Initially Indonesia wasn’t on my summer travel plan. But while looking for the cheapest way to explore Australia and surroundings, I found out I could use Indonesia as a sort of base. My ticket from the US was round trip Dallas to Jakarta. Then I got several one way tickets to the other countries I visited.

MONA Monument, Jakarta

Jakarta: The first stop on my 10 week summer travel. I arrived past midnight. It was 1am when I arrived at the hostel, after the check in process, I went to bed. I woke 7 hours later for breakfast. I decided I needed a nap so I took one. I didn’t wake up until 7pm! I had dinner and went back to bed. I pretty much slept the tiredness that comes with 21 hours of traveling and changing time zones.

Inside the oldest ice-cream shop in Jakarta

Day 2: I got picked up at 8am by a guide from Jakarta Holiday. There was another person on the tour as well. We explored several places in Jakarta including the biggest mosque in Southeast Asia, the oldest building in Jakarta, oldest café and the MONA monument. We stopped for lunch where we had street food and ice cream from the oldest ice-cream parlor in Jakarta.

In the evening, I met up with a friend from East Timor at Grand Indonesia – a mega mall in Jakarta for dinner.

The Square where you find the oldest building & oldest Cafe in Jakarta

Day 3: I flew out to Sydney, Australia with AirAsia. Sydney is only a 6 hours flight from Bali but because I was in Jakarta so I had to fly to Bali first then connect to Sydney. The one way ticket was cheap. AirAsia is a low cost airline like Spirit Airline or Ryan Air.

                   Bali

I returned to Indonesia 6 weeks later but to Bali this time around. I flew in from Dili, East Timor – just a two hour flight.

In Bali, I didn’t do all the things you are suppose to do. I didn’t ride an elephant, I didn’t go to the volcano, and I didn’t do ANY yoga. I had two goals for Bali – Sekumpul Waterfalls and Spa. Sekumpul waterfalls is a combination of 7 falls in the forest. And spa because I wanted to pamper myself.

Abandoned Hotel between Ubud & Singaraja

Day 1 and 2, I just explore the main street/city center. Lots of temples to see, lots of things to buy. I probably over-ate my first two days 🙂 lol. I also bought 6 item of clothing (the two dresses in pics on this post are from Bali).

Day 3, I rented a car with driver service. We went to Singaraja – almost two hours from Ubud. The plan was to see two waterfalls (Sekumpul & Gitgit), and maybe a palace. At least, that was what I thought I agreed to pay for along with a English speaking guide. The tour company sent the guide to pick me up, we proceeded to Singaraja, Gitgit Waterfalls was the first stop. Beautiful, lot of steps to climb on your way up. You actually don’t need a guide here, the trails to the waterfalls are marked and easy to navigate.

Gitgit Waterfalls

After this, I assumed we were heading to Sekumpul but the guide/driver acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about. I insisted, then he asked someone. They spoke in the local language which I don’t understand. He came back and told me Sekumpul was 3 hours away. That didn’t sound right. I was SUPER pissed. I let it go, I would never recommend them.

We left to the Lake Temple. Massive load of tourists. There, 6 different people asked to take pictures with me. They asked nicely and I said yes. I always wonder what they do with the pictures anyway. After the lake temple, we started making our way back to Ubud. Long ride back. In Ubud, we stopped at an agrotourism place where I was educated on different types of tea and coffee. They showed us Luwak coffee, special because the animal swallows the seed, poops it out then they clean and process it. I didn’t try it. I don’t drink Coffee.

Lake Temple

I searched for another tour operator to take me to Sekumpul. I found one and made arrangement for the next day. I also called a spa place to book an appointment. The reviews on TripAdvisor was great.

Day four in Ubud, Bali – I made the trip to Sekumpul. After the 1.5 hour drive from Ubud, you arrive at Sekempul. There you have the option of taking a motorcycle taxi or walking the whole trail. You can also select to have a guide. I paid for the guide and motorcycle taxi – the cost for that was 130,000IDR (or USD$10). I’m glad I went with that option. The motorcycle ride was about 15 minutes long then you start walking down. You cross a bridge then walk in the pool from the falls to get to the actual waterfalls. The first part, you get to see 4 waterfalls.

On the walk down to Sekumpul

Then you walk to back and take a turning to where the other falls are located. The walk back was painful. LOTS of steps to climb and uphill walking. I stopped several times to catch my breath. Also I didn’t wear the right shoes, I had on a fashionable sandals that I had to take off because it was apparent I would fall. Yup, I walked in the water barefooted, way better than falling with my slippery sandals.

When we got to where the motorcycle was parked, I tried some local pancakes from the women selling. I am not adventurous with food so this was a big deal for me. The pancakes actually tasted great, green in color and served with coconut and honey – delicious!

I went to the spa later in the evening. I booked a package that included massage and pedicure. To be honest, I wasn’t too impressed with the service. Oh well, I paid equivalent of USD$20 for a 2hour 15 minute service so no big deal.

Day 5, I got to sleep in a bit. My flight was at 2pm so I left Ubud around 11am. On getting to the airport, flight was delayed for 2 hours. It didn’t bother me because I had a long layover in Kuala Lumpur on my way to Sri Lanka.

Sekumpul Waterfalls

5 Things About Indonesia

1. Although Jakarta is not your regular tourist destination, don’t sleep on it. Explore for a day or two before setting out to other destinations in the country.
2. Choose your location in Bali wisely. Do you want the beach or are you more keen on cultural? Those types of questions will help you decide where to stay in Bali. I love cultural stuffs so I choose Ubud – the cultural capital of Bali.
3. You don’t have to book anything in advance. There are tour operator galore when you arrive and you can compare prices. If you are traveling in a group or with someone else, it might be cheaper to rent a car service that comes with a driver.
4. Everyone and their mama has an hostel, homestay, or bed & breakfast. You don’t have to share rooms in an hostel here. Homestay or the small B&B has reasonable priced private rooms with bathroom en-suite, free wifi and free breakfast. I paid USD$15/night for a private room with bathroom en-suite, free wifi & breakfast and it was walking distance to Ubud center. I booked it via Airbnb, check it out here.
5. The energy in Bali is dope. The ambiance is amazing. You can be yourself here. Dress anyhow you want. No judgement passed. That was what I loved most about Ubud. The part I didn’t like is everyone will hustle you to buy something from them, take a tour with them, use their taxi service. Sometimes, it gets too much.

Pancake

Pancake with coconut & honey

How the pancake is made