Stup Tacular!!!

The first time I heard and saw pictures of the Borobudur Temple was back in Seattle while talking to my good buddy Henry Sia. I'll admit, I had a good chuckle when I viewed the photo of Henry when he was a kid amongst the 72 stupas at the top of the Temple. While my laughing subsided, my desire to see this temple did not.

Known as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world, Borobudur was built in the 8th and 9th centuries AD during the reign of Syailendra Dynasty. Built in three tiers the lower levels are decorated with intricate relief carvings; while the top level has 72 stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. It's no wonder why this is known the world over, it's a stunning piece of architecture. 

Gunung Bromo

When we first arrived in Java after two flights from Flores we were exhausted and had only a few things on our mind. Get our visa extended, and get the heck out of Surabaya. Once we applied for our visa and got that ball rolling we had a few days to fill before it would be completed and back in our hands so we set off to see Mt. Bromo.

At a towering 2,329 meters Mt Bromo is a fascinating active volcano and a huge tourist attraction. Through our homestay we organized a jeep to pick us up at 3:30 am for the ride up to a viewpoint to watch the sunrise. Silly us thinking we might be able to see this with only a few other people that early in the morning. Jeep after jeep passed us early in the morning either packed and or on their way to pick up more people. Once at the top a few hundred people fought for a view of the rising sun. Being courteous we snaped our pics and moved on to other locations.

Once at the parking area of Bromo, called the Sea of Sand, we were hounded by offers to be ridden to the base on horse. We declined and walked through the sand and fog to the long staircase to the top for a view into the smoking volcano. Cassie and I always remind people to be 'hati hati' at the top since there was no railing to save your sleepy butt from falling in. After a few more pics it was time to make it back to our warm bed for a few more hours of sleep.

Taking it to the streets

While traveling around Flores isn't hard persay, it surely isn't comfortable or pleasent either. What it lacks in comfort, it makes up as a memory you're soon not to forget. To get from town to town you stand on the street and wait to flag down a colorful Bemo travling in your direction and jump in. Usually fitting only 10 people properly it's common for these to balloon to well over 25 people during your ride. All the chairs are quick to be snatched up before huge bags of rice, or any other bulk food fills in any and all free space to add additional seats. When that's not enough younger people hop out and climb onto the roof of the minivan sitting on top of more rice, building materials and traveler's bags. These bemos are hot, dusty and play horrible pop music way too loud for hours as you make your way through colorful Flores.

When Cassie and I arrived in Ende, Flores we only had a day or two to visit the city. To be honest there wasn't really much to see, so one afternoon we sat on the side of the street and photographed life as it passed us by. Bemo's, motorbikes, pedestrians, and even more Bemo's. While sitting there we remarked many times on how much fun this was to just let the photos come to us.

Kelimutu's crater lakes

One of the major attractions that kept driving us farther east through Flores was Mt. Kelimutu. A towering volcano that contains three lakes of various colors. This is due to chemical reactions from minerals in the lake that are triggered by volcanic gasses or something like that. Which makes for excellent photos and many ohhs and ahhs from visitors while standing on a large crater between the lakes. 

We woke up at an ungodly 4am to be motorbiked up the hour long winding road in the blistering cold. Once on the top we continued our journey by foot where we watched the sun greet us to another lovely day in Indonesia. The views were breathtaking and endless, while the lakes leave you pondering how amazing this earth we inhabit actually is. After a bit of chatting with some locals and travelers we hiked our way back down to Moni, our base city if you could call it that. 

Since we took a bunch of photos of ourselves this morning I'll post them so you get to see how lovely my wife looks in the morning. 

Ngada villages

One of the great things about exploring places you have not researched is that you really don't know what lies ahead. Which goes for Bajawa, a city in the western central part of Flores. After arriving and settling into our disgusting room our motorbike driver offered to drive us out to traditional villages the next day. He wouldn't take no for an answer, and his price was decent, so we took him up on his deal.

We ventured out and saw three Ngada villages outside of town and they gave us possibly true information about the tribes. (One of our drivers had a tendency to make stuff up we think) The huts were big with overly tall roofs. The tribes of a hundred or so lived within walking distance of everyone in their village.

Most people seemed to make crafts to sell at the markets in some of the bigger towns on Flores. Some also sold coffee beans, which were drying, crackling and popping in the scorching sunlight. Our driver told us that the coffee here is supposed to be the best; unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to try it.

In most of these little villages they speak a different dialect of Indonesian, so what little of the language we did know, was almost pointless to try and communicate. But the smiles and waves of everyone made you feel more than welcome to take a peak into their way of life.

The best part of the day was the adorable kids that looked at us with wonder and curiosity while we ate lunch at our drivers own village. They patiently waited (and watched us eat) until the adults were finished with the food before coming closer to us. They especially loved Eric's camera. When he brought it out there were lines of kids wanting their picture taken, then to see it the next second. One boy brought over a school booklet to try and help us learn Indonesian as well. They were so excited when we would say something correct, and laugh with us when we had to repeat words over and over again.