There’s more to Indonesia than Bali, and there is more to Bali than Bali
There’s more to Indonesia than Bali, and there is more to Bali than Bali.
Indonesia is composed of over 17,000 islands all completely different, right down to the religions, terrain, customs, traditions and excursions! I spent 10-days in Indonesia in December and had the chance to visit three of the 17,000 islands, and absolutely loved it. I started the trip in Java, moved onto Bali and ended in Sumba.
Indonesia has been in the news lately because of volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. It is on the ring of fire, so for its entirety it has dealt with the wrath of mother nature. During my trip, this was brought up quite often, but only in a positive manner. My two guides, Imam and Sumatra, have nothing but gratitude to be living on volcanic land. Living on islands with volcanoes makes the ground fertile allowing them to grow food quickly. They can plant anything they want and know for a fact it will grow. The volcanic soil is valued.
Destination Asia did an excellent job of planning the entire trip for me. From start to finish, everything was perfect. The pace, the excursions, and the people all made it one of the best trips of my life.
I started my sojourn in Yogyakarta staying in the city center at the Phoenix Hotel. After a good first night of sleep, my friend Rohini and I went to the hotel breakfast buffet and then hit the road! We visited a local Budisan Village via ox cart, where we got to spend time with the local community and learn how to make traditional foods like tempeh. We also learned the process of making emping (crackers) starting from picking the nut from the tree to cooking it and eating it.
One of my highlights from visiting the village was meeting Angklung makers. An Angklung is an instrument made out of bamboo. We were excited to pick up angklungs for ourselves and join the group dancing and singing.
Our next destination was a beautiful coffee plantation, now a resort, called MesaStila. It is about two hours north of Yogyakarta, making Borobudur the halfway point. It was a stunning property, with villas throughout, and gave us an opportunity to experience a unique, and less touristy part of Java.
From MesaStila, we woke up at 3:00 AM to visit Borobudur at sunrise. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, built in the 9th century, consisting of nine stacked platforms, six square, and three circular, topped by a central dome. It is decorated with 504 different Buddha statues.
It was AMAZING! Our guide, Imam, delicately explained the history of Borobudur, which added to the beauty of the temple. This is a must see for anyone visiting Indonesia!
The next visit was to Ubud. Ubud is the cultural hub of Bali, not to mention it offers lush and pristine views of the nature surrounding it. We had so much fun in Ubud, we visited a monkey forest and learned about the local temples. This is where clients can climb to the top of Mt Batur, go hiking, chase waterfalls, visit the famous rice patties or go white water rafting.
I had the pleasure of staying at the new Capella Ubud hotel. The views from our glamorous tent were breathtaking and gave us the desire to wake up for sunrise every morning.
From Ubud, we took a trip east to Sidemen. As more tourists visit Ubud each year, Sidemen offers a unique part of Bali. It has the beautiful terraced rice fields, vast untouched terrain and now has hotel options to attract visitors. We stayed at the brand new Wapa di Ume Sidemen.
Our last visit in Bali was to Uluwatu. We visited the Uluwatu Temple for sunset and enjoyed a local Kecak Dance. Uluwatu has great views overlooking the Indian Ocean. Recently, the Six Senses Uluwatu has opened. It has about 100 villas, spread out across a resort overlooking the water.
Lastly, we ended the trip at the magical Nihi Sumba. Nihi Sumba was given the best hotel of the year award in 2016 and 2017 by Travel & Leisure for good reason. In order to get to Nihi, you take an hour flight from Bali, and then are picked up in either an air-conditioned van with coconuts or a jungle jeep and ride for an hour and a half before arriving at what feels like heaven on earth. Nihi is filled with 28 villas and offers a five-star resort, while also being rustic and authentic.
The activities offered at Nihi are endless. They offer some of the best surfing in Indonesia, horseback riding, paddle boarding, hiking, and the famous Spa Safari. The Spa Safari includes an hour and a half hike where you’re brought to a private area inclusive of a plunge pool and lunch overlooking the beach, where you can see sea turtles swimming below you! It was incredible! They then offer you three different spa treatments and then you just enjoy! It truly was sensational.
Nihi Sumba works closely with The Sumba Foundation which provides an array of different things for the people of Sumba. They started over thirty years ago and now has four malaria clinics throughout Sumba to help eradicate malaria and see over 30,000 Sumbanese people a year. They help with expectant mothers to make sure they get the medical care they need. One of the days we were at the resort, we had the opportunity to visit a local school and help pass out food to 320 children.
The best part of the entire trip was our guides. Both Rohini and I were incredibly impressed with Imam’s knowledge and kindness during our stay in Yogyakarta. While in Bali, we had the most wonderful guide Sumantra. Sumantra was FANTASTIC. He was informative, funny, flexible, and so incredibly nice.
One of the highlights was stopping on the side of the road and buying an entire cart of chicken satay and enjoying a meal with Sumantra, our driver, Rohini and myself. By the end of the trip, we were so sad to say goodbye.
Yogyakarta, Sumba and Bali are all highlights when visiting Indonesia. That being said, there are so many other islands and destinations to explore and to think about when planning your clients travel.
PSA: There are no non-stop flights into Indonesia from the United States but there are endless flight options when making travel plans. I had the pleasure of flying into Indonesia via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. There are many carriers that can be used from other Destination Asia destinations so we can easily combine Bali into any itinerary!