Malang East Java

After returning from Bangkok it wasn't long before I embarked on the next section of the summer's adventure a journey that would take me into the fragile beating heart of the last remaining rainforests of Indonesia. The first stop though would be the beautiful city of Malang, East Java. Cool mountainous and famous for its fresh air and fruits Malang indeed was a rich experience. Flying in on a prop plane it took only an hour to reach this hidden gem. I was staying at the Tugu Malang, the famous hotel that has a suite always reserved for the former President Megawati, a Malang home town girl. The hotel was the first of the Tugu hotels and houses an extensive collection of art, artefacts, paintings, sculptures belonging to the founder of the hotel and representing the most eclectic collection of erotic art, ancient Javanese art, wooden puppets and incredible decor. After meeting up with Sebastien, who used to manage the Hotel Tugu in Bali, and a friend from my early Bali days, over a traditional afternoon tea and taking a tour with of the fabulous interior of the hotel, its wine cellar, famous bakery and dining rooms we toured the town in a cycle drawn cart in the early dusk. We stopped for the famous Bakso of the region. Making our own soup over the gas burner and adding our chosen ingredients was great, bakso is usually sold from a cart and while it is delicious some of the stuff that goes in it is rather undefined. Eating it in a warung in East Java was exceptional. After which we remounted the cyclo carriage, me feeling a bit bad for the driver, and headed back for a night in the opulence of deeply flamboyant history. My bed was so large and high I felt like a small child on a bed that I could turn into a pirate ship of adventures. The morning call was to be four am so I barely dreamt but slept like a princess on a thick deep mattress floating in the realm of half forgotten tales of the mythical and marvelous orient. Making Bakso at the table

Hotel Tugu Malang