My mom and I were already in Bali when my sister’s best friend – Natasha flew over with her mom. Prior to going to the airport to pick them up, I’ve already rented a car. It was a very new experience for me: left-hand traffic and on top of that manual transmission. Well, I’ve driven manual transmission cars before, but with my right hand shifting gears. For a day or two, until I got a hang of driving this way, it was overly stressful. Plus a myriad of scooters buzzing around like mosquitos didn’t help.
Anyway… I picked up a car, drove around busy busy Denpasar/Kuta, then drove to the airport to pick up the friends. Our itinerary (on the paper) was starting next day, October 15th, however, when I picked up the girls from the airport, they said they don’t want to go to the hotel and ready for the adventure. Sure thing )) we went to Tanah Lot and saw a beautiful sunset there.
It took over an hour to reach Tanah Lot from Denpasar Airport. Traffic….. But the timing was perfect. We parked and walked to the temple right at the time of the sun setting behind the horizon. There were so many people. We stood with many others on a hillside watching the sun to disappear. Then we drove back to a hotel. I have no special memory recollection about the temple. Perhaps I didn’t do my homework to learn about it.
After a breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and headed toward Pura Taman Ayun. The day was hot and sticky. Although we came by the opening time, it was already hot. The premises looked very nice and manicured. On top of that being one of the first visitors allows people-less pictures. It took us a maximum 30 minutes to walk around and run back to the AC’ed car. While putting together an itinerary, I’ve read the parking cost 5,000. I actually didn’t even see where is designated parking. I passed a bridge and parked on a side of the road. No one approached asking for money. We came back and still, no one came to ask for money.
I don’t know where we went, but by following google maps direction, we didn’t find the place. It was on the itinerary though. Next place!
A short ride away over mountains, we reached the top with amazing views. Just look at the pictures, and see yourself. Since we had time (by missing hot springs) we stopped by a coffee shop or it was called “plantation”. It was right next to the rice terraces. We’ve got exact same awesome views. Coffee was weird though. Some flavored, powder mixed with water was given as coffee and tea.
When it reached Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, it got chilly. Fog and wind were over the lake. I’ve got some pretty shots regardless of the weather. After a quick walk around, we went for a lunch to a restaurant just across the street from the temple. The food was bad…. spicy, expensive, and plain bad…..
For the night, I’ve rented a two bedroom apartment. It was one of the best places we stayed at in Indonesia. The villa was a short walk away from a beach. We walked to the beach the next morning, but it didn’t look inviting for a dip. Dirty
We started the day by going to Air Panas Banjar Hot Springs. The place was so pretty. The best part – we were the first ones. The whole place was all to ourselves for about 15 minutes. By the time tourists began arriving in masses, we were out. On the way back to the car, each of us had a cold tasty coconut water.
Then we drove to Sambangan Secret Gardens. I didn’t realize that there would be a booth with people escorting to the spot. THere were 3 or 4 packages to choose from. Only after we’ve reached a waterfalls area with cliff jumping, a guide told us that in order to see that blue water waterfall, we had to take another tour. I honestly don’t know if it’s possible to go without a guide. I saw a group of tourists walking by themselves. So who knows.
A pretty waterfall. We parked on a paid parking lot and immediately locals surrounded us telling to hire a guide because we cannot find the place ourselves. We refused their services and decided to rely on google maps. Actually, the walk is not marked. Few times we had to ask local residents if we are on the right path. The area is webbed by trails that local people use to reach their houses. The paths are narrow and only a scooter can take them. I was questioning the whole time how materials to build houses were delivered for construction. Nevertheless, we found the waterfall uneventfully. A hike down is very steep yet short. On the way back, we stopped by a restaurant with top floor tables. The food was simple and tasty.
We were supposed to go to Tirta Gangga, however, we decided to skip it due to a heavy rain.
Skipped too due to rain
Green Cliffs and Grotto were beyond amazing. The walk down to the grotto and then a canyon covered by fern were awesome. I couldn’t find the place. I had to stop a few times in a village and show pictures to locals. Finally, we’ve got the directions. Either we were lucky or it is not a very touristy spot, but there were only 2 other cars and a few scooters.
We didn’t stay at the Hotel Putra Mulya. I used it as a map point to show the location of our Airbnb rental. The cabin we rented was definitely interesting in its essence… however, we had issues. First, sheets were dirty (hair on pillows). Second, no towels (because they were still drying). Third, no toilet paper (because they ran out of it). Fourth, loud mice at night. Fifth, the rental owner/manager gave us contacts of a tour agency that scammed us big time. Six, it was impossible to find the house following provided directions.
I want to start off by saying that a tour guide was recommended by the Airbnb person. The guy arrived and asked for 450,000 per person. And while we were looking for a place one guy approached us asking if we would like to hike Mt. Batur for 250,000 rupiahs each. However, prior to our arrival, I asked the Airbnb girl how much is the hike and she replied 300,000. I assumed it was 300,000 for the entire group. Well, we rejected 250,00 only to pay each 350,000 later that day. The main selling point the tour guide had was that we start early and have breakfast midway, and then we do a crater hike, unlike other guides who only take to the top. Next day another guide came over, a very young boy, we followed him in our car. We started hiking around 6 AM, unlike promised 4 AM. As soon as we reached a tree line, the sun started to come out. At that point the guide said, this is it (it wasn’t even a half-way up). He said we don’t have time to reach the top, so let’s just stay here. Our moms agreed to him, but both my friend and I were angry at this whole situation and continued by ourselves. I don’t know at what point the sun came fully out, but at the very top, we ran into a heavy fog. On the way back we got lost (due to fog and lost pointers). Luckily I was tracking our hike with Runkeeper app, so we just traced back our hike up. Finally, when we found our mothers, we were given the promised breakfast: 1 banana and 2 pieces of super cheap and white bread. So, in the end, we paid over $100 for really nothing. We drove to the place ourselves, didn’t have a useful guide, didn’t see a sunrise, didn’t have breakfast. The entire morning was ruined. Each felt disappointed mainly for paying more than we what it was worth.
After a disappointing hike, we went to Toya Devasya hot springs. Well, I wouldn’t call it hot springs. It was just a nice resort with many pools. Again, we were one of the first people there. We took a package that included a breakfast, which we enjoyed a lot. There was a good food selection, buffet style. Coffee, tea, juices, etc. were available. We stayed there for a couple of hours, taking nice pictures.
I liked that village. It was a nice walk. Although it was raining, it didn’t spoil our walk.
I was looking for a real coffee plantation experience. However, the two places we stopped by were hardly worth the time. We got same powdered, strange tasting drinks with expensive Luwak coffee for sale. I really wonder how many of those animals they have, and where they are all in order to produce such a high quantity of Luwak coffee.
This temple we skipped due to heavy rain.
This one we skipped too. Everyone was very tired from an early start in the morning.
Our Ubud villa was rented through Airbnb… it was definitely beautiful. The villa was beautifully decorated, however, it didn’t have a proper kitchen. The kitchen was an open-air adobe style room with lots of insects all over plates, cups, utensils. We brought a bottle of rum with us, locally bought juice, and voila… nice evening cocktails, perfect for the tropical paradise.
I couldn’t find pictures I took in the cafe. Only that one. We enjoyed morning coffee and croissants so much! It was an awesome beginning of the day! Hot too (temperature-wise).
Beautiful park… with somewhat aggressive monkeys. Few times I saw monkeys jumping on people or tearing their backpacks/purses.
Nothing special about this place. It was very small. We finished the walk within 30 minutes if not less.
Then the plan was to go to this beautiful spa. However, when we arrived, we’ve been told it’s only by reservations, which we didn’t think of making. I’ve contacted the villa rental owner and asked her to recommend another spa. She called a few and told us where to go. I wish I remember the name of it. Premises, a building was nothing special, but the service and girls working there were so sweet and attentive.
We drove to the canyon only to find out, it was closed due to high water.
We checked into the hotel where my sister’s wedding was the next day. After that, I texted a car rental place, so that someone picks up the car from us. The rest of the day we spent leisurely by a pool/beach, not doing anything.
The Wedding Day!
Hangover Day
This day we took a day flight to Labuan Bajo. I’ve booked a room at Ciao hostel. It was convenient for 4 of us to take one room with 4 bunk beds. The view from the hostel is unbeatable. My only question to them was why they didn’t say they do a free shuttle service. We took a taxi from the airport to the hostel. Returning from the hostel back to the airport in few days (I’ve booked both nights at Ciao hostel), we asked for a shuttle just for us. They actually proposed it since the one scheduled for our departure was already full. We are walking down to find out the shuttle they designated for us was already full of people. Plus a girl at a restaurant had a really really hard time making calculations. We had two dinners and both times she miscalculated and even using a calculator, she still had troubles making the correct amount and then giving the correct change. It wasn’t the first time we ran into people in Indonesia having elementary math problems.
We booked a Komodo National Park through our hostel. I would advise on looking into tours ahead of time (unless you are traveling by yourself). I didn’t check prior to our arrival the tours and a girl at the hostel called few companies looking for an available boat. But all good. We took a 3-day, 2-night tour.
As I’ve mentioned in the previous post, the view from a hostel’s restaurant/cafe was amazing.
We took the hotel’s shuttle to a port area where we’ve boarded a boat. The first place we went to was a snorkeling spot on Kanawa Island. I saw a lionfish right by a pier at relatively shallow waters. It was so beautiful. The spot was full of colorful fish. The boat provides snorkeling gear, however, few masks didn’t work, and we had to take turns on using the gear. My friend had her own mask, which i was using when she was done snorkeling.
I don’t remember what we had for lunch, but it was something simple. There was hardly enough food for the entire group. 12 tourists were on the boat in total, plus 4 crews. Around 4 or 5 PM we arrived at Rinca Island where we hiked to the top of a mountain right around sunset. Right around the island the boat anchored, we had a dinner and went to sleep.
In order to get on the island, you have to either swim or take a shuttle boat for an additional fee. Few people swam, few stayed on the boat, and few took a shuttle (I was among taking a shuttle).
The boat crew woke up everyone early. After a breakfast, we head to Komodo National Park.
I have a funny story from there (before going to the park description). The entrance fee is 150,000, plus a guide fee, plus something else. I had 500,000 in my pocket to pay for my mom and myself. It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk from a boating area to the park entrance. At a time of making a payment, I realize I don’t have money in my pocket. Of course, my mother started yelling at me and I went back looking for the money. I didn’t know where I could drop them, but I had an idea – where I pulled a phone out of that pocket (I put them together). I didn’t find money and went back to the boat to get more from a luggage. When we arrived back to Labuan Bajo and going through pictures, I saw exact moment when money flew out of my pocket. I asked the friend how come she didn’t see that, she said she didn’t have glasses on. I’m attaching the picture. Can you see a pink spot around pant’s pocket? Yeap…
The day was super muggy. Early morning was unbreathable already. Few people in our group had issues with paying to a park ranger/guide. I wasn’t involved, but few people didn’t want to pay and the tour was delayed due to the arguments.
We saw some dragons. The guide was informative, but later when I was reading about Komodo dragons online, I found conflicting information about what we’ve been told. It took about an hour or so to walk in the park.
After the tour, the boat took us to another island of the park. However, when everyone learned we had to pay again to enter the park, it was a group decision to turn around and go back to the boat. We tried to argue with a ticket attendant regarding high fees and double fees (A national park should have only one entrance fee). The guy at the office was extremely rude and screamed at us ( 5 girls arguing with him).
After the unsuccessful second trip to the park, we headed to Pink Beach, which happened to be very non-pink. Perhaps it is pinkier some days than others. When we arrived everyone one was like “where is pink?” The boat crew (speaking super limited English) told us to snorkel. My mom went first and I was waiting for her mask. In 10 minutes she swam back to the boat saying there is not much to see, not so many fishes. I didn’t even bother jumping into the water.
Manta rays are amazing creatures. At first, when the boat guides told us to jump off, we didn’t see. Then they continued in a straight, and we saw them. Huge! Awesome! Intimidating! It was easy to follow them since they were not in rush going somewhere. Everyone was so happy and excited after snorkel/swimming with manta rays.
On the way to and from Manta Point, we went across some extremely strong currents. I’ve never seen such furious ocean rivers.
That was it for the day. We anchored somewhere, had a dinner, and went to sleep.
We woke up early again, had breakfast, and headed back to Labuan Bajo without any stops. Another wonderful sunset at Ciao Hostel restaurant with beer and snacks.
The day we flew back to Denpasar to go to Gili islands the same day. In the first picture are Gili islands (I believe).
When we landed my mother found out her phone is missing. She put it in the luggage and forgot about it. I spoke to different people at the airport, and filed a report, however, it wasn’t found anywhere. Later I was checking the last activity on the phone and whoever stole it was watching youtube videos in the Indonesian language.
We took Uber to Padang Bai port because couldn’t make to a ferry going from Denpasar (or around it). The ride was relatively long with traffic.
When we arrived, we immediately were surrounded by men selling tickets to Gili Islands. He sold us tickets that we were unable to use afterward. I don’t know why we agreed to buy round trip tickets. When we were already on the island, we found out that a company we bought tickets from doesn’t run on that day. We went to their office to figure out what’s happening and how to exchange tickets. They told us to go back to the same office. Then we had to buy 4 more tickets with another company, loose one day at the hotel because it was nonrefundable due to last minute cancellation. And we were not able to get money back for the unused tickets. A girl at the office where we bought them in Padang Bai just refused to give us money back.
Probably the resort itself is nice, but without AC it was unlivable. We were getting up at 5 am, having coffee, walking to a nearby beach, swim at sunrise then returned to the room where we stayed until sunset. The heat and humidity were unbearable. Each evening, we would go somewhere for a dinner.
I don’t have much to say about Meno as it was rather a dirty island. We didn’t find very good beaches. Once I got stung by medusas.
We returned back to Denpasar and stayed overnight in south Kuta, very close to a seafood market. The area was dirty, the seafood market was very smelly and also dirty. Beaches around there were not nice either.
Flying from Bali. Our friends flew home, while my mother and I took a flight to Makassar.
We stayed at Melia Makassar. One of the best hotels in Indonesia we stayed at. Its rooftop restaurant had amazing food (not Indonesian). Our only complaint was extremely loud church music or whatever it is called when a mess happens in the Muslim religion. It was beyond loud. And few churches were around the hotel.
The city itself has some nice restaurants. My plan was to rent a car and drive to a nearby national park – Bantimurung. However, it took me almost an entire day to find a rental car, thus we spent the day doing nothing.
We walked to Fort Rotterdam where we got ripped off with entrance tickets. Actually later we found out there were no entrance fees and security just lied to us and demanded money in a rude way.
Streets in Makassar are not designed much for walking.
Initially, I planned to take a night bus to/from Tana Toraja. However, later after some thinking, I decided to rent a car instead. First, we don’t have to carry around luggage (girls travel). Second, Airbnb host in Tana Toraja was not precise/clear on scooter rental and taxi organization from a bus station to her house. Since I haven’t received any clear instructions on how to proceed after we arrive in Tana Toraja, I become worried for not being able to get a taxi in the evening and not having a clear address to show to a taxi driver. Google Maps didn’t show the right location as we found out upon arrival. Third, my mom doesn’t ride a scooter and to go around Tana Toraja I would have to get a driver/car. In the end, I thought it is a lot less hassle just to drive myself and it should be cheaper than paying something to drive us. On top of that, I already got adjusted to Indonesian driving style and was comfortable on the road.
The drive from Makassar to Tana Toraja was long. We spent over 8 hours on the road. I have to say it’s one of the places in the world that really stand out.
My mom and I LOVED that coffee shop. The owner and his family (I assume wife) were very sweet people. I wanted to buy ungrounded beans and he asked me to return the next day, so he can prepare fresh batch/packages of coffee. In the coffee shop, they were selling only ground coffee. The area where it is located is a bit hidden. Inside the interior is simple, but clean and welcoming.
A drive to the top of the mountain was something. Road construction didn’t help. Hopefully, right now it is a nice road. I could tell at the very top they were doing a construction as well, preparing the place for tourists. That would be a perfect spot for flying a drone.
Londa Burial Caves. According to Google Maps, it is permanently closed. We didn’t take a guide, we also didn’t go inside a cave to look at coffins. It looked freaky enough from outside. The way locals arrange coffins is very interesting. I found it sad to see garbage even inside sacred place such as these caves.
The place has souvenirs, walking paths, and burials. The carved out stone for graves is the highlight of Tana Toraja uniqueness.
It was a bit hard to find following google maps navigation. A road the maps told me to turn, didn’t exist. I drove around looking for another way to approach maps’ mark. Later on, I saw a small sign pointing where to turn off the main road. The place is very small and takes about 5 minutes to explore.
On the way to our next stop to Suaya, we stopped by the museum, which looked closed and desolated. There were no people and with wood logs laying around it could be either falling apart structures or a construction. A quick walk in and out. However, google maps shows operating hours and even some reviews.
Another cool spot, although smaller than Lemo. I saw stairs going up and decided to check out what’s on top. Steps got lost in a middle. The stair didn’t lead to anything. Perhaps it was built for future dig outs.
That was the last stop for today. We were a bit exhausted from driving (or I was). To me, Kete Kesu looked like the most touristy place. If I saw only a handful of people or none at other spots, Kete Kesu was crowded.
The day we started at the same coffee shop because the owner prepared fresh coffee packs for me. The day before he only had ground coffee bags. I asked for whole beans. Customer oriented business )) I like that!
I really enjoyed a morning ride there. I believe we arrived first. No one was at a ticket booth (or someone was too lazy to do his/her job). Later on a car with European tourists accompanied by a local guide came. However, on the way back to the car someone ran to us demanding money. I have no idea if that was an actual staff or someone trying to cheat up (as it happened at a few other places and seemed a common practice in Indonesia). I found it a huge drawback for the country. Instead of enjoying surroundings and just being tourists ready to spend money (being on a relaxing vacation), we always had to be on guard and not trust locals. That is unfortunate.
The ride to the cafe was stunning. But the cafe itself sucks so much. First, when we were there the only things we could order: instant coffee (no milk), pocketed the cheapest tea, or soda. No food. Second, the cafe had a local person who spoke some kind of English. I tried to relay the message that hours listed for the cafe were wrong and misleading on Google Maps. In return, that person was so rude and hostile. I really didn’t understand his reaction. I’ve ordered a horrible coffee just to order something to take pictures from a veranda. Right in a corner outside they had a caged rooster. Poor thing didn’t even have space to breathe. Yeap…. it wasn’t a quiet at all. Honestly the place not worth visiting at all. I don’t know why people even go there and leave good reviews. The view is nice just from the road, better-looking cafes are located next to that one.
A road going up was small and narrow. At one place where road construction was happening, I had to back up and find a very steep driveway to let heavy machinery pass by. Because I had to go up on a reverse gear, the car refused to do it. It took me a few attempts to park it. The road is very narrow.
While going up on the road, we saw that restaurant. It looked clean and taken care of. So that was our lunch spot. While the food was regular, the view and premises were once of the best.
The next stop was I forgot what. We never reached it. We drove somewhere far into mountains and a road where Google Maps told me to make a turn was impassable for a car: too narrow, too steep. After a few meters up, I’ve realized the car doesn’t have enough power to go up. My mom was so scared. If I messed up, we would end up in a ditch unable to go anywhere anymore. It was steep and scary unprotected roadside designed for scooters only. I slowly, very slowly backed up to the “main” road. Local kids ran toward us. Apparently not so many tourists reach the place.
When we returned to our Airbnb, we drank some beer (got on the way) and went for a walk around the area. It would be a really cool place to ride a bicycle. We hardly met anyone on those paved trail size roads. The second half of the day was stressful. In the evening we drove one of our roommates to a bus stop and then headed for a dinner. Earlier that day we also attempted to visit the Tongkonan Pong Munda Museum, which we never found. Google directions took us to another impassable road where we got stuck in the mud and had to look for help to get out of there. Another super narrow road without a chance for a U-Turn. The moral of the story either hire a local person to drive you around, or look for verbal directions from locals, or look for Google Maps alternatives. Or perhaps stick to a scooter. Riding in Indonesia was not particularly hard. There are many places around the world with hectic traffic, yet nothing is impossible.
On the way back to Makassar, we wanted to stop by a park, first to stretch the legs, and second, to see more local attractions. Again, the road was narrow. When we reached the place, I didn’t understand where to go. We were attached by locals asking for parking money and some other money. We got intimidated and turned around. On the way out I saw a cafe and offered my mom to have a lunch. Parked. Went up the stairs. Sat down. Two people worked there. We spent 10 minutes sitting while no one even tried to approach us. I went to a kitchen/cashier asking for a menu. The menu was all in a local language and a girl was very mean, didn’t’ want to help in any way. We had to leave. When we got to the car, I saw a small trail going somewhere, so I suggested to walk a bit. The place we reached after 5 minutes of walking was like a hidden paradise. Absolutely incredibly beautiful.
We also tried to find Taman Batu on the way back, unsuccessfully again. Google took us in a middle of nowhere. The spot that was marked as THE spot…. just wasn’t there. A road we were supposed to turn didn’t exist. I don’t know how locals find it and who put the geographical location on Google Maps. On our last day in Makassar, we stayed at Harper Perintis. Regardless of price and amenities, it didn’t get even close to Melia Makassar. Their restaurant had small food selection and many items were not even available.
A flight to Manado.
A hotel where we stayed in Tangkoko has arranged an airport pickup. It was a 3-hour ride, but a very nice ride. We crossed hills/mountains, jungles, and coconut farms.
Tangkoko town is so tiny, it doesn’t even have a grocery store. BUT! on a single street it has 7 churches that were very loud each morning. Next day we woke up because of someone banging a metal stick or something heavy over another piece of metal to create bell-like sound. Later when I checked with a hotel’s owner, he said it was a bell replacement. LOL…
The weather was unbreathable: muggy, hot, sticky…
Upon arrival, we immediately walked to a beach, which was stunning. Black, mega hot sand was burning feet. The beach immediately in front of the town had many boats and dogs running (or dogs were not running, but just laying in shade).
I’ve booked a National Reserve tour through the hotel we stayed at. The tour guide was actually the hotel’s owner. We were disappointed with the tour. Originally we agreed on a half day tour – 4-5 hours. In reality, it was 3 hours with one hour or even more just sitting in one spot waiting for some birds to come (never did). There was another couple who hired a guide to accompany them for a few days. They were telling us how many interesting animals they saw in the reserve and how much fun it was. The only animals we saw that we wouldn’t be able to see on our own – tarsiers. Adorable creatures!!!! Awesomely cute!!!
We started the early morning at 6 AM, and at 9 AM were already back to the hotel. The whole day was still ahead of us. My mom and I decided to go for a walk back to the reserve. The place is really nice. Beaches in the reserve were relatively clean (comparing to other beaches I saw in Indonesia). We found a paradise-looking spot and were swimming when it started raining very hard. It was like a dream come true: swimming in a very warm ocean with rain pouring over. Really unforgettable experience.
I’ve booked a place on Bunaken to celebrate my mom’s birthday. Today we had a ride back to Monado to transfer to a boat and go to Bunaken. The driver was on time. We reached the pickup the place even earlier than planned. At the same time, it was low tide and a boat couldn’t approach a pier. After an hour of waiting, people from the boat told us to get into the water and walk to the boat. I could definitely do that, but not with my suitcase. A boy had to carry my suitcase. I felt so bad. I could see that it is heavy for him.
Bunaken is beautiful. We stayed in a resort that included full-board. All meals were included. Resort’s staff knew we are there to celebrate my mom’s birthday. In the evening they put a big surprise for us. They set up a table on a beach with beautiful decorations (actually it looked as for newlyweds, but who cares. It was beautiful). A chef cooked special dishes and in the end, they brought us a cake, which we shared with other guests. Frankly, my jaw popped down when I saw all the special arrangements the staff did for us.
We were snorkeling almost an entire day. Coral reefs right in front of the resort were so colorful. When we attempted to walk around the island, we turned around quickly. Seashore beyond the resort area was disgusting. It was so sad to see such a beautiful white gorgeous beach to be covered in trash. The further away we walked, the harder it was due to all the trash and garbage washed out. I sincerely wish Indonesians cared about their beautiful land.
Today we took a snorkeling tour at an actual National Marine reserve. I saw a few huge turtles. It was so awesome. I was so so happy to swim above them. Unfortunately, none of the pictures I took came out clearly. Apparently, I was too excited and wasn’t paying attention to focusing prior pushing a snap button. Unfortunately… 🙁 All other people on our boat were scuba diving including those who took a scuba diving class. I cannot do scuba diving. Checked. Tried. My body said NO.
A lazy day of doing nothing besides swimming and laying on a beach. In the evening it was time to pack suitcases.