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Showing posts with label Jakarta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jakarta. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
2 Bridges Photos Day 34 - 38: Jakarta - Gili Trawangan
Click on the photo for more pictures!
If you like our pictures, please consider a donation to our charity Doctors of the World - to donate click here
If you like our pictures, please consider a donation to our charity Doctors of the World - to donate click here
Day 34 - 38: Jakarta - Gili Trawangan (Lombok)
Jakarta, in addition to being one of the hardest to love places I have ever been to (and I say this after much soul searching and five attempts to enjoy the city), is obviously a subscriber to the assertion that best laid plans shouldn't always reap rewards as Day 34 turned into one of the most frustrating of the trip so far.
Lulled into a false sense of security by our decision the night before to have a travel agency arrange our bus tickets (it always seems impossible to me to work out where in Jakarta each company's buses leave from), our semi-bright eyed and bushy tailed moods were in for an early disappointment as the agency's claimed bus departure time slipped from 9am to 11am to 1pm to a definite 3pm. The bad start continued as the agency decided to bajaj (like a prehistoric tuktuk - see photos) us through Jakarta's tangible to the eyes, nose and taste bud pollution to the bus station, the same bus station we had been dumped at the night before.
"Executive" buses from our company Lorena came and went, yet none apparently were ours. As time ticked by, the metal benches became less and less comfortable and our frustration at losing time, a frustration compounded by the fact we were still suffering bus hangovers from the previous leg, grew and was only partially soothed by cold drinks and Ayam Goreng for Will and fresh mangoes for me.
Our frustration and persistence eventually paid dividends as Lorena got fed up with us and shunted us onto another operator's service with us finally wheels rolling at 6pm. A very frustrating and sweaty day, which has done little to improve Jakarta's standings in our league table of places we'd like to come back to.
Rant over. Shell shocked by the day so far and with our bodies seemingly numbed from the discomfort of the bus journey from Jambi, we settled in for the reported 18 hour ride through to Denpasar, the capital of tourist central Bali. We must be becoming used to these journeys as the hours passed reasonably rapidly, the (surprisingly good in my book) food stops came regularly, the scenery was at times pleasant (note to go back to the central Java volcanoes sometime) and even the traffic jams seemed to be limited to only the main cities, and some place near Surabaya where an over zealous gas exploration company hit a mud volcano.
Our popularity with young school girls on trucks and buses as our coach slalomed the 500km or so through East Java seemed to extend to the first of the two ferries on the journey, the hop from Java to Bali where an entire school trip including the teacher got their cameras out. That apart the ferry journey to Bali was uneventful other than finalising our pay off to the bus drivers to let us stay on all the way through to Mataram in Lombok. An agreement that seemed to make us new friends for life.
More bus, and a five hour ferry across the Lombok and Jakarta + 41 hours we arrived in Mataram fully ready for, and only one step away from, our mini break in the Gili islands. Taxi (yes we were getting pretty tired of buses) to the beach and a quick boat hop saw us leaping with joy onto to pristine sand of Gili Trawangan, a true gem of the tropical island world and a sign of where the real beauty of Indonesia lies.
2 days off. Just what the Doctor ordered.
Ps. Check out our updated Google Map of the route and our stop off points (click on the map to zoom in).... "not far" to go now!
Jakarta - Mataram: 41 bus hours including 2 ferries / 1,200 km
Mataram - Gili Trawangan: 1 taxi hour & 30 launch minutes / 35 km
TOTAL TO DATE: 17,665 km
FUND RAISING TOTAL: GBP 3,570 including Gift Aid - please keep these Doctors of the World donations coming - click here!
Lulled into a false sense of security by our decision the night before to have a travel agency arrange our bus tickets (it always seems impossible to me to work out where in Jakarta each company's buses leave from), our semi-bright eyed and bushy tailed moods were in for an early disappointment as the agency's claimed bus departure time slipped from 9am to 11am to 1pm to a definite 3pm. The bad start continued as the agency decided to bajaj (like a prehistoric tuktuk - see photos) us through Jakarta's tangible to the eyes, nose and taste bud pollution to the bus station, the same bus station we had been dumped at the night before.
"Executive" buses from our company Lorena came and went, yet none apparently were ours. As time ticked by, the metal benches became less and less comfortable and our frustration at losing time, a frustration compounded by the fact we were still suffering bus hangovers from the previous leg, grew and was only partially soothed by cold drinks and Ayam Goreng for Will and fresh mangoes for me.
Our frustration and persistence eventually paid dividends as Lorena got fed up with us and shunted us onto another operator's service with us finally wheels rolling at 6pm. A very frustrating and sweaty day, which has done little to improve Jakarta's standings in our league table of places we'd like to come back to.
Rant over. Shell shocked by the day so far and with our bodies seemingly numbed from the discomfort of the bus journey from Jambi, we settled in for the reported 18 hour ride through to Denpasar, the capital of tourist central Bali. We must be becoming used to these journeys as the hours passed reasonably rapidly, the (surprisingly good in my book) food stops came regularly, the scenery was at times pleasant (note to go back to the central Java volcanoes sometime) and even the traffic jams seemed to be limited to only the main cities, and some place near Surabaya where an over zealous gas exploration company hit a mud volcano.
Our popularity with young school girls on trucks and buses as our coach slalomed the 500km or so through East Java seemed to extend to the first of the two ferries on the journey, the hop from Java to Bali where an entire school trip including the teacher got their cameras out. That apart the ferry journey to Bali was uneventful other than finalising our pay off to the bus drivers to let us stay on all the way through to Mataram in Lombok. An agreement that seemed to make us new friends for life.
More bus, and a five hour ferry across the Lombok and Jakarta + 41 hours we arrived in Mataram fully ready for, and only one step away from, our mini break in the Gili islands. Taxi (yes we were getting pretty tired of buses) to the beach and a quick boat hop saw us leaping with joy onto to pristine sand of Gili Trawangan, a true gem of the tropical island world and a sign of where the real beauty of Indonesia lies.
2 days off. Just what the Doctor ordered.
Ps. Check out our updated Google Map of the route and our stop off points (click on the map to zoom in).... "not far" to go now!
Jakarta - Mataram: 41 bus hours including 2 ferries / 1,200 km
Mataram - Gili Trawangan: 1 taxi hour & 30 launch minutes / 35 km
TOTAL TO DATE: 17,665 km
FUND RAISING TOTAL: GBP 3,570 including Gift Aid - please keep these Doctors of the World donations coming - click here!
Friday, June 17, 2011
2 Bridges Photos Day 30 - 33: Singapore - Sumatra - Jakarta
Click on the photo for more pictures!
If you like our pictures, please consider a donation to our charity Doctors of the World - to donate click here
If you like our pictures, please consider a donation to our charity Doctors of the World - to donate click here
Day 30 - 33: Singapore - Sumatra - Jakarta
With complete expectation that the real travelling part of the trip was just about to get started, we made the most of our day of Singaporean comfort, AC and excellent food before enjoying Marina Bay's light show in the relative cool of the evening in this Asian haven of organisation.
Our expectation was not far wrong as Day 31 saw us gradually moving down in the travel hierarchy from Singapore's commuter shuttle hydrofoil to Batam, to a nine hour Indonesian boat across the millpond like sea to the Sumatran mainland (many thanks to our new friend Aris who turfed some locals out to get us the best seats), negotiating a whole town who wants to get involved search of our baggage - well done Will for such imagination in bringing them onside - and finishing with a three hour cramped minibus ride in the dark along one of the worst roads we've travelled so far this trip, punctuated by the obligatory meal stop in one of the less impressive restaurants and toilets we've had the pleasure of visiting.
The accompanying change through the day from Singapore's skyscrapers, pristine MRT, non-negotiated taxis and shopping malls, to the island houses built on stilts within sight of the Singapore coastline, to the rural, mountainous paddy field landscapes of southern Sumatra told its own story, as we found ourselves ending the day firmly in real world Indonesia, cruising Jambi at 11pm in the almost hopeless quest to find a spare hotel room in this regional at best city - nice to know so much is going on here but really, could it not have been another night?!?
Day 32 was to prove even more of a travel test as again our preferred option to Jakarta was fully booked, leaving us on a second rate luxury bus for the supposed 22 hour ride down through Sumatra, over the short ferry crossing to Java ($1 saw a well deserved upgrade to "executive class", and Rob take an unassailable 1-0 lead in our best of 1 chess match - Will blames the deafening cover band), and into Jakarta. 30 hours, at least 5 meal stops, one fairly major pit stop (involving hammers, wrenches, and removal of part of the bus engine) and little sleep later we finally crawled into east Jakarta, for an ojek (the motorbike ride of your life through Jakarta's reknowned clouds of pollution and traffic jams) and busway ride into town to find our trains to Bali fully booked, a disappointment only softened by the excitment of the "18" hour bus alternative, a meal of Padang and a mini night time excursion of Jakarta's Thursday nightlife...
More next time, off for the next leg through to Denpasar, Bali - wish us luck!
Ps. Check out our updated Google Map of the route and our stop off points (click on the map to zoom in).... "not far" to go now!
Singapore - Batam: 1 boat hour / 20 km
Batam - Sumatra Coast: 9 boat hours / 200 km
Sumatra Coast - Jambi: 3 bus hours / 130 km
Jambi - Jakarta: 30 bus hours / 1,050 km
TOTAL TO DATE: 16,430 km
FUND RAISING TOTAL: GBP 3,420 including Gift Aid - please keep these Doctors of the World donations coming - click here!
Our expectation was not far wrong as Day 31 saw us gradually moving down in the travel hierarchy from Singapore's commuter shuttle hydrofoil to Batam, to a nine hour Indonesian boat across the millpond like sea to the Sumatran mainland (many thanks to our new friend Aris who turfed some locals out to get us the best seats), negotiating a whole town who wants to get involved search of our baggage - well done Will for such imagination in bringing them onside - and finishing with a three hour cramped minibus ride in the dark along one of the worst roads we've travelled so far this trip, punctuated by the obligatory meal stop in one of the less impressive restaurants and toilets we've had the pleasure of visiting.
The accompanying change through the day from Singapore's skyscrapers, pristine MRT, non-negotiated taxis and shopping malls, to the island houses built on stilts within sight of the Singapore coastline, to the rural, mountainous paddy field landscapes of southern Sumatra told its own story, as we found ourselves ending the day firmly in real world Indonesia, cruising Jambi at 11pm in the almost hopeless quest to find a spare hotel room in this regional at best city - nice to know so much is going on here but really, could it not have been another night?!?
Day 32 was to prove even more of a travel test as again our preferred option to Jakarta was fully booked, leaving us on a second rate luxury bus for the supposed 22 hour ride down through Sumatra, over the short ferry crossing to Java ($1 saw a well deserved upgrade to "executive class", and Rob take an unassailable 1-0 lead in our best of 1 chess match - Will blames the deafening cover band), and into Jakarta. 30 hours, at least 5 meal stops, one fairly major pit stop (involving hammers, wrenches, and removal of part of the bus engine) and little sleep later we finally crawled into east Jakarta, for an ojek (the motorbike ride of your life through Jakarta's reknowned clouds of pollution and traffic jams) and busway ride into town to find our trains to Bali fully booked, a disappointment only softened by the excitment of the "18" hour bus alternative, a meal of Padang and a mini night time excursion of Jakarta's Thursday nightlife...
More next time, off for the next leg through to Denpasar, Bali - wish us luck!
Ps. Check out our updated Google Map of the route and our stop off points (click on the map to zoom in).... "not far" to go now!
Singapore - Batam: 1 boat hour / 20 km
Batam - Sumatra Coast: 9 boat hours / 200 km
Sumatra Coast - Jambi: 3 bus hours / 130 km
Jambi - Jakarta: 30 bus hours / 1,050 km
TOTAL TO DATE: 16,430 km
FUND RAISING TOTAL: GBP 3,420 including Gift Aid - please keep these Doctors of the World donations coming - click here!
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