Yogyakarta, Indonesia Part 1

It was an uneventful bus ride from Singapore to Malaysia. In KL, met a friend for dinner and spent the night in my cousin's place. Woke up at 4am to catch the earliest AirAsia  flight to Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Yogyakarta, Indonesia. My cousin mentioned in passing that she's going there for Easter. It was my first time to hear about that place. My little knowledge about Indonesia only spans from  Jakarta and Bali (and that Indonesia is #1 Facebook country in Asia). So when I learned that Yogyakarta has temples, one of which is Borubudur temple, 400 years  older than Angkor Wat in Cambodia, I felt excited to go. And so I went. This leg of the trip, I'm not traveling solo.

This is my first time in Indonesia. I don't know what to expect, but a voice inside my head keeps on reminding me to be extra careful. I'm paranoid with notions of swindle and tourist traps. My cousin who came a day earlier in Jogja warned me because she felt harassed by the Airport Customs.

But none of those things happened. Everything was, well, normal.  I stepped out of the airport, got my money changed, bought a local sim card, and lined up for  taxi from the 'official' taxi stand. It's airport looks like any provincial international airport in our country. Think CDO airport or Legaspi airport.

My cab ride going to the hotel is 50,000 IDR! Which is about P250. I stayed in Hotel Santika Premiere where my cousin and her colleagues were booked.

After breakfast and freshening up, we rode a 'padyak' pronounced 'pedjek' going to a nearby church.  It's a tricycle where the driver at the back. Scary thing is that for a while  we were traveling on the opposite lane, against the traffic. Vehicles were approaching us.  We were on the wrong lane. 

Padyak on the opposite side of the road. See the approaching traffic

After the church visit and action stunt, we hired a car to drive us to see the sights.  This cost 500k IDR for the whole day.


Our first stop was Taman Sari or  Water Palace in  Kraton village. The palace is where the Sultan  and his concubines hang-out before. 

It rained when we got there so I did not see the whole place. Stupid me for leaving my umbrella inside my back pack.

Taman Sari (Water Palace), Yogyakarta

Then we went to a Batik art gallery and bought some paintings

.

I'm a painting.

After, we traveled to Prambanan Temple.
Prambanan Temple is one of UNESCO Heritage Site and is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. It was built in the 9th century  to honor god Shiva. Entrance fee for foreigners is $13 (RP 137,000), but since we were mistaken to be locals, we only paid RP 30,000, a fraction of the price.

Ticket says we are Indonesians

Prambanan Temple was amazing.

Prambanan Temple

And here, I got inspired to do some temple running.

Temple Run in Prambanan

More temple runs!

Our dinner is in a lovely Javanese style restaurant named "The Secret Garden of Kalasan".

And after a long delicious dinner, we went back to the hotel. I had a massage and woke up by 1030pm to attend Easter Eve/Salubong mass.

My first time to attend mass in Bahasa. A perfect way to end day one in Indonesia.

Singapore Solo Adventure Part 2

Holy Thursday. If I were in Manila, I will be spending the night visiting churches and reliving the Stations of the Cross during Visita Iglesia. This day, I was in Singapore and I thought, why not do Visita Iglesia here.


So, a quick research online, I found the names and addresses of churches within Singapore. Right after breakfast, I boarded the train and started my Visita Iglesia. This is the first Visita Iglesia I'm doing outside the Philippines.
First Leg- Victoria Street/Queens Road.

1. Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes, Ophir Road, Singapore

then walked further and further down the road

2. St Joseph Church

St. Joseph Church, Singapore

3. St Peter and Paul

St. Peter and Paul, Singapore

4. Good Sheperd Cathedral

Good Sheperd Cathedral

Stopped as well in Singapore Art Museum (which looks like a Church as well, and perhaps it was before) and Chjmes.

Singapore Art Musuem

Chjmes

Then boarded the MRT and alighted at Boon Keng station. It was a long walk under the scorching sun until I reached the next church.


5. St. Michael's Church in St. Michael's Road. This seems to be somewhere in a residential outskirt of Singapore. Lots of residential condominiums and single detached houses). Happy to see 'regular houses' in SG.

St. Michael Church

Walk back under scorching sun until the main street, rode a bus, then the MRT, and walked (and got lost) going to the next church. Novena Church.

Novena Church

While here, the rain poured and it poured hard. I waited for it to subside and walked back to the MRT station.


My last stop is St. Andrews cathedral- an Anglican church, which is one of the highlights of Singapore City as well.

St. Andrew's Cathedral

Went back to Chinatown, famished and tired. Had late lunch in a Chinese Restaurant (damn expensive noodles!) and rested and freshened up for the night.

SGD 15 Noodles!

That night, we watched Wicked. And it was wicked! :)

Afterwhich we went to Marina Barage, to watch the night kite flyers and to get view of the city by night.

Finding peace in a city so busy

We capped of the night, and my Singapore trip, eating hummus and lamb kebabs, and smoking shisha, seated by the sidewalk with laid out carpets in one of those side streets in Kampong Glam.


Singapore, til next time.

Singapore Solo Adventure Part 1

Ending my workday on a rush, I headed to the airport to catch the 930PM CebuPacific flight to Singapore. The flight went smoothly and arrived Singapore past midnight. I took a cab going to the hostel which cost me about SGD 25. I would have taken the MRT and spend SGD3 instead, but it closes at midnight.  For travelers with a shoestring budget, this is worth noting. The cost of airport transfers if arriving from red-eye flights may be more expensive.


The Hostel.
I stayed in 5Foot Way Inn conveniently located in Chinatown. I heard about it from a tweet of DJ Chico Garcia, and booked it through HostelBookers.com, (which is a bit cheaper booking it than from HostelWorld.com). I stayed in a mixed dorm for 6, which was quite cramped, good thing though the room was never fully occupied during my stay. In choosing hostels, consider the location, I always look for something convenient (near MRT stations). Also, read the reviews by other fellow travelers from Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet, and from various hostel/hotel booking sites.

5 Foot Way Inn, Chinatown, Singapore

5 Foot Way Inn has free breakfast (toast, fruits, and cereals), unlimited coffee/milo/tea etc, and WiFi access. The view from our room is pretty okay too.

View from our Dorm

Chinatown

With no planned itinerary, I left the hostel after a late breakfast and walked around Chinatown.  I visited 2 Buddhist temples, Sri Mariamman and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. There was service going on during my visit, and it was calming.  It's like listening to a Buddhist mass.


Sri Mariamman Temple



Buddhist Tooth Relic Temple


Then,  I boarded a bus to Vivo City and walked 700 meters towards Sentosa through Sentosa boardwalk.
And walked, ate, walked, ate, and took photos along the way.

SGD5 Char Kway Teow from the Malaysian Food Court.

For Dessert: Gelato Stick from Stick House. Costs more than my lunch at SGD 6.75!

Photo Walking in Sentosa.



Photo Walking in Sentosa.


Then while waiting for the bus to Sentosa beach there was it staring right at my face- The building of iFly Singapore, with LED projections showing videos of sky diving. Aplace for indoor sky diving!  This may be the best outdoor advertising I've seen, because I almost immediately run to this bulding to sign-up.

iFly Singapore. Indoor Sky Diving

I signed up and waited for the training to start. The whole experience is about an hour and a half which includes the briefing, training, your twice attempt, and waiting for your turn. I paid about 70 SGD for the indoor sky diving experience, 25 SGD for the photo, and 4 SGD for socks and for shoe rental. It may not be the real thing, but this is a good simulation exercise before I try the real deal.

Indoor Sky Diving in Singapore. Best things are unplanned :)

Afterwards, spent more time walking and went back to freshen up to meet Lani, a friend from Cebu, for dinner in Clark Quey and after-dinner stroll in Marina Bay Sands.

Singapore by Night. Clark Quey + Marina Bay Sands

Semi-solo travel Singapore Day 1- Check!

Travel Solo Adventure-

I feel that each one of us should travel solo at least once in our lifetime, not for school or for work but just because.

Recently, I embarked on that solo trip- that adventure you have to do when you're young and single. Some may say it is an 'Eat Pray Love' moment, others may wittily say 'Eat Prey Love'. Some may find this to be soul searching experience. My mom even urged me to soulmate search on this one.

But for whatever reason, I just jumped right to it. It just one of those things I feel I have to do.

So, with my reliable red 30L backpack, I ventured to perhaps the most exciting and challenging trip I've taken. 8 days. 4 countries. And most of the time solo.

I started in Singapore, spent a night in Kuala Lumpur, headed to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and concluded in Thailand.

It was a trip of many firsts and of countless anecdotes.
In Singapore, I tried indoor sky diving, successfully finished Visita Iglesia (without the live aid of Google Maps), watched Wicked, and smoked some shisha sitting on a carpet by a sidewalk.

In Yogyakarta, started my Temple Run series and attended Easter eve mass in Javanese.

In Bangkok, destroyed a BTS (MRT) entrance machine when I put in a coin in the card slot *facepalm*.

For the first time as well, I've been in 3 countries in one day- eating breakfast in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, lunch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and dinner in Bangkok, Thailand.

Each day, a new story. Each destination, a new experience. And here's how it goes...