Kalibiru, at the Edge of the World

(continuing from the previous post here)

Our chat, weeks before my arrival in Jogjakarta...

Friend whom I had a crush on : Just list down the places you want to visit in Jogja.
Me : Dieng!
Friend : Dieng? Ok aja!

Our chat a day before my arrival...

Friend : We have to skip Dieng. It's raining and not advisable.
Me : ok #sadface
Friend : Where else? On Saturday, do you mind going to Kalibiru?
Me : Ok. I'll just follow whatever your plans are. :)

I googled Dieng... found pictures exactly like this one that I personally took. It was LOVELY! 

(Later we found out there were some landslides in the Dieng area and I was glad we didn't end up going there.)

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Yogyakarta, a Foolish Girl's Dream Come True

Do you know that feeling when you have  a crush on this person since the first time you've met (early 2013) making your knees weak and face flushed whenever you're in his presence? It took about some time to finally realize that these reactions were immature and down-right foolish. Hahaha.

And to top that foolishness, I also secretly harbored a dream to ride on a motorbike with him and explore mountains, beaches and waterfalls together. Yeahh.. my head is full of horse shit. How to behave myself around him with these thoughts in my head? LOL!

But as months past... (a whole year even!) and having traveled with many people sometimes alone with the opposite sex whom I trust my life and honor with and who became great friends, I suddenly garnered the courage to befriend my crush, minus the foolish thoughts. :)

So one fine day, when browsing for cheap airline tickets online, I chanced upon a cheap RM125 return tickets to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. My heart skipped a beat when I realized that the guy I secretly admire is currently staying there. I decided to test if I could come there by messaging him, asking if he was free to host me.

................ few anxious moments later.............

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Gua Jomblang - In Eternal Darkness, You'll Find Light

The hell Jard, why does your blog's title sounds so cryptic? - monologue

I didn't had a good rest the night before. The guestroom I slept in was a simple bare room with two metal double decker bunk beds, a wooden drawer, air purifier and an adjoining bathroom. There wasn't much decorations in the room as it was newly furbished with the simple furniture it holds. I shared it with two other guys and a girl. (Yeah, here's my first, sleeping in mixed dormitories!) My night was restless because the sounds of the rounded belly white guy who slept across me, going to the bathroom kept me up.

But hey no worries, I got to wake up early to hop on the pre-booked ojek (or also known as taxi-like motorist) to Giwangan Bus Station, located 15 minutes away. My friend from Jombang will be waiting for me there as we'll be heading to the outskirts of Yogyakarta to a district named Wonosari via bus. It is here where I'll experience my first time caving!

This caving trip involves two caves. the Jomblang cave which is a vertical cave with a forest manifestation covering a diameter of 60 meters and the Grubug cave where in eternal darkness you get to see rays of light. Read on to understand what I mean.

Giwangan Bus Station. These are inter-cities buses. You can catch a bus to any part of East Jawa here. 

The day wasn't exactly a clear beautiful day. It was cloudy with signs of rainfall. We waited for another friend to join before we boarded the mini bus to our destination. The ride costed us Rp10,000 each, a cheaper method of going there compared to renting a whole car which would cost us Rp450,000 (excluding fuel).

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Pak Ateng, Prambanan and Alun-alun Kidul, Yogyakarta

I'm gonna blog according to these three subjects. Hehe. After cave tubing in Goa Pindul, our supir (read : driver) drove us to Prambanan which is situated an hour and half from Wonosari.

Pak Ateng

Remember this entry? The one I blogged about the three guys I fell in love with? My guy friends were forever guessing and all of their guesses were wrong. None mentioned Pak Ateng. Haha. Why him?

Read on to find out. =P

The stout Pak Ateng.

1. He knows how to sing! Haha. He had youthful Indonesian music being played in his van and he sang to all of the songs. I think the other guys were singing also but I didn't notice which "soulful" voice were theirs. We bobbed our heads rhythmically to the music through out the whole ride back. And it made me fall in love with the song "Ya Sudahlah" by Bondan Prakoso & Fade to Black.  (youtube link)

2. He knows how to crack jokes that I actually LAUGHED out loud to. And I mean it, my laugh was LOUD. For instance, he'll tell me to look out of my left window and say in Indonesian language, "Hey, that's where our ancestors live!". I totally thought he meant some sort of cemetery  But when I turned to look, I saw Yogyakarta's Zoo! Hahaha!

I answered in return, "No, Pak Ateng, they are your ancestors only. Certainly not mine!" That cracked the guys at the back though. Hehe.

It doesn't take much to tickle my fancy, eh? Besides, I don't have a type. If I like you, I like you. :)

Prambanan

That day was the day I had one of those bad hijab day. My hair was wet from the recent cave tubing activity and I resorted to putting my sarong as my temporary head cover. I tried as much as possible to avoid being pictured in any of my guy friends cameras... until this one got loose. At least my entrance ticket only costed me  Rp 30,000 (local price). Hehe.

Fauzan, me (bad hijab day!), Helga and Singgih. Picture from Helga's camera.

Well, they didn't escape my camera though. So here's my share of pictures taken at Prambanan.

Aren't they sweet? Jumping for my camera. hehe.

Prambanan is considered as the largest Hindu Temple in Southeast Asia. While the Borobudur (which I didn't get to visit) is a Buddhist temple. Seeing how close these two temples are to each other shows how Buddhism and Hinduism lived peacefully together in Jawa, 

I read that Prambanan is also called as Roro Jonggrang which comes from a local folk lore called "slender virgin". From the legend, a powerful man named Bandung Bondowoso wanted to marry the beautiful princess, Roro Jonggrang. Since she didn't love him, she asked him to build 1,000 temples in one night before sun rise and the crowing of the roosters. Then only that will she accept him. He did just that but Roro had women in the village to pound rice to make roosters crow earlier to fail Bandung's attempt. This enraged Bandung gravely and he turned her into stone. :)

Oh ya, besides Prambanan (Roro Jonggrang) is the so called Candi Sewu which means a thousand temples. Bandung was said to successfully built only 999 temples. I guess the 1000th temple would be Roro as the stone slender virgin also known as Prambanan.

The slender virgin?  

Folk lore aside, Prambanan was built in the 9th century. the biggest temple is dedicated to Shiva (the destroyer with the height 47 meters tall ) and the two smaller ones are dedicated to Brahma (the creator) and Wishnu (the sustainer). 

By the way, let me formally introduce to you Fahmi from Solo. He's the shirtless lass I blogged about from my previous entry here.  And NO, I don't have a picture of him shirtless but you can google "shirtless Taylor Lautner" to get my meaning. Haha!

Fahmi, a friend of Helga.

After spending some time at Prambanan, my hair was starting to get dry so during our ride into town, I managed to put my hijab on within the sarong. Haha. Thankfully Pak Supir and the guys weren't able to see my hair. 

Alun-Alun Kidul

Alun-alun also means big open grassy area. If you go to Alun-alun Kidul in Yogyakarta during the night, you could see all these colorful lit motorized cycle carts... errr... whatever you call them, all over the place! Some of the carts even have DVD players with mini screens on them! And I spotted some kids sitting on top of the carts.

Traffic jam in Alun-alun Kidul.

I have no idea where the carts were bringing their customers to. Haha. Maybe just going in circles. Unfortunately, our time with Pak Ateng was nearing to an end and I had to catch a bus back to Semarang the same night. 

What happened next was blogged before in this entry, where I got involved in a road accident. :'(

Guess that ends my trip to Yogyakarta. Hope to come here again for Jomblang and Borobudur! 

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Cave Tubing in Goa Pindul, Yogyakarta

I woke up with a start. When my eyes started to focus on the things around me, I noticed the sudden maleness feeling of the room I just spent the night in. The faded jeans and checker-box shirts hanging on the wall, posters of rock bands plastered on one part of the wall and the smell...

...then it hit me. I'm in a house full of men! Hahaha!

I grabbed my toiletries and rushed to the bathroom situated outside the house. My guy friends were strewn all over the floor of the living room, still very much asleep. So I quietly tiptoed over them. Haha. Just to get out of the door to the bathroom outside.

Rise and shine everybody! Let's go cave tubing!

Helga managed to rent an 8-seater van for the cost of 250k rupiahs per day for the trip. And Fauzan, our couchsurfing host decided to join us as he shamefully admitted that as a Yogyakarta local, he has never been to Goa Pindul before! *shocked* We had some cakes and 3-in-1 drinks in Fauzan's house before starting the journey.

Our driver was a stout kind of a man who talked and sang a lot (I should know, because I was sitting in front with him). I couldn't figure out his age but maybe he was nearing his 50's. Nonetheless, he had loud rock music blaring from his car's radio. Haha. Youthful soul, eh uncle? The ride from Yogyakarta's town to Goa Pindul located at Desa Bejiharjo in Wonosari  was a long one. Almost two hours! I really didn't know what to expect but I knew it would involve going into water and have brought extra pair of clothes for that.

The signboard above the ticketing and waiting area of Goa Pindul.

There were a lot of locals already waiting for their turns to start cave tubing. It seemed we were late and will be waiting along with all the rest. Hehe. Pak supir parked his van in an allocated parking area and the boys decided to change into their swimming wear... inside the van,

I didn't bother. I was going into the water with the clothes I had on. Hijab and all.

Fauzan (our host) looking on as people were loaded into open trucks to do some water rafting at Sungai Oya.

Desa Wisata Bejiharjo had three main activities in the area. They were Cave Tubing in Goa Pindul, Caving Goa Glatik and then Rafting Sungai Oya. I didn't see any foreign tourists at this place so it was basically swarmed by local tourists only.

I suddenly felt lucky to be with these guys.

I felt..... ermm... LOCAL. hahaha!

Rp 30,000 per head. That's dirt cheap!! Equivalent to RM10 !

The area has some bathing and changing rooms available for a price which Rp2,000 per usage. They also sell soap, shampoo and bathing clothes for those who came unprepared. A small mushollah (praying facility) was also provided. 

We had to wait for awhile for our turn and every one seemed excited that they decided not to eat first. Little do they know, my stomach was already doing the "krucukkk.. krucukkk" sound. T__T

Clockwise from upper left : My guy companions that day (Helga, Fahmi, Singgih and Fauzan), the big signage slab, Singgih trying to keep his electronic devices dry by putting it into a plastic, and the signage in front of the ticketing booth.

When suddenly, "Mbak Helga" name was called by the operators, we quickly came to the counter to retrieve our life jackets and black tubes!

And off we go with tubes on our backs, walking into the unknown to the place where the starting point of tubing will happen. We walked and walked through mud and small meadows to reach the place below. Mind you, we only had slippers on during this ordeal. So it was a slippery ordeal indeed.

Pictures from above : The starting point where we'll enter the water, the guys with their tubes (hehe) and the picture below is where our tubing ends once we get out of that hole in the wall!

You know, the most funniest thing happened once we hit the water. It started RAINING!! And heavily too!

So as a guide with a torchlight guided us through the calm waters into the hole in the wall (read: cave), we actually could hear the loud rain pelts from outside! 

The tubes we were sitting on were lined up in long rows. Each row had their turns into the dark cave with one guide. I couldn't understand much of what the guide was saying as he was speaking in thick Indonesian language. haha. But I enjoyed the freaking experience floating in the dark cave while holding hands of the guys from both sides of me (ehem, darurat). 

Then at one point, the cave opened into a wide area with a big hole above! Rain was pouring in on us and this is when the guys got crazy. No picture were taken as it was raining heavily! 

They jumped off from their tubes and started climbing the high hedge (in the cave) and starting JUMPING into the water! I wanted to join them but I had a non water proof camera in my pockets and I couldn't risk the damage. The link between the tubes were broken and I was floating aimlessly in the dark. Hahaha.

Thankfully Singgih swam over to me and helped drag me in my tube towards the light outside. And then to the rocky shore. *my hero! sobs* It was still raining heavily when I reached ashore and also still raining as I head back alone to the ticketing area. Singgih swam back to join the other guys. But I didn't wait that long. hehe.

Afterwards we had Bakso at the shop across the street. Fahmi just happened to get shirtless during this time and people around us was actually gawking at him. Well, he did have a very toned body of that of Taylor Lautner. Lulz. But with shirtless him sitting next to me in the shop and hot, delicious bakso in front of me... bakso eventually won me over! =P

And so ends my very first cave tubing experience! Next stop is......... (next blogpost)

Note: Other blogposts on Goa Pindul made by Indonesians can be read here and here. 

People I Met From Jakarta to Yogyakarta

People I met along the way always contributes to the memorability quality of the trip. It just happens that my last year's accidental solo backpacking trip to Indonesia has brought me to meet awesome locals!(Accidentally solo because my travel-mate came down with diarrhea and flown home the next day!) And I wasn't even a member of couchsurfing.org yet. =P

I've spent two full days in Jakarta. My contact person there was a guy named Helga whom I met during MSS2011. Our second meeting was when he and his other friend, Singgih came to Kuala Lumpur where I happily toured them around KL and Putarjaya. (Entry here) And months later, we met again. This time in Jakarta, the city in which at that time was working at an IPTV company.

With Adik Helga. This picture is from this entry. His hair didn't change much. He he he. 

I arrived in Jakarta via train from Semarang. Before that I spent my days in Semarang with a couple of doctors from Palembang who were there on a holiday. Helga picked me up from the station and we headed to his office. I had the good fortune to sleep in Helga's friend's house and was brought to some places of interest as blogged here. The part I forgot to mention was meeting up with fellow tweep and blogger named Aditya Eka Prawira. ( @aditoo )

We arranged to meet up at Sabang, a walking distance away, near the food stalls called BSM. It was my first time meeting Adit and boy, was he tall! 184 cm! He was attending a function nearby and went to meet us afterwards. Like all the Indonesians guys I've met, he had a clean face (no face hair, no acne. LOL) And I noticed he had very long fingers! *runcing siot!

With Aditoo. Pictured at Helga's office where we hang out until way past office hours. And YES, he's that tall! 

After spending the afternoon with Helga and Adit (well, I spent most of the time napping on the couch! hahaha!), I was a bit sad that we had to part ways with Adit after such a brief meeting. Maybe we could meet next time when I'm in town ya Adit? Hehe.

Helga in the meantime, had to rush for his night classes, so he brought me to meet his girl friend named Dani. She was working in the same building and I was delighted to learn that she'll be hosting me for the night! (gratis!) I had to wait for her to finish up her tasks first. But luckily there were free drinks and wi-fi, so I didn't mind that much. Only moments later did she bring me to her humble room, blocks away from the office.

I've learnt that rooms for monthly rentals in Jakarta are very costly. A room that can fit a pint size bed, small table, a closet and with just enough room for another person to sit on can cost about 500,000 rupiahs per month. I'm thankful that despite of Dani's small room, she was willing to take me in for the night. (Thanks! *sob!) The rent includes a shared bathroom outside, used by maybe 10 other occupants in that area. Hehe.  

A humbling experience indeed. 

I especially liked her TV though, because with only a CRT TV, she can still enjoy IPTV services! More advanced than what I use in Malaysia! Opps.. forgot, I don't have a TV. T__T

The next day, Dani, Helga and I spent the day touring Jakarta as blogged by Helga here. 

I managed to catch some pre-nuptial pictures of them during that day. he he he *naughty grin

Pictures taken during the rides on Trans-Jakarta and also some at TMII (Taman Mini Indonesia Indah)

Note: Hel and Dani, please don't kill me. Hehe.

After that, Dani and I rushed back to her room so that I could pack for my 12 hours bus ride from Jakarta to Yogyakarta!
12 hours bus ride! 

Helga picked me up at her place and we threaded through Jakarta's traffic jams to meet up with Singgih. Riding on the back of a scooter with my big rucksack flailing wildly on my back through the hectic roads of Jakarta was the scariest experience ever as a backpacker thus far.

Seriously.

Singgih (left) and Helga. with their scooters. Also my main transport in Jakarta. =)

I'm not quite sure where we boarded the bus. Not even sure if the place was actually a central bus station in Jakarta. Hehe. All I know was that Singgih bought the tickets, refused my money later and we boarded the bus from the side of a busy highway. Helga will be joining us in Yogyakarta the next day via flight.

Singgih is a specky, very quiet guy who plays PSP and collects anime collectible items. But a very good guy. Through out the 12 hours journey together, he waited for me to finish my prayers before eating together, almost paid for my food (but I managed to stop him) and tucked me in on the bus!

Tucked me in? Hehe.

I was shivering from cold on the bus and Singgih told me there was a blanket on the top of the seats. He pulled it out for me and as I gathered the blanket around me, he actually helped tucked it in at both sides of me. Aww! So sweet! Haha! Slept peacefully after that...

...until we reached Yogyakarta...... and met with Fauzan... Helga's pre-arranged couchsurfing host there.

Clockwise from upper left : Gudeg (Yogyakarta's special dish), the boys at Mailoboro Street, Vredeburg, Pos Indonesia Building, statue of a big foot there, and onde-onde bought at the food market,

Fauzan lent us a motorbike to use and with him on his own motorbike, showed us where to eat Gudeg (as seen in the above picture). Since it was a Friday, we only went out to explore Yogya's city after the Jumaat prayers. We did this by using Trans-Yogyakarta, a much smaller sized bus compared to the ones in Jakarta. Thankfully, Fauzan's house was very near to the bus station. =)

After much delay on his flight, Helga joined us only after Maghrib. By then, we already covered a lot of area.

Singgih at Alun-alun Kidul Kraton Yogayakarta during the evening.

I particularly liked this picture below even-though there's no sunset to be seen. But the colors of the evening took my breath away!

Some where on the way to Alun-Alun Kraton. 

When we finally met up with the tired and late Helga, we headed back to Fauzan's place and ate dinner there. Stalls selling food were open when before were not, and mats were set up all over the place. We just chose a spot to sit and ordered our dinner. Thanks to whom who paid for mine! I forgot who though. Haha!

The night was spent in Fauzan's room he lent us (Fauzan would be sleeping in his housemate's room). There were overall four rooms in the house. The other three were occupied by Fauzan's housemates which consists of a married couple and two other single guys. Being the gentlemen that they are, Helga and the other guys gave me the room while they crashed outside in the living room. That was so noble of them to do so! =)

The next person I met in Yogyakarta deserves a whole entry on it's own. Aisehh.. till then... thanks for reading this very long post!!! 

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Disaster strikes on the road to Semarang, Indonesia

"Go back tomorrow lah, kak" persuaded my friend as I busied myself packing my stuff into my already heavy rucksack.
"Where you're gonna stay? Who's there to meet you?" He asked again for the up-tenth time.

I laughed and said that I'll think about it once I get there. It was 8:30 pm. My bus takes off at 9:00 pm. Time was running slim.

My friends weren't happy with my answer and tried to reason with me to stay another night and travel tomorrow instead. The thing is, I already bought the bus ticket and I had an early flight to catch tomorrow morning in Semarang which is about 3 hours and a half drive from the current place, Yogyakarta. Haha... okay, that's a bit far off.

The guys were swarming the room I was staying in. I had to drive them out with a blanket so that I can do my prayers in peace before I leave town. Unbelievably, these guys were my housemates the previous night. Hehe.

Once I was done and went into the living room, my friend Helga once again bombarded me with words of concern. "Did you pack all your stuff? Did you leave anything? Is your phone charged? Don't forget to whatsapp. Do you have your ticket ready?" He said these things repeatedly! R-E-P-E-A-T-E-D-L-Y!

Hahaha.... It was kinda adorable to see a man babble so much.

Eventually we said our goodbyes and I hopped on my host's scooter and we drove into the night. My host, Fauzan who owns the house we crashed the night at, sent me right through the bus station. He kindly asked the workers at the counter about the bus, seeing me getting settled before leaving me. Ahhh.. he's just so kind! #nangis

At that moment I saw the "free wi-fi" sign and immediately went online. =P

Minutes later I was on the bus. Sitting right next to the driver as I wish to sleep throughout the whole journey without being disturbed by a "seat neighbor".

And then.... three hours later.... KABOOMMMM!!

I was awakened by a load crash. The driver's arm was laying across my chest and to my horror the whole front window was shattered! Spilling small spikes of sharp shards all over my lap and shirt. In a split second I realized that my legs were imprisoned as the fronts of the bus crushed inwards, confining my legs in the process.

When I finally found my voice, I let go a scream for help.

"My leg is stuck! My leg is stuck!" I was petrified!

Indonesians came peering into the space that once hold the window and started pulling the ruins outwards. A rough voice from behind positioned his arms under my armpits and asked for my permission to pull me out. I only managed to shriek a weak "yes". A pair of legs suddenly emerged from above began kicking the bus ruins to make room to free my legs.

I was finally freed.

Miraculously I escaped with minor injuries. Can't say the same for some of the passengers who sat at the back. Huhu.

I have no idea who freed me. I saw nor remembered any faces. So I forwarded my THANKS to Allah for not ending my life just yet.

Alhamdulillah. ^___^

As I was warded at Hospital Kariadi Semarang, I joked with my friends back in Yogyakarta saying...

"See.. you don't have to worry about where I'll be staying for the night! It's for free and it's in a hospital! They even send me to the airport in the morning once I'm released!"

Hehe. So travel safe guys! Make sure the journey you're about to embark on is insured by the transport's agency. My story would've ended differently if I wasn't insured. =P