Indonesia - Krakatau and The End Of Indonesia

Tuesday 22nd May – Jakarta Bound

Finally left Yogyakarta today for good.  After almost getting the wrong train we were off and Jakarta bound at 9.00 a.m.  The train was excellent.  Fully air-con and loads of space with really comfortable seats.  Very glad we went for the business class seats as it makes an excellent change from the oven-like buses.

We reached Gambir station in Jakarta at 5.00 p.m. and made our way to the taxi rank.  Once we jumped in the taxi and gave our destination of Jalan Jaksa the driver immediately clocked us as tourists and the conversation in his head must have went something like:

•  ‘Hello Mr Taxi Driver.  Please take us to Jalan Jaksa’
• ‘Hello Mr Money Bags Tourist.  Not a problem.  I’ll take you directly there.  But only after I do a complete circuit of this big monument and gardens and we end right back where we started so that the fare will be at least 15,000 Rp more than you expect’
• ‘No problem Mr Taxi Driver.  We have money to burn, so please be our guest’
• ‘Why thank you.  Here we go!’

So off we went on an unwanted tour of the National Monument before finally being dropped off at the top of Jalan Jaksa, the backpacker area of Jakarta.  The first hostel we checked had a shared bathroom.  Fine except it was shared by at least 10 rooms.  I’m sure the queues would have reminded me of being at a music festival.  The second was deluxe, but finally the third, Alinda Hotel, was perfect at 160,000 Rp per night.

After we settled in we went for a bite to eat across the road from the hostel.  Even this short venture outside made me feel that Jakarta was not going to be an exciting place.  Back in the hotel we played cards for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday 23st May – Really?  That’s It?

Today the breakfast in the hotel was chicken soup.  Another new breakfast experience.  It was a nice soup but again an odd thing for me to have at breakfast time.  As we sat there Celine glanced over my shoulder at the staff behind the counter and said ‘Are you taking photos of us?’.  Sure enough they were.  They tried to do it without us realising but Celine was too observant for that.  Laughing, she then said, ‘It’s fine, but just ask’ so we then posed for photos.  I thought maybe in the capital city of Jakarta we would not be a novelty but it would appear we still are.

Time to explore the wonders of Jakarta.  First we walked to The National Monument and surrounding gardens.  Big gardens with a huge 132m tower at the centre.  Next it was off to Kota, the old town area.  We got there using the TransJakarta bus network which proved more complicated than a bus journey should be.  Once we arrived it was pretty obvious there was not a lot to see.  The buildings were certainly in need of a lick of paint and the streets were dirty.  We found a place to eat and afterwards walked to the Mangga Dua mall.  The walk was horrendous.  The stench coming from the drains at times was overwhelming with gaping holes leading into vile water pools.  The mall was a waste of time.  Just a ragtag collection of random shops that sold nothing very much.  It wasn’t long before we all got on the bus.  Simone and I headed back the area around the hotel and investigated a few places to eat in that evening while Celine and Niek ventured to what seemed like (and what turned out to be) a much better mall.

We went to a bar/café in the evening for a bite to eat.  Let the games begin.  The drinks were more expensive than the meals.  We questioned why and got no decent responses.  We decided to sit down anyway but as we did so an American walking passed us said, ‘Don’t bother.  The service is a disgrace’.  We should have heeded these warning signs but didn’t.  We ordered our meals and our expensive drinks (actually Celine and Simone went across to the shop and smuggled in their own – and I’m just talking about water here, that’s how bad it was).  The meals were tiny and would not have satisfied a hamster.  As we ate our food a band inside the place started playing what no other person on earth would classify as music.  We got the bill – eventually – and left as quick as possible.  What was the name of this classy establishment:  Joker’s!  I think we only have ourselves to blame.

As we walked along the road in the direction of the hotel we spotted a place we did not notice earlier, Cocktails, or at least that was the only sign I could see referencing some sort of name.  We went in and knew immediately that this is where we should have been all night.  We all ordered more food.

It was the last night our little travelling troupe would have together so we played a final few rounds of Shithead over a few drinks before calling it a night.  It’ll be sad to see the group break up tomorrow.

Thursday 24th May – Goodbyes and Unwanted Advances

It was chicken soup for breakfast again before we all got a taxi (minus unwanted sightseeing tour) to Gambir station to get our separate buses – Niek and Celine to the airport, Simone and I to Labuan. 

I asked a member of staff how to get to Kalideres bus station from Gambir as we needed to get the bus to Labuan.  He looked at me blankly.  A helpful local then joined in asking where we wanted to go.  ‘Labuan’, I repeated.  Another blank look.  I repeated another three times: ‘Labuan’.  Then Simone stepped in and said, ‘Labuan’.  Suddenly everything was perfectly clear and we got the directions we needed.

Once we all knew where we were going it was time to say goodbye.  The last two weeks with the guys was excellent and I would never have been to Karimun Jawa without them suggesting it.  We hugged, said goodbye and wished them all the best in Vietnam.

Simone and I then jumped on the TransJakarta to take us to Kalideres bus station and on the way were helped by a fellow passenger who explained to us that we had to change buses to reach our Kalideres.  Once we reached Kalideres we were straight onto a Labuan bound bus and left the station at 1.30 p.m.  It was a crazy bus for which we paid a little over the odds – 50,000 Rp when it should have only been 30,000 Rp – but what can you do.  Empty at the start, it filled up quickly as we made our way out of Jakarta.  Every time it stopped a host of sellers came on offering all types of food and drink.  At one point when we stopped for about 10 minutes we had not only the food and drink merchants to contend with but a full band with singer, guitar and drummer.  Sticking out as tourists we got all their attention and although I usually refuse to hand over any money I did on this occasion as they were good entertainment. 

After a four-and-a-half hour bus ride we finally reached Labuan and now needed to make our way to Carita.  This should have involved a 20 minute ride in a bemo (small minibus) but as it was after 6.00 p.m. they had stopped running.  Taxis did not seem to exist and after hesitation and bargaining we finally settled on getting a rickshaw for the 7 km journey.  Not really thinking of the journey ahead we hopped into separate rickshaws and were on our way.  As soon as we were outside Labuan it hit me that it was pitch black, the rickshaws had no lights and we were on a main road.  Luckily the traffic was not too bad but I still feared a collision as we rode through the particularly dark areas.  Simone’s rickshaw was quite a distance ahead of mine which I didn’t feel comfortable about and several times asked my driver to catch up.  I assumed Simone was fine with it, but later found out she was asking her driver to slow down and he wouldn’t.

After about 40 minutes we reached Carita, our final destination.  We all pulled up at side of the road and the drivers told us they were taking us a specific hotel and we were off again.  As we drove along I spotted a place called Rakata – I read about it The Lonely Planet and wanted to stay there so I told my driver to stop which he did with Simone’s rickshaw coming in close behind us.  We went to the desk to check out the rates and rooms and Simone quickly said, ‘We’ll stay here.  I’m not getting on the rickshaw again’.  I asked why and she said that just before we got off the driver had tried to kiss her!  Decision made – we would stay in Rakata Hotel.  I was furious but there was little we could do.  I didn’t want to pay him his 15,000 Rp but they knew where we were staying.  All I could do was glare at him.  If only looks could kill.  Once they had their money they soon disappeared back to Labuan.  What on Earth would make a stinking, half-toothed, scrawny cretin think that Simone would want to kiss him anyway?

(After typing the previous sentence I double-checked the meaning of the word ‘cretin’ and it now explains what made him think it – the fact that he is an actual cretin.

cre·tin        /ˈkrētn/

Noun:         A person deformed and mentally handicapped due to a congenital thyroid deficiency.)

The sole reason for coming to Carita was to go to Krakatau.  I was finally here.  The No.1 volcano on the list was only kilometres away and I would see it within the next few days.

Rakata Hotel was a perfect place.  Good rooms at a good price and all importantly with air-con.  The hotel had a café at which we had dinner and a few drinks.  While eating we unsurprisingly attracted the attention of a couple of local tour operators quoting us prices for the trip to Krakatau, which ranged from 2,200,000 Rp to 2,500,000 Rp.  I have read that trips can be as much as 3,500,000 Rp so the ones on offer sounded good value.  Not wanting to make a decision tonight and investigate further tomorrow we let them know we would get back to them.

As we sat in the café we could hear the roar of the waves crashing on the beach nearby.  What we could also hear was the roar of the motorbikes flying along the road.  I have no idea why but Carita seems to have the noisiest motorbikes in the whole of Indonesia.  They are so bad that at times you just have to stop talking until the motorbike passes by as being heard is impossible.

Tomorrow we will explore Carita and book a tour to Krakatau.  It’s getting closer!

Friday 25th May – Bargain!  But if you push any harder, you are going to fall

There’s a lot to be said for a price being a price – a fixed price.  As Simone and I ate our breakfast we were approached again by one of the tour agents from last night, Subkhi.  He made us a reduced offer of 2,200,000 Rp for the tour to Krakatau.  We thanked him and made it very clear that we wanted to look around before making any definite decisions.  We then made our way to the office of the other tour agent, Ijan.  He wasn’t there so we decide to have a walk around – or rather along – Carita as it was just one very long road.

After discovering there was no functioning ATM in town we took a bemo to Labuan.  Here we found an ATM, looked for an internet café only to discover that the best one was back in Carita behind our hostel, so made our way back to Carita.  At this point the games began.

We again visited Ijan’s tour office and discovered not only Ijan was there but also Subkhi.  Firstly Ijan said that because we had promised Subkhi we would go with him he wouldn’t pursue us.  What promise?  This is when it all got too confusing.  Subkhi started quoting a price of 750,000 Rp as he had found two more people.  A pretty dramatic drop in price that baffled us until we realised the original quotes were for the two of us not per person.  Still not sure what to do we told them we would come back later at which point they started arguing amongst themselves.  While standing at the hotel reception Subkhi approached us again and said he had worked out a deal with the other two people that wanted to go on the tour.  They would pay 500,000 Rp each and that would mean we would only have to pay 700,000 Rp each.  I glared at him: ‘Are you serious?  You expect us to pay more than the other two people that will be on the very same tour?  No way.’  This man is an idiot.  I couldn’t believe he had not only suggested it but openly admitted it.  Subkhi was quickly becoming the bane of my life.

This was all too much so we went to the WiFi café.  Finally peace, or so we thought.  Within a matter of minutes who appeared at our side but Subkhi.  He was like a leech.  Eventually he left but was soon back with Tom, from Belgium, one of the other people that wanted to do the tour.  He was equally as flabbergasted and frustrated by Subkhi’s tactic.  But eventually the whole issue was resolved – we would all pay 550,000 Rp for the tour.  Deal done.  At this point I still didn’t know if Subkhi and Ijan worked for each other but it turned out they didn’t and Subkhi had broken an unwritten code by poaching us.  Although we would have preferred to go along with Ijan I was just glad the whole ridiculous affair was over and we were getting the tour for a quarter of the original price we thought we’d have to pay.  I just hope the boat doesn’t sink.

It should have been a relaxing day but now with all the stress we ended the night with a few beers in the hotel.  The stress quickly melted away and changed into extreme excitement.  I had just paid a deposit to go on a tour to Krakatau – KRAKATAU!  I’m going to Krakatau tomorrow.  I was worried I wouldn’t sleep with excitement.  I need not have.  I couldn’t sleep because of the gang of people playing guitar outside the room.

Saturday 26th May – Krakatau

It took a long time to get to sleep last night because of the vocally and rhythmically challenged ensemble outside the room – but also because of the day I had ahead of me.  The first mission was to change to a smaller room as the rates go up at the weekend – a dumb policy especially as the place was empty.

Where is the toilet?  Where is the ATM?  Where is the supermarket?  How far is it to the pier?  Where is Jakarta?  How far is it to Saturn?

In Indonesia the answer to all of the above questions is the same: ‘200m that way’.

So it was that Subkhi and his friend arrived at the hotel at 7.45 a.m. to collect us and then drove us the 200m to the boat – it was about 2 km away.  Here we met Ben again and his father, Philip.  We jumped on the boat and set off for Krakatau.

Something I have found surprising over the last few weeks is that when I mentioned going to Krakatau many people did not know what it was.  I was under the impression that of all the volcanoes I would be visiting, Krakatau would be the one that most people had heard of.  Why?  Well for me and other volcano nerds it definitely ranks as one of the most exciting and infamous volcanoes due to its history.  Krakatau, sitting off the west coast of Java, was just like any other island until 1883 when it left its mark in history.  During this year it started to show signs of activity which steadily increased.  Then on the 27^th August it erupted – and what an eruption it was. The explosion is thought to be the loudest noise heard by humans in recorded history.  It was heard over 5000 km away in places such as Australia and Sri Lanka.  The volcano literally blew itself apart.  The collapse of the island into the sea led to a massive 40 m high tsunami that devastated the coast of Java killing as many as 40,000 people.  After the dust had settled, so to speak, the island of Krakatau was just a few scattered pieces of rock jutting out of the sea,  But beneath the surface, on the sea floor, the show continued unseen.  Over the years the volcano kept growing until in 1927 a new volcanic island emerged from the sea – Anak Krakatau – meaning Child of Krakatau.  Since then it has been growing steadily with constant activity and frequent major eruptions throwing ash into the air.  This activity can mean that Anak Krakatau is strictly off-limits but thankfully today the activity is low meaning we can make our way out to this infamous beast.

The boat ride out was a bumpy affair.  The beginning was not too bad, but after navigating our way around what looked like a super tanker and as we got closer to Krakatau the seas got steadily rougher and our small speedboat was jumping over and through the waves.  Soon Rakata came into view, the largest of the segments left by the 1883 eruption, and it was a huge island giving a get impression of how big Krakatau was before the colossal eruption.  As we rounded Rakata the other fragments could be seen in the distance and finally Anak Krakatau was in our sights.  The boat headed straight for the volcano and we pulled up on its black volcanic sandy shore.

With my adrenalin pumping, I jumped off the boat and very impatiently waited for our guide to lead us towards the slopes.  After signing in we all walked through the trees to reach the barren slope.  It is amazing to think that the volcano we were standing on, at 800m high, didn’t even exist 100 years ago and another fact that seemed very surprising was the amount of flora that already existed with bushes and trees covering the lower parts of the island.

Our guide took us to a point and then directed us towards the peak we were allowed to climb to – any higher was considered too dangerous.  I couldn’t wait and quickly made my way to the top, my neck craning all the time looking at the smoking summit, with Simone following close behind.  It only took a few minutes to reach the top of the section we had permission to climb.  Once at the top I just stood and stared not believing I was finally here.  The view was impressive.  Anak Krakatau above, Rakata looming close by to the right and in the distance the other large and small scattered islands.  I could try to explain my feelings at this point but I cannot find the words except to say it was an excited but calming happiness.

Now it was time for Krakatoa Foam!  When I was child a popular drink (but not popular with nutritionists and dentists I would say) was Cremola Foam – a powder which when mixed with water made a very sweet and tasty raspberry drink with a thin layer of foam on top.  Unknown to me this has now been brought back again but renamed Krakatoa Foam (they spelt it wrong but I’ll forgive them for that).  When I was in Australia my family sent me a parcel with a few things I needed but also a few presents to remind me of home – and a packet of Krakatoa Foam.  I had been saving it for this moment.  So reliving my childhood I grabbed my bottle of water, ripped open the packet and poured in the powder.  Is there any better place in the world to drink Krakatoa Foam than on the slopes of Krakatau volcano?  It tasted like my childhood.  I shared it with Simone who thought it tasted like medicine but with zero medicinal properties and actual anti-medicinal properties.

With this excitement over we walked along the volcano’s slope.  We could feel that the ground was hot but could be sure if this was from the sun above or the heat of the volcano below.  This mystery was easily solved.  I dug into the ground with my hand and after only a few handfuls could no longer touch the sand without burning my fingers.  It was the volcano beneath our feet heating the ground – the raw power of the planet.

After about one hour we made our way back down to the shore.  Here we had our lunch and then jumped back on the boat to go to a beach on Rakata for snorkelling and swimming.  Once we got off the boat and into the water we made a hasty retreat back on to the beach.  The water was horrible.  It was full of litter and every movement involved getting touched by rubbish.  It was horrible.  The beach wasn’t much better and looked more like a rubbish tip than anything else.  It’s such a shame that places like this can be ruined by something that could be so easily fixed with extra effort and education about respecting the land and nature of the area.  We passed the time by walking along the beach to find a clean area and sat on a washed up tree trunk admiring the view out across the sea.  After saving our bags from the jaws of a monitor lizard we got back on the boat to return to Carita.

The journey back was worse than the journey in the morning.  The boat crashed across the waves.  The fear for me was not capsizing, but whether the hull would hold up.  Every time we jumped over a wave the boat would crash back down onto the next wave with an almighty crack.  I was sure that some stage the whole hull would cave in and we would be swimming to shore.  But at 3.00 p.m. we made it onto dry land.

Simone and I were both pretty exhausted after the journey and the excitement of the day so spent the rest of the day relaxing in the café before having a few celebratory drinks back at the hotel.

A dream come true.  A day I thought would never happen.  A day I will never forget.  Krakatau.  Tick.

Sunday 27th May – Post-Krakatau

Today we did precisely nothing.  We had planned to go back to Jakarta but instead chilled out in Carita.  We went to the café for WiFi to book our onward flights, me to Surabaya to attempt a trek to Semaru, and Simone to Bali before heading back to Australia.  This failed miserably as all our cards failed to get accepted by the airline websites. 

The rest of the day was spent writing up our blogs and finding a nice hotel to stay in in Jakarta.  It’s such a horrible city and we know we are going to be there for at least one night before getting our flights so the only way to enjoy it is to treat ourselves to a small taste of luxury.  So it was that we booked a night in the 5-star Grand Sahid Hotel.

Monday 28th May – Back To Jakarta

Wanting to get the journey over with as early as possible we were up and standing by the roadside at 7.00 a.m. to catch a bemo to Labuan.  What we didn’t take into account was the school run.  Several bemos passed us but were all packed with school children, some of them hanging off the sides.  Finally a bemo going in the opposite direction stopped.  He asked where we were going, kicked out the passengers he had and told them to walk, before swinging around and picking us up.  I didn’t like that but we jumped in and headed to Labuan.  Here we got ripped off.  He charged us 20,000 Rp each!  It should have been 5,000 Rp.  I was too tired and fed up with the rip off culture to argue and with our bus to Jakarta waiting I angrily walked away.  Once on the 7.45 a.m. bus to Jakarta my anger grew and in hindsight I should have just given him what we should have paid and walked away.

The bus back to Jakarta was awful.  Again we had all the sellers and musicians coming on every time we stopped.  It was just a headache and all I wanted to do was sleep.  The journey cost us 30,000 Rp each, but on the way as the bus filled up we were then made to pay an additional 30,000 Rp as our bags were on a seat.  The alternative was to put them at the front – not a good idea in my opinion with so many people coming and going.  After four hours we reached Jakarta and began a farcical journey on the public bus to our hotel.  We asked specific directions to the hotel and the stop to get off at.  We followed these only to discover it was the wrong stop and when trying to get back on the bus they demanded we pay the fare again.  We tried explaining it was their fault we got off the bus but they didn’t care so in protest we jumped in a taxi.  At 1.00 p.m. and after such a nightmare journey we were glad to walk into The Grand Sahid.

It was definitely several levels above any accommodation I had stayed in so far.  We walked in carrying our backpacks and dressed as typical backpackers – everyone else had suits.  Once we got to the desk my card got declined.  Perfect!  But Simone came to the rescue.  We were then led to our room by a member of staff.  Of course she brought the wrong key with her.   So at 1.30 p.m. we were in our luxury room and slept until 3.30 p.m.

After the much needed rest to exorcise the memories of this morning’s journey we took a walk around the hotel.  It was plush.  We went to one of the restaurants and had food – for me an amazing club sandwich and Simone a delicious Caesar salad.  We checked out the shopping arcade at the back of the hotel, spotted a place to book our onward flights and stopped off for a coffee in the bakery.  In the evening we went to the Solo Bar and watched a cover band playing some lounge music – you know the type, Norah Jones and her kindred.  All this without leaving the hotel.  Jakarta was just outside the lobby doors.  Jakarta was a million miles away.

Tuesday 29th May – 5-Star – Indonesian Style

Last night we took the very easy decision to stay at the Grand Sahid for one more night.  Today we realised the difference between 5-star European style and 5-star Indonesian style.  Don’t get me wrong, the hotel was amazing but just a few funny situations during the day made us laugh.  The first of these being the laundry.  I called at 7.00 a.m.  They said it would be collected within five minutes.  Three frustrating phones calls and one hour later they finally arrived.

The breakfast certainly was 5-star.  It was a buffet.  Me and buffets have a mutual love of each other.  They had a selection of everything – fruit, cereals, yogurts, omelettes plus all the ingredients for a perfect fry.  We both had everything on the menu.

Bellies full we next visited the tour agency in the hotel and booked our flights.  Tomorrow Simone and I go our separate ways as I fly to Surabaya and Simone to Denpasar.  We have booked with Lion Air.  This will be my first flight with an Indonesian airline.  Apparently all the airlines in Indonesia, except for the national airline, are on the EU Banned List meaning that their aircraft cannot fly in EU airspace as their safety standards are not up to scratch.  Having no choice other than a potentially horrible 12-hour bus journey I’m happy to take the risk, cross my fingers and hope we both arrive at our destinations safely.

It was time to investigate the outdoor swimming pool.  We went to have a cooling swim and cooling it was.  The water was too cold to relax in so after a few lengths we sat at the poolside to have a cocktail.  After being handed the menu we settled one with strawberries.  I ordered at the bar, joined Simone by the pool and waited, and waited, and waited.  Eventually an official looking member of staff approached us and asked which drink we had ordered, pointed out that we ordered from an old menu as if it was our fault and then gave us the new menu.  New order placed for another strawberry drink we waited, and waited, and waited.  Finally after 45 minutes we got our cocktail.  True 5-star Indonesian style.

At 6.30 p.m. we made our way to the main event of the day – the buffet dinner.  Just like the breakfast the selection of food on offer was wide and varied.  Over the course of three hours we munched our way through four courses – salad, pizza, a roast beef and chicken dinner and dessert.  It was a like decadent medieval feast (I’m not sure if they had pizza back then but they were missing out if they didn’t).  Not something I would normally do but after so much food we ended the night in Solo Bar with a liquor to help digest the feast while listening to a local band dressed as a Mexican guitar troupe.  An odd musical combination.

Wednesday 30th May – Back to East Java

Before checking out of the hotel today we made sure to have a repeat of yesterday morning and took full advantage of the buffet breakfast.  Then it was off to the airport. 

After a taxi to Gambir Station we hopped on the airport shuttle bus.  I have no idea why they even let us on the bus as it was so full Simone and I had to share a very small seat beside the door. 

We were leaving from different terminals and reached Simone’s first.  Once I got off to say goodbye to Simone the bus was ready to leave – without me.  I had to quickly say my goodbyes before running to make sure they didn’t leave me behind.  That didn’t go to plan.  I’ll hopefully see Simone again in London when she passes through at the end of her trip.  Meanwhile I will envy the next leg of her trip as she heads off to Hawaii in July – she doesn’t even know what Kilauea is, she shouldn’t be allowed to go!

Once I reached my terminal, I checked in and had a rare uneventful plane journey to Surabaya.  From the airport I got the shuttle bus to Purabaya bus terminal where I immediately boarded a bus to Malang.  On the bus I was sat next to a very friendly guy from Malang.  On the two hour journey he made sure I was only charged 20,000 Rp by the conductor and not ripped off,  gave me lots of information about the towns we drove through, pointed out the location of the disastrous man-made 2006 mud volcano which ruined a whole town displacing thousands of people and showed me where a haunted hotel in which many Dutch tourists love to stay was.  As the bus approached Malang he asked where I was staying and suggested I get off the bus before the main terminal but he went further than that.  He not only showed me where to get off, he got off himself and led me to a taxi and told the driver where I needed to go.  There were two tourists from Germany on the bus also who joined me in the taxi.  The local people in Indonesia can be so helpful and expect nothing in return.  Before I got in the taxi he gave me his phone number in case I needed any more help or information.

The taxi first dropped off the German couple then took me straight to my hostel, Jona’s Homestay.  I checked into a single room for 100,000 Rp.  Having eaten very little all day since breakfast I walked to Roti’s for a dinner of Java style noodles with chicken and in the process accidently ate a whole chilli.  My mouth burned for hours.

After going back to the hostel I read about the trek to Semaru, the reason I have come to Malang, but I am now having second thoughts about whether to do it or not.  It’s a bit complicated and I’m not sure I’m up for the challenge.  I’ll investigate further tomorrow.

Thursday 31st May – A Dorm In Indonesia?

I woke up this morning not knowing if I was suffering from food poisoning or the after effects of eating a whole chili. 

While walking around the hostel I heard music coming from the foyer and went to investigate.  I had to look twice to make sure what I saw was real.  The foyer was lined with Chinese woman doing line dancing to Indonesian country and western music.  It was one of the most surreal sights I have ever seen and all I could think was that I was trapped inside a David Lynch movie.  This went on for about half an hour.

A little while later a man called Damire heard me speaking, approached me and asked where I was from.  He told me all about an English school he had in a little village 3 km from Malang and asked if I would come along today to help teach the children in the afternoon and the adults in the evening.  This is definitely something I wanted to do but had to warn him that I was unwell and not sure if I could make it.  He then offered to show me around the city.  Once I was ready we walked a few hundred metres to a place he recommended for coffee.  It was Helios’s Hotel, the place where the German couple got out of the taxi last night.  Damire took me to the rooftop where they had not only a bar but also a hostel called Kampong Tourist.  It had a dorm.  Finally a place with a dorm in Indonesia and the beds were only 50,000 Rp.  It had a really chilled out atmosphere and everything was new.  I booked myself in for tomorrow night.  While I was having a bite to eat and a coffee I got speaking to the owner.  The place has only been open for six weeks and he set it up to cater for backpackers like myself.  He’s done the perfect job and I can’t wait to move here tomorrow.

After eating Damire showed me around a little before I went back to Jona’s Homestay for a sleep.  I slept to late in the afternoon and missed the chance to go teaching, but the sleep was needed as I was feeling much better.  I’m pretty sure it was the chili causing havoc with my stomach.

The food I had earlier in Kampong Tourist was so good I headed back there for dinner which did not disappoint.  When I returned to Jona’s I bumped into a Dutch couple I had been speaking to in the morning who did go teaching in Damire’s school.  Damire, knowing I was unwell, had sent back with them a cup of freshly made tomato juice to help make my stomach better.  I now felt really bad about not making a bigger effort to make it to the school.  The Dutch couple said it was a lot of fun.  Maybe I’ll try to make it there tomorrow.

I have decided now that doing the trek to Semaru is not going to happen.  It’s too complicated and to use a guide is too expensive – over 6,000,000 Rp.  Instead I am going to fly to Malaysia.  That planning will start tomorrow.

Friday 1st June – Best Hostel In Indonesia (after Utar Losmen of course)

While I sat eating my breakfast in Jona’s the owner came over and said there was a phone call for me.  Confused I went to the phone and discovered it was Damire.  He wanted me to go to the school today which I agreed to.  He gave me specific directions yesterday so I was to follow those and he’d meet me off the bemo.

Excited about my teaching job for the day, I checked out of Jona’s Homestay and made my way over to Kampong Tourist.  I spent the next few hours wandering around Malang and made my way to what people told me is the biggest bird market in Asia.  I wasn’t impressed by this.  Seeing so many birds packed into small cages and looking either in pain or miserable was not what I considered a relaxing walk.

At 3.00 p.m. I started to make my way to Damire’s school.  I went to the intersection at which he told me to catch the bemo.  As the bemo’s whizzed passed I stopped a few and explained where I was going but they all told me I needed to wait for the next one.  Eventually after 30 minutes and feeling disappointed I had to give up.  I didn’t have any way to let Damire know I wouldn’t make it.  I just hope he doesn’t think I didn’t try.  The experience I had in Cuzco helping out with Elisha at the school was amazing and I was hoping to repeat this today.  Sadly it wasn’t to be.

I slouched my way back to the hostel and got straight onto the internet to plan Malaysia.  It turns our Air Asia fly directly from Surabaya to Kuala Lumpur.  I have now booked my flight which leaves on Sunday.  Just before going to bed I sat in the hostel bar to have a drink and chatted with one of the other guys staying here, Omar from Iceland.

Saturday 2nd June – Goodbye Volcanoes

It was a cold and noisy sleep.  I do love this hostel, they just need to supply warmer blankets and close the window in the dorm.

I’m not sure why getting my haircut is always a problem on this trip.  I left the hostel and walked around Malang looking for a place to simply shave my head.  After failing I asked in a hotel and the guy working behind the reception gave me directions – second left, then first left, then straight ahead.  I followed these and as I walked started to recognise places I had seen already until eventually I ended up outside the hotel again.  I almost went in to ask the guy if he was having a laugh.  I trudged back to the hostel, stood at the entrance, looked across the road and there right in front of me was a hairdressers.  Except they wouldn’t cut my hair and sent me two shops along to a man that would.  I sat down and almost immediately there was a motorbike crash outside.  The guy cutting my hair was more interested in that than my hair.  In the end it all worked out.

I spent the rest of the day writing up and posting my blog.

In the evening I sat in the hostel bar chatting with Omar and his friend Ottan.  We talked about absolutely everything – religion, politics, economics, music, movies.  It was great and I learnt a lot about topics I didn’t know much about, especially politics and economics.  All of a sudden it was 3.00 a.m. and time to get to bed.

The Indonesia adventure ends tomorrow.  But more importantly and sadly, here ends the volcano adventure. Indonesia was the last country to visit which has volcanoes.  It’s been nothing short of the best experience of my life.  I’ve travelled across three continents and through ten countries living a dream.  Too many volcanoes to list, too many great times to recount.  The LAVA Tour is by no means over, but simply put on hold until I get the chance to visit new and exciting places to see more volcanoes.  I will also be revisiting countries I have already been to as they are just too good to only visit once.  The next volcano hunt will more than likely be Scilly to see Mount Etna and Stromboli.

But the adventure continues right now with Malaysia, specifically Borneo, where the focus will change to the amazing wildlife this planet has to offer. 

And of course the blog will continue for those of you still bored enough to read it and who want to find out about my experiences in Malaysia.