Java and the Lion City

I quite like the title this time. It sounds like an epic fantasy novel set in a far away, exotic country. Maybe something to be written some day :-)

This blog post will wrap up my travels through Indonesia, and outline what you can afford to do in Singapore when travelling on a tight budget. Just like last time, I have focused on the photo captions and I'll only make a few remarks here. The links to the photo albums are:

• Jovial Java
• Lion City

From Bali I travelled by bus (and a short ferry ride) to the beating heart of Indonesia: the island of Java. Now that I'm in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, and can do a bit of comparing, I have to say that I had an absolutely amazing time in Indonesia, especially in Java. Though not as rich a country as Malaysia, Balinese and Javanese life and culture seemed extremely vibrant and colourful. Don't get me wrong, the Malaysians are a wonderful people and I especially like the lack of touts, who were like flies on stool in Indonesia, but there was just... something about Indonesia that really appealed to me.

As far as experiences go, in Indonesia, surfing was an awesome thing to try out, as I've already pointed out. I'll definitely try to surf again during my time in Southeast Asia, but it depends on finding a beach with suitable surf for beginners (by the way, my ear is much better already). Otherwise, looking down at the moonscape of the Bromo national park in Java gave me an otherworldly feeling. The three volcanoes - one of them a smoking caldera - looked simply stunning as the light of dawn hit them. This is something I would not have anyone coming to Java miss, unless you've been to the Moon.

Bromo national park.

Singapore didn't rock my world. Sure it was nice to be able to drink tap water again, however, after Indonesia the big city felt like dreaming of spooning, and waking up to find you've been hugging the pillow. Singapore is also a lot more expensive than the rest of Southeast Asia. I hardly did any activities that weren't free, and I still exceeded my daily budget of 20 €. If you have the money, I reckon there are lots of cool things to do in Singapore, like visiting the zoo and doing a night safari. Still, walking around Chinatown, the Muslim quarter Kampong Glam and the Indian quarter Little India, is free and very interesting.

Forget the skyscrapers and the modern quarters of Singapore; Kampong Glam and Little India is where the charm lies!

Furthermore, there are many temples you can visit for free, and many museums are actually free after 6 pm. Another good way of saving money is to not order any drinks (not even water or soft drinks) when eating out (which you do all the time, since you can hardly prepare cheaper food yourself and most guesthouses/hostels don't have kitchen facilities). Drinks of any kind are usually quite expensive at food stalls and in restaurants, and you can easily spend almost as much money on a soft drink as on the meal itself. At least this is how I do it; after leaving the restaurant I take a swig out of my own water bottle, which always rides with me.

Tomorrow I'm off to the island of Pulau Pangkor on the west coast of Malaysia. Hopefully it's like paradise. Let's see how long I can lie on the beach and read a book before becoming restless. Only another 7 more weeks to go...