Indonesia (2 Viewers)

[Denny Oubidoux]

Im thinking of going to indonesia in may for a month or two. has anyone been?

thoughts, tips, recommendations etc

i see that it has 17,000 islands - how inevitable is it that i will have to take dangerously over crowded ferries to get around?

would malaysia or the phillippines be nicer? i might go there too

thanks

 

[robitusson]

I was there in '00. The islands east of Bali are great. I thought Flores was really beautiful.

Dangerously overcrowded ferries and massive hellish journeys on shitty rickety buses are a must.

Malaysia is pretty straightforward by comparison to Indonesia. Much more organised and wealthy.

The Philippines is hard work, really Americanised in the cities, pretty depressing poverty with pockets of very commercialised tourism. Culturally it's the least interesting place in SE Asia imo.

 

[CinnamonBoy]

Go.

Bali, Flores, Lombok, these places are brilliant. Everything is so cheap, the people are so friendly, there's so much to do. Yeah there will be LONG bus journeys which you might do with a live chicken pecking around your feet, the odd ferry journey you spend standing beside the life-boats in readiness, but you probably won't die so it's cool.
That said, I couldn't imagine doing the 12-hour mini-bus journeys that we did then, now. It must be different when you're away I suppose.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

thanks lads, i suppose i'll go.

ive done rickety bus journeys with chickens before. i spent 3 months in west africa last year and spent many hours folded in the most unnatural ways into various wheeled contraptions that sped along in a very dangerous fashion. thinking about it now fills me with horror. i often thought that it was highly unlikely i'd make it home in one piece (if i made it all) yet its strange the way you just get on with it at the time and some of my happiest memories of that time are of the transportation. im a bit wary of doing it all again though.

 

[CinnamonBoy]

If you've a bit of money you can spend a little on comfort, particularly if you're travelling in a group. For example, we rented 2 jeeps with drivers to take us from the airport in Flores to the town of Ende instead of getting the bus. Marginally more expensive and everything is so cheap in the first place anyway.
The Indos are gas characters anyway, so the buses are a bit of craic. And you'll forget the discomfort afterwards when you're sitting down to your fresh barracuda and cold Bintang. Yum.

 

[Space]

Definitely go. I'm trying to figure out how to afford going over to Bali, Lombok, Gili's in September.

Don't bother going to Java, only thing worth seeing is the Buddhist temple at Borobudur imo.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

i am in indonesia now .|..|

the fuckin heat though. jayzis