Indonesia Travel Tips and Information on The Way to Kalibaru
Naturally, today was beautiful and those who went at 4:00 a.m. to see the sunrise over Mount Bromo caught a lucky break. It was possible to get up at 5:00 a.m. to watch the sunrise (at a different angle) from the hotel but we didn't bother. Breakfast and on the road by 8:00 a.m., down the mountains to Kaliburu where we would stay one night before another long day's journey to Bali.
The drive took about six hours, two hours longer than Ian had originally thought with the usual pee and lunch stops. There were some new road sights. Birdcages hanging high in he trees, clothes drying along the road...View image, heaps of coconuts on motorbikes and by the side of the road...View image, huge, colorful, and almost gaudy mosques....View image... while Ian shared interesting bits of Indonesia information to keep us awake. Below are a few of his thoughts, along with some of mine....
- Indomaret's are all over Indonesia, a "7-11" type of mini-mart, always with low prices. Shop here for water, cosmetics, munchies, even c.d.'s.
- "Wanita" means lady, important on toilets.
- Twenty percent of Bali is rice growing.
- Wanita means "Lady"...important to know where faced with two bathrooms, one saying Wanita...View image.
- Check the C.D.C. or other health sources about whether or not Malaria prophylaxis is necessary. We needed it for Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) but none of the others in the group had been advised to take Malaria pills for Java, Bali or Lombok.
- There are 22 active volcanoes on Java and Bali alone.
- Always try to do the "rough stuff" first before staying in "nicer" hotels otherwise it will be a huge culture shock going from hotels/inns/guesthouses to sleeping on floors.
- You set your clocks ahead an hour when traveling from Java to Bali.
- If you need any kind of prescription medicine, go to the nearest Kimia Farma, a chain of clean and dependable pharmacies. You do not need a Doctor's prescription in Indonesia, the pharmacist and assistants usually speak English and medication is reasonable in price.
- Internet is cheap in Indonesia...usually around 50 cents for one hour.
- Warungs and Restos are either small, family-owned restaurants or larger restaurants. Food is very inexpensive in Indonesia and it's difficult to spend more than $5.00 U.S. per person for a really filling meal, tax and tip included.
- Borneo is the third largest island in the world and divided between Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.
- If you rent a motorbike to get around Indonesia, be forewarned that the police constantly stop riders to show identification just to fine them. Call it a scam, bribe, shake-down or all the above. Indonesia police are notorious for this practice.
- Check to see if you can leave suitcases behind if returning to a hotel and simplify your life.
- Extremely, and I do mean extremely, easy to arrange ongoing travel once you arrive in Indonesia...and, the tour operators give discounts!
- You can take a long distance bus from Jakarta all the way to Flores for around $30 U.S. The buses drive straight through with drivers relieving each other, passengers sleep on the bus and/or on the ferry crossings that can take five hours.
In Kaliburu, the hotel is quite beautiful with a wonderful shower and a chance to really get clean. Good dinner of gado-gado (cooked mixed vegetables with peanut sauce) and chicken in soy sauce.
Tomorrow is another long day with a drive to the port town of Banyuwangi. We, and the bus, will take the 45-minute ferry over to Bali, and then drive down the coast to Seminyak Beach for one night. Five women will join the Imaginative Traveller group who will be on the remainder of the tour through Bali and then on to Lombok. We're ready for Bali...
