It's hot. How hot is it?

Okay, I think I've already used that joke in my blog but we all know McDonalds coffee never really solves any problems. But I must say, it's really hot in our apartment right now and I don't think coffee will make it better.

It's been a while since the last update, haven't really known what to write about and I have unfortunately not really taken that many pictures and then it feels like you need to put more effort in to the text but whatever. Anyway I thought I'd make a wrap in an efficient point form list.

- Big thing that have happened since last time: me and Linda broke up soon after recess. It had been on the decline for some time and eventually it became official. It's a bit sad but it gives us both more freedom which probably both of us need this time in our lives.

- I have a desk now thanks to being part of the research projects (which is going rather well I must say; everyday I'm Matlabbin'). I share with another undergraduate physicist from our group, Minh, but it's a big desk and Minh is good company! So the desk is located in the Nonlinear and Complex Systems Lab but it's a theoretical physics lab which means that the lab is more of an office than what most people consider a lab.

- I've received the results from some mid-terms and with totally satisfactory results. Did a term-test in QMII that didn't go to well due to our very limited but I haven't gotten back the results yet so shouldn't say too much yet but fortunately  only the best one of both term-tests counts and the first one went pretty well.

- Found a pretty awesome website earlier today: http://www.artofmanliness.com. I'm almost considering getting a safety razor or maybe even a real razor blade now, maybe a fedora as well although I don't really know if it's something that suits me. Also need to make sure to buy a pipe soon to, saw some in Indonesia but never bought one. Don't know why but there's a lot of people (the one's that think they are men) that need to practice what is displayed below.

- Also found a great application for Android: Ankidroid. It's a flashcard app and it's completely genius if you want to or need to learn a lot of things by memorizing them, think I'm going to use for the Chinese but also for learning some countries, cities, the periodic table, improve my English glossary and maybe some French.

- Ate a BBQ-buffet at the Swedish-Norwegian church earlier tonight, pretty nice!

- A few weeks ago I went and saw the Singaporean Chinese Orchestra, a Chinese orchestra is kind of like a western classical orchestra but they mainly use Chinese instruments instead which are a bit different compared to our western instruments. The theme of the concert was "Childhood happiness" and there where a lot of children songs and also a Super Mario medley, so pretty awesome!

- I'm trying to take more pictures of the real Singaporean food but I keep forgetting or rather most of the time I remember just when I finish my meal. But anyway this morning I forgot to take a picture of my meatball and noodle soup (they're not like Swedish meatballs just so you know) but I took a picture at the hawker at least! I ate the food stall with the red sign over it (in the middle of the picture).

- Yesterday I went and saw some of my Wushu club mates compete in the Wushu IVP. Pretty cool too see an actual competition! I was suggested earlier in the week to learn drunken boxing and after seeing some drunken boxing performances I'm starting to get more used to the idea. The guy in the picture is not from my club though...

- This week I've unfortunately had a cold and been unable to train, although the official training sessions now are over for the semester I hope to get back on it tomorrow.

- I'm applying for a winter school in particle physics and cosmology! NTU and CERN are holding a joint venture in January where lecturers from CERN will come to Singapore and NTU and hold a workshop between 9th and 31st of January. Yes, I know what you're thinking; it's totally frikkin' awesome! Also had to get two recommendation letters for the applications so I talked to the two physics professors that are closest to me, one is already involved in the venture and will just make a standard letter for all NTU applicants, the other one is the prof that is the head of my research group and receiving his letter was real ego boost actually. It's like: "Am I really that awesome?", okay, it's nothing extreme but it's still nice to hear what you're good at and what people notice!

                     

There's probably more things to write about but I'm realizing that the post is starting to become a bit long now so I will end it here for now.

Indonesia Pt. 2: Java

So after a long journey through Bali, over the sea with a ferry and crossing maybe a quarter of the Java island we finally reached Probolinggo, we had first considered going to Malang but our guide in Bali told us that Probolinggo was better for our purpose: going to the volcano Mount Bromo.

So we found this mini mini taxi bus that took us to a travel agency in Probolinggo, there we planned our coming day and after a lot of discussion and some haggling (of course) we had fixed a hotel for the night, transportation to two sites at the volcano and our trip to Yogyakarta!

It took about an hour to get up to our hotel and it was more or less uphill all the way but we when we got there it was a really cozy hotel although it was a bit worn and cheap it had a nice feeling and even more fun was that (since the owner was a German woman) they served roesti! Not the best I've eaten but pretty OK considering it being on the wrong side of the globe. We went to bed and at 3.00 the alarm rang since our jeep was leaving at 4.00, so we got up, tried to put on as much clothes as possible (since it was so cold that your breath condensed in the air), ate some cheap breakfast box that was included and then we were on our way; uphill again and even steeper. After going with the jeep and then walking for a while we ended up at around 2770 m over sea level with a really good view of Mount Bromo (Bromo is in the background below).

There we watched the sunrise with a truly fascinating scenery.

After the viewpoint we went down to the jeeps again and went over the salt flats below to the foot of the volcano.

After walking a good set of stairs we finally found ourselves on the edge of the crater.

And it kind of felt like we had left earth...

After that we headed back to the hotel and ate some real breakfast and we then returned to Probolinggo.

From Probolinggo we went in a minibus to Yogyakarta (aka Jogja in Indonesian) , the good thing being that it was only us in the minibus but it was pretty warm and probably not the most comfortable of trips. We left at 12 and arrived at our hotel in Jogja at around 22.30. 

We checked in and then went food hunting which was a bit hard since most places had closed down in the area we stayed. But we finally found a small place outside were they sold grilled satay. So we got to sit down on carpets just off the street and there we had a pretty nice and cheap dinner!

The day after our plan was simple, there is two big temples close to Jogja and we where going to see them. First out was the Hindu temple Prambanan!

And even though it looks like I'm doing something else I believe I'm about to jump in the photo above.

After Prambanan we went into Jogja and bought the train tickets to Jakarta, we had some lunch and then we found an agency that could take us to the next temple and back. So then we set forth to our next destination: the Buddhist temple Borobudur.

After Borobudur we went back to Jogjo and being out a little earlier we decided to go food hunting again and this time we were truly successful. Our first course during the night: Indonesian kebab, they we're like small Swedish kebab rolls but the seasoning was a bit stronger and they grilled them after having prepared them; all in all it was recipe for success!

After the kebab we went to a little place close to our hotel that sold 7000 rupi milkshakes (ca 5,4 SEK), maybe not the best milkshakes since they where a bit watery but totally worth the money.

The day after, Saturday, was our last real day in Indonesia and Jogja. Our train for Jakarta and the airport was going to leave at 21 so we had a whole day to spend now. We spent it in central Jogja were we went shopping, a little sightseeing and tried a lot of food and fruits!

In conclusion our trip to Indonesia was mind-blowing; great company, great food and some truly amazing sights.

Indonesia Pt. 1: Bali

So after having had a photo sharing session I've finally finished sorting all the photos from our trip to Indonesia, or more specifically the Bali and Java islands.

Leaving from Changi Airport on the 24th September we began our journey heading for Bali and Denpasar, the flight was trouble free and after having rejected the offers of some suspicious taxi driver we finally ended up at our hotel in Legian late in the night.

But who where "we"? Well, besides me, our group consisted of Jacob, Jacob and Mahmoud (my fellow physicists who I joined up with for the F1), another Danish guy named Wael and a korean called Dongjun (aka "DJ").

Since DJ is behind the camera he gets his own picture!

We started the Sunday by taking a walk along Kuta beach and wandering around some of the shops in Kut, around lunch we went and picked up DJ at the airport (since he had stayed in Singapore to see the F1 and Shakira on the Saturday, he's such a ladies man!). Afterwards we traveled south of Kuta to an water activity company, unfortunately all of their really fun activities had closed for the day during to the low tide. We decided to try something anyway and went for the banana boat, it was unfortunately quiet boring and a bit overpriced. We left a bit disappointed but decided that we would return on the Tuesday to do some of the cooler activities!

One cool thing in Indonesia is that it's rather easy to become a multimillionaire since 1 SEK is worth around 1300 rupi, it felt a bit weird walking around with half a million as pocket money. 

On Monday morning we drove just outside a village called Ubud to go rafting! Our driver for our time in Bali, Ketut, had contacts at a local rafting company there and it turned out to be awesome!

Words can't really describe it, the pictures are better but barely give it justice, it was a beyond-cool experience!

After having some included lunch, we were dropped of so that we could walk back to Ubud among the rice paddies and Balinese countryside.

They had some pretty cool houses there (though I can imagine that they're not that cool on the inside).

We then met up with Ketut inside Ubud and after seeing some more incredible rice paddy views and a quick visit to Ubuds monkey forest we went to see a Kecak-dance performance. Kecak-dance is a kind of theatre were a large group of men sings while a few actors performs parts from the epos Ramayana.

It was a bit weird because at the same time as the last photo was taken, the arrangers of the dance also took a photo. At the end of the performance they had printed the photo on to a platter that they tried to sell to you. People in Indonesia almost always try to earn money from you but this felt like one of the more innovative methods though a bit intrusive at the same time.

On the Tuesday we returned to the water activity company to go snorkeling and to visit the so called "Turtle Island".

The Turtle Island was a kind of small zoo with a lot of turtles of course, but also some birds, monkeys, bats, monitor lizards and snakes!

The snorkeling was pretty cool but as I understood it can be a lot better in more untouched places where the water is cleaner and the reefs less worn.

We then started driving to a temple called Tanah Merah, we did a stop on the way to give Jacob the possibility to surf and a bathing opportunity for us others. I stayed on the beach though and took some photos instead, it felt like our trips only surfer deserved that!

We arrived at Tanah Merah at sunset (the preferred time to go there), it was maybe a bit too cloudy but still a very beautiful place.

We then went back to our hotel to go to sleep since we were checking out at 5.00 to take the bus at 7.00. Our next destination: the Java island and the small city of Probolinggo.