Moonie_82

Hi,

I have a question regarding my proposed trip to Indonesia. I intend to stay for 28 days and was originally going to travel from Bali to Flores overland and then fly back to Bali from Maumere (or take a an internal flight to Maumere to start with and work my way back westbound towards Bali overland). However upon doing some further research I have realised that I would also like to see Mount Bromo, Yogyakarta, Borobudur and Prambanan.

I am unsure of whether all of the above would be possible in the 28 days that I have, or, whether I should stick to my original plan which I believed would be possible within the 28 day time frame (please tell me if I am wrong!).

I will be purchasing flight tickets soon and wanted to post this question so I could get an idea of whether I should fly in to Jakarta and depart from Bali (which would allow me to see the sights I want to see in Java and travel Nusa Tenggara, time permitting) or whether I should just fly in and out of Bali and concentrate my efforts solely on Nusa Tenggara.

All your help and opinions will be greatly appreciated.

StanKase

You can easy cover Central and east Jave (Bromo) in 6 days including visiting the magnificant Dieng Plateau all the temples and small very interested villages that are operasting like it was 1920. We used a guide in March 2010 and ae using him again this Sept.Though he is a bit pricey about $85 for a 10+ hr. day and he is exceptional in my opinion. You can reach him: [email protected]

marmot

Moonie, The only place I've been in Nusa Tenggara is Lombok so I can't advise on the other islands.

It's fairly easy to get to East or Central Java from Bali. You can fly to Surabaya or Yogyakarta or you can take the ferry from North Bali to the eastcoast of Java which puts you relatively close to the Bromo area.

Whether you go back to Bali from Java or continue on to Jakarta is about equal, though there are many more flights to Java.

Don't know your personal timetable, but just so you're aware: you can now extend your tourist visa for an additional 30 days, a total of 60.

kuluk

All of these destinations are easily travelled and are wonderful places to see scenery, temples and meet lots of local people. If you fly to Jakarta you can stop over in Jakarta and see the fascination National Museum or just fly directly over to Jogja. You don't need to hire a guide in advance, it's very well organized and there are plenty of tourist facilities and licensed travel agents in both Java and Bali,and they can organize trips to Flores, Sumba, Timor or any of the eastern islands. When you say Nusa Tenggara, which islands are you referring to? There are lots of small and large islands in that group so it would help if you were specific. If you are traveling overland (bus, train, car, boat) over so many islands you will have to do more research as to which islands to put in and which places you want to see. For instance, Kelimutu in Flores is one of the most interesting sights in Flores, equal in my mind to say, Bromo. You do the sunrise climb up to the top of the mountains and see the 3 giant volcanic lakes and it's really a magnigicent experience, plus there are fantastic walks in around Flores. One of the reasons I am not so keen on Bromo is seeing how the poor ponies bringing people to the crater rim are mistreated. But Bromo is worth the trip if you have enough time. Plus in Flores you will see the many interesting villages, volcanos, forests and so forth. For natural beauty I think Flores and Sulawesi are right there at the top for Indonesian islands.

To do the trip around central Java to see Borobudur, Prambanan, the Sultan's Kraton, Merapi, etc etc is easily done and there are many many travel agents along Jalan Sosrowijayan, Malioboro and Parangtritis, plus in all the hotels, that can help you plan trips around Java.

Have fun!

mohan

One of the reasons I am not so keen on Bromo is seeing how the poor ponies bringing people to the crater rim are mistreated.
I feel the same about Petra, Jordan.
Thanks for reminding me of Flores. I flirted with the idea of going there many years ago but didn't because I was proned to motion sickness and I was concern with the safety of the boat ride. These days there are patches one could use for motion sickness, how are the boats? I understand one can fly there these days, do I book in Bali? Which airline? Where do I book hotel? Indonesian website is fine, dh reads and writes Indonesian. Thanks Kuluk.

StanKase

I agree there are a lot of guides but why not go with a guide that someone on this Forum has used before and was very pleased with their services. That's one of the values of this Forum, or am I mistaken?
If you go to TripAdvisor.com and search Puta and Bali guide you will read at least 8-9 raves about him. We have been to Bali twice over the past 15 years and had one very good guide who retired and a so-so guide and not surprising the very good one charged about $10 USD more even though it was 4 years prior to our second visit. Putu also seems to run $15 USD more than the average but with the great reviews he gets and considering the trip is costing $15,000 (we are going for 24 days to Java, Bali and Sulawisi) an extra $65 for 4 days (8-10 hrs./day) for a guide is "chump change" in my opinion.
I agree from what I have read the ponies at Mt. Bromo are not treated well but the more people that go and use their services raises the possibility of them "maybe" getting better care or feed in the long run. I am looking forward to our visit to Bromo and our guide Wiedy already has made arrangements for our trip up the mountain based on his taking other travelers there before. Since he is well aware of the problem maybe he will minimize it for the ponies we will be using. That by itself does not minimize the problem a lot but our trip may be a little more pleasant. Let's hope for a reasonably clear day.
I might suggest you consider staying at the Java Banana hotel even though it is an extra 15-20 minutes to the mountain the accommodations are said to be like an up-scale Holiday Inn though the food is said to be mediocre.

kuluk

For Bromo, you don't have to actually ride the ponies, you can do the walk yourself, and it's not really that arduous. Unfortunately, the ponies will continue to be mistreated no matter how many people visit Bromo, in fact, they might have to add more ponies to accomodate the riders! I did try to talk to the "pony people" and explain why I wasn't riding the ponies, but they didn't take it very well. From their point of view, you are probably just a cheapskate and depriving them of their income (information gleaned from 15 years of life in Indonesia). But Bromo is still a great thing to do if you have the time.

For Flores, you can now fly directly into Maumere via different airlines. They change from time to time and flight schedules change. I haven't flown there in more than a year so don't remember exactly which plane I took, maybe Lion or Merpati? If you need info you can try Bayu Buana travel agents, with an office in every major city in Indonesia. If you need help here within Indonesia and can't get through via email you can send me a private message and I can call around to my travel agent here for flight info. There is an airport in Ende but the runway is very short and therefore not recommended. I also have a friend who runs a weaving cooperative in Watublapi, 40 minutes out of Maumere, who can help you on the ground in Flores.

About the animal cruelty issue: atittudes in Indonesia as you can imagine are slightly different from ours. I once went to a turtle release program in West Bali that had the support of the WWF and were doing a release on the beach. I asked one of the fishermen why the village had now, after years of hunting turtles and their eggs, decided to protect the turtles. Did they suddenly have an epiphany? Did they now actually care about the turtles? He responded that the Bupati ( like a district governor ) had told the villagers an instructive story about how strangely Westerners feel about animials. Seems a young backpacker couple had already bought their bus ticket to Java and were about to get on when they saw an injured kitten on the ground. They immediately cancelled their trip (omigod, valuable money forfeited!) and took the kitten to the local veterinarian. The villagers were shocked to see that tourists actually cared about animals and that made them realize there was a living to be made from caring for animals. That and other efforts helped change this village in Negara from a turtle hunting village to a turtle protection site. So in small ways we can have an impact.

StanKase

kuluk; If you are correct that is most unfortunate. I understand the climb is not terribly difficult but at 70 with a bum knee i will have to rely on my guide to to make it as pleasant as possible. Based on our March 2010 visit he was quite the wizard. We will see.

mohan

Here is a story that shows how smart monkeys are:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_890236.html

kuluk

Mohan: I saw that! Hilarious! But that was in Sulawesi, not Bali. thank god our monkeys aren't so clever..they would send too many postings to Facebook!