Indonesia Journals

Merry Christmas from Bali

I Love Ubud More Than Just
For Its Name

Moving to the Coast in
Candidasa

Moving Next Door to Lombok

Life on Gili Trawangan

My Dear Old Friend, Ubud

My Sanur Christmas Present

Wrapping Up Bali in Seminyak

Hey Boo-Boo - I'm in
Yogyakarta

The Ex-Pat Life in Jakarta
-----------------------------------
Photo Albums
Bali

Lombok and Gili Trawangan

Java
Links relating to
my trip
Accommodations:

Alam Sari (in Keliki)

Pande Permai (in Ubud)

Kubu Bali (in Candidasa)

Dream Divers (in Gili
Trawangan)

Villa Puri Ayu (in Sanur)

Ministry of Coffee (in
Yogyakarta) - Excellent!


Other Sites:

Aston Legends Villas
(Sanur) - Where I had my
fantastic Day o' Spa
Treatments.

Restaurants we enjoyed in
Ubud: Dragonfly, Tutmak,
Lamak, Kafe Batan Waru;
Bumi Bali (where I did a
cooking class); Three
Monkeys; Cintas.

Restaurants we enjoyed in
Candidasa: Vincent's (our
favorite), the Watergarden,
Toke.

Restaurants in Gili
Trawangan - Scallywag's,
Horizontal, Riyoshi; Tir Na
Nog, Wrap-a-Snapper, Coco
Cafe; Sunset Bar.

Shops in Ubud: Q'Nsu;
Helenea

Ku De Ta (Seminyak) - Great
for sunset drinks and also for
breakfast.

Bali Deli (Seminyak) - What an
incredible selection of
gourmet goodies!

Square - Excellent restaurant
in Senggigi.

Pool Villa Club Lombok -
Incredible villas. I didn't stay
there but I checked them out
and they were absolutely
wonderful.

Alam Asmara - We didn't stay
here, either, but it is a new
small boutique-ish place in
Candidasa that is right next to
the ocean.

Alila Manggis - This was a very
swank resort right near
Candidasa. They offered great
sounding cooking classes -
sadly, we found out about
them too late.

Perama - The company that
pretty much has the monopoly
on transportation in Bali.

Manta Dive - The company
on Gili Trawangan that I used
for diving. They were great!
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My Indonesian Experience...

Highs: The sincere friendliness of the Balinese people (also the Lombok people); the cute monkeys in
the Monkey Forest in Ubud; the sunny days that were experienced; the Gili Islands; going out in
Jakarta.

Lows: Finding out we're here during rainy season; hard to experience all of the great things in this
country because it is pretty darn massive and takes a long time to get from Point A to Point B.

Best Moment:  Getting completely sucked into Gili Trawangan. I originally planned to stay for a few
days and ended up there for a week. And I could have stayed longer...but I didn't because I still wanted
to see more stuff in Bali.

Smells: Different spices; the rain; grilled fish.

Sounds: Pouring rain; Balinese versions of Christmas songs; live music in Senggigi; prayer call in
Lombok and Gili Trawangan; soothing Balinese music.

Sights: Ubud; rice paddies; the village of Keliki; Candidasa beach area; Lake Badur; Senggigi
(Lombok); frogs, geckos, lizards, dragonflies; Gili Trawangan; sharks, turtles, humphead parrotfish, etc
underneath sea level; Sanur; Seminyak; Yogyakarta (Java); Borobudur; Jakarta.

Tastes: Soto Ayam (the traditional chicken soup); pumpkin and rosemary soup; ginger tea; Balinese
cakes (made with rice, cinnamon, etc and looks like a poppadum); 'salak' (aka snakefruit); black rice
pudding; pancakes with coconut and palm sugar syrup; palm sugar; saltwater in the ocean and in the
shower; so many different types of fresh grilled fish in Gili Trawangan; sushi; fresh pineapple that was
as sweet as sugar; nasi campur; Bintang beer; 'java'.

Purchases: Coasters with cinnamon sticks built-in (hard to explain); salad servers made out of horn;
stone mortar and pestle; silver ring and earrings; a zen froggy; sundresses; sarongs; bracelets;
cookbook.

Street Food: Fun tropical fruits; rice in banana leaves.

Fun Food Finds: Seaweed-flavored cheetos (kind of funny seeing a sushi roll as the picture on a
bag of chips).

Western Companies Out Here: McDonald's; Circle K; Body Shop; Polo; Baskin Robbins;
Dunkin' Donuts; Starbucks; KFC; The Coffee Bean; Cold Stone Creamery; Sizzler.



Other General Info...


Visa needed? Yes. Can get this on arrival. It is $25 for up to 30 days.

Departure Taxes? There was domestic departure tax from Denpasar of 30,000 rupiah and from
Yogyakarta of 25,000 rupiah. The international departure tax from Jakarta was 100,000 rupiah.

Type of currency? The Indonesian Rupiah. About 9400 rupiah is equal to $1 US.

Things Indonesia Is Known For: Coffee; Bali; unfortunately, the bombings in Bali in 2002 and
2005; Komodo dragons; Krakatoa.

Religion: Hindu (in Bali) and also parts that are largely Muslim.

Costs:
Indonesia...
December 24, 2007 - January 20, 2008
Stupas at Borobudur in Java.
Amazing water colors in the Gili Islands.
A close-up of the rice paddies.