Kuranda and Rainforests

Today I am going to see a little bit of rainforest in Australia. I am visiting the hill town of Kuranda via a historic trail ride and returning to Cairns via a skyrail over the rainforest.

Kuranda Scenic Railway

I start by taking a two hour old-timey train ride to the rainforest town of Kuranda (Freshwater station to Kuranda station).

My first seat assigned has me awkwardly seated with a large family. Luckily the ride is not full and I can switch to empty seats in another car.

With the train windows open I get the crisp smell of nature and a cool breeze from water before we start ascending into the mountain range.

The train narrator tells us the story of how the tracks and tunnels were built. There are settlement towns that existed around the tunnels to support them being built, even a brewery/distillery at one time.

There are two bends and one stop (Barron Falls).

We make our stop at Barron Falls where we view the falls off into the distance and stretch our legs. It starts raining during this stop so we run back in to our seats after some quick photos.

When the train history commentary is complete they play fun train songs such as “Runaway Train” by Soul Asylum.

We finally arrive at the station in Kuranda but it is pouring. I hang back to see if the rain lightens and order myself a ham toastie (grilled cheese toasted sandwich).

The town of Kuranda isn’t really a exciting destination for a couple hour trip. Kuranda has a hotel or two and mostly shopping and some kitschy sightseeing. I am able to purchase some souvenirs and clothing items that are much needed. Prices are not cheap by any means but hopefully they are good quality additions to my travel wardrobe.

There is a colorful area with cafes where people can purchase lunch. Unfortunately I had that very filling toastie so am not hungry.

There is a little nature path through a mini-rainforest. I spend a few minutes walking through there.

I’ve seen just about everything I want to see in Kuranda but I am early for my skyrail trip. The lines are short so they let me start my skyrail return trip early.

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway

Since the Kuranda village at the top was kind of boring and uneventful I had little hope for the skyrail. The skyrail is basically a gondola that takes you over a rainforest. I am pleasantly surprised when I get a private car and start moving. I immediately start hearing the sounds of birds in nature and have the most magnificent views of the rainforest. It’s been raining on and off all day but the cable way goes so long that I am able to escape the rain. The route is 7.5km long.

Crossing the rainforest and Barron River

There are stops on the way down and one gives a vantage point of a beautiful waterfall. The waterfall Barron Falls is the same one I saw during my trail stop, this time I get a better view.

I am back in my cablecar to finish my return journey. As I get closer to the station I am rewarded of great views of the coast.

Since I am back early I have a little while before my van arrives. I find a place to charge my phone inside the giftshop. With all the beautiful scenery I give my phone battery a large workout today.

After the van takes me back to my hostel I walk back toward town to get something to eat. I settle on this pizza from The Lush Pizza Co.

CHICK’N’PERI (chicken, onion, peppers with peri peri sauce)

I get a chance to wander around town after dark. Cairns is not a large and lively town but the peace and quiet suits me fine at this point in my travels.

Tomorrow I am off to my Great Barrier Reef cruise. Hopefully the weather is good.

Flight cancelled!

I am flying back to Bali from Yogyakarta. I will overnight in Bali to prepare for my trip to my next country.

This time I am heading to Australia.

I plan to start in Cairns, Australia and work my way down south.

My flight back to Bali is uneventful. In Bali am staying at the same hotel I previously stayed in by the airport. It seems to be much easier accessing the hotel when flying into the domestic terminal.

I use the evening to make sure I have all the documents ready I need for Australia, including making documents accessible offline – you never know when your phone data will just stop working!

My flight is supposed to be a direct flight at 11:15 am. I wake early to up to make sure I am at the terminal early like usual. I visit one of the lounges to get something to eat. In the lounge start noticing the flight is delayed. I decide this is a good time to try out another lounge at the airport to get some cocktails while I wait.

As time goes on the flight time keeps changing, getting nervous so I walk toward the gate to see what is happening.

I am flying Jetstar and their customer service is non-existent. No meaningful information is given to the travelers. Sometime in the afternoon they finally cancel the flight. Once before I’ve had a cancelled flight with Delta and they were pretty good at communicating to the travelers the plan for the next flight. Travelers on this flight are freaking out and trying to make phone calls to customer service while we await instructions. I patiently wait thinking things will be communicated to us in time. Ugh, not really. We finally figure out we need to go through reverse immigration, get our bags and someone would meet us at the airline check-in for more information.

Waiting to go through immigration the opposite way.

I seem to wait forever to claim my bag. At check-in they tell my new flight time for tomorrow (Note: the time they give is wrong). I finally get on a bus to take us to a hotel that will house us for the night. I could make my own arrangements but best to stay with the group since they should arrange all transportation and meals for us.

We arrive at the hotel and I get my hotel room key, meal voucher and a vague instruction for tomorrow (Note: The flight time they tell us is wrong too). The hotel lobby isn’t bad but the rooms are pretty outdated. The hotel probably was pretty nice when it was first opened.

I settle in and decide to go out for a look of the ocean and order something to eat. The situation isn’t the best but we are right on the water!

I watch the sunset from a patio with drinks while listening to a duet band singing Islands in the Stream. I get to chat with some other flight passengers.

I head to bed early because I keep getting conflicting information on tomorrow’s flight time and I want to be prepared for anything: airport says 6:00 am, room notification says 10:00 am, and online says 7:00 am).

We get the morning call and make it in time for the flight so it all seems to work out. I get a well deserved coffee with my breakfast voucher.

Once arriving in Cairns, Australia I have a little bit of a wait for my van pickup. I am sad I am missing a day in the city due to my flight cancellation. I will need to pack all I really wanted to see in a shorter period of time I guess.

My hostel Mad Monkey Backpackers is great. I have a nice air conditioned private room with a private bathroom. I love the lounge area to catch up on social media back home.

Luckily I am able to move the Great Barrier tour I had scheduled for today for two days later. Tomorrow I am heading out to see the rainforest in Australia.

Yogyakarta Food Tour

Last night I was supposed to go on a food tour of Yogyakarta. Instead I set circle K on fire. Tonight I am trying to do the food tour again.

I am attending the Jogja Food Tour. Luckily the weather cooperates and I meet my tour guide at the a white monument in town. I am not the only one on the tour this time, two girls from the Netherlands are also on my tour. I am delighted because they stand out even more than I and they are the ones getting the picture requests while I am around them.

Meat skewers are first on the menu. We pick out two to try.

To be honest I don’t remember which type I chose but one of them is probably the signature skewer of the region sate kere (made from beef or chicken intestines). It wasn’t terrible and I probably would try it again sometime.

We try some charcoal coffee. Yes, you read that correctly. We drink coffee with a large piece of charcoal inside. It tastes mostly like coffee with only a slight charcoal taste.

*Kopi jos* is named after the sound made when hot coal is dropped into a glass of coffee

As we are walking to our next food location in the popular Malioboro street we make it just in time for a performance of a popular band. The main attraction is the wooden instrument called the Angklung. It produces a unique sound. The angklung plus drums and dancers makes for an entertaining performance. Luckily our guide secures us great viewing spots.

Wow! So much fun to watch.

Jajanan pasar and other sweets

After the music we are off to get some local sweets.

**Kutu** (rice flour called suji and coloured green with extract acquired from pandan leaf, filled with palm sugar, and served with grated coconut.) and ***onde*–*onde*** (glutinous rice balls dessert)

We take a Becak (motorbike rickshaw) to another part of town to try Java’s famous Gudeg.

Gudeg: jackfruit stewed with palm sugar and coconut milk.

Gudeg served with rice, tofu and I forget the other dish.

Jamu

We stop for Jamu drinks: Indonesia’s system of traditional herbal medicine used by many for the prevention and treatment of a variety of ailments. Each Jamu have their purpose.

Beras Kencur (Extractions from *kencur*, rice, ginger, and a bit of tamarind)
temulawak (Extractions from curcuma, tamarind, palm sugar, pandan leaves, and cumin)
Kunyit asam (Extractions from turmeric and tamarind).

Our last savory dish is at Soto Sampah restaurant where we try Soto Ayam (Indonesian style chicken soup). It is a great comfort food.

After our soup we walk to the square I visited earlier with the two large trees. The square is lively with games and fun cars you can rent to peddle around the square.

It is corny but everyone is doing it. It is a unique experience.

Here is video of the experience…..

After our little buggy ride we head to the area near the trees. Our guide tells us of a game where if you walk blindfolded and make it between the two trees then you will receive good fortune. It has rained too much recently so we skip that game in order to avoid getting trapped in mud. We did try walking on sticks. I was not good at it but a girl in my group was.

To finish off the evening we try a sweet ginger drink.

I am so glad the weather held up. It is a great way to end my time in the great Yogyakarta. I hope to return to this special city one day.

Wandering around Yogyakarta

I am still in Yogyakarta Indonesia. I book a food tour after my long day of temples. I head down early to meet my tour leader as I tend to do. Being early I decide to get a soda at a Circle K nearby to the meeting spot while I wait. It is raining hard and it will probably make the tour not so much fun. The tour guide contacts me on WhatsApp and asks if I would like to cancel for the evening and try for the next day. I am the only one scheduled tonight so I decide it is probably better to try again tomorrow.

I contemplate getting dinner somewhere nearby. Because of the rain I sit at a table outside the circle K under the overhang while searching for a place. All of a sudden I hear a boom and a spark. The store goes dark and people are stirring on the block. Around the corner and less than 10 feet from my body an electrical fire has sparked.

I step out onto the sidewalk and away from the building. Yes indeed. The transformer is on fire.

While we are watching the fire a spark appears at the power line above and power to the block goes out.

We watch the fire while we wait for the fire truck to arrive.

I think somehow I must have caused this fire so I walk away. I find a taxi driver around the corner to get me back toward my hostel because it is raining.

Taxi driver does not understand me and drops me off 3 miles from my hotel insisting it is the correct location. He refuses to take me further and it is still raining. I notice a bunch of rickshaws bikes (I find out later the actual name is Becak – Yogyakarta traditional trishaw) with plastic coverings. This will be my ride back to my hostel.

Didn’t take great pictures of the Becak but you can get the idea above.

It is a fun ride and I safely make it back to my hotel (dry). I find a place to get a quick dinner nearby and then I’m done for the night.

Exploring Yogyakarta

The next day I do some exploring around town. Because the main town areas are only a couple miles from my hostel and it is a nice sunny (hot) day I decide to get out the map and walk.

My route takes me down a bunch of residential alleys, some with some fun art.

I cross underneath an opening into the walled area that holds the palace and other landmarks. The palace seems to be closed for a special event but I explore other areas inside.

This park and this tree become a lively area at night. During the day it is hot so you only see a few brave playing sports in the park.

Inside the walled area there are colorful walking paths.

I see this car and think it is adorable. I realize later that night what it is for. My next post will include pictures of that.

These pot hole covers are very clever.

Taman Sari Water Castle

Part of the Sultan Palace, Tamansari was a royal bathing location and retreat built in the 1600s. Not being very large it takes me no time at all to explore the grounds.

At short walk later past some cute cafes and more wall art I come to the next big sight in town.

I find signs for the Situs Sumar Gumuling, an underground mosque and well, but it takes me a while to find the actual entrance.

I end up going into some tunnels.

Eventually I reach the very popular mosque with its odd stairs. It is a very popular place for photography.

There is a round like structure around the stairs. It is cooler there and I try hanging out in this area to wait for the crowds to die down but they never do.

As I walk out a band is playing. The drummer is using the bench drum like I saw previously in Bali.

After I head outside there are more men who want to take photos with me and more student groups who want to practice English with me. I talk to a couple student groups and then head back to my hostel to rest up for my nighttime food tour.

I am excited about seeing Yogyakarta at night!

Prambanan Temple

After an amazing morning visit to the Borobudur temple I head over to the Prambanan temple closer to Yogyakarta in the afternoon. It is also a 9th century temple but this one is a Hindu temple. Not as impressive as Borobudur but still a nice temple to visit.

Prambanan is a UNESCO sight that happens to be the largest Hindu complex in Indonesia. Some bricks lay outside the main temple structures that must have been remnants of a 16th century earthquake that destroyed the temples. Restoration efforts started in the early 1900’s and continue to present day. Luckily they have restored a good part of the temples for us now to enjoy.

It is a warm beautiful day at the temples. The crowds are thicker here with school children and seemingly mostly local visitors.

It is at Prambanan temple that I started to realize how popular I am in Indonesia. I stand out pretty much every where I travel (I never do a great job at fitting in) but in Indonesia I really stand out. At places like Prambanan that doesn’t get as many western tourists I am a novelty. I am used to students in south east Asia wanting to speak with me to practice their English – I even welcome it. However in Yogyakarta it proved to be a little inconvenient, especially at these temples. There were so many groups of students and not as many of “me” types so I am constantly being stopped for school projects. Besides the students there are groups of males wanting to take pictures with me. It is flattering only to a degree but then I spent the rest of my visit literally hiding behind temples until the coast is clear to go exploring again. I know it sounds like I am exaggerating but the attention is excessive. Looking back maybe I could have made time for every group of students that wanted to talk with me, maybe not. At least I hope I am a positive representative of an American while I am a guest in the country.

One of the friendly groups of students I chatted with

Walking back to the park entrance I find these fun straw creatures being assembled nearby.

I’m beat after a long day of sightseeing so I head back to my hotel to rest up and get ready for a night food tour I have scheduled. Been a great day so far in Yogyakarta, looking forward to trying to new food.