Singapore Stopover

Stopovers are usually pretty annoying, if you have enough time to leave the airport and do some sightseeing then it can be quite fun.

Having 8h to spend in Singapore till the next flight to Da Nang meant there was enough time for some sightseeing.

Singapore is not my favorite place, it’s expensive and lacks character but it’s ok for a short stay and even better for just a stopover.

This being Sunday the city felt pretty empty and most places were closed but at least Chinatown is always open and bustling, it also offers some cheap places to eat.

Trip to Pantai Nglambor

 Having more time today, I decided to head to Nglambor beach for some snorkeling.

Not content with the fast route, I decided to take the scenic route. Many people go to Vietnam and Laos for motorbike trips but Indonesia has some amazing roads and scenery and is probably better than Laos for a motorbike trip.

After some detours on the scenic route, it got a bit late by the time I finally made it to Nglambor beach but there was enough time for some quick swimming and snorkeling.

The Olympus TG-4 is great to have along to take both photos from my motorbike journeys but also for the occasions when it’s either pouring or when I am at a beach.

My underwater photos are not that amazing yet but I need more practice since it’s not the same as doing street or landscape photography.

Trip to Ketep Pass

NO trip to Indonesia would be complete without seeing a volcano and given how many there are you never have to go to far to see one.

Mount Merapi is the closest volcano to Jogja and a short drive will get you either to the mountain itself where you can hike to the top or you can go to Ketep Pass, where you get a great view of Mont Merapi.

Since I didn’t fancy hiking, I decided to drive to the Ketep Pass instead. The views along the way were great but unfortunately rain spoiled a bit the view once I got to the pass.

Lucky the rain stopped and the clouds cleared a bit to give me still a nice and atmospheric view of the surrounding landscape.

I can definitely recommend a drive to Ketep Pass, especially on a nice day you’ll get some amazing views from there and the drive itself is not too bad either.

Around Jogja

Jogja is a cool place, in a lot of ways it is very similar to Hue. It is a nice place and I always enjoyed coming here.

The city itself is nice and has enough entertainment but also lots of good places to eat.

What is even better though is to get out of the city and enjoy the countryside with lots of great roads to drive.

In the city, there are some nice places to see, too. Malioboro Road is nice but driving around Kraton with it’s narrow roads and around the squares is also a good way to spend the evening.