Bali has many different beaches, each with a very different atmosphere.  Some have white sand, some have black sand.  Some are famous as places where you can do water sports, others are famous for dolphin-watching.  We went to Dreamland Beach- an aptly named lesser-known beach that is gorgeous, and less crowded, and apparently perfect for surfing (i.e. quite large waves).  We tried bodyboarding, but mostly for me this meant getting swept under and getting salt water up my nose.  We brought my grandma’s mangoes to eat at the beach– the best idea ever.  Afterwards, we had a lunch of Bali’s specialty foods at Warung Made, a famous Bali restaurant.  Novi took the task of finding good food very seriously– having a book for each town specifically for that purpose.  Every single meal was delicious.

Bali is so green.  And tropical fruits are so cheap.  It’s a paradise.

Yogyakarta is a big city but also somehow has the feeling of a small town.  We visited the batik market, the former bathing house for the king’s consorts, and a temple that had been buried underground for centuries.

On our 3rd day, Novi, my aunt and uncle, Yu and I went to Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and one of the 7 wonders of the world (on some lists of wonders of the world anyway.)  Each level represents a level of enlightenment.  It felt so old and somehow sacred, and the grounds were beautiful too.

Funny things happened there.  Admission was about $3.  My aunt got us tickets, and all of a sudden we were stopped.  They asked Yu and I for ID and on finding out that we have foreign passports, they charge us $18 instead.  And throw in 2 water bottles.  Novi and I couldn’t stop laughing at the ridiculous difference in charge and treatment.

It’s so famous so there are lots of little kids there on field trips.  Lots of them point at me, stare, and some even yell at me “Bule!” which basically like yelling out “Whitey!”.  Hilarious.  It’s particuarly hilarious because in Japan, I am always mistaken for Japanese, to the point where if I am using really bad grammar in a store (it’s often, my grammar is terrible) the clerk will look at me like I was raised in a cave, and then finally say “oh, you’re not Japanese are you!”  But yet in the country where I was born, I stick out like an American tourist on a Tokyo subway.

It gets better!  These little school kids keep whispering, around me, as I’m ascending the temple stairs with my cousin.  Finally my cousin talks to them and they shyly admit that their class wants their picture taken with me.  I look that foreign apparently.  I’m completely amused so of course I say sure.  After their teacher takes some snaps, I ask them, “Dari mana?”  “Where are you from?”  They’re a little surprised and say “Dari Pekalongan”  Haha.  That’s actually my dad’s home town.  I tell them that.  They gasp and then say “So we’re the same?”  Some of them tapped me on the shoulder later to ask for individual pictures with me.  And the same thing happened a few minutes later with a high school class.  These kids were so funny and so gorgeous.  Indonesians are SO gorgeous– their perfect, latte-colored skin, wavy black hair.  I can say that without vanity because I don’t look like one at all!

my outfi that day:
cheap used dress from kinji (i tore out the shoulderpads and slit the sleeves)
earring: spank!

Discovered this treasure of a store in Yoyogi Uehara.  It has stationary, books, stuffed figures, and art of Murakami, Yoshimoto Nara, Yayoi Kusuma, Chiho Aoshima, and other Kaikai artists.  I left with a giant puppy king.  You will get to meet him soon.

Over the weekend, I went to the Miu Miu store in Aoyama.  I dunno why, maybe to torture myself because I want to own everything in the 2010 spring collection but couldn’t possibly afford it but may as well look and drool, yeah?  I can’t say anything that hasn’t been said about it before, it’s girly and a tiny bit ridiculous but in a really sophisticated way with wonderful prints like kitten, puppy, sparrow, and naked ladies.  It is what I would wear every day if I were rich.  The girls who worked there were painfully cute and sweet and the clothes were SO BEAUTIFUL in person and I couldn’t help myself, I asked to try on a pink sparrow print dress.  My facial expression in the photo is a little creepy maybe but I didn’t have the luxury of taking many snaps, and God, it’s so MySpace to be holding a camera in a picture, but there was no way around that.  This is my first time being one of those people that takes pictures of themselves in the dressing room, but having a picture of myself in a Miu Miu dress is the closest I will ever come to owning a Miu Miu dress, so.  Instead I got myself a cute pink kitty cat collar which I can see myself wearing with everything- I am loving the idea of wearing it with plain, cheap clothes, and have them suddenly looking well put together.  Oh on my way home a lady was walking her pet rabbit– a perfect ending to that outing.

fake rayban glasses: koenji
pink kitty collar: miu miu
sweater: american apparel (on super sale)
denim shorts: levis (also on super sale)
grey tights (the ones i wear with everything yeah)
silver flats: dillards
tea strainer: franc franc (please tell me i’m not the only one who uses a tea strainer as an accessory)