To get started, the width of Indonesia, from Sumatra in the west to Papua/Irian Jaya in the east, is a bit longer than Seattle to Miami. The country is incredibly diverse, Hindu Bali lies just a 2-hr boat ride away from Muslim Lombok. So over the next 2 months, Becca and I will be sampling a bit of this often demonised country.
First up is the island of Bali. Of all the islands, this one has been a magnet for tourists, with surf beaches, ritzy resorts, and even Hollywood movie sets (the upcoming film "Eat Pray Love" was being filmed in the Ubud market on the first day we spent there). Aussies flock to the resorts on week-long package holidays and we met many older backpackers spending a month on the island.
It's not exactly the laid back paradise that it probably was a few decades ago. Motorbikes are everywhere, buzzing and weaving along the small 2-laned roads. Hawkers are everywhere (it helps to know how to say "tidak sekarang" - not now, "munkin nanti" - maybe later, "saya tidak mau" - I do not want). But most of the people are very friendly, and quite neat (many tourists commented how often they sweep).
Our first night was in Sanur - really just a stop to pay for a big dive cruise that we'll be going on come December. Then it was out of the hectic beach "resort" area to the inland town of Ubud. There are going to be much better beaches further east, and Sanur has a beach, but it's not an ideal swimming place (especially at low tide).
Ubud is where tourists flock to experience Balinese culture (again, very different to the rest of Indonesia). Everything's now set up for tourists (and Hollywood!) - with dance shows every night (we sawthe Kecak "kuh-chak" performance which was quite impressive with its 60+ member a capella choir), tours to temples/volcanoes/rice paddies, and even a monkey forest. We spent three days doing as much as we could handle: a self-guided walk through rice fields (includnig breakfast at a fantastic organic cafe about halfway down), a walk through the monkey forest, a balinese cooking demonstration, a visit to an 11th century temple (Gunung Kawi) carved out of the rock, and meeting up with a friend from NZ for some indonesian-style ribs!
Travelling in Bali has been a good adjustment to the Indonesian way of doing things. Public transport is largely on its way out (thanks to cheap motorbikes), and getting somewhere is largely about barganing with one of the street hawkers. Intercity travel is generally done after a barganing session, or there are some tourist routes - but these will soon run out after Lombok. Thankfully everyone is generally helpful and the Indonesian way seems to be to find some means to your end - yes, you're getting ripped off relative to a local, but the difference between $5 and $3 isn't worth getting angry about, and if you put that aside, there are few limits to what you can do.
Next stop is the Gilis in Lombok (Gili is "island" in the traditional Lombok language) - these are three islands on the NW coast that attract western tourists. The diving side of the trip begins there, a nice relief from the staggering humid heat that comes along with a country that straddles the Equator.
Sampai Nanti!
