Photo Friday: Frosty?

Frosty man.

I took these double exposures in Arles, South of France, Provence region. Here there were many sightseers and tourists for the international photographic exhibition and I had great fun doing some street photography. The second time I went to Arles, I saw these pine trees in a park we passed. I thoughts that the pines could look interesting with their almost-fluffy needles. These became the first layer of this double exposure. I was quite surprised when I saw it after it was developed, the photos seem to have a wintry, frosted effect!

Taking photos in film helps me to remember almost every single snapshot I took.

Done with a superheadz camera, using 35mm Lomography 100 film.
  

Frosty boy.

Bangalore in a weekend: first time to India

 

 Huge tree, Lalbagh Botanical Gardens

I recall saying recently, during a conversation with a globetrotter, that I will never go to India. Teehee.

How should I put it - I think I just don't like to visit a place without proper infrastructure. Toilets. For women, it is really a hassle, you know, especially when the water is brown and the toilet is a hole in the ground. I don't particularly like to be stressed out by people trying to sell me something too, that's why I prefer traveling in less touristy cities where the locals are sincerely interested in you instead of trying to sell you something. But there is nothing like that in Bangalore. Bangalore has amazing roads, straight long roads and highways that are clearly indicated, and the most hardworking people I have ever seen.

I made Bangalore my first destination in India because a friend, Huggy, had been encouraging me to come to INDIA. COME TO BANGALORE, he commanded, much like the way he barged into my office when he was having meetings in the area and commanded me to dine with him. Not having any good destination in mind for the Good Friday weekend anyway, I booked the trip a month in advance. It cost $407 which I was told was a steal (usually $600ish). I also had many Bangalorian friends and acquaintances working here and when I mentioned the place they would suddenly have a dreamy look in their eyes and recall the good old days of zipping around in a motorbike. They seemed proud of me that I had chosen to go to this place on vacation, and before and after my trip I had received many messages from my work acquaintances, Banaglorians who wanted to know how my trip turned out to be.



On Nandi Hills


 Sunrise on Nandi Hills


On a Sunday morning I went to the Chickpete / Chickpet area. Just in front of the long streets selling sarees, kurtas and household items, there is a flea market where people set up shop to hone their wares; be it fruit, pans, or sometimes, hair extensions. And that is a place after my own heart.

Makeshift stalls appeared, they consisted of baskets turned upside down, covered with a cloth, and all kinds of gorgeous fruit stacked neatly in piles. Generally not a fruit person, I went into a sublime state when I tasted this fresh, pink guava that had an amazingly sweet and fruity scent. The guavas were unlike the ones found back home that were gnarly looking and green, similar to a soursop. The ones in Bangalore were round, orange-sized and had pale yellow skins. I have never tasted anything like this! I knew why they were unpopular though, they had lots of tiny little hard seeds that could be unpalatable to swallow. We also bought fresh figs, what a delight, and a pomegranate, and if it weren't my last day there, I would have bought fruits aplenty!


Pink guava fruit seller


Pomegranates!

While on the motorbike I saw a hardworking lady, her shop stall was a makeshift covering and the goods were shoes piled on the pavement near the bus terminal. Her stall only sold shoes, and she was scrubbing and washing the dirt away on the items, scrubbing with a passion that most of us wouldn't possess. The shoes were shiny and clean, bereft of the dust that seemed to blow constantly on some roads. Elsewhere, I saw little girls threading flower garlands for sale without complaint. I saw men carting large amounts of produce, sugarcanes, sacks on their head, and they did it speedily and seemingly not unhappy about it. Even the auto-rickshaw drivers, many of whom we asked for directions, were just able to rest peacefully in the tunnels while waiting for their next passenger. I liked the auto-rickshaw very much, we took one during one of the nights out. Just call "Otto!" and a couple of tuk-tuk looking autos will come your way, stating their price. There wasn't any abject poverty that I had seen on this trip, even 2 hours far from the city, there are small villages, it's true, and barefooted people, but they seem happier than city dwellers as they walked hand in hand with each other in their village of colorful walls and dirt roads. I was told that even the beggars had mobile phones. Elsewhere there were cows on the roads eating trash but it seemed not all that disturbing to me. I hope I didn't contribute to their meal though.



Auto rickshaws near Chickpete.


Two village goats.


There were large graceful trees lining the roadways to the residences in Karnataka, a beautiful respite from the shade, that was one of the things I looked forward to seeing after long hours on the motorbike with Huggy. Tree lined avenues. There's just something majestic and soothing about riding through the road with the old trees beckoning your arrival.



At this time, I have already booked my next trip that is a little longer than a weekend (For this Bangalore trip I left Singapore Thursday night straight after work and came back early Monday morning) to Sri Lanka. I think one of the best things about travel is that you became more open and more aware of things, if not things happening in the world, then at least, things happening inside yourself, jauntily happy at the fact that you are capable to travel alone and book flights by yourself and find your way about without knowing the local language, you should be proud of yourself! And I think the most meaningful thing about this trip is that I made a new friend in Huggy. We graduated from being unreliable lunch buddies in Singapore to being able to talk about anything under the sun, and not just casual conversation. And so we will make our way to Sri Lanka next month, as good travelfriends.

With him, I spilled the beans on my innermost thoughts, the good and bad, why I really like certain books and authors, and being blunt about the type of things I dislike. I guess in most cultures there is a need to be diplomatic or inoffensive so he was really secretly impressed when I opined my true feelings. Later, I felt gushy when he said that he had learnt one thing from me, that was: To complain less. Aha! He was impressed by the fact that I had not let one peep of complain out any single time during the trip. (I did complain vigorously at the end when I learnt my flight was delayed for two hours, meaning that I would have to take a leave from work...)

I felt so gushy. Gush gush gush. And I found that we have something in common, when we are happy, we start to sing songs. Akin to a puppy wagging its tail in delight, we can't help ourselves. What are you singing, Huggy? He was singing a classical hindi song about first loves. Ah, how nice it is to have a happy weekend!

Bali in a weekend: Horse Riding and Shopping along Poppies Lane at Kuta

Relaxing in the late afternoon glow of the sun, I sat on this spot of Kuta, far from the madding crowd, enjoying a little isolation on the wet sands. A surfer in front of me had decided to do the exact same thing - he is nearer than he looks in this photo, because my camera was wide angled I looked to be quite far away. I think we both felt the same thing, that these 20 minutes or so (I had to get up after that duration, because I sunburn easily) that these 20 minutes was para, para Paradise. Oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh!

Rawrr! Be very scared!




I'm so proud of myself for organizing this trip. =)

How this trip came about - my Dad had wanted to go to Bali - his first time - last year, as he had a Singaporean-Danish friend who asked him to visit. I had ridden a small horse for the first time last month at Mount Bromo and really enjoyed the experience, later asking our guide about good places to ride horses, he suggested Sanur, Bali. So already knowing we have free acommodation and local friends; we planned for this trip; knowing that the cost would not be too high. We also had budget tickets for a steal, going on airasia and coming back on tiger airways for about $200.

It's also the first trip for my father to do trekking in places other than Singapore and Malaysia so he was very excited. I have to add that I also sponsored his outfit, a sport jacket and track pants (though he did not feel as cold as me to put it on!)

Simply artistic decor for just a pina colada... I was so surprised at seeing this! And later putting the flower in my hair holiday style.

And with proper planning it is possible to go to so many places in a very short time.

Basically the rough itinerary:


Friday
Morning ride to horse-riding, back to friend's house
Went to Uluwatu, there is really an interesting row of shops and bars on the cliff. It was raining often so we hid at a cosy bar. 

Saturday
2 am journey to the Batur Caldera area from Kuta - as you can see from the map it's not so close by
Started trek around 4:30 , 5 am, for sunrise usually happens at 6:20 am.
Went down and around the village to a hot spring for an hour.
Lunch overlooking padi fields and the journey back, able to stop at any place you wanted - we only stopped at a coffee plantation and I got to see the producers of Kopi Luwak, the civet cats!

After some rest I spent a nice late afternoon and evening, walked more than half of Kuta Beach, walked half of the shopping area around Kuta Beach.

Sunday
Went to some outlet stores and ONLY bought two pairs of shorts (one red, one yellow), a miracle!
Walked the other half of Kuta... =) Went for a massage and pedicure (flower on my toes!) at Poppies Lane, it was less than US$10, amazing. Became a shopaholic after getting over my initial reluctance to bargaining.

From the map you can see we really did go to so many places in this short time!


Horse Riding at Pantai Saba (Saba Beach)

(baliweathermap.blogspot.com)

 Here at the Badung Strait in between the two temples, we did our horse-riding =)
I was amazed by the black sands of the beach which glittered in the sunlight. But it was also broiling hot and it made a deep tan on my shoulders!


Dad's first time on a horse, and first time to Bali!

 
 The horse smiled for the camera. So funny!

On the black volcanic ash sands of Pantai Saba. It WAS hot!


 
 My horse suddenly became camera-shy.

Map from Lonely Planet

From this map it's clear to see the two mountains, Mount Agung (Gunung Agung) and Mount Batur (Gunung Batur).

We did the Batur Caldera trekking which went up and around the Toya Bungkah Village and Caldera Lake area, to about 1000m - at cloud level we could see the sunrise and the peak of the two mountains.


Village chicks.

We also explored these places:

At Uluwatu

At Saba Beach

At Kuta Beach

It was a good idea to have a not-so-planned itinerary. Usually when I travel I try to stay with locals or ask strangers what is a good thing to do in the area. This way, I will often have some interesting experiences. In Chiangmai an old lady told me about the flower market and it was an amazing afternoon walking through the blooms. I loved the horse-riding last month at Bromo so much that I asked my guide where else would we be able to ride horses. He was from Bali and suggested Sanur, so it was through my independent research that I found this activity.

I didn't think that I would like Kuta as I have read so many unfavorable things about it, and it is true that most of the sales people along the beachfront will quote exorbitant prices like $10 for a bottle of mineral water and a chair, or $35 for a straw hat. (I managed to get the straw hat Dad wanted down to $5, after impressing upon them that I bought a hat the day before for that price. I lied, but I saved $30. Don't judge.)

However, there are some ways to get rid of the annoying and really very friendly guys who desired to teach you surfing, let you sit on their chair and offer you rides, drag you into their shop for a manicure (yes, it happens)

I wanted to get a more even tan as the horse-riding only browned my shoulders, so I took off my dress and walked the whole stretch in a bikini - the bikini bottom was shorts, and I felt disguised by a hat and sunglasses. None of the guys dared to have any more aggressive approach after seeing the bright color striped outfit of mine, they became shy, and so I walked the stretch in peace.

I enjoyed walking in Kuta actually, both at the long stretch of beach, and also at the long stretch of shops -  there's such a great range of shops to explore and so many interesting things to see. So having an unplanned last day on Bali I immediately wanted to go back again. If you managed to walk past the annoying stretch  and into St Poppies' Lane, you will love this part of Kuta. It's filled with many people also wearing nothing much, bunches of young backpackers, cheap beer, food, massages. A massage for an hour (or a pedicure or whatever you wanted) would set you back $5 (45,000), it's nice to tip the masseuse and see their happy faces. There's graffiti, great shops where you can do relaxed, undisturbed shopping and quote the price you think is fair. Some temples, beautiful and funny looking exteriors of shops and hotels. I could walk forever in this place.

For more on the trek read the earlier post:
Trekking up Batur Caldera

All photos taken by me and Dad.
Film: Lomography 400, Agfa Precisa CT 100, Kodak Ultramax 400.
Camera: Superheadz Vivitar UWS, Minolta Riva Zoom, Contax
 
 Special thanks to Dad's friend, Emil Gerecke who kindly hosted us for the weekend in Kuta!

Bali in a weekend: Trekking up the Batur Caldera area

There are several hiking spots in Bali, but I chose the Batur Caldera trek because it afforded great views of the lake and the surrounding village, to my surprise, quite a modern village - and of course sunrise views of both mountains framing us. It was also a less strenuous trek compared to climbing Moung Batur or Agung. I'm not really a sporty person, so I just prepared myself by hiking every Saturday early morning, with Dad, on the trails in Singapore - Dairy Farm Road, Trail Route 3 on Bukit Timah Hill, Wallace Trail, Pulau Ubin. It was a weekly 2-4 hour activity that left me immensely sleepy right after.

 

Ground level mountain plants with morning dew


Being afraid that it would be quite chilly as we had to start the journey around 4-5 am to catch the sunrise on top of the trail at 6:20 am, I brought along an autumn jumper, a windbreaker, and wore a sleeveless thing underneath. My pants were those cool three-quarter length yoga type sport pants, and quite-new Columbia hiking boots. It was a pain finding the right socks here in Singapore, all sports socks seem to be at an irritating ankle length or just slightly above the ankle, this length always bites my ankles and seem to roll down one foot at times. I finally found my dream socks - I cannot remember the brand, but they had extra thick towel-like material on the soles, moisture-wicking technology, and at the desired length of above ankles! Earlier I had bought for Dad a spanish brand sport jacket and track pants because I was afraid he would be cold too, but the jacket only came in handy at our airport, brrrrr, and he trekked in a thin white cotton shirt, blue jeans and Caterpillar boots.

The road uphill was not too bad, it was actually paved over 2-3 years ago and it was neither slippery nor narrow, in fact, there were many villagers' motorbikes and vans passing us on the trek. We were the only non-locals on the road to the amusement and curiosity of the friendly village children. We were told that it was off-peak season (though there were throngs of tourists at Kuta), and during peak season our guide could do up to 5 treks a day!

I realised I was still not very fit, indeed! I had to stop at quite a few places when it got too steep - lucky for me my Dad was doing the same thing, the cold mountain air and breathing in deeply had caused me to stop and catch my breath until it regulated. My Dad got his 'second wind' and after years of being a police trainer came back to him, he bounded along happily at the last third of the trek, together with the guide, talking enthusiatically about cows (they are called 'lembu' in Indonesian) and everything about the village. I was content to lag behind and slowly strip off the windbreaker and the jumper, taking photos, in a happy bubble with the Quechua walking stick (this stick is really good, I want to buy it) and the morning sounds of the village awakening: motorbike sounds, rooster crowing, villagers waking up. It was really quite noisy compared to the stillness and silence I had experienced on Ijen Crater!

 
Cabbage crops


These baskets are used to keep the roosters inside from wandering about. They are reared to be sold as fighting roosters, a popular sport with the villagers.


Being his first trek in a foreign place with a guide, my Dad held the same kind of wonder and excitement as me when I went on my first trek. I hope I never lose this sense of wonder and wanderlust - to a city girl it is novel to witness everyday village scenes such as chickens running across the road, rows of cabbages, wildflowers in the mountainous foilage, framed with tall skinny pines, clouds that were on your eye -level, no longer above you, but right in front of you, and if the wind takes them nearer, you will be in the middle of them, blown into clouds, seeing nothing but white mist and the indistinct outline of the hazy mountains beyond.

Later we went to the Hot Spring for an hour, ahhhh... that was just perfect to soak into for the aching toes!

I have always loved baths and it was a long time since I had such a long bath until my fingertips was 'pruned'. Hoping that all parts of my body would benefit from this supposedly therapeutic experience, I made sure that the top of my head, all the way to the tips of my toes, were focused on the splish splooshy pressured water pipe coming out of the mouths of the cute statues! The place was very relaxing, no other tourist was there, and the view of the mountains was just indescribable.
      

Amazing Balinese style arrangement for a pleasing view as we relaxed in the Hot Springs which was also bereft of tourists. The view on the other side was of the lake framed by mountains, I couldn't decide which was better.

We felt like millionaires who booked the whole place for ourselves! (It turns out that many people came just when we were leaving, so I guess we were the early birds.) 

I'm not a fan of beer usually, but the price of a small Bintang anywhere is less than S$2. The rather touristic padi fields was still a nice view to gaze at while eating.



The guided trip ended with a lunch overlooking the ricefields. It was empty at first but later many other tourists (who did not climb the mountain) joined us at the Ubud area. We could also choose to go to the other sights such as batik-painting, silver craft, wooden souvenir making, but we only wanted to go to an organic coffee plantation where I saw the maker of Kopi Luwak, the civet cat, for the first time. I had tried Kopi Luwak in East Java last month - at $5 for a pot of 3 cups, it was at a much better price than in Bali - $5 for a cup. I didn't really taste the difference, but the coffee was really good coffee anyway, and as a coffee drinker I had to try it at least once in my lifetime, without any queasy feeling to the way it was produced, as the locals will happily describe to you. The two civet cats looked like a cross between a bat and a fox (actually I have never seen a fox before), a kind of evil-looking non-kitty-like cat. Also, they looked ready to tear my fingernails off, so I was immediately quite terrified of spending too much time looking at them.
 
On the same level with clouds, what a great feeling! 





 The top right of the map (from LonelyPlanet) shows the area we went to, the largest lake in Bali, Toya Bungkah Village/Hot Spring, Mount Agung - tallest peak in Bali, and Mount Batur.

I did some research online and decided to be guided by the team from Nyoman Gede Mahayuna. He's an experienced guide and mountain lover who decided to form a guide team. Due to the whole area having really low wi-fi and internet reception - as well as being in the mountains, they took a few days to reply but it was all arranged in due time as I had messaged them almost a month in advance.

Yon Ariono was our driver and co-guide, he prepared breakfast for us and provided us with hiking sticks and mineral water. He is the type of happy driver, passionate and looking like he's always up for a good laugh. I am really thankful that he brought much joy to our trip. Later I still had some energy to walk around quite a fair bit of Kuta before being totally tired and I realise, that when I get totally tired I am unable to talk to anyone, unable to talk at all, just making grunting sounds and wanting to snuggle up and fall into a deep slumber without any alarm clock waking me up at unearthly hours. =)

 
Adorable village kids and puppy found at the entrance areas to the Toya Bungkah Hot Springs, cute!!!