Travel Talk

Yogyakarta to Jakarta by Night Train

Jakarta at Night

Greetings,

Saying a formal “goodbye, hope to see you again” to Yogyakarta. I really liked it here and would love to come back sometime when healthy. I am taking a night train to Jakarta from the Yogyakarta station on Maliboro, where I spent a most unique New Years Eve. Business class was 130,000Ru and executive was 250,000Ru. I’m going business again but may live to regret that as I’m starting to think how hot it may be. Oh well, c’est la vie.

Always book tickets as soon as you know, I showed up yesterday at ~4PM and the lady told me they were “sold out”. I almost had an aneurysm. I went to another ticket booth and the lady said “you are lucky” we only have 10 seats left and executive is sold out. Most of the people on holiday are going back home, the same people who hogged all the hotel room on New Years. Okay, they didn’t hog them, I’m just the one to blame for being totally mindless of the fact that “people travel and book hotels on New Years”.

For security reasons I will put a pad lock on my big bag then attach the straps that are usually for your waist and chest to the overhead compartment. This way people can’t get in, and if they try and steal it, they won’t get far. My small backpack holding all my “digital equipment” will be on the floor, towards the middle of the seat or wall if I have a window seat. With that, I will lock my leg through in a special away that makes it impossible to steal or at least very difficult. They could theoretically go through my stuff but the ~probability is an acceptable risk. The photo below is from the Sarabaya train station. The one in Yogyakarta is similar only this time my trip is a beloved “night train”.

sarabaya train station in java indonesia

Only in Jakarta for ~7 hours  as I arrive at 3:45AM and fly out at 11am. I will hang out in the airport burning through my rupiahs like a spend thrift before I fly to Phuket, Thailand.I have heard serious mixed reviews about this place as being an expensive “packaged tourist” aka trendy type place. As a result I’m contacting some party friends from Koh Phi Phi. If I am not tooo tired I may just catch a ferry from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, drink a few buckets and chill out for 2 days  before returning to Phuket for my flight to Bangkok.

Flip side is, I’m only there 2 days and I don’t care “what people say”. I like to make up my own opinions. I loved Bangkok and Kuta, most don’t. Furthermore if I “listened to what people say.” I’d still be freezing in Ottawa as many say “it’s the best place on earth”. Give me a break, in the summer maybe but in the winter, what a joke.

I posted yesterday about unfriendly foreigners. You see, had I not made any friends I’d have nothing to do. Now only a few months later as I’m going through familiar areas, I have friends there and it’s a good feeling when you are on the other side of the world. I believe you can never have enough friends, am I wrong?

Since I have a long travel period ahead, I am trying to drink water like a fish right now and get it all “worked through” before I get on board. Once I get on board I will drink water sparingly as the washrooms are a nightmare in their own right. I will also try and avoid eating anything too “loco” as once again, the bathrooms are a “creep show”. On these trips I just like to “exist” with no real need to do anything. If you’ve been traveling through here, you know what I’m saying, yes?

That’s it, that’s all. Next time I update I’ll be back in the beautiful Adaman Sea, off the coast of Thailand.

Cordially,


Phuket, Thailand

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