The flight from Perth to Ayers Rock takes two and a half hours and thats just getting you across half of the country. Planes fly at over 500mph and therefore, to say that Australia is large is a bit of an understatement. The country is divided into 7 states. The one I had just left (Western Australia) is so big - that you can fit Germany, The UK and Japan inside it's borders without any of the three countries touching - and thats just one of the states!!!
I landed at Ayers Rock Airport and headed for my accommodation. Around the National Park here, way out in the countries Red Centre, they have set up a sort of entire village known as Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort) - which has a few eating stations, a supermarket, post office and a couple of places to stay. I was in Outback Pioneer but I was only here one night, which I spent eating Outback tucker, drinking with the other backpackers and watching the sun set over Uluru (the official Aboriginal and respectful name for Ayers Rock).
The next day I took the five and a half hour bus journey from Yulara to Alice Springs. I was leaving the area so quickly because I had a tour booked, which was starting in Alice and bringing me back to Uluru (Ayers Rock) before my flight out of there.
Along the way to Alice Springs, we stopped at a few sights, including Mt. Conner - which looks like Uluru (many mistake it for the famous landmark) but differs entirely because it has a very flat (table-like) top and also to Ebinezer Roadhouse which displayed authentic-ish Aboriginal artwork, before eventually arriving in Alice Springs.
I had a few days to check out the Alice (as it is generally known). The 125 year old town was once a simple station on the Overland Telegraph Line but has now become a hub for travellers to replenish supplies after their days on the road. It is a compact town made up of a uniform grid, bounded by the Todd River (dry when I was there). I walked around the town - which has a very wetsern USA (cowboy) feel to it.
This was my first experience of seeing Aboriginal people here in Australia too. I had spoken to many Aussie's out here already and none of them had very good things to say about them - generally they are big drinkers and you should watch your belongings when around them. I didn't find that, admittedly they didn't seem to be the most smiling, happy individuals that I had met on my travels but I certainly didn't feel I had to look over my shoulder when they were around.
I headed up to Anzac Hill, where you can get great views over Alice and the surrounding mountain ranges of McDonnell, before continuing north to the old Telegraph Station, which is where the old town of Alice Spring Was based.
The following day I started my tour back to Uluru. There were 21 of us this time and our first destination was Kings Canyon. After some introductions, we headed south, eventually reaching the Canyon. Situated in Watarrka National Park, Kings Canyon is an awesome sight. It's walls are 100m high and incompasses a series of secluded water-holes, interesting geological formations and some great bush-walks. We hiked for three hours round the canyon, our guide - Deano would tell us how it was formed and at each opportunity would point out a different plant and explain how the aboriginal people use it to keep them alive.
We also learnt about the wildlife out here. For a dry, flat, hot and featurless country that Australia is in many parts (especially the outback) it is flourishing with creatures - and most just happen to be very dangerous. They have 9 of the most venomous snakes in the world - including the most venomous - the Taipan, which if bitten, will give you an attack of immense pain quicker than the time it takes you to read a 'stop' sign - before eventually killing you if you don't get the anti-venom in time. By the way, most of the spiders are no less dangerous out here two - theres a good handful that you definately don't want to annoy. Elsewhere in Australia, your not all that safe in the water either. If it's not a shark coming up to bite you on the bum, then you need to look out for the Box Jellyfish - which is said to be the most dangerous creature in the world (one sting from this and the pain is said to be uncomparable to anything else). I would worry about waterery animals when I was near some water. Luckily for me the outback wouldn't be a major problem as far as deadly creatures went. The chances of getting bitten are low and because it was winter (they all go into hybernation) the chances were very low.
The 6km loop of the Kings Canyon Walk, saw us pass through the the 'Lost City' (an area where the rock formations resemble an ancient city landscape), through the Amphitheartre - passing the North and South walls and across the 'Garden of Eden' which has tranquil pools and plants here (cycads) which were around at the time of the dinosaurs. The plants are protected in this area by the Canyon walls which stops the strong winds from blowing them away.
We then headed to Curtain Springs where we set up camp. On this trip we were going to be real 'bushmen', which to me meant sleeping under the stars in just sleeping bags and swags (a swag is like a cover for your sleeping bag), getting firewood for our nightly camp-fire and taking a shovel if you wanted to go to the toilet. It was a lot of fun however. In London - we don't have stars - or at least i'v never seen them there. So when the sun sets in the outback (which is different from anywhere else I have seen it - you appear to get every colour of the rainbow emerging as the sun disappears), then suddenly a million stars pop up like someone has just pushed the light-switch. It was spectacular and we just watched before eventually falling asleep. I say eventually because it was cold. When you think of the outback (a desert) then you think of hot, hot, hot. Now I know it was winter here but temperatures were reaching 25 degrees Celcius in the day and everything was as I expected. However - it was only the sun keeping up the temperature and when the big flaming ball moves on - it suddenly becomes freezing. On our two nights, sleeping in just a sleeping bag - it was 6 and 4 degrees Celcius - thats seriously cold. I got basically no sleep for two nights because of it - but I suppose thats the life of a 'bushmen' - when your out in the bush.
On the second day we moved on to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). It is a bizarre collection of huge rounded, dome shaped rocks that stand about 30km to the west of Uluru. Kata Tjuta (meaning 'many heads') is an interesting geological monolith and the three hour hike through them saw us pass to a viewpoint of Tatintjawiya (The Olga Gorge) where you get some of the best views in the whole of Central Australia. Onwards we continued along to the Aboriginal Cultural Centre where we learned about the Aboriginal people, their way of life and how important the surrounding rocks (that we had been seeing) are to these people. They are part of their religion in a way - their 'Dreamtime" beliefs. We also saw very authentic artwork and was taught a lesson in what all the symbols meant on their displays.
We finally headed to the sunset viewpoint for the ritual sun disappearing over Uluru. The world's most famous block of sandstone starts to change colour, turning from a strong orange, into deep red before turning a purple then charcoal colouration. It is spectacular.
The next day we got to see the whole colourful process in reverse as the sun comes up in the morning. We then went to Uluru itself. We had two options - to climb the rock or to do the base walk around it. Uluru and the surrounding areas belong to the Aboriginal people but they signed a contract saying that 'The Rock' can be climbed for the next 99 years. So officially it is ok to climb - but the Aboriginal people urge you not to do so - as it is extremely disrespectful. There is even a large sign, right outside the start of the climb saying - 'Please Do Not Climb Uluru'!!!
I quietly asked Deano what he thought - he told me that he has never climbed it and likened it to entering a Japanese house. The hosts ask you to take off your shoes and you just storm in with your muddy trainers still on. Out of respect I didn't climb it but instead walked around Uluru. Half the group did the same, the other half climbed. The walk around takes about 2 hours (it's one big rock) and on the way you see great geological formations, Aboriginal cave paintings and waterholes.
After the walk, the others were all heading back to Alice Springs but my flight was out of Ayers Rock, so myself and a few others said our goodbyes to the group and were dropped off. I caught my flight out - way up to the other side of the country. It was my first time on the famous East Coast - the party coast. I landed up in the north east of Australia - in Cairns and I felt that I was just ready for a party........
Saturday 28 June 2008
The Red Centre - Uluru, Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta And Alice Springs
Friday 20 June 2008
Back In Perth
It wasn't all goodbye's to my group just yet, as, when I returned back to Perth, I was staying in the same hostel as Annette and Andy, while Lisa and Jo were also not too far away. The few days that I spent here this time round were mainly spent recovering from the weeks tiring, but fun adventure.
I did have time to walk around Perth, checking out the main River on which the town is based (the Swan River). The place has a quaint feel to it but a friendly vibe.
I also had a day out in Freemantle. It's a short train ride away and it's definately worth a visit. Freemantle is a port town with a unique character. The old-style buildings and history here appear unrivalled anywhere else in the state. I walked about taking a trip to the Round-House (the oldest public building in WA). It was originally built as a prison in 1831 but today is a good place to get some cool views over the ocean. I also headed to the shipwreck galleries where you can learn about the arrival of the Dutch, many of whom didn't make it to shore, and I also took a tour around the Freemantle Prison. The prison tour gives a great overview of Australia'a convict history. You get taken around the tiny cells (they only had a bed and a bucket) which were used up until 1991. You get to hear all the stories of prison life and are taken to the execution room. It's definately worth a visit. Freemantle is a good place just to spend some time and do very little - a quiet get-away from the not very busy Perth.
Before I left the area I also had to make a visit to the beach. Cottesloe Beach is quiet and scenic with surfers attempting their skills on the medium sized waves. I just watched.
Perth has been a good introduction to Australian life. I am still getting used to the weather. In Asia - it is hot day and night and you are constantly sweating. Here though - the heat is dry, it's hot in the day but gets cold at night. There are tons of backpackers here too, and especially in WA - the Irish are everywhere - something I did not realise - but not a bad thing!!!
I was looking forward to seeing more of Australia and I didn't have to wait long. If you love rocks then my next stop is definately the place for you. Essentially the most famous landmark of Australia, deep in the Red Centre of the Outback - Uluru was waiting.......
Up The West Coast (Perth To Exmouth And Back Again)
I had only spent a few days checking out Perth but I thought I would head straight up the West Coast as I didn't really have very long on this side of the country. The West Coast is described as being Outback Australia with a twist - it sounded interesting - and it was!!!
In Asia I had partaken in a few tours here and there, but nothing longer than a day or two. This was a 7 day adventure and I would be spending it with a group of 15 or so. They all quickly became good friends. The team included:
*Dane and Kat - two Canadians who were travelling with each other but didn't start out in that position.
*Aileen and Geraldine - sisters from Ireland. Aileen was working out in Oz and Geraldine was just travelling about.
*Jeroen - a cool dude from the Netherlands.
*Annette - from Nottingham.
*Andy - an interesting character from Bristol.
*Lisa and Jo - the two youngest on the team - also from Ireland.
*Frank - a quiet guy from the Chech Republic.
* The Japanese crew - a lovely bunch including Ai, Nami, Remy, and Mayumi.
*Aoife - who had been in Australia for two years and was leaving in a few weeks - oh also from Ireland.
And Dave - our fun Aussie tour guide, driver and general slave!!!
Day 1: The tour started off with a drive north to the famous Pinnacles Desert. Situated in Nambung National Park, the Pinnacles are a series of limestone formations (jutting rocks) which formed many a geological age ago from sediment binded together within the gaps between tree routes. The trees eventually disappeared as did the top soil, leaving thousands of pointed rocks from the desert floor. Interesting - especially for a geologist. We then continued north past the town of Geladton where we saw odd pink / orange lakes (they have the same substance in them that you find in carrots!!!) and along the Batavia Coast where many a Dutch ship (including the Batavia) became shipwrecked.
We then stopped at an area of large sand-dunes where we went sand-boarding. Similar to the popular sport on snow, you simply grab a flat board and sail down the dunes - hoping to stay up but rarely making it. Great fun though. Eventually we made it to the small town of Kalbarri for the night.
Day 2: We headed straight for the Kalbarri National Park where we trekked to the great views of the Murchison River and it's Z-Bend formation (which will soon become a Billabong - well soon in geological terms that is). There is also a cool rock formation which just happens to form a window shape and thus has been termed 'Natures Window' where many a photo was taken!!!
We continued onwards and upwards towards Shark Bay where we stopped at Shell Beach. It is, as the name suggests, a beach made entirely of white shells (no sand in sight). I thought of it as the world's largest graveyard and was told I had a morbid view of reality, but it is probably the world's longest shell beach - although I don't think that anyone has verified that fact!!! It was interesting though.
Before making it to Shark Bay at Monkey Mia we stopped at Denham - Australia's most westerly town where we all headed off to the bottle shop. Actually this was a ritual done most days. Most of that night was spent playing drinking games on the beach, some of the guys ending up in the hot-tub and then a few of us being invited to a local beach party. We didn't know anyone - but had fun anyway. It was a very hippy affair with the only songs that stuck in my mind - were people dancing like animals to the soundtrack of the Lion King!!!!
Day 3: We were up relatively early were we all strolled to the beach. Monkey Mia is a unique place, because each morning a handful of Bottlenose Dolphins come right up to the shore and trained specialists feed them to the amuzement of the tourists. It's a cool experience and definately worth seeing - plus the Pelicans can keep you occupied if you ever get bored with the Dolphins!!!
On the way to Coral Bay we stopped at Hamelin Pool, one of the few places where you can see stromatolites. I remember learning about these during my Geology degree at Southampton University. They look like boring black and red rocks but they are the oldest living things on Earth. They represent the first life forms, with millions of bacterial cells make up the rock-like structures. It is important not to destroy or damage them (no touching) because they are essentially your great, great, great, great, great, great.............grandparents, and I was always told to respect my elders!!!
We then stopped at Carnarvon for a Aussie BBQ (it's amazing - they have BBQ's set up in nearly every park in the country - we should have that!!!) before making it to Coral Bay. With more drinking games - this night ended up in chaos but the most memorable of the trip without a doubt. At first there were about 35 of us on the beach as we had joined some other groups but it ended up with just my team and a few others. We were all merry to say the least. Dave (the guide and the supposed to be responsible one) was the worst of all as he continued to lose in the games. Annette soon passed out on the beach and it ended up with 12 of us carrying her back to her bed. A good night - won't be forgotten in a while!!!
Day 4: After shaking off the hangover's we headed to Coral Bay to snorkel in the Ningaloo Reef. It is the best fringing coral reef in the world (you don't have to get a boat out there - you just swim a few meters) and it is said to rival the Great Barrier Reef for coral and marine-life diversity. Once you get out a short way the reef is full of coral and fishes of all different shapes and sizes. Perhaps better than that seen in Asia.
We then continued north and eventually made it to our destination - Exmouth.
Day 5: If you pay 150 pounds extra you can snorkel with Whale Sharks. They are the largest fish in the world (some reaching 18m in length) and Exmouth is one of the few places in the world where they can be seen. It also happens to be one of the only times in the year when they appear. Because I am a cheap backpacker I opted out as did most of the group. Only a few went and said it was amazing which made me instantly regret not going.
However, we still had a fun day - We headed out to Yardie Creek Gorge, which is one of the few places in Australia where you can see Black-Footed Rock Wallabies. They are rare and Dave had never seen one before so I didn't hold out much hope - Dave has seen everything before. But we must have had the luck on our side because Aileen spotted one sitting on a rock ledge. We watched in amazement as it did nothing of interest at all!!!
We then ventured to Cape Range National Park and Turquoise Bay. Here we went snorkeling again in the Ningaloo Reef and it was even better. I saw a heap of large sting-rays and one White Tipped Reef Shark. It was sleeping under a large coral when we spotted it but soon woke up and stayed nearby. I almost touched it's tail but was a finger-tip away before it swiftly swam off. In Turquoise Bay they have strong currents so when your snorkeling you start down the coast and end up drifting back down. The only requirement is that when you see the sand bar you have to head back in to shore or you will be swept out to sea where people have never made it back. All the team made it back safe.
Day 6: Some of the group were not making it back to Perth and so we lost a few soldiers here. We said goodbye to Aileen and Geraldine, Frank, Aoife, and Jeroen.
The rest of us spent most of the day on the bus heading back. That night we slept at a farm-stay. The farmer cooked us Kangaroo stew (nice) and we spent the night playing more drinking games which involved table-tennis.
Day 7: Our final day we headed back to Perth. We did stop at two locations though. The first was a bizarre place. It is called Hutt River Province. The stroy goes - a farmer was sick and tired of the government putting limits on the amount of crops he could grow. Fed up - he sent a request in to make his farm an independent state. According to laws at the time the government had to reply within 30 days which they failed to do and his land essentially became independent. The government took him to court but lost.
It is not officially recognised as a country but he doesn't pay taxes, he has his own laws and when you visit Hutt River - you even get your passport stamped. He is recognised by government and royal persons around the world and his name (now) is H.R.H Prince Leonard. We got to meet him - an eccentric bloke. He showed us his post office, his church and his pyramid. He believes in flowing energy and waved some crystals around which meant something!!! An interesting place and the most unique visa stamp in my passport so far.
We also stopped at the Greenough Wildlife Park where we feed Kangaroos, Camels and other animals besides the Crocodile. I also got head-butted by a Ram - when I put my head to close to the fence and he was interested in the food in my hand (painful). Finally the pythons came out which were placed all over us.
Eventually we made it to Perth and said our goodbye's to everyone else. It had been a great trip. We had seen and done so much and met some good people on the way - many of which i'm hoping to meet in other locations. We had seen some amazing wildlife too - Dave would stop the bus and point out wild Kangaroo's, Eagles, Skinks, Spiders and other outback creatures all the time. I enjoyed the lot and it was sad to be over so quickly.
I was off to more outback adventures soon, but first I was stopping to see more of Perth (and around).........
Tuesday 17 June 2008
Perth (Australia)
After four months of crazy living in SE Asia, it was finally time to move on. A five hour flight from Sinagpore took me into a new continent and a new adventure. The country was Australia and my first stop was Perth.
Immediately you notice how completely different Australia is compared to their Asian neighbours. Of course, you expect the culture to be more like it is at home (England) but I really didn't expect it to be so similar. It's easy to fit into life here because almost everything is the same. There are a few things which differ - the landscapes and wildlife come into mind, but the people and general living is just like home. However, the first thing you notice when you arrive from 4 months of Asia - is the price. You now realise how cheaply you were living in places like Thailand - and living so well. Asia is like the January sales but the store got all it's prices wrong and everything is far cheaper than it should be - you end up having a field day. Australia though, is like taking your goods to the checkout and them telling you that - yes there was a mistake and you need to add a couple of 0's to the end of those prices!!! It's about as expensive as England and as a result my traveling lifestyle would have to change. It was dorm rooms from now on, cooking for myself (I'm thinking mainly toasted cheese sandwhiches) and fending for myself as cheaply as possible - it was university days all over again - yet thats not a bad thing.
Perth is the capital city of Western Australia and the main hub of all things on this side of the country. It's known to be the most isolated city in the world and it's an interesting place, for while it appears a modern city, it still has a country-town feel to it. The streets are outrageously clean - enough to fight it out with Singapore for the cleanliness top spot, it's people are friendly and it is one of those places that you can tell - the people just love living here.
I spent a few days checking out the town, relaxing and walking around (Perth is a very - out-door city). I strolled over to the scenic King's Park which has great views over Perth and you can see some interesting flora here. I actually got completely lost in this park and ended up walking round for an hour and a half before ending up where I started - which just happened to be two minutes from the exit - but I took the wrong turning!!!
The Western Australia Museum is also interesting and a good place to start when you want to know a bit about your new home. They have great info on Aboringanal people and the scary wildlife that roams the landscapes.
I was returning to Perth in a weeks time to see more - this was just my first taster of the city and I liked it. First though, I was taking a trip north to explore the West Coast and my first experience of Outback Australia.....
Tuesday 10 June 2008
SE Asia - Facts And Figures
The facts & figures of my SE Asia Journey:
4 Months: 8th Feb 2008 - 8th June 2008.
Countries Visited -
*Thailand
*Laos
*Vietnam
*Cambodia
*Malaysia
*Indonesia (Sumatra & Java)
*Singapore
*Myanmar (Burma) - but only for a day (visa run) so I'm not really counting this one.
Volcanoes Visited -
*Toba (Sumatra - Indonesia)
*Gunung Merapi (Sumatra - Indonesia)
*Krakatau (Sumatra - Indonesia)
*Anak Krakatau (Sumatra - Indonesia)
*Gunung Merapi (Java - Indonesia)
*Bromo-Tengger Semeru - including Batok and Kursi too (Java - Indonesia).
Top 15 Experiences (in no particular order) -
1. Krakatau & Anak Krakatau (Indonesia) - sleeping under the stars on Krakatau while watching Anak Krakatau burst out with glowing red lava and thunderous noise, then later climbing up on the active volcano for a close and personal experience.
2. Temples Of Angkor (Cambodia) - watching the sun come up over Angkor Wat - priceless.
3. Luang Prabang (Laos) - The stunning, peacful town on the Mekong River - beautiful.
4. Bromo-Tengger-Semeru (Indonesia) - Looking out over the whole volcanic landscape up on Gunung Penanjakan, a great viewpoint to see all the volcanoes in the Tengger Massif and then taking a stroll up on the smoking crater of Gunung Bromo to watch the sun come up and transform the region into an end-of-the-world atmospheric landscape.
5. Halong Bay (Vietnam) - Sailing around Halong Bay, with it's awesome karst formations jutting up from the clear waters.
6. South Thailand Beaches (Thailand) - whether it's chilling on the amazing Maya Beach (Koh Phi Phi), snorkelling on Koh Tao or partying (full moon style) on Koh Phangan - the South Thailand beaches are immense.
7. Taman Negara (Malaysia) - Trekking through the oldest rainforest in the world, observing the most amazing wildlife (and leeches), meeting the local Orang Asli Tribe and clambering across the longest canopy walkway on the planet!!!
8. Vietnam Big Cities (Vietnam) - The chaos of Hanoi and HCMC (Saigon) are crazy and frantic but a lot of fun. The only place you actually need to create a will before attempting to cross the roads.
9. Vang Vieng (Laos) - Tubing chaos. Grab your big inflatable and float down the river, hopping from one bar to the next. Then rope swing back into the water and continue the party - which always ends up at Smile Bar - big smiles all round!!!
10. Singapore Zoo & Night Safari (Singapore) - See some of the most amazing animals day and night - like no other zoo I have ever been to.
11. Snorkelling On The Perhentian Islands (Malaysia) - Snorkelling with Black Tipped Reef Sharks and then Turtles that were bigger than myself was truly fantastic - just watch out for sea lice.
12. Pai (Thailand) - Chilling in the most hippy town in SE Asia, whilst taking treks to nearby local villages and taking an elephant ride which ended up with both of us in a river. Wet but fun.
13. Bangkok (Thailand) - You end up there so many times, you eventually start to love the place (in small doses) - it's tuk tuk's, shopping and of course - the Khao San Road. Plus perhaps the best street food in all of Asia.
14. Danau Toba and Earthquake (Sumatra) - Climbing up the ridge on Samosir Island in the middle of one of the world's largest volcanoes - Toba, and naturally getting the football out at the top for a game of footy with the locals. Then an experience I will never forget - a 6.0 Eathquake which rocked our bus and put my travel plans back by an extra 21 hours!!!
15. Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) - walking the streets of one of the coolest Asian cities around - and seeing those huge Petronas Towers at night.
Also on the amazing list - the shocking city of Phnom Penh (Cambodia) where I fired an AK47 Gun, standing on the equator in Bonjol (Indonesia), the Temples of Borobudur and Prambanan (Indonesia), looking out over the Cameron Highlands (Malaysia) and drinking some fine tea, and of course watching the mighty Spurs beat Chelsea and lift the Carling Cup in Chiang Mai (Thailand).
Longest Bus Journey -
Bukittinggi to Kalianda (Sumatra - Indonesia) - 39 hours!!!
Most Uncomfortable Bus Journey -
Siem Reap (Cambodia) to Bangkok (Thailand) - Thanks mainly because they have no road from Siem Reap to the border (instead it's a bumpy dirt track), it's also ridiculously hot, the air-con doesn't work and you can't open the windows or all the dust gets in. Then they cram all the bags down the isle so you have to climb from one seat to the next to get out - only in Asia.
Most Comfortable Bus Journey -
Nha Trang to HCMC (Vietnam) - got the sleeper bus, heaven!!!
Most Memorable Bus Journey -
Toba (Parapat) to Bukittinggi (Sumatra - Indonesia) - Earthquake adventure, a 6.0 magnitude shaking of the earth, the longest detour in history, two breakdown's and a near collision involving our bus, a lorry and a car nearly sandwhiched between the two.
Most Memorable Boat Journey -
On our way to the Perhentian Islands (Malaysia) - nearly out of my seat, the boat almost took off - jumping waves for the drivers fun and everyone elses horror.
Average Spend -
Tight Budget: 5 - 10 pounds a day.
Comfortable Budget: 15-20 pounds a day.
Average Spend: 16 Pounds a day.
Most Expensive Country -
Singapore - by far.
Cheapest Country -
Indonesia (especially Sumatra where it was difficult to spend anything).
Best Food -
Thailand (Malaysia and Singapore have a great variety of cuisine but you can't beat Thailand for it's Pad Thai, chicken and cashew nuts, it's fruit shakes and the best banana and chocolate pancakes on the Earth.
Worst Food -
Laos and Cambodia - unfortunately the food wasn't too great in these two countries. The crocodile was nice though - shame about the snake (python) though!!!
People:
Thailand - Smiles all round. Friendly and fun.
Laos - The most chilled out people ever.
Vietnam - Appear agressive at first but harmless once you get chatting to them.
Cambodia - Kids, kids, kids - the cutest kids who love to play (especially with my ball).
Malaysia - varied and interlectual - had some interesting conversations with the Malay's.
Indonesia - The chatiest people in all of Asia (and they love to give you their phone numbers).
Singapore - cool, modern and westerised. Just watch the young girls on the MRT tap away at their text messages - quicker than lightning!!!
Well thats it. Goodbye SE Asia - we will meet again!!!
Singapore
So I landed in Singapore, my final stop in SE Asia. My first impressions were - "this is not Asia" or at least it's some slightly altered version of it. It is perhaps the cleanest place I have ever been. The streets are spotless - thanks to strict government law which fines people heavily for littering and spitting. I was talking to one guy on my travels who said he had got a grilling from imigration whilst trying to enter Singapore because he was carrying chewing gum - they don't like chewing gum!!! The rest of the countries in SE Asia do not have street like this. On some streets in Cambodia and Vietnam they have huge piles of litter on the pavement with large rats crawling all over them, and in Indonesia (especially Sumatra) you can't drive down a single road without large dumps of rubbish being set alight into flames. Singapore is even ahead of London in the cleanliness game by a good mile.
The city is also ridiculously efficient and ultra modern. You only have to take a ride on the MRT (their version of the London underground tube) which gets you around the whole country in record time - and they are never late. Puts our tube service to shame really.
Saying all that - Singapore does still hold it's Asian characteristics. The people consist of mainly Chinese but are intermingled with a good number of Malaysian's and Indian's. As a delightful consequence, the food is varied and tasty. Singapore is a small country - it feels just like a large city and you quickly forget that it is a nation unto itself.
I covered a huge amount while I was here, partly because the place is not too big so you can walk a good portion of it and partly because the MRT will take care of further afield locations with ease. I walked most of the main central districts including the Colonial District which houses large, old British style buildings such as the Supreme Court. Went to the famous Raffles Hotel - beautiful building. I didn't have a Singapore Sling cocktail there (which is where the drink was born) because it was the middle of the day and, like the rest of Singapore, it was pretty expensive!!! I also covered the Central Business District, China Town and the Harbour Front. I trekked Little India (which is where I was staying) and walked down the shopping mayhem of Orchard Road - which is lined with modern shopping mall after modern shopping mall. I have never seen anything like it - if you can't find what your looking for on Orchard Road then your probably not from this planet. I found a daypack - it was my thrid in 4 months. The original one fell to peices after 3 and a half months and then I bought a fake one in Indonesia which lasted me exactly 6 days before disintegrating on my back.
I also took the famous cable car ride (with great views along the way) over to Sentosa Island - the theme park capital of Singapore, but by far the best thing I did here was....go to the zoo. The Singapore Zoo is awesome. There are no animals in cages - it's almost as though they live in their natural habitat - but don't. For example when you enter the bat zone - you walk through a series of doors, closing each one behind you and then your amounst all the bats - flying around your head. The zoo is huge - and I saw some stunning animals, including the White Rhino, the White Bengal Tiger (very rare) and the closest thing you can get to a dinosaur - the huge Komodo Dragon. One day I want to see these creatures in the wild, found on the island of Komodo in Indonesia, but for now - this would do!!!
Then once you have left the zoo - at around 7:30 - Midnight, just next door - the Night Safari opens up. It's exactly the same as the zoo except that it's at night and so all those nocturnal animals come out to strut their stuff. You walk about on selected paths or you can take the tram ride around. Sometimes it's hit and miss what actually comes out for you to see, but generally if your patient you can view whatever you want here. The Large Bengal Tiger, which came right up to us - was by far the most impressive. Awesome all round.
So thats it. After 4 unbelievable months - the Asian part of my journey is over. It''s feels like it has flown by, yet looking back I have done so much. It's been trmendous fun and highly emotional but all good things must come to an end. I will definately be back to this quater of the world, to explore further and return to some of those most memorable places of which I visited, but for now it will have to wait. A plane ride was taking me on a 5 hour journey, to one of the most popular backpacker destinations on the planet. With sun, sand, sea and a lot of kangaroo's - it was time for Australia........
Monday 9 June 2008
Surabaya
My flight to Singapore was from the second largest city in Indonesia - Surabaya. It is not a stunning city of natural beauty and I probably wouldn't have stopped here if it wasn't the airport hub of Eastern Java.
I spent a day looking around: through China town, some Dutch architecture and the bridge where the British Brigadier Mallaby was killed during the battle of Surabaya. I also saw some interesting temples and chaotic markets (which generally were filled with crammed chickens in boxes - stay away from me bird flu!!!).
The city is large, frenetic and feisty according to the Lonely Planet - and I agree. This huge port city is a chaotic mess and unless you really love big cities which are generally filled with nothing for the average tourist - then you really don't need to spend time here other than to get your flight onwards -which just so happens to be what I did.....onto Singapore........
Bromo-Tengger-Semeru
I actually underestimated how bad the transportation is in Java. I thought that I could reach the town of Cemero Lawang from Yogyakarta in one day - and technically I could if I hadn't got up so late. Once you miss the early bus - thats it - youv'e had it. So I took the bus to Probolinggo and was forced to endure one night in this smallish town which offers nothing to me. The next day I catch the early bus and finally reach my destination - the small town of Cemero Lawang and the incredible sight of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru volcanic landscape.
Gunung Bromo is an active volcano lying at the centre of the Tengger Massif. It is not the tallest volcano in the region (standing at just 2329m) but it is the most well known in this volcanic complex, continually belching out massive amounts of smoke and gas. It sits within a larger crater, a 16km wide caldera (Tengger), which forms steep slopes at the crater's edge, plunging down into a flat, vast sea of lava sand and ash.
The massive Tengger volcanic complex dates back to the early Pleistocene and consists of five overlapping stratovolcanoes, each truncated by a caldera. Lava domes, pyroclastic cones, and a maar occupy the flanks of the massif.
Often the whole area is reffered to as Mt. Bromo but actually Bromo is only one of three mountains within the Tengger caldera. Bromo is flanked by the perfect cone of Batok Volcano (2440m) and the larger Kursi Volcano (2581m). Just further south of the Tengger Caldera, the whole region is overseen by Gunung Semeru - the largest volcano in Java (3676m) and the most active in these highlands. As such, the whole region is more accurately described as Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, a stunning volcanic landscape with a strange end-of-the-world feel to it.
On my first day - well I couldn't wait - I headed out to Bromo. It's the spiritual centre of the region. According to a local folk tale, at the end of the 15th century princess Roro Anteng from the Majapahit Empire started a separate principality together with her husband Joko Seger. They named it Tengger by the last syllables of their names. The principality did prosper, but the ruling couple failed to conceive children. In their despair they climbed Mount Bromo to pray to the gods, who granted them help, but requested the last child to be sacrificed to the gods. They had 24 children, and when the 25th and last child Kesuma was born Roro Anteng refused to do the sacrifice as promised. The gods then threatened with fire and brimstone, until she finally did the sacrifice. After the child was thrown into the crater, the voice of the child ordered the local people to perform an annual ceremony on the volcano, which is not held today. Other offerings are still made to Bromo and there is a Hindu Temple at the base of the volcano which has a ghostly look to it, especially when the mist sets in.
The town of Cemoro Lawang is small, quiet and peacful and from the town provides incredible scenery, seen from all angles. It sits right on the edge of the crater (I could see the volcanoes from my bedroom window - priceless). It's about an hour walk down the ridge and across the huge lava plain (the Tengger crater's floor) before a gentlish climb up Bromo where you can peak into it's smoking crater. I took the trip with a Russian guy I had met on my way here - Valery, who was a very interesting fellow. He is a Russian travel-writer and does TV and radio work too. Aparently he is a bit of a celebrity in Russia (you would recognise him if you passed him on the streets out there) so I felt quite honoured - plus he has some incredible stories from his travels. My favourite was that when he was young he left Russia and Hitch-hiked round the world for three years - starting with just US$ 300. He returned with US$20!!!
Bromo is immense. We walked right around the crater's rim, watching the smoking crater while suffocating from it's smelly fumes. You get a great view over the Tengger Crater too, which is also an eye-opener. Activity here is continuous, the central vent spuing out smoke high into the atmosphere.
The next morning we climbed to the top of Gunung Penanjakan (2770m) where you can look out over the whole volcanic landscape (Tengger Massif). Of course the best time to see it is at sunrise - so it was another early start. We were up at 2.30 am, clambering up forset growth with just a torch and a bottle of water. There is meant to be some sort of path to the top but who knows - we just followed our instinct. There are a couple of viewpoints along the way but we were determined to make it to the top for the best view of all. We made it in time and well - the view up there is unsurpassed. You can see over the whole region. Bromo chuging away at the front with Batok next to it. Behind Kursi and further south in the distance is Semeru which puffs out smoke intermittently, every 10 minutes or so. On the other side you can look out over Cemoro Lawang and the incredible valley which fills with cloud as the sun peaks over the horizon colouring the sky. The whole thing is blindingly beautiful and I spent a good while taking it all in. On the return leg (now light), you can stop at the other, lower viewpoints before making your way to town.
The next morning I did the whole thing again. But not to the top of Penanjakan, but instead to Bromo itself. Valery had gone so I made the trek on my own, in the pitch dark, across the lava plain and up Bromo (I had already been there so I knew the way, although it was difficult in the dark - It's a big crater you know!!!). Quite some way away from Bromo I could already smell sulphur and by the time I got to the base of the volcano - the smoke filled the air around me. Winds were blowing it in my direction. I waited to climb up. Even at the base the smoke makes your eyes and nose itch, your throat becomes sore and you start coughing your lungs out. You have to cover your mouth (as best you can) at times - I was literally being poisoned. There were some Indonesian guy's there to who ridiculously started climbing up to the top. I couldn't see them as they trudged up through the fog but I could hear them coughing and choking - they sounded like they were going to be sick. I waited till the winds changed (which they did) before heading up to the crater.
Sunrise from here was even better because your facing more easterly. The sun lights the air and the whole place has a moonscape, ghostly feel to it. I'v never seen anything like it before. The volcanoes illuminate among the smoke and on this day, the clouds spread into the Tengger crater creating a carpet of white below us. Incredible.
Unfortunately, I had to leave Bromo to catch a flight, otherwise I probably would have been up the next morning for sunrise. As the journey continues, my time in Asia is now running out - but first, there's still a few places yet to explore.......
Saturday 7 June 2008
Yogyakarta And Around
Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta) is considered to be Java's cultural and interlectual soul. If Jakarta is Thailand's Bangkok, then Yogyakarta is Thailand's Chaing Mai. It is the home of the Batik art, of Java puppet shows (Wayang) and is the educational homeland of the island. It is still run by the Sultan whose home, the Kraton can be visited, displaying an interesting set of colourful buildings.
There are many other museums and historic or cultural attractions to keep you amused and it is no-where near the chaos of Jakarta - it is infact quite a peacful town. Unfortunately my view of Yogya was tainted somewhat by the Batik Mafia. You cannot walk down the street with someone trying to be your best friend only to find out that all they want is your money for over-priced Batik items. They become incredibly irritating and will happily waste hours of your time if you let them.
Most people in Indonesia are delighted to talk to you - just to practice their English, without any other motives. Some Indonesians are excellent at English, but the rest only know two words - 'hey" and "mister", generally used in that order but there's no guarantee. Out of all the countries in Se Asia, it is the Indonesian's who are most up for a chat and love to hand out their phone numbers (especially the kids) in the hope that you will give them a call. I just found it here, in Yogya howerver, that there was always some other agenda to their conversations - mainly involving me parting with my cash.
Outside Yogyakarta are some incredible attractions. Borobudur is considered a wonder of the world, ranking up there with Angkor Wat in Cambodia. While, for me, it wasn't quite up to the heights of Angkor, it was still extremely impressive. It is a huge Buddhist temple, built in the 9th Century and consists of many large stupas, 1500 narrative panels and over 500 Buddha images. The temple is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, including the recently visited Gunung Merapi - which can be seen in the distance.
It was here, for the first time in my life, that I suddenly felt like a celebrity. Large groups of kids would come up and ask for you to be in a picture with them. And once you have said yes to one - well the doors are open and in they all flood. Matt tried to escape, but couldn't and together we must have been on every Indonesian camera in the whole complex. The kids would ask quietly and politely, the parents would just grab your arm, put you in place then add and adjust their kids in the right position for the picture. It felt like they may even ask me for a photograph at one point. A bizar experience.
Also a short distance from Yogyakarta is the equally impressive Hindu temple, Prambanan. Actually it is a complex of over 50 temples but there are 3 main ones, all lined up next to each other, one for each of the gods - Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. The Shiva temple is the largest and most detailed, towering at 47m.
My time in Yogya had been an enjoyable cultural experience. It was however time for me to leave and in fact - I would have to leave Java and Indonesia very soon, but before I did - I just had to fit in one more volcano........
Gunung Merapi (Java)
Gunung Merapi in Central Java, is today considered one of, if not the most active volcano on Earth. It is a conical Volcano, erupting regularly since 1548. Merapi has been in the top 15, list of the world's most active volcanoes for quite some time (making it a Decade Volcano) and has been placed in the number 1 spot for the last nine years by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior.
Merapi is the youngest of a group of volcanoes in Southern Java. It is situated at a subduction zone, where the Indo-Australian plate is sliding beneath the Eurasian Plate. It is the most active of 129 lively volcanoes in Indonesia, forming part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Smoke can be seen emerging from the crater roughly 300 days a year but several recent eruptions have caused fatalities. In 1994, an eruption sent pyroclastic flows down it's flanks, causing 69 fatalities. Eruptions in 1997, 2001 and 2006 have also caused some deaths. The main hazards are pyroclastics and lahars (volcanic mudflows), probably the two most deadly and devastating volcanic hazards.
The volcano lies just 30km from the large town of Yogyakarta and there are dozens of small towns around it's flanks. As such, there are now five observation posts around the mountain and there are extensive warning systems and evacuation procedures put into place.
I stayed in the small and quiet, cool mountain town of Kaliurang, which sits on the slope of Merapi. Life here is slow bordering on stationary. It has a monitoring station in the town and I went straight there to find out what was going on. The volcanologists there were pleased to talk to me, showing me the seismomgram they use to monitor the volcanoes current state and the seismographs of previous eruptions. They explained their work, how all the stations collabarate their findings, and they showed me pictures of other volcanoes in Java as well as Merapi's past eruptions, and volcano victim's bodies (terrible). Beacuse the volcano erupts so regularly (a big one every 5-6 years and smaller ones every 2 years), they have a warning system if signs suggest trouble. For me all the work they were doing was highly interesting. I also went up to their look-out tower but it was too cloudy that day.
From Kaliurang, you can't climb to the top of Merapi - it's too dangerous. But you can climb to a good view-point about 1km from the peak at 1900m asl. of course you have to see it at sunrise so I was up at 3:00 am. It was me, my guide and a guy from England called Matt. It's an easy stroll to the view-point where we did get some great views of the smoking Merapi before it became covered in cloud.
We also passed some old lava flows from 1994 and 1997, material still clearly visible. Our guide explaining how pyroclastics swept down the area on which we were standing, sailed down two valleys and then re-met where together they surged over into a small town, killing many. People were killed - like those of Pompei - bodies appearing frozen in position.
The government offered to move those who live on it's flanks but no-one left, partly because the slopes have fertile soils, but mainly because it is their home. Merapi is seen as a spiritual place. The towns people climb Merapi and provide gifts to it once a year. This is done by all religions here (they all come together to do it). The people here believe that there is a king who guards over Merapi, protecting the them. As the volcano grows in size (from volcanic activity) the King is believed to be rebuilding his kingdom. When it erupts, the King is angry. Relatives and family members who have been killed by Merapi's destruction are not said to have died but have instead followed the King up to Merapi to stay forever. While volcanoes are more likely seen as a fiery menace that would probably be suited to hell, here Merapi is seen more as an afterlife - heaven. Looking up at it, it is certainly tall enough to reach the lofty peaks, high above the clouds. For these reasons alone - no-body is going anywhere. Unfortuntaely though - I was - but not far - just 30km south - to Yogyakarta......
Jakarta (Java - Indonesia)
It was a short bus ride to the ferry point and then it takes about three hours to get over the Sunda Straight to Java from Sumatra by boat. Finally a further bus of about three hours and finally i made it to the capital city of Indonesia - Jakarta. While Sumatra is errily quiet, Java and especially Jakarta is packed, cramed full of people. I went straight for the backpackers area of town but still expected to see no tourists as I hadn't seen any for so long. I was wrong. It was like a mini Khoa San Road, with backpackers everywhere.
Jakarta is huge (sprawling 25km), it's noisy, hot, smoggy and like many large Asian cities - is highly chaotic. The short time I was here I ventured mainly around the Merdeka Square region. At the centre of the square is the Monas - the national Monument. It's tall and kind of impressive but very slightly tacky. I took the lift to the top for great views over Jakarta and below the monument is a great museum about Indonesia's troubled past. The square is a quiet spot and a good place to get away from the crazyness, reminding me very much of a Vietnamese city like Hanoi.
I also visited some key landmarks: the Mesjid Istiqlal (largest mosque in SE Asia), the presidential palace and the interesting national museum (costing just 800 Rp to get in - thats about 5p).
It was a bit of a whistle-stop tour, and I didn't really touch the surface of Jakarta. I had heard some worrying stories of the city - it's meant to be the most dangerous in Indonesia and they have had bomb issues. But I only saw it as a fun city with a good, lively atmosphere and actually I wished I had stayed here longer. I didn't though - I was off to more volcanoes......
Krakatau And Anak Krakatau
You would think, after the 36 hour bus journey I had recently experienced, that I would never get in another large four wheeled vehicle again. Wrong. Mainly because I am a poor backpacker and also the fact that I had to get from the centre of Sumatra all the way down south to the islands tip, I would have to endure another outrageously long trip. If everything went to plan - it was scheduled to take 36 hours. If we had an earthquake on this journey - I don't think I would ever leave Sumatra!!! Luckily, the journey was fairly uneventful. Yes, the journey took 39 hours (my longest yet), someone kept being sick in the back and they had packed the bus so full that there were people sitting in the isle on small plastic chairs, the sort that I remember sitting on at nursery. It meant that I had to fight for my own arm-rest with a man who had decided that it was his pillow. But apart from that - it was fairly straight forward. I arrived in a small town called Kalianda and prepared for the next days volcanic fun!!!
Krakatau (spelt more generally as Krakatoa) is a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. The name is used for the island group, the main island (also called Rakata), and the volcano as a whole. It has erupted repeatedly, massively, and with disastrous consequences throughout recorded history.
The most well known eruption occurred on August 26th-27th 1883, 125 years ago and exactly one century before I was born, almost to the day. It culminated in a series of massive explosions which was among the most violent volcanic events in modern times. It had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6, the equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT - about 13,000 times the yield of the Hiroshima bomb.
The 1883 eruption ejected more than 25 cubic kilometres of rock, ash, and pumice and generated the loudest sound ever recorded in history: being heard as far away as Perth in Australia approx. 1,930 miles (3,110 km), and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius approx. 3,000 miles (5,000 km). Near Krakatoa, according to official records, 165 villages and towns were destroyed and 132 seriously damaged. At least 36,417 people died, and many thousands injured, mostly from the tsunami that followed the explosion which flowed up the Sunda Strait towards the town of Bandar Lampung.
The eruption destroyed two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa leaving just a few island's scattered around the once, centre of the volcanic region. However, in 1927 volcanic activity continued in the centre of the complex and a new volcanic island was born - Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatoa). The island has a radius of roughly 2 kilometers and a high point around 200 meters above sea level.
Indonesia doesn't see the numbers of tourists that other SE Asian countries see, especially Sumatra. There were times when you wouldn't see another tourist for days. It's fun though just being with the locals. As such, there was no-one else going to see Krakatau that day, so it ended up being just me, my guide Yudi and our pilot who you could tell from the look of him - knew exactly what he was doing.
We clambered into a tiny, thin boat, and sailed. We reached two islands on the way and stopped, partly to take a break from sailing which was slow, and partly so we could do some snorkelling. After a relaxing cool down, we continued. After a good hour, suddenly Krakatau came into view. It was amazing. Three large island reminants are scatterered in a rough triangular shape (the old Krakatau) and right in the centre is the small but smoking Anak Krakatau. We first sailed right around the child of Krakatau. It smokes every few minutes and unlike Merapi, many are accompanied by thunderous bangs that sent sound waves right through the water beneath us, shaking our boat.
You can't get too near to the volcano, especially as we sailed round to the south-western side which is the direction the crater is orientated, because volcanic debris (lava bombs) and some finer material is ejected out some distance, while the rest cascades down the volcanoes flanks. The volcano is small, with a ridge leading up to a perfectly shaped cone. Trees mark the lower section of the volcano although abruptly stop at the north eastern side, changing into solely volcanic terrain, which occur because an eruption in 1994 added fresh material here - (the volcano is getting larger all the time and quickly).
After, we parked up and the pilot started fishing, with suprising ease. Actually, he later tells me that the fisherman here are happy that the volcano is now active as it appears that fishing yields increase (fish seem to be affected by the activity bringing more to the surrounding waters)!!! It was interesting watching the many fishing boats around Krakatau, as there were many out that day in 1883 when the volcano blew itself apart and they had to ride the waves.
He caught a variety of fish and then we headed to Rakarta, the main island of what was once Krakatau. The beach here is not like any ordinary beach, it has deep black volcanic sand and small white pumice rocks. The pumice is as light as a feather because it is filled with air holes, where gas would have once filled. It is the gas that makes volcanoes erupt explosively (like taking the lid of a shaken can of coke) and thus volcanic material that is light and full of air holes is a usual indication of an eruption that was highly explosive.
From the island you get a perfect view of Anak Krakatau and it's exploding crater. Loud bangs echoing in the mountains around us each time it blew. We were staying the night on Krakatau, so pilot pitched up a tent, he cooked the freshly caught fish which we had with rice for dinner. Yes I did eat the fish. Of all the odd things I have eaten on my trip so far I still hadn't eaten fish because of my hate and dread of it. That was up until now. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it but it was ok. It will certainly be the freshest fish I will ever eat - caught just 20 minutes before.
That night we camped out under the stars and I watched Anak Krakatau for 6 hours straight. As it turns dark, suddenly each explosion is followed by glowing, red hot lava bombs, ejected ballistically from the crater (which you don't see when it is day-time). You then wait about 4 or 5 seconds for the sound to reach you and suddenly the ground shakes (sound is slow when you think of it). Watching the glowing lava being ejected was incredible and it would do it every 15 minutes. I didn't get much sleep, partly because I wanted to watch and partly because the volcano was so loud. It was also amazing to know that I was sleeping on one of the most famous volcanoes ever to erupt - Krakatoa.
The next day we got up early and back on the boat. Pilot had caught a whole bagful of crabs during the night - is there nothing this man can't do!!! We sailed over to Anak Krakatau and I was allowed to climb it - well some of it. Your allowed to go as far as the ridge - about 20m before the cone starts. You also have to climb it from the eastern side (away from the crater). The climb is not too hard and you soon reach the spot where you have to stop - which is actually where they have placed a seismometer for monitoring. Around the devise is a damaged gate - where volcanic rocks had smashed into it. Yudi also told me that flying lava bombs and hit and damaged the seismometer not long ago - so why I was standing right next to the thing - clearly in range of debris - I have no idea - but I wasn't complaining.
When it blows while your standing up there - you are nearly knocked off your feet. Rocks flying in all directions including mine. One lava bomb (about the size of my head) landed right at the edge of the cone just 20m away. Smaller peices flew much closer but seemed to disperse just to the left of where I was standing. Plumes of smoke and ash were impressive, pouring out with each bang. It was immense, powerful and yet on the scale of volcanic activity was still small. I can't imagine what the old Krakatau must have been like when it blew.
On the way back, high swells and no protection from the boat meant that I got completely soaked. My Krakatau adventure was by far one of the best experiences of my trip so far. I wanted to see more volcanoes but first I was leaving Sumatra and entering another of Indonesia's Islands and my first port of call was the countries capital city......Jakarta.
Gunung Merapi (Sumatra)
Gunung Merapi, not to be confused with the better-known Merapi volcano in Java, is Sumatra's most active volcano. It is a massive complex Stratovolcano whose summit contains multiple partially overlapping craters constructed within the caldera. Volcanism generally migrates westwards and since the 18th Century has been recorded as displaying 50 eruptions, typically of small to moderate explosive activity.
According to legend, the mountain is the site first settled by the Minangkabau people after their ship landed on the mountain when it was the size of an egg and surrounded by water. There are now a large number of upright burial stones in the region which are oriented in the direction of the mountain, indicating it's cultural significance. Such spirtual and cultural importance is not an uncommon feature associated with volcanoes in Indonesia and in other parts of the world.
The volcano which literally translates to - 'mountain of fire' towers at an elevation of 2,891.3 m (9,485.9 ft) above sea level, and I was going to climb to it's smoking summit.
I hired a guide - his name was Andri and we set out at 10:00 pm. It's not far to reach the volcano base from Bukittinggi and we started our climb by 11:00 pm. It would take all night to trek to the top - so we could reach it's peak at sunrise. The climb starts off gentle, mainly through jungle at the base. It later becomes more difficult as the mountain steepens. We clambered up for 5 hours in the dark - only torch lighting our way. We had many breaks throughout, mainly because you don't want to reach the top too early as it is seriously cold at such altitudes.
Eventually the jungle disappears and it is instead replaced by volcanic rocky terrain which above all else is very crumbly and particularly slippery. The climb overall is quite difficult but luckily I been trained in the art of climbing mountains, when a few months before coming away - I had trekked up the UK's second highest peak - Mt. Snowden, with family and friends. Before the last hour of the climb - you reach a small valley. It was here that we slept for an hour before the final climb to the top. I can see why we were taking our time getting here. I got about 30 minutes sleep before waking up frozen to the bones.
The last part is the steepest but it's not too far to the top and when you reach it - all that climbing is worth it. At the summit - it's like a moon landscape, stretching out flat and barren. Quite eerie. The crater can be seen from a distance - smoking away every few seconds, accompanied with a strong smell of rotten eggs (sulphur) - reminded me of my trip to Iceland where you have a refreshing sulphur shower and come out smelling worse than you went in. For safety reasons you can't get too close to the crater.
As the sun comes up - you realsie your position and surroundings. At this altitude we were literally above the clouds and you can see for miles. The sun rising up with blazing colours gives the place an atmospheric feel. Then the clouds came over and covered us in mist.
The earthquake a few days ago had two main implications. The first was that I had lost time and so had to lose one volcanic site which I had intended to see. The second was that I had to climb Merapi on this night. Originally (no earthquake present) I would have climbed it one night previous and I would have had THIS night free. But no - the earthquake did happen and I had no choice but to climb the volcano on the night of the 21st / 22nd May 2008 which (because of time differences) just happened to be during the Champions League Final (Chelsea Vs Manchester United) which I thus ended up missing. Oddly - we got the final result on Andri's mobile phone while we watched the smoking crater, 3000m asl, at the very top of the most active volcano in sumatra (Indonesia)!!!
We were at the top for about an hour and a half before making our way down, now able to see what we had climbed up all night. Great views spread before us. it was quick and easy to get back down - arriving back at my bed by 10:00 am, where I proceded to sleep for the rest of the day.
So in 24 hours I had done three fairly incredible things - I had seen the world's largest flower, I had stood on the spot which splits the world into it's northern and southern hemispheres and I had climbed to the top of an active volcano. If you can beat that in 24 hours - then please write in with photo's.
I left Bukittinggi for another volcano. It would turn out to be the best of the bunch, and by a good mile. It is the site of one of the most famous volcanoes in the world and yet only peices of it remain today. It now has a child though, an active volcano of immense power. The region lies within the Sunda Strait in the very south of Sumatra - and the volcano goes by the name - of Krakatau......
Friday 6 June 2008
Bukittinggi And Around
So I eventually reach the small town of Bukittinggi, one day late but at least in one peice - even if it was one very tired peice. There was no time for sleep though - I had things to explore. Actually, while I was here I did three amazing things in just 24 hours, and none of then were actually in Bukittinggi itself.
First i checked out the town of course. Bukittinggi is 930m above sea level and thus climate is quite cool at night but still hot in the day-time. It lies in the shadow of three volcanoes - Gunung Merapi, Gunung Singgalang and the distant Gunung Sago. The town is quiet and relaxing but lacks any real interesting features (apart from the volcano views of course). There is a clock tower in the centre of town which the locals think looks like Big Ben - I suppose it does if you squint. There is also a Dutch fort (Fort de Kock) but to me was pretty uninteresting. The park (Panorama Park) has some good views of the Sianok Canyon and Singgalang in the distance though.
The first amazing thing I did was take a 30 minute bus ride to a man standing on the side of the road (don't worry - this was intentional and was not the amazing thing). We then trekked through incredible scenery and then deep into jungle - where it proceded to pour down with rain on us. Eventually we made it. Through wind and rain and clambering over many a slippery slope - there it was. The Rafflesia Flower. I had come all this way to see it - it's the largest flower in the world!!! It is found mainly in Malaysia, the Philippines and some parts of Indonesia and it is not easy to find one. It takes months for one to bloom and when it does it only lasts for 7 days. I just happened to be here on it's 6th day of life - to catch a glimpse. This one was about 60-70cm in diameter (they can grow to a meter) and for a flower - it was impressive.
Afterwards I headed further away from Bukittinggi to the small town of Bonjol. Just south of this town is a line. Not just any line - it's an invisible line but it is a very important invisible line. It is situated on a latitude of 0 degrees and it divides the Earth in two. It runs through Equador, passes across Kenya, travels Brazil and it also flows right across Bonjol in Sumatra - it is of course - the equator. They have put up a statue here and drawn a line so people like me can take a photo with one foot on each hemisphere. I had now been there, done it and sad to say - I have bought the T-shirt.
The final amazing thing I did in just 24 hours, was at a great height, far above the clouds and where smoke rises from it's fiery crater.........
The Day The Earth Shook
So this is it, the bus journey of all bus journeys. I mean, i'v had some travelling transportation tales along my adventure through Asia, some uncomfortable trips, some long rides - but nothing could have prepared me for this one!!!
After my night up on the ridge in the middle of the island Samosir, which was in the middle of the volcanic lake of Toba, I took an incredible motorbike trip down the other side of the island, with great views of the vast lake and passing rice-fields and countryside along the way!!! I then took the boat back to the mainland - and the town of Parapat where I would get my bus trip onwards.
Sumatra is big. It's the 6th largest island in the world and I believe - the largest in SE Asia. So when they said that it was going to be 15 hours from where I was - to Bukittinggi (located at the western but central part of the island) I thought that sounded reasonable enough. That was however, if there were no delays on the way....there turned out to be many delays. This is exactlly how it happened;
We set off - travelling south. About 4 hours down, we reach a crappy food hole (restaurant) - their version of a service stop. As I finished my food - the man collecting my bill starts asking me the usual questions - where I come from, what football team I support etc. etc. He then asked me what I do - I told him I had just finished studying natural disasters and then reeled off each one knowing he probably wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about but doing it anyway. When I reached - Earthquake - he stopped me - "ahhh earthquakes" he said - the only word he seemed to understand. I get back on the bus, waiting for everyone else to get on - so we can get on.
As I sit down the bus jerks forward a few feet. Weird. Then it jolts back a few feet. Very weird. Then forward and back again. The bus being shaken all over the place like a toy. I quickly realised it was an earthquake. No-one said anything - we all started getting off the bus as we notice it edging towards the restaurant building. As we step off it stops. Shaking lasted about 5-6 seconds, only horizontal in movement but felt quite strong. I asked a German couple (the only other westerners on the bus) what it was like being on the ground - they said "like walking on jelly". No-one was hurt, a dog was barking and a few children were crying but thats about it. The power did get knocked out in the restaurant though.
We continued on our bus journey, passing small towns along the way. Every town had had their power taken out too. People were huddled around fires they had set up outside their houses. We saw one power-line had crashed to the floor and there was other minor damage too. We also drove by one man who was clearly unconscious. It was interesting to see their response though - no-one was panicking, everyone was calm - natural disasters is something you have to live with if your home is Sumatra.
We continue for an hour or two and then we stop. We get news that further up the road a bridge had collapsed. This was not good. The Trans-Sumatran Highway (TSH) was now out of order, or at least for this stretch of the road. Let me explain to you about the roads in sumatra - they don't really have any. To connect the entire island from north to south - there is one main road - the TSH. It's not like a motorway or even a big, wide road -it's just a normal one lane road that you would find anywhere - except of course that this one is full of potholes. However, if this road becomes unusable - you can't just turn back and find a quick side road to re-direct you. So for us it meant having to go back the way we came, heading further north than Parapat, then looping round to the other side of the island and finally stretching back south to rejoin the TSH. Consequently and most bizarly, at the time that we were meant to be at our destination, we were actually further away from it, than where we started from!!!
I will tell you - it added an extra 21 hours to my journey, ultimately meaning I was confined to a bus for 36 hours in total. I had essentially lost an entire day of my travels. This had two major implications. Because I was travelling through Indonesia on a tight timescale and had planned to go to 6 volcanic regions along the way, this loss of a day made my trip too tight for time and so I cut one of my volcano locations out. I had basically lost the opportunity to see one natural hazard because another one got in the way. I had unwillingly traded in a volcano for an earthquake. I would take the swap this time but I didn't want any more diversions to my trip. The second implication of the earthquake only became clear to me a few days later......
The earthquake wasn't the only obstacle which extended the journey time by such ridiculous proportions. We broke down - twice, and we were also very nearly involved in an accident when a car almost miss-timed it's overtaking manouver of a lorry and thus nearly became the filling of a bus-lorry sandwhich.
While we were travelling, I wondered how big the earthquake was, how many injured and if this was the main earthquake or could we expect another one to follow. I later found out all these answers on the USGS website. It was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake, with a shallow focus of 10km and it's epicentre was almost on top of where we were (perhaps slightly south of our location at the time). It was recorded at a time of 21:26:45 (local Indonesian time) on Monday 19th May, 2008 - and it had caused me a whole lot of grief!!!
