BKK (We're back again) & Ayuthya

The old Thai Kingdom is now in ruins but remains an important part of Thai history.

We spent one night in this ancient city, eating delicious Thai food (which we have missed so much) and getting away from Bangkok. More Buddha statues than you can ever imagine, most of which are incomplete.

The tree grew around this Buddha head and is now an important pilgrimage site for Thai Buddhists. If you want to pose for a photo you have to kneel down so your head is not higher than Buddha's.

Three chedi's in Ayutyha, capitol of the Thai Kingdom before Bangkok.

Colin, in nerd heaven on his bike riding around an ancient city. If only there were a big beer in his front basket...

Riding the train north to Ayuthya, Colin falls asleep reading the Lonely Planet (which is the worst guide book in the world and has gotten us lost more times than we can say)

Back in Bangkok, Ed takes us out for a night on the town, which includes two fifths, an all Thai club and general debauchery. (not to mention Colin get's a mysterious massage in the bathroom....don't worry, it's normal in Thailand)

Indo-Islands, Bali, Lombok and the Gili's

Morning ritual of offerings at the main market in Ubud. Balinese Hinduism was pervasive throughout the island. The sweet smells of incense and handmade floral offerings are on every corner (and in the middle of every doorway).

The water palace south of Gunung Batur. We drove about 20 km out of our way to reach the temple, getting lost, pulled over by some cops (we talked our way out of a ticket for not having and international license) given an offering "for good luck" by a woman on the street and finally found our way. Flash floods came thundering down as we were about to leave and we drove back to Ubud soaking wet through flooded streets up to our shins.

Colin get's dressed in a sarong and sash to enter the temple.

The striking terraced rice paddies are all over Bali as farming, even on the hills is very important. Landscapes like these are breathtaking even though you see them all over.

A Balinese dancer that moves intensely with her eyes as well as her body. This preformance was a "Barong and Keris" dance that told a part of the Mahabarata story, a Hindu religious text that's important in Indonesia.

The Barang slowly and comically enters the stage. He's a benevolant mythical creature associated with Vishnu that scares away demons. He's also pretty cute, in a funny, snake like furry body way.

A bicycle ride through the rice fields in Ubud.

Some kids in our bungalow on Gili Trawangan. Pretty normal really.

The beach on Gili Trawangan outside of our bungalow. You can see Gili Air across the straight. The current was too strong to swim and we were advised not to try. This particular spot had some of the best coral reefs on the island and we spent many days swimming with the fishes (Amanda saw a swordfish, twice, but no turtles).

Lounging on the Gili's where we spent one week in a bungalow outside of the cluttered town. There weren't any motorized vehichles but instead bicycles and horse drawn carts. We circumnavigated the island twice, once on foot by moonlight and once by bicycle.

Some traditional sailboats on the beach of Sengiggi, mainland Lombok where we spent two days. They kind of look like giant water bugs but seem to sail pretty well.

The sun sets as we arrive in Lembar, Lombok, a horrible port town with nasty touts in the transport industry. We did count our lucky stars though to have taken so many Indonesian ferrys and made it to land dry.

The lotus flower pond at the water palace. Lotus flowers are a pretty big deal in SE Asian Buddhism.

In Tirta Gangga at the foot of Mt. Agung in Bali we visit the water palace, a beautifully landscaped retreat which we could view from our guesthouse. The tiny town (about 3 hotels and 7 places to eat) was dark once the sun went down due to loss of electricity, we spent the night eating by candlelight and chatting with a older local guy that made bamboo flutes.

A motorbike journey through the mountains brings us to a beautiful waterfall down a long strip of vendor stalls and gaurded by beautiful Balinese temples. Many Balinese temples have statues that are dressed in sarongs and have umbrellas to shade them.

The sun sets over the black sand beaches of Lovina, in northern Bali. We finally make it there from Mt. Bromo after an hour walk down the mountain, an hour crammed bus to town, a five hour bus to the ferry, an hour ferry ride and upon arrival to Bali, no more busses! We end up sleeping in one of the nicer bus stations we've seen on the trip till 3AM and then hop on a 2 hour bus that drops us in Lovina, exhausted, but excited to see our first stretch of beach in Indonesia!

Java, population 135 million

Colin attempting to see the sunrise from Bromo through clouds of volcanic sulfur and ash. The choking smell of sulfur killed all hopes of being able to eat eggs for breakfast.
The temperatures get down to 4 degrees C in the mornings up on Bromo, hence Colin being bundled in a coat and jacket. The locals wrap batik sarongs around themselves like capes.
Mt. Bromo (the small one spewing out sulphur on the left) and another cinder cone viewed from the ledge of the caldera. Without a flashlight we almost got lost in the ash fields in the foreground as we hiked in the dark.
A Hindu pura in the caldera surrounding Mt. Bromo in East Java. We woke up at 4 in the morning to catch sunrise from the top of Bromo.
For Amanda's birthday we saw the Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan Temple. The show was great with traditional costumes and dance aesthetics. The dancer on the right could be amazingly expressive with his toes.
The old woman on her 25th birthday. We fetched the cake from the other side of Yogya on a motor bike. It's an acquired skill to weave through Javanese traffic; your horn is more necessary than turn signals. The cake looks better than it tasted; it was no hazelnut torte.
A full gamelan orchestra accompanying a Wayang Kulit (buffalo hide shadow puppet show) of the Ramayana story. Which is like Javanese Romeo and Juliet with more ogres.
On the top level of Borobudor, stupas house images of Buddha.
Buddha's view from the temple (one of the few intact Buddha's left in the temple, many are sans head).
Colin in front of Borobudor, once covered by the jungle in this remote area. It was rebuilt stone by stone by archeologists after being rediscovered by Raffles.
Borobudor Temple, built in the 9th century outside of Yogoyakarta. Over 1,000 reliefs of Buddha's life line the walls of the structure. Pilgrims circumambulate each level three times and learn the story of Buddha's life.
Amanda posing with a giant head, one of the many pieces of public art in Yogya.
Taking a becak to the Royal Palace in Yogyakarta. There are probably a thousand becak drivers in the city, all anxious for work. It was raining a lot while we were there so we took them often. We spent a week in Yogya enjoying the local art, cultural performances, batik markets and bustling "small" city life. (Comparatively, Yogya is a small Javanese city with 800,000 people).
A rambutan breakfast in Bogor, it's like lychee for Whos. Indonesia has some great fruit and it is all really cheap.Amanda gazing up at a huge tree in the Botanical Gardens.
The view from the balcony of our guesthouse in Bogor which is an hour train ride from Jakarta. Bogor is home to a 40 hectare Botanical Garden founded by Sir Stamford Raffles, who is kind of a big deal in SE Asia. The town is generally rainy which made us feel at home sloshing through the muddy market streets.
Botanical Gardens, Bogor where we were swarmed with several families of Indonesian's wanting to take photos with us. People were running across the lawn to get their photo taken and we we're saying "cheese" for about 20 minutes.
Amanda getting interviewed by a local school girl. Students practice their English by coming up to tourists on the street, saying "excuse me misssster?" asking to speak with you. We have been swarmed several times by groups of curious Indonesia's wanting to take photos and talk to you.
Colin sitting on a cannonball in the old Dutch quarter of Kuta. The canals around this
Three wheeled rickshaw in Indonesia's giant metropolis, Jakarta.

South Sumatra on a bumpy bus

Crazed and dazed on our 39 hour bus ride from Bukittingi to Jakarta. There are several of these photos at different stages of the ride. This one was crossing into Java after 36 hours. Three more to go to arrive at midnight, take a three wheeled motor-car to the tourist ghetto and sleep with the mosquitos (ahhhh).
The view from our bungalow on the lake. Serene and still in the morning, but try to paddle in a dugout canoe and your in the water. We also swam out to some fish farms to see them growing in different stages.
Colin struggling to open another Bintang on New Years. How many have you had again?
Bringing in the New Year with a chord of wood blazed on fire by the lakeside. The Indonesians went to sleep so Colin and our new Canadian friend set it ablaze. The flames were 20 feet high (beat that Big Dan)!
Meningkabu rice farmer with his water buffalo. From far away it looks like a rhino but it acts more like a pig wallowing in the mud.
Little Indonesian girls posing for a photo as we cruise the lake via motorbike. So cute, but they didn't fit in our bags. We were invited for fresh coconut by some guys working by the lake. We spoke some broken Bahasa, they some broken English and we were on our way.
Watch out, woman driver! Amanda learns to drive the motorbike without crashing.
Clouds cover the volcanic crater lake. Maninjau was heavily damaged by the recent earthquake in September with many landslides. By the time we were there relief was widespread and things were being rebuilt.
A walk through the rice paddies to find a spot on the lake to rest our heads.
Our cage-like bus careening down the 44 hairpin turns to Danau Maninjau. Like most bus drivers, he was racing the other buses on a road not wide enough for two cars to pass and blindly passing on curves, all in good fun of course! This ride was better than our 17 hour night bus to Bukittingi where we sat in the freezing air con with the bathroom stinking up the whole bus, speeding across potholes and thick fog. At 3AM we came upon a fresh landslide, the drivers moved rocks out of the road as fresh ones crashed down but we made it through with no dents.
This pretty much sums up Bukittingi, the market clogged with motorbikes, the Dutch clock tower in the background and the Meningkabu roof to the left. Meningkabu people live in West Sumatra and are matrilineal which makes for some tough market hawking ladies! One woman, Azza sold us some jackfruit and then invited us back to her house for some tea. We sat on the floor and she taught us some Bahasa Indonesia which we only slightly retained. Many Indonesian people are curious about Westerners, or as we like to say "whities", (especially in Sumatra) and invite you to stay with them.
Colin crossing the creaaaaaky bridge through the canyon. We had to dodge the local guides and the dogs to do this trek on our own, but we made it!
Kota Gede, pretty rice paddy views, gaudy silverwork and the worst fried noddles ever (think dry Top Ramen, no broth, but with the spice packet for that extra sodium kick).
Siyanak Canyon just outside the city center of Bukittingi. We hiked through the canyon, across a very scetchy bridge and to Kota Gede, a small village renowned for their silversmiths.
A really cool bird which I forgot the name, but it seemed like all we're labeled "Ayam" which means chicken. So, a really colorful chicken with a tiger striped head.
Colin almost got eaten by a giant fish. What else is new.
Amanda's new friend at the Bukittingi zoo. The tropical birds were amazing here but the other animals we're quite depressing. You can't feed a camel on bananas alone, who knew? Pens littered with trash and fur missing, oh my. The zoo was attached to "Fort De Kock," left by the Dutch. Oh those Dutch, they would.
Bukittingi, in West Sumatra. A market town with stalls for miles where you can buy just about everything (except for a heating element which we we're searching for all over the place). We spent three nights in this town puttering around the zoo, city and hiking through the canyon.