Hi
I am a 27yr old guy from Ireland and will be arriving into Jakarta on Sunday afternoon. I was meant to be meeting another friend from oz over there but due to the warnings being issued by the australian government he has canceled. So basically I will be on my own for around three weeks and will be looking for get from jakarta to Lombok. Just want some advice on what to expect when I get to indonesia, has anyone any tips for me, what would be the safest and best way to way to travel through the county?? This is my first time travelling on my own and I would have to say I am quite nervous but excited at the same time. Also are the australian warnings worth taking really seriously??
Any info or tips would be much appreciated.
Also if anyone knows of any decent hotels or restraunts around jakarta and what would be the best way to travel from the jakarta airport to the hotels ( taxi, bus , train etc....)??
Stay away from demonstrations and confrontational discussions and establishments that are heavily patronized by westerners and you should be fine. I am American and have travelled there twice...and will go again later this year.
When you arrive in JKT, there is a shuttle bus that departs from out front of the terminal for downtown JKT. There are no trains to downtown and taxis can be a bit expensive for arriving pax. Just ask someone out front where the bus is located. The less expensive places to stay for backpacker types tend to be in the Jalan Jaksa area. It is about one mile from where the airport bus terminates. There will be lots of transport at the terminal. Negotiate a price of no more than 10000Rp and head to Jalan Jaksa.
Air Asia, Adam Air and others have frequent and inexpensive flights to Bali and I imagine to Mataram in Lombok as well. Probably the most fun way to get there would be to fly to Bali. Spend a few days there. Then take a Perama bus (the most used tour company with large office in Kuta) to Pandangbai where you catch the ferry to Lombok.
It is good that you are looking fwd to your trip with anticipation. I think you will have a blast. Try and get a guide book...LP has one for just Bali and Lombok.. it will give you lots of great advise. Good luck.
David
David,
Please do not worry about those travel warnings- they basically mean nothing just the Australian Govt trying to cover its tail if anything does go wrong. After visiting Indonesia at least 5 times where Downer himself has gone public issuing warnings I can say they all equated to nothng and I ahd great holidays.
As I mentioned in another thread last night if I had the money and the time I would be back in Indonesia in a second and do a long trip like I did last year a whole 5.5 months.
Well, all I can say is your friend is going to miss out on something really special.
Please do not be afraid, Indonesian people are very friendly, kind and usually helpful. Always be happy and have a smile on your face and kow to joke about a bit in a simple way and you will have the time of your life.
Have a read of what I Wrote last night about my experiences travelling as a female by myself.
Suggest you take your mobile phone and buy a Simpati card and then you can sms all your friends and family back here in Oz. So much more convienent than trying to get to the internet.
Suggestions are get the Damri bus down to Bogor from the airport cost about 20,000 rupiah and takes about 1.5 hrs. Stay at Pensione Firman at Jalan Paledang No. 48.
Owned by an Indonesian born Arabic woman Wardah- she is wonderful and will look after you. Please tell her Pamela from Australia says Hello.
Loads of travellers stay here- not the most luxurious but super friendly- for me it is like going home when I stay at Pensione.
In Bogor you can see the beautiful Botanical Gardens, do a day trip to see Salak Mountain.
If you wish to go on a 5 day trip to Halimun National Park and onto Garut and Tasikmalaya ending up at Pangandaran Beach just let me know and I can help you with a good guide contact in Bogor.
From Bogor you can get a bus to Bandung ( try not to at weekends so you can go through the Puncak Pass, Cipanas and Cianjur).
In Bandung stay at the New Moritz- one of the guys just posted on here a day or so ago.
From Bandung you can get the slow train- 8 hrs to Yogjakarta- leaves at 7.30 am- make sur eyou book the day before.
In Yogjakarta go see the Borobudur, Prambanan, Solo city, beaches south of Yogjkarta and then you can probably book one of those grest trips that take you to see Bromo- that is a definite and then onto Bali after.
Loads of places to choose from to stay in Bali- I stayed at Ronta Bungalows in Poppies 2- loved it there- tho but noisy. Very busy lots of travellers last year.
Lombok, head over by plane, book when you get to Bali- head up north to Senggigi and over to the Gilis.
If you have time head south to Kuta Lomobk and stay at Mimpimanis Homestay. Gemma's husband Made will show you around- such beautiful beaches down that way and superb scenery.
Have a wonderful time- you may even get the addiction to Indonesia I suffer from these days after my intial visit. Hoping to head back in Dec for for my 8th visit since 1997.
Pamela.
Here is the discussion about Moritz in Bandung.
PJ, another Australian just recently travelled in Indonesia in May. Hopefully he will come back on and write about his experiences.
Pamela.
As usual pPamela has provided very good info.
I'll just add some more......I guess it depends on what you are interested in. Beaches? Nightlife? Temples? Volcanoes?
I personally am not a big fan of Jakata, but if you are interested in night life than you may enjoy a few nights in town. You can then head east either via train or fly. If you are interested in temples then go to Yogya and take a day tour to Borobudur and Prambanan. Some OK nightlife in Yogya as well. From Yogya you can then take the train to Solo.....it's only a 1 hr. train ride away and it's alot more traditional than Yogya. From Solo you can go on a day tour of Gunung Lawu along with Candi Sukuh and Candi Ceto. From Solo you can than take the train to Surabaya....it's only around 3.5 hrs by train and you pass by the towns of Sangiran and Mojokarta where Jawa Man/Girl where discovered. Surabaya is a big ugly polluted town.....buts it's a friendly big, ugly, polluted town and IMHO worth a night or two. Decent nightlife in Suroboyo. From Suroboyo take a 2.5 hr train ride to Probolinggo and then on to Bromo. Bromo is the most amazing landscape in ALL of SEA. A must see. From Bromo you can either backtrack to Surabay and then catch a flight to Bali (only 38 min at around 250,000 rp) or you can go back to Probolinggo and catch a bus to Bondowoso and then on to Kawah Ijen (another amazing natural feature). Then on to Banyuwangi and take the ferry over to Bali. Lots to see in Bali.......for nightlife you can go to Kuta/Seminyak or Sanur. For surfing head over to Nusa Lembongan. From Bali you can either take the ferry to Lombok from PadangBai (around 5 hrs or so) or take a flight (25 min).
good luck.
No worries mate. After seeing the modern evolved version of Java girl, you may not wish to leave. I, myself, will be heading to Jakarta for two months in two weeks.
trusted partner
