Robbietravels

We want to return to Bali in May-August 2009 and wonder where else to go while we're in the neighborhood. DH wants to avoid Jakarta and Java entirely. I've heard mixed reviews on Lomboc. We enjoyed Sulawesi but no need to return. We like involvement with locals and their daily lives, beautiful scenery, beaches, laidback luxury; we don't dive. Gee maybe we should just stay in Bali for 2 weeks duh?

Kathie

Certainly, you could spend two weeks in Bali and love it. Cheryl and I very much enjoyed Lombok. (Of course, we loved Bali, too.) We stayed at the Qunci Villas and liked it so much we recommended it to Bob and Karen. Bob has just written about it in his trip report. Wade though the food descritpions to the Lombok part. Taking a few days in Lombok would be a nice contrast to Bali.

Robbie, I can't remember whether you've been to Borobudor or not. I understand that Fred wants to avoid Java, but Borobudor is really marvelous. If not this trip, keep it in mind for another trip.

FromDC

What did you like so much about Sulawesi? And I second Kathie's remark about Borobudor - - the three days we stayed at the Amanjiwo,visiting the monument and the surrounding areas were some of our best ever days in SEAsia.

marmot

I'm not much of a fan of Lombok but there are plenty of interesting islands to the East of Bali in Sumba and Sumbawa. The Amanwana is in this group and is a wonderful destination.

I can't blame you for wanting to avoid Jakarta, but I wouldn't put the rest of Java in the same category.

Robbietravels

Marmot the Amanwana looks lovely, I imagine there are puddle jumper flights or boats to the island, yes?
The info in various posts has expanded my understanding about Java. My incorrect impression was that people went primarily to see Borobudur. DH prefers living culture to ancient monuments (I loved Angkor, Bagan). He was also concerned about the terrorism in Jakarta (despite the fact that we're still a go for Sri Lanka in December).
Now that I see how much more there is to see on the island, I will repackage my sell and report back. Are there any major festivals during the summer in Central Java? Thanks all

Robbietravels

I neglected to answer FromDC's question on Sulawesi. My interest was in witnessing the elaborate funeral ceremonies for which Tana Toraja (central to north central part of the island) is famous.

Unfortunately our timing was bad. There were palpable tensions between the Christian and Muslim populations (and civil unrest that was very under reported). Hence, many of the hotels had 15-20% occupancy rates. It was eerie.

That said, I still found it very interesting. The scenery is stunning with rolling hills and rice fields. The home architecture is like nowhere else in the world. We did manager to attend a funeral. Due to the ethnic tension and consequent lack of tourism, the people experienced financial decline and the mounting of an elaborate funeral week became rare in 2004.

The funeral we attended was a memorable event, we were given an honorable place on the ground and graciously welcomed. We watched for half a day and the cultural anthropologist in me was well pleased to see these local customs. Long answer to short question.

marmot

Robbie, I haven’t been to the Amanwana but it’s high on my list. To get there you can fly from Bali or Lombok. It ain’t easy to find this information on their beautiful but bewildering website, so here it is: http://www.amanresorts.com/amanwana/flights.aspx

Aside from the Amans and a host of resorts in Bali, Indonesia doesn’t have much developed tourism. There are some 17,000 islands and each one has a cultural story to tell including individual traditions in arts, music, performance, healing and other local traditions. There are pockets of tourism at Lake Toba, Tanah Toraja, but overall, it’s woefully underdeveloped and mis-understood. When the government gets involved, it just gets worse.

As for festivals in Central Java – probably not, although the Aman usually has a village dance and performance weekend in July or August. The manager is quite knowledgeable in the indigenous performing arts of the area. If The Aman’s on your radar screen be sure to contact him directly. Sean Flakelar [[email protected]].

There’s a lot to see throughout Indonesia however and there are a few good tour companies. If you’re interested, I can recommend a couple that expats in Indonesia favor.

Central Java and Eastern Java are beautiful and fascinating but again, tourism is fairly rudimentary. Islam is not a religion that lends itself to spectacle and festivity. It’s communal but in an introspective and personal manner. There are still communities of practicing Buddhists and Hindus on Java and the monuments and temples like Borbudur and Prambanan are still revered; however, the prevalent religion is officially Islam. There is also a very strong undercurrent of animism, spiritualism and black magic throughout Java – and the rest of Muslim Indonesia -- that even Islam hasn’t eradicated. This is where you get the fascinating stuff like trance dancing, healing arts and fire walking.

Java is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. That it is also, aside from a few large cities, mostly agrarian is a contradiction – in the countryside you are surrounded by millions of people but without the urban infrastructure. The social infrastructure is amazing but it’s so difficult to access. All of Indonesia is also geologically volatile which makes for volcanoes, calderas mudslides, hot springs and that fertile, fertile soil which offer profoundly photogenic landscapes.

I’m not particularly fond of Yogya (and I would avoid Solo altogether). Aside from a few historical sites and cultural and shopping opportunities, the real appeal of Java is in village life and natural scenery. Same goes for the other 16,997 (minus Bali and Lombok). What’s there to see are people having their being in a society that is rich in culture and art, but it’s not easy to experience it as a tourist. For the amateur “cultural anthropologist” – a goldmine – but you have to do some digging.

As for security, the good news is that after 10 years the American Embassy has finally lifted its travel warning on Indonesia. (I don’t expect that the Australians will do so until the Bali bombers are executed.) I would say the risk of being affected by terrorism any where in Indonesia is now low, in Central or East Java miniscule. Does sectarian violence still flare up? Absolutely, religion is closely tied to economic power – who gets more – and in times of downturn becomes an overarching factor.

rhkkmk

robbie...lombok was fantastic, but mostly as a resting place...qunci is fantastic...ask for room 8 (the best) or for our room #5, the second best...2nd floor rooms are better generally ... only about 25 rooms..

alam shanti is fantastic in ubud...gannga is the room for you followed by yanna, downstairs....they are sold out mostly for august, but you can also try sister hotels: jiwa and I_____...

Robbietravels

Very helpful info gals and guys. Glad Bob and Andy survived each other on tour. I have lots of research ahead of me concerning which rural areas in Java and some of the other islands mentioned but my very prelim idea would be fly from the west coast to Yogya on Singapore Air (via Singapore or KL) spend 2-3 days among the ancient shrines and temples (staying at Amanwana) and 3-7 days touring rural areas of central (maybe even eastern) Java.
Then fly to Bali, stay in Ubud 5 days, 2 -3 days in southeast (didn't tour that area on first trip). Perhaps then go to Lombok for beach stay at Quinci Villas. I'm figuring we'd spend 20-22 days in country and 2 days travel. After 24 days away we get weary.
It feels a bit absurd to plan for summer '09 but I want to nab two business class seats on Singapore Air and if I have my itinerary set, I can call on the magic 331st (or 330th) day and maybe get lucky (which is how we got to fly Sing Air first class to Bali a few years ago. Oh but we went late May, perhaps there was less demand).
If the Java tour company is Remote Destinations I already flagged that from another thread. If its another company, yes I'd like to know about it.
Any opinions about whether June, July or August is most desirable time for this journey.
I hope there's an Insight Guide on Indonesia. Their glossy, alluring photos can help me make the case with DH.
I'm really enjoying your Bali reports guys.

marmot

Yes, Remote Destinations, Leks Santosa, is the one I’d recommend. You don’t really need a guide for Java, Bali or Lombok but to get the most out of parts further east it helps to have an “introducer.”

I also suggest the Bali programs organized by Judy Slattum and Made Surya at Danu Enterprises.

Periplus guides are the best for Indonesia.

FromDC

I would love to return to Java, spend more time in central Java if I could figure out how to get the kind of experience that marmot describes as not being easy to do...just a few days of driving though the beautiful countryside with someone to help us interact with the local culture/villages in some way. Is that the kind of thing that Remote Destinations does?

Kathie

Robbie, when I went to central Java oh so many years ago (1992), we found ourselves a driver/guide locally and he took us to lots of interesting places. We spent over a week in central Java, visiting Borobudor, Prambanan, the Dieng Plateau and the surrounding area.

We made a stop in Solo. I thought the kraton there was very interesting (my journal says there are two kratons in Solo - we visited Mangkunegara). And we stopped at the place that made the batik for the Solo kraton. That was the most fabulous batik I've ever seen - just gorgeous! The Solo stop was on the way to a temple in the countryside, Sukuk. The drive there through tiny villages was fascinating.

At that time, there was an August festival where the whole Ramayana ballet was preformed on successive nights during the week of the full moon - I wished we could have been there for that! Year round, you can see a two-hour version, which was lovely.

I'm hoping to return to central Java in the next couple of years.