Monday, April 26, 2010

Swot For Dunkin Donut

Sunrise on volcanoes and arrived in Bali

After Yogyakarta, a bus drove me ten hours to Mount Bromo, east of the island of Java. The area includes several volcanoes Mount Bromo and s'explore usually in the morning to watch the sunrise sun. After a short sleep, around 3:15 am the guide knocked on my door to wake me up. With few other tourists, we climbed into a jeep that led us to the point of view, in front of Bromo (the kind of smoking crater in the middle of the picture). Dozens of other jeeps accompanied us in the end we were hundreds to watch the first rays. The sunrise was gorgeous, and the views of the volcano has been incredible, with several huge cones rising in the middle of the vast plain black. Deep inside the landscape, Mount Penanjakan rising to nearly
2800 meters. After one hour of visual delight, we took the jeep to reach the foot of Mount Bromo. From there, a little path and some steps can be accessed in a small half-hour at the top of the crater. Because of the thick smoke loaded with sulfur, it is impossible to go around, but the landscaped platform offers a great view over central volcano. At 8am we went downstairs to the hotel for a (very) breakfast, and re-Belote, 12 buses and a ferry to arrive in Denpasar, the capital of Bali unattractive. With four other tourists motivated, we pushed a taxi to Ubud, a half hour from Denpasar. We had to wake the poor tenants of the guest house to find a home, it was already 1am ...

Ubud is the cultural heart of Bali. It is a beautiful small town where temples and buildings adorned with sculptures and bas-reliefs are everywhere. Many streets are unpaved, and there are dozens of art galleries and restaurants that are worth a look even if only to admire the interior. One example among many others, my guest-house is composed of a dozen houses with marble terraces, with carved pillars and lots of little details, from colorful patterns on the walls to finely crafted wood shutters. All in a very green garden, a little mystical, crossed by walkways half covered with moss. There is even a very small pool hidden in a corner:) And the city is full of these places. In the surrounding landscape of palm trees and rice terraces. I got a walk yesterday and today, pausing from time to time to let the showers. Invariably, in mid-afternoon, a good rain shower soaks the streets and fields. This afternoon, I took refuge under the awning of a tiny art gallery lost a little north of Ubud, and peasants working in the field next door joined me a few minutes later. Unfortunately our conversation was limited to exchanges of smiles, I do not speak a word of them Balinese and not a word of English (except "You speak Indonesian?").

Heading South of Ubud, a small dark, dense jungle, rightly called Monkey Forest Sanctuary, will visit an hour. There is, apart from the hundreds of monkeys, one or two modest-sized temples, statues scattered through here and there, a sort of mini-cemetery and ancient trees. One of the temples is surrounded by a small river, and the foam covering all gives the impression of discovering a place abandoned for centuries. In downtown, there are also several temples and the palace of the local royal family. The Hindu influence is everywhere, although strongly influenced by tribal culture. Is also found in most temples storey towers erected at above doors resembling gopurams southern India. Cons by the statues do not represent the Hindu deities, but local adaptations heads chubby and friendly. Food level, it's still not the top, many dishes of rice and chicken ... Tomorrow I leave my 4 companions and settled on a beach east of Bali, a priori less traveled. I should finally be able to taste the famous beaches of Bali dream:)

0 comments:

Post a Comment