Singapore

After a quick couple of hour’s flight I landed into Singapore airport.  It was very clean, no smell of incense like Bali (which I actually quite liked).  Collected my bag and met Val in the arrivals area.  It was so lovely to see her and hear a friendly Scottish accent! We had a quick catch up at Starbucks in the airport and I already felt like I was back in civilisation!  Toilet paper in the loo’s, you betya!  We drove to her apartment on the island of Sentosa.  It’s connected to Singapore via a new underground tunnel, taking about 20mins or so to get into Singapore.  As we drove there the sign’s told me that Sentosa was ‘the island of fun’.  Wow where was I!  Disneyland is actually on the island, there’s a water park and loads of other exciting things.  We got to the apartment which can only be described as stunning.  The view on one side is over the marina, and the other to the pool and the sea, Indonesia in the distance.  I was shown to my own room with a double bed, balcony and own bathroom.  Was I in heaven?!  Val has a wee dog called Douggie.  He is so cute!  I unpacked my things and headed out to the cable cars.  I’m not a big fan of cable cars but Singapore seemed like a very safe place so I felt fine.  Enjoyed the views over the sea, seeing the big cruise ships coming in.  Then we had lunch at the top.  Later we went to some high rise flats called the Pinncale where you can go to the top and see views over the city.  Wow Singapore was not what I expected.  So many different areas to explore. Later I met Val’s hubby Murray and their lovely daughter Abby. We had dinner on the balcony and a glass of wine.  What a treat after just drinking beer in Indonesia for the last month.  Went for a walk around the marina with Val and Douggie the dog.  The sweat was dripping off me.  So hot and humid here.  Such a lovely day I headed to bed with a smile on my face.

Day 2 in Singapore started with walking the dog again and looking into some of the beautiful houses in Sentosa.  Some amazing houses here owned by very wealthy people so good to have a nosy in (as you do!).  We had breakfast in one of the bars by the marina then headed into Singapore to be proper tourists.  2 open top bus tours later I had seen most of the city and learned about the history and what life is like there.  Love a good open top bus tour!!  We met Murray and his work colleagues for lunch, then later visited Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling (when in Singapore….!).  The bar was lovely and so old fashioned, you could imagine distinguished ladies and gents sitting there in days gone by enjoying a drink or two.  That night we went for dinner at one of the restaurant’s in Sentosa.  I wasn’t feeling great though, think I had a bit of heat exhaustion.  Went home and had an early night.

Day 3 woke up and felt ok so we decided to go to the Botanical Gardens.  What a beautiful place.  Lots of open space, smells of flowers, tropical trees, lakes with fish and turtles, people doing exercises at different points around the gardens (saw a group of people doing line dancing…. Random but whatever floats your boat!).  As we walked around I realised I still wasn’t feeling great so I had an energy drink to help.  We visited the Orchid gardens which were gorgeous.  I especially liked the air conditioned room there!!!! Seriously, it was beautiful.  We stopped for a coffee, then headed to the shopping mall at the Marina Sands hotel for a bit of window shopping.  Gazed into the designer shops and entered the cheaper ones!  We managed to sneak our way almost to the top of the Marina Sands hotel (you normally have to pay) but we pretended we were staying there and a guest used his room key to activate the lift.  Ha ha!  Enjoyed the view but I was still feeling weak so came back and went for a sleep.

Woke up and felt a lot better and good job as it was my last night and we were going out for dinner.  We went to Arab Street which was so cool; little shops and bars, restaurants, buzzing atmosphere.  People relaxing and chatting after a busy working week (it was Friday).  We had some Turkish/Med food in a restaurant. OMG it was so good!  It was a lovely evening and I had to laugh as everyone I was with that night was Scottish -  8 of us in total.  All that way and I felt right at home, albeit if the sweat was running down my face the whole time!

Saturday it was time to continue my travels.  Was gutted to be leaving as had such a lovely time with Val and her family & friends.  But I needed to move on. I was really surprised as to how much I liked Singapore.  It’s such a clean city and there is loads for tourists to do, and I felt really safe there after crazy Bali.  Next stop: Malaysia!

Last few days in Indonesia

After the 3 night boat trip I spent a couple of lazy days in Laban Bajo.  Wrote some blogs. Went for walks around the harbour, met up with people from the boat trip.  As the days went on, more people left and continued with their travel plans.  Sarah and Steve (lovely couple from England/Scotland) had booked the ferry back via Sumbawa.  Guess what? Yep cancelled! Felt sorry for them but they managed to get a flight (albeit for 4 times the price).  Had a really lovely few days here.  It’s really unspoilt and the kids all want to say hello to you.  Cute.  I flew from Laban Bajo to Bali on the Tuesday. Nice quick, smooth flight and had company as I’d met an English guy (Stuart) on our Komodo Island tour who was getting the same flight. Great views from the plane on the way.  Shared a taxi into Kuta with a German girl I met in the taxi queue and managed to find a hostel.  It was a bit of a shock to the system being back in crazy Kuta in Bali! Busy streets, McDonalds, KFC, people hassling you to get into taxis. Take me back to the quieter islands!!  I had a nice leisurely day shopping, a full body massage for 3 pounds (thank you very much!), she was actually quite brutal! I’m sure I’d feel the benefits in a few days. Later I met up with Stuart (from the flight), Louisa (from the boat trip) and a Dutch guy from Louisa’s hostel.  We went for dinner and a few drinks in Kuta. OMG this place was awful! Loud music coming from the bars. People hassling you to go into the bars.  Bikes, taxis and cars on the busy street making it difficult for you to cross the road. Yes I felt OLD!  We had a couple of drinks but I knew I had to get up early in the morning to catch my flight to Singapore so wasn’t in the party mood.  I went home and back to the hostel.  I lovely air conditioned 5 bed room to myself Result!

I was glad to be moving on from Bali in the end.  In hindsight I spent too long there as I was still getting used to travelling alone.  After hearing about the murder in Ubud and loads of stories about people getting mugged, I didn’t feel very safe.  I think that’s why I wasn’t sleeping very well either.  Don’t get me wrong I did like it and it has loads to offer.  There were loads of less developed places I didn’t manage to visit and it was a good place to start my travels.  However, it does seem very corrupt there.  Someone told me that they had to pay for a Police report after they had things stolen from their room.  I mean, come on!  Now onto Singapore….

Food & drink in Indonesia

I've not really mentioned much about the food as I thought I'd write a separate blog on it seeing as I do like my food!

Since I've been in Indonesia I've tried to eat as much local food as possible. It's cheaper & usually freshly cooked so less risk of getting Bali belly! 

The places to eat for local food are called 'Warungs'. They are usually dirt cheap. I think the cheapest I've had is around 50p for a full meal up to £2. Cheap as chips!

The food isn't particularly healthy with most things fried in oil. They don't eat much fruit or veg. Fruit juices are readily a available & normally pretty good value (from £1). 

They serve rice or noodles with everything! Chicken sate (yum), Nasi Goreng (fried rice with chicken), Nasi Campur (fried rice with a bit of everything they have cooked; fish, meats, tofu, spinach), Gado Gado (vegetables with peanut sauce). I didn't get round to trying the Bakso (meatball soup). They serve their meals with a spicy chilli sauce called sambal. I did try fish but I hate having to get the bones out (I know, lazy!).

I did get to try some of the local tipple (Arak) on the boat trip. It did warm me up somewhat drinking it straight out of an old cold bottle! 

Looking forward to seeing what Malaysia has to offer as everyone I've spoken to has raved avoid the food there. 

Flores 3 night boat trip (Komodo Dragons! )

Got myself to the pick up point after having a mad panic I hadn't been picked up by the boat. Nice & sweaty start to the day running (ok walking quickly) with my backpack on. I discovered that morning that my neighbour at the lovely bungalow's (Louisa from Melbourne) was also going on the trip but we thought it could be different boats as her pick up time was earlier. Once off the first boat we realised that we were on the same boat!  So we waited in the cafe for further instructions.  There were quite a lot of people there, and after waiting over 3 hours they split us into 3 boats. Who was I going to be stuck with for 4 days! I needent have worried,  everyone on our boat was lovely.  The group was a mix of male & females (19 of us plus the crew) & spanned a few countries; Germany, Netherlands, USA, Japan,  Australia, Finland & the UK.  We were shown the sleeping area which was above the main deck & had really flat camping type mattresses,  you couldn't stand up & there wasn't much room. All our bags were kept below the main deck. There was 1 loo and no shower. This was going to be a long few days!

We set sail & everyone got to know each other,  swapping stories about places we'd been, what our lives were like back in the real world etc. We had lunch then later stopped for a swim. As soon as it got dark the captain had to turn the lights out so he could see where he was going. It gets dark about 6.30pm here. I think I lasted 'till 10pm & could only stomach a small beer as the seas were quite choppy. Tried to sleep but the bed's were so uncomfortable I couldn't lie on one side for too long as it hurt my hips. Then it hurt my back if I lay on my back. Then the sea was choppy.  Yeah not a good sleep!

Next morning we were all up about 6.30am (sunrise time). Everyone had had a crappy night's sleep.  We docked & went for a morning swim & snorkel. This was more like it! So peaceful, calm & refreshing. Back on the boat we had a banana pancake for breakfast. Yum! Then back off the boat to walk to a waterfall. Then we had lunch & went to an island which had a gorgeous lake where we went for a swim, and more snorkeling in the sea. 18 hours to our next stop... the fun had began!!

As we sailed throughout the night, we were all shattered from the lack of sleep the previous night but could we sleep?  Well yes until 1am where we all sat upright.  The boat was rocking so much from the choppy sea we were moving up & down the sleeping area.  People were banging into the sides of the boat. My bed had moved & I was practically on top of my neighbour!  It was pretty scary.  I honestly thought the boat was going to topple over. I finally got back to sleep & somehow we made it to morning.  Phew! 

Breakfast was two pieces of white bread with a nondescript jam. At least I was alive! We did some more snorkeling & then went to Kimodo island. This is what we were waiting for.. the dragons!!! The dragon's are actually lizards but they pretty big, and have been known to kill humans.  The Komodo national park is one of the new seven wonders of the world.  I was excited!! We were then told that the dragon's are wild so there was no guarantee we would see one. WHAT? No one had mentioned that before! We walked around with our park rangers, happy they had long sticks to defend us should the dragon's want to attack.  We were told a park ranger had been attacked a couple of weeks ago on Rinca (where we were going tomorrow) and may have to have his leg amputated.  A photo was then shown to the group. I didn't look but from everyone's reactions, it was pretty grim. Now I didn't want to see a dragon! I quite liked my two legs thank you very much!  We walked for what felt like ages in the heat & all of a sudden one of the warden's shouts 'dragon!'. We walk to where he was & there before us was a dragon. We all stared in awe.... and took loads of photos.  Cool. Then back near the entrance we saw 2 more. They really stare at you & I kept my distance remembering the story from earlier.

That night the boat was docked not too far from a vilage, so we had a bit of a party on the boat. Local kids pulled up alongside the boat in their little boats & tried to sell us wooden dragon statues.  Then another boat was the Bingtang (local beer) taxi. Brilliant!  Some people joined us from one of the other boats. I was so tired I went to bed pretty early... quite a few people did the same! Had a good night's sleep that night. My body had adjusted to the sleeping arrangements.

Next day we were all so happy it was our last day on the boat. Shower & comfy beds were almost here! We visited Rinca where we saw more Kimodo dragons. A group of them all fought to eat a rat! They move fast when food is involved!   Later we did some more snorkeling.  Some of the guys saw a stingray! I swam away scared! Finally we made it to Laban Bajo in Flores around 4pm. Everyone had kept all limbs intact.  Life was good.

After eating pretty small portions of Indonesian food for 4 days we decided to all meet for pizza that night.  We went to a restaurant called 'Little Italy' which was lovely. No tomato sauce on my pizza though. Random.

Really enjoyed the boat trip. Yes it was uncomfortable, the food was average, there was no shower & they ran out of bottled water (even though some of us had paid for additional bottles), it was good fun. Not sure I'd do a boat trip for that long again but never say never! 

The Gilies

The Gilies are 3 small islands not far from Bali which are close to each other, all offering different things depending what you're after.  Gili Trawangan (or Gili T for short) is the party island, Gili Meno the quiet island & Gili Air a mixture of the 2. All islands have no cars or motorbikes, you can walk or cycle around them easily & there are no police so it's pretty relaxed (my accommodation offered magic mushrooms as a service!!).

I'm not sure why after my lack of sleep attempting to get to Flores trip, I headed for the party island, Gili T.  I was in bed by 9pm the first night & midnight the second.  Wow I'm so crazy!!  I'm sure I'd have seen it differently if I had gone out!  I heard stories of all night parties, lots of drugs but I was oblivious to it tucked up in my bed with a hot chocolate... actually I had a mojito one night. Rock n roll!

So I had a lazy couple of days on Gili T. Cycled round the island. Read a bit. Chilled at a beach bar. Tried to meet a friend for tea but the electricity went out on the whole island for nearly 3 hours so was unable to get in touch with him. Just shows you how much we rely on the Internet (I didn't have his number). Then I moved for 2 nights to Gili Air. Wish I'd gone there first as I loved it. No one offering you drugs, really laid back, nice beaches & restaurants. Lovely. I met my Dutch friends Rob & Maura & we did some snorkeling. Then we sat at a beach bar playing monopoly on their ipad.... as you do! Was really good fun & let's face it, not a bad way to spend a Monday!  Watched the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen that night.  The water was really calm & the reflection of the sunset into the sea was like a mirror.  There were a group of people doing some type of yoga/meditation close by. It was stunning. Later we met up for dinner with Jane's friend Howard who works in a diving school there. Had a lovely evening but as usual I was tired so it wasn't a late one.

The next day I decided to move accommodation as I didn't sleep well again & the place was pretty grim! Found a really lovely bungalow for the same price,  typical as I was leaving the next day. It was so cute & you could have had a party in the bathroom. Loved it!

Myself,  Rob & Maura decided to snorkel along the coast that morning.  Wow it was awesome!  So many beautiful tropical fish & coral. We swam for over & hour. Great morning!  We met Howard for lunch, played Monopoly again & watched the sunset on the beach. Later we all went for dinner. Was really gutted to be leaving so soon but I had booked my trip to Flores. Would I make it this time? Fingers crossed!

Flores: the nightmare journey

So I'd done quite a bit of research into how to get from Kuta in Lombok to Flores.  There were many options but I opted for booking a through ticket from my accommodation which was slightly more expensive than doing it myself but removed the hassle... or so I thought. This is what should have happened:

Dep 1230 Thu mini bus from Lombok to Mataram
Dep 1500 Thu bus from Mataram to Labuhan Lombok
Dep 1700 Thu ferry from Labuhan Lombok to Poto Tano (on Sumbawa, the next island)
Dep 1900 Thu same bus from Poto Tano to Bima
Dep 0500 Fri mini bus Bima to Sape
Dep 0800 Fri ferry from Sape to Labuanbjo (on Flores the next island)
Arrive Flores about 2pm on Fri.

This is what actually happened:

It was all going to plan until we got to Bima. There we met some guys who had spent the night there as the 8am ferry didn't run the previous day but the 7am had. They then paid our driver about £15 (more tham generous as it's about £2 for a tank of petrol) to leave now so we could catch the 7am one. Oh dear, this wasnt looking good.  We arrived at the ferry terminal which could only be described as a shit hole, and were told no ferries were running today due to the weather. It wasn't windy. We were all a bit confused. Then the locals started trying to sell us a chartered boat, of course for a ridiculous price. Someone in our group was actually from Indonesia (luckily), and said to keep it to ourselves but the bus driver had told her the ferry was going to run today,  at 1pm. Yes he knew this even though he accepted the £15. This is what we were dealing with here in lovely Sumbawa.  You didn't know who to trust.

We hung around for a couple of hours (there was 11 of us in the same situation who stuck together), the locals just staring at us & periodically trying to sell us a chartered boat which kept going down in price. Later we found out the boat's had no radio & were unsafe. Nice. I was shattered as hardly slept on the bus. Then the coastguard turned up. He posted a notice on the wall, no ferries until 12th June because of the weather.  All totally deflated we got the minibus to take us back to Bima. Then the guys on the minibus started asking for more money. They had also taken our tickets from us to 'exchange' for the ferry ticket. We never saw the ticket again & refused to give them any more money. Back at Bima it all kicked off with travel agent office, asking us for money. I was tired, I just wanted a shower & a sleep. Bima is described in the Lonely Planet as 'nobody's favourite getaway'. Couldn't have said it better myself.

One thing I haven't yet mentioned about this delightful trip is that as soon as I got on the first mini bus, my stomach started playing up.  Unfortunately I had to use hole in the ground (gross) public loos, the loo on the bus (barf), the horrible loo where we stopped for food (I opened one door and there wasn't anything to wee into, just a floor... urgh) & it was sponsored by immodium. Thankfully it did pass.

We booked a room at a hotel & showered, ate, slept & used the wifi. Booked the bus that night at 7pm to go back to Lombok. I decided I was going to head to the Gili islands to work out the rest of my time in Indonesia.  We were on the bus & leaving Bima.  Hurrah!  One of the guys tried to buy a beer & was told 'Bima no like beer'. (It's 92% Muslim here).  Fine but do you want tourists!!

About 20mins later the bus came to a standstill. We could see something ahead but couldn't quite work it out. Oh wait, it was a riot! The locals had set fire across the whole road.... the only road out of Bima. At first we were all laughing... then it turned to terror.  What if they turned on us? We stayed on the bus. Bike's driving past us, locals lining the street. I could see the headlines now 'tourist's targeted on bus'. This was like something from a film. We got off the bus & I chatted to some of the locals. They told me not to worry as it happened there all the time & could sometimes go on all night. I wanted to cry but I was too afraid. We planned our escape route just in case. 2hrs 30 mins later it was over & we were on our way. Police lined the street as we passed through. I don't think I actually felt the relief until we were off the ferry. We finally made it back to Mataram at 10am.

Once at Mataram we were hounded to book a taxi or trip to somewhere else. They actually came onto the bus as we arrived.  I had lost the will to live at this point & told a guy I was going to Paris!  People in our group had transport back from Flores they tried to cancel,  no refund.  Trips booked to the dragon island, partial refund.  A bike driver took two guys to airline offices only to take them to the wrong address & demand more money to take them back. If this place wants tourism then they are going the wrong way about it. No one cares, they just want to rip you off. That's how it felt anyway.

I travelled to the north of the island to catch the ferry over to the Gili islands. On the way I decided to book a 3 night boat trip to Flores then a flight back to Bali. I've been told there is no problem with the weather. Fingers & toes crossed it all goes to plan!!

Oh and if you've read this far & in case you didn't get it, avoid Sumbawa at all costs. Pay to fly to Flores or do a boat trip from Bali or the Gilies. You do not want to go to Sumbawa.... ever!