"Saya suka tiket" I said at the booth - the lady gestured me inside the station. At security I said "Di mana tiket" and the guard gestured me though. I couldn't see any other booth, so assumed I could buy a ticket on the train. I got on the 8am train, heading for Malang. At the next few stops the train filled up, and I realised that I needed a ticket - seeing that everyone was waving one about and looking for their seats! I managed to ask the nice family sitting next to me where I should now get a ticket. They laughed then spoke to a train guard, who also laughed. By this time a few people, and more guards were interested in what was happening, and someone speaking a little English came to translate. I needed to get off the train at the next stop, get a ticket then get back on - they will hold the train for me. I got off and a guard came with me to the booth to make sure I got a ticket quickly, I paid the 4000 (from the stop I was at to Malang!) then got back on, in plenty of time. The people here are tremendously nice and very helpful. The internet said not to bother with the hassle of slow, crowded trains - I should get an AC minibus - but this is what I want from travelling, these are the best moments!
Arriving at Malang station I now needed to get to Batu. I first had to get a minivan to the Tlogomas bus terminal for 2500 Rupiah, then another minivan to Batu for 2500 Rupiah. These minivans are the size of a pea but can, remarkably, carry around 15 or 16 people - as I found out on the second journey. My rucksack and camera bag were piled up in my face, and I had a chair and electric oven at my feet, which an old granny was taking somewhere. An old man wanted to get on but no-one moved - he had to almost crawl his way over peoples legs to get to a space. We arrived at Batu terminal and everyone exploded out.
I'd not booked anything, thinking it was a small place and I could just walk about looking for a room. Not the case! Batu's quite big, and is slowly getting engulfed by Malang. I walked about looking for rooms, but all were expensive resorts - one place was 1,000,000 Rupiah per night! After an hour, and with the afternoon rains closing in, I was thinking about going to Malang when three men (one speaking good English) pulled up and asked what I was doing. I said I was looking for "ekonomi hotel". They told me to get in and that they could help. I showed them an area that wikitravel suggested and they took me there, asking people along the way, and even phoning his sister for advice on cheap hotels! I ended up at a place called the Arumdalu hotel - and they had rooms for 70,000 Rupiah (£5). The men and I had a round of photographs, they took my Facebook details and drove off.
Soon after arriving the heavens opened and it rained ALL afternoon and into the evening. I didn't go out exploring, had some dinner in the hotel and read a book called Bangkok eight that I'd picked up in a bookswap. Not the sort of book I'd normally go for but it's quite absorbing. I think I was possibly the only guest in the hotel. The swimming pool was empty and being cleaned - ready for the high-season and the influx of wealthy tourists from Surabaya and Melang.
Determined to see this cute colonial mountain town I was up at 5:30am and out by 6am. Nothing was open, and just a few people were wandering about - all of those people said hello! It was already misty and cool, and felt a little like rain. There's apple orchards here and you can buy apples and apple related products everywhere! There's supposed to be a Hindu temple but I could not find it at all, asking people left me a little more lost - time to learn a little more of the language! I went back for my free breakfast - an enormous buffet, I'm sure for only me! (I had seconds). The town is cute and serves as a great base for hiking - but I had lots of this to come further east - so I packed the bags and headed back to Malang.
Arriving at Malang station I now needed to get to Batu. I first had to get a minivan to the Tlogomas bus terminal for 2500 Rupiah, then another minivan to Batu for 2500 Rupiah. These minivans are the size of a pea but can, remarkably, carry around 15 or 16 people - as I found out on the second journey. My rucksack and camera bag were piled up in my face, and I had a chair and electric oven at my feet, which an old granny was taking somewhere. An old man wanted to get on but no-one moved - he had to almost crawl his way over peoples legs to get to a space. We arrived at Batu terminal and everyone exploded out.
I'd not booked anything, thinking it was a small place and I could just walk about looking for a room. Not the case! Batu's quite big, and is slowly getting engulfed by Malang. I walked about looking for rooms, but all were expensive resorts - one place was 1,000,000 Rupiah per night! After an hour, and with the afternoon rains closing in, I was thinking about going to Malang when three men (one speaking good English) pulled up and asked what I was doing. I said I was looking for "ekonomi hotel". They told me to get in and that they could help. I showed them an area that wikitravel suggested and they took me there, asking people along the way, and even phoning his sister for advice on cheap hotels! I ended up at a place called the Arumdalu hotel - and they had rooms for 70,000 Rupiah (£5). The men and I had a round of photographs, they took my Facebook details and drove off.
Soon after arriving the heavens opened and it rained ALL afternoon and into the evening. I didn't go out exploring, had some dinner in the hotel and read a book called Bangkok eight that I'd picked up in a bookswap. Not the sort of book I'd normally go for but it's quite absorbing. I think I was possibly the only guest in the hotel. The swimming pool was empty and being cleaned - ready for the high-season and the influx of wealthy tourists from Surabaya and Melang.
Determined to see this cute colonial mountain town I was up at 5:30am and out by 6am. Nothing was open, and just a few people were wandering about - all of those people said hello! It was already misty and cool, and felt a little like rain. There's apple orchards here and you can buy apples and apple related products everywhere! There's supposed to be a Hindu temple but I could not find it at all, asking people left me a little more lost - time to learn a little more of the language! I went back for my free breakfast - an enormous buffet, I'm sure for only me! (I had seconds). The town is cute and serves as a great base for hiking - but I had lots of this to come further east - so I packed the bags and headed back to Malang.
No comments:
Post a Comment