Travelfish newsletter Issue 295 : Ghosts of Probolinggo + Munduk
Hi all,
This week we’re all about Java, with the garden city of Bogor updated, along with two little visited south coast surf town—Cimaja and Ujung Gentang also fully revised.
Staying on Java, Stuart and Sally are currently in the east, climbing volcanoes and seeking out black market beer dealers—for research purposes only! North of the equator, Cindy is enroute to Laos, though currently in a one and a half hour immigration queue at, you guessed it, Suvarnabhumbi airport in Bangkok.
David is handing in Ko Chang this week then heading back to more island time in the east—how does he do it?
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Soapbox
The ghosts of Probolinggo
Sally and I are travelling in East Java at the moment, and yesterday we pulled into Probolinggo, the launching point for most travellers heading up to Gunung Bromo, one of Indonesia’s most spectacular volcanoes. The town itself tends to get scant interest from foreign travellers, who view it primarily as a transit town. Thanks to its reputation as a town of scams and scammers few choose to linger. We have lingered however—we like the town a lot.
Those already well travelled through Java will be familiar with the Dutch-style cottages that you can find across the land. Squat, wide based and often white-washed, with a triangular tiled roof, tall ceilings within and heavy set walls, they’re a charming window into a time gone by.
In some cities, a few have been restored into all their mansion-like grandeur while others, still lived in, are biding, semi-gracefully, the slow pace of time. Probolinggo is littered with these—often in such a bad state of repair, that “litter” is the best descriptor. As Sally and I wandered the quarter immediately to the south of the train station, we came across one, pink-walled, with a garden wall stylishly painted up reading “Laos”. A street vendor outside explained it was once a traveller’s cafe, but the proprietors had moved on and the property has since gone to fodder.
As we gawked and imagined the traveller cafe, the same vendor suggested we look next door ... “it is haunted”.
Next door was an even grander, even more dilapidated affair. Apparently once the residence of a Dutchman, he died within but his ghost has lingered—flicking off the squatter’s sound system and blowing the fuse when nearby wedding ceremonies get that little bit too raucous. “Every night you can hear him”, locals tell us. Many of the abandoned Dutch houses we saw looked haunted.
What a fantastic boutique guesthouse it could be, or a cafe, library, or drop in centre for skill sharing to Probolinggo’s less lucky. Yes, it would need, well, a hell of a lot of work, but the bones looked good.
This heritage of a city, slowly falling into ruin was saddening, and if Probolinggo were to take a more upbeat, long term view of tourism development (aka moving on from gouging tourists enroute to Bromo) people would stick around longer—and, well, as a port town, Probolinggo should know that a rising tide raises all boats.
Failing that, we’d love to see a walking tour of Probolinggo’s haunted houses.
Good travels.
Stuart
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What we’re reading
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
The 2014 Man Booker winner is a deep, dark and important read. While the story is about far more than the Thai-Burma Death Railway — think love, hope, humanity, memory — the setting of a Japanese POW camp along the railway looms large and dominates in this beautiful novel.
Thank you
Just a few quick words of thanks to businesses who have decided to advertise direct with us on Travelfish recently. If you know a business, small or large, who may be interested in advertising on the site, please send them our One Page Media Kit!
Asia Highlights offer tailor made travel through Vietnam, Take Me Tour offer experiences with locals out of Chiang Mai and, last but not least, Akha Kitchen offer Thai cooking classes in Chiang Rai.
Featured destination
MUNDUK
South Bali has a (well deserved) reputation for all the overs-. Over developed, over touristed, over trafficked and most definitely over loved, but take another over, and ride over a volcano, you’ll find yourself in Munduk and be presented with something more akin to the Balinese fantasies much travel media tends to push around.
The village sits along a ridge running down from the mammoth Tamblingan crater lake. You reach it via a hair-raising loop-de-loop of switch backs, sudden drops and rises as you wind down from the crater rim then, after a last tight turn, the road straightens for a narrow, ne'er wavering run down. This section affords (on a clear day) spectacular views to the Bali Sea to the north and vast forrest and rice paddies out to the south. Amateur scooter pilots do take **extreme** care on this road—wet and slippery, you’ll be on your ass in the blink of an eye if you don’t pay attention.
While there is a scattering of places to stay in the upper reaches, most are set along each side of the road for about a one to two kilometre stretch. In the centre you’ll find the small traditional market (try the goat satay!) and there’s also some beautiful Dutch houses, which now form a part of a guesthouse. We’ve stayed on both sides of the ridge and are partial to the southern view, but both are terrific.
Most accommodation has worked hard to make the most of the views—think big terraces and plenty of chairs (though few hammocks)—and putting our feet up to just watch life in the valley below, is, well, pretty damn good.
For the more active, there are at least three waterfalls on the northern ridge which you can wander to. One is an easy walk, another slightly more involved and another still, is not so easy but they are all terrific—spectacular settings, lush and green and there is no shortage of water—even in dry season. Though, as with scootering down the slopes, do watch your step, those stone steps get slippery!
If waterfalls are not your thing, on the southern side, take a hike down into the valley, fruit orchards dotted across an emerald green, slowly descending plain of terrace fields. There is a main “road” you can follow but you can just as easily go off piste and make your own way around—just wear a hat, bring water and take care not to damage any of the rice paddie walls when you fly head over tail!
For us, Munduk (and also Sidemen over Candi Dasa way) are two very cool respites from the heat of Bali’s more heavily touristed scene. You’ll not have the town to yourself (though in low season it can be very quiet), and the eating isn’t gourmet cuisine, but you won’t starve, the crowds will be far lighter and the climate oh so cool.
So if Ubud or the southern beaches have you tearing your hair out, grab a scooter (do check your insurance first) or get a car/cab/camel and head up to the hills. Breath that cool mountain air, take a wander and discover what Bali really can be like.
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Ground transport: 12Go Asia
Travel insurance: World Nomads
News from the region
BURMA: Myanmar’s ruby trade
CAMBODIA I: Cambodia’s showcase island
For visitors like 30-year-old Nam Tang, the island is a break from reality. Tang moved to the capital from his rural home in November to study Korean. It has been a rude awakening; the city feels big and dangerous, he’s in bed by 10pm to avoid thieves, and pays USD16 a month for a room he shares with nine strangers.
CAMBODIA II: This country's democracy has fallen apart — and it played out to millions on Facebook
“Facebook has also dramatically reduced the reach of independent media in Cambodia after it decided last year to silo off their content as part of a controversial experiment. ”
INDONESIA: Terrorist arbitrage in Southeast Asia
“Still no regional structure exists for authorities to map how militants mobilise across national borders.”
THAILAND: Limitation of visitors to marine national parks proposed
“According to the information from the Mu Ko Similan marine national park, 4,000-5,000 tourists visited the park–90% of them are Chinese tourists.”
VIETNAM I: Rising tourism in Vietnam
““Tourism is good for Cat Ba, but the way people do it is not good in general,” says Thang. “We still have a lot of rubbish in the bay, no waste processing area and high-quality workers don’t want to work on the island.”
VIETNAM II: Air pollution at alarming rate in HCM City
“In Vietnam, air pollution makes about 1.5 million people suffer from chronic obstructive lung disease every year. Notably, in big and populous cities like HCM City, air pollution is currently an alarming problem for health.”
Travel writing
CAMBODIA: Sihanoukville – the new Macau of Southeast Asia
Ugly.
THAILAND: Chiang Mai’s Nimman: the unapologetic bubble
“I didn’t make any Thai friends because I made zero effort to. I may as well have been on the moon, and not in Thailand, save for the ridiculously delicious cuisine to remind me of where I was.”
VIETNAM: A brief history of Bia Hoi
More research required we say!
Interesting site
East Java
No shortage of interesting leads worth a look see here.
Travel shot
How about some bamboo rafting at Pang Oung? Photo: Mark Ord
Till next time
That’s it from us for now. As usual, enjoy the site’s new additions and drop us a line if there’s something in particular you’d like us to cover in Southeast Asia.
Travel light!
Stuart, Sam & the Travelfish team
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