Now, before I talk about our experience, I want to stress the point that Indonesia is huge and every island has its own qualities. We only visited three islands and on these islands we didn’t visit many different places. Nevertheless, this is what we have been up to:
Bali
We had heard a thousand different opinions about Bali prior to going there, so naturally, we were rather curious. However, contrary to what many people describe before going there, we did not feel “Mama Bali calling us” and our main motivation to go there was seeing a friend from Austria, who was there at the same time. Even though we had vague plans to see more of the island, we ended up only staying in Ubud and exploring the area there.
Ubud is a city in the south of the island. Despite its size, there is a lot of greenery and you sometimes wonder, when the jungle is going to take back the city. Even our hotels courtyard was covered in plants, which made for a lovely atmosphere and the pool there offered some nice refreshment on the hot days. We visited a couple of places nearby and would recommend all of them:
Firstly, the monkey forest has a super low entry rate, and you can enjoy walking on big pathways through a lot of nature. The monkeys were like a nice little add on for us. They are mostly living their lives and won’t bother you at all unless you get too close or stare in their eyes. We were lucky to see them playing in a little puddle and being fed – both of which was rather entertaining. I’d plan to be there for max. 2 hrs though, it isn’t too big and you will spend all your time there walking.
Secondly, we visited the palace, which had no entry fee at all! The access was rather limited, with only two main areas being open for visitors, but the sculptures and images are very nice, and you get a feeling for the style of temples there. Bali is the only Hindu island in Indonesia, so it reminded me a little of India to be honest.
Our third excursion was to the rice paddies on the hill. There is a beautifully scenic view and you can really relax and let go of the city, even though it is within walking distance of the center. On our way there we went through a little market and when we first reached the top of the hill, we had some amazing fresh fruit. I would definitely recommend bringing some mosquito repellent though, especially if walking in the late afternoon like us.
Finally, David and Valerie went to Tanah Lot, a temple situated in the ocean. They were really enthusiastic about their visit, but you have to be aware that it is closed during the high tide. Their stay was limited by this and yes, they did get very wet. Also, they briefly saw a water snake – so look out for those!
The rest of the time we enjoyed the atmosphere in Ubud and relaxed for a bit. Since Valerie had to get some clothes, we did quite a bit of shopping (well, she did, we only got one thing per person, as our budget and luggage size are quite limiting). There are many spiritual events in the area, such as ecstatic dances, mantra singing, women circles, yoga classes etc., so one could easily spend months there without getting bored. For me personally, the whole area had a rather intense feeling and while it wasn’t as overwhelming as most big cities (probably due to the number of plants everywhere), it is still a city, and I was happy to leave for Gili Air when we did.
Gili Air
From Bali one can take a fast boat to the Gili islands. It takes about 2 hrs and we had been advised before to have a critical look at the boat as they are sinking occasionally. Despite this, we decided to book our boat at our hotel in a fixed package with the driver to the port. In hindsight, this was a good idea as the port is not arranged very customer friendly and we would have had trouble booking our tickets there. Also, be aware that you need to pay harbour tax – on Bali AND on Gili Air. The whole experience was a bit stressful to me, as we didn’t know, where we had to go or what we had to do. It involved a lot of waiting around for someone to tell us the next step – in a mass of tourists, with constant screaming about who gets to board when. However, it did work out and we got on the boat. Without even standing a chance of looking at it before though, so I don’t see, how we could have done that…
The boat does a little tour, first dropping of tourists on Gili T, which is more of a party island, then on Gili Air, where we got off, and finally on Lombok, the neighbour of Bali. There is another Gili island called Gili Menor, which is almost empty and mainly a goal for snorkelling tours due to the many turtles there. It is possible to go there as a tourist, but due to the water currents, swimming can be dangerous there, which makes in unattractive to anyone but the biggest bird and wildlife enthusiasts.
Gili Air is a small island, you can easily cross it in half an hour. There are no cars, but many horse carts and bicycles. We used neither. I honestly don’t see the point in paying to rent a bike, if it’s that short of a distance to walk and the horses did not look cared for. Most of them had their ribcage clearly showing and they were often left in the sun, even though it was brutally hot. So we walked to our accommodation – H2O meditation and yoga hostel. It had a nice location, not directly at the beach, but we could easily go there for sunrise. We had a pool directly in front of our room – the temperature was more like a bathtub though, so no refreshment there. The ocean wasn’t much cooler either, especially close to shore. I did have a nice training spot on the yoga deck though – nobody was using it that early in the morning.
We spent most of our time snorkelling in one of the many beautiful spots there. Once you get over the nearest bit of dead corals, there are some amazing reefs with tons of fish of varied sizes and colours. Valerie even swam with a turtle for a little while, she didn’t meet it at the eastern turtle beach though, but in the north. The food was good, but the prices varied. One of the best and cheapest places is zZz Warung. For sunsets we liked going to Why Not, which is situated at the western beach and has reasonable prices and tasty food. The best smoothies by far are available at Aurabowls – in contrast to most there, they use coconut milk as a basis instead of water and so the higher prices are absolutely worth it, its such a creamy, yummy experience.
Lombok
On Gili Air Valerie left us to go back to Bali and only David and I proceeded to Lombok. Since we had just spent a week at the ocean, we wanted to see more of the lush green nature of Lombok and spent our entire time in Tetebatu.
Again, we spent most of our days chilling, going for little walks and exploring the area. There is a monkey forest in Tetebatu as well, which has black monkeys – a rarity, usually they are of a light brown. We went for a walk there, not using the main entrance but a small “road” through the woods. It was a beautiful walk, and you really can’t get lost, especially not if you use google maps for the general direction you want to go to. So, unless you really want a tour guide to show you around, you don’t need one. And yes, they try to talk you into letting them join you and then expect you to pay.
Another day, we wanted to visit a waterfall. There were some closer to us, but we were told, that there usually are a lot of people there and that this other one would be nicer. However, we messed up when walking there (not because it’s hard to find, but because we didn’t pay attention in the beginning and though we would be able to correct our mistake later on – we weren’t), so instead of going to the waterfall, we got soaked when it started raining. We got really damn close as well, would have only been another 5 minutes to the waterfall – that is, if we could fly above a rather deep creek. It was a nice adventure though, and maybe some time we will return and make it to the waterfall…
My personal highlight was our afternoon at Lombok Organic Farm. While the so-called road to get there is more of a trail, it is a really nice walk. At the farm, they showed us around and told us about their goals and motivations. They are using old farming methods and permaculture to grow their food without pesticides and herbicides. Therefore, their prices are higher than the ones of others in the area and while this wasn’t an issue before covid (they were selling mainly to hotels in the south), they are having trouble since less tourists visit the area and locals don’t buy their food. They are very welcoming and nice though and are more than happy to host more people in the future, giving tours and courses. We had the opportunity to help out in the kitchen and learn how the delicious Urap-Urap is made – from opening the coconut to eating the finished dish. When talking about their motivations for the farm, the owners grandfather turned out to be the main motivation. In the area, there weren’t any conventional farming methods used going only two generations back and sadly the effects of modern society are already showing. The owner told us that it was normal in the area for people to get 100-120 years old, but with the changed food and lifestyle, life-expectancy is declining. This was quite interesting to me, as it shows, what big of an effect good, pesticide-free food has on the body and that despite the common opinion in the west, our lifestyle is not the epiphany of health and without us, the people here wouldn’t die super early. Anyways, their open-heartedness was very touching and I strongly recommend anyone visiting the area to stop by at their place!
Altogether, even though I wouldn’t want to completely exclude Indonesia in future trips, I am pretty sure, that I’d think twice before coming here again. While we had some amazing experiences and nice conversations with people, I was struggling a lot with the culture while there. It is one of those countries, where you have to bargain for everything – and I hate that. Also, people try to talk you into buying something ALL THE TIME. You cannot simply go for a walk without someone trying to talk to you every 5 meters – on Bali it was taxis, on Gili Air restaurants and on Lombok tour guides. This total lack of having my own space and freedom drove me insane, especially, when I went for a walk on the beach in Gili Air, quite deep in thought due to some things that came up, and every 5 meters someone tried to speak to me and when I didn’t respond, I could hear them saying, how rude I was. I wouldn’t have thought to ever miss the Viennese grumpiness, but I did. If I don’t make eye contact, just leave me alone, I am not interested. Thank you.
Also, if we were to go there again, we would choose a different time. February is rainy season and while this wasn’t much of an issue on Bali and Gili Air, mostly due to luck we think, it did limit our options in Lombok and we got trapped in restaurants due to heavy rain from time to time. More bugging was, that we couldn’t go to Komodo island as the boats didn’t go off season with the weather being so unpredictable and the bigger hiking trails in Lombok were closed as well. This was quite a pity, I would have loved to see the Komodo dragons…
That being said, as I mentioned in the beginning, Indonesia is huge and every island is different, so experiences vary widely. What do you think? Would you like to visit Indonesia? If so, which islands would you like to see? Tell us in the comments below!
xxx
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