Thursday, February 13, 2014

Gua Jomblang - In Eternal Darkness, You'll Find Light

The hell Jard, why does your blog's title sounds so cryptic? - monologue

I didn't had a good rest the night before. The guestroom I slept in was a simple bare room with two metal double decker bunk beds, a wooden drawer, air purifier and an adjoining bathroom. There wasn't much decorations in the room as it was newly furbished with the simple furniture it holds. I shared it with two other guys and a girl. (Yeah, here's my first, sleeping in mixed dormitories!) My night was restless because the sounds of the rounded belly white guy who slept across me, going to the bathroom kept me up.

But hey no worries, I got to wake up early to hop on the pre-booked ojek (or also known as taxi-like motorist) to Giwangan Bus Station, located 15 minutes away. My friend from Jombang will be waiting for me there as we'll be heading to the outskirts of Yogyakarta to a district named Wonosari via bus. It is here where I'll experience my first time caving!

This caving trip involves two caves. the Jomblang cave which is a vertical cave with a forest manifestation covering a diameter of 60 meters and the Grubug cave where in eternal darkness you get to see rays of light. Read on to understand what I mean.

Giwangan Bus Station. These are inter-cities buses. You can catch a bus to any part of East Jawa here. 
The day wasn't exactly a clear beautiful day. It was cloudy with signs of rainfall. We waited for another friend to join before we boarded the mini bus to our destination. The ride costed us Rp10,000 each, a cheaper method of going there compared to renting a whole car which would cost us Rp450,000 (excluding fuel).

Friday, February 7, 2014

My Traveling Backpack

At first, I was invited to join this blogging contest held by a famous Indonesian Travel Blogger, but later on found out it was open for Indonesians only. Haha. So to feed the curiosity of the person who invited me about my backpack, I decided to blog about it. For him. Ehem. (#prett I know)

Anybody who has ever traveled with me or chanced upon me during my travels, you might have noticed that I always, and I mean ALWAYS bring a pink backpack with me. It has somewhat become my identity and also the identity of my blog. (Refer to the header of this blog, created by my best buddy @helgaindra)

Picture taken during my FIRST BACKPACKING trip to Thailand in 2012.
I have a bigger bag to fit in my 4 to 10 days of daily clothes and toiletries but this pink backpack dates way back to 2007. I bought it in Midvalley for a price nearing RM 300. So it has been with me for almost six years and still counting. :)

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

A Weekend Trip to Pulau Pangkor

Lumut, the port where you'll need to get to to be able to get onboard a ferry to and fro Pulau Pangkor is just a three hours drive from Kuala Lumpur city center. I wouldn't say that this Island is as exotic as the islands of Mabul and Sipadan but it do has it's own charms. :)

Pink minivans, at your service!
Visitors can enjoy a day-trip around Pangkor by using one of these charming PINK minivans seen above. It's the only public transport around Pangkor unless if you prefer to rent a motorbike or car. With a price that you can bargain (normal prices starts at RM80 per round day trip tour), the driver will take you around the top attractions of the island.