1

There are lots of good places to visit in Bali where you wont see a lot of tourists. Amed and the east coast for example or Munduk in the hills. Ubud is great for cultural pursuits. Lombok is only a 30 minute plane trip and there are lots of laid back beaches in the south around Kuta. The further east you go in Indonesia the more off the beaten track you are. Check out Sumbawa photos at http://journals.worldnomads.com/merantau/ Travelling alone will not be a problem - in Indonesia you are never alone. People will always want to engage you in conversation. Of all the countries I've travelled I've found Indonesians to be the friendliest people of all.Have a good trip.

2

As #1 says...only a small part of Bali is 'like being in Australia' (though if we are talking about Kuta that is an insult to Australia I think ;-)

Plenty of Bali is not overrun by tourists...then you have all the other islands as well.The possibilities are really almost endless.

Great beaches are almost everywhere....there is culture,jungle,trekking and much more...

I'd suggest you buy a guidebook like the LP 'Indonesia'....read it and then post some more specific questions on here...

3

Buy a LP and try South Sumbawa. Indonesia is wider than Oz by miles.

4

You could try Kuta Lombok, not to be confused with Kuta, Bali.

There are friendly surfers there from all over the world.

5

It's farther away from Australia than Bali, but there are some interesting spots in North Sumatra, e.g.

Lake Toba (it's addictive; so many people I met there said, "I'm leaving tomorrow," and repeated this for about 10 days!

Bukit Lawang (wildlife, I mean, orangutans, etc.)

Ketembe

Berestage (volcano hike)

Aceh

There's 5 spots for you, there's probably more... :)

6

Wow thank you all so much for your suggestions!
I am definitely going to have a few weeks there to try out everything,

Thanks :)

7

Hey

I travelled around Indonesia on my own just a few weeks ago and it was great. There is so much to see that it may be better to settle on 1 or a few province(s) (ie Sulawesi, Maluku, Sumatra etc). Maybe focus on some specific activities (snorkelling, diving, trekking etc) and start from there.
Bear in mind that travelling a lot (from one area to another) will make it much more expensive as you will probably need to fly, and you will be charged airport fees every time. Flights are generally cheaper in advance.

I went to the Banda Islands (see separate thread), which was fantastic.
I did not enjoy my short time in Java; would not recommend Mount Bromo as it's like being on a tourist conveyer belt (mind you, it was Bank holiday and super busy).
Escaped East Java (wet, polluted, difficult to get around mountain sites) to Bali, which was better than expected. Mainly it is of great interest because of its Hindu heritage. Ubud is very touristy but worth a visit as the area is genuinely very beautiful.

Good luck; it's a great destination.

8

Hi,

Indonesia fabulous place to travel - been 9 times myself - love Sumatra - West, North and Aceh and also Java - West, Central and East.
November to January can be quite wet esp in Java so maybe save that for another time and go east where the wet season seems to start a bit later.
Great friendly country.
Pamela

9

Yes November to January is rainy season but it only rains for a few hours in the afternoon.

How long will you stay in Indo for, 1 or 2 months?

Good places:
Java, Flores, Sumatra.
You should definitely avoid Bali seeing as you are already aware of the scene.

Catching "a quiet wave":
Not sure what this refers to, are you a professional surfer? If so go to Sumatra with smaller islands, and Sumba, Sumbawa. However not too easy to get to and many tsunamis. But if you are a professional surfer then yes.

Good hostel/meeting people:
There are no hostels in Indonesia, there are cheap guest houses though. You can meet people on the street, usually locals and travelers hang out, eat, on the street.
Indonesia isn't very touristy, so you'd have to choose between meeting people and doing Bali.
If you are interested in meeting locals you will have a good time.