Author archive
4 July 2011
Solo by bicycle I didn’t have much planned and was going to go visit the palaces here in Solo. The sultan here still exists but unlike in Jogja, he is only a figurehead. The guidebooks suggest that the palaces here aren’t as good; one had been rebuilt due to a fire. Over breakfast, I chatted […]
3 July 2011
Wandering minstrels I had my first taste of Javanese intercity travel today. On the bus at the intercity terminal, wandering minstrels came on in turn to entertain passengers. Each had a guitar and was singing (very well I might add) and had an accomplice to collect the proceeds for their busking. I stopped contributing when […]
2 July 2011
I had a day free to do “unplanned” sights today, so I used it to go see Gunung Merapi (2968m, Fire Mountain). It is the most active volcano in Indonesia, erupting regularly since 1548. Merapi has claimed lives recently as recently as 1994 and 2006. The alert was last raised to its highest level only […]
1 July 2011
I woke at 0430 for a 0500 departure to Borobudur in a shared minivan. After an hour, we arrived and the sun had risen for long. I had opted not to do an alternative trip leaving Yogya an hour earlier … which allows you to see the sun rise over Borobudur. Borobudur is an 8th […]
30 June 2011
Temples of Prambanan I spent the morning considering excursions for the coming days, and whether to use public transport or a shared vehicle (organised through an agent). I opted for the latter as it saves time and it isn’t very much money in the scheme of things. I was picked up along with three other […]
29 June 2011
It was an early take-off at 0700 from KL so it was good that I only had to walk across the carpark from the airport hotel to the terminal. It was a pleasant 2h15 flight. Once again, AirAsia delivers me safely to my destination way ahead of the scheduled arrival of 0835! It was way […]
28 June 2011
Photos from eating in South Korea, where I set out to disprove that it is just kimchi, kimchi and more kimchi. Posted by Alex Chan on Thursday, June 16, 2011
28 June 2011
Upon landing from Seoul at 0430 (rather than the scheduled 0510) in Kuala Lumpur, I walked across to the Tune Hotel at the airport grounds and caught a few hours sleep. Because the hotel was so cheap, I was able to book last night and use it as an early check-in rather than wait till […]
27 June 2011
Above: Ice-cream is good and cheap in Korea. It’s tempting to have one for dessert after every meal. Fortunately I found dessert-flavoured chewing gum. Eg. tiramisu- or affogato-flavoured. Spirit of Sir Freddie I departed at 2325 from Incheon Airport on board AirAsia X’s aircraft named Semangat Sir Freddie (Spirit of Sir Freddie Laker, the pioneer […]
26 June 2011
I had made my way to Seoul yesterday from Sokcho. I have a full day here which I’d fill with an excursion to the border or Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). I couldn’t have picked a worse day to do an excursion. The rain was relentless and the wind had picked up a little due to a […]