Day 1 – Singapore to Yogyakarta, Indonesia

I departed Singapore last Friday (Sep 6).  At my employer, I turned in my laptop and company credit card.  At my hotel, I piled up my work clothes in my room with a note — “I no longer need these clothes; please feel free to keep, donate, or throw out.”  I took breakfast for the last time in my hotel, grabbing a newspaper to get the latest update on the Syria situation and reading about the flooding that had occured yesterday in northern Singapore (away from but not far from where I was staying given the relative small size of the island) after two days of terrential downpour.

I got to the airport and cleared customs, wondering if the cramp in my stomach was nervousness or just last night’s dinner.  After going through security (at the gate, rather than the entrance to the airport) I realized I had forgotten to get Indonesian currency to pay for a cab to my hostel.  A quick search on Google assured me there would be a currency exchange at the airport.  Once aboard the plane, the flight was relatively uneventful, save for my first exposure to Engilsh spoken with an Indonesian accent – very difficult to understand to say the least!

When I arrived in Indonesia I got treated to some local hospitality.  First, the immigration desk would not accept my 10 dollar bill as part of my Visa on Arrival payment because it was ripped.  Then, the currency exchange person laughed at me when I tried to exchange my change in addition to my Singaporean bills.  In the taxi, my driver spoke no English and didn’t know where my hotel was.  Luckily I had a map, and after just 3 stops to ask directions we ended up at my hotel.

As an aside, the street system in Indonesia is slightly difficult to follow.  Street names can changes names after you pass through major intersections.  These name changes are marked with signs, which look like they are actually the name of the perpindicular street through which you are passing through.

Upon my arrival at the hostel, I checked into my room, sharing with another traveler from the US, and went into the lobby to sit and get my bearings.  While there I met three other travelers, from the UK, France, and Germany, and before I knew it was invited to explore the main shopping street Malioboro with them.  Selling everything you could imagine, I saw clothing, sunglasses and shoes all for $1-3 USD, amongst other items.  We grabbed a drink, I had my first experience with a local style toilet  (note to self, save bathroom trips for American style toilet in hostel where possible or else risk needing to learn how to go number 2 into a toilet “hole” built into the floor without toilet paper.).

While we were out I heard the call to prayer for the first time — Indonesia is predominently Muslim, and being the 4th largest country by population in the world, is home to a lot of Muslims.  It is interesting to hear prayer broadcast over PA systems for all those in the city to hear, though I have to admit I didn’t actually see anyone praying during my 4 days in Yogyakarta.

Wrapped up the night with dinner at a local Indonesian restaurant, complete with traditional music and cobra steak on the menu (I didn’t brave ordering this time, maybe later!), and a trip the surprisingly modern grocery store to grab snacks and bottled water for the hostel.

Lessons Learned
–Street systems in foreign cities can be hard to understand
–It is fun to travel in cities where the exchange rate works (heavily) in your favor
–Of all the difficult and stressful parts of traveling in other countries, the bathroom / toilet situation ranks surprisingly high

If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring one movie to watch, what would it be?  OR, any comments to add to my post above?