Visiting Alas Kedaton, Tabanan, Bali

Alas Kedaton is a Monkey Forest located in Tabanan, Bali. This is definitely a place for MONKEY LOVERS! Even though the monkeys are more behaved and friendly compared to Sangeh and Uluwatu, it is a must to be escorted by a tour guide when you enter this place. The guide will instruct you on how to feed the monkeys and how to avoid too much L-O-V-E from the monkeys!

As at similar areas, the monkeys are always thrilled by the peanuts! You can buy peanuts at a booth provided in the garden for only Rp. 3000 approximately US$0.30 (30 cents). You are allowed to give the peanuts to the monkeys and they will play and climb on your shoulder, or actually, all over you! Sort of cool, if you like Monkeys, but still, be calm and careful!

Be really careful when you are in very close contact with the Monkeys, because sometimes, if they don’t understand your “affection” they might scratch or bite you. Fortunately, the monkeys are regularly injected; therefore they are tetanus-free.

I had a blast playing with the monkeys at this park! And I know you will too!! So,you should visit this park and experience it by yourself!!

Visiting Elephant Safari Park, Ubud, Bali

My friends and I made it to come to Elephant Safari Park in Ubud. I was smiling when we reached the Park, because there was a big sign says ELEPHANT AREA, BE AWARE!

Not too long, I already sat comfortably on Fitri’s back, the Sumatran Elephant who will take me around the park. Little did I know that Fitri was terribly hungry that time. While we were cruising, suddenly she was off the track and pulled out some small trees around her with her trunk! Oh me God, it was a disaster for me!! My body was tossed left and right and I was really scared to death!

Good thing Fitri’s tamer knew her really well and was able to calm her. We stopped for few minutes to give her time enjoying her food. The rest of the journey was really fun! At the end of the journey, we went in to the small pool where the elephants normally pooped! I'm not joking! Look at the color of the water!! Hahaha! Afterwards, we fed the elephants and had the opportunity to play with them! They are such a smart animals!

At the Elephant Safari Park, we visited the little museum/gift shop there, the guy who was part owner, I think his name was Bill told us his story. At first we were looking at these different tusks that were carved and I think even some for sale, so I was confused because I know that there is an international ban on trade in ivory from elephant tusks, so when we asked the guy he said that all the tusks came from elephants not only dead (duh), but extinct for many, many years.

He told me that he goes up to Alaska, usually by himself, and explores in the creeks and small rivers that come out of the glaciers and there he finds the tusks. These tusks came from Mammoths, ancestors of modern elephants that used to live in that area tens of thousands of years ago. I don't how long Mammoths have been extinct but it was during the time of cave men 'cause they used to hunt them. Anyway, long ago the Mammoths in that area died and their skeletons either got buried in the snow and ice or in the ground, or over time as ice has melted or soil eroded the tusks have reappeared in the creeks and small rivers.

Since that species is extinct, there is no ban on the ivory, not trading in the ivory is not going to save these animals, 'cause they're all freaking DEAD already, ya!

Anyway, it was pretty cool that he would go get these tusks, places where there are no roads, no villages, he has to take an airplane that can land on lakes then brings along a canoe and tries to collect these tusks, which then are really big and not so easy to even get back to the developed world! There's danger of grizzly bears up there not to mention he has to bring with him everything he needs, no stores, nothin' there. He has to be ready when the plane comes back to get him. It's cool to know that the ancient tusks he found in the northern part of North America are now in Bali, a tropical zone, over 10,000 miles away!

Rafting on The Citarik River..

Sikuai Island, West Sumatera, Indonesia

Some friends were a bit skeptical when I told about our plan to Sikuai Island. What worried them was logical since many earthquakes hit West Sumatera and tsunami warnings were announced for the past weeks. However, Fransiska and I were hard-headed and kept our plan going. At the last minutes, 2 others friends, Era and Fajar joined our trip to Sikuai Island which located in Padang, West Sumatera.

A 7 hour car ride from Pekanbaru to Padang was enjoyable. Some “dangdut” songs from the radio accompanied our journey. The most memorable song was AKU BUKAN PENGEMIS CINTA (I’m not a love beggar) by Joni Iskandar!! A lot of stories, jokes, laugh and snores entertained our trip and it was whole lot of fun!

At 2:30 in the morning we stopped in Lubuk Bangko and had our very early breakfast at Terang Bulan Restaurant (it screwed my diet :D) I tried the famous spicy PADANGNESE food and drank TEH TALUA (Egg tea). The taste was really yummy!

We arrived in Padang at 4:30 in the morning and crashed at our friend’s house for awhile and then at 9:30 we headed to Muaro bay (Dermaga Wisata Bahari). It took only 15 minutes by speedboat from Padang to Sikuai Island.

Enjoyment of this trip continues as soon as we arrived on this island. We saw a white and soft sandy beach and gentle waves with crystal clear water decorating the whole island. When we entered the resort, we were welcomed by friendly resort staffs and fresh coconut drinks. We stayed at the only resort on the island named SIKUAI ISLAND RESORT. Two nice bungalows right on the beach with sea view already prepared for us.

Can’t resist of the beautiful nature surround us, we decided to explore the whole island by foot. Every minute we stopped to take pictures. This photo session was full of joy and laughter. Besides taking pictures, we also saw monkey, an eel that was trapped on the reef, a sea snake and different kind of tropical fishes.

After photo session we headed to snorkeling point and had a really good time there. Different kind of tropical fishes such as blue trigger fish, Picasso trigger fish, angel fish, dog puffer fish and trumpet fish are easily found. Surprisingly, I saw a beautiful spotted eagle ray! Amazing, isn’t it?
I don’t know how many gallons of water that Ffransiska and Era drank because the snorkel seemed so big for their mouths. However, they were still had fun to see starfish and sea urchins down there!

Tired and hungry, we went to the restaurant for our dinner. The food wasn’t that great, but the fact that we were starving made the food tasted delicious. Then, we went outside to enjoy the beautiful full moon and watched people fishing. We headed back to our bungalow, turned off the light and zonked like a baby. We were very fortunate to sleep accompanied by the sound of the waves for our lullabies.

The sound of alarm clock awakens us at 5:00 in the morning. We hiked up to the top of the island, a place named Plaza Sunset. Breathtaking scenery accompanied our hiking activities. When we reached this place, we were a bit disappointed to find out that this place is not good for taking sunrise pictures but we still had more pleasure to see Teluk Bayur Bay and small islands nearby like Snake Island and Cubadak Island.

We spent the rest of the day by playing in the water, taking more pictures, snorkeling and packing! More jokes, more laughs and more fun happened and filled our hearts with excitement and joy. We hoped that the fun wouldn’t end. However, we still have to leave this beautiful island. This time we took a big boat instead of speedboat. It was raining so hard when we were leaving, but when the rain stopped we took pictures and just chilled out at the deck of the boat. It was so neat!

It was already dark when we arrived in Padang, so we went to Simpang Kinol right away to taste the best PADANGESE SATAY. Besides we also ordered friend rice, gado-gado, sate jawa (we were starving..). Afterwards, we stopped by at Silungkang, a souvenir place for a bit then headed back home to Pekanbaru. Thought the fun ended, but the car had a mini TV for us to karaoke with choices of Oldies Indonesian Songs.

Heavy-eyed, worn-out when we arrived in Pekanbaru around 4:00 in the morning, however we were happy to make this trip!!

*More information about Sikuai Island can be read below....

Sikuai Island, is a small secluded island located in Padang, West Sumatera. An enjoyable 15 minute speedboat ride from Muara Bay (Dermaga Wisata Bahari) would take you to this beautiful island. As soon as you arrive on this island, you will see a white and soft sandy beach and gentle waves with crystal clear water decorating the whole island.

Get in touch with the nature by exploring the whole island on foot or by beach bike. A nice connecting bridge as well as a cement pedestrian walk is provided for you to make the exploration more fun. A combination of views like white sand, light blue ocean water, green coconut trees, big rocks, colorful wild flowers, all different kinds of wild trees and curious monkeys will certainly entertain your eyes and fill your heart with amusement.

Snorkeling is a must activity to do here. Many different kinds of tropical fishes such as blue trigger fish, Picasso trigger fish, angel fish, dog puffer fish and trumpet fish are easily found. When you are lucky (like me) you would even see a spotted eagle ray!! Amazing, isn’t it?

Enjoy sunset and sunrise at Sunset Plaza which is located on the top of the island. Breathtaking scenery will accompany your hiking activity to reach Sunset Plaza. Take pleasure in the swimming pool while you enjoy the sunset and sunrise views. Beside that, from this point you would be able to see Teluk Bayur Bay and small, beautiful islands nearby like Snake Island and Cubadak Island.

Indulge yourself on this private island. Sleeping in a comfortable bungalow and listening to the soft, soothing sound of the surf for your lullaby will complete your stay on this beautiful island.

Information:
Sikuai Island Resort
Sea view : Rp. 1,500,000
Garden view : Rp. 1,300,000
Include 21% government tax, breakfast for 2 and transportation from Muaro Bay-Sikuai Island-Muaro Bay

Activities:
Snorkeling : Rp. 50,000 per 2 hours for rental equipment
Diving : Rp. 1,250,000 – include diving equipment, snack box, dive instructor and boat transfer to diving areas.
Beach Bike : Rp. 100,000 per hour
ATV : Rp. 500,000 per hour

Once you arrive in Padang, head to Muaro Bay (Dermaga Wisata Bahari) where the boat to Sikuai Island is normally stand-by. You could also take a day trip to this island which will cost Rp. 250,000 per person.

Boat Schedule:
Muaro Bay - Sikuai Island : 10.00 AM and 2.00 PM
Sikuai Island - Muaro Bay : 11.00 AM and 4.00 PM

Berastagi, North Sumatera, Indonesia

Berastagi or Karo Highland is located in the North of Sumatera Island. Berastagi is a small city. However, this place becomes my favorite choice for weekend getaway when I lived in Medan, North Sumatera. If I wanted to be away from crowd city, busy streets and hectic jobs, I normally drove my car to go to this town with some friends for a day to find peace in my soul. Berastagi offers great view of high hills, green rice fields, various vegetable farms and colorful wild flowers.

Berastagi produces good quality fruits and vegetables, a couple of times my friends and I helped the local farmers to harvest tomatoes, carrots and oranges. When we drove the car and saw some farmers harvesting, we offered a hand to help and they always welcomed us warmly. Working with them was really fun. We worked for free! But normally the farmers gave us free and fresh fruits and vegetables to show gratitude!

Some other time, I visited a small church. The member of the church was only about 20 people and most of them don’t speak Bahasa Indonesia. They speak Karo dialect. Despite of the language barrier, it was a good feeling to worship God with them. I could feel the warmness of their hearts from their smiles.

Every time I visited Berastagi, I always tried to stop by at the beautiful Sipiso-piso waterfall. Cemented stairs are provided to make us easier to go down to the bottom of the waterfall where you can relax your minds or simple playing around. Always ready to get wet when you are there!

Sipiso-piso waterfall also offers the view of beautiful Lake Toba from West Coast. It is unbelievably remarkable! I could sit around the area forever just to appreciate the beauty of nature that God has created for us.

* Approximately 50 km away from Medan, this place is easy to be reached. You could drive your own car or take public transportation.

Natural Soda Hotspring, Tarutung, Indonesia

Do you known that area near Taturung, in north Sumatera has a natural soda hotspring? The hotsprings in this area are attractive, especially since Tarutung is located at high elevation and is pretty cold, for Indonesian weather.

Hotsprings are not an unusual occurrence, but a soda (or carbonated) hotspring is extraordinary! It feels like you are soaking yourself in a million gallons of hot Sprite!

I didn’t believe in a soda hotspring until the day I went there myself. The natural soda hotsping is located in Parbubu Village. It was only 15 minutes drive from the heart of Tarutung city to this village. The good news is it’s FREE to enter the pool since it is actually used as a common natural bath for the local people to bathe in. It was very surprising to see people soaping their bodies or washing their hair at the edge of the pool. Once their bodies and heads are full of bubbles, they would jump in to the pool to wash off!!

Hooaaa! I can read your mind! You must be thinking that the water is dirty because people take a bath there! Well, fortunately, you are wrong! The soda water in the pool is always clean because it is constantly coming up from its source and washes out from the pool. In fact, you will also find out that the water is crystal clear. This water is also used to irrigate the rice paddies around the area.

You must be wondering why that guy in my picture has goggles with him. The reason is that you can put your goggles on and dive in the pool to see plenty of small sulfur holes, which are the source of the soda water.

The pool is sited at the corner of a rice paddy. So, while you sit and indulge yourself in the hot soda water, you can also look out and soak in the beautiful view of rice paddies and the activities of the farmers who work at that moment. The green hills behind also add another remarkable sight of Indonesian nature.

It was a very unique experience to indulge myself in the hot soda water and enjoy the beauty of nature surrounding the spring.

Felt just like heaven!
___________________

*How to get there:
From Medan to Tarutung will take about 4 hours driving. Alternative transportations:
- Bus ticket costs Rp. 25,000 ($ 3.00)
- Rent a car + driver + fuel for 24 hours costs Rp. 550,000 ($60.00)

If you take a bus, once you arrived in Tarutung, take a public transportation (mikrolet) to Parbubu Village. It will take about 15 minutes to get there.

For your information, this review is also being published online in Travbuddy website until October 16, 2008.

Lake Toba, North Sumatera, Indonesia

To be exact, Lake Toba is sited in a beautiful small town named Parapat which is about 5 hours driving from Medan. Lake Toba became a famous tourism object in Indonesia because it is the biggest lake in Indonesia. According to www.new7wonders.com Lake Toba is the LARGEST VOLCANIC LAKE in the WORLD at 100 km long, 30 km wide and approximately 505 m at its deepest point!

Personally, I would like to call it O-C-E-A-N! It’s just extremely H-U-G-E that I couldn’t really see the end of the lake when I visited this place. Amazingly, this gigantic lake has a small island in the middle that is named Samosir Island.

According to my research, Lake Toba existed because of super volcano explosion for about 75,000 years ago. After the explosion a caldera was created naturally and it formed a Lake. This Lake is called Toba which means beautiful bathing place. A high pressure to the surface by the magma which had not been released before cause Samosir Island formed.

This lake is also surrounded by green hills. I felt like I was in Austria when I visited Lake Toba. Well, I’ve never been to Austria. But being a big fan of Sound Of Music, the green hills and pastures look just the same with what I see in Lake Toba.

So in conclusion, why bother going to Europe if Indonesia also offers a million dollar view of green hills and amazingly gigantic lake?

Nias Island, Indonesia

Nias Island is located off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatera. Nias is famous for its waves for surfing and a lot of world champion surfers come to this place to take pleasure in surfing. Even though I’m not a surfer, luckily my pervious job at an NGO brought me to Nias. I was assigned to lead a capacity building training for the local staff at the Nias Office which located in Lolowa’u.

When I arrived at the airport check-in counter to head to Nias, I was queuing with a lot of Caucasian guys with their big and long surf boards!! I had to duck down and moved aside a little bit here and there everytime they moved. Haha!

I could tell they must be serious surfers because Nias Island is considered a small, remote and undeveloped island in Indonesia. If those surfers could almost kill me to go to Nias Island, that means there is something special about this island. Being there myself, I have to tell you that Nias Island offers world class waves for surfers. The well-known beach for surfing competition is Sorake and Lagundri Beach.

The venue of the training workshop I led was at Moale Beach. It is only one of the many beautiful beaches in Nias. The training was a fun learning process and everyone seemed to really enjoy the activities.

Besides better known Banda Aceh, Nias was also affected by the earthquake and tsunami in 2004. One thing that I found was a lot of dead corals around the beach. This happened after the earthquake and tsunami since the water level is now lower than the corals on the beach. It made me so sad that this natural disaster not only destroyed human life but beautiful nature as well.

*Something I never forget about Nias is in the morning I left that Island, I saw Nias kids wearing their school uniform to go to school and they used banana leaves to cover their heads because they didn’t have umbrellas. It was such a heartbreaking moment in my life and I couldn’t hold back my tears*

Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Clockwise: green hills, Great Mosque, Sampan at Ulele Harbor, Flipped over, sunset at Lhouk Nga, cute baby

Banda Aceh is located on the west tip of the island of Sumatera. It is well-known when the most devastating tsunami in history hit this place back in December 26, 2004. Since then, a lot of people from around the world, mostly foreigners who work for International Humanitarian Aid agencies, packed this place.

My previous job at an international NGO (Non-Government Organization) brought me to this place to help the local people rebuild their hometown and their lives, the same mission and vision like the other NGO workers. The first time I touched down on the land of Banda Aceh, I was really amazed by its nature. The view of green pasture and rice fields with farmers were entertained my eyes along the way to the town. I never imagined that this place could be so spectacular.

When I reached the town, Great Mosque is still standing strong even there was some damage shown on the building. The Tsunami was not able to tear it down. People in Banda Aceh believe that God is protecting His holy place.

My journey continued to Ulele Harbor. Sight of people fishing, children swimming and young people just chilling out could easily found here. Colored sampan - traditional boats are also decorated the harbor.

Not too far from the harbor, beautiful beaches are also accessible. The most prominent beaches are Lhouk Nga and Lampu’u beach. Golden sand and coconut trees ornament these awesome sites. These beaches are always full with young kids playing soccer on the beach, swimming and learning how to surf. These juvenile surfers try really hard to overcome the waves. They flipped over so many times but never give up. The sunset view is spectacular from these beaches.

I purposely stopped by at the prominent Kedai Kopi Ulee Kareng (traditional coffee shop). Rumor has said that the coffee is mixed with marijuana. I don’t care if this is true or not. The only thing I know is that was the BEST COFFEE I’ve ever tasted in my life. Though everything was a bit blurred after I drank one. Haha!

I stopped by at Rumah Makan Aceh Rayeuk to try the famous local delicacy, Ayam Tangkap (literally means Catching Chicken). It’s basically a fried chicken but they cook it with green chili and curry leaves. Great taste!

Banda Aceh in general is a secluded place for you who love to travel to serene locations. You will feel the strong Malay and Islamic culture in this place but the people there still respect people with other religions as well.

Weh Island (Sabang)

For your information, AirAsia flies from Kuala Lumpur to Banda Aceh directly. For those of you who loves snorkeling and scuba diving, a 2 hour boat ride from Banda Aceh will take you to Weh Island (Sabang) which famous for its breathtaking underwater world and serene beach. Lumba-Lumba Diving Center which located in Gapang Beach and owns by a friendly Dutch can cater your diving desires there. The rate stated there is in Euro, but you can still pay in Rupiah or American Dollar.

When you visit Weh Island (Sabang), do not miss KILOMETER ZERO (Kilometer nol) of Indonesia. Isn’t that cool that Indonesia actually has KILOMETER ZERO? I was so proud that I’ve been there :)

Clockwise : Me going scuba diving, gapang beach in the morning, playing around, view on the way to kilometer zero, kilometer zero, sunset at Pantai Kasih