I traveled quite a bit in Indonesia during the overthrow of the Suharto regime and the Pro-Reformasi demonstrations of 1998. Myself and 30 or so other Westerners were advised to get out of Medan and to stay in a Christian area, Lake Toba, until the riots ended. The trip out of Medan was a bit problematic. The small towns and villages en route were the scenes of some unrest so our driver tried to avoid driving through any towns. We could smell homes being burned and see large groups of men moving about. The riots went on for some time. It took more than 3 weeks for Suharto to go and for things to settle down but Samosir Island was a nice refuge. I stayed at Samosir Cottages in the middle of a 60 kilometer volcanic caldera. Seemed appropriate.
So I found that my feelings about Indo were hugely mixed. It was a case of Love-Hate and i spent 4 months here (visa run to Sing) wandering from Padang Bai to Candidasa, Amed and Lovina. Then i was off to Lombok, mostly Senggigi then up to Gili Trawangan. The diving was still good in spots but the fishermen were dynamiting the reefs to get fast hauls of fish. I ended up taking a small boat past Sumbawa, the bat island and on to Komodo, Rinca and Labuhan Bajo. I spent a month on Flores and left hating the place for its casual cruelty to animals and the way nothing seemed to work.
Then i missed it so much I came back from May to August of 2002. But again I left irritated with the little stuff and forgetting the peoples kindness and the beauty of the country.
The Bali blast happened a couple months later and it really made me feel kind of bitter about the “development” of Bali.
But i really missed the islands of Nusa Tenggara so i decided to come back to Gili Trawangan this month. I am not sure what to expect. I arrived late by a week so i am going to spend 3 days in my least favorite spot in Bali, Kuta. Overdeveloped and losing its Balinese Hindu charm, Kuta is a tourist destination but not a charming one. And it is the site of the bombing in 2002.
I went to the memorial first, someone built a cafe on the site and named it Ground Zero. Argh…
The memorial was being ignored the first time i went but when i returned there were two groups there paying their respects. I used to get my film developed at a Kodak shop near the bombing site and i have always wondered about the two young ladies that helped me with my photos. We used to chat and they would examine my pictures with me. The shop they worked in had a glass front that faced the street where the bomb went off. I have a photo i took of them at home. I wish i had brought a copy to place at the memorial. 20 years later it still brings tears to my eyes.
I spent nearly a month hiding at Lake Toba when Westerners were advised to leave Medan immediately in 1998. Then after i left in 2002 this happened.
So I still have a few issues with Indonesia. We will see.
I finally got out and discovered a warung type cafe with both made dishes and an a la carte menu between Poppies 1 and 2. Warung Indonesia is the slightly unimaginative name but the food is good and the owner is cool. I went there 3 times in 2 days, kind of liked it i guess!
Started w the Bihun Spesial, which is angel hair glass noodles w whatever the cook has laying about thrown in.
I walked about Kuta a good bit at the end of December. Covid has hit the place hard, i would guess that 80% of the jobs north of the airport and within a kilometer of the beach are tourism related. Lots of boarded up or simply abandoned buildings. And the people are still super kind and sweet. The temples were all decorated but quiet for the most part. I went by Pura Dalem Kahyangan temple on my way to Jejaton Cafe and there was just an indifferent ginger cat there.
Jejaton was recommended to me by a Balinese bar manager and Trip Advisor so i walked over there, past a commercial dead zone near the river, sad. Jeja is in a Marriot Fairfields which did not sound auspicious but the server, Novi, was welcoming and the prices were not too bad, final result was 207k rupiah ($13US) for app, entre and cucumber drink. I started with Lamar Kenu, which is sliced long bean, squid and coconut. It looks like sliced green chilis but it is mild, slightly sweet and rich. Very nice dish! Maybe the long beans are harvested early, they are very small and hollow, not like the long beans i usually have. I would have guessed the dish was very mild green chilis but the menu says it is long beans.
Then i got a Nasi Bekar Kemang, which is Balinese fried rice, mushroom, chicken and local basil in a wrapped and a banana leaf pinned closed. They cook the wrapped rice until the banana leaf starts to char to give the rice a smokey flavor. Simply outstanding! The fragrance and flavor were perfect! And the cucumber chilling drink was pretty darned nice too!
That went so well i decided to go local again and visited Warung Babi Guling Men Gede for suckling pig served w a small bowl of rich chicken soup. The soup was outstanding, the suckling pig was not a huge portion but it was rich and delicious and crackley. Maybe a little TOO rich but we will not go there. I will definitely go back but not the day before a long trip in a speedboat. LOL!
The speedboat trip was a bit rough, pretty nasty rollers out of the NNW and our course was pretty close to ENE so we were taking them pretty close to right abeam. So the boat was not just pitching up and down, it was rolling a good bit too. The cabin got a little warm and fragrant so i hit the top deck where the waves broke over us every few minutes. Quite a ride.
I ran into this little fellow as i left. It seemed like a good symbol for the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023! May we all have a healthy and happy 2023!
Thai basil w chicken, a bit sweet but good. Thai iced tea served unsweetened but w simple syrup in a shotglass on the side so you can sweeten it yourself. How civilized!
Boarding a fast ferry back to Bali with rollers out of the north and a stiff wind out of south. The harbor looked ok until i looked NE and saw some more white caps.
This could be interesting…
I was trying to figure out what was on the head of the guy to the left of the horse. When I zoomed in I saw that it was is hair. Looked like a giant blue butterfly at first.
He startled me so much I took the photo before I meant to. It was a bold look!
Just booked my flight to Chiang Mai. I was going to go straight to Greece but I can not leave without a week of eating like a king in Chiang Mai. And I finally was able to book a sleeper train from CM to BKK on the new’ish #10 trainset. Yeah!
I do not think it will be to my old favorite, Hualamphong Station, but rather to the newly opened station. That will be sad but a new experience. Mixed bag.
I remember my first train trip in Thailand. I was laying there with my head on my backpack, waiting for my train to board and the national anthem started playing. Every Thai jumped up and looked at the portrait of King Bhumibol on the far wall. I stood with them to pay my respects. He was a good man and was a fixture for the Thai people for generations. King Bhumibol and Hualamphong somehow got linked in my mind. I will miss them both.
Had a very nice chicken curry a la Shinta at Shinta Warung yesterday. Just delicious!
I remember mine quite vividly as well (first class sleeper car from BKK to Chiang Mai). The squat toilet gave me pause and I wondered how on earth I would navigate that. But I did and then managed to get almost no sleep - that was a rough excursion. But nevertheless, a happy one.
Your boat trips conjured up other vivid memories. The only times I’ve been seasick have been in Southeast Asia - something about the combination of deceptive rollers and the high heat and humidity did a number on me.
But I can’t wait to go back to SEA. It’s been way too long since our last trip (probably also ~20 years for us). The food, sights, and people I’m sure will be enough to look past the inevitable changes.
Continued safe and memorable travels. From Mama Onion.
I left Bali for Chiang Mai yesterday. Indonesia has always been a love it AND hate it place for me but this trip most of the irritations were minor ones. I spent a couple months here in 1998 and again in 2002 but this trip was considerably shorter.
I have always liked walking around and this trip the salient feature of Indonesia was the business/financial meltdown that was Covid in a tourism based society. Jakarta may have shrugged Covid off (?) but Bali and Gili Trawangan took a haymaker to the chin.
And the vast majority of people are still kind and welcoming. Look them in the eyes, smile, give them a fist bump, shoot the breeze for a minute and you have made a friend who forgets to ask if you want a taxi or a beer and asks you what you have been doing, instead.
My trip went kind of pear shaped acouple months ago, around the time i hit Quito, but 2 weeks on Indonesia doing a whole lot of walking and eating seems to have put me back on track. The third time is the charm.
Some of the dishes that i discovered this trip were Bebek bututu, which is Balinese style duck with a raw onion and chili sauce served on the side plus a black oxtail soup/stew called Rawon Buntut. Both are super rich and savory. I forgot to take a photo of the oxtail soup but the bututu looks like this…
My last night in Bali i looked for something light and ordered Ayam Sop, which was perfect. Thin angel hair noodles and a hard boiled egg. Nicely done. Plus the ubiquitous Bintang served with a chilled mug.
Breakfast at the Amnaya Resort was always a pleasure, too much of one, in fact. Fruit plate, breads, yogurt, eggs, salmon, coffee, fruit juice… i felt like I was the sacrificial piglet getting fattened up for slaughter!
