When in Melbourne

My good friend C's recent travels (read about it here) inspired me to post - especially since I haven't in a while. Hmph. Count on the academic world to stunt one's productivity!

When in Melbourne, I highly recommend:

• Going on foot and getting lost in the alleyways of "the city", as locals call the downtown, the CBD, the actual "Melbourne" city. If you find yourself wandering and wondering, Hmm.. What's over here?! Go on, take the turn, because you never know where might see a cute antique jewelry store, or a trendy clothing store (that is not a chain), or a bar/cafe on a parking lot, or a teeny tiny cupcake shop, or a soup place.
  
• Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Melbourne takes pride in serving good coffee. 4 times out of 5 you will end up with a good cuppa. And don't expect coffee from the percolator. Think: caps, lattes, flat whites, long blacks,...
  
• The Royal Botanical Gardens. It's where tourists come to enjoy the beautiful scenery and locals go for a run or a stroll either through or around the park. The Yarra river runs on one side.
  
• Wine. Wine. Wine. You can't go wrong with Aussie beers, but Aussie wines are wonderful and their cheap wine is good most of the time.
  
• The State Library of Victoria. Don't bring a big bag because they won't let you in until you rent a locker. But once inside, head to the LaTrobe reading room. Being there in that gorgeous room takes you back in time.
  
• If in season, seeing a footy (Australian rules football) game. It's a truly Aussie experience. And much more fun than American football if you ask me.
  
• Going to see any sport that is in season! Victoria/Melbourne is a huge sports locale. This time of the year (Oct-Nov), the races are happening. This is so ingrained, that when people talk about it, they don't bother to mention (to me, the newbie) that it's horse racing! Not obvious to me, how 'bout you? Well then, wear your best frocks and big hats, don that suit, and place some bets. Don't forget the umbrella.
• Eating. Some favourites so far (i.e. I've been there 2+ times):
• Koko Black (Lygon St.) Chocolate goodness. Need I say more?
• Mekong (Swanston St.). Cheap, filling, hot bowl of pho, aka Vietnamese noodles.
  
• Grill'd (Glenferrie Rd., Chapel St.). Burger goodness. It ain't no In-N-Out, folks, but it's a party nonetheless. Good sauce.
  
• The-Japanese-place-I-can't-remember-the-name-but-it's-at-Melbourne-Central-off-Swanston-St. Haven't had a bad dish yet. And I've had countless. Really.
  
• The Lucky Coq (Chapel St.). Good pizza (fresh, not greasy, and non-standard stuff available) on the cheap. The best place other than your friends' dorm room at college/uni to enjoy pizza and beer. Good music (courtesy of a spinner) turns up later in the evening too.
  
• Amici (Chapel St. - yes, I end up here a lot). Great coffee. Fruit-infused water. Free wireless internet. Good baked goods and breakfast, although not the cheapest or best service around.
  

Hope the snippets help a bit. There should be more exploration, photos, and writing while I'm on break from classes. Feel free to drop a comment or a question.

In the meantime, what's happening in your city?

It's winter here

It's winter here down under! So grab your umbrellas, scarves, and jackets.

And your camera, too.

My new home. Say hello.

This is my city

More impressions from Melbourne coming soon.

Jakarta lagi

Jakarta again. More photos from more of this city, featuring a few of my favorite things: coffee, dessert, cool people, and live music.

Jakarta Lagi

One can't choose one's hometown and so loving it becomes a choice. Funny how that is, eh? But I suppose choice is a always big factor when it comes to love. And certainly when it comes to Jakarta!

My time here is ending - Melbourne, here I come. Stay tuned. Thanks for coming.

The Isle of the gods

Two things before we get to the meat:
1. I chatted (online) w/ a S. American acquaintance who asked: how far is Bali from Indonesia? So I thought maybe this needs to be stated upfront: Bali is in Indonesia. It's an island, a province in Indonesia, not a separate country.
2. I didn't do many touristy things there, due to a combination of I've been there (plenty of times) before and I was with friends who live there. So much (better material) has been written about the place before anyway; I figure you read this not for the quality of information you will receive. Actually, I don't know why you read this. Anyway.

I don't know how to summarize the week-long trip without resorting to the teenager in me:

OMG. You HAVE to go to Bali. It's. A-MAY-zing.

You'll see it promoted as the Isle of the gods (Pulau Dewata, as we say here in Indo) and you'll agree. First of all, there's the weather. I came at a time of transition. Rain fell softly late night through early morning. In rainy mornings I climbed out of bed to sit on the terrace of the bungalow, dangle my legs to face the small patch of paddy field, stare at the gold, listen to the field rustling. Nights were still and warm, which begged for a late dip in the pool under the stars and a glass of chilled red wine. The day's sun and breeze allowed me to be in my bathing suit all day, much like my school vacations long ago: Play in the water. Look for sea-shells. Cover my cousin in sand. Watch your feet slowly sink into the wet sand. Is it time to eat? Wash off the sand (though never so thoroughly), put on a shirt, drive somewhere and eat. Take pictures. Play some more. Come inside for dinner. Whoah, I got so dark. Crash. Tomorrow: repeat.

Secondly, and at the risk of sounding like a Bali Tourism ad, Bali has something for everyone! This time I relaxed, got massages, ate (Italian, Spanish, Balinese, Chinese, Japanese, Chinese/Indonesian, American), drank, beach-ed and mountain-ed (one day each). But mostly lounged around. No real agenda. No one to see. Nothing to accomplish. But, here's additional things I've done in past trips:

• Night-life -- Bali has some good clubs with solid resident DJs and a full calendar of guest, internationally known DJs. Or - there's always the cool bar du jour where all the tourists hang out. Some places boast great atmosphere (beach-front or cliff-front). Some are great in a row of bars (just walk/stumble from one place to the other).
  
• Outdoor adventure -- whitewater rafting is pretty good there. Some other people have done bungee, sky-diving, parasailing, jetskiing, surfing (of course), etc.
  
• The Arts -- everyone in Bali is an artist of some sort, and this is because the culture has really strong religious/ceremonial aspects. Dances, music/singing/playing, sculpture, food, etc. all contribute to their life in such a way that I won't ever understand. When I was growing up I knew how to perform about 8 Balinese dances - but that meant nothing more to me than moving deliberately to the music. Anyway, if you travel throughout Bali you will see certain areas/villages "specializing" in certain artforms. I'll leave that to you to discover!

Oh. A short note about lodging: don't worry. A major tourist area like Bali you can find something good in your budget range, from hostels to resorts. Or score a friend who lives in Bali, like I did. Another short note: don't just stay in Kuta (the major beach area). Venture north to the mountains. You might stumble into sights/places that remind you of the heaven you long for. It is the isle of the gods, after all.

Impressions from Bali

Photos first. Words later.
Trying to get some more photos from other cameras. So, stay tuned. There might be a part 2.

BALI

Impressions from Jakarta

Homeland. Motherland.
But is it heartland?
Who knows?

Find the stories as captions. Enjoy!

Jakarta

Still here

And still working on that post I promised re: Jakarta's tasty streets. I have pics too. But crappy internet connection. Darn, I miss T1 lines.

Going to Bali soon. So. You can be sure I'll be sending postcards - maybe not from there - but about there.

So, I'm still here.

And where are you?