indonesia

Couchsurfing in Jakarta – don’t forget your towel

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couchsurfing

I’m currently staying in Taman Anggerek after one night at a hotel in Kota Tua which cost us IDR 420,000 (about RM 140). It was a really last minute decision, we headed out to Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) to meet with friends and it was suddenly decided that we’ll just crash at their place.

taman anggerek jakarta

It was about 12:30 pm (!) at that time. We rushed back to the hotel and checked out just in time before heading back to Condominium Taman Anggerek. I grabbed the toothbrush and shaver from the hotel before checking out and went to Matahari – a departmental store here – to get a towel for IDR 37,000 (RM 12).

taman anggerek

Here’s the view from the 26th floor – the view of Jakarta Barat (West Jakarta) is quite polluted but it looks like it’s going to be an awesome place to stay. I haven’t couch surfed in a while.

couchsurfing jakarta

Thanks for having us Eric + wife and Yong Ming! 🙂

Posted: 9:40 pm Jakarta time (GMT +7)

Kuta beach in Bali

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kuta

Much has been said about Kuta beach. It’s not exactly the uncharted 3K’s of backpacking these days. Nowadays, you’re more likely to be bugged by people offering massages, hair braiding, Bintang beer and all sorts of random stuff…like a handmade “magic” cigarette dispenser that is really quite nifty, but that was at Legian.

kuta beach bali

We stayed right opposite Kuta beach so it’s literally right in front when we walked out. Come to think of it, we did a lot of walking in Kuta – and let me tell you, these flip flops are *not* made for walking. It’s really hot during the afternoon – mostly Caucasians catching a tan/recovering from hangovers go there at that hour…

kuta bali

…but it’s really nice during sunset.

kuta beach sunset

You see people start streaming in and picking a good spot around 4:30 pm or so – the beachfront vendors are mostly gone by then so you can sit unmolested, without someone asking you if you want something you don’t need and just…

kuta sunset

…chill there, watching the waves roll in, breathing in the sea salt and immersing yourself in the Zen of it all. It feels very serene, especially if you sit right in front. We stayed until 7:30 pm and I think we were the only ones there at that time. Heh.

kuta beach hb

It should be noted that if any eateries offer to add in some mushrooms into your food, they’re not really talking about ye olde regular mushrooms.

Kopi Luwak

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luwak coffee

Kopi Luwak or Luwak Coffee is the infamously extravagant coffee that comes out of a civet. Well, you know what I mean.

civet cat

Civet cats like this one eats the coffee beans, supposedly these felines have a taste so refined that they’ll only go for the good ones. They’ll crap it out and people dig the coffee beans (which isn’t digested by the civet cat) from the dung and roast it.

kopi luwak

It’s surprisingly aromatic and very smooth coffee. I liked it, although we paid quite a bit for that small cup. How much?

luwak coffee price

That’s about RM 20. We went to this place quite far from the touristy areas too, we saw it go for IDR 150,000 (RM 50) in airports. Yes, that’s the price for just one cup.

kopi luwak bali

Very expensive coffee, one sip will set you back a couple of dollars. 🙂

Merry Christmas from Bali!

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I believe this is the *only* photo I am ever going to post from last night. It was fucking awesome, and there’s a fantastic story behind it. This was taken in the infamous Poppies Lane II in Kuta.

bali christmas

There were three cameras taking this very same group shot. My travel companion, who prefers to remain anonymous – thus the mosaic – should be so lucky that the other two cameras belong to the girl in blue (Australia) and the guy beside her (United States) so chances are if it turns out on Facebook, it’ll never lead back. Haha.

Let me tell you something about Christmas in Bali. You can say what you want about the Poppies Lane party scene but I will tell you:

It was legen…wait for it…dary!

Merry Christmas everyone! smirk

Powerful 8.7 magnitude earthquake Indonesia felt in KL, Malaysia

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KUALA LUMPUR: Another strong earthquake which was
measured at a preliminary magnitude of at least at 8.7 Richter scale
hit Sumatra just after 12 am local time today.

tsunami boats

The meteorological department is issuing out precautionary tsunami
alerts and is advising citizens staying in coastal areas to move at
least 1000 km inland. Fishermen (both the marine kind and the ones
fishing for grossly misplaced sympathy) were seen tying down their
boats, and there are some reports of preemptive intentional destruction
of boats in the hopes of getting a government handout.

Among the areas that were reportedly hit by the tremor were Penang,
Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang, Johor Baru and Muar.
Communication channels were abuzz with inane chatter about the
catastrophe by unaffected individuals wishing to appear worldly and
concerned. Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) has been dispatched to the affected areas in an attempt to quarantine this extremally virulent outbreak the CDC calls “bleeding heart disease”. 😉

tsunami cigs

The strong tremors were felt as far away as Kuching, Sarawak where
cigarettes were shaken loose from their packs and garbage displaced.

Toilet seats were also reportedly affected by the earthquake, with
many reports coming in regarding toilets backing up. Several people
were also hospitalized for mania resulting from overexcitement over the
latest news of death and destruction.

tsunami

Internal Security and Public Order director Comm Datuk Othman Talib made an announcement to appeal to the Malaysian public to remain at home and refrain from going to work or school until the destructive potential of the earthquake is established.

Those who are already at work or school are advised to evacuate immediately and return to their homes until the threat has passed.

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