I've been back home in Brisbane for the last few days thinking about the awesome trip to Indonesia I have just experienced.

The 4 week trip felt like it lasted for 4 days!  I had such a blast, and I'll never forget it!

I was amazed at the variety of experiences I had on this trip.  Each place was just so different in character, feel, and food!

When I originally thought of this trip idea, I wanted to experience the real Indonesia – not the tourist one. 

The only way to do this is to stay with the locals and have them show you their world.  That’s exactly what I received – and so much more.

I was shown the very best of Indonesia.  And I saw the very best of the Indonesian people.

So to all of Indonesia – Thanks so much for everything.

Unfortunately, Indonesia does receive some bad press, but the hard reality is that 99.9999999% of their people are extremely wonderful, hospitable and caring human beings, and I have definitely been grateful to receive this hospitality.

My job was to show all the good in Indonesia, and I think I've accomplished that!

Thanks to the local blogging communities, there were so many things that I experienced that would have been almost impossible as a solo traveller. 

Things such as drinking Teh Telur (Tea With Egg), Kacang Memet (Shaved Ice with Red Beans), eating Cow’s Nose with Peanut Sauce.

Experiences such as an Indonesian Wedding, the off the beaten path areas of Banda Aceh, and Muara Takus temple.

These are experiences that money cannot buy.  I am so grateful that I was able to be part of your lives.  I consider myself very lucky.

And I think I’ve made a few more friends in Indonesia!

Thanks so much again, and I hope to see you again soon!

I would also like to thank Air Asia for their support for flying me to and from Australia.  Hope to to this again sometime!  

For other bloggers out there in cyberspace, the websites of each Blogging Community I visited are listed below. 

Drop an email and say hello – I'm sure the Indonesian bloggers will be happy to hear from you, and follow each other on Twitter.  They're a friendly bunch and love to have a good time.

Here are the websites:

Banda Aceh – AcehBloggers.org

Pekanbaru – Bertuah Blogging Community

Palembang – Wongkito Blogging Community

Bandung – Bandung Blog Village, Batagor, and RumahBlogger.

Semarang – Loenpia

Surabaya – Tugupahlawan

I had such a good time this year. I might have to try and swindle another trip next year!

Anyway, normal service at The Travel Tart will be resumed from next week! 

Keep an eye out for a return to the crazy, wacky and downright absurd aspects of world travel today!
 

Apart from checking out Jeans Street and visiting nearby volcanoes, there are other things to do in Bandung, Indonesia while you are there.

Situated at 750 m above sea level, it’s a bit cooler than other places in Indonesia, and it’s often a popular weekend getaway for those wanting to escape the Jakarta rat race.  In fact, some people from Jakarta know Bandung better than some Bandung locals!

Bandung city is an interesting mix of Art Deco architecture, bustling markets and shopping malls.

This is the main party area – Jalan Braga.  People like to boogie here until the wee hours of the morning.

Like everywhere else in Indonesia, food is an important component of daily life.

Continuing the trend of strange food combinations that actually taste really good (see the Tea With Egg, or Ice with Red Beans posts), the same scenario occurs in Bandung.  Whilst Sumatran food is very spicy, the Sundanese Food in Bandung has a sweet tinge to it.

Here are some of the things I tried.

Kopi Nyereng – Coffee with Soda and Sweetened Condensed Milk

Es Goyobot – made from Rice Flour, Coconut Milk and Ice

Once again, the food here was delicious.

I was hedging my bets here – I’m not sure what the names are of all of these foods on the plate, so I tried a bit of everything.

There are also a number of interesting museums in Bandung.

Firstly, there is the The Asia Africa Museum, or Museum Konperensi. Bandung was the host of the 1955, and first ever Asia Africa Conference, where scores of Asian and African nations met to discuss their future.  Many of those nations gained independence in the years following the conference.  You can read more about the conference in this book.

This is the hall where the conference took place.

For the Rock Doctors (this is slang for Geologists) out there, or for anyone with an interest in The Geological Museum will provide hours of interest.  There are many volcano displays and fossils housed here.

Other museums include the Museum Mandala Wangsit (The Army Museum) and the Museum Prangko which has a collection of almost everything!

Like everywhere else in Indonesia, I’ve had a great time here in Bandung, thanks to the Blogging Community members.

Here is a pic of some members of the Bandung Blogging Community.  In fact, the Community is so large, that there are 3 communities – the Bandung Blog Village, Batagor and Rumah Blogger.

And special thanks to Ihwan, who let me stay at his place.

This is a photo of him and his father, who cooked up some great food for me when I was staying in Bandung.

Thanks for the hospitality – it was greatly appreciated!

Air Asia can fly you to Bandung and loads of other places within Asia.  Check out their website and hop on one of their planes!

Today’s post is a bit different than yesterdays about  Super Rambo Jeans – Volcano Hazards at Garut, Indonesia and Candi Cangkuang.

The Gunung Papandayan (or Papandayan Volcano) is located near the town of Garut, which is about 60 kilometres south east of Bandung.  Gunung Papandayan is an active volcano and is about 2600 metres high. 

It last erupted in 2002, which caused thousands of villagers to evacuate their homes to avoid the smoke and ash.

Ironically, the last time I visited a volcano was at Mount Etna in 2002 – when it was erupting as well.  So my thinking was that this visit to Garut would be somewhat less dramatic than that.

Or so I thought.

Anyway, the drive there is pretty scenic, and takes in scores of rice fields and vegetable crops.  Garut is a major producer of food in this part of the world.

And then, you come across this: the view of the volcano crater from the carpark.

One of the Volcano Hazards is that Gunung Papandayan can be a bit smelly up there with the odd hit of sulphur hitting the nostrils.  Sometimes it’s like being trapped in a poorly ventilated room with 10 people who are only on a diet of baked beans and cabbages.

Apart from eruptions, another potential hazard are landslides, caused by the odd torrential downpour.  I’m standing on a landslide here over what used to be a car park.

But this place is fantastic, but make sure you take a guide.  The path is not well defined because the rain continuously erodes the land away.

Here are some of the cool shots from Gunung Papandayan:

The Golden Crater

Bubbling Mud Pools

Sulphur Deposits and steam Vents

Whilst taking in these sites, the drama happened when we spotted someone who was shouting out across the regular clouds of steam.

Anyway, my guide Danny told me to stay put and went over to investigate. 

A woman had accidentally stood in a pool of boiling mud, and could barely walk because of her burns.  She had not taken a guide with her to show her around the crater, and where to avoid the hot spots.

These guys know where to go, and where not to go.

Note, there was no-one else up there at the time, so she could have been there for hours.

When Danny helped her over to where I was, I had noticed that her skin had already started to peel.

He then helped her down to the car park (in some places, via piggy-back) and then escorted her to the local Garut Hospital.  I assume she was then sent to Bandung for further treatment.

This is what can happen when you don’t take a guide. 

Meanwhile, when Danny had reached the bottom, he then sent up a substitute guide to take me for the rest of my trip!

The going rate for a guide at Gunung Papandayan is about 30,000-50,000 Indonesian Rupiah – about 3 to 5 US Dollars.  I assume that her time in hospital, and the cost to her health will be well more than 50,000 Rupiah.

The thing that had really astounded me was that the substitute guide and Danny had agreed to split my payment for guide services between them because they had spent roughly half of their time with me!

I thought that was ridiculous – and gave them both more than the going rate each to show my appreciation for being decent human beings.  And I’ve never seen two more grateful people.

So during this trip, I saw the real spirit of Indonesian people – right there. 

These guys are just trying to make a living and really make a pittance for what they do.

Anyway, something less hazardous than the Volcano Hazards at Gunung Papandayan is visiting the nearby Candi Cangkuang. 

This is one of the few Hindu temples left in West Java and was build around 800 A.D.

The best thing about it is walking through the spectacular rice fields to get there, with the volcanos in the background.

Air Asia can fly you to Bandung from a number of Asian cities so you can check out Gunung Papandayan and Candi Cangkuang. 

Visit their website now and book a flight there!

Jeans Street is located in the city of Bandung, in western Java, Indonesia.

Well, Jeans Street is the nickname.  The street name is actually Jalan Cihampelas, located to the north of the Bandung city centre.

Funnily enough, it’s the place to buy Jeans in town.

However, what is unique about Jeans Street are the lengths store owners go to advertise their Jeans.  You really have to go there to believe this!

It starts of tame enough.  Firstly in Jeans Street, there is the Aladdin Jeans Shop.

Further up Jeans Street is the Superman Jeans Shop.

A bit later in Jeans Street, there is the Spiderman Jeans Shop.

But my favourite is the enormous 20 foot plaster statue of Rambo, at Super Rambo Jeans.

When you stand next to Rambo in Jeans Street, you feel like you’ve been transported to the land of the giant plaster statues.

To put things into perspective, here is the scale of Rambo from across the road.

I love this quirky stuff about travel, and Jeans Street is a great example of this.

This kind of advertising makes buying Jeans online seem so boring!

So make sure you check out Jeans Street if you are ever in Bandung!

Air Asia has a number of flights to Bandung from a number of centres.  Check out their website for some flights to Bandung!