We travelled also before we joined TravelBlog. We have started to digitise photos from those trips and we are planning to write about some of them. Since Ake has had some time on his hands lately he has written about a trip he made in Indonesia in 2002.
I arrived in Bali but went directly to the neighbouring island Lombok. There I spent three days hiking and exploring small villages, temples and the countryside while I was waiting for a boat that would take me to Komodo Island.
I have added some photos of Pura Linsar temple and one photo of some rice paddies. When visiting Indonesia, stay friends with rice paddies because they are everywhere. You should probably stay friends with volcanoes as well because they are also everywhere.
One of the main reasons for me to visit Indonesia was that I wanted to see Komodo dragons. I wanted to see them in their natural habitat so what better place to go then Komodo Island.
Not far from here is the best snorkelling site I have ever visited. It was packed with corals and the variety seemed neverending. I wish I had had a waterproof camera with me
largest ones can grow up to three meters in length. If you also take into account that they are carnivores and have been known to eat humans you might understand why I actually became a bit nervous when I saw more than one of them inside the camp/village where I stayed in the night.
I dont remember how much it cost to enter Komodo Island back in 2002. I am sure it wasnt much. Today I believe it might cost around 1000 USD for the entry permit alone. On top of transport and I am happy that I have seen these colossal lizards. It was an amazing experience to see them. But for a thousand bucks...? I dont know... Thats a lot of money...
After Komodo I took a ferry to the city Surabaya in Java. I was planning on staying two nights and one day there. I arrived in the evening and found a hostel to stay in and went to bed. In the morning the next day I ventured out to explore the city. After only two hours I returned to the hostel because I had then learned that
Surabaya is a quite boring place. I guess there is more to see in Surabaya but since I didnt know what that would be I decided to go and buy a train ticket to Jakarta and leave.
I went to the hostel to check out. When I came there it was shut and the staff was not expected back until after my train was scheduled to leave. My backpack was in a locked hotel and I had a train to catch. I was in a bit of a situation. I went to a police station nearby and explained my problem. I then went to a locksmith who could pick the lock to the hostel. The locksmith, two police officers and I went to the hostel. The locksmith opened the door for me. I went in, I got my bag and the locksmith locked the door again. Since the police officers overlooked the procedure I think it technically wasnt a Well, I made it to the train in time and off I went to Jakarta.
=> National Monument: It is very much a symbol of Jakarta. Almost like the Eiffel Tower is for Paris.
In mid I watched a TV series called the Living Planet. In the first episode the host, Sir David Attenborough, visited Krakatoa Island. He told the story of when the volcano on the island in 1883 had an eruption. It was an extremely violent eruption that went on for more than a month. The eruption itself was intense and spectacular but it was to what happened in the end of the eruption. On August 27 the entire volcano blew up in the largest explosion ever heard by humans. The explosion could be heard as far as 3,100 kilometres away. The pressure wave created by the explosion travelled seven times around the world before it faded enough that it couldnt be
In the I decided that I one day really wanted to go in Sir David Attenboroughs footsteps and visit Krakatoa Island. It took more than 15 years but in 2002 I was there and saw Krakatoa myself. That was intense and I absolutely loved it.
