local language is Bahasa Indonesia, similar to Bahasa Malay, which is written in the  Roman script.  Of course there are lots of local ‘tribal’ languages just like there are lots of different ethnic groups.  The cost of living is low – around 3-7 times less of that in West Europe. It was hot, around 28 deg C, and dry (I had chosen to visit in the dry season as I don’t like getting wet and wanted to avoid floods and other problems).  Sunrise is at 6 am in Java, sunset at 6 pm, but in Bali sunrise is at 7 am and sunset at 7 pm  - I am not sure why!