Cabanas at the Turtle Sanctuary in Gili Trawangan (Lombok, Indonesia)

The Turtle Sanctuary of Gili Trawangan was a minor site to visit; as though an after-thought conceived to provide harmless, if fleeting entertainment for the myriad of backpackers roaming the big Gili island. What was more fascinating - a row of colorful umbrellas and equally huge multicolored pillows languidly sit in front of the aforementioned sanctuary. It was a good spot to be lazy and watch people walk by.

I imagined little upstart turtles rushing into the shore. But that was just an overactive imagination. With the island's relative congestion, this wasn't the place for mother nature to play this scene. That happens in National Geographic and Discovery Channel documentaries, or wistful romcoms and dramas. Clearly, this isn't the movies. It is just a scene in my traveling days.

It was time to take stock.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Monkey Forest in Lombok's Gunung Sari

If my driver-guide spoke English well, he'd be eloquent, I thought.

My driver for the day, Ajam, was a far cry from the morose Odin, my driver the day before. He was particularly receptive and personable. He would open doors (which I disliked), and curiously tiptoe whenever he'd see me finish a visit. He was one of those who was eager to please. One of the places he took me to was a mountain called Gunung Sari (Sari Mountain) which the locals refer as "Monkey Forest".

The uphill eastward ride through "Pusuk Pass" was pleasant and scenic. A few minutes after our ascent, we pulled by the roadside. Lush trees abound, and cheeky monkeys wait for visitors to feed them, usually bought from a nearby traditional market.  

I am in no way fond of these mammals. Never have. This visit reinforced that. A school of monkeys were already waiting by the roadside, hanging on trees, and hopping on to newly arrived vehicles which, expectedly, came and went. If you didn't bring any banana, the monkeys would come near you and check you out. I was, of course, not amused.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Candi Brahu in Trowulan, Mojokerto (Indonesia)

Trowulan, a subdistrict of the Mojokerto Regency in East Java, boasts of almost a dozen temple-relics of the vast Majapahit empire (the last Indianized kingdom in Indonesia), many of them in disparaging states of disrepair. Candi Brahu (Brahu Temple) was among the more special. It sits on a majestic garden lined by flowering plants. Two kilometers from the Mojokerto-Jombang Highway, my motorbike dropped me in a gorgeous clearing with a brick temple rising like a reddish phallic symbol. A cryptic window peeks from the top.

Founded sometime in the 15th century A.D., Brahu Temple was believed to have been a crematorium of kings. Their dead bodies were allegedly incinerated here. Subsequently, statues, royal jewelries made of gold, and ceremonial tools were dug and found in the vicinity. Now here's the mystery: ashes of the dead were never found during its pre-restoration studies. So what was its reason for being? No one really knows for sure. Part of its beauty is in its mystery.

Like a window with no portal of entry. I was thinking of Rapunzel, only with Majapahit head garments and nose rings. "Let down your hair, my damsel in distress," I was imagining of course.

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Negative Vibes All Around Mayura Water Palace (Lombok, Indonesia)

"Not worth it."

"Dishonest people."

"Run down."

"Do not go there."

Those are just some of the comments from different travelers all over the world about Mayura Water Palace that consists of an artificial lake and a floating pavilion right in the middle. This was once an important spot where royalty and his subjects conferred during the reign of the Balinese kingdom in Lombok. I went anyway, but my driver had warnings prior to my entrance.

I paid an entrance fee of 5,000 rupiah to get in. That's a cheap PhP18.60, but wait until touts, staying at the cashier, start their game on you. "You have to get a guide so you can enter the floating pavilion in the middle of the lake," said my would-be guide. "How much for your guide service?" I asked. "It's up to you," he said. That to me does not close a deal. "How much?" I insisted. "Most visitors usually give 20,000 rupiah (PhP)," he said. It's-up-to-you meant 20,000 rupiah? Though that isn't much, I wasn't willing to pay that much just to enter a pavilion on a lake I already paid my entrance for. I said, "No." I do not need to get inside the pavilion. More importantly, this was a very small place that doesn't require a guide. Besides, I can see the pavilion from the side of the lake, thank you.

He huffed. Huffed!!! I didn't care! He could be huffing like a dragon and it won't mean squat to me. I left and just walked around. Now I know why most comments about the place are nasty. So if you're planning on a Lombok trip and would specifically hire a vehicle just to visit this rather limited and rundown "water palace" that offered nothing else, don't!

This is the Eye in the Sky! 

How Women Swim in Mataram, Lombok (Indonesia)

Before there was a Kura Kura Water Park in Mataram (Lombok), they had Mayura Water Park. Do not confuse this with the Mataram Water Park, which isn't meant for swimming, okay? This sprawling hydropark has a number of pools, unlike Mataram which has a single man-made lake coupled with shady, albeit opportunistic personalities roaming around. Locals flock to the Cakranegara District in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara Province to swim, fish, pray, relax or just kill time with their family and friends. The park was built in 1744 by King A.A. Made Karangasem during his reign in Bali.

The compound is built like a terrace of pools with water emanating from a nearby spring. In some pools, guys stand at a spot, carrying 3 to 4 fishing rods. Yes, there are fish in the pool. In another site, women and children bathe in full body cloak. Don't you ever wonder how heavy these garments could get when underwater? They could smother.

The heat was almost unbearable on the day of my visit. Despite my AC car, I stepped into the water park with sweat dripping down my shirt. I found a shaded area with benches and sat there, thinking how easier life could be without the constraints set by religion, conservative tradition or both. Regardless, I only had deep admiration for the women who follow what they believe. Faith is an admirable trait. It sometimes doesn't require proof.

This is the Eye in the Sky.

Tidbit of Surprises in Ubud, Bali (Indonesia)

After a two-hour bus ride (a coaster, really) from Kuta, rolling through rice paddies, hills and artisan shops, I arrived at an almost deserted bus station in Ubud in the Gianyar regency of Indonesia. I somehow felt disoriented, but there was a map on hand. I walked, reluctant to take any tuktuks. Along the way, chanced upon a pond filled with lotuses, surrounded by a golden field of rice. It was little piece of rural Philippines, with specks of differences. After all, I don't have rice paddies beside my house, nor a pond brimming with flowering water hyacinths. 

In the middle of the pond was a fountain that no one seemed to notice... but me? The wonders of Ubud in stages of surprise.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Gili Islands: Making the Lombok Dream (Indonesia)

I had to fly to Bali then to Lombok for the possibility of visiting one of the three Gili Islands which is closer to Lombok by boat.

"Gili" means "island". The etymology is even used in Maldives through a local island called "Villingili" or island village - thus calling it "Gili Island" seems redundant. Wouldn't it mean island island? Located at the northwest coast of Lombok, getting to the Gilis was iffy at best, with the same degree of difficulty as going to Batanes at the northern end of the Philippine archipelago. Several transfers will cost you more than necessary - and the temperament of Lombok strait was unpredictable. However, the promise of natural beauty (supposedly "Bali without the crowd") is excruciatingly inviting, thus the islands beckon to the spirit of the adventure seeker.

Gili Trawangan is the biggest, most outward and most popular, with new, spiffy resorts dotting the circular rim of the island. I thought it would be less populous and less touristy than Bali. It wasn't. Tourists have come in packs! Truth be told, something inside me felt deceived. But I was among those who came, after all. And somehow I knew I should have chosen Gili Meno or Gili Air (the smallest of the three).

Party. Chill. On an island that might as well be party central like Boracay or Bali. I hired my ride to circumnavigate the island and it was done in half an hour. There was an endless array of resorts and obviously more tourists than locals. They were barefoot or wearing flip flops and oblivious to my ruminations

I have thought of the Gilis for three long years. Let's just say the visit felt like coitus interruptus. ;)

This is the Eye in the Sky!  

Playing House in Trowulan, Indonesia

It was a production number to get to Trowulan, once the capital of the Majapahit empire in 14th century Java in Indonesia. A commuter bus took me here because no tour agencies offered trips from Surabaya (Indonesia's 2nd biggest city) which is one of the very few cities in the world I have vowed never to visit again - mainly because I got harassed by a security officer at the airport (from a sea of Muslim passengers deplaning, I, probably the lone Catholic in the plane, got picked for his merriment).

Trowulan was interesting. Not a lot of foreign tourists get here. I hired a tricycle-cum-tour guide (straight from their museum) to visit 6 or 7 ancient temples and ruins. In one of such places, I encountered these cute little ladies playing with mud cakes, as though they were baking. "Can I join you?" I smiled. And they laughed. I was welcomed, and got handed the green cup. If only those "candies" didn't look like turds. :)

This is the Eye in the Sky!

  

Colors From My Wanderings

ORANGE and the monks of Chiang Rai, Thailand.  In a less popular temple in Chiang Rai, I chanced on these monks attending a meeting! Yes, they were discussing something, instead of doing their prayers or chanting.

Light is essential so people can discern the different hues that surround us. Colors make our surroundings vivid portions of our habitat, thus making our lives a little less boring. In this post, I am sharing lots of colors taken from different places all throughout the land. 

My blogger friend Ram - http://sankriti.blogspot.com/ - roped me into this contest, but I was unable to make it on time due to work, which was too bad. Nevertheless, I am posting my chosen photos.  This competition is organized by Travel Supermarket. The rules of the competition are given here: http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/capture-the-colour/ . Now as per rules of the competition I am supposed to tag five other bloggers to do the honors. Unfortunately, since I am very late, tagging five others at this point would be useless since I didn't make the deadline. 

But here's hoping these photos would give someone a smile on his/her face.

This is the Eye in the Sky! 


RED

Taken at one of the ancient palaces in Hue, Vietnam.

A school of jelly fish at the Manila Ocean Park, Manila, Philippines

Steel sculptures  enshrined at the National Museum in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Young girls wearing a traditional dress in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal.

A temple along Jonker's street in Melaka, Malaysia.

A small Chinese Temple in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.

Flowers called gumamelas arranged at the well in Eden Nature Park, Davao City, Philippines.

GREEN

A serenely beautiful tea plantation in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

Children picking tamarind fruits in Beng Mealea, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Ruins and the trees in Beng Mealea, one of the sites where "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" was filmed, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Street delicacy (a version of the pancakes) in Bandung, Indonesia.

Ruins of the Prambanan Temples and the track leading to the woodlands in Prambanan, Indonesia.

PINK

A Catholic Church patterned after Paris' Sacre Couer right in the heart of Trichy, India.

A neglected roadside temple/altar in the bordertown of Gorakhpur, India enroute to Nepal.

A trike driver in Surakarta, Indonesia.

Horse drawn carriage at the desolate beach in Parangtritis, Indonesia.

YELLOWS & GOLDS

One of the gorgeous Khmer palaces in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Detail of the roof and ubosot of a temple in Chiang Saen, North Thailand.

A Vietnamese painting on display in Hue, Vietnam.

Sumptuous meal in Negombo, Sri Lanka.

India's version of the Big Mac called Maharaja Mac in New Delhi, India.

How do you pick a single color in Thanjavur, India?

Colors abound in Agra, India.

Painting for faith in Swayambhunath, Nepal.

A fruit stall in Pudokottai, India.

Colorful trinkets in Bhaktapur, Nepal.

BLUE

Taking the bus in Madurai, India.

One of God's most beautiful, natural creations in Pokhara, Nepal, the jump off point for travels to Everest.

YELLOWS

A quiet sidestreet in Kuala Terangganu, Malaysia.

A quiet residential lane - with colorful winding stairs - in Kuching, Malaysia.

SANDSTONE REDS

One of the sandstone-constructed edifices at the Lodhi Garden in New Delhi, India.

One of the stately tombs in Delhi, India.

A temple in Madurai, India.

Liuli Fountain at the Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Delicious concoction a la halo halo in Jakarta, Indonesia.

A reveler at a festival in Solo, Indonesia.

GRAYS AND GREENS

Pool at the Goa Gajah Temple in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.

Concrete Angkorian soldiers in Siem Reap, Cambodia. 

Melting red candles at the Santo Nino Basilica in Cebu City, Philippines.

Once, opium products were openly sold here at the Golden Triangle where 3 countries meet: Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.

Crossing the waters in Sarawak River, Kuching, Malaysia.

WHITE 

Magnificent White Temple in at the fringes of Chiang Rai, Thailand.

A beautiful but mostly ignored temple in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand's shopping istrict.

BLACK

One of the several Black Temples some 30 minutes from Chiang Rai, Thailand - as designed and maintained by one of the country's National Artists.

YELLOW

Blooming flowers in Da Nang, Vietnam

A painting for sale in Kathmandu, Nepal. I was gonna buy this but negotiations bogged down when I was charged 3x the original price I was initially given.