Indonesia
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Lombok and its coast
With all big events done, we are now nearing the end of our 3 month tour around Indonesia. We have just spent the last 5 days in the coastal village of Senggigi on Lombok, just chilling between our beautiful beach accommodation and the spa in the hills. The village, although the original tourist hub on Lombok is very low key and beautifully lacking the mad tourist crowd and traffic which blight Bali. A visit to Old Town Ampenan, Mayura Water Palace, Meru Temple and Batu Bolong temple was interesting. Facing directly east here, at sunset Agung volcano on Bali mysteriously appears on the horizon. Time to move on today, heading…
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Komodo National Park and its dragons
A two night stay in the activity town of Labuan Bajo before joining our liveaboard boat for 2 nights 3 days sailing around the Komodo National Park. A great experience and some amazing sights. Apart from seeing the Komodo dragons and Manta rays, the snorkelling there was fabulous, the sea so clear and the colours spectacular, will let the photos talk…..
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Rural Lombok – Senaru, Sembalun, Tetebatu & Mount Rinjani
The village of Senaru on the island of Lombok is a beautiful place, very rural and set in the foothills of Mount Rinjani volcano. We took an amazing one-day hike, a tough walk though rivers to waterfalls, through jungle, peanut and tobacco plantations and through the rice terraces where we had lunch sitting in a farmers hut. Our guide, Nur was from the Sasak community and part of the women’s cooperative which has worked to give women equality, a right to go to school and earn money for themselves. This was so interesting, she took us to her village, talked us through daily life and explained some of their rather…
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Gili Air – laid back vibe, vibrant skies and turtles
The 3 hour fast ferry from Nusa Lembongan to Gili Air was spent sunbathing on deck, watching dolphins and getting a glimpse of Gili Trawangan. Gili Air is beautiful, its sunsets are fabulous with the volcano Mount Agung on Bali silhouetted and reflected in the shallow sea and coral reef. Gili Air is fabulous for snorkelling amongst turtles, you don’t have to go out on a boat, just rent fins and snorkel set and swim off the beach. Amazing experience, saw green turtles and hawksbill turtles amongst a million colourful fish We have loved our stay on the island of Gili Air. There are no cars or regular mopeds on…
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Nusa Lembongan and its vibrant sea
After the 30 minute fast ferry from Bali we arrived at the floating harbour of Jungutbatu on the Island of Lembongan and stepped into a little bit of paradise, we have a few days here for a slower pace of life… not that we were rushing anyway. What a fabulous stay we have had on Nusa Lembongan. We hired a buggy to tour this small island and walked across yellow bridge to the neighbouring island of Ceningan. These islands have some spectacular coastline, apart from the white coral sand beaches and seaweed farms there are the rugged cliffs and the formations of devils tears and blue lagoon which were mesmerising.…
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Bali – beaches, temples and mountains
Our base now on Bali is the coastal town of Sanur. Just the right amount of tourism here for us, plenty of restaurants but without the rowdiness of some of the other resorts on this part of the Island and beautiful beach. Our home is like a palace, traditional balinese house complex and tranquil garden just for us, it’s huge! Up early this morning for a fabulous sunrise. A visit to two of Bali’s most important temples took us through lush agricultural regions through traditional villages and into the mountains, just beautiful. Besakih temple is the most important one in Bali and Lempuyang the highest altitude temple and number 2…
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Bali – Ubud, rice terraces, temples and monkeys
So now we are in Bali, short ferry ride from Ketapang, Java to Gilimanuk Bali. Then a 5 hour taxi to Ubud, the cultural and spiritual centre of Bali. Our home for a few days is tranquil and overlooks rice fields yet just a short walk to an array of bars and restaurants. This is Bali, a place of beauty coupled with mass tourism, will we like it? Only time will tell. We have now seen two sides of Ubud, Bali. The first was a quick stop at the famed Tegallalang rice terraces. (Couldn’t bring myself to take photos here) Once a place of beauty, now more of a theme…
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Malang – volcanoes and colourful villages
Just 2 days in the town of Malang, the main reason for this visit was the famous Bromo volcano trek for sunrise. The trek to the viewpoint was steep but so rewarding. The sunrise with the clouds beneath us was awesome. Followed by a trek across the sea of black volcanic sand to the rim of Bromo, the constantly smoking volcano, absolutely amazing. Even the giant cone of mount Semeru, the highest mountain in Java was spewing out ash into the atmosphere. We have had the most incredible experience today. One other place of interest in Malang is Rainbow Village. Previously known as one of the worst slums in Indonesia…
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Yogyakarta – the cultural heart of Java and a volcano
Back in Java and now in the city of Yogyakarta, the cultural centre of Java. We are here for a few events, the first of which was to go by jeep up Turgo Hill to watch Mount Merapi volcano erupt and see the lava flow at night. Mount Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia. The route was rugged and took us through rivers to a remote location. We sat there in the dark drinking hot coffee until 1am eagerly waiting for the eruptions, we were treated to several! . We visited 2 special temples whilst in Yogyakarta. The first Prambanan, an impressive 9th century Hindu temple and the…
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Indonesia – Sumatra – volcanoes and lakes
From jungle humidity of Bukit Lawang to the cool air of the Sumatran highlands, a 2 day stay in Berastagi. The village is culturally dominated by the Karo people, the main highlights of this village are the active volcanoes of Mount Sinabung and Mount Sibayak ( you can climb this one) the golden Buddhist temple of Lumbini and a fruit market. As we were recovering from our 3 day trek we chose not to climb a volcano but we did chill out around town…… We have just spent a few tranquil days on the beautiful island of Samosir in Lake Toba, Sumatra. This is the heartland of the Batak people.…
