I missed my grandma so much, I decided to go to Indonesia. For 2 weeks (due to other holidays to Beijing, China & Turkey). And yes, that's very short haha. You wouldn't think I would have time to go to Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Bali & Surabaya, would you? But I did see all those places, thanks to careful planning and my wonderful family. I spent most of my time in Medan though, with my grandma, but also had lovely and amazing short trips to other cities.
This is Tangkuban Perahu in Bandung, one of the many volcanoes in Indonesia.
Pretty much your average streetscape in Indonesian cities
Windmolen cocoa in the supermarket, hahaha.
More Dutch stuff: bitterballen and poffertjes in Bandung! Amazing. Didn't have either though, hehehe.
Quiet street in Medan
Traffic jam in Jakarta.
Bali on the other hand is peaceful and quiet. Unless you are in Kuta, hehe. My aunt and uncle took me to Bali for an amazing weekend.
Tanah lot (which means 'land in sea' in Balinese). It is surrounded by the ocean, which is of course salt water, but inside the temple you can find a freshwater spring!
Inside the temple, you wash your face with the 'holy' water, drink it, and a lady puts rice on your third eye. You can also see the holy guardian snake that lives nearby, and if you're not scared like I was, you can even touch it for good luck.
Amazing hotel. Pure decadence.
This was my private outdoor bathroom.
I don't have a picture of it since it was dark, but one place you should visit when you're in Bali is Jimbaran. There are about 50 seafood restaurants, but what makes it so special is that you have all these aquariums filled with live seafood. You pick out whatever you'd like to eat (there's lobster, crab, huuuge prawns, etc), and then you get escorted to a lovely table ON the beach. There you can enjoy the sunset while you are drinking milk from a fresh coconut. Ahhh. And just when you think it can't get any better, your grilled seafood arrives on your table. You can't get it fresher or better than that, honestly.
Oh, and also go shopping in Jakarta. It's not all poverty and slums. Here in Jakarta you have the most amazing malls, with amazing stores you can't even find here in Holland. Like a huge Ted Baker store. Ahh. Food courts are great. There's entertainment. Fancy restaurants. You can go ice skating. WHATEVER. It's amazing.
Awesome two weeks, saw most of my family, went to amazing places and so glad I got to spend some time with my grandma :) <3
Awesome two weeks, saw most of my family, went to amazing places and so glad I got to spend some time with my grandma :) <3