From Skyscrapers to Temples

Singapore may end up holding the record for the shortest time we spend in one country, but when you're on a budget, it is not a place you can dally. The cost of everything was pretty comparable to D.C. prices (which is more doable if you have that thing called a J.O.B.) and was a massive change of pace from the other countries we've visited so far. 

After extensive research, Johnny found us a queen bed in a mixed dorm room (top bunk) for about USD $60 a night, a big jump from our $15-$20 range for our private rooms with bath. This had to be the most eclectic hostel I've ever stayed at with a much more diverse crowd than the budget backpackers we often see in dorms. Included in this bunch was a very old Asian man who decided to do laundry at 3 am. 

One thing that helped to stretch our funds were the famous hawkers, food markets with options around $5 -7. There are so many around the city and I was disappointed we were only able to visit a few within walking distance. We were also able to walk to Marina Bay which we made several trips to. Besides the famous Marina Bay Sands building with the massive airship-like terrace, there was also an amazing water show. So good in fact that we can back to watch it again from a different angle the following night.  It seemed everywhere you looked there was another amazing fountain, light show, or art installation. 

The city was so clean and modern, a robot can squeeze you fresh orange juice on the street. We were able to explore on foot and bike and just take in the sights, but one thing we decided to spring for was the S.E.A. Aquarium, ranked one of the best in the world. A highlight for me was seeing the Manta Rays, but as much as I love seeing them swim so close up, it does break my heart to see them in captivity. 

We only felt like we scratched the surface of this city, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to head to the Island of Java, Indonesia. We had been warned that various countries require proof of exit as a part of their entry requirements, but although several places we have visited stated that, we hadn't been asked for proof of a ticket thus far....until we were standing at the ticket counter to check our bags at 8 am. We literally stepped aside and immediately started researching, but without knowing how long we were going to be in Indonesia or where we were going in the Philippines after, it was a bit of a dart throw. We ended up just making our best guess and booked a cheap flight that may or may not end up actually being of any use to us. 

We decided to skip Jakarta as it just seemed so massively huge and instead headed to the much quieter town of Yogyakarta, also known as Jogya. The main draw to Java was the volcanoes, although plans needed to be modified based on the fact that several were pretty active the week we were there. Focus shifted from volcanoes to the ancient temples of the area, of which neither of us was well informed. Turns out this temple of which we knew nothing about is on just about every list of must-see world wonders. Oops. 

Armed with our new knowledge, we hired a driver for the day and visited the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan. I want to note here that Johnny may have been more excited about the restored 1980 Toyota Corolla we got to ride in all day than the temples. I've heard from others how crowded these temples can be, but we really had them all to ourselves as tourism hasn't really returned here yet and we were right in the middle of Ramadan. In fact, Borobudur just reopened last month after 3 years of not being able to go up. Lucky us.

I have to say, I never really heard too much about Java, but at this point of the trip, I was really feeling like we had discovered a secret treasure. We hardly saw any tourists and got to interact with the locals. This included me being interviewed by a group of high schoolers for their school project in which they had to video a conversation with a foreigner to practice their English.

Our next stop in Java would be a train ride to the East to the town of Malang, a highlight being the Jodipan Rainbow Village. This neighborhood was previously one of the largest slums n Indonesia when the government and army stepped in and painted it bright colors to turn it around. You can see it as you come in on the train and it was such a pleasant surprise. 

Up until this point we've mostly been piecing everything together ourselves (thanks to Johnny's diligent and impressive research skills and use of google maps), but we decided to do something different and used a local guide to organize an unforgettable 3-day tour that would take us the rest of the way through Eastern Java. It was beyond our usual budget, but it was nice to have everything sorted for a few days and we could just sit back and relax.

The trip to two waterfalls, Tumpak Sewn and Goa Tetes, has got to go down as the best day hike I've ever experienced (just beating out the narrows in Zion). There were big waterfalls, tropical jungle waterfalls, even a cave waterfall. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. 

The next stop of the tour required a 12:30 am pick-up and took us to watch the sunrise over Mt. Bromo and explore the old caldera as well as check out an active crater, all by vintage land cruiser. We were very bundled up in just about every layer we brought as the higher elevation and early morning made for a very cold start of the day. 

Final stop would be the "blue fire" in the Ijen Geopark, an active sulfur vent and mine. Unfortunately, the overly active volcanoes thwarted our plans once again and we weren't able to actually go up at 2am to see the blue fire itself and instead headed up at 4 am to watch the sunrise over the slightly eery acid lake.  

I was sad to leave Java, but we had a tight timeline to keep given the hurried flight purchase we were forced into and still a few other places in Indonesia that we wanted to be sure to hit.