Monday, July 30, 2012

Monday Muse: (Armchair Backpacker #1) Indonesia!


Hello and welcome to the first post in my Armchair Backpacker project! For those of you who have no idea what it is, Armchair Backpacker is an event where bloggers from all around the world doing guest post every Monday about daily lives in their country. Just like a backpacker, we'll explore the world they live in! You can learn about all of that here. :)

Are you excited? Are You??? AREEEE YOUUUU??? (okay, Hilda, settle down. Don't want to make all the nice readers run for their lives) Because our first destination is....

*cue drum rolls...*


Yay yay yay! Indonesia happens to be my country, so... it'll be Hilda again talking! Enjoy! :)


The Bookie in Action

Hi! It's Hilda from Catch the Lune again! *awkward pause* I'm a proud Indonesian girl, and I'm going to be your tour guide while you're in Indonesia! To those of you who live in Europe or America, congratulation! You're now in Asia, baby! ASIA! Let me pronounce it for you guys... A-S-I-A! x)

Willing to trade glasses for food!
Now what do you know about Indonesia, folks? Bali? Yeah, I hear you. That's a cool place, but you know? We have more cool places you should visit in Indonesia! And ssshhh... I'm going to show you things natives-exclusive! You know, top secret stuffs! ;)

Come on, follow me through the journey! And watch out for monkeys, since they might steal your glasses or watches!





Places You Should Go To

Kota Tua (Old City) for History lovers

Fatahhilah Square, taken from the window of Museum Fatahhilah
the bicycles and the cute vintage hats

Kota Tua, or Old City is located in our capital, Jakarta. Do you love museums as much as I love them? You should totally visit Kota Tua! There are many museums, old buildings with Dutch architecture, and a big square where you can see traditional dancing performed in the afternoon! Also, there are many bicycles provided for renting for small fee! You can also ask for a tour guide to accompany you sightseeing around the town, and every bicycle comes with a vintage hat you can wear for guarding you from stinging heat or like me, for the practical use... fashion! :P


I'm good with sport... as long as it doesn't involve legs or hands. Or like, anything to do with the body. :P

Parang Tritis beach for lovers of sea and sand

Find me where the sky meets the sea.

Sands. Sands. Sands. It's the first thing I saw when I visited Parang Tritis. Parang Tritis is located in Djogja, a city not far away from the capital. There is no coconut trees in sight, only sands. Horizon. Perfect spot for watching sunset, sunrise... seriously, any kind of sun. :P However, the sea is dangerous for swimming because it's too close to the ocean, so no need to bring your swimsuit! :)

Pulau Kembang (Flower Island) and Pulau Komodo (Komodo dragon Island) for animal whisperers

Pink is the new black!

Meet thousands of wild monkeys in Pulau Kembang, and the dinosaur (kind of) in Komodo island! My friend went to Komodo island and she saw pink beach. If we take a handful of sand then we can see red sand in between the white sand. 

Library

Mostly I go to my university's library. It has seven floors, although the percentage of books I can read is about 10%. The rest? Uh huh, too bad I'm not interested in Chemistry or Physics (HORROR!). :P

While in Indonesia... Did You Know?

  • One of the world's most luxurious cemetery is located in Indonesia. Iinspired by Forest Lawn memorial park, San Diego Hills resembles five-stars hotel with sports facilities, an Italian restaurant, a small-scale replica of Istanbul's Blue Mosque, a man-made Lake of Angels that's dotted with rowboats on weekends and a helicopter landing pad. And it also hosts wedding parties. Oh well.
  • Sarah Alderson, the author of much-beloved Lila series and Fated, lives in Bali. If only I can find time to stalk meet her and threaten ask her to autograph my copy. *sad face*
  • We have three years of high school here. I don't know why, just want to mention it. :P

Final Note

Aww, I'm very excited that you bother reading this post! Seriously, this post is just so full of rants and nothing else. I'm not the best tour guide since:

1. For the life of me, I can't ever remember the name of places
2. I'm never good with directions (unless we're talking about that One Direction)
3. Words and I are not destined to be together

*facepalm moment*

All my little problems aside, you can count on me to bring you to whatever place you want to! I hope you enjoy this (slightly) long post! Give me a call next time you come to Indonesia, will you? We can drink coconut together! ;)




 




And... that's our (too short) journey in Indonesia!! Hopefully I didn't bore you guys with my explanations! :') Oh, what do we get here now? A map to help us marking the countries! ;)



Boosh! Get your seat belt ready for flight, because our next destination is UK! Hello, Londoners! Sacrifice your Brit boys for us!!

25 comments:

  1. Wonderful post, Hilda! I've never been to Indonesia before although I have been to Asia many times. You've made me really want to visit Indonesia though, especially with all those beautiful pictures! Your islands, beaches, and historic sites are all so much better than anything we have in America, so I'm jealous you live in such an exotic land! I'm looking forward to your next post about UK! We all want some British Boys in our lives, don't we? ;)

    ~Keertana
    Ivy Book Bindings

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  2. YAY! Fabulous post Hilda!!!! Indonesia sound SO awesome!!!!The pictures, fun facts, islands, and monkeys are all so great!!!I feel like I've actually visited it through your fabulous post!!!! And YAY YAY YAY! The UK?!?!? I am really looking forward to that post as well!!!! Count me in!!!! Thanks for sharing.

    SeeitORreadit


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  3. What a fantastic idea for a post, Hilda! I haven't been to Indonesia, but after reading this post I really want to go there! And I loved all of the pictures - the pink beach is gorgeous!!!!!! <3 <3

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  4. Pink sand! That's awesome! I want to go to Indonesia now!

    Looking forward to the next destination! =D

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  5. Indonesia sounds wonderful! Pink sand is so pretty! I really love the idea for this series and can't wait to see the UK next. :D

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  6. Indonesia! I didn't realize you live there! It sounds like a beautiful place for touring (except for the their monkeys xD ). Next is UK! I am excited!!!

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  7. Awesome post, Hilda! LOL, your One Direction comment was so cute >_<
    Not my first time being in Asia (well, since I was born there as well) I definitely want to go to Indonesia someday, and thanks so much for highlighting all the other lovely aspects of your country besides Bali ^_^ I love love love love MUSEUMS!!! It all sounds amazing <3 Thanks for being our tour guide, Hilda! You did wonderfully ^_~

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  8. Hilda you are so hilariously witty!!!!! Love this tour stop post!!!! that so cool that their is pink sand on that beach, beautiful picture! its nice to see what becomes out of red and white sand! To bad their is no swimming though, i love swimming.
    So many beautiful places in the pictures! I love learning about your homeland! and the mention of an author who lives there that you would love to meet!!!!!

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  9. This post is making me want to LIVE in Indonesia. All those places look fantastic! Palau Kembang especially sounds wonderful. Monkeys and pink sand? I'm sold! :) Looking forward to your next post! London is where the cool people live, i.e. me. ;)

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  10. I enjoyed this post sooo much! I pretty much knew nothing about Indonesia until now, haha. I love how the bicycles come with matching hats, that's awesome! The pictures you included are so gorgeous! Pangardaran Beach looks absolutely STUNNING and pink sand!?! Seriously? It's like a dream!

    You were an excellent tour guide Hilda! If I'm ever in Indonesia I'll be sure to look you up =)

    Can't wait to find out more about the UK next week!

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  11. I love this post, Hilda! It's absolutely amazing! I can't wait to discover the other places you're going to be posting about.
    Pink sad! I've never seen pink sad. :D You totally should mail me some. :P
    I've been to a couple of places in near Indonesia, but never too Indonesia -_-
    Sad right ? You make it sound so awesome. When I'm old and rich, I'll visit and then we can go meet those monkeys. :P
    Oh and you have only 3 years of high school ? :O That's great! We have 5 here in Mauritius! :O -_-
    I can't wait for next week to meet the UK, Hilda! :) This is too awesome. :)

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  12. Oh my LOL Hilda, I love you! You're sooo sweet and adorable, and I too want to live in Indonesia now! And you know this already, but I live basically next door. Do you know if Singapore is one of the stops?? Just wondering. :) Oooh I am definitely going to go to those beaches.. the pink one looks SO NICE OMG. When I come to Indonesia next will you be my tour guide?? Pretty pretty please? <333 Amazing post, Hilda- sweets!! As usual. :D Lol that picture of a monkey had me giggling like mad. :P

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  13. This whole idea is SUPER cute! I've never been to Indonesia, and I don't know much about it. But now I know heaps! That monkey is adorable, I want to adopt it NOW! and those bikes are the best, they look so vintage and lovely. ❤

    The Parang Tritis beach is just beautiful.❤ I NEED to visit there. And pink sand! I love it! LOL, you're an awesome tour guide. :D now I'm aching to visit all these wonderful places! We'll go together at some point. (;

    That map at the end is gorgeous, okay. I want it. LOL. London next, where I live! Seeing Indonesia on the map makes you look so much further away from England. ): so unfair. LOL, I love the bit you crossed out at the end! You're so sweet. (':

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  14. What a fun post, Hilda! That is one luxurious cemetery you all have...and some pink sand? Nice! I love those bikes you can rent as well. How adorable! I'm jealous you only have three years of high school. That would have been great.

    Love this idea. Such a fun concept!

    Yay for the UK being next. I'd love some of those brit boys too (One Direction, Olly Murs, even the non-famous ones! LOL)

    -Lauren

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  15. I love love love this post! To be completely honest, I don't know all that much about Indonesia, so it was great to learn more about it! =) That beach looks absolutely GORGEOUS- I totally want to go!! Even though you can't go swimming. ;) And that's super neat that Sarah Alderson lives in Indonesia! You definitely should go and ask for her autograph. =)

    Love this post Hilda! I'm looking forward to going to London. <3

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  16. I LOVE this new feature, Hilds, and I'm so happy you started with yourself in Indonesia! I have to visit Parang Tritis and the islands because I love beaches and animals, maybe one day!

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  17. Hilda, I ADORE this post! I had really high expectations for the Armchair Backpacker prpject, and all my expectations were exceeded! <3 The images are gorgeous (especially the ones of the beaches) and as a lover of history, I would love to visit the museums. :) I highly anticipate the next post- sexy British guys, yay! I mean... the fascinating country of England. ;)

    Thank you for sharing! :)

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  18. I love your post Hilda! Indonesia looks absolutely gorgeous! The beaches look so pretty! And I would totally be on that bike all over the place! The first thing that I would do is try and find Sarah Alderson too! Lovely post hun! :)

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  19. Oh, Hilda you are so incredibly sweet <333 Indonesia looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL - you have the sun, the beaches... I am incredibly jealous you live in such a gorgeous country <3

    I could totally see myself riding one of those bikes with a pretty hat on my head. I'd ride down to the beach and find some coconut to drink! And I hope you get to meet Sarah Alderson soon :)

    Your lovely post has just made me even more desperate to go to Indonesia! Next time I go to Asia, I'll be sure to drop by - I'll bring Alfie too ;) And we can gush about books and drink coconut together!!!! Love you, Hilda <3

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  20. I knew I was going to love these posts! Yay for places in Asia! I love the pink sand. It's amazing. I will def have to add Indonesia to the list of places I want to visit. Any place that has a 7 storey library is where I want to be. Even if it's full of chemistry books!

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  21. Hilda what an amazing post! Indonesia is beautiful! I love those colorful bikes and the pink sand beaches. I would love to see monkeys in the wild. I have to agree with you about chemistry and physics books, HORROR!! You did such a wonderful job with this post! Can't wait to see the UK next week. :)

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  22. Hildaaaaa. This is such a sweet and beautiful post :D I want to gush about everything you mentioned! I so want to take you in on that coconut drink offer ;) Indonesia sounds like paradise! The beach sounds lovely. Can't wait to be taken to the UK next week :D

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  23. I'm seriously so jealous that you happen to live there. I'm part Indonesian too, so awesome! (Just a bit, but you can see it really good and I like that ^^) It looks so pretty there <3 And how cool: old buildings with Dutch architecture. Duuutch :D Yeah.

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