Our guest writer, Anthony Bianco, travelled to Indonesia this past week to attend the Pesta Blogger 2008 conference, after his work being seen and featured on Nick Bowditch Travel. I am really proud of Anthony (we were his first published work) and hope that now since he is famous he might still write some stuff for us!
Below is his review of the week in Indonesia.
Pesta Blogger 2008 – The Bianco Blog
This year’s Pesta Blogger (Blogger Party) and the associated Blogging Trip in Indonesia was an amazing success. I was one of 5 international bloggers who were invited to participate in a week long tour of Indonesia (2 days each in Bali, Yogyakarta and Jakarta), culminating in the second Pesta Blogger conference in Jakarta.
This was my third visit to Indonesia. I had previously been to Bali in 2001 for a holiday (just like almost every other Australian – reminiscent of the Redgum Song, ‘I’ve Been to Bali Too’) and to Jakarta/western Java in 2002 for work in a previous life as an environmental scientist. I was really looking forward to this trip, since I was going to experience new parts of Indonesia.
The menagerie of other bloggers were ‘Mr Brown’ from Singapore (a political satirist who shares a love/hate relationship with his government, www.mrbrown.com), Jeff Ooi from Malaysia (a blogger who became a politician, www.jeffooi.com – who has not become a subject of satire for Mr Brown – yet), Mike Aquino from the Philippines (a travel blogger from http://goseasia.about.com/) and Mark Tafoya from the United States, a personal chef who blogs about his passion for food (www.culinarymedianetwork.com).
A summary of the trip is provided below.
Monday 17 November – Bali
Our first visit outside of the hotel was the Bali Bird Park (see http://www.bali-bird-park.com/). The park houses a large number of birds from Indonesia (such as the magnificent Birds of Paradise) and others from around the globe in well designed enclosures. I even spotted an Australian sulphur-crested cockatoo and other parrots from home. This was followed up with a visit to the New Treasure Island cultural centre (http://www.balitreasureisland.com/) to experience Balinese culture such as making offerings to the gods, paintings, massage, dancing and playing musical instruments. As further proof that white men can’t dance, my dorky Balinese dancing provided an endless source of amusement for the locals. My Batik painting skills were fairly woeful as well – my sad attempt seemed to resemble a handkerchief infused with golden snot, rather than a delicate little flower.
Other sights of southern Bali included observing the enormous statues of Wisnu and the Garuda (the mythical man-bird) at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park. The Garuda head, at 60 metres high would be especially impressive (and scary!) if it were bolted on front of the national airline carrier. Instead, its final destination will be on a shopping centre facade.
The night was spent watching the Balinese version of the Ramanyana dance, (locally known as the Kecak) at the spectacular Pura Luhur Ulu Watu Temple site, which is perched at the edge of an imposing cliff. The Ramanyana is a story about the expedition of Prince Rama who tries to save his kidnapped wife Sita – with the most impressive part of the dance being the monkey king called Hanuman kicking a large fireball. The dance was especially remarkable because the musical accompaniment was sung by a large male choir, rather than with instruments.
We then devoured an enormous feast at Jimbaran Bay where the open air seafood restaurants (or warungs) consist of a simple arrangement of tables and chairs planted on the beach, which provides a relaxing atmosphere – except during the monsoon season. We were stuffed with delicious seafood that had been cooked over open fires fuelled by coconut husks, which included fish, prawns and marinated small clams that are provided fresh each day by the local fishing fleet.
Tuesday 18 November – Bali
Tuesday was spent in the mountains of Bali, in the artistic centre of Ubud. I encountered the home of my namesake, the late Antonio Blanco, known as the ‘Dali of Bali’. His paintings/sculptures/other creations that were housed in the Blanco Renaissance Museum were quite unique, and I think this reflected his eccentric personality judging by his photos in various poses, usually complete with bulging eyes, a cheeky smile and a red beret cap. I think Señor Blanco really appreciated the female form, judging by the number of times women were the subjects of his paintings. That’s him, and the vast majority of the male population in the world. More of Antonio and his work can be seen at www.blancobali.com
Lunch included a Balinese cooking class at Café Wayan. Chef Mark from the States was especially excited about this as he filmed this segment for his online show. I was especially excited because I was going to eat the contents of the show, which were a fish/prawn mix marinated in spices, steamed in a banana leaf and finally roasted over hot coals.
The night was spent with the BBC – not the English TV broadcasters, but the Bali Blogging Community, a tight knit group of people who collectively share their passion of blogging about whatever their passion is. Their passions ranged from politics, life in general, and even butterflies. I thought another passion was Arak, the Balinese rice spirit/rocket fuel that was being offered to me in copious quantities. Some bizarre cross dressing Balinese dancing by some male members of the BBC was the highlight of the night (http://baliblogger.org/). Australians may see them at next years Mardi Gras in Sydney.
Wednesday 19 November – Yogyakarta
An early morning red-eye flight from Bali was rewarded with the magnificent views of the Prambanan temples, which were built between 800 and 1000 AD and made the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1991. Prambanan was simply breathtaking. Each of the temple spires were in scripted with stories in incredible detail, and all were carved out of volcanic rock. Restoration work was being conducted as the temples were damaged by an earthquake in 2006 (see http://www.borobudurpark.com). I racked up scores of shots on my camera – it’s one of those ‘wow’ places.
While I thought Prambanan was spectacular, one of the locals mentioned to me ‘Just wait until you see Borobudur’.
After we had almost been vaporised by the Java heat, the next stop was the Luwes Putra Batik factory. Since I have a concentration span of about 2 seconds, and because my batik effort in Bali was pitiful, I admired how hard the ladies worked to produce these high quality batik products, using hot paraffin wax.
We also visited the Kota Gede silver centre – silver is made into all sorts of things for exports, and not just jewellery. Other interesting creations include silver Prambanan temples, silver motorcycles, and intricate miniature silver furniture which are smaller than a cigarette lighter.
The night was spent with the vibrant and enthusiastic Yogyakarta Blogging community, which was completed with a ride home in a becak – a three wheeled bicycle catering for one driver and two (slim) passengers. Whilst I’m not totally convinced that my dodgy travel insurance would cover my medical expenses in the event of an accident in one of these souped up push bikes, the skilful driver ensure I made it back to the hotel safely, and in one piece.
Thursday 20 November – Yogyakarta
Thursday morning meant Borobudur time, one of the largest Buddhist temples in South East Asia. Borobudur was the most amazing piece of Legoland I have ever witnessed, as it consists of two million blocks that are placed together to form one large Buddhist monolith. These blocks of intricately designed detail had been placed on top of each other to create a solid block of temple with the spectacular Gunang Merapi volcano located in the background. Towards the top of this huge block of temple are a number of stupas (bell tower-like encasings) that each house a Buddha. Legend has it that if one touches the fingers or the feet of the Buddha, that good luck will come. I did just that, and I will be watching my lottery numbers in the near future.
Mr Brown on his blog mentioned that Singapore donated money to the restoration (he reckons it was a toilet block). Australia also donated money to the effort – but I could not find a pub anywhere within eyeshot of Borobudur (http://www.borobudurpark.com). Before this trip, I had never heard of the Prambanan or Borobudur temples. However, they are two of the most magnificent sites I have ever seen. Angkor Wat in Cambodia has the famous name but these incredible sites definitely rival it.
I would have been happy even if the trip had ended at Borobodur – it was that magnificent. However, there was another reason – I had contracted a mild dose of ‘Bali Belly’, so my lunch was not as big as usual. Other activities for the day included visiting the old Sultans palace in the centre of Yogyakarta, and a skilful puppet show (or wayang kulit) version of the Ramanyana.
To finish off Yogya, we were entertained by the Ramanyana for the third time that night – this time, Javanese style. This was different to the Balinese interpretation, and involved instruments this time. Unfortunately, the show had to be moved indoors because Hanuman kept slipping as the rain started to fall, so no fireballs tonight.
Friday 21 November – Jakarta
After another early red eye flight to Jakarta, we firstly went to the Sunda Kelapa harbour where the fishing boats (or Phinisi ships) are docked – the harbour is basically a gigantic collection of maritime real estate. While the place smelt like my head had been immersed into a large jar of festering anchovies, I found the port, and the thousands of fishing boats docked there fascinating. I was lucky enough to board a fishing boat to meet the crew, which included an entire family. I enjoyed taking photos of them, and watching them smile when I showed their images back to them on the display.
We also visited the old Dutch colonial parts of the city formerly known as Batavia, including the Jakarta History Museum (Museum Sejarah Jakarta) – a pretty, whitewashed building that was once the town hall. Our guide showed us the jail that was used during colonial times – which was usually partially inundated so that prisoners had a 24 hour bath and other parts that used to house up to 50 people – without adequate ventilation, food, or sanitation.
Sometimes the entire city of Jakarta can be transformed into the world’s biggest parking space, depending on a number of variables such as traffic, rain, time and miscellaneous breakdowns – and this was the case as we attempted the journey towards lunch via a couple of twists and turns with a degree of difficulty of 2 km/hour.
However, lunch was brilliant – which involved tasting scores of tasty Nasi Padang dishes, or Sumatran Food at the Sari Bundo restaurant. However, I was one of the few brave people to try the chilli cow brain. Actually, it was quite tasty, but a bit fatty – a bit like chilli soft tofu jelly. Unfortunately, I had washed down the delicious feast with a combination of durian juice (a smelly tropical fruit) and a Bintang, the local beer – which meant the combination burps created a bizarre sickly sensation for the rest of the day not just for me, but for the entire entourage.
The afternoon was involved traversing the enormous, 130m high MONAS (the national monument), which included the Hall of Contemplation – which housed the declaration of independence of 1945, and a speech recording. The 360 degree views of Jakarta were impressive, including that of the Mesid Istiqal Mosque, which can hold over 200,000 people. We visited the mosque afterwards, and walked through the enormous main room where some people were still praying. What’s quite interesting is that a Catholic Church is literally located across the road from the mosque – a great example of tolerance.
As I left the mosque, the mosque guide said cheerfully ‘Please tell your friends to come and visit us – they are welcome anytime.’
Saturday 22 November – Pesta Blogger 2008
Pesta Blogger was definitely not like other conferences that I had attended. This felt like more of a party with 1500 revellers, with some sessions of seriousness in between. Speakers included the Minister for Culture and Tourism, and the Minister for Technology, as well as people from all sorts of blogging backgrounds. See more at www.pestablogger.com
I’ve never experienced anything like it – I felt like a superstar! I thoroughly enjoyed talking with everyone, especially as they were so passionate about what they were talking about. I found these people quite inspirational to talk to, and I enjoyed providing any insight on world travel with them. And my image is on many Indonesian digital cameras, judging by the number of photo requests.
Our names also appeared in the Jakarta Post regarding the Pesta Blogger conference. I think I just saw my 15 minutes of fame in this article. The link is shown below:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/11/23/putting-faces-web-addresses.html
Sunday 23 November – Bogor and Reflexology
Mr Brown had arranged a day trip with one of his friends for a trip to the outskirts of Jakarta. Bogor is one of those day trip destinations that Jakartans escape to for the weekend – but it’s quickly become another suburb. Bogor used to be the country home of Sir Stamford Raffles when the English were being all colonial throughout south east Asia. Bogur possesses the enormous Kebun Raya botanical gardens, which is 80 hectares in area and contains around 15000 species of plants.
The highlight of these gardens was the large numbers of school students wanting to interview us. However, I was bit concerned when they mentioned that ‘we are hunting tourists’. I noticed these students did not possess any hunting weapons of any description, so I assumed there were trying to ‘track down’ foreigners to interview – rather than pursuing us through the botanical gardens like a pack of bloodhounds. Unfortunately sometimes, things don’t translate very well into other languages.
Before my flight home, we experienced a superb massage (or dare I say, pummelling) via some very experienced massage artists. While it was painful in some parts, my neck and shoulders were completely relaxed at the end. I was very happy – a one hour session cost only $11 Australian dollars.
In Summary
I would like to thank everyone involved with Pesta Blogger 2008 – the whole event was organised superbly and we managed to see some great parts of Indonesia, and meet some fantastic, warm, friendly and fun loving people. Whilst I witnessed several amazing sites, my highlights were the several interactions with the local people – which make Indonesia a great place to visit.
In fact, the locals were so friendly, that I think half of Indonesia wants me to be their Facebook friend! The opportunity to participate was definitely most appreciated, and next year’s Pesta Blogger should be even bigger and better.
Anthony Bianco, November 2008
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positive thinking to follow blogger party…right?