For me, Indonesia has been the best place so far on our trip
due to its rich diversity. Beaches, Islands, Weddings, Funerals, Volcanoes and
dragons to name a few! With our extended 2 month Visa’s it’s the longest we’ve stayed
in one country and still only managed to cover 12 out of the 7000+ islands that
it has to offer.
Bali wasn’t originally on our list but we were pleasantly
surprised, not by the beaches which weren’t so great but by the culture,
countryside and how cheap it was (compared with the rest of Indonesia). It
offered the best accommodation and the cheapest beer out of all of the islands J
The Gili’s were a nice change to Bali, much slower paced,
horses and carts and a real hippy chill out vibe. And where we spotted our
first turtle’s snorkelling around the islands.
Lombok provided some of the best beaches, however you need
to hire a bike to find them and watch your belongings. There was more crime in
Lombok than we had seen elsewhere
Flores/Komodo again wasn’t on our list, never did we dream
that we would see the legendary dragons in the flesh and well worth the cost of
the trip. The coral there is amazing too. Shame about the bad food on the last
day of the boat trip! Took a while before either of us could face a plate of
noodles again!
Java was awesome, Volcanoes more volcanoes and even learning
to surf! Two near death experiences for Glenn, one when he got his arm trapped
in my surf chord, the other with me at Ijen when the sulphur cloud trapped us! It’s
true, you do get a tranquil calming moment when you think your time is up!
Borneo for the Old men of the forest, the orangutans! Opportunities
to spend 4 days on a boat, exploring the
jungle and getting up close with our ancestors is the reason we threw away our
jobs and came traveling in the first place. 
And then by far the best for me, Sulawesi! We nearly didn’t go!
Thank god Balikpapan was so bloody dull that we got out of there. Toraja in
Sulawesi was like walking into a BBC documentary. It sounds weird that we
planned a trip to see a people/place where their whole existence is focused
around death! Neither of us was sure whether we would enjoy it and we both
loved it! The people are some of the friendliest we have met and are happy for
you to participate and share in their customs and ceremonies. It’s not a show
for the tourists, I’ts their way of life and we were lucky enough to witness
it! I was more impressed by some of the grave sites than I was with Ankor Watt!
The baby grave tree, the old grave site in the jungle, the hanging coffins and
effigies while all sound strange, were so peaceful and made sense when you was
there.
Thank you Indonesia, you broke the bank but it was well
worth it!
Top Tips:
Balkipapan is crap!, just do Tanjung Puting NP and then
leave!
Safe for female travellers.
Make sure you take a gas mask and guide if you explore the
volcanoes
July and August is when the largest Funerals happen in
Toraja, we were outside of this which meant that there were hardly any other
tourists around and made it more special for us.
You will quickly get fed-up with Nasi Goreng!
No comments:
Post a Comment