"We're Going to Indonesia!"
Somewhere around Southern Vietnam- about four months into our journey – we realized we would have a few weeks of open time once we finished our tour of SE Asia. After brainstorming potential destinations, it didn’t take long for the finger to fall on Indonesia. Amazing weather in the May and June months, check. Many islands to explore, check. Unique cultures (yes plural), check. Affordable, CHECK!! Easy choice. Perhaps the more difficult decision was where to go in the country’s extensive geography. Indonesia consists of over 17,000 islands, making it the world’s largest archipelago. Everyone knows Bali, but a brief review of options made it clear there was much more to see. So, we headed south out of Laos to Singapore, which is one of the few locations offering access to many Indonesian islands, and a new adventure began.
Lombok Island
Lombok Island sits just to the east of it’s more popular neighbor, Bali. Over the past ten years, the Indonesian government has tried to reduce the hordes of tourists invading Bali by promoting Lombok as viable option, but the marketing has never quite stuck. Lombok is a beautifual island that is cultural distinct from Bali. Bali’s mystique is partly derived from its Hindu roots – with ornate statuary and decor wrapped in the fabric of a jungle island. Lombok is mainly Muslim, with a more restrained aesthethic and less development targeting tourists than Bali, but none the less remarkable when it comes to natural beauty. Lombok is geographically split up north and south. The northwest coast is highlighted by Senggigi (Sang -Gee-Gee) with its beaches, views of Bali and the NW Gili (small island) desinations. This is the “old” tourist area. In the south, the new travel destination of Kuta is emerging (with it’s many beaches and coves), as well as the SW Gili Islands. We split our time on Lombok between north and south.
North Lombok: Senggigi, the NW Gilis & Tranquility
We arrived on Lombok and took the long, windy road from the airport to Senggigi, passing by many Muslim mosques and numerous small villages. Among many types of lodging options, we chose the Rajavilla, a medium-sized hotel situated on a coastal beach area in the heart of Senggigi. At times, it felt like we were the only ones at the hotel. We would head to the outdoor pool/patio/cafe area for breakfast and stare out at the Bali Sea. The incredibly friendly staff would then deliver our 6-course breakfast with fresh fruit and pastries, after which we required some determination to remove ourselves from the chairs and start our daily exploration. We explored just a few of the many beach coves, but highlights included traveling north to the Gili Islands of Meno, Air and Trawangan. We really enjoyed Meno, which offered a chill beach scene with abundant snorkeling. A quick ferry ride took us from Bangsal Port to any of the three islands. Perhaps our favorite place was further north on Lombok. Tiu Kelep Waterfall sits just north of Lombok’s massive volcano, Mt. Rinjani (12,224′). The hike in from a small village is transcendant with a jungle valley that is as lush as you can get. See our video and pics, but the scenic payoffs of two waterfalls, one river crossing and many monkeys made for a great day of hiking.
South Lombok: SW Gilis & Kuta
After one week in Senggigi, we jumped into an SUV with our driver, Abdul, and headed for the SW Gili Islands. We boarded a long boat with our two local guides and headed out to Gili Nanggu and other smaller islands for a day of snorkeling. It was 8 hours well spent, as we explored Staghorn coral fields full of fish and relaxed on sunny beaches with 83F waters. Back into the SUV, we drove SE to get to our destination, the rapidly growing beach town of Kuta. On the way we stopped at the memorable “Village of Strong Women” where we got a tour of the village life from a local. Indigeous tribes are having a hard time staying viable in the modern world and this village is using tourism to tell its story and generate funds to sustain the village. Weaving and making traditional clothing is a key activity and Alex got to give it it whirl. (See pics – she will not be taking up a new hobby.) We arrived in Kuta in early evening to the sounds of Muslim prayers playing over the local PA. Kuta was quite the contrast to Senggigi. The small town was bustling with energy and lots of travelers (mostly young surfers). Music of all types also flowed from the many great cafes and drinking holes.
The Big Little Island of Nusa Penida
While on Lombok, we decided we would head toward the Komodo Islands to the east. But getting there was not that straight-forward. There are great distances between many areas of Indonesia and travel by either land or sea can be slow and difficult. We had to get to Bali to make the jump. Then we noticed the little island of Nusa Penida, which sits directly between Lombok and Bali and is connected to both by ferries. We hopped on a ferry and made the one plus hour voyage to the shores of Nusa Penida. There is very little development on this small island, but there is an influx of day-tripper tourists from Bali, who usually only spend a day visiting. We situated ourselves on the north side of the island, away from the port, in the lovely Mertasari Bungalows. We had three days in Nusa Penida and we both fell for this place. A one-day trip circumnavigating the island with our driver, Gouday, was a jaw-dropper. The cliffs and bluffs overlook perfect, deep blue waters. The beaches are stunning. The jungle hills are lush and green. And the snorkeling was fantastic – with many types of coral, fish and giant periwinkle-color sea stars. There was also just a very relaxing island vibe to Nusa Penida. We both agreed we would gladly visit this place again.
Visiting Exotic Ubud - Bali Island
Bali, the Instagram hero, the villian of overtourism stories. All the not-so-good press on Bali in recent years knocked it down on our priority list, but we since we needed to pass through the island to get to our next destination, we decided to spend a few days in Ubud. After a 45 minute ferry ride and a one hour taxi trek, we arrived in the town of Ubud. Known as a center for traditional crafts and dance, surrounded by rainforest and terraced rice paddies, dotted with Hindu temples and shrines, it’s hard not to love Ubud. Despite stories of overtousim, we found it easy to get around with most the tourists sites, cafes and bars seemingly longing for more business. We took a city jungle hike, explored a few temples, visited the Ubud Palace and generally just took a slow, relaxing approach to the area. The diversity in shops and restaurants was impressive. As we flew off of Bali, we caught views of the massive beach areas on the west side of the island covered in swarms of tourists, which made us glad we went to Ubud!
La Buan Bajo & the Magical Islands
If you want to go to Komodo Island – home of the Komodo National Park and the famous dragons – you have to go to the city of La Buan Bajo. Several hundred kilometers east of Bali is Flores Island, and “LBB” sits on the westernmost tip of the island. Our main goal was to get into the waters outside LBB and visit the many spectacular islands, and seeing DRAGONS. Upon our arrival, we were quite surprised to find that La Buan Bajo was a charming, clean town with lots of great restaurants and a beautiful harbor. The western view provided for some incredible sunsets with excellent views from our hotel rooftop bar and pool – the ash from the active volcano on the opposite end of the island helped color the sky as well.
The main attraction was our three-day “live aboard” cruise into Komoto, Padar and many other islands to the west of LBB. We boarded our small boat with seven fellow travelers and a friendly crew and headed west. This is was no fancy cruiseship. Food, drink and accomodations were very simple. And no one cared. By the end of day one, we had climbed a small mountain with specaular views, went snorkeling twice, did some beach hopping and gazed into a stunning sunset while thousands of large Flying Foxes soared overhead. Day Two included a sunrise hike on famous Padar Island, swimming with manta rays and sea turtles, more beach hopping, and some incredible sailing around the Flores Sea. The cruise ended on Day Three with dolphins escorting us off the bow of the ship back into the harbor.
Our time in LBB and Flores Island, ended with another eruption of Mt. Luwotobi on the east side of the island. We managed to get in the air and to Jakarta, but we wouldn’t have minded staying a bit longer!
Jumping to Jakarta to Jet to Japan
Our destination from Indonesia was Japan. To get there, we needed to go to Jakarta. Indonesia’s current capital (it’s officially moving in two years) and largest city (11M in city and 23M total urban population), Jakarta is also the oldest city/province in Indonesia and it comes with a mixed reputation for travelers due to crime and pollution. We spend just over two days in Jakarta and clearly didn’t see much, but we did make the rounds in the central city. Check out the video for a taste of Jakarta.
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