Category: Indonesia

One Night in Jakarta

The world’s biggest city, Jakarta, Indonesia is home to over 41 million people. When we had a layover there on both ends of our Vietnam trip from Lombok, we really wanted to explore. While we didn’t have much time, we did get to see a little and incite our desire to see more. Here’s how we spent our one night in Jakarta.

About Jakarta

We obviously would have liked a longer layover than one night in Jakarta, because there’s a lot to do.

Jakarta is Indonesia’s capital, and is located in the northwest of the island of Java, west of Bali. It was founded as a city in the 1600s and was occupied in turns by the Portuguese, Sudanese, the Dutch, British, and Japanese before Indonesian independence in 1945.

Jakarta is smaller than New York City, covering 664 square kilometers. But with so many people, it’s overwhelming, and it takes a long time to get anywhere. Trips from the airport to downtown, a distance of 20 kilometers, average 90 minutes, but can often take more than 2 hours due to traffic. They are working on mass transit, and there is a train from the airport that is an option.

Continue reading “One Night in Jakarta”

Impressions of Bali

Since we arrived in Indonesia in November, we’ve fallen in love with this country. From the friendly islands of eastern Indonesia we moved on to the center. In between visa runs, we visited Bali a few times, staying on land and on our boat. Although our short stays are not enough to provide a definitive guide to the island, we developed impressions of Bali.

About Bali

Bali is one of the world’s most renowned vacation spots and has been called “Heaven on Earth.” We respectfully disagree. We found this paradise spoiled by overcrowding, traffic, and pollution. When we were there, it wasn’t even busy with tourists, as tourism has been down lately.

Much like Moorea versus Tahiti in French Polynesia, we prefer Lombok over Bali. Lombok is quieter and more relaxed. I know we’ve been spoiled, and after years of traveling we prefer uncrowded places. But our impressions of Bali also include some lovely places and experiences.

Continue reading “Impressions of Bali”

Down Time in Lombok

We arrived in Lombok, Indonesia in late November. After three weeks in Indonesia getting to Lombok, we settled there for a bit and got to know the area. During that time, we went to a festival, visited some satellite islands, and enjoyed some down time in Lombok.

About Lombok

Lombok is an island east of Bali and west of Sumbawa. While its closest neighbor is Bali, Lombok is part of the province of West Nusa Tenggara. 4,607 square kilometers in size, Lombok is surrounded by several islets, a few of which we visited. It has a healthy population of over 4 million very friendly people. We spent most of our down time in Lombok in the northwest quadrant, north of the town of Senggigi, and east of the Gili islands. We also sailed to some islands on the southeast, visited waterfalls, and even rented scooters.

beach in Lombok Indonesia
A Lombok Beach
Continue reading “Down Time in Lombok”