Singapore and others!: Indonesia - first time couchsurfing

It's been a while since my last post due to school just taking over these days, getting closer to finals, and etc. Also mainly cause it hasn't been as exciting these past few weeks as I have hoped and my lack of taking pics....but since I went to Jakarta this past weekend, and it's already almost end of November, thought I give a update to whoever still keeps up with this....

This past weekend, since it was a holiday, I decided to travel to Jakarta, Indonesia alone, since I wanted to try couchsurfing for the first time. Maybe Jakarta, wasn't the best choice to couch surf at, but I haven't been to Indo yet, and Jakarta is one of the largest cities in the world, along with the capital of Indo, so thought there would have been much more to see, which I was kind of wrong about....

I was very uneasy going on this trip, because almost nothing was set in stone, no plans, no host confirmed, along with the fact that my phone doesn't work in Indo, so I had to rely on wi-fi to check up on where to meet, host's response and etc.

Otherwise, I think I got VERY LUCKY throughout this trip, because everything ended up working itself out, and more, as I met some new people that I haven't expected to meet, and they would end up helping me tremendously the first day, taking me in, inviting me to stay at their homestay/ hang out with them the very first day and all at the island.

First day, after I arrived, headed to Muara Angke, since I heard that thousand Island was a popular place to go, yet didn't know it was only locals that really went there. Wasn't really a tourist hotspot, which was very shocking as I had the hardest time trying to find someone who spoke english to help me out, since it looked like a smelly/dirty wet market, and nothing looked like the ticketing booth. After searching around, luckily I ran into this local who spoke a good amt of english, and generously he would end up helping me out, getting me a ferry ticket as well, and inviting me to hang out/stay at his room he reserved for him and his friends. Oh, the boat ride wasn't the best boat ride I was expecting, as it literally felt like I was getting deported or something, you would literally just find a spot on the wooden floors, and just sit there/sleep for the next 2-3 hours. After landing at the island, they showed me around, went biking with them, as well as riding a banana boat which they were ecstatic about, and jumping off a bridge/cliff diving to 5m deep water. I would say it was a success, for going there without any plans, just got very lucky, and met some amazing people that were generous enough to help me out/invite me so I was very thankful for that.

Next day, woke up at 6am, to catch the first ferry back, because if I missed it I would have been screwed, and stuck on the island again haha...-_- ...luckily caught the ferry back, went to this mall, Grand Indonesia, where I would meet this couch surfer who graciously agreed to hang out/show me around Jakarta, help me buy a trekking backpack, and etc. until it was time to meet my host for dinner. Everyone I met were all around my age, university students, had a lot in common, and another shocking thing was how much we had in common too, as well as the big korean wave hitting Indonesia. I swear it's friggin everywhere. Not just music, but shows and all, as they mention how they have korean channels as well.

Overall, for having going there without a single plan/itinerary really, I got really lucky, and it worked out really well, was able to make new friends, learn a lot about Jakarta itself, their culture, food, but I think i'll take a break from couchsurfing already. Think it was a good exp. but too hectic for me I think.

Besides that, my time in Singapore is coming to an end real Fast...pretty crazy how fast time flies, didn't think my 5 months here would have gone by this fast. Feel like I shouldn't waste much time now esp. in Singapore, try to do as much as I can before I leave...

here's some more pics to entertain you guys...