We have just arrived back in the country after a hectic journey home from our first trip as Husband and Wife. Its such a great feeling to have a husband and especially a husband like Terry! It took a minibus, a boat, a tuk tuk, a bus, a taxi, a plane, another plane, two trains and another taxi to get back to 179 Wick Road, but we finally made it and crashed as soon as we got home.
We woke up positive and excited to see Indonesia so we made a plan and popped to the local tourist office to get those plans in motion. We decided we wanted to see the famous temples, and climb the active volcano in the area called Merapi. It last erupted last year and destroyed a lot of the surrounding area. It was supposed to be a spectacular drive up to see the volcano and a very rewarding hike.
Luckily or unluckily (depending on how you see it) the hospital wasnt far away and we had to get back on the bikes to go see the doctors and nurses at the local Indonesian (never seen a tourist before) hospital. It was a scary place. Full of sick and dying people. They made a huge room available for us and we carefully got up on a stretcher. It was a scary moment. Lying there with 2 nurses staring down at my knee. They had to give me two anthestic injections as I could fill the stitches after the first one and I sang loudly or rather screamed as Terry called it whilst they stitched me up. Ouch.
Four stitches in my knee later, around £10 in medical bills lighter and a ton of plasters for both of us and we were back on the bikes and on our way back to the temple to explore! Our drivers thought we were mad and told us we should go back to town but there was no way we were going to let these injuries stop us, we were already three quarters of the way there!
After the temples, we carried on up the mountain around extremely windy roads, to the beginning of the trek to Mount Merapi. We stayed in the local guides house, on a concrete floor and right next to 3 cows until midnight, when Terry (injured leg in tow) began his journey to the summit of the active volcano. I could not move my leg at all. The concrete floow didnt exactly help or the hunger. As I lay awake covered in blankets to not only keep my teeth from chattering but also from the flies, Terry trekked up a mountain for 6 hours in the pitch black darkness. He said it was the hardest trek he had ever done but the views made up for it.
Once we had endured the beautiful yet painful journey through the mountains on the bikes back (I went with the guide this time and looked over the whole way at Terry scared he would fall), we arrived back in Yogyakarta to take the bus down to Mount Bromo, another amazing active volcano.
At 5am, we woke up freezing and tired to walk up the top of a mountain that overlooked what currently was darkness. As the sun decided to wake up, we were greeted by 3 active volcanoes and one of the most spectacular sights imaginable. Three huge peaks and plumes of ash escaping into the air. It was a magical experience. And then before we knew it I hobbled down the mountain with my walking stick as an aid and we jumped in the 4x4's to the base of Bromo. We couldnt believe that we were travelling into the ash cloud. Just like Iceland although we were encourage to get out and walk around a mile with hardly any visability. I did my best to walk as fast as I could, my knee was killing and I thought for sure my stitches would come out, but nothing would stop me. I was determined to climb the active volcano and experience something many do not get the chance to.
One mile, a Hindu temple, more and more desert sand dunes and around 100 steps and we were at the summit. There were no barriers or guides, nothing to stop you plumeting down into the volcano itself. Three minutes up there was enough for me. There was only a tiny ledge and around 10 people pushing and shoving to have a look inside. I was scared so I hobbled down slowing everyone up behind me. Terry of course stayed up there for another 20 minutes or so, one of the best moments of his life I think! It was pretty out of this world.
When he reached the bottom of the steps, I had already made friends with a local person who gave lazy tourists horseback rides to the steps of the volcano and back. He was really nice and talked about how he only earns 5% of each ride and with each ride only costing around £3, thats pence to him.
Never sure if these guys are telling the truth or not, I didnt care. I needed the lovely horse to take me back to the 4x4, I was in sooo much pain. So up I get on top of this huge horse and make my way very slowly up and down the dunes to the car, where we bought a few bananas and relaxed with the sight of the volcano and its rumbles in front of us.
After Bromo, we decided it was time for some relaxation. Both of us were still injured, my leg was far from healed and Terry was just starting to recover. We looked so funny, walking hand in hand down the streets hobbling along. Matching injuries on our honeymoon, how sweet!
We booked a bus to get us to Bali, we heard Bali was paradise. A quiet set of beach resorts mixed with yoga, relaxation and serenity. Well, in true Terry and Jen form it didnt quite work out that way. After spending hours, hours and hours in a very uncomfortable bus with our legs stretched out as much as possible and a hat over our injuries to stop the flies from having a feast, we reached the boat. It was an hour long boat journey to the shores of Bali.
When we arrived we were greeted by hoardes of taxi drivers wanting to take us where ever we wanted to go. Luckily our bus was booked to take us all the way to Ubud. We started to get a little concerned that everyone on the bus had already booked accomodation in Ubud or were struggling to find any. Once in a neighbouring town our driver decided that it was time to drop us off. Unaware of where we were, tired and disorientated we had no choice but to jumped into another taxi and ask for Ubud. This driver charged us a ridicously amount as the journey was not 1 hour as described but only 10 minutes down the road. As you can imagine we were not happy when we arrived and was made even worse but the sight of no hostels. It was around 10pm in Ubud, the shops were closed and all was quiet expect for the sound of our flipflops as we walked up and down the main street looking for an open hostel. Finally some guy came out of nowhere offering us a room so we took it. It was actually a great decision as our room was huge, with a balcony overlooking the garden. The owner came straight over with a cold beer and a cold coke and we sat there laughing at how stressed out we both were that day.
For that moment, I was so happy. After a very stressful week, I was ready to start over again in Indonesia.
The honeymoon began on the Tuesday after the big day, we flew with Emirates to Yogyakarta, in Indonesia. Yogyakarta is famous for being close to the Borobudur Temples, the oldest buddhist temple formation in the world. I had booked a lovely guest house for when we arrived, only to be greeted with the fact the guest house only had a twin room left with a shared bathroom! It was too late, and we had too many hours of travel behind us to change, so we put up with the tiny twin room and the noise of the swimming pool pumping water out all night!
No sooner than making those plans did we have our motocycle helmets on and I have my arms around Terry holding on for dear life. The roads were insane! Indonesia seems to only have single lanes, where cars dart in and out, trying to get ahead of each other. We took it slowly but had to keep up with our guide who was showing us the route.
We stopped off along the way for some pictures of the rice paddies and had a bit of lunch at one point. We took the alternative back route to the temples and the views were amazing. With only a few kilometres left to go to Borobudur, the motorbike hit gravel, slid on a rock and crashed. Terry and I flew off. Lying on the gravel, I wasnt sure if I should move or stay still, I looked around and saw Terry coming towards me. Phew I thought, he's ok and then it hit, the pain came! The shock saved me from the pain for all of 5 seconds and bam I looked down at my knee to see a huge hole in it and cuts all over my arms and legs. I could actually see the bone in my knee! Terry had sliced off all of the skin from his arm and knee and we were a right pair of skinless westerners!
All of a sudden in the middle of nowhere and from absolutely nowhere a huge crowd gathered around us and we were taken to the local maternity unit a few metres up the road. Some 'nurse' stuck her finger in my wound and told our guide I needed stitches. Crap.
All of a sudden in the middle of nowhere and from absolutely nowhere a huge crowd gathered around us and we were taken to the local maternity unit a few metres up the road. Some 'nurse' stuck her finger in my wound and told our guide I needed stitches. Crap.
Four stitches in my knee later, around £10 in medical bills lighter and a ton of plasters for both of us and we were back on the bikes and on our way back to the temple to explore! Our drivers thought we were mad and told us we should go back to town but there was no way we were going to let these injuries stop us, we were already three quarters of the way there!
Once we had endured the beautiful yet painful journey through the mountains on the bikes back (I went with the guide this time and looked over the whole way at Terry scared he would fall), we arrived back in Yogyakarta to take the bus down to Mount Bromo, another amazing active volcano.
At 5am, we woke up freezing and tired to walk up the top of a mountain that overlooked what currently was darkness. As the sun decided to wake up, we were greeted by 3 active volcanoes and one of the most spectacular sights imaginable. Three huge peaks and plumes of ash escaping into the air. It was a magical experience. And then before we knew it I hobbled down the mountain with my walking stick as an aid and we jumped in the 4x4's to the base of Bromo. We couldnt believe that we were travelling into the ash cloud. Just like Iceland although we were encourage to get out and walk around a mile with hardly any visability. I did my best to walk as fast as I could, my knee was killing and I thought for sure my stitches would come out, but nothing would stop me. I was determined to climb the active volcano and experience something many do not get the chance to.
One mile, a Hindu temple, more and more desert sand dunes and around 100 steps and we were at the summit. There were no barriers or guides, nothing to stop you plumeting down into the volcano itself. Three minutes up there was enough for me. There was only a tiny ledge and around 10 people pushing and shoving to have a look inside. I was scared so I hobbled down slowing everyone up behind me. Terry of course stayed up there for another 20 minutes or so, one of the best moments of his life I think! It was pretty out of this world.
When he reached the bottom of the steps, I had already made friends with a local person who gave lazy tourists horseback rides to the steps of the volcano and back. He was really nice and talked about how he only earns 5% of each ride and with each ride only costing around £3, thats pence to him.
Never sure if these guys are telling the truth or not, I didnt care. I needed the lovely horse to take me back to the 4x4, I was in sooo much pain. So up I get on top of this huge horse and make my way very slowly up and down the dunes to the car, where we bought a few bananas and relaxed with the sight of the volcano and its rumbles in front of us.
After Bromo, we decided it was time for some relaxation. Both of us were still injured, my leg was far from healed and Terry was just starting to recover. We looked so funny, walking hand in hand down the streets hobbling along. Matching injuries on our honeymoon, how sweet!
We booked a bus to get us to Bali, we heard Bali was paradise. A quiet set of beach resorts mixed with yoga, relaxation and serenity. Well, in true Terry and Jen form it didnt quite work out that way. After spending hours, hours and hours in a very uncomfortable bus with our legs stretched out as much as possible and a hat over our injuries to stop the flies from having a feast, we reached the boat. It was an hour long boat journey to the shores of Bali.
When we arrived we were greeted by hoardes of taxi drivers wanting to take us where ever we wanted to go. Luckily our bus was booked to take us all the way to Ubud. We started to get a little concerned that everyone on the bus had already booked accomodation in Ubud or were struggling to find any. Once in a neighbouring town our driver decided that it was time to drop us off. Unaware of where we were, tired and disorientated we had no choice but to jumped into another taxi and ask for Ubud. This driver charged us a ridicously amount as the journey was not 1 hour as described but only 10 minutes down the road. As you can imagine we were not happy when we arrived and was made even worse but the sight of no hostels. It was around 10pm in Ubud, the shops were closed and all was quiet expect for the sound of our flipflops as we walked up and down the main street looking for an open hostel. Finally some guy came out of nowhere offering us a room so we took it. It was actually a great decision as our room was huge, with a balcony overlooking the garden. The owner came straight over with a cold beer and a cold coke and we sat there laughing at how stressed out we both were that day.
For that moment, I was so happy. After a very stressful week, I was ready to start over again in Indonesia.
We slept so well after the monkeys had finished having a party on our roof, and we awoke to the relaxing sound of Indonesian workman fixing the bungalow opposite us. Unfortunately for us, Indonesian work men are no different to English workmen. The drills were out in full chorus and we hid under of pillows wondering when we would find this serenity we had been reading about.
After breakfast, we went out in the blistering heat to explore. Putting the mornings wake up call behind us, we went to visit the monkey sanctuary. Now if you have the slightest fear of monkeys this is not the place to go. They were everywhere, jumping on tourists, fighting for food, sleeping on seats, dancing for guides. Monkeys, Monkeys, Monkeys. I didnt realise I had a fear of monkeys until I stepped foot in this so called sanctuary (to me it was just a tourist trap!).
Ubud was so full of motorbikes that you have to be careful where you step. The constant sound of the bike as it increases and decreases in speed is deafening. I remember watching the film 'Eat. Pray. Love' and wondering where this paradise was Julia Roberts had found.
We had heard from some other travellers that the Gili Islands were paradise. In true traveller form, we took the advice of strangers (never are other travellers strangers tho!) and bought tickets to Gili Trawangan. It was a huge journey yet again. A 4 hour crammed bus journey where for some reason the diver changed on average one time an hour. Then a speed boat for an hour to the island. Three or Four of the passengers on board were very ill and I was lucky enough to hold it together with some loud drum and bass music in my ears. A technique I learnt from the Inca Trail. If the music is loud enough, you can't think negatively!
My first task was to jump out of the boat without getting my stitched up knee wet. My plan to jump with one leg up and one leg keeping me steady however this didnt work and my knee plummeted into the water and was soaked through. It stung like hell believe me.
Backpacks on, the sun shining down on us and our hungry bellies ready for some food, we started to walk in the look out for a hostel. We were approached many times with hostel offers but we heard you could get things cheaper if you went inland a little more.
We managed to find a bungalow with a lovely bathroom, its own hammock and huge double bed. It was outrageously priced at £20 a night but it was fine and fit for purpose. It had air conditioning which ruled! We dumped our bags and headed for the beach with a book in our hands, some suncream and our towels.
We were really excited to lie down and relax. Once we reached the beach front we were astonished at how touristy the island was and how overrun it was with tourists. I guess we were imagining Koh Tarutao with its huge palms and deserted beaches. Nope not Trawangan. Pumping music from the beach front bars, litter all over the beaches and hardly any free secluded spots on the beach.
We started to questions whether we would ever find paradise again.
We stayed in Trawangan for 3 nights, ate at the same restaurant each night and had the best garlic bread and pesto pasta ever. We couldnt trust the 'veggie curry' anymore after having it in Ubud and finding when we reached the bottom bits of floating beef! We did a fab snokelling trip, Terry burnt his back to a nice tomato red and I attempted to snokel only to start panicking and deciding it wasnt worth the risk so I witnessed the turtles of the Gilis from the comfort of the glass bottom boat and on the last day, we took a horse and carriage to the other end of the island and sat and watched the sunset over Lomboks neighbouring volcano. Whilst there we comtemplating our next moves. I am sure the Gili Islands are paradise for some, I guess we have just been spoilt.
After breakfast, we went out in the blistering heat to explore. Putting the mornings wake up call behind us, we went to visit the monkey sanctuary. Now if you have the slightest fear of monkeys this is not the place to go. They were everywhere, jumping on tourists, fighting for food, sleeping on seats, dancing for guides. Monkeys, Monkeys, Monkeys. I didnt realise I had a fear of monkeys until I stepped foot in this so called sanctuary (to me it was just a tourist trap!).
Ubud was so full of motorbikes that you have to be careful where you step. The constant sound of the bike as it increases and decreases in speed is deafening. I remember watching the film 'Eat. Pray. Love' and wondering where this paradise was Julia Roberts had found.
We had heard from some other travellers that the Gili Islands were paradise. In true traveller form, we took the advice of strangers (never are other travellers strangers tho!) and bought tickets to Gili Trawangan. It was a huge journey yet again. A 4 hour crammed bus journey where for some reason the diver changed on average one time an hour. Then a speed boat for an hour to the island. Three or Four of the passengers on board were very ill and I was lucky enough to hold it together with some loud drum and bass music in my ears. A technique I learnt from the Inca Trail. If the music is loud enough, you can't think negatively!
My first task was to jump out of the boat without getting my stitched up knee wet. My plan to jump with one leg up and one leg keeping me steady however this didnt work and my knee plummeted into the water and was soaked through. It stung like hell believe me.
Backpacks on, the sun shining down on us and our hungry bellies ready for some food, we started to walk in the look out for a hostel. We were approached many times with hostel offers but we heard you could get things cheaper if you went inland a little more.
We managed to find a bungalow with a lovely bathroom, its own hammock and huge double bed. It was outrageously priced at £20 a night but it was fine and fit for purpose. It had air conditioning which ruled! We dumped our bags and headed for the beach with a book in our hands, some suncream and our towels.
We were really excited to lie down and relax. Once we reached the beach front we were astonished at how touristy the island was and how overrun it was with tourists. I guess we were imagining Koh Tarutao with its huge palms and deserted beaches. Nope not Trawangan. Pumping music from the beach front bars, litter all over the beaches and hardly any free secluded spots on the beach.
We started to questions whether we would ever find paradise again.
We stayed in Trawangan for 3 nights, ate at the same restaurant each night and had the best garlic bread and pesto pasta ever. We couldnt trust the 'veggie curry' anymore after having it in Ubud and finding when we reached the bottom bits of floating beef! We did a fab snokelling trip, Terry burnt his back to a nice tomato red and I attempted to snokel only to start panicking and deciding it wasnt worth the risk so I witnessed the turtles of the Gilis from the comfort of the glass bottom boat and on the last day, we took a horse and carriage to the other end of the island and sat and watched the sunset over Lomboks neighbouring volcano. Whilst there we comtemplating our next moves. I am sure the Gili Islands are paradise for some, I guess we have just been spoilt.
We had a week and a half left and we wanted to make the most of it so decided to leave Indonesia for Thailand. Back to our travelling home we said. Indonesia was a lot more expensive than we imagined, it wasn't for us and we wanted to spend the last part of our trip in the land we knew and we used to.
We flew from Kuta (the worst tourist spot we have ever been to) to Bangkok. From Bangkok we took the bus and boat to the Island of Koh Sumui. It rained the whole way down, it wasnt a great start! We had booked into one of the hotels Terry found and were very happy when we arrived. The rooms were massive and luxury, the bar was just right with a huge swimming pool and beautiful gardens. It was out of season so it rained each evening we were there but it didnt matter, it was so relaxing just to be at the bar, drinking a cocktail and listening to the rain. Each day we swam and read books, I read a book each day which was a record for me. The sun was lovely and warm and we took afternoon strolls to get ice cream and take a look around the markets.
It was definately an experience our honeymoon, one we will not forget especially with the scars as a reminder! It was a testing time for us backpacking in only 3 weeks, having to organise each and every day and not really having time to just relax. We weren't used to that concept. We should have really booked some luxury resort in the Maldives, but who knows if that would have been any better. We hate resorts and thats another story! HAHA...Honeymoon close to hell I say!
We flew from Kuta (the worst tourist spot we have ever been to) to Bangkok. From Bangkok we took the bus and boat to the Island of Koh Sumui. It rained the whole way down, it wasnt a great start! We had booked into one of the hotels Terry found and were very happy when we arrived. The rooms were massive and luxury, the bar was just right with a huge swimming pool and beautiful gardens. It was out of season so it rained each evening we were there but it didnt matter, it was so relaxing just to be at the bar, drinking a cocktail and listening to the rain. Each day we swam and read books, I read a book each day which was a record for me. The sun was lovely and warm and we took afternoon strolls to get ice cream and take a look around the markets.
It was definately an experience our honeymoon, one we will not forget especially with the scars as a reminder! It was a testing time for us backpacking in only 3 weeks, having to organise each and every day and not really having time to just relax. We weren't used to that concept. We should have really booked some luxury resort in the Maldives, but who knows if that would have been any better. We hate resorts and thats another story! HAHA...Honeymoon close to hell I say!
