Most beautiful and last-visited Indonesia

Indonesia is everything I was hoping for in Southeast Asia and more beautiful than I could imagine. Scenery I saw elsewhere was gorgeous, but it was ten times better in Indonesia. The abundant natural beauty along with the cornicupia of cultures (170+ languages) is so exotic from anything we know. Plus, there are volcanoes!

During my tour of Bukittinggi, a mountain town in West Sumatra, I learn just how different Indonesia is even apart from Southeast Asia. The indigenous Minangkabau people have a matrilineal and Muslim culture. My guide, a self-proclaimed jungle man, asks me what I think about a man having more than one wife. He presents this hypothetical scenario: a female friend’s husband dies, and she has many children. The family is poor. Who will take care of them? If his current first wife is a good and generous woman, she will allow him to marry this friend, so he is obliged to financially care for that family.

Dhany also tells me fascinating stories about spending two years learning to eat fire and Indonesian karate in which one ultimately faces a wild tiger. Part of the programs he offers to tourists includes a chance to meet one. It requires travelers camping five days in the jungle. Meanwhile, he will get in touch with a “magic man” who has relationships, or connections (if you will) with the tigers. The magic man can tell if the animal is feeling aggressive or friendly. When the tiger is ready for socializing, the magic man will let you know, and you can touch, pet, even hug it. Unfortunately, it is my second day in Indonesia -- and I am already running out of time -- so I opt to visit bats and buffalo in the Sianok Canyon and trek through jungle surrounded by 10 to 30 feet trenches in complete darkness (Ok, that was unplanned, but I survive.)

Coincidentally, my new jungle friend recently married an American -- from Houston -- from the town of Clear Lake where I attended high school! He may move to Texas. He says I am family now; I know his town. He pours kopi (coffee) from the teacup onto a curved dish. As he takes a sip from the dish, I imagine Dhany doing this at Starbucks. Can he adjust to American life? I am astounded by the possibilities.

Many travelers consider Indonesia too developed, too "touristy" therefore discount it, but to scratch it off is a mistake. There is a reason the country is a premier destination -- spectacular scenery, exotic cultures, friendly people, and delicious cuisine. It’s the best of Southeast Asia in one (albeit huge) country. As a backpacker, Indonesia is more expensive (by Southeast Asian tourist standards), but one must simply bargain harder and politely. I only visited Sumatra, Java, and Bali, but I hope to return to Sumatra and the other islands I didn't have time for.

I am back in the U.S. now and am adjusting myself. I plan to continue blogging. I spent 10 days in Bali, so a separate post will come shortly. And, I know you all are hungry for a post on food (pun intended), how to bargain, what I got out of my travel experience, and more!

Click here for more Indonesia photos.

Smoking Ijen volcano in East Java.


















Locals carry 80-plus pounds of sulfur from the opaque teal crater down the volcano daily.























I thought I died and went to heaven when I saw the shimmering vast crater lake, Minanjau.























My guide Dhany in the beautiful mountain town of Bukittinggi in West Sumatra. He may be moving to Houston to be with his wife who is a professor in town.























Rice paddies, a mosque, and village in Bukittinggi.























Me on Dhany's Texas-themed motorbike. Yeehaw!
























The bizarre Rumah Gadang architecture found in Sumatra (pictured here in Koto Gadang famous for its silver jewelry.)


















For my birthday, I visited two volcanoes during sunrise: Gunung Bromo (below) and Ijek both in Java.


















Gunung Bromo up close during an a once-a-year Indonesian holiday.


















As the Lonely Planet guide described so well, a sense of an end-of-the-world feel at Gunung Bromo.


















A different, desolate view of Bromo.























Clouds always seem to sit on the horizon in Indonesia -- one of my favorite scenes especially during sunrise and sunset. (Mountain adjacent to Bromo.)


















This machinery utilizes buffalo power to press sugarcane.























On a bus ride through the jungle to Ijen.


























Most touristed attraction in Indonesia, Borobudur temple (UNESCO World Heritage site) in Java.

Breakthrough in Central Vietnam

After three weeks traveling in central Vietnam, I have the confidence to say I can speak Vietnamese, one of my most important life goals.

In Hoi An, the beautiful ancient town (UNESCO designation), I strike up a conversation with a woman who owns a Vietnamese dessert shop. I ask her for a restaurant recommendation, and she offers to take me instead. I end up spending two days with her, practicing conversational Vietnamese during meals, paying homage to her family, playing badminton with her daughter and the neighborhood ragamuffins, and running around town buying lanterns and nuoc mi (sugarcane juice) with the two little girls until midnight.

In Hoi An, colorful glowing lanterns hang above unique wooden shutters and sliding doors -- architecture reminiscent of a different era. Cau lao noodle, a dish I had every day, can only be found in Hoi An as the water comes from a nearby ancient Cham well. The rest of central Vietnam is just as spellbounding. White, yellow, and red sand dunes and cliffs are as typical as the rice paddies in the beach town of Mui Ne. In Hue, (UNESCO World Heritage site) I visit the citadel and forbidden city and the tombs of the Nguyen dynasty kings. I also was able to practice Vietnamese often in Hue.

On traveling alone and backpacking
Without a doubt the region is beautiful, but my three weeks in central Vietnam was magical, because the people were so lovely. Without obligations to a mate or group, I can easily meet locals who are eager to tell me about their family and culture. Every connection was the highlight of my visit and left a deep impression on my heart.

Traveling alone as well as traveling via backpacking can open doors for richer experiences. Already on a bus to Vietnam's largest cave north of Hue, I learn from a tourist that direct transportation to the cave and a return to Hue mid afternoon is available -- and I would pay less (two dollars if you must know.) But, as is the backpacker’s way, a traveler and I get off that bus, wait an hour for a local bus hoping it's going to our destination, score, and walk five miles to the guesthouse with our packs. After all that nonsense, we then need to rent a motorbike to get to the cave, an hour away. Indeed, all the effort is trivial compared to the ride there. The rolling hills give way to expansive skies. Clouds of all shapes and sizes stretch down to the peaks of distant mountains. All the while driving by plush green rice paddies and dodging children leading water buffalo.

We arrive at Phuong Nga cave an hour before closing time. The cave is amazing, but as I have come to learn, traveling is less about the destination/tourist site, and more about the journey there. Five minutes after we hop onto the motorbike, rain begins to pour. Luckily, my grocery-bag thin poncho and sunglasses are substantial enough to keep me content while I marvel at the layers of blue beneath the rain clouds. After some forty minutes, the rain subsides, and the sky clears. I turn around and witness the most brilliant of sunsets I have ever seen. The sky and clouds are stained with magnificent hues of yellow, magenta, and violet.

After this experience, I wonder if I can travel any differently. When you are backpacking, you are physically more involved in the journey. Mentally, you are alert and active as you are constantly forced to use your brain to process the sensory overload and for problem solving. This engagement is very rewarding, and memories remain vivid.

Photos below, and/or click here for more photos.

The sunset after visiting Vietnam's largest cave. Photos and skills (rather, my lack of) could not capture the startling beauty.


















The motorbike ride to Phuong Nga cave.



















And the pretty drive goes on and on.
























Marble Mountains near China Beach.


















The impressive tomb (or mausoleum) of Emperor Khai Dinh (1916-1925).


















The drive back from visiting the tombs of three Nguyen kings.























Snake wine, for health and virility!























The central market of the ancient sea town, Hoi An.























An aerial view of Hoi An.























Nha Trang, beach town.



















Big shoes to fill on Nha Trang beach.























Boulder climbing for a few hours to Yang Bay Waterfall in Nha Trang.


















The red dunes of Mui Ne beach town.























The white sand dunes of Mui Ne.


















Sand cliffs along the Fairy Stream in Mui Ne.

Heartbreaking Cambodia

My time in Cambodia has been my most emotional experience to date.
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Nearly all Cambodians (or Khmers), young and old, don a linen checked scarf. More for function than style, the krama can be used as a shield from dust, heat, as a sweat rag, sling, anything and everything. This notion is not new as I’ve seen and bought similar rags through Southeast Asia for similar reasons.

While in Phnom Penh, the country’s capital, I visit S-21 (Tuol Sleng Museum), a school turned torture and detention center. I then make a jaunt to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, where millions of Cambodians – men, women, children of all backgrounds -- were cruelly killed. A beautiful stupa serves as a memorial housing some 9,000 skulls. The victims’ faded, ragged clothing are piled on bottom shelf including kramas. At S-21, many photos of detainees are displayed. A few are smiling, almost all are stoic, solemn. I notice some have a krama encircling their necks. I read that those very scarves were also used to choke, suffocate, and silence the screams during the killings.

The reality is that Cambodia is still terribly impoverished. Begging at every corner is expected; tuk tuk drivers make $10 a day if they’re lucky. Eating insects or anything edible is normal. Toddlers run around half naked, and the clothes they do have look so grimy especially due to the prevalent red dirt. No amount of bleach and detergent can rid of it (I know.) Bargaining is no longer fun, because as quickly as you can say, “too expensive”, the sellers immediately drop the price by half. I sense honest desperation.

Despite these conditions and circumstances, Cambodians seem genuinely happy and are overwhelmingly friendly towards each other and to tourists alike. The people, the towns, and the ambience is so chill, you forget and enjoy yourself easily. Before I reached Phnom Penh, I relaxed at Sihanoukville’s Serendipity beach and Bamboo Island. Throughout the country, I must have waved and returned hellos to almost every enthusiastic Cambodian child under age 10. Undoubtedly, I come away like many visitors, confounded by the apparent disparity of a startling not-so-distant past and the cheery face of Cambodia today.

My time in this country has ended, but I will continue wearing my krama. For me and Cambodians too, the scarf is a powerful symbol that speaks to their identity -- and for me, their complicated past. Such a simple accessory represents a tragic history. But, it is a visible link to their ancestors, and a reminder to never forget.

If you are unfamiliar with the Khmer Rouge and the genocide, I strongly recommend that you read about it. Or consider watching a Cambodian documentary, Enemies of the People, which I had the honor of viewing in Cambodia at the invitation of expat law students. (They are working as interns during the trials of the Khmer Rouge leaders.) In the film, a Cambodian journalist, whose family died in the Killing Fields, interviews the killers including Khmer Rouge leader, Nuon Chea -- a ten-year project in his spare time.

Or, visit Cambodia, contribute the economy, and see for yourself. It is a little rough around the edges, but it's scenic and adventurous, and as aforementioned, the people are beautiful and extremely open.




















Inside the memorial stupa at Choeung Ek Killing Fields
























Detention rooms at Tuol Sleng Museum or S-21



















Millions of civilians' were forced to leave their homes and towns and into labor camps. More than two million civilian deaths occurred between '75 to '79.



















A classroom turned detention facility. Once upon a time, a school, but later used for torturing before civilians were sent to the Killing Fields.
























A view of the boat trip from Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat.
























Inside Angkor Wat
























The many faces of Angkor Thom temple



















Ta Prohm temple, which was used in Tomb Raider



















A view of Battambang, the second largest city



















Me and my krama

Luxurious Singapore

I spent six days in Singapore, a tiny island located on the Malay peninsula. Singapore can best be described as the world’s largest shopping complex disguised as a country that is actually a large city disguised as a country. Shopping as well as eating is 24 hours. You can find hawker street food and delicious affordable cafeteria style to five-star dining. I also had a Guinness for the first time in months. (Dark beer, or any beer besides Tiger and the country’s own watery brands, is hard to come by in SE Asia.)

Generally speaking, Singapore is visually brilliant – the landscape almost too perfect. Funky, colorful, creative buildings like an architect gone mad in his version of SIM city. It’s best seen at night – glittery, bright, and busy. Singapore is probably the most modern city in Southeast Asia – by one measure – a variety of clean public transportation. Like Malaysia, it’s equally diverse, boasting a Little India, Chinatown, Malaysian town, and Arab Town (which by the way, between Malaysia and Singapore, I visited three Little India’s.) And everyone speaks English, or Singlish rather, the heavily Chinese-accented English where every sentence ends in “la.”

The next leg of my trip, beginning Saturday and totaling two months, will include Cambodia, central and south Vietnam, and Indonesia (and if I’m lucky, Borneo’s Sarawak and Malaysia’s Taman Negara.) Ready, or not, here I come!

More Singapore photos can be found here.

Too many temples to keep up with the names.


















Too many malls, but when you're a shopoholic - Iluma.


















A snapshot of the colorful, interesting buildings in this concrete jungle.


















I'm told that durian, dubbed the king of fruits (in SE Asia anyway), taste best in Thailand, but the ones I had here, Vietnam, and Malaysia were tasty, too. BTW, mangosteens are considered queen of fruits.


















Fish head curry, a Singapore specialty, was to die for. Also had nasi lemak, satay, nyong curry soup, and more.























A street vendor selling interesting edibles.























For my Rice friends and colleagues - you'll be thrilled to know this wasn't the only shop in town with an owl obsession!























Look closely -- this photo captures the decadence that is Singapore. My friend, Maggie had her nails done at her relative's beauty salon. The session took nearly three hours, from making the fake nails to creating, with painstaking meticulosity, the piece of art on each nail.























Make note, durian is a delicious fruit, but it's stinky -- so bad, that it's not allowed on the subway.























A crowded Mcdonald's full of people watching World Cup.