(Travelogue) Oriental Outings Day 9: Journey to the High Ground

March 9, 2011

Goodbye Bali

Those six nights in Bali passed like a whiff of the cool ocean breeze; like an early morning dream which one wishes to come true, like a fairytale grandmother used to narrate before going to bed: “Aren’t you getting late?”, asked the soft Putu in an unusual louder tone, bringing us back to the reality. He had to wake up early too in order to drop us to the airport for the morning flight to Kuala Lumpur and was rightly worried by our casual attitude. “It’s Air Asia; and they don’t wait”, his words made Urooba sense the urgency who was preparing Misha’s food while I was trying to placate the little traveler who was livid on getting disturbed in the wee hours.

Murphy's Law

“I have lost my cell phone”, said Urooba. “When and where?” I asked; “It might have slipped under the bed”, she replied while ignoring my questions. Murphy’s Law started working! Putu – realizing our anxiety – used his experience and found that sooner to avert the infamous Murphy power and to stop us repeating the Singapore blunder where we forgot the cybershot and some other gerunds at Jeffery’s place!

Morning!

It was already 6:30 when we finally managed to leave the guesthouse; a little late for the 8:30 flight keeping in view that we had to pass through the immigration also. Nevertheless, Putu made sure that we didn’t miss our flight; knowing that we were under Bali’s spell and could avail every opportunity to prolong our stay! Before making our way into the departure lounge, I paid Putu a modest gratuity which he might not be expecting from tightfisted us, frankly speaking!

Putu setting our luggage

Departure area of Denpasar Airport

"Hurry up! you are getting late"

Who Cares

A long queue was waiting for us in front of the Air Asia counter; that was the cost of getting late, and that too with a cheap ticket for a three hour flight. This time it was even cheaper than what we got earlier for Singapore-Bali flight: USD 123 (~ PKR 10,500) for the whole family! So, we didn’t mind standing few extra minutes in the queue, in fact who would?

Queue at Air Asia counter

More queue at Air Asia counter

Does it start from outside the airport !?

The Extortion!

In the normal course, you move to the immigration counter after getting your boarding passes. However, this is not the case in Bali, and in Indonesia for that matter, where one has to pass through a cash counter to pay a departure tax of IDR 150,000 per passport! This eerie practice shocks many travelers, and at times embarrasses them too as they usually had exhausted most of the local currency before taking exit. The Australian couple, standing before us in the queue, was also caught in surprise; they tried their best to do away with the “extortion”, in their own words, but to no avail. Finally, they had to pay 20$ each to compensate for that, significantly more than the equivalent of the actual tax when converted in the local currency. That resolved my curiosity as if why don’t they incorporate the tax in the ticket price? Bureaucracy knows how to feed itself, no matter where in the world!

Luckily, I was forewarned by a Virtual Tourist friend about this drama, so I made sure to keep IDR 450,000 handy with me without Urooba knowing about that who did not spare a single penny during last night’s shopping frenzy.

Encouraged by the Aussies’ experience, I haggled with the officer and to my surprise he happily waived off the toll for Misha’s passport! Hurray, we saved IDR 150,000!!

Finally we joined the unending queue again, this time the immigration one. Suddenly, Urooba spotted an officer contemplating to open a new counter; by the time others would have realized the development we ditched our queue and made it to the yellow line. Phew!

Shhh. Cameras are not allowed

Now, the immigiration queue

Rest was uneventful till we landed at Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) except for some in-flight shopping thanks to the generous immigration officer!

Our Malaysia expedition has started!

Malaysia, Truly Asia! Really??

After landing at LCCT I wanted to make it to the Cameron Highlands the same day without actually knowing much about the logistics. I was under the influence of aggressive tourism marketing of the palm country, which ultimately proved disappointing especially from the perspective of an Independent Traveler. After clearing immigration, which was quick, I headed straight to the Tourist Information Center which was crap full of tourism guides, travel magazines, and marketing brochures. To my utter disbelief, both of the ladies at the counter were unaware of the transportation options to the Cameron Highlands.

The best they could do was to provide us with the telephone numbers of a few bus operators, none of which actually worked, from a handwritten register dumped deep in the cabinet. I later found out that the main intercity bus station of Kuala Lumpur – Puduraya – was closed for renovation; reason why those phone numbers were not working!

The Yoyo Experience

It took me more than one hour, a couple of changed decisions, and more than a couple of reprimands from Urooba that I finally figured out that it was better to first take a bus to Ipoh and then catch another to continue up the hills. The alternate, or actually the more conventional, way would have been to first make it to Kuala Lumpur Central bus station and then take a direct bus to Cameron Highland via Tapah. However, I was confused where to get the up-north bus so we decided to take the longer but more certain route.

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The route we taken: LCCT-Ipoh-Tanah Rata

View Larger Map
The conventional route: LCCT-KL Sentral-Tanah Rata

Bus tickets are available at the end of the arrival area where the salespersons in the tiny kiosks try to make sure that you don’t go to their rival company. For Ipoh, we found two choices – Star Shuttle and Yoyo – of apparently similar service quality and fares. We chose the latter just because of its comparably early departure. After locating the Yoyo bus outside the arrival area, we headed to the food court to take care of our crying bellies!

Urooba was not ready to take any risk and quickly settled for the broasted chicken while I felt spoiled for choices for our first meal in the Malay land. After peeking into different stalls, I decided to start with the traditional Malay food right away, and I did not regret. The modus operandi was similar to what we found in the Bali Makaan, i.e. you first select rice and then add curries of your choice from the displayed range, and the price depends on how many and which type of curries you select. In a fix, what to select, I asked the vendor to make me a meal similar to what the lady before me chose for!

Of Buses and Bus Stations

Following the fulfilling meal, we boarded on the bus after reconfirming from the driver that they will drop us at the bus station where we could find the onward bus. Contrary to this reassurance, they dropped us in the city center – taking advantage of the language barrier – with the excuse that the bus is going to the different terminal, i.e. Medan Gopeng, and we should instead go to Medan Kidd. No surprise, after experiencing the response level of the Tourist Information Center, that we later came to know both the terminals serve the highlands! All these initial happening were confirming the observations of a friend, Junaid, who spent some time in Malaysia for work.

So, we had no choice but to take the taxi from the city center to Medan Kidd which gave us the opportunity to see the glimpse of the peaceful colonial city. The talkative taxi driver belonged to the South Indian descendents who have been living in the peninsula for quite some decades and in good numbers. He also tried to make us believe that the bus ride is not reliable and he could drive us all the way to Tanah Rata, the main town of Cameron Highlands, in just two hours!

With no mood of taking any more risks, I thanked the cabdriver, only after confirming that Kinta Omnibus is leaving within an hour. The bus station was worn down, so were we; people were sitting on rusty benches waiting for their transport to arrive, Indian oldies selling traditional snacks – nimco – on make shift stalls, a block of more settled shops selling items from fruits to mobile cards, an exhibition of a half a dozen decapitated buses in the adjacent junkyard, and most importantly a fragile public toilet! In short, the ambiance was similar to what it would have been at any intercity bus stations in Pakistan!

Since Misha was feeling uneasy, Urooba decided to change her nappy using the ladies portion of those antique toilets. After she came back, making incomprehensible faces, I recharged the Digi mobile SIM, which I borrowed from Junaid, from one of the shops to reconnect to the cellular network. That ended my electromagnetic liberty!

In general, we found intercity buses in Malaysia reliable, economical, and comfortable, especially for medium distances, say 4-5 hours. However, there is a range of services, from the simple economy class to the lavish exclusive class, depending upon how much you want to pay. For around 100 km Ipoh to Cameron Highland ride we paid approx USD 6 per person, which is quite reasonable, keeping in view the journey had to end up at a height of 5,000 feet.

In fact, bus is the transportation of choice among locals unless one wants to go the other part of Malaysia, called Borneo, across the sea. I found http://www.journeymalaysia.com/bus.htm a good resource to plan bus trips.

On the other hand low cost airlines are gaining rapid popularity in the country which has now become a regional hub of the budget airlines. Air Asia, Fire Fly, and Tiger Airways – to name a few – are literally competing with bus companies in terms of fares. Book early, six to eight weeks, and you may get a fare as low as 5 USD! The traveling landscape has changed so much so that even for Kuala Lumpur to Penang, ~ 350 km, there is now a discussion whether it is better to fly!

The Scenic Journey

The journey to Tanah Rate, the main town of Cameron Highlands, was scenic and refreshing; hilly forests on both sides of the road, low altitude clouds, twisting roads with sharp turns, and slow cool breeze. Temperature also started falling down with the increasing height and then it started raining gently pushing the mercury further down. It was a welcome change after having a good course of tropical heat during the past few days!

We made it to Tanah Rata at around 9 in the evening completing the journey from the low lands to the high ones in 15 hours! It was the sense of achievement that made up for all the exhaustion of this long voyage. While the pick up from KRS Pines hotel had to arrive, I got some dinner packed from the nearby market, which we had after settling down in our room.

"It was a long journey, Abbu!"

A refreshing view from the lobby!

Good for us that Misha was in good shape, even after this long traveling; she could even recognize the change, both of the temperature and of the place, and started crawling excitedly on the bed. She was so thrilled that we had to put our luggage besides the bed, to avoid her from falling over, before going to a deep sleep!

(Travelogue) Oriental Outings Day 8: Balinese Massage

March 8, 2011

It rained 5 out of 5 days we stayed in Bali, sometimes even twice a day, to constantly reminding us that we are having a tropical climate. Karachi - my home city - also enjoys the tropical pattern, however, it mostly remains arid here. And when it rains in the metropolis, Karachites starts pondering whether it is a blessing or a nuisance!

Clouds; business as usual

The Natural Laundary

On the other hand, showers are a part of the local life in Bali, as are Gods and monkeys; however, unlike the other two it meddles little into daily routines! Bikers put on silver colored plastic coveralls, whenever it starts drizzling, which are always there in the little store under their seats while pedestrians quickly open up their mini umbrellas. Likewise, the infrastructure is adequately planned; Stormwater system is in place to drain the water quickly into the surrounding sea. Weather also gets better after a downpour with fresh breeze and cooler temperature. Overall, rain acts like a natural laundry after which the island comes out rejuvenated and more magical!

Cure to the Backache

It was the backache, an obvious consequence of biking around the island, which brought us back from the heaven to the earth! That also gave us another reason to try out the generations old cure for physical ailments: the Balinese massage. Our bodies also required an overhaul before we would have started the Malaysian expedition which had to be strenuous, if nothing else!

The Way to Ubud

Journey continues

Going up the hill

Heading to Ubud

Finding an authentic massage based on the ancient techniques of pacifying both the body and the soul, rather than those sprawling rip-offs some of which do more than just the massage, was the main challenge. In our quest for the genuine, we headed to Ubud, island’s cultural center, and a more genuine reflection of the Balinese way of life. The word “Ubud” itself had been derived from the Balinese word “Ubad” which means “medicine” signifying the city’s role in providing with herbal plants and medicines to surrounding regions from centuries.

Easy Excuse

As soon as we joined the road to Ubud, we realized that the half a day trip, and that too including the treatment, is an injustice to this culturally active town. Urooba had been tempted by the enroute jewelry showrooms which specialize in the handcrafted silver ornaments; another reason to spend more time in the town. However, we could not take a sojourn as we had to reach back early to pack our luggage for the early morning flight the next day. Pitiless me!

Gua Gajah

It was a long ride, of more than one hour, during which we had to consult every now and then from locals whether we are going in the right direction. Even then we lost our way and only realized when the road sign told us that we were heading to Gua Gajah, the elephant cave! Luckily, we were not that off track and made it to our destination, i.e. Zen Spa off Hanoman Street, where we had taken a prior appointment.

Asking the right path

Whiffing Like a Botonical Garden

The ambiance was relaxing and cozy; a slow fountain besides the reception was adding to the serenity of the place, rooms were subtle yet clean with windows opening towards fragrant gardens, and above all the staff was humble and all local. The menu listed a host of tempting combinations but as a naïve audience we let the staff chose their favorites. After we finished, Misha also got a complimentary hot water floral bath as a prize for her patience and for making friends with one of the staff! The pleasure ended with a cup of herbal tea after we which we started the return journey whiffing like a botanical garden!

Finally we reached there

Outside of the spa

The Menue; all traditional

I love floral bath!

Something for the Aunt Brigade

That also gave Urooba a clue about the souvenir to take back for the platoon of Misha’s Aunts; Khalaas and Phoppos! So we stopped by at a famous store and the crazy shopping continued until we were left with few pennies of the local currency, just enough for our last dinner in Bali!

50 Means 50,000

Loaded with herbal scrubs, coconut soaps, and the related stuff, we were on our way back to the guesthouse when Urooba spotted a night market displaying local clothes. She made a quick peek and came back really excited that her favorite trouser is going cheap for 50 local bucks. That eventually turned out funny as the shopkeeper refused to sell the trouser for the quoted amount! Actually, in Indonesia vendors usually omit “thousand” to cut it short which created the hilarious situation. Actual price of the trouser was 50,000! And that was still reasonable!!

While packing for the morning flight to Kuala Lumpur we were fancying if we could have a couple of extra nights to enjoy the island up to the Northern coast without knowing that a devastating earthquake and tsunami had to hit the island in the coming days!

Our last dinner in Bali

(Travelogue) Oriental Outings Day 7: Water Sports in Bali

March 7, 2011
By now, Urooba had been enough of those rich cultural experiences! So was I, to be frank! For the change of taste we could not have a better option than to chill-out at Nusa Dua, an East coast beach famous for resorts and water sports.


Water Sports
A trip to the distant atoll is in fact incomplete without having aquatic adventures! So many activities to do; from the sumptuous watercraft to the daring ocean diving. Though these activities may not be as expensive as they would be in other developed parts of the world, however, we could have easily gone bankrupted should we have not observed restraint to the intriguing variety; Parasailing, Jet Ski, Flying Fish, Banana Boat, Glass Bottom, Snorkeling, Scuba Diving, so on and so forth!


In Bali, Haggling is a Must
Good for us that Urooba picked up brochures from the airport arrival hall announcing attractive deals for a combination of water activities and sightseeing. That helped us in comparing what Putu, the guesthouse guy, was quoting for the leisure. He tried to throw various combinations to justify the high cost! After all, tourism is the main source of earning for otherwise rustic islanders. However, one of the packaged tours was half the cost of the best of Putu’s offer; what else we needed!


After the breakfast, while Urooba was busy in baby rituals I called up the xxx to book one of the packages. By the time the coupé would have arrived, I made a quick visit to the laundry to collect the refurbished ward robe.


Nusa Dua
Soon we were on our way to Nusa Dua, located on the opposite side of the island. This part of Bali is popular with luxury tourists for a relaxing and sumptuous break. As expected, the prime beach is mostly encroached by multiple star resorts while the remaining patches are demarcated by package operators leaving little space for free waves!

Whats the plan for today?

Driving through Bali roads

An artisitic traffic signal

The car stopped at one of such spots where Rayan welcomed excited us and gave a short briefing. In the meantime, his helper striped us with orange life jackets reassuring that those worn out coats will be our saviors should something go wrong! He looked at us with dire disbelief when we asked one for our little angel! “No! Babies are not allowed and we will be banned by local authorities if we don’t comply”, he yelled in a grim tone. We tried to explain him the self promulgated principle to keep Misha with us wherever we go, but for no use.

Reaching Nusa Dua

The menu

Fun Starts
“This cannot stop us from having fun”, announced the better half, “we will take turns; you go first and I will take care of Misha”, came the orders. “But you are on a package and we cannot give you individual turns”, replied the perplexed guide. “If we are a package than Misha is also a part of it”, was the argument! “I have a wife too”, whispered the poor fellow in my ears; “fine, you start off with Jet Ski individually and then we will see”, the guy started agreeing.


The good omen had yet to come; Misha – otherwise not comfortable with strangers – started making friends with the pleasant Rayan. “I am a father of two kids and know how to make children happy”, he said in an assuring pitch.

Would this really work!?

I want to do Jetski too, please!

Having some fun

Wow!! Thats fast!

Balinese Hospitality
Among four countries we visited, we found Indonesian people the most friendly and hospitable, be it the airport or a roadside vendor. And Rayan was one ready example in support of our observation; easygoing and harmless. The other day when we landed at Ngurah airport, I asked the immigration officer about the telephone facility, he took out his own cell phone and talked to the guesthouse himself to ensure that the guy is waiting for us outside!


Similarly, when we were on our way to Ubud and lost the direction, we took the help from a roadside vendor, who went extra miles and stopped the traffic so that we can take the U-turn! Rayan was also one of those king soles. Taking advantage of this gesture, we decided to drop Misha in his custody to enjoy the remaining games together.


After we came from the exhilarating Banana Boat ride, we noticed both Misha and Rayan were not there! Before all the excitement would have washed away, Rayan emerged trying to pacify furious Misha who got aware of the trick and started crying. “I should charge you for this tough babysitting”, demanded the Rayan with naughty expressions. “We will think about it but at the moment we are hungry”, said Urooba while passifying the young traveler.


Meeting Hassan
Today we had to meet the newlywed Hassan Hazzey, one of the most favorites Couchsurfers of the island who generously helped us planning the Bali part of our trip. I called him around the sunset, after we returned to the guesthouse, and he suggested meeting at the McDonalds of Kuta town.


Party Hard + Pay Less = Kuta
Kuta is the so-called bad part of Bali, the party central of the island; narrow streets flooded with bars and nightclubs. A place equally suited to noisy and drunken Aussies who often got obnoxious and those suicide bombers who got more obnoxious, fortunately less often! The Bali Bombing memorial installed at Paddy’s club still reminded two notorious attacks which took place in 2002 and 2005 by the extremist groups on what they think a place too voluptuous to deserve the wrath of the hell whilst they themselves enjoy whores in the heavens in almost the same setting.


The overcrowded streets of Kuta were just an example what damage tourism can do especially to an underdeveloped destination if inundated by irresponsible travelers who travel so many miles just to party hard and pay less. Not respecting the local culture is not a traveler spirit, in my opinion, while giving importance to values always brings pleasant surprises. That just reminded me an experience from a fellow traveler who encountered “a group of teenagers in skimpy dresses and t-shirts with slogans like – I'm big on a p*g – complaining how unfriendly Zanzibarians are!”


Newly Weds
It started raining again, making difficult for me to make our way through the crammed full roads while Hassan and his wife were waiting for us at the meeting spot where we parked our scooter and shifted to their car. Although it was a long and eventful day already, however, the company of the generous couple was worth the effort. While both the wives were busy in sharing their post nuptial notes, Hassan and I had a prolonged chat about the local life and difference in Pakistani and Indonesian cultures.


The couple belonged to the second generation of Arab descendants which has been assimilated to most of the extent. However, for marriages their families still prefer to stick to Arab progeny, analogous to what Indian migrants practice here in Pakistan. Nuptials are performed with the traditional oomph with conventional Islamic celebrations but not as wasteful as we do over here. Cost of life and average salaries look similar while housing seems to be on the higher side in Pakistan.


The conversation then diverted to Couchsurfing, the bee in Hassan’s bonnet! Like a typical oriental guy, he had to put some restraint to the otherwise causal lifestyle. “We attend CS events, however, less often than I used to attend before we got married” said Hassan. “He used to host strangers but the party is over now!” uttered his wife in a skeptical tone. We share more notes on how to keep CSing while considering our new prerogatives. Hassan is an avid traveler too and together they made it to Hong Kong and Macau for their honeymoon.


It was around midnight that we decided to pause the long chat for another meeting sometime in the near future Inshallah. The long day ended with aan addition of a new friend whom we can trust our lives!

Hassan took us to his favourite restaurant

Art on the display

Having some rice

(Travelogue) Oriental Outings Day 6: Kecak-Kecak at Uluwatu Temple and Jimbaran Beach

March 6, 2011
Today, we planned to explore the west coast of the island all the way to its Southern tip till Uluwatu temple. To make most of the sunlight hours, we started the day early.

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World's Cheapest Laundary!
Day before yesterday, while going for Ogoh-Ogoh, we noticed a laundry around the guesthouse. So, after the breakfast, while Urooba was busy in getting Misha ready, I took the bundle to the shop. First thing that surprised me was the price. It was incredibly cheap especially when it involved human labour: < 1 USD for 10 pieces, including the press!

10 pieces in 7,000 rupiyah

This speaks a lot about the disparity; the much talked about gap between rich and poor, and between locals and foreigners. As they say: currency is a store of value, true, but why the size of the store differs from place to place? Imagine a foot scale measuring differently in various places. That will result in a chaos, wouldn’t it?

A Billionaire in Bali!
Till todate, we had been running on Ron's finances, which was obviosuly not part of the deal.  Actually, exchange shops were closed since we arrived in Bali owing to Nyepi. And we avoided those kiosks at the airport arrival lounge which are notorious for their overcharging.

In order to pay back the debt I then visited the nearby franchise of Bali Money Changer, or BMC. Like in any other tourist spot, getting ripped off while exchanging the currency is common; at times due to unfair rates and at other worst times due to frauds. So, a little bit research on this proves quite useful to avoid the bad taste.

Indonesian currency can make you feel like a billionaire! For USD 300, I got more than two and a half million rupiyah! On the flip side, keeping track of all the zeros in your pocket is always a challenge!

Let's Go

Misha and Urooba were ready when I returned rich. Putu had also brought the motorbike back after some maintenance so we hit the road again.

Go as Balinese Go

Fuel Station

The island of Bali is gifted with long stretches of versatile beaches; some suit to wave crashers while others are subtle and secluded. West coast is popular among surfers and swimmers, east coast is a water sports hub, and the North is for people who are more into nature and less into luxuries.

Jimbaran Beach
Hassan, a local Couch Surfer, recommended us Jimbaran beach, a popular spot among surfers and local families! Since the beach was on the way to Uluwatu we clubbed both together and took the Sunset road. With the help of road signs and a simple map we reached our destination easily.

Jimbaran Beach

The clean beach was located in a serene setting; green hills around, a long stretch of white sand seashore, West open for a romantic sunset, and a row of seaside restaurants selling live seafood. Other facilities such as surf boards, beach chairs, and life guards were also adding to the ambiance.

Go green

To Uluwatu

After having enough solar energy we headed further South and took the road up the hill towards the temple. Soon the road left the neighborhood and entered in the pastoral countryside with jungles around. Driving through this long stretch was itself an experience; narrow spiraling track, cool ocean breeze filtering through tall trees, scenic landscape, and the feeling that as if we were going back into time.

Monkey Tricks

To catch Kecak Kecak dance, a folklore tableau, we had to reach Uuwatu before the twilight. The temple is located in extended vicinity with an organized setup. Parking lot was big enough to accommodate the tourist influx, mostly on packaged tours. Although that supposed to be a religious routine, the hefty 140,000 per person (~ USD 20) ticket, on top of the temple entrance fee and parking fee, reflected the commercial aspect behind the ritual.

We made our way to the arena through a patch of a monkey forest, with the help of a guide. Had the guide not been there, I could not escape the shock attempt on my glasses from a naughty mimic! Those creatures were smart enough to surprise visitors by snatching their valuables and then hang their catch high on surrounding trees!!

Kecak-Kecak
The overhung stadium was aesthetically situated; facing the Indian Ocean from a height of a few hundred feet! The skyline was changing its colour as it was getting closer to dusk; from sky blue to purple to magenta!

A view of Indian Ocean from Kecak-Kecak stadium



Lights on!!

 

The drama starts

Low Tone

Among the audience

Why are they making so much noise, Mama?!

In the meantime, the big torch in the middle of the stage had been lit up signifying the start of the show. Subsequently, a group of around 50 men wearing antique Tarzan-like attire entered in the field chanting Kecak-Keack Kecak-Kecak and then settled around the torch continuing their echoic mantra. For the whole hour long tableau the troupe kept on hymning with varying tones as per the demand of the scene until the legendary Prince Rama managed to unshackle his wife with the help of Hanoman (monkey-like Vanara) from the wicked King Ravana!

Growing momentum

The wicked King in green

The drama continues

The abducted Princess

Who is this in yellow?



Catch me if you can!

The Dinner
On our way back, we stopped at Madania Moslem restaurant for dinner, during which heavy rains started, again without warning! However, we managed to reach back home safe and sound.

Madania Moslem Restaurant

The Menu

Tom Yam

 

Finally, the food is here!