Monthly Archives: July 2011
Bedugul Sitting by an open fire in the evening and picking your own strawberries in the morning is not what most people associate with Bali holidays. Which is precisely why you should consider the hill town of Bedugul. The botanical gardens and lakeside temples can’t fail to please, while Bali Treetop, an aerial assault course [...]
I once ordered “fried p*ss” instead of “fried potatoes” in a restaurant. And, on presenting a landlady with her key, I announced, “I’m so sorry! Here’s your cat!”. So I’ve had my adventures with the Indonesian language. And, my Bahasa still isn’t pretty. All the same, if you’re thinking of getting off the beaten track [...]
Z Versus the Lake of Farts
After our trials and tribulations getting to Ijen, the mountain refuge feels, well, gooooood… Basic, sure. But basic in a good, sweet, simple way. We’re aiming for a 4am start to climb up to Kawah Ijen, the sulphur crater lake we childishly call the “lake of farts”, with its dazzling views over the volcanoes of [...]
The Road to the Lake of Farts
Frankly, on arrival in Bali I feel like kissing the ground, Pope-style. Or, as Z puts it, “Civilisation! We’re back in civilization.” We have a lovely few days. Catch up with friends. Go to Waterbom. Develop a disturbing addiction to stuffed chilli peppers at what purports to be a Greek restaurant. Shop for a new [...]
My 7 Links: It’s Payback Time
Almost a year ago we were in Malaysian Borneo — somewhere up the Batang Rejang, as I recall — and I joined in a sort of blogger chain letter, the 7 link challenge. And now — oh my, how time flies when you’re travelling! — the blogosphere is alight with a second round – in [...]
I’m Doing A Travel Blogging Course!
A while back, after I’d been blogging for a year, I wrote about the 9 things I wish I’d known when I’d started travel blogging. One of which, frankly, should have been that there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of travel blogs out there. Seriously! It’s crazy. Or, possibly, maybe I’d rather not [...]
Time For A Travel "Plan" Rethink…
We’ve crossed five Indonesian islands to get to Kupang, and had to abandon our mission to Papua. Clearly, it’s time for a travel “plan” rethink. One of the odder elements of being a one-child, one-parent family is that we tend to negotiate quite a bit. There’s only two of us in the party, after all, [...]
And, Once Again, All Roads Lead To Bali…
“Could you find out what day the next boat to Papua leaves?” I ask Aka. We’ve ploughed our way east from Bali on our undersized motorbike en route to Papua, and reached the island of Timor. Some folk here not only look Papuan but speak Papuan languages. Many landscapes are brilliant brick red and royal [...]
The Sunday Six: The Joys of Asian Roads
1: Bridges Can Be Scary Thanks to Johnny Vagabond for having the presence of mind to photograph this Cambodian bridge after biking over it. I’ve driven over one of these but was too busy with the palpitations after to even contemplate a photo. You can read his full post here. 2: Unexpected Hold-Ups Are Not [...]
Travelling as a single parent, there generally aren’t that many photos of you. The pic above is one of few with me and Z together, and there’s hardly any of me alone (we’re in Borneo above). So I asked Z to take one outside the museum in Kupang, Timor, Indonesia, for a post in which [...]
