I loved this one

I have been very busy and now I am traveling for work for the next 3 weeks. It started last friday and my locations will be:

Bali, Jakarta, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, India (Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi).

Meanwhile watch this amazing video/presentation that I received in my email

Kutai National Park: Video

My first jungle trip

During Chinese New Year I decided to take a break. As most of the flights to the most common destinations were full, I used my Krisflyer miles and redeemed a ticket to Balikpapan, Indonesia, on Silkair.

The trip had a single purpose. Go to the Kutai National Park and see the Orangutans in the wild.

Going there:
- Flights from Singapore to Balikpapan on SilkAir
- Trip from Balikpapan to Sangatta (near Kutai National Park): about 8 hours by car
- Agency used to help us: Borneu Discovery Tours

The road between Samarinda and Sangatta is simply horrible. It took almost 3 hours to travel 57Km. It was the worst road I have seen in my life. It had more holes than asphalt, wich made driving without a 4 wheel drive a challenge.

The Orangutan are quite difficult to spot, as they are high in the trees. I could spot some, but without a SLR camera and a good len, it is difficult to take their pictures.

Balikpapan is one of the "oil cities" in Indonesia. The east part of the Kalimantan island is quite rich in Oil and Gas. So this city has all the oil facilities, including refineries. But it is a quite clean city, friendly and I went to a restaurant where I had the best crabs ever!!

View Larger Map

Mosque in Samarinda


Our guide with the prawns for lunch


Cottage where we stayed


A Python snake we found while walking in the forest


Crocodile farm

Incredible India!

Today I am in Chennai, India. I just arrived last night and my impression so far was not great. But, I cannot comment as I am still waiting for some friends to get ready and go out for some visits.

I arrived last night coming from Singapore. It was s short flight, but as I was one of the last people to leave the plane, I was in the immigration queue for about 45 minutes. It was quite slow, due the large number of people.

When I collected my luggage and tried to get out the airport it was amazing. There were so many people in front of the door waiting the passengers that I could barely get out.

My transportation from the airport was arranged by the Marriot. But the driver started the usual conversation: "Life expensive... Kids in School..". Well, I have heard this so many times, that while I was speaking I was just guessing what he was going to say next. And I did not miss it that much! This was just a way to pave the way for a tip. He got a tip, but not a huge one.

What I can say from India so far is that the streets are a bit dirty and there is a weird smell in the street. So far this looks less polluted than my favorite city, Jakarta. From the 10th floor in the Hotel I can see the ocean and the sky. This means there is no smog.

I will explore the city a bit further and I will then tell how it really is. However I forgot my camera again. So we will have phone pictures once again!

Mount Bromo: The Video

Beautiful Indonesia

I am always happy to return to Indonesia. This time I went back for a quick getaway on Christmas.

Chocolate Art in JW Marriot, Surabaya


Sunrise from Mount Penajakan


Mount Semeru in eruption



Hugo with the Mount Bromo crater on the back

Back in Indonesia

Everybody already knows that Indonesia is my favorite country in the world, particularly Bali. Today I am in Surabaya for a quick Christmas get away.

It is my second time in Surabaya so I already know the city. But the purpose of coming here this time is going to Mount Bromo. Since I lived in Indonesia for a while, and visited my first Volcano I became quite interesting in these natural events. The sulfur smell, the hot earth, the boiling water around you makes it an amazing sight, that proves that our earth is alive.

Volcanoes with recent eruptions are the most amazing to visit, as you can see the result of the eruption: everything is destroyed and there is no vegetation near the crater.