on-twowheels: July 2007

Singapore, high Rise, high Price, Very clean and plesent place to spend two days

little india was a very crowded place

Singapore or Singhpura (Lion City)

So having finally got out of Surabaya, Indonesia, we arrived in Singapore in transit to Sri Lanka. Well we spent only two nights in S’pore but was one of the most pleasant places we have visited in this trip in this trip.

Probably because we just spent only two day, might as well as the prices here are equal to that of Europe! But on the positive side the place is clean, no diesel fumes or rubbish and quiet. The whole of south east Asia seems to be going through loud exhaust modification crisis. Everything from the moped to the diesel truck is fitted with a noisy exhausts but not in S’pore.

It seems the penalty for pollution, what ever the form is heavy. But I reckon the authorities should at least allow it on bikes as is the only country in the region with large number of big bikes. Below are some of the sights that we got to enjoy in S’pore while we were there.

There is certainly a lot of colour in Singapore

And there is no pushing and shoving while getting into the trains

Nearly 8weeks spent and total of 6450km travelled in Indonesia.

Huge place, over 17,000 islands and only 7,000 is inhabited.

Although Bali has plenty of shipping agents who "Can Do Anything" finding a reliable one was areal challenge. The one we had relied on till the last day decided to raise the shipping cost from $1100 to $1550 on the morning of the shipping.

This does not include any insurance!But fortunately we had met Mr Falah (by far the most reliable and helpful shipping agent we found in whole of Indonesia) form AirTiger Shipping in Jakarta while we were there and had initially advised us do all the custom clearance ourselves to avoid the money grabbing and baksheesh by the middleman and he would organise the container space.

So we gave up trying to ship the bike from Bali and rushed to international port of Surabaya in east Java to get the bike shipped with in the next week as our visa was running out.Surabaya has absolutely nothing to offer in terms of attractions but most of the week was spent sorting out the paper work and explaining packers and haulagers how to do their job.

And the rest of the time was spent running between custom offices to get the export permit. There is actually no need for any export documents as the bike is brought in to Indonesia under the "Carnet De Passage" which allows temporary import. The cost of shipping the bike to Spain was, with out the middle man was around $860, quite a bit less than the agents were offering. The bike will head to Spain from Surabaya (Java) via Singapore.

After all that effort we waited till the bike was in the container before making our way to the airport to to take the flight to Singapore

On our way from Bali to Surabaya (to ship the bike) we came across this amazing scene in east Java. A hole village and the adjoining highway under a mud flood and it was vast covering square kilometers of area. Not sure how or when this has happened. But one thing for sure is that it is not going to be cleared.

Bali is by far the most touristic site in Indonesia. The souvenir shops and shipping agents are dotted along the most roads and at times feels like you are in a open air - IKEA.(image 1)

The Traffic in Bali is nothing like java but does get busy at times and the horns get louder. (image 2)

Kite flying (3) is popular through out Indonesia and there is a huge variety (4)

Tempel of Tanah Lot, South West coast of Bali (Image 1)

Typical Temples and their gardens (images 2, 3 & 4

)

Temple at Gunung Agung

(5, 6 & 7)

Bali is certainly the most colourful place we visited in Indonesia. The Temples are everywhere. Usually the residents would have there own temples, 3 in total and usually in a beautiful garden or a courtyard.Beside the pleasant atmosphere, Bali has see its fair share of actions. In the 1840's, as a defiance against Dutch demands for surrender, an estimated 4,000 Balinese had marched to their death against the invaders. Mount Agung, the highest mountain in Bali, an active volcano, last erupted in March 1963. On October 12, 2002, a car bomb attack in the tourist resort of Kuta killed 202 people, largely foreign tourists and injured a further 209.

Temple at Bedugul (8)

As our time is up and the piggy bank is nearly empty, Bali will sadly be the furthest (east) we will be travelling this time around.

We arrived in time for the Balinese new year, Gulungan, based on the Balinese pawukon calendrical system and takes place every 210 days.

The streets are decorated with coconut palm leaves and the population is busy ferrying offerings back and forth from the temples.

Balinese was strongly influenced by Indian, and particularly Sanskrit, culture, Unlike most of Muslim-majority Indonesia, about 93% of Bali's population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, formed as a combination of existing local beliefs and Hindu influences from mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia.The Hindu Majapahit

Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. When the empire declined as a result of rise of Islam (spreading east ward from Sumatra), there was an exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.

1 hour ferry crossing to Bali. Total distance so far 37,353km.

Riding to Bali along the north east coat of Java, volcanos to the right (inland) and the coast to the right.

The way down from Tengger massive and heading towards Bali. The rich volcanic soil cool temperatures are ideal for growing vegetables and little land is spared.

Indonesia is a Toyota Land Cruiser paradise and rules the Tengger mountains

Next we headed further east to see some (more) volcanoes. Gunnun Bromo is an active volcano lying at the centre of the Tengger Massive. It it one of the most impressive sites we have seen in Indonesia. The massive Tengger crater starches 10 km across and contains 4 volcanoes active and dormant, the steaming Bromo (2329m) that last erupted in '72, Batok (2440m), Kursi 92581m) and the Semeru (3676m), the highest and the most active in Java.
Images from Penanjakan at 2770m and we had to wake up at 4:00am to get there before the sun rise.
Semeru in the distance blows a puff every 20min or so.
Walk to the Bromo crater.
Bromo, sulfer and steam

Heading east to central Java, our next destination, probably the most anticipated destination in Indonesia is Borobudur for us. This is about 42km North West of Yogyakarta, the largest town (pop 660,000) closest to Borobudur.
Dating back to the early part of the 9th century, the colossal structure is a poignant epitaph to Java's Buddhist heyday and ranking with Angkor Wat as one of the SE Asia's great.
The site was abandoned as the Buddhism on Java declined and was rediscovered in the 1814. The entrance tickets at $10 p/p was the highest we have paid in Indonesia so far but well worth it.