Selamat tinggal! Good day to you! Selamat datang kembali. Welcome back!
I hope the universe has shone brightly in your life over the past week.
A few notables to share:
- Smoking cigarettes is more prevalent in Indonesia than in North America, Australia and New Zealand. There are similar restrictions in where people can smoke, however I've been in outdoor restaurants where people light up during a meal. I'm getting reacquainted with the cigarette smell.
- I've experienced a substantial reduction in travel costs since arriving in Indonesia. For example, I'm now staying in 4* hotels (Indonesia's version of 4*) at about 1/3 of what I paid in New Zealand and Australia. Many times breakfast is included in the cost. Transportation costs are less with similar level of service and comfort. Add in the service mentality and helpfulness demonstrated by every Indonesian for the experience trifecta.
I've continue to learn more Bahasa (Indonesian) words in my travels. Amazing how supportive the Indonesian people are if you demonstrate an interest in learning. I've met a number of people who just want to say hi, share a smile, and sometimes wanting to shake my hand. I did meet a guy who was interested in having me give him one of my bracelets, which I politely refused to do.
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| Mount Bromo in background |
May the universe bring endless blessings and moments of magic 🦄 to you and your loved ones in the week ahead. 🙏
Travel Administration
Quick tip for this week for doing hand laundry in bathroom sinks - bring a flat sink stopper.
Travel Maps
Tracking this past week's 90 minute journey that it takes to walk completely around the island of Gili Trawangan (Gili T) Island.
Indonesia: February 25 - March 15, 2025
Cimodo, Speedboat, Taxi, Plane, and Hotel Pick-up - Gili T to Surabaya
I am pleased to report (relieved?) that my travel from Gili Trawangan to Surabaya on the island of Java unfolded exactly as planned. I started my journey at 9 am, arriving at my destination hotel in Surabaya by about 5:30 pm. I gained back an hour as I entered a new time zone when I arrived in Java.
- Cimodo: The travel adventure started with a short ride in a cimodo (horse drawn cart) to Gili T. harbor.
- Speedboat: A little drama prior to boarding the speedboat. I discovered, through observation of my fellow passengers' activities, that I needed to pay 20,000 IDR to exit the island. The speedboat departed and arrived on time which was good news given their Google Review ratings. The crew distributed sea sickness pills and a small container of mineral water. Strapping the luggage on top of the boat (covered with a tarp) and the lack of a safety briefing may be a couple reasons to chose another company in the future.
- Taxi: Thank goodness for WhatsApp to connect. The jetty was awash with taxi drivers offering their services as we disembarked which my taxi company had alerted me to. My driver was onsite and in a matter of minutes we were on our way for the 90 minute drive to the airport. When I mentioned to my driver the number of taxi drivers on the jetty, he reminded me that this was low season with everyone trying to make a living. Good point to remember in my travels.
- Plane: Citilink, the regional airline I was flying with, was impressive with their airport service, blessedly contrary to their low Google Review ratings. There were ten agents open all dressed in company uniforms - an impressive sight. I checked in easily and cleared security in a matter of minutes.
- I discovered that the business lounge in the Bali domestic airport was offering access for a discounted rate of 190,000 IDR (< $19 CDN) for three hours. What a deal! Business lounges typically charge a minimum of $50 CDN! A most notable outcome from my lounge visit was deciding to fly to Sumatra for a few days after speaking with a lounge staff member. And this is sometimes how I make travel decisions.
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| Approaching Surabaya Int'l Airport |
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| Approaching Surabaya Int'l Airport |
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| First views of Java - exciting! |
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| First views of Java - exciting! |
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| First views of Java - exciting! |
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| First views of Java - exciting! |
- Hotel pick-up: My driver, with my name on his signboard, was in the arrival hall as agreed.
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| Surabaya Airport |
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| Surabaya Airport |
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| Surabaya Airport |
The hotel check-in process was the most challenging part of my entire day. For some reason, Charolin and I had difficulties getting on the same page. She gave me a QR code to scan and wanted me to go online to complete the check-in process while I was standing at the counter with her. I politely declined her offer to exercise my typing skills, requesting she complete the check-in on my behalf.
Surabaya
Indonesia's second largest city is known as a commercial destination than a tourist hotspot. The most common question locals would ask me when I mentioned I was going to Surabaya, was what business was I conducting when I was there. My original intentions for going to Surabaya was getting on the island of Java and organizing a tour to
Mount Bromo and
Kawah Ijen Volcano - two active volcanos that are common tourist destinations. Mount Bromo is known for its sunrise and crater. Kawah Ijen is where you witness the sunrise and the blue flame arising from the volcanic crater. This blue flame is only visible at Ijen and in Iceland.
After considerable search, I decided to take my chances in finding a Mount Bromo tour when I reached Malang, my next destination which is about 2 hours south of Surabaya. I was unable to find the right tour that made most sense for me. The other decision I made was to drop Kawah Ijen from my itinerary after I watched a few YouTube videos of other travellers' experiences. The juice wasn't worth the squeeze in my opinion. I have plans to return to Iceland so I can explore the blue flame experience when I'm there.
I decided to visit the Submarine Monument since I've never been inside a submarine - a Russian sub, at that. Indonesia acquired the sub from Russia for their navy many years ago. I now have a better appreciation for anyone who decides that being a sailor in a submarine is their idea of living life. I had worked with a former submariner, Jim in a recent project. Jim had served on a US nuclear submarine when he was in the Navy. God bless these people. Claustrophobia in the first degree!
On my return walk to my hotel, I decided to stop at McDonalds for a soft ice cream cone, one of my favourite travel treats. When the woman serving me, Tata, learned I was from Canada, she started speaking French with the most beautiful French accent. Talk about an unexpected experience in an Indonesian city! She was studying French translation at university. Another wonderful conversation ensued. Magic is everywhere!
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| Some naval symbolism |
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| Riverside setting |
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| Aft torpedo tubes |
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| Emergency escape hatch |
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| Engine room |
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| More mechanics |
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| Need some agility to move about |
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| Dining and sleeping |
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| Forward torpedo tubes |
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| Facts and figures |
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| Dedication |
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| In all its majesty |
A Word about Walking In Indonesia
Welcome to the land of uneven surfaces, disappearing sidewalks and thrilling adventures in crossing multiple lanes of traffic. As long as you understand pedestrians have zero rights you should be in good starting point if you like to walk like I do. There can be amazing sidewalks lining the street when you start out only to totally disappear on you. Surabaya had a few elevated crossings to get safely to the other side of the busy road. However, most of the time, you were on your own in getting to the other side.
After a day of walking adventure with the traffic, warm temperatures and loads of humidity, I decided it may be in my best interest to start using taxis to get around. Grab is a common taxi app (like Uber) in SE Asia. It makes so much more sense than walking. I was paying about $2 CDN to travel 5 or 6 km (about 3 miles) one way. Safer to move about in a car with A/C.
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I crossed this road using the traffic island
in the middle as a halfway point - looking for
breaks in the traffic. On my way to the submarine. |
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I figured these barriers were in place
to prevent motorcycles and scooters
from driving on the sidewalks. |
My second 'tourist' destination during my visit was The Heros Monument. I had an auspicious start to my visit as I was unable to find the museum entrance. What I did find was the site's administration office. A staff member, an university intern as it turned out, escorted me across the site to the museum's entrance while engaging me in a wonderful conversation and teaching me a few more Bahasa words. She also mentioned, as part of the museum entrance fee, I was entitled to a free guided museum tour which I decided to take advantage of. Enter my new BFF - Dinar, museum guide extraordinaire. I enjoyed an hour of Dinar's time as she walked me about the museum that celebrated Surabaya's key role in the country's independence from Dutch control.
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| As you enter the museum's lower level |
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| Celebrating the battle for independence |
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| A tall tower is in order |
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| Looking from behind main entrance |
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| Across from main entrance |
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| Main entrance to monument grounds |
Movie Time
Surabaya has the second largest shopping mall in Indonesia which was a ten minute walk (safe walk, that is) from my hotel. There are several state of the art shopping malls in Surabaya. Consumerism is alive and well.
I dropped in to the cinema in the photos below to watch Captain America: Brave New World. I was the beneficiary of more amazing customer service. The movie ticket was 30,000 IDR - < $3 CDN. The large sweet and salty popcorn mix and large lychee tea drink were 150,000 IDR - < $15 CDN; similar cost in North America for concessions.
Train Ticket Purchase
Thank goodness I had a conversation with the front door staff at my hotel about my intention to purchase a train ticket to my next destination - Malang. I learned I was about to go to the wrong train station. As I was walking to the train station to make my purchase, the same guy who set me straight on my ticket purchase, stopped as he was driving by me and offered me a ride to the train station. What good fortune on a hot and humid morning!
I had the first of two great train ticket purchase experiences. I was blessed the ticket staff spoke flawless English so I easily purchased my ticket - for the right day and the right destination. Most Indonesian trains have a minimum of two car types - Economy and Executive. The key difference is Executive has bigger seats, power outlets by the seats and more leg space. My ticket to Malang in an Executive car was 65,000 IDR (~ $6 CDN) for a two hour train trip.
Malang
The train ride from Surabaya to Malang was both comfortable and on-time - 8:36 am departure; 10:45 am arrival in Malang. I've been remiss is taking photos of the train's interior to share my experience. Dika, an employee from my Malang hotel, was at the train station to take me the 10 minute drive to the hotel. The hotel staff were most accommodating in allowing me early access to my hotel room. After a brief orientation with Google Maps I was off to walk back to the train station to purchase my ticket to my next destination - Yogyakarta which was a six hour train ride away. I was blessed with another positive train purchase experience. The next two Malang tourist destinations were just a short walking distance from the train station.
On one side of a bridge is a series of houses that were painted blue, turning this part of the city into a new tourist destination. The blue paint is starting to look tired. I skipped the opportunity to walk through the streets/alleyways amongst the homes.
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On the opposite side of the Jembatan Brantas (Brantas River bridge) is Jodipan Village, a former slum area that was transformed into a tourist destination by painting the buildings as you see in the photos below. I did spend a few minutes exploring this area after paying the 10,000 IDR entrance fee (< $1 CDN). Sadly, this destination also needs some TLC to rejuvenate its attractiveness and appeal. Interestingly, I was only in the area for less than ten minutes before a local tourist guide zoned in on me to offer his services. Coincidentally, he happened to know someone in Canada. If you are in Malang and have extra time like I did, drop by the village to get your own first-hand experience. I'd avoid making a special trip to see this place as you may be disappointed.
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| Village view from bridge |
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| Village view from bridge |
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| Entering the village |
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| First corner on way down into village |
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| A lot of steps downhill |
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| Seems I was enamoured with the steps |
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| Keeping track where I was |
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| Colors everywhere |
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| Glass bottom bridge |
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| Interesting mural |
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| Another interesting mural |
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| Separate entrance to village's north side |
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| Village - north side of Brantas River |
Additional Malang Highlights
I spent a morning wandering about the area where my hotel was located. You can unexpectedly discover a small oasis of beauty like this park that was about a mile south of my hotel. A little further away was the city's Grand Mosque. I also wandered to a local shopping centre before returning to my hotel in advance of the afternoon rain.
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| Alun-Alun Tugu - City Park |
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Alun-Alun Tugu - City Park
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Alun-Alun Tugu - City Park
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Alun-Alun Tugu - City Park
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| City Hall |
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| Crossing a river - it's been rainy |
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| Grand Mosque |
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Sports stadium - I initially thought from the peeling
paint it was an abandoned building. I was wrong. |
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| Stadium entrance |
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| Remembering where I was |
Dining
I dined every evening at the open air restaurant across the road from my hotel. I enjoyed a great dining experience - good food, the staff were fun to talk/joke with and there was live music every evening.
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| Coconut ice cream with black rice |
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| Indonesian sweet delight |
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| I love all types of noodles |
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I made the mistake of biting into one of these
peppers - thought they were green beans.
Talk about being so wrong. Took a short
while before my taste buds settled down! |
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| More coconut ice cream |
Hotel Hospitality
My hotel, The 101 Malang OJ, had the art and science of achieving high Google Review and Trip Advisor ratings worked out beautifully. I was asked if I wanted to be guest of the day, receive some sweets and have my photo taken with the staff. Hard to refuse. I received a copy of the photo through WhatsApp, the list of all the staff member's names and a request to provide a most favourable hotel review.
The staff were amazing in their own right. Joko, the hotel's chief security guy who controlled parking lot and building access, always remembered my name along with a warm greeting. The reception staff were consistently asking about my day and what adventures I was involved with.
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| Welcome sweets |
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| The reception team |
Mount Bromo Sunrise Tour
With the hotel reception team's assistance, I was successful in booking a Mount Bromo tour on the day I arrived. The tour involved driving in a four wheel drive Toyota from the hotel to Mount Bromo to witness the sunrise. After sunrise, we were to drive the Mount Bromo crater car park, walk across the volcanic black sand and climb up to the crater's edge.
I was incredibly blessed with being the first person to be picked up for the passengers in my Toyota. It meant I got to ride in the front instead of being uncomfortably crammed in the back with three other people. Did I mention this adventure started at about midnight?
Sunrise
After a lengthy delay in getting started (a vehicle had mechanical issues so the passengers had to be reassigned to other vehicles), we drove about three hours to where we would witness the sunrise. I was in the company of Phoebe (UK), Lorenzo (France), a guy from Vietnam and two guys from Japan. I also met Charlie and here traveling companion Gabriel who live in Quebec, Canada. I shared my blog from my last trip when I learned they were traveling to Sri Lanka in May. Charlie was curious if my travels could help them in their travels.
We had about a two hour wait for the sunrise. There was somewhat of a small scramble up a hill, in the dark, to find the path to the hilltop viewing area. Thank goodness for remembering to bring a flashlight and a warmer coat.
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| Double action with full moon |
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| Mount Bromo crater in action |
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| Predawn view |
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| Daylight come |
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| Was a battle between the clouds and sum |
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| Eventually we had a clear shot of the sun |
Crater
After sunrise, we drove to where we were going to ascend the crater. Getting to the crater involved walking about 2 km (just over a mile) from the car park to the crater. The walk included crossing loose black volcanic sand, climbing up a steepish embankment and then ascending a 250 step staircase to reach the top. As I neared the top, I started hearing the gurgling sounds that an active volcano makes. As you can see from the photos, there is loads of activity happening in the depths below.
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Looking down from crater; staircase in bottom of
photo |
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| Looking across the black sand plains |
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If you look closely, you will see the 250 step
staircase leading to the crater. |
Jeep Ride
I'm hoping the short video clips I've included provide a sense of the bumpy ride we experienced on the way to and from the volcano. Surprisingly, after crossing the bumpy terrain leading to the mount, there was a sealed road for the sharp ascent to the sunrise viewing area. Go figure.
Yogyakarta
I spent Saturday on a comfortable six hour train ride from Malang to Yogyakarta. I am pleased to share that the ride was totally uneventful except for a minor self-induced drama at the very end. I nearly missed getting off the train in Yogyakarta in spite of seeing almost everyone in my car disembarking. I thought we still had one more station to go prior to - wasn't I the smart one. With my heart going pitter patter, I managed to get off the train on time with all my belongings. My hotel was a brief walk from the train station.
Travel Administration
The stopper in bathroom sinks are notoriously leaky. The simple solution to keeping the water in the sink is using a flat sink stopper which you can buy in a store's hardware section or I suspect Amazon would also stock it. Welcome to Dave's world of travel self-sufficiency.
Next Week
We'll catch up on my travel experiences in Yogyakarta as I plan to visit two different temples. I'm flying to Medan, the largest city on Sumatra, to start my four night stay at Lake Toba which is a three hour drive from the airport. BTW - Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world. I'll be staying at a place on the water in the town of TukTuk on Samosir Island. Yes, I'm staying on an island that is on the island of Sumatra. How cool is that?!
Look forward to catching up with you next week!
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