Don_Simon Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Thinking of heading over to SE Asia next summer, (2015), with a few friends for some back packing and general culture / mischief. So... has anyone been to Indonesia? If so, reviews, advice, comments would be hugely appreciated! Cheers VT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 (edited) Bali is a good place for a drink at the end of your tour , little bit heavy on the Aussies , but you can tune them out after a while Kuta beach heritage was where I stayed in Bali .. 30 foot from the beach and looks right out onto the sea and also a close walk to the bars ,clubs and restaurants .. even has a handy KFC for when you have the 6am munchies after a night out .. had only just opened when I stayed so we got a fantastic price for a 5* hotel , you may still get lucky so worth checking them out ... if there is a few of you and you can get 3 of you in a room (most hotels have done it for us when we've been 3 of us on a trip) then it usually works out at a fairly decent rate each and better than slumming it in a hostel ..though the price of a gin and tonic at the rooftop pool side bar might cause you a few screams a lot of the hotels on the beach are up towards the airport from what I saw so just sorta head towards Kuta , Legian or Seminyak (if you want to be near the night-life ) Bali has the usual national parks and temples but if your travelling around lots of Indonesia you'll be bored of them by then so just stick to the boozing in Bali I would recommend going to Komodo , i used this agency had no problems with them at all ( they got a bad review of someone on trip adviser but i think he basically booked it with a different company and confused them (was an American ,say no more ) .. basically paid half up front when i booked and half in the mini bus on the way to the airport ... they will book your flight ticket in advance as they can sell out but the boat they pretty much decide the day before I reckon It's a short flight to Labuan Bajo and then a short drive around to the harbour for your boat , our driver stopped off at the local shop so we could buy supplies i.e a crate or two of beer as they provide all your food ... we had a small private boat as there was only 2 of us , but I think you can join a bigger boat with others ... it's very basic , a toilet and a bucket over the side for a shower but its great , your not exactly going anywhere and need to dress up .. the ship captain is also the cook , bed time you sleep on a matress on deck ..probably the best nights sleep I've had in years .. for the boat travel light btw ... clothes you are wearing a toothbrush ,swimming trunks , suncream and a hat ..you are on a boat .. we saw people climbing aboard that looked like they were emigrating the amount of luggage they had , leave that at your hotel , you wont need your hair straighteners you sail around and head to the islands / national parks where you can go walking , you'll also stop off and do snorkelling and hike a hill or 2 .. depends which itinerary you go for ..i think you can extend it and sail over to a volcanic island and hike that .. in one park the dragons are kinda tame (but still dangerous) in that they sleep underneath the wardens huts at times .. but the main island they are wild and it's pot luck if you see one ... we had an amazing encounter when one walked through the bush right in front of us a few feet away .. exhilarating but believe it or not it's also a tad dangerous as these things are fast and can attack , hence why you have a warden with you spend a night back at Labuan Bajo and then on your way to the airport do a quick hour stop at Mirror Stone cave ... little bit of a tight squeeze if you don't like small dark palces As others will point out there is a lot more to Indonesia than just Bali ... I used Bali as a base for a bit of a let your hair down stop but our purpose was to see the Komodo dragons and in that regard it was mission accomplished and then we headed off to Sri Lanka and spent 5 days on safari and saw the gathering of the elephants ,but that's' another story .... Our boat /home for 3 days i.e not very big here be dragons Typical spot where you spend the night under the stars ... Edited May 15, 2014 by tonyh29 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 Wow! Cheers TonyH29, didnt expect such a thorough reply. Much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morley_crosses_to_Withe Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Go to Bali, spend three days there, then sack it off and get yourself on a boat to the Gili Islands. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhan_Zhuang Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Go to Malaysia instead, it's safer and there is much more to see. I'm here at the moment...Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Georgetown, Langkawi ...then there's Borneo too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Go to Malaysia instead, it's safer and there is much more to see. I'm here at the moment...Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Georgetown, Langkawi ...then there's Borneo too! Might as well go to China as that has even more to see But yeah Malaysia does have a fair bit to offer ....and Pankor Laut was where I saw my first ever Whale shark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 Go to Malaysia instead, it's safer and there is much more to see. I'm here at the moment...Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Georgetown, Langkawi ...then there's Borneo too! Might as well go to China as that has even more to see But yeah Malaysia does have a fair bit to offer ....and Pankor Laut was where I saw my first ever Whale shark Ive been to Malaysia before, albeit 10yrs ago on my gap year. I would have no issue in going again, but, as a lecturer I need to do this trip in July / August, and I dont think the weather is as good there as it is in Indonesia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 I've been to Jakarta. Traffic is shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrees Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 I've been to Jakarta. Traffic is shit. Yep, but for a big city, the people are so lovely. The TMII educational 'theme park' is fabulous, well worth a day or two's wanderings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa_shere Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Went Bali in 2012 and Malaysia this year, Penang, KL + Genting highlands. Thoroughly enjoyed both but Bali was the better by far. Stopped in Seminyak, definatly recommend it, the island has so many stop to stay and as others have said the people for very friendly. Although I didnt enjoy Kuta, went for about an hour and got away, the beach was too busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I've been to Jakarta. Traffic is shit. Yep, but for a big city, the people are so lovely. The TMII educational 'theme park' is fabulous, well worth a day or two's wanderings They are very friendly. Surprised me actually as I wasn't sure what to expect, First night we ended up in this bar, which was fairly empty. The owner's wife was having a small gathering of her friends to celebrate her birthday. She called us over and gave us some cake! I also hooked up with a local girl who worked there for the same company I work for and she took me under her wing and I went out with her mates clubbing. Great night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 I've been to Jakarta. Traffic is shit. Yep, but for a big city, the people are so lovely. The TMII educational 'theme park' is fabulous, well worth a day or two's wanderings They are very friendly. Surprised me actually as I wasn't sure what to expect, First night we ended up in this bar, which was fairly empty. The owner's wife was having a small gathering of her friends to celebrate her birthday. She called us over and gave us some cake! I also hooked up with a local girl who worked there for the same company I work for and she took me under her wing and I went out with her mates clubbing. Great night "local girl". Ergo... attractive lady boy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I've been to Jakarta. Traffic is shit. Yep, but for a big city, the people are so lovely. The TMII educational 'theme park' is fabulous, well worth a day or two's wanderings They are very friendly. Surprised me actually as I wasn't sure what to expect, First night we ended up in this bar, which was fairly empty. The owner's wife was having a small gathering of her friends to celebrate her birthday. She called us over and gave us some cake! I also hooked up with a local girl who worked there for the same company I work for and she took me under her wing and I went out with her mates clubbing. Great night "local girl". Ergo... attractive lady boy? No, not at all. She had a lovely fanny I go to Bangkok or Manila for my ladyboy fix. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts