Erik'sTravel

Since it doesn't appear I will be doing much traveling for awhile, time to review the best travel I experienced in 2021. Despite the pandemic, I was able to make a few trips around Indonesia during the year.  It was a difficult decision, but the coolest place I visited in 2021 was the Prambanan Hindu Temple complex near the historic central Javan city of Yogyakarta.   Prambanan was built in the 7th century, but centuries later, devastated by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the site was almost completely in ruins.  Finally, in the 18th and 19th centuries, reconstruction began, however only a fraction of the original complex has been restored.   Still, what has been rebuilt is an astonishing architectural marvel that made me feel as though I had traveled back in time.  Prambanan truly is a treasure and has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  Travel can create a feeling of awe and wonderment and that's what Prambanan did for me. That's why it ...

Yesterday, while running errands at the Grand Indonesia Mall, I popped into the posh grocery store in the basement to grab a few items one can't get anywhere else.  That's when I ran into the New Year's gift display of fresh fruit, which is a typical gift for the new year in many parts of Asia. The display of strawberries immediately caught my eye. I was drawn to the package of two gigantic strawberries each almost as big as a tennis ball; they were about 6 cm long from my estimation.  At first I though they might have been grown near Chernobyl, they were so big, but an inspection of the package informed me they were from South Korea. The two strawberries were polished so brilliantly, they appeared to be made out of plastic, but they were in the produce section so they had to be real. Their surfaces were so perfect that an artist couldn't have sculpted anything more beautiful. I gasped when I checked out the price tag. Over $10 for the two of them--more than many Indone...

  Before I left the States I knew I would be spending 10 days in Indonesian quarantine upon my arrival, so I made sure I packed plenty of the most important quarantine Must-Have.  No, it's not deodorant, 'cause no one is there to smell you.  And it's certainly not combs or brushes or fancy shampoo, 'cause no one is there to see you. What is the biggest quarantine Must-Have?  Why it's chocolate, of course! It sweetens the palate and enhances your mood.  It peps you up from your doldrums and can be the delightful last course that salvages even the most dreadful quarantine meal you are served. I think I am missing a few crucial items, locked here in my room, but it hasn't bothered me one bit, for as I long as I have chocolate I am missing nothing at all.