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Indonesia - 07-07-2014
Voir nos voyages : Indonesia
Trip of Lynn
Hi, Carole – thanks for seeking our feedback. We had a terrific trip to Indonesia so it made a great ending to our long journey. Thanks for arranging everything so well.
Here are some of the highlights for us:
1) Singapore – the 3 days were just about right for an intro to the city, but we’d definitely return when travelling through this part of Asia. The Goodwood Park was lovely, and they provided us with an upgraded room so we were in the business wing, with a patio leading to a semi-private pool. We did enjoy the extra splurge and it was so handy to the biological garden, and metro, etc. One thing we did that we’d recommend to others is to go for dinner about 7 on the waterfront directly across from the new 3-tower building sometimes called the “surf board”. The light show at 8 and 9 pm is fun and impressive. Lots to see and do in that area.
2) Yogyakarta – our hotel was well-located to get to the out-of-town sights easily, and having a car/driver meant we didn’t need to figure out how to get downtown, so didn’t spend much time there until the final day for a while. That was OK. The visit to the batik factory was OK, although we’re not really that crafty, we realized after, but did appreciate the good quality of materials there. Later, though, we realized how much less expensive batik items are in most areas of the city – including the store in our own hotel where Dave got a nice $5 shirt!
3) The temples were impressive (especially Borobudur) and being able to do them over 2 days at leisure was good, considering how hot it is there. The A/C car was always welcome, as was our return to the hotel pool at end of day.
4) The evening dance shows: the one in Jogya was pretty long, on hard seats, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to others. Interesting, but long and hard to understand if you’re not too knowledgeable about Hinduism. The one in Bali, while differently performed, had the same plotline but involved a male chorus creating all the music (I enjoyed it a lot more than the other – Dave, not so much) So, overall, I’d suggest doing the one in Bali, and not the other. But even better would be a night in Ubud when the gamelon performances are on – we totally missed the one night we could have gone, not realizing that it wasn’t every night at the Lotus Café.
5) Train trip worth doing, as we did see lots of countryside. An 8-hour car trip would have been OK, but the roads are pretty hair-raising at times! (Although we had excellent drivers everywhere, so no real concerns.)
6) Mount Bromo was a bit of a let-down after getting up at 3:30 am. The sunrise scene was packed with other tourists. The horse ride to the crater edge was a good way to get up and down a slippery slope. If someone asked whether to do Bromo or Ijen, I’d definitely recommend the latter – despite it being a VERY difficult climb and even harder descent for those of us with knee issues. The sulfur-mining operation and the porters with their incredibly heavy loads were definitely a memorable experience and good photographic subjects, and the crater lake itself was lovely.
7) Both Bromo Cottages and Ijen Resort were lovely spots despite the long and sometimes bumpy drives to get there. Ijen would be a definite recommendation and we were glad to have 2 days there, as we were exhausted after the morning climb to the crater lake and just relaxed the rest of the day. By the way, within ¼ km of the resort is a great little restaurant serving authentic Javanese food for a pittance. The hotel restaurant was OK; this was great!
8) After the Ferry trip our guide added for us a snorkeling trip which was super. Boat took us out for about ½ hr to an island with a great coral wall, clear, clear water and the best fish ever. Dave snorkeled twice, but I was tired and only went the first time, but still a lovely day. The choice is snorkel or scuba, and we’d recommend just snorkeling as you could see everything in the top later anyway. On the first dive, the water was so shallow, scuba would be a waste of money.
9) Lovina was OK, but glad we were there for just 1 night, as Ubud was so much nicer. The Greenfields hotel in Ubud was again terrific. Our 2nd-floor room overlooked the rice fields and was well-appointed, there was a lovely pool for end of day, and nearby restaurants were inexpensive and appealing. There was some issue with the extra day at the hotel until 11pm, but fortunately our document mentioned the extension, so they worked it out and gave us a nice ground-floor room, equally nice to the one we’d had the previous 3 nights, so we were very happy with that.
10) Ubud area was a great place to spend extra time. The rice fields are magnificent, Monkey Temple fun, and we really liked the Blanco Museum (although might have missed it if I hadn’t gone through the itinerary to check what we might have missed after swapping other items in and out. It was terrific, but architecturally and for the art itself.)
11) Now, the best for last: our guide. Supri (“Pri”) was superb. He had worked with photographers before and was good at pointing out photographic locations and recognizing when we wanted to stop by the road, etc. And not adverse to helping carry equipment, either!! He was quick to pick up on our likes and made changes to the order in which things were done that made so much sense, vs the way they were strung together originally. We saw everything, and after I had expressed interest in the traditional foods, their office arranged for me to do a cooking course (at the Paon Cooking School – which I’d totally recommend to anyone who likes to eat and/or cook!) Dave would have enjoyed it also, we realized after. We began with a tour of the market, learning about their spices, fruits, veg; then to a rice field the learn about planting and harvesting, then to their rural home/family complex and learning about local lifestyles as well as group cooking in the outside kitchen. I came home with a full set of recipes for future use and had a great day and lovely meal. Dave meanwhile drove a long time for a few statues, so I definitely won that round!)
Back to our guide, Pri – his English was very good (self-taught, and we heard him speak French a couple of times and he seemed comfortable there too). He had a great sense of humour and was so caring of us – especially watched me on the descent from Ijen, as I slipped twice and he was right there to grab me whenever I seemed about to do it again. As noted, he picked up on ideas we hadn’t thought of before coming, such as adding a trip to a shadow-puppet-maker in Jogya on the fly after I asked about whether we’d have a chance to see them.
So, in summary, we were delighted with the tour you arranged and will definitely check with you again when we’re planning another such excursion.
