Planning Travels in Indonesia

We have learned so much so quickly.

Current Indonesia Route / Plan: Java - Kupang - Flores - Sulawesi

I am sure you are thinking the same as I am. You are going to travel a lot, better book tickets. We spent an evening learning the ropes.

I want to introduce another friend we made on this trip, Lion Air Customer Support Representative Mary.

I first spoke to Mary after trying for a fair amount of time to book tickets through the Lion Air website. My card kept being declined by the site and I called my card company to determine what might be the problem and if it was blocked. They assured me there was no problem on their end. After briefly speaking with Mary and explaining the challenge (you're welcome, Davide) she suggested I try making the purchase through one of the travel sites, as Lion Air did not accept foreign credit cards online (odd, right?). I try the suggested site, but it doesn't work so I call Mary back again and she now suggests I try a different travel agency at first and then suggests another travel site and proceeds to start saying "http.." and I was starting to question Mary's version of customer support.

Again it doesn't work and I call Mary again and she explains that those sites do not accept foreign cards either probably. This would have been helpful 30 minutes ago, Mary. I really want to purchase these tickets though and push Mary asking what we can do and again she suggests a travel agency. I ask, "So they can book the flight and I can pay with the credit card?". Mary at this point explains she isn't sure if the other airline will accept the credit card. To clarify, when Mary had suggested I try another travel agency earlier Mary had meant to try a different airline. I think this is my first experience of a company suggesting a competitor. I have to explain to Mary that I really wanted the tickets with Lion Air and didn't want to book with another airline. She suggests that she book them for me over the phone. Yes, Mary! Yes, this is what we wanted. It takes another 30 minutes of spelling names and getting flight information. We did it ! We booked tickets! Mary then drops the hammer. Mr. Lewis you will need to pay for these tickets in cash by 8AM tomorrow morning at the Alfamart (think 7-11).

We had to cancel the tickets as we already had plans for the morning and wouldn't be able to get enough money out before 8AM.

We now purchases all our flights for Indonesia at the airport :).

Bali - Vibin' Hard

We friggin' made it here! There was concern after illness and leg issues, but we decided we can try and see what we can do.

Good news. Montse MD prescribed me a stress free life of positive living, also she hooked me up with some good meds that have done their fair share of work too.

My mystic Montse on her birthday. Thank you, thank you. You are missed on the travels.

Oh yeah, this post is about Bali!

This place has it all! Jungle sounds to put you to sleep. Jungle friends to keep you awake.

We have actually stayed inland in a town called Ubud the past five days. It is a popular tourist town and we are glad it is low season, as we feel a bit crowded here. All in all though it is wonderful.

We have spent our days visiting Hindu temples and traveling through the countryside.

An evening shot of our hotel. It was on the outskirts of town and was quiet with fantastic views.

We have used a moto to get around and really like it when we have gotten off the main paths.

We have also been enjoying the traditional dances of Bali and seeing amazing temples.

Kecak Dance - Fire and Trance

The dance focuses on vocals of the men to tell the story of the battle between good and evil. It was traditionally performed only by the men and only recently has begun the incorporation of women into the ceremonial dance. The best part is the end of course as the trance protects from the fire. 

We have also been able to visit many temples and in particular the most interesting was the Pura Tirta Empel. It is a cleansing experience of washing yourself at the temple.

We have also really enjoyed the food here. Whether it is the traditional food or the local rib joint up the strwet, which was awesome and we have eaten way too many ribs.

Nasi Campur, it is a local rish dish which reminds me a great deal of bibimbap, but with very different flavors with a lot of garlic in the veggies and sweet and savory flavors for the pork and chicken.

The incredible ribs with an amazing spicy sweet BBQ sauce.

Goodbye from Bali :). We are headed next to Java. Thanks for keeping up with us. 

Tokyo Part II

After visiting Miyajima and Hiroshima we made our way back to Tokyo to close out our visit to Japan.

Our last day in Tokyo was spent visiting the neighborhood of Akihabara. It is known for its arcade games and other similar activities. There are buildings dedicated to the arcades and it is the closest I have felt to the Lost in Translation movie atmosphere.

Image credit: http://www.commentshk.com/

We also decided we would go back to the spicy ramen restaurant from our first day as we liked it so much. In brief moment breaking character, we are attempting to only speak Spanish with one another, we were asked if we spoke English.  Our new friend for lunch, Aaron, was attending a conference on physics and astronomy. In short, dude was bright. For further reading on Aaron: http://www.as.utexas.edu/~asmith/

Our last day with Montse was spent eating sushi and getting ourselves organized for the next leg of our trip. Decisions were made. We purchased a new modern backpack that is super light to reduce the stress on my leg. Good news it seems to have helped a great deal and you can continue our adventure with us when we share our Bali experience.

Miyajima and Hiroshima

If you want to see bambies at short distance and see amazing scenary topped up with some temples and pagodas here and there, Miyajima is it.

Eventhough it is full packed with tourists it is a very special and unique place I would say. I highly recommend to stay in the island at least one night as it allows you to enjoy the island early in the early morning and in the evening at dusk when the crowds have left.

One thing to notice though is that the cheapest coffee and sandwich will be found in Starbucks (yes there is a Starbucks and thankfully there is one!) which should tell you already how pricey are the other establihments in the village.

After Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, Miyajima felt really nice for its small village type of vibe.

One of the main attractions to go to Miyajima is go see the big old Torii. You can walk to it when there is low tide and playing a game to throw a coin up aiming for the cross beam of the torii. If it doesn't stay there, which was my case, you just squeeze it inbetween the bottom part of the main pillars full of barnacles. I guess all this is for good luck purposes, just like what seems anything else regarding coins and temples in Japan.

Best picture of the torii though is when it is surrounded by water.

Wild deer wander around looking for proper food, clothes or paper...but I tried to get close to one and they can make some unfriendly noises. Be aware.

They are beach bambies. They go to the beach, no problem.

Here a picture of a VERY delicious local pastry. Highly reccommend the mille feuille salty caramel type, avoid those fried or pancake dough versions:

Another thing to eat there are oysters. Which are huge and delicious. They grill them and come fresh every day. Although not expensive I wonder how much money they make selling these as they sell so many per minute. Insane and insanely good.

Not on topic: since we got here we can't stop finding asian versions of some people at home. It is pretty funny. Haven't found one for myself yet though. I assume because of the height?

Next day we moved to Hiroshima. Not much to say there because it rained all day and it even made it more melancholic than it probably is in a normal day. One thing I liked is seeing the peace monument of Sadako. My elementary school was named after this young girl who was 2 years old when the atomic bomb exploded and at the age of 10 she died of leuchemia due to radiation. I never thought I would actually go to Hiroshima or cross paths with the story again so that was interesting and nice to experience. Sadako was told to make a 1000 paper cranes to help healing and today the paper cranes, specially in Hiroshima, are a sign of peace in the world.


Aina

Trashcans: Optional

The following just amazes me as much as it bothers me. In Japan it is very damn difficult to find trashcans pretty much anywhere. Even in food markets where they serve ready-to-eat food for you to eat on the go!

It's amazing how they can pull this off. I mean, I admire the public spending savings not having to deal with public or street trashcans but the 'policy' of you carry "whatever you use or produce" has gotten a bit too far in my opinion. Carry your garbage until you get home can only fly in this country. I dare you to try this in any other 'first world country'. People would be piling up trash like it's nobodies business and complain about it any day of the week.

As a tourist visiting Japan, this presents its challenges as you do not have a set routine. You don´t go to work, go to the gym and then come back home. You walk, try to understand and get your way around the country and sometimes you pretty much know where you wake up but not sure where are you going to sleep. The reason why tourists respect this phenomena is because you are just to embarrassed to just throw anything on the side of a street.

I love the cleanliness and politeness of Japan and its people. I guess that comes with a price (sometimes a very messy and saucy price) ;)

Rare sighting of a trashcan (still finding the pic sorry)

Aina

Osaka - Run through

Coming back from Koya-san I think we were all exhausted. Arriving at the hotel that evening was difficult for me as I was concerned for my legs and the pains I had. Aina and Montse have been really good to me and patient as I slowed us down.

Photo near our hotel of this party tower. Not really pertinent or good, but hey I didn't see a bunch of Osaka.

The next day we went to the hospital as my growing pain was becoming a concern and really impacting our plans. The clinic had an extremely friendly doctor that spoke English really well and was a relief. After not taking temperature or blood pressure, we took some blood and urine samples. After some discussion, examination, and further review he felt I had a slight infection in my lymph nodes and needed to take antibiotics, which he provided (awesome). Aina, being ever so smart, had purchased us medical travel insurance in advance and covered us for the visit.

After our brief medical visit we went to Dotonbori and I relaxed some more. This trend would continue on to our next stop in Miyajima, as it seems I also caught the flu. Aina and Montse thankfully are good and will keep you all informed of what was good in Miyajima.

Koya-san

Located in Mount Koya, Koya-san is a destination of extreme importance within Japanese Buddhism. Founded in the early 800s, it remains a pilgrimage site, similar to the Camino de Santiago, and represents the heart of Shingon Buddhism. From my understanding it is a location many Japanese nationals hope to visit at some point in their life.

Our travel to arrive in Mount Koya would not be as hard fought as pilgrims. We needed to take a train ride and some bus rides to arrive, but it was not short by any means and provided nice views of the countryside.

The town is extremely small and really nice. Everyone there was friendly and wanted to help. I think another day spent there would have been nice to really take everything in.

We stayed the night in the temple called Shojoshinin Temple. It permitted us to experience, briefly the life of buddhist monks. There would be some rules we had to follow, who would have guessed.

Image Credit: https://montgolfiereweeklydotcom.files.wordpress.com



Aina looking great and about to love the veg life.

Traditional beds with extra covers and pillows filled with small beads of some sort that your grandmother would use to support her lower back, but still comfy. It was cold up in the mountains and they provided gas heaters in the rooms, but the gas I think gave everyone headaches so we didn't use it. The entire temple though was filed with the fumes. I kept saying I had a headache and Montse claimed I was overwhelmed with the energy given off by the temple.

Look, a beautiful pond. The grounds on the temple were beautiful and I can only imagine how nice it must be in Spring and Fall with he changing of seasons.

Dinner time - 5:30 PM

The diet of monk consists of all vegetarian food as they do not believe in eating sentient life. Their diet also consists of eating the food prepared in six different methods. My favorite each meal were the beans. Who doesn't love beans!?! Protein and fiber, please and thank you.

Oh and we wearing kimonos. I hesitated at first and then thought, "Yeah, yeah we're wearing kimonos." They were more comfortable than expected and seemed to suit us.

We got pretty serious. Montse has been in heaven on this trip and in particular loved this visit. As much I throw jokes with her too much, it has been a pleasure sharing the trip with her. We differ on some opinions and views, but she and Aina suffer me better than anyone and for that I am ever grateful.

In the morning we awoke to a gong being rung. It was 6:30 AM and time to pray.

We went and watched a monk perform a morning prayer and then were given our breakfast.

At 10 AM we left the temple to explore further Koyasan. Our temple was next to Okunoin Cementery which leads to the mausoleum of Kobi Daishi and founded Koya-san. He is one of the most revered spiritual figures of Japan.

I was not able to participate in all the walking as I needed to rest. Aina ventured on and saw many more temples.

Kyoto: Nishiki Market and Travels to Osaka

Our last day in Kyoto we started by heading to the Nishiki Market. The market was right near where we were staying. It runs parallel to Shijo Street, considered the shopping area / street of Kyoto. In general I found Shijo Street to be really pleasant, as the wide sidewalks are covered with tall awnings along the entire street. It gives this sort of 50s / 60s US feel to it for some reason.

The market runs at the minimum 5 blocks it seems with varied stalls and ready to serve and consume food. We took many photos of the market and will share below. 

Dried fish and other assorted sea animal products.

Pickled veggies. I love vinegar and pretty much enjoy anything placed in front me that has been preserved in this manner. I really like the yellow radishes and ginger in particular for the flavor and the colors (bright yellows / deep red purples).

More fish products to eat as you go.

This does not look terribly appetizing, but these are vegetables (I think eggplant for sure in the middle) being marinated / preserved in miso and I am sure they are delicious... did not get a chance to try or maybe I have already and didn't know, in which case definitely delicious. 

These were little treats we tried that are a pastry bread of sorts filled with a sweet yolk type custard.

 A large variety of mochi and did not realize that it was produce in such large sizes. I didn't try any as I am not a big fan, as the texture does not suit me, although really good I am sure.

Yummy, fresh seafood. We tried some fatty tuna :).

My personal treat for myself when I split from Aina and Montse for a little. So good and so simple with a little salt and lemon.

Octopus balls. The sauce had roe eggs and then another sauce of a sort of savory sweet plum sauce maybe, I think.

Dat fat boy tuna I mentioned earlier. It almost looks like beef or pork and was really good. I got a couple of pieces when I could. Aina and Montse loved it.

I did not have the nerve or appetite to eat these octopus treats. They are baby octopi (or octpuses, you understand) with a hard boiled quail egg stuff into the head and then cooked. Cue bad joke... different take on egg head?

Aina and Montse enjoying a green tea ice cream. It looked really good, but we agreed it was a little lacking. The donuts of honey and cinnamon though from the same shop were really good and did not last for a photo. Also side note, Aina is learning to love honey although she claims she does not like it. This is a slow process, but I am getting there with spicy food included. Next stop on Aina's food loving adoption tour is cheese. Also speaking of cheese, we have seen very little to no cheese here at all. I had not considered it before, but cheese does not seem to have a place in the culinary pallete of Japan.

After the market I went back to the hostel to chill and get harrassed by an overly friendly Japanese guy that I think / hope only wanted to speak English with me. Highlight of my "relaxing" was his random screeching of my name from the hostel kitchen (I was sitting in the commons / living room area), "CARY!!!! COME HELP!!!". He needed me to open a jar of spaghetti sauce for him. It was an odd moment. I didn't want to teach an adult man the tricks to not emasculating yourself. I opened the jar. Aina says I am at times too nice to strangers. I think she has a point.

Aina and her mom visited Ginkaku Temple and walked on the Philosophers path in Gion area where we had gone during another evening. I don't have any photos from their part of the day. My apologies. I hear it was quite nice and it is nice stroll.

In the afternoon we headed to Osaka and would be our lauching off point for our travel to Koyasan.