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KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach! #Travel2Indonesia

KOMODO NATIONAL PARK is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature (together with the Puerto Princesa Underground River). 

It is the natural habitat of the Komodo Dragons, the world's largest living lizard, known for their aggressive behavior and mean-looking appearance. There are about 4,700 dragons that can only be found in the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motong, Flores and Padar.

They say that the mystical Komodo Dragons are the closest link to the dinosaurs and going to the Komodo Dragon National Park is like visiting Jurassic Park with these endangered species.

It was also a surprise to see one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, the Secret Pink Beach of Komodo Island.

Check out this Photo Essay of our Komodo National Park experience....

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :)
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute's Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

MT. BROMO Sacred Mountain Sunrise Experience (Part 1 of 2) #Travel2Indonesia

Smoking Mt. Bromo Volcano on the left

Mt. Bromo is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia (last eruption was January 2011) and also one of the most visited tourist attractions in East Java, Indonesia. This volcano is considered sacred and named after Brahma, the Creator God in Hindu.

Early morning is the best time to be there so as to witness the sunrise spread its dramatic light on Mt. Bromo and group of volcanoes in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park.  People also got to experience hiking through the sea of sand to reach the smoking Mt. Bromo crater.

Here is a photo essay of our Mt. Bromo Sacred Mountain Sunrise Experience:

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :)
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute's Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

MT. BROMO: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2) #Travel2Indonesia

Legend has it that there was a couple named Joko Seger and Roro Anteng. They have been married for years but were not blessed with a child. They went up to Mt. Bromo to pray to the gods for a baby. The gods answered their prayer and gave them not one but 25 kids. However, here is the catch. The gods required the couple to sacrifice their youngest child to the crater of Mt. Bromo.

The couple broke the agreement and the gods got angry. The volcano erupted and the lava was able to “snatch” their youngest child. Before dying, the youngest child requested his parents to commemorate his death by holding a ceremony in the month of the Kasada. The Tengger people call this ceremony, Yadnya Kasada,  which usually falls in the full moon some time July/August.

On an ordinary day, tourists hike up to the crater of Mt. Bromo to see its smoking crater and for some peace offering to appease the gods commemorating the legend.

Here's part 2 of the MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater...

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :)
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute's Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :) #Travel2Indonesia

Yogyakarta food is one of the best- kept secrets in Indonesian cuisine and the yummiest we have tasted throughout our 2-week trip of Indonesia. Yogyakarta or Jogjakarta (karta means city) is considered as the art, cultural and culinary capital of Indonesia. 

Filipinos would love Yogya food because it is sweet and usually spicy with sambal. I love it more than the Singaporean or Malaysian cuisine. It is a lot better than the Indonesian food from Jakarta which is usually a compromise of flavors between authentic and continental influences.

I was literally blown away with the unique flavors and left me craving for more. Unfortunately, you have to fly to Yogyakarta to really get a taste of it. Don't miss to include this when you travel to Indonesia.

Here are my top 5 yummiest foodie experience in Yogyakarta:

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :)
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute's Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudor Experience

Amanjiwo Resort

Borobudur is an hour away from Yogyakarta. Some groups prefer to go on a day trip just to see the Temple. However, I strongly recommend that you stay at least a night in the Borobudur Village and join the Borobudur Sunrise Tour.

The Village is home to the most beautiful resorts, with Javanese-inspired architecture integrated with nature, that we have ever seen in Indonesia. And, Indonesian food which we love abound in the Central Java Area. 

Here are my initial notes on how to plan your awesome Borobudur Experience...

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :)
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute's Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Largest Buddhist Temple in the World)

BOROBUDUR is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, located in the Borobudur village, Magelang Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia. It was renovated from 1973-1983 to preserve the temple for the next 1,000 years and was subsequently listed in 1991 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

BOROBUDUR is an ancient temple inherited by Buddhism after the fall of the Hindu Kingdoms in Java in the 14th century and the Javanese conversion to Islam. It's a world pilgrimage site during the Buddhists' holy day of Vesak (like Christmas) based on the lunar calendar, which falls in the month of April or May.

Its name means Monastery on a High Place -- was derived from two words: Boro means temple from the Sanskrit word "Byara" and budur means above the hill from the Balinese word "Beduhur".

The best time to go is during sunrise when the temple is beautifully lighted by the sun, the environment is cool and there are relatively less number of tourists.

Let me share with you our BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience...

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :)
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute's Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

ORANG UTANS: Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas' Work @ Camp Leakey, Borneo (Day 2) #Travel2Indonesia

Tanjung Puting National Park is home to the largest wild population of Orangutans. Orangutan is a combination of two words: Orang (person) + Utan (forest) which means Old Man of the Forest.

Exploring the national park is usually an overnight experience onboard a klotok. After the first day, I thought if you've seen one Orangutan, you've seen them all. I did not realize that the best was yet to come. 

Here's the day 2 highlight of our Tanjung Puting National Park Adventure:

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :)
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute's Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

ORANG UTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING, KALIMANTAN, BORNEO: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)

My first encounter with an orangutan was when we saw a "domesticated" one named Jenny in Ark of Avilon Zoo in Manila. It was nice to see her because she seems  to be playfully innocent and wants to interact with people.

But after visiting the Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan Province of  Indonesia in the island of Borneo, I learned that these animals are born to be wild. We need to protect them from becoming extinct because of the destruction of their natural habitat, and from poachers who sell them to zoos around the world.

Here's our awesome experience in Tanjung Puting National Park which has the largest wild population of Orangutans in the World: 

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON'S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food :)
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute's Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)