Wild and Wonderful Bangkok

I'm so behind on these blog posts but will try harder to be better! Since the last post Alo and I have traveled to Thailand, twice to Bali, AND one of my best friends gave birth to her little girl Berkley Katherine! Lots to write about so I must catch up! :)

Due to Eid Al-Fitr, the holiday at the end of Ramadan, Alo and I got a week off work because all offices close - even the banks! We planned a trip to Thailand including Bangkok, Koh Samui and Koh Tao.  In case you don't already know, Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting and they fast from sun up to sun down every day for 30 days. They can't even have water, mints, nothing!

We left Friday after work and headed to Bangkok. It's only about a 3.5 hr flight from here but we had to connect in Kulua Lumpur, Malaysia due to the holiday and our last minute booking habits.  We stayed in Patpong - which is one of the red light districts - so to say the least it was quite entertaining! ha. It was also a popular area for many of the famous "ladyboys". If you don't know what a ladyboy is I think you can figure it out - pretty self explanatory. But wow it's amazing how they truly do look like women! Watch out boys - you wouldn't want to have one too many cocktails and end up with a ladyboy!

We went to a famous "ladyboy" show called Calypso. It was a packed house!

We visited temple after temple and it was HOT in Bangkok - so it made for quite a long day! The Grand Palace was the first stop and it was just gorgeous. The Grand Palace served as the official residence of the Kings of Thailand from the 18th century onward.  When King Rama V came along, he no longer wanted to use the palace as his residence so from his time and on the Kings no longer reside in the Palace. It is however still very much in use. Many royal rituals and  ceremonies still take place by the King every year. And it stays quite busy and filled with tourist like Alo and I :)

Check out Alo's pants :) Fashionista! The true story is that you can't wear shorts in the temple so Alo had to buy or rent pants. Makes for some funny photos!

Wat Pho was another temple we visited. Not nearly as beautiful as The Grand Palace but what makes it very famous is the reclining buddha inside.  This is not just a large statue lying down - it is enormous!

One of my favorite things we did was take a long tail wooden boat along the Chao Phraya River and waterways through Bangkok.  We saw a floating market and bought a beautiful elephant which Alo later dropped on the ground and broke into pieces! (thank goodness for superglue!!) We passed by many temples on the ride and got to see many local houses that lined the river. We also fed the catfish in the river and they were huge and aggressive. See how many there are in the picture?!

And of course my favorite part of Bangkok was the FOOD! I love Thai food so there was no doubt I would like the food but it was even better than expected. Even street food. I don't eat the street food in Indonesia becaues it all looks funky and dirty but in Thailand it was great. And didn't even give me a stomach ache! Pad Thai on the street would cost a $1! There were tons of backpackers in Thailand and there is no doubt as to why. It can be very cheap if you want it to be.

One interesting restaurant we went to was called "Cabbages and Condoms". Alo was quite skeptical about going but so glad we did. It was actually right next to Alo's coworkers apartment so we all had lunch before we flew out to the islands.  The concept behind the restaurant is to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association in Thailand.  The idea behind the name is that condoms should be as readily available as cabbages (meaning vegetables but it doesn't sound as catchy). The decorations in the restaurant were very creative - it's not everyday I see Santa made out of condoms!

We also went to a local fruit and flower market (forget the area). Alo was practicing his photography skills here and they turned out pretty good! Many of the fruits are also in Indonesia so it wasn't too much of a surprise although we did try one new one: Rambutan. Doesn't it look wild?! It's actually native to Indonesia and the Philippines but I never see them here.

And lastly we rode around in Tuk-tuks! This is just like a taxi in Bangkok but cheaper and sometimes quicker since it can weave in and out of traffic. They are pretty funny - and very loud! Alo did have the bright idea of getting us a tuk-tuk on the way home from Calypso when it was pouring rain...maybe not the best idea :)

One last thing about Bangkok...the bugs for sale on the street! Literally they would sell fried bugs in the push carts on the street and outside the bars. And business was booming! Yuck! It grosses me out just thinking about it. Needless to say we never tried the bugs.

And that's the end of our Bangkok adventures for now! I would recommend it to anyone planning to visit Thailand!

Hot-N-Ready Lava!

I'm so behind on my posts but I don't want to skip any awesome places we've seen so I'm back tracking!

A couple weeks ago Alo, Fran, Clementine and I all went on a road trip out of Jakarta to see an active volcano. Krakatoa is in the Sunda straight between the islands of Java and Sumatra.  The volcano exploded in 1883 killing approximately 40,000 people and the explosion was considered the loudest sound ever heard in modern history. Reports say that it was heard over 3,000 miles away - this would be like DC to Cali! So crazy to imagine.

I was a bit nervous to go visit the volcano knowing its history and that it is still active. But of course Alo convinced me to join as usual and I'm very glad he did.  It was a great experience.  We took a small boat with a couple from Spain who spoke no English but luckily Clem speaks every language under the sun. The boat ride took about an hour and a half to get out to the volcano.

These little fishermans' houses were all over the water close to the main island. I'm going to make an educated guess and say they probably don't have a Toto installed in there!

We saw multiple eruptions from the boat as well as when we were actually on the volcano.  No hot magma was flying but you would see the huge cloud of smoke coming out of the top! Our guide did show us fresh magma from an explosion days before. He said usually they happen really early in the morning around 4 or 5am.  Hiking around the volcano was HOT. The sun was beating down on us and the ash felt like fire under our shoes. Needless to say, just after a bit on the volocano I was ready for our snorkeling trip to begin!

We walked along the black sand beach which was neat because it was my first one. I've seen one in Bali but never actually had my toes deep in the sand!  I wouldn't have thought I would have liked it because I love soft white sand but that gorgeous blue water and black sand was a beautiful site to see.

The snorkling was the best I've done out here so far.  Poor Alo was feeling sea sick at the time but I made sure to take lots of pictures so he could see how awesome the fish and coral were :) I felt like a true underwater photographer this day because I think the pictures are the best ones I've ever taken.  Seeing places like this just makes me want to rush out and get our diving certification because I can't imagine how stunning the sites deep down under are.  We have researched classes and dive trips but you have to committ a couple weeks and weekends and we just haven't had a chance yet. I want to do a "test" dive first to make sure I like it before I pay to be certified.  I think it sounds so fun and great but once you are deep in the sea I hear sometimes peoples opinions change. So I'll keep you posted on the diving in the future!

As we ate lunch on the island this big guy decided to join us. I'm actually not sure what exactly it was called but he was huge, fast and had a big scary slithering tongue. I don't mind lizards but yikes! 

Australians love Indonesia because it's close by and really cheap. Since Alo makes friends everywhere he goes he decided to chat with this Australian who was so DRUNK we could hardly make sense of anything he was saying. He said he was there to surf and he was waiting on the waves. The funniest part is that the beach has NO waves and is completely still except for the waves from the boats and jetski's :) Wonder how many weeks until he realizes there are no waves? ha

We stayed in a cute little villa and Alo made an awesome dinner for us all in the outdoor kitchen.  It was a great relaxing weekend and I would recommend the trip!

So many islands...so little time

A couple weekends ago we went to Tidung Island (part of the Thousand Islands) for the day. It takes about an hour to get there on the boat so not a bad day trip at all. The weather was perfect so our boat ride was nice and smooth this time - both ways!

Tidung is two islands that are combined with a really long bridge.  So you can walk back and forth to each island. They are both very small though and not developed.  We rented bikes and rode around to the different beaches so we could see the island since we were only there for one day.  We stopped at an awesome little area for the first part of our day and just snorkeled around the really shallow water and relaxed under the hut and drinking coconuts of course!

I found this awesome big blue star fish while snorkeling around the beach.  It's called Linckia Laevigata, a species of sea star found in the shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific.  I read how they can also be aqua colored, purple, or orange so now I'm on a hunt to see those next! They are so bright and pretty under the water.

My friend Franziska from Germany hung out all day with us on the island. We are both really blonde - and there were TWO of us so sometimes the locals get quite excited. Throughout the whole day we were asked to take at least 6 photos with people. It's just cracks me up.  So basically if you are a blonde in rural areas in Indonesia - you feel like a celebrity! ha Unfortunately we didn't get photos but decided from here on out we need to make sure to ask the locals for a photo shot as well and keep a rolling count!

Alo has always wanted a motorcycle and I finally found one on this island I like too!! And this way I can actually drive yet he doesn't have to ever sit on the back :) Win win for everyone! ha

Alo convinced me to jump off the bridge between the two islands with him and at first I wasn't scared but once you get up there it looks much higher! It was fun but I felt like I was wearing earmuffs for a week after I jumped.  Not cool!

Alo found a nice little spot for a nap. My parents really need to build on of these at our place on the river!

The bridge you must walk across to get to the other island is certainly not what I would call safe.  It was gorgeous however all I could focus on was my every step because many boards were missing, rotted, or broken! Literally there would be holes as you walked along or boards that felt as though they might break off any moment...hints the sign below...Hati Hati means be careful!

I would recommend this island and go back to it again. Wouldn't stay the night since there aren't too many nice places (and no toilets of course!) but it's great if you need your fix of clear blue waters and calm beaches.  

She put the lime in the coconut...

I've already discovered many new local fruits and fun things I love! My biggest obsession so far is called Nata de Coco - one word - YUMmmy! 

Nata de Coco is translucent and jelly-like and is usually served as a dessert item. You can mix it with fruits, ice cream, frozen yogurt, or just eat it plain which is what I do. Some of you may not like the consistency but I love it. I'm really big into anything chewy or jelly like though.  And the biggest plus is that it's not bad for you! Well technically I can't tell how much sugar is added to the kind I buy since it's all in Bahasa, but it's very high in fiber, low in calories, and no cholesterol.

Nata de Coco is produced by the fermentation of coconut water.  It's originally from the Philippines, the largest coconut producing country in the world, but is produced today in Indonesia as well. Since Indonesia comes right behind the Phillipines in the production of coconuts - I'm surely getting in my fix of them over here! When we were at the beach the other weekend at Tidung Island, we asked for a coconut to drink and they literally walked over to the trees, collected the ones that had dropped, chopped off the top and put a straw in it. They like to keep things simple over here :) 

Brunch at Cafe Batavia

Alo and I had heard great things about Cafe Batavia so we decided to venture out and try it one Saturday.  It's got the original colonial ambiance of old Batavia, the Dutch name for the former capital.  The restaurant is located on "the square", where they have games, music, food and bikes to rent.  I was hoping they would have a market with lots of great things to buy but no such luck. I did however buy three scarfs from a little vendor and they cost about 5 dollars total so that was exciting.

Would much rather ride around in this car daily than our stylish VAN! :)

These two men were in the middle of the square and had these large, long whips  and would just snap them on the ground which would make a LOUD horrible sound. Wasn't sure what the appeal of this was but was sure I would not be getting in their way - OUCH!

The funniest thing I think I saw was this "ride" for little kids. It played music and the little kids would sit on the tiny bikes and go, up and down, up and down. Sounds normal right? Maybe until you see it. This guy was just riding a large bicycle looking thing in the back behind them and he was the power behind the whole machine.  It gave us a good laugh!

Alo made friends with all the locals and played some of their games. It cost about 10 cents for ever try.  Good thing since he lost every time! ha

After our afternoon of venturing around the old city we needed some AC and a cold drink! 

Cheers!

What is better than one cake? Two!

So I'm really behind on my postings but hopefully one day soon I'll catch up!

It was Alo's birthday July 18th and we had a couple friends over to celebrate (yes we have found a few!).  I was in a mad panic at the grocery store looking for ingredients to bake a cake or some kind of yummy dessert. As you all know I'm not a fan of cooking - but love to bake and make anything sweet since I have a sugar addiction! The other minor detail is the fact we don't have an oven - well a real oven. I wasn't so sure how the tiny toaster oven would perform for this special occasion. Long story short - Ranch Market saved the day and I bought their Tiramisu instead. Phew. They even offered to write Happy Bday Alo on the cake - wasn't sure how it would turn out on Tiramisu but I was impressed!

Ranch Market is awesome and makes me feel slightly at home while grocery shopping! Except for their prices! Woo everything is so high - but regardless I love it :)

So when our friends came over for dinner for Alo's bday, they brought some beers and something for Alo...can you guess what it was?

It was pretty funny! We all laughed wondering what the lady at the bakery must have thought when they had two requests in the same day for an ALO. ha We had a nice dinner and Alo had a good time. The next night I took him to Lara Djonggrang, a local traditional indonesian restaurant to celebrate. We tried lots of Indonesian food and I really loved the atmosphere of the restaurant.  So all and all it was a successful first birthday in Indonesia!