Salamat Jalan Jogya !!

Tina's calls...Group exercises...Cultural Profiles...Visa headaches...last minute shopping....get together in Jakarta...traffic jams..luxury of Four Seasons...the tropical heat of Jogyakarta....Satu Dua Tiga and Terimah Kasih....Shannon's Flickr group.....Seth's sign language.....Jambuluwuk Malioboro...taste of Sala and Durian..nasi nasi goreng goreng...minumans....UGM Seminar "in Bahasa"....Mr."Bachelor" Benitez's introduction by IBM CGM... ..suited up at 30 degrees celcius and sweating......gifts from across the globe with a dominant Chinese corner....bye bye Jean Sum....project cancellations...new project definitions.....Ramayana Ballet...Borobudur Sunrise....Daniel's board games and the Palinka......Ms."Squeaky's" laughter....Diane's laundry SMS...bechak rides..Salamat Paagi...Salamat Soiree..Salamat Malam.....Terimah Kasih....Volcanic Ash.....Diane's SMS at 5 AM....grounded at the hotel...Elisa and Claudia's Ash-walk to empty Indomaret...some more nasi nasi goreng goreng and minumans....Antonella's "no Italian food in Indonesia" oath....masked warriors walking on Malioboro...."millions" blown at Mirota Batik...Tidak Tidak to all Bechak puller......"backdoor" tour of Tamansari...Photo"Claudio"paedia....Jibu's noodles and coke...Roger's Meat Locker....Alberto's caffeine addiction and withdrawal symptoms.....face mask "coffee filter"....Nicole's Yoga sessions.....some more "millions" blown at Mirota and Malioboro.....Komodo Dragons....Python hugs...Chocolate factory....some more nasi nasi goreng goreng and minumans....final presentations...gifts...dinners with clients...Waya's Birthday bash.....Hello Prambanan....packing packing packing....one final breakfast....and Goodbyes !

CSC Indonesia Team 5....cannot ask for more...a million thanks for the wonderful experience and memories that will last forever.
Salamat Jalan !!

Cave Tubing and my rendezvous with Indian Ocean

Mt.Kelud has "ashed" our weekend plans but not our spirits.....so when the ash cleared the following weekend...the team unanimously agreed to take the Pindul Cave and Beach tour that we had planned earlier.
We set out early...out first stop was the Sri Gethuk Waterfalls, a good 50 kms from Yogyakarta city..once at the waterfall, our guide informed us that there has been some flooding and hence it was dangerous to raft down the river to the waterfall......this was a bit disappointing...however, we consoled ourselves with pictures beside the river and headed out to the star attraction of our tour--the Pindul cave.

Introducing Coconut water to Dani

No luck with the Sri Gethuk waterfall

Pindul cave is a stalactite cave and a river flowing through it. The idea is to float on Tubes, which are nothing but the inflated tubes of trucks which probably have gone past their expiry date, through the river and into the cave. It probably sounds more exciting, but the actual experience is quite ordinary since the river is just 4 feet deep and is a near stagnant water. The local guides drag your tubes through the cave all the while giving you an overview in broken English. Except for the two ends, its is pitch dark inside the caves and as expected it has bat dwellings. However they were fruit-eaters and not the "vampire" variety..so we were spared. The whole ride takes around 45 mins after which go for a quick change to get out of wet clothes and jump into some dry ones. Lunch and couple of hours later, we hit the Indrayanti beach. I was thrilled since it was my first brush with the Indian ocean.It was mid-afternoon and possibly the high tide time since the ocean was very rough. Daniel, who is an experienced swimmer went for a swim and confirmed the same. The less venturesome among settled down for a quiet drink and a game of cards, thanks again to Daniel.

Rendezvous with the Ocean

The locals were too keen to pose for us and take pics with us