The Island Explorer

It was a good thing we didn't push through visiting the Thousand Islands. I wouldn't have decided to finally make the trip to one of the destinations I had to go to before I die. Welcome to the Bromo National Park in East Java, Indonesia. The national park is an hour away from Probolinggo, a town 3 hours away from Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia. Surabaya is an hour's flight from Jakarta. From Surabaya, I took a bus to Probolinggo where I checked in. The better option is to go up to Cemoro Lewang which sits on the edge of the Tengger Caldera. You can take a mini bus from the Probolinggo Bus Station to Cemoro Lewang. From Cemoro Lewang, the jump off point, you could actually view three distinct volcanoes. One is Bromo, the other and more picturesque one is Mount Batok, while the most towering is Mount Semeru. What makes Bromo stand out is the fact that it is constantly erupting and belches white sulfur smoke. The mouth of Tengger Caldera is aptly called the Se...

The last time I was in Jakarta was in 2005. Most people told me that Jakarta was just like Manila. I don't know why they say that. Back then, Jakarta was yes not that nice, but was still better than Manila. The first thing that caught me were the trees. There were trees everywhere, even on their highways. I even went to warung areas (shanties) to interview some households, and was surprised that their squatter's areas were clean. Yes, there were houses made of plywood and patched up boards, but it was not as dirty as those we have in Manila. Two weeks ago, I went back to Jakarta and was able to see more of the city. I was surprised that Jakarta looked even better, more organized, more new buildings, more and more restaurants and even more trees. I was in awe in how much Jakarta has changed in just over 2 years. I went to most landmarks before, so I tried going at places I haven't been to. One was the Jakarta Cathedral which was in front of one of the largest mosques as well...

Its logo looks like Starbucks and the look of the place is like Krispy Kreme in orange. I guess the owners of JCO really thought of merging coffee and donuts, which are of course, perfect for each other. I stumbled upon JCO when it opened in Jakarta 2 years ago. The lines were unbelievably long, and that reminded me of our Gonuts Donuts craze back then. After 2 years, JCO in Jakarta has established itself as a donut shop serving great coffee and blended drinks. They also serve ice cream (gelato). JCO is a franchise that began in Singapore, spread in Malaysia, and hit Indonesia. The donuts craze came about the same time across all countries in Asia. JCO for me is different. When I tasted it the first time, I just had the glazed donut served by my clients. MY initial reaction was, it tasted like Dunkin' Donuts. And that held my interest. While Go Nuts and Krispy Kreme tasted the same, Dunkin Donuts was still different. In the Philippines, Dunkin' is targets the mass market, makin...