Indonesia: Arrival and Another Wedding

I always love being with all the family here :)

Arrival: (and a Big, Big Rant): The first time I left Singapore, I left in tears. It’s not that I was particularly sad about leaving the country, but I was extremely sad about my first AirAsia experience as I left. Remember the family gifts I mentioned in the last blog post? In any case, my check-in baggage totaled 45 kilos. AirAsia allows you to pre-purchase 30kg online – I did, assuming you pay a standard fee for extra weight. But when I got to the airport, I found out that excess kilos are charged at $18 per kilo!?! I had no choice but to pay it! Sad and pathetic tears were threatening to run down my cheeks as I signed the credit card slip for $270. My $55 flight turned out to be a lot more expensive than I wanted it to be. To top it all off, they don’t even give you water during the flight – you have to pay extra. Fuck you, AirAsia.

On a brighter note, I was very happy to meet Oom Harto and Tante Wanda after a surprisingly quick and painless immigration queue. The new Terminal 3 at Cengkareng Airport (Jakarta’s International Airport) is nice! We went straight to Sentral, a really good Chinese restaurant in Jakarta. Apparently, I have been coming here for 18 years, since my first trip to Indonesia in 1993. One of the things I love most about visiting Indonesia is the eating however it should be noted that while I find the Indonesian food to be “just okay,” the Chinese food is excellent! (There will be much more on this in future posts!!)

A Buddhist Wedding: Last year, I attended my cousin Siung-Siung’s wedding in Jakarta. They had a Catholic ceremony in a church and an 800+ person standing-room-only reception afterward. This year, I journeyed to Metro for Desy’s Buddhist ceremony and reception. I understood little at the Catholic wedding and probably even less at this Buddhist one. This time, my Mom wasn’t there to translate and my cousins, largely Catholic, didn’t quite understand what was going on at times either. The rundown: The bride and groom walked in followed by their parents and one sibling each (?). The couple sat, bowed a lot, prayed a lot, lit candles that symbolize various things, and at one point, had their hands bound lightly together and a yellow cloth wrapped around them. I wish I could tell you what each of these acts symbolizes….

Independence (?): Towards the end of the ceremony, there was this extremely emotional moment when the bride and groom bowed to each set of parents. This happened last year also and I remember it being just as powerful to watch. An incredibly sappy song heightens your experience of this private, tearful moment; by the end of it, many people in the temple had teared up as well.

I think this is something unique to Indonesians or at the very least, foreign to Americans. It seems like this moment is the one where parents are at long last giving away their son or daughter. I admit that I can’t completely relate. Perhaps it’s that in America, independence comes a lot earlier. Or, maybe it’s that for me personally, I’ve always been free to make my own choices. For example, numerous people have said to me, "Your Mom let you go on this trip?" And each time, I think, "What do you mean let me go?" I know she worries, but she's also been really supportive of my trip around the world. The more time I spend in Indonesia, the more I realize how much of anomaly this is. Thanks, Mom :)

Reception: It was more intimate than the last one I went to, with tables and chairs set up for most guests. The ceremonial stuff was the same: The bride, groom, and their family entered, the bride and groom sliced a knife in the air down the side of a fake cake, they poured 1-2 bottles of wine down a double-happiness thingy,

kissed as confetti rained down, and then sat on stage for the duration of the entire reception. On the left side of the room, there were a bunch of snack stands: Fruit, Es Doger (Iced coconut-jelly-fruit drink), Pudding, Bakso Sapi (Beef Ball Soup), Martabak (sweet and/or savory fried pastry), and Crepes. On the right side of the room was the dinner side: Rice, Soup, Gado-Gado, Chicken, and some other dishes I don’t quite remember. Dinner was just okay or at the very least, not very memorable. All the relatives took turns taking photos with the bridal party and then my second wedding sans alcohol and cake came to an end. Congratulations to Desy and Ivan!

My Aunt says she doesn’t really like parties or weddings because they aren’t so fun in Indonesia. I’m now determined to have her at my wedding and to make sure she dances a turn or two. :) I think she will be scandalized by the garter removal, but I think that will make it even more fun. Speaking of weddings, the family was constantly asking about when Stacy and I were getting married. I probably changed my answer each time... "in a few years..." "we'll let you know..." "someday..." etc. But when my answer was "maybe at the same time," they sternly said it was not allowed. It is apparently bad luck for two girls in the same family to get married in the same year, let alone the same day. Who knew?!

Next Up: Two Bule's (BOO-Lay) in Indonesia! (Or, Adventures with Theo) :)

(Wikipedia: Bule is a commonly used word in Indonesia to describe a foreigner, especially Caucasians.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bule

A Double Dose of Singapore!

Since starting Part II of my quest for all seven continents, I have been lucky to have two three-day stints in Singapore. The two experiences were dramatically different, a consequence of traveling solo vs. traveling with family. I can’t say that I preferred one over the other because the goals of each trip were very different. My time alone in Singapore was meant for sightseeing and experiencing as much of the city as possible. I did just that.

Singapore: November 2011

You could find elephants painted by different artists all over the city; it reminded me of the Hearts of San Francisco :)

After a lot of flying (LAX-SEA-NRT-SIN), I arrived at midnight in Singapore and spent the night sleeping on a bench in the airport. I stored my bags (full of gifts for the family in Indonesia) and set off for the hostel with just my pack. I shared a room with four other people in what seemed to be an upstairs apartment now converted into a hostel. I did my best to see everything in the few days I had in Singapore. I went to the zoo and wandered down orchard road marveling at the malls the first day.

Cutest animal at the zoo: Asian Small-Clawed Otter

Weirdest animal at the zoo: Proboscis Monkey

The next day I wandered around the City Hall area, the Botanic Garden, the National Orchid Garden, Little India, Chinatown, Clark Quay, Suntec City, and Marina Bay. I even managed to catch a free mini-concert at the Esplanade (Singapore’s answer to the Sydney Opera House) auditorium. On my last day, I spent a day exploring the manmade beaches of Sentosa:

and hunting for the one Singapore food I had been told to try: Laksa.

Laksa is a coconut-milk based soup with noodles and seafood; I know some people love it, but trying it once was enough for me. I think the broth is better suited for rice or bread – something that can soak up all the rich coconuty flavor. I didn’t think much of all the “must-try” foods in Singapore actually. Chicken Rice:

is a Hainanese style chicken where the boiled chicken’s tenderness and juiciness is overshadowed by all the gross skin and bones.

Ya kun kaya toast:

would be okay except they put a tablespoon of butter between slices making it, well, gross also. Food is cheap in Singapore though – I think I spent less than $5 for every meal and had really good yong tau foo, beef ball noodle soup, deep-fried squid balls, and Indian curry.

Yong Tau Foo

Singapore makes a good impression. The city is clean, well-run, and easily navigateable. Much to my delight, Singapore might be one of those cities where it’s actually true when they say “you can’t get lost.” If I was ever unsure of where I was or where to go, I usually only had to look up to see a sign pointing me in the right direction. I also liked the few locals I interacted with: On Sentosa island, for instance, I was laying on the beach when the person next to me (about 15m away) came up and asked if it was okay that he wear a G-string. He “did not want to offend.” :) I also met some young and chatty high school girls on Sentosa who were very sweet. When I told one of them I was from California, she said, “west coast, right?” Her friend looked surprised and said, “How do you know that?” She answered, “Katy Perry.” (Katy Perry – California Gurls)

Singapore: January 2012

Apart from Marina Bay Sands, I don’t think I did any sightseeing on this second trip to Singapore. I offered to take my aunts to the botanic gardens, but one of them didn’t want the sun exposure lol. So it goes. Instead, my time was generally spent either at Raffles City (the mall next to my hotel) or on Orchard Road (shopping mall row). I spent most of the first two days at ION Orchard while my uncle spent a lot of the first two days waiting for us girls (me, my cousin, and my two aunts) to finish shopping in MANGO, Uniqlo, Esprit, Muji, Zara, etc. We ventured further down Orchard Road the third day and later spent a nice evening walking around Marina Bay.

Instead of an approximately $10-per-night hostel, I was staying at the Stamford Hotel, the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia. The room was pretty luxurious and had a stellar view of Marina Bay Sands, especially when I’d step out onto the balcony.

I don’t think I was ever hungry during those few days in Singapore as we ate pretty much constantly. It had been a while since I had been able to eat pork so the char siew (bbq pork) wanton noodle we had that first day was especially good. In addition to some decent yong tau foo, teriyaki chicken, fish maw soup, and Japanese ramen, I had the most expensive Indian food ever!

It was about $24 SGD per dish and we ordered all my favorites: Chicken tikka masala, baingan bartha, tandoori chicken, palak paneer, and a lamb dish I didn’t eat. We were eating at Ras restaurant in Clarke Quay which might explain the, in my opinion, exorbitant prices. (Note: On my first trip to Singapore, I walked around Clarke Quay and watched people eating their expensive dinners on the waterfront…then I left and got myself some $3 curry…)

So on this trip, I shopped a lot and ate well – not a bad way to live at all :) It was more of a vacation since I’d powered through all the major sights of Singapore on my first trip – I even had time to put in some hours by the pool :)

Next Up: Many adventures in Indonesia!

For Mom: (Orchids at the National Orchid Garden)

Big and Tall: Dubai

Catch Up #4: Dubai

Finally, a place where being Asian isn’t a novelty! Dubai is the first city I didn’t get stared at or asked if I was Japanese. :) Since I don’t look like I’m from any one place, I was still somewhat an object of curiosity, but I felt like it was a polite interest – as if people wanted to know if we perhaps shared the same Filipino or Chinese blood. Dubai was filled with Chinese, Indian, Filipino, and other immigrants in fact, giving me much of what I had been missing in terms of cultural diversity.

Burj Al-Khalifa: World's Tallest Building

I don’t have too high an opinion of Dubai (or too low of one either). It seemed like such a contrived place falling short – in my opinion – of offering the best and brightest. There were grand shopping malls and tall skyscrapers, but I felt that Dubai had no personality. I am probably very biased however because I think a big part of visiting Dubai is soaking up the luxuriousness of it all.


As a budget traveler, I couldn’t afford to buy designer goods, stay in the five-to-seven-star hotels, or experience fine dining, Dubai style. The cost of accommodation alone blew my daily budget and as a result, I was very conscious of how much everything cost.

Dubai on a Budget: I stayed at the Golden Sands Hotel Apartments and basically had a one-bedroom apartment to myself; the room was pretty nice and the one almost-luxury I afforded myself. Although I resented the basically mandatory use of their porter (and thus tip), staying there meant I could cook meals in my kitchen, use the Internet for free, and get to public transportation and a supermarket within a 15 minute walk. I ate most of my meals in: Easy Mac, IndoMie (Ramen), Dinty Moore, and occasionally curry/rice or chicken/rice meals from the grocery store. Eating out wasn’t terribly expensive, but I wanted to finish a lot of the Easy Mac/IndoMie I’d been carrying with me; I also really like trying food from grocery stores :) I had one night of “indulgence” when I met a friend from my Africa trip; we went out for Indian food, caught most of a football game, and had two $8 Stella Artois’. This may be disappointing, but the best thing I ate in Dubai was Taco Bell! It’s almost shameful how happy it made me to find one as I was perusing the malls. It had been so long and I absolutely loved it! :)

Atlantis, The Palm

I spent hours walking in the malls actually.

Dubai Mall: World's Largest Shopping Mall

Dubai Aquarium at the Dubai Mall: World's Largest Viewing Panel

For one thing, it was free. Furthermore, my “budget” travel gave me more than enough time in certain places. I figured out that I could sight-see for free while taking advantage of the hotel/resort shuttles. One day for instance, I took the metro to the Dubai Mall, walked around until I was able to catch a free afternoon shuttle to the Atlantis resort, walked around there until there was a free shuttle to the Mall of the Emirates, then took a metro home after staring at people enjoying themselves in the indoor ski resort.

Ski Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates

The way many people get around the city is via taxi but it was just too expensive. I refused the drivers every time I left the hotel and they laughed as I set out on foot. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this, but It was extremely hot in Dubai; I think this is the hottest place I’ve been so far and in the afternoon, I was the only idiot walking around in the sweltering heat.


Jumeirah Mosque: The first and only mosque I’ve been into is the Jumeirah mosque in Dubai. To boost cultural learning and acceptance, the mosque is open to non-Muslims at certain hours. To enter, I paid the 10 Emiratis mandatory donation, removed my shoes, and fully covered my arms and legs. The inside of the mosque wasn’t particularly exciting, but there was a tour guide of sorts who delivered a pretty interesting lecture about Islam and the teachings of the Koran.


She even had an assistant demonstrate how Muslims typically perform their daily prayers. After she said the prophet Mohammed’s name (and once after saying Jesus Christ) she always said “may he rest in peace.” Interesting.

Originally, I had big plans for my time in the United Arab Emirates. I was going to spend two days hardcore sightseeing in Dubai, one day in Abu Dhabi, and one day in Oman. Things started off well as I was able to book a discount trip to the fjords of the Middle East (in Oman). But after I showed up early in the morning for a bus that never came, I resigned myself to sleeping a lot and hitting the main sights of Dubai only. My canceled trip to Oman really upset me actually because I called the tour office demanding an explanation and the lady told me she had personally called and canceled with everyone booked on the trip. Oh no you didn’t, lady!!! The manager later offered to book me on another tour for free, but they were all full. In the end, I managed to make them messenger my refund to me; it was the least they could do.


So Dubai for me consists of walking by every store in both the Dubai Mall and the Mall of Emirates, visiting the Jumeirah mosque, relaxing on Jumeirah beach and by the pool, seeing the famous seven-star Burj Al-Arab hotel and Burj Al-Khalifa skyscraper (from afar), and getting really excited to go home.

The Dubai Marina

I left Dubai around midnight, cleared customs and immigration in Washington D.C., and at long last, came home. Mom looked like she had tears in her eyes when she picked me up at LAX. I was so happy to see her and to be home that I did too :)

Amman, Jordan

Catch Up #3: Amman, Jordan


In a way, I kind of short-changed the vibrant capital of Jordan. I arrived in the afternoon on a bus traveling from Nazareth and left the same night on a plane bound for Dubai. I think it was enough time though and certainly one of the most exhausting days I’ve had on my trip.

It was a pretty tough morning starting the minute I left the hostel in Nazareth. The only two ways to get from the hostel to the bus stop were taking a taxi or walking. The distance was less than 2km but the taxi fare would have been about $30?! I refused. So, I set off with my pack a little before 7am and arrived exhausted and drenched in sweat. (I wasn’t quite sure where the bus stop was located or if I had given myself enough time to catch the bus. So Stressful.)

It was a relief to finally get on the bus however the first border stop was a stressful experience as well. At the Israeli border, the conductor said we had one hour to be back on the bus or it would leave without us. I think we had to be back at 10am or so and at 9:57am, I was still in line waiting to get my exit stamp. I have added pages to my passport twice and I know there are a lot of pages to look through if, say, an immigration officer is looking for a specific stamp. Aggravated beyond belief I offered to help the woman find my Israeli entry stamp, but she refused and took her time casually flipping through my passport. (Are you kidding me right now?!) Luckily, I ended up making it on time and as it turns out, I had been needlessly stressing myself out. The Jordanian border was easy except they made me pay for another visa - I was only transiting through and would be in the country less than 24 hours.

The bus from Nazareth arrived at a random hotel where the hotel staff was unable to provide a map or any indication of where in Amman I was. I did start talking with a gentleman from New Zealand and together, we refused the taxi drivers who didn’t want to turn on their meters. I had read online that cab fare anywhere in the city should not be more than 1-2 JOD – the cab drivers wanted 5 JOD. We started walking out of the hotel’s driveway and caught a metered taxi; I wanted to meet a friend at a bus station and he wanted to go to his hotel downtown. I had read that the bus station might be closed, but my friends who were already in Amman seemed to believe it was still open. Trusting that, we told the cab driver to first go to the bus station and then the hotel. The cab driver did not speak much English and did not fully understand what we wanted. He ended up calling his friend who spoke to the gentlemen I was with for a bit. Lots of talk with very little understanding both ways, but the gist: The bus station was closed. So I end up going to the hotel that this gentlemen is booked at and the receptionist there was fantastic! She gave me a map and oriented me to the city, allowed me to store my luggage for free, and told me where I could catch a bus to the airport since “my bus station” was closed.


I got in touch with my friend and after agreeing to meet her later, I set off to explore the city. I talked to a very nice officer at a tourist information desk and then spoke with several nice guards at the entrance to the Roman Amphitheatre. I was trying to get exact details about the bus to the airport…. Success! And, one of the guards named me his friend so I didn’t have to pay to enter the Roman Amphitheater and museum. He kindly gave me directions to The Citadel and I was off to see that next.


Temple of Hercules - Roman Corinthian Columns


The Citadel is an important military and religious site in Amman, although there was nothing too exciting here. The site Does house the Jordan Archaeological Museum.


It would have been nice to watch sunset from up here, but I didn’t want to get lost in the dark on my back. (I had gotten lost on my way there...) I met my friend Laura back at the hotel for some last minute shopping and dinner in a popular alley in the market area. It was a pretty unique dish I had – meat (goat maybe?) with shredded potato on top and a very rich sauce on the side. The sauce was like a liquid version of ultra-flavorful hummus. A dish probably too rich for me, but great to try and super cheap! (1.5 JOD)


After picking up my bags from my hotel, Laura and I caught a cab – I was going to drop her off at her hotel and then head to the bus station from there.

Paying for this cab marks the last time I get screwed over! I mean it!!!

Background: When I arrived at the hotel with the New Zealand gentleman, I thought the fare was 7 JOD because of what the meter read. This is approximately $10 and for the distance and time we traveled with the cab driver, I thought it was a decent fare. But cab fare is cheap in Jordan, almost beyond belief how cheap it is. Unfortunately, when you pair shady cab drivers with meters that look deceiving to the untrained eye, you can end up paying way more than you should be paying. I thought the meter read 7 JOD when it actually read .700. Good thing the New Zealander new well enough and though the cab driver kept demanding more than the 1 JOD on offer, the New Zealander stood his ground and refused until the cab driver stopped being an asshole and accepted the 1 JOD (fare + a generous tip). Good job him!

I wasn’t so savvy. Basically, my prick of a cab driver caught me in a moment of confusion. Before she got out of the cab, Laura handed me what I thought was a 1 JOD note. So I handed that to the cab driver and was looking for change in my wristlet. Then he gave me 5 JOD in change. What??? I was seriously confused and asked him what was going on. Turns out, Laura had given me a 10 JOD note. I was so disoriented and tired that I let him convince me that the number on the meter read 7 JOD for the fair and 1.5km for the journey. (It was actually the opposite.) So he took back 2 JOD and fucked me over even more! This happened even after I went through a similar cab experience earlier that day! How stupid am I!? I wasn’t thinking. I think that’s the part that makes me the most angry – I just didn’t think. It’s probably the stupidest I’ve been in the last year of traveling and I am well prepared to throw a fit at the next person who tries to do something like this to me again. Hmpfh!

Thoughts on Jordan in general: I accept that there are people willing to take advantage of tourists in every city, so I can forgive Jordan that. I found many people to be kind and welcoming despite the fact that I was American. They probably thought I was Japanese. When, in fact, I was greeted with “Konnichiwah” as I walked into some stores, I made a point of stopping suddenly, turning around, and walking out. No more tolerance for that either! Another thing I definitely didn’t tolerate were some of the men who got touchy. I think they have ideas about women who travel alone being loose and so in Petra, for example, the hotel employee thought it was appropriate to put his arm around my shoulders. (I shrugged his arm off with a disgusted look on my face and he didn’t do it again.)

I don’t really have strong feelings for Jordan other than the fact that Petra is a must-see. Amman and Aqaba are typical Arab cities with typical Middle Eastern food, crowds, and streets that are terrifying to cross. I Did appreciate how cheaply you could travel in Jordan though given the surprisingly low cost of food, transport, and accommodation. I probably will never go back to Jordan on my own, but I could see myself taking family one day so that they can see how incredible Petra is.

Up Next: The last of the catch up posts on skyscraper city - Dubai.