22 May 2011 - 1 June 2011
After spending few days in Singapore visiting my cousin Monique and few weeks in Bangkok visiting my other cousins, Minsan, Tutu and Janry, I came back to Indonesia, to Ubud. After traveling for more than 8 months, I felt that I needed to settle down a bit. The plan was to stay there for 1 month and practice some yoga, rest and think about my next steps.
But as soon as I landed in Bali, I felt weird. I felt dizzy when I was moving my head and everything around me was moving like I was drunk, very drunk, but I wasn't... The second day I could barely walk straight so I decided to go to the doctor who finally told me that I had "Vertigo". All I had to do is to rest, rest and rest. So that's what I did. For days I stayed in my hotel room lying on the bed staring at the window (I was not supposed to move, read, watch TV or have any activity). First, it was a real challenge to stay like that but then i got used to it and this gave me time to think about my trip and my next steps.
I stayed 10 days in Ubud. As soon as I felt better, I decided to leave Indonesia. I realized that the best place to practice yoga and to live the spiritual side of it was not in Indonesia but in the country that created yoga, India. Another country that was absolutely not planned in my trip.
The day before I left Inodnesia, I called my Taiwanese friend Lili who also was in Ubud, to have a last lunch together but that day she didn't answer the phone. Instead, it was her brother who did and gave me the saddest news of my whole trip. My friend Lili passed away 2 days before from a heart attack. Lili was the one I used to meet for every lunch and dinner when I was in Ubud, who showed me all the places with the best food (she was a guide book writer), who was my only friend in Indonesia... This sad news made me realized how life can be short and that more than ever, I will try from now on to enjoy life as much as possible.
After that, I was even more motivated to go to India.
But first I had to apply for my Indian visa in Jakarta so I flew there and stayed for a couple of days. Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is located on the West side of Java Island. It is a big, crowded and aggressive city, I hated it. Instead of waiting for my visa in Jakarta, I decided to take a night train to Yogyakarta, in Central Java. Yogya like the locals call it, is the cultural city of Java. It's also where the biggest existing Buddhist monument is, called Borobudur. Very impressive.
But not as impressive as what I saw the next day. After a long bus ride we arrived near Bromo which is one of the most beautiful sight of all Indonesia. Bromo is an active volcano. To have the best view and to see the sunrise, we had to climb a mountain at 4 o'clock in the morning. It was definitely worth it. After that we climbed on the crater Bromo. That was amazing. To stand at the border of the crater where smoke is coming out is a unique experience. Next to Bromo there was 2 more volcanoes and then nothing, a huge empty flat landscape covered by black sand. It was breathtaking. Definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
The same day I took another night train to go back to Jakarta. But before that, I had 2 hours before catching my train so I decided to take a taxi to visit Surabaya's Chinatown, the most important one in Indonesia. But instead of visiting Chinatown, I spent 1.5h hours in the taxi (the driver took me to some place I don't even know the name) and then back to the station. I refused to pay the driver so we ended up fighting in the train station and then at the police station... It's not everyday that a Chinese girl is yelling in the train station. I finally agreed to pay half the amount to the driver because my train was about to leave and that the police officer wouldn't let me go. I got on the train 5 minutes before the departure swearing that I will not come back to Indonesia before a long long time.
Indonesia is certainly a beautiful country but for me, too many bad memories happened there, unfortunately.
Time to leave and to discover India.
Next step: Rishikesh, Delhi and Rajasthan (India)
3 April - 3 May 2011
After New Zealand, it felt good to be back to South East Asia. Life is much more cheaper, weather is sunny and hot all the time and food is amazing! Enough of Fish and Chips or Meat Pies, finally real delicious food. I just feel like home in Asia...
This was my first time in Indonesia. I arrived in Kuta on Bali Island. Some friends already warned me telling me that I wouldn't like it. And they were so right. Kuta is just full of young Australian tourists whose main purposes are surfing, shopping and partying. Exactly what I was trying to avoid. So as soon as I could, I moved to Ubud, THE spiritual and cultural town. It is the town where Elisabeth Gilbert, from the book Eat Pray and Love spent 4 months in Indonesia trying to find a balance in her life. Well, it wasn't my target first but when I arrived in Ubud, i felt something special about the place.
First I was with 3 other people, 1 guy that I met in New Zealand and 2 girls that I met in the bus on the way to Ubud. Ubud is where I discovered yoga. I took 2 classes and enjoyed it so much that I promised myself to be back very soon to Ubud and spend more time practicing yoga. After 4 days visiting temples, practicing yoga, trying all kind of Indonesian food, I decided to leave for few days to East Timor.
When I came back from East Timor, I went straight to Gili Trawangan in the Gili Islands which are part of Lombok Island, another island of Indonesia. There I met some friends from Belgium. And together we decided to take the basic diving certificate, the PADI. 3 full days of intensive training. It was tough but at the end, we all succeded and were very proud to have the certificate that allows us to dive anywhere in the world. After these 3 intense days, I went to Gili Air, the island just next to Gili Trawangan. It was very quiet and relaxing, exactly what I needed.
But time to go back to Ubud and to yoga! I spent my last week in Indonesia practicing yoga, reading, relaxing and meeting up with friends for lunches and dinners. After 8 months traveling and moving around everyday, it felt just great to stay at one place and have a "normal" life.I definitely will be back in Indonesia very soon...
Next stops: Singapore and Bangkok (Thailand).
11 April - 16 April 2011
East Timor was another country that I didn't plan to visit. But when Steve, a guy that I met in New Zealand and who was also in Indonesia, asked me if I was interested in going with him to East Timor, my answer was simple: Why not?
East Timor is a state located in South East Asia, on the eastern half of the Timor island. The country is officially a war zone. Previously colonized by Portugal (the official language is Portugese and Tetun) and then by Indonesia, it is since 2007, officially independent.
There are only 1500 tourists per year that makes me probably the 435th tourist of the year...
So here we are, Steve and I, in Dili, capital of East Timor. At the airport, we are surrounded by UN soldiers and local soldiers. I have never seen so many soldiers in an airport. First sight is very impressive but later, we realized that there were lots of UN cars in the city... doing nothing...
Apparently, the soldiers are still there until 2012 before going home. By for the moment, I think it's the perfect destination for expats families...
Weather is still very hot and tropical with rains from time to time. The second day, we rented a motorbike and went to a wild ride around the island. It reminded me of Laos, but with even less tourists. The landscapes were wild and green, exactly what I like.
The next day, we, Steve, me and 2 other guys we met at the hostel, decided to move to Atauro, an island on the opposite side of Dili. What we discovered after 3 hours on a fishing boat was amazingly beautiful. I discovered paradise that day. White sand beaches, coconut trees, 5 bungalows on the beach and just the 5 of us...
The guys were gentlemen enough to let me stay in the best room, on the second floor of the bungalow. From my bed, I could see through my large open window, a view of the ocean and nothing else, just like in a dream. The guys also spent long hours sitting on my bed just staring at the ocean...
All we did for 3 days is snorkel, swim, sleep, eat, eat and eat... the food cooked by the owner of the bungalows was delicious, just like I love it... what a surprise!
After 3 days in paradise, it was time to go back to Indonesia, where yoga and healthy life was waiting for me...
Next steps: Bali & Gili Islands (Indonesia).
18 April - 3 May 2011
Time to go to the East Coast of the South Island. We started with Dunedin but there was not much to see. Then with my bus, we passed by Christchurch. It was very sad to see the consequences of the earthquake. Roads were destroyed, buildings and houses damaged. There was no possibility to stay there so we headed towards Kaikoura, a little bit north of Christchurch.
Kaikoura is famous for the activities linked with the ocean wild life. So I decided to experience 2 different activities.The first one, swimming with dolphins was amazing. Well, a bit early for me but unforgettable experience. I woke up at 4AM and got ready. By 6AM, I, with 9 other people, was on the small boat looking for dolphins. It was still dark and raining a lot. We all thought dolphins wouldn't show up but after 45 min searching for them, we finally saw them. Hundreds of them swimming in this big ocean. Time to jump into the ice cold water with our very sexy outfit. It was amazing, dolphins were spinning around me with a distance of maximum 30 cm. It was very tempting to touch them but they don't let people touch them... at some point, I saw a very strange brown dolphin. When I looked up closely, I realized it wasn't a dolphin but a fur seal, so cute!
After around 1.5 hour, we got back to the boat and said goodbye to the dolphins.
In the afternoon of the same day, I experienced the whale watching. We got so close to them with the big boat, we could see them breath. The most beautiful moment is when they dive into the water with their tail up in the air, like in the pictures, it was simply beautiful. During the trip we saw 3 whales, hundreds of dolphins, hundreds of fur seals and some albatross. That was also an unforgettable experience.
After Kaikoura, I decided to spend 2 days at Lake Tekapo. One of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen so far. The water was turquoise. A unique color.
The lake is surrounded by mountains. So when I hiked to the top of Mount John, the view was just breathtaking. I was all by myself, standing in front of a gigantic turquoise lake surrounded by mountains. I didn't want to move from there anymore. One Dutch woman even asked me if I was meditating... No, just contemplating the stunning view.I finished that amazing day with an outdoor hot pools with a view on the lake and the mountains, the feeling was indescribable, just magnificent! Sometimes, it's good to enjoy life ;o)
My last challenge in New Zealand was on the North Island. The famous Tongariro Crossing in the Tongariro National Park. A challenge of 19.4km trough volcanoes and craters, lakes and mountains. I am very proud to say that I survived that challenge. Unbelievable! And all the 19.4km in a bit less than 6 hours! I was encouraged by 3 other German friends hopefully.
It was so freezing that we almost didn't stop for a break. We started the walk at 7.30AM, that was a real morning walk! Not sure I will be able to do it again...
Last stop in New Zealand, Coromandel Peninsula, near Auckland, in the North of the country. Famous for its hot water beach. I looked for a long time for the hot water and... never found it (on the picture, I just pretend it's hot but it's freezing cold!). The beach was nice tough...
After all these challenges, I thought I deserved a good rest in Indonesia. So goodbye New Zealand, I will certainly come back one day because i really felt in love with you but for the time being, I need sun, sea, rest and ... be on a diet...
Next stop: Bali and Gili Islands (Indonesia)
