Travelogue: Mt. Rinjani (Senaru Crater Rim x Descend x Missed Flight)

"Travel is the only thing you buy, that makes you richer."

Day 4 (Senaru Crater Rim x Descend to POS 1):

When we woke up, we were greeted by the majestic view of the lake which we did not get to see the day before. 

After breakfast, we packed our bags and prepare to set off for the climb to Senaru crater rim.

 Group photo before setting off

We headed along the lake for a few minutes before climbing up. The view at every step of the way was no less than spectacular yet again.

Travelogue: Mt. Rinjani (Summit x Segara Anak Lake)

"Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb."

Day 3 (Summit x Segara Anak Lake):

Our summit climb began at 2:30am. When we were up, we could already see many flickering lights along the route up. People sure began their climb early! The summit climb was definitely the hardest part of the trek. The last part was the worse. People were right about taking 1 step forward and sliding 2 steps back. The summit seemed so near, but just like what our guide told us, don't always believe what your eyes see. Walking up the never-ending path to the summit was torturous. However, we just took our time and slowly crawled up. Manage to catch the gorgeous sunrise on the way.

Dawn breaks as we inched our way up the path to the summit.

Even when the sun was already up, we were still far away from the summit...

Travelogue: Mt. Rinjani (Transit x Sembalun Crater Rim)

"Nature, in the purest sense, is where both serenity and wilderness coexist in harmony. When we visit it, we feel both peaceful and uneasy all at once."

Still feeling the "Post-Rinjani Withdrawal Syndrome" even after being back in SG for a few days now. Miss everything about Rinjani, other than the torturous climb and aching muscles.

Well, here's my recount of the trip for future viewing!

Decided to go on this NTU ODAC public trip as my 7rek mates were signing up for it and they asked me along. Rinjani was on my list since last year after we completed our 7rek Indo recce (Read more about the previous trip here). And since the trip leaders are people I know too, so why not? 

This was a 5D4N trip with 1 day of transit from SG to Lomobok and resting one night before the start of our trek. However, it soon became a 5D5N trip... Read on to find out why.

Anyway, we went with Green Rinjani and yes their service was really good! From the accommodation before the trek to the food and tents provided during the trek, they were all excellent! We had 6 guides and approximately 25 porters for the 28 of us. The guides were extremely friendly and patient with us, accommodating to our needs and all. Really thankful to have them during our trek! 

I was all excited yet nervous all at the same time while preparing for the trip, not knowing what to expect. 

Day 1 (SG x Bali x Lombok):

Our day began at 6am at Changi Airport T2. Gathered for check-in and prepared for our flight to Bali. Flew by Tiger Air from SG to Bali, which took approximately 2.5hrs. 

First stop: Bali International/Domestic Airport. Made our way from the international arrival hall to the domestic departure hall, with plenty of time to kill. So we went around looking for lunch before checking-in for our domestic flight to Lombok.

View from domestic departure hall

 If you look closely, you can actually see the blue seas behind the runway.

 Second experience on a propeller plane

So our domestic flight was by Wings Air and it was a propeller plane! There wasn't much ventilation in the plane before take-off cause the air conditioning wasn't turned on. It felt like we were in a sauna x.x Thank goodness it was only a 30min flight.

Felt like ages before the plane finally took off.

 Bird's eye view of Bali

Travelogue: Korea Day 3 - Haedong Yonggung Temple x Gwangalli Beach

For the past 2 days I was in Korea, we've been buying breakfast/snacks from Paris Baguette and so far, this has to be my favourite: Sweet Potato Steam Cake! Exclusively available only in Korea I think. It's really good! I can eat this all day longgggg... So I had this for breakfast almost everyday hehehe.

So after breakfast, we took the subway to Haeundae Station and got out at exit 7. Walk to the nearest bus stop and take bus 181. It takes about 20-25min to reach Haedong Yonggung Temple.

Look out for this sign at the right side of the bus and get down.

You'll have to walk up this slope to reach the entrance of the temple.

At the entrance of the temple you'll see stores selling souvenirs and F&B. Walk pass these stores to get to the temple.

Travelogue: Korea Day 2 - Taejongdae Resort Park x Gamcheon Cultural Village

Finally decided to continue with my Korea travelogue after weeks of procrastinating!

For day 2 in Busan, after breakfast, we took the subway to Nampo station and took exit 6. Make a right turn and you'll see a bus stop. From there, take bus 8 or 30 to Taejongdae Park and get down at the last stop. Just in case, do have the name of the places you wanna go in Korean on hand and show it to the bus driver when boarding to confirm that the bus goes to those places and most of the time the bus driver will tell you when to get down! (:

After approximately 30 min of bus ride, we reach the bus terminal and you'll see this cafe on the side of the road where the bus stops.

Continue walking down the path, and at the end of it is Taejongdae Park.

Travelogue: Korea Day 1 - Incheon International Airport to Busan

Came back from my family vacation to Korea about 2 weeks ago! It was my first time planning a free-and-easy trip and well, it was a good experience but really tiring too! Lots of research had to be done, planning the itinerary etc. More details coming up in the following posts.

Took a night flight by Korean Airlines to Seoul International Airport. Dinner was served 1 hour or so after the plane took off and after having a late dinner, it's time to sleep.

Tried to get some sleep but failed as usual. So spent my time watching movie and documentaries till around 5am. Touched down at Incheon International Airport at about 6am.

First thing when we got out of immigration was to find the place to get rental for the Olleh EGG Mobile WIFI which I found out about online! Having a portable WIFI so we could find directions with google map would be really handy since we can't really ask people for directions cause none of us know Korean.

This is the EGG Mobile WIFI device that kept us connected throughout our 6 days in Korea.

Travelogue: NTU ODAC Trek Recce (Cave-tubing & Prambanan Temple)

Photo credits to Zul.

Day 6 (Cave-tubing & Prambanan Temple):

We set off at about 8am for Gua Pindul, cave tubing. First time trying this out so I was actually quite excited for it! After putting on our life jackets and changing into the rubber shoes they provided, we were transported by a lorry to the cave. On the way, they were trying out Choong's monopod.

And here is how that turned out.

Photo credits to Choong.

So after a short briefing, we went into the water. We just sat on the tube and went into the cave in a line, holding on to each other's tube.