From Temples to Temples: Returning to Yogyakarta Part 2

During my first attempt to visit Yogyakarta, my flight was cancelled due to the volcanic eruption of Gunung Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano situated just in the outskirts of Yogyakarta and Magelang (where Borobudur Temples is located) cities. Luckily, I got another chance to visit Yogyakarta in May of 2012. During that time, I managed to visit both Borobudur and Prambanan Temples. Both were spectacularly amazing and it's architecture and design were just stunning. Both of these temples are intricately carved with the story of Rama and Shinta, popularly known as the main characters of the epic book series of the Mahabharata, which originated from India.

3 years after, I have returned to this stunning, cultural-filled city of Yogyakarta with my family. I toured them around and I also tried to visit other temples which I missed during my first visit namely Ratu Boko and Candi Sewu.

Good morning Mount Merapi. Hello Yogyakarta City.

The Transfiguration Chapel, Calaruega

It has been exactly 13 years ago when I was first mesmerized by this quaint chapel on a hill top just off the boundary of Tagaytay City and Nasugbu. During that time, we went there as part of our college retreat, a required undertaking before you graduate in a Catholic university. The place was mezmering indeed and during that time you can almost have the place on your own since it was not yet a popular place to go.

It is usually a place for events like wedding, birthdays and other religious events you can think of. It may not be a heritage site or an important Catholic destination but the place is just quite peaceful even though today, there is an influx of visitors.

The transfiguration chapel, which was formed in the same image of a place also called Calaruega, in Mexico or Spain I think, still stands astonishingly. If my memory serves me right, the entire place was patterned to a place of the same name in a Spanish county. That is what was told to us during our retreat and forgive me for not remembering all the details right.

I just hope that from what I saw in this place, tourist were very caring and cautious that they should not make a lot of noise and litter on the place because they are aware that this is a place of worship. But I have heard so many terrible stories about other places where tourist leave all their trash where ever their hands feel like doing so. I cannot believe that these tourists do not bother about taking care of tourists destination. I know I can't save the world by eriting about it here but there is only one thing I know that I have lost. And that if faith in humanity to take care of the earth. So I am very thankful to some small groups of people who always keep an eye in doing small things to make a big difference.

Makassar, South Sulawesi

I arrived in Makassar on a gloomy day after a flight from Jakarta which took 2 hours. It was a smooth flight considering that it was days after that devastating disappearance of an Airasia flight in Java sea due to bad weather condition. The whole country was mourning as the whole world watches. But despite of the scary thing that happened, everything still goes on so I continued to my destination even with a little apprehension. After arriving, I was greeted by non-stop drizzling on my way to my first destination. I stopped by at Taman Nasional Bantimurung just at the same time when the drizzling stopped. I had sometime to walk around the park and look at the stream that leads to a sort of rapids down to were the part of the stream were people could swim. There was a small museum about butterflies and two other butterfly sanctuaries where you can walk in to see caterpillars and butterflies.

Hello from 38,000 feet aboard Garuda Indonesia

Bandung Indonesia

Here is a new photostreaming I did for my trip to Bandung last month. Enjoy...

Bandung Day Trip by Slidely Photo Gallery

Train Ride Story - 1

Wednesday night. Boarded a train in City Hall interchange bound home. I sat next to an Aussie family. They looked tired from a day trip and I wasn't tired considering I had a city tour by myself too. I was sitting next to the dad holding on to his son on his lap. I began to fidget on my things and became busy checking my phones. At this time I had to carry 3 phones. I checked it one by one to see if I have any messages and then suddenly the dad next to me asked "Do you have enough funds?” Surprised to be asked that way and I sort of thought he needed help on something so I said I'm sorry and I wanted to clarify what he meant. Then he said again "Do you have enough funds because I see you have 3 phones in your hand" and I was astonished of what he thought of me in that instant. I answered that I am actually a tourist as well so I had to carry extra phone for emergencies. This made me feel bad although the dad was probably just asking innocently and wondering why I'm carrying 3 phones.

Well just to give myself some credit. I never bought any of the phones I was carrying. One was borrowed (temporarily for this trip). One was from my dad (who happens to pick up that phone from somewhere and could not find the owner). And one was the one I picked up and looked for the owner, contacted the owner but never got any replies (so I considered it my own prized possession). I never bought any of these phones. I just had to use three during this time in order to save money by using prepaid cards to get in touch with my family and friends, and like I said, for emergencies as I’m travelling alone.

Postcards

When travelling, I try to send postcards to my family and friends to share with them the places I have visited. Postcards have long been disregarded by many people especially with the increase of the use of social media but there are still tourist, like me, who prefer sending postcards to let others know about their travel instead of just posting it in their social media accounts.

Here are some of picture I have taken in my travels that I believe are worth-printing on postcards. these pictures are combination of the grandeur of the entire place and some are focused on things that travelers sometimes neglect to look at. In these postcards series, the text included says a little trivia I learned about the place.

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Jalan Besar and Around

Jalan Besar

Following up to my Tiong Bahru Heritage Walking Tour article, much has been said whether Jalan Besar is a hipper place than Tiong Bahru. To compare these two places on which one is better than the other, you have to look at two important points, first is if the old historic vibe of the place is still present and second is the number of cafes that has been opening in the area. I can say that Tiong Bahru has the advantage on both. There is a distinct difference on the housing settlement in Tiong Bahru and they have maintained its old vibe and managed to introduce the hip charm while Jalan Besar is a bit chaotic because of so many constructions, commercial establishments, hostels and literally an array of hardware shops in one street.

Train Train Go Away

The Sawahlunto Train and Railway System

Growing up, I have always been fascinated with moving things like trains and airplanes. I was never a big fan of race cars or bikes but trains and airplanes have always been admiring things to me. Whenever I travel to the city from my hometown, there used to be a working passenger train that travels to the northern part of Bulacan which was operated by the Philippine National Railway but since the tracks and the trains were never really given much care, the trains eventually stopped plying that route. Now the only existing train route that I know of is the ones from Alabang to Bicol. I believe its a 12-hour journey from Alabang to Bicol Region using this electric or gas powered train. I never really knew what type of train there is because I do not really know much about the history of railways in the Philippines. I guess nobody really seemed to bother about trains anymore unlike in the olden days. And then trains in Manila evolved into Light Railway Transit, the elevated passenger railway system that travels from Monument to Baclaran (which now extends from Munoz Roosevelt to Baclaran). Eventually, it led to the construction of two more elevated railway system such as the MRT (from North Avenue to Taft Avenue) and the LRT2 which covers Recto to Marikina.

Top Ten Other Must See Places In The Philippines

These are my Top Ten Places To Visit In The Philippines that is not always a part of your travel itinerary. Why? This is because people, especially tourists, always go to the usual top tourist spots in the Philippines. My list may does not really cover everything in and around the Philippines and this is only based on places I have seen and would want to see. Many of you may wonder why my list is like this but it is actually for the benefit of those who are interested more on seeing the "what else" aside from your usual destination. I love art galleries, book shops, antiques and old and unique places that is why list goes on like this:

1. Batanes Group of Islands

One of the most typhoon-battered group of islands in the most northern parts of the Philippine archipelago during the monsoon seasons, Batanes is one of those tricky places to visit because of its location but is getting a lot of attention now because of the natural wonders it has to offer. Many of the places here can not be found in other parts of the country which makes truly magnificent and worth going. It is also on my list of places to see soon.

Baguio City Travel Video

And since because pictures aren't just enough. This is the second travel video I have done and I must say this is better than my Siem Reap video. On a side note, I should take video shots on my next travel so I can add it on the travel video and make it look better.

Here it goes:

or you can also access the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-JbvC3lpYc

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jigomeister
02.25.2014

Siem Reap Travel Video

I know. I know. I can do better than this. To think that I always make AV presentations but this is the first time I am making a travel video. This was during my trip to Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia last year. So here it is. Will upload better travel videos later.

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jigomeister

02.24.201

Money Matters

So I have this new thing going on when I travel to a certain place. I take a look at their local currencies and see if I can find the actual place that were printed on the bills. I have taken three so far in different countries, not counting the Philippines where I will try to do once I return home, and here are some of them.

Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, 100 Nepali Rupees

SG Five Years of Living Issue 1: Singapore Zoo

Singapore. I lived here for five long years and I just love this tiny red dot country in the world map. There are so many good things that happened to me here and I definitely learned a lot here, gained new experiences, developed new friendships and from here, I managed to travel to many beautiful places on earth. I can write so many things about Singapore but I want to talk about their zoos and other animal sanctuaries.

I do not have pet and I do not want to have one in any time soon. I read about the plight of so many activists about the lives of animals in the zoo specifically in other countries. In the Philippines, the battle between the local government and PETA for the freedom of a Sri Lanka-born elephant named Mali is still on going. I found out then that there are many animal care association or groups who fights for the right of these animals to live a normal life and get their freedom from such discarded living condition like the Manila Zoo for example. Mali’s condition, based on what I have read, is getting terrible each day. I remember seeing Mali about 8 or 9 years ago and honestly, I cannot how her condition was but all I know is that Mali is alone in captivity. And to be alone is all but sad.

In Singapore, the zoo is different. I have been to the Singapore Zoo for so many times that I could not count it anymore. And this place is heaven for the animals. The place is definitely clean. The housing condition of the animals is very nice. It is actually better than in the slums that I have elsewhere. And I do believe that the zoo has enough staff, facilities, food and medicines to take care of the animals in their habitat. I could say that the animals here are not in captivity as they do have a first world living condition. Although living in the wild is completely different from living in the zoo. I believe that these animals are still lucky because in this zoo, they are free from any danger that humans can do to them when they are in the wild.

Traditional Homes Swotha, Patan, Nepal

One of the many great things about travelling is that you get to see new places and meet great people. Our trip to Nepal started on a rough start with porters in the airport, the air pollution, the non stop locals haggling with you to be their tour guide for a fee and the good food that was quite hard to find. On our 5th day, we arrived in Patan was literally enchanted by this small but amazing hotel, the Traditional Homes Swotha. We only got one night to stay here because it was quite difficult to book a room here as they only have 6 rooms.

The place is wonderful. It is a very simple traditional home made of brick walls, wood and cement flooring but it is decorated with even simpler furnishings, frames and other cute displays. They have a simple heating system that uses gas tank. The bathroom is not that big but very functional. There was an absence of wardrobe but they provide a makeshift clothes hanging area on top of a table where you can lay your luggage. The height of ceiling is a little over 6 feet which maybe difficult for westerners but still, the general atmosphere of your room, the hotel and the cafe makes up for it.

We learned about this hotel as a top choice of stay in Patan area in the Lonely Planet guide. It recently placed 15 out of the best B&Bs and Inns in all of Nepal by TripAdvisor. If this place was already on the top of my list, I wonder what the other 14 has to offer.

We also met with the hotel manager Mr Shyam. He was kind and very helpful to us even though we only stayed for a night. I fell sick the following day and he was still helpful in arranging our transport even though we were already staying in another inn near Swotha. He was also very helpful in enlightening us about how Swotha started and about the traditional homes of Nepal.

Here are some of the pictures of the hotel for you to see.

The room of Traditional Homes Swotha

Phuket, Thailand

Well this time I got really nothing to say and let the pictures speak for itself. Although I must say it was a wonderful trip with Calice and Jen before we all parted ways. I'm definitely hoping we can all meet up soon. Maybe not in Singapore but who knows we can all meet up in the States.

Bangkok Shopping: In Search For Your Not So Typical Souvenirs

So during my trip to Bangkok this month, I kind of found some different souvenirs that people do not usually buy when they travel. Well for me, I found these two new things really classy but cheap. Just right across the Siam BTS Skytrain station, you will find a lot of cheap stuff to buy especially at night. As you walk under the train station, you will find lots of clothes, cellphone cases, fake watches and shoes. Then I stumbled upon a stall that sells leather goods, not shoes, but some kind of organizers stuff that I am certain teachers like me will definitely like. I bought two items. One is a sort of laptop case/portfolio or file holder and another one is a smaller version of it that I can use for passport or some other small stuff.

Bali: Island of Gods

Balangan Beach, Bali, Indonesia,

They say, travel makes a man wiser. We travel to new places to see, learn and experience new things or something different. I read that it is called the Island of Gods while some says it is a Surfer’s Paradise. When we arrived at Denpasar, the main entry to Bali Island, we went straight to Balangan beach, one of the surfing beaches in the island. Indeed, the waves were strong and surfers from different parts of the world were all gathered there.

We went around to a lot of different beaches and all we saw were surfers crashing the waves like there is no tomorrow. We even saw an 8 year old looking Caucasian who was really good. Well I actually don’t know the level of goodness that a surfer does since I myself has never done surfing. Except for one time when I tried a surfing game in an amusement park where I didn’t even get wet. Not even a single sweat. But from where we were seated, while eating my big bowl of Chap Cai, Chicken Satay and a cup of white rice, I can tell that the boy was really good.

Review: Time Hotel, Hanoi Vietnam

The facade of Time Hotel

The Time Hotel is located in the Old Quarter area of Hanoi City. It's distance from the airport is about 40 - 50 minutes and we used the hotel airport service. We availed this groupon promo to stay in this hotel. we paid $52 (SGD) for a stay of 3D/2N. The price for the airport transfer is about $18 (USD). Hiring a taxi in Hanoi can be tricky so you better arrange it with your hotel as locals may take advantage of you. Hanoi does not have a proper shuttle buses or transportation to the city and the easiest and safest way to get in to the city is by taxi or hotel transport.

The location of the time hotel gave us an easy access to the night market. there was a minimart and Lotteria restaurant just outside the hotel. Hoan Kiem Lake is just 10-15 minutes walk. You just have to walk straight in the same road where the hotel is towards the inner part of the city. At night, that same road you will be walking will closed for a night market which was pretty convenient for us when we walked from Hoan Kiem Lake back to the hotel.

The hotel was quite decent. Wifi is free and accessible anywhere. The elevator was bit scary and the room was also a bit old style which made it creepy for me because I was alone in the room.

Notes on Ha Long Bay and Hanoi, Vietnam

Old cities that have withstood time always draw my attention. Especially if the city hides behind the shadow of a bigger and more famous one, Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam. Yet Ho Chi Minh City seems to be the destination favoured by many tourists. Although I have never been to HCMC, I was told that it is more developed than the city capital. But then I still chose to go to Hanoi with two of my friends because of Ha Long Bay. The bay is famous for its limestone islands and rock cliffs scattered along that north eastern coast of Vietnam and almost close to the border of China. Everything you need to know about getting there and going around can be found in several internet sites but I would like to share is how enigmatic Ha Long Bay is which is quite the same thing I felt with Hanoi City. If you are the type who enjoys laid back atmosphere and to be in a city that still possess the magic of olden days. Head to Hanoi and visit the Old Quarter and the French Quarter. Although luxury shops and boutique hotels are scattered in the French Quarter area, many of these establishments are housed in French-inspired buildings in the olden days. The tallest buildings probably reaches only up to 5^th and 6^th storeys in these area (you can correct me if I am wrong and I am only referring to that area in the French and Old Quarters). The absence of western capitalism is very evident considering this is the capital city of the country. In the Old Quarter you can visit shop houses anywhere in the streets. At night, they also have night markets which sells cheaper than the shop houses that are open anytime of the day.

Hanoi Opera House, one of the best preserved French-Colonial Building in Hanoi

10 Small Tips For Backpacking In Vientiane

Just some small tips for backpacking in the city of Vientiane, Laos

Mekong Riverfront

1. Vientiane is an old city and has everything in it cheap. From food to transportation to beer and to almost everything but the laid back atmosphere of this city is what makes it charming. The absence of commercialized establishments like McDonalds and Starbucks made me feel that the city is still untouched and should stay the way it is. There is only one mall and it is filled with local jewellery shops, banks, bargain stores and local coffee shops.

Lao National Museum. One of the oldest buildings in Vientiane.