Round trip 22 days Java and Bali adventure and culture

Jakarta

Jakarta, The Big Durian, you either love it or you walk away from it. It is the hometown of my mother, then called Batavia. In 1993 I was still in her birth house, a privilege that few Indos can still experience, as Jakarta has grown into a metropolis with about 17 million inhabitants. A lot of low-rise buildings have had to make way for skyscrapers that define the skyline of Jakarta.

Only the old city, Kota Lama, still shows many traces from the Dutch period. Be sure to visit Fatahillah Square with the National Museum and drink a cup of coffee in the nostalgic Café Batavia. Glodok, Jakarta's China town is within walking distance of Kota Lama. The old VOC warehouses and the fish market Pasar Ikan are also worth a visit.

I find it difficult to name a favorite restaurant. What I write today will be obsolete tomorrow. I would say check the internet and selamat makan, enjoy your meal!

Bogor

Bogor (Buitenzorg) is located 50km south of Jakarta and is best known for its Botanical Garden. It often rains, so it’s comfortably cool and assures lush vegetation. In the Botanical gardens you can walk through the park where many plant species grow and you can visit the orchid greenhouse.
Unfortunately maintenance is minimal today, which means that, for example the old little Dutch cemetery, looks somewhat dilapidated.
Next to Bogor is Taman Safari Indonesia, a big safari park where, among other animals, you still can see a real Sumatran tiger.
The Cibeureum waterfalls are located on a short distance from Bogor. From Bogor you can travel to Bandung via the highway of the Puncak pass.
Via the Puncak pass you travel to Bandung through tea plantations and beautiful views of nature.

Bandung

Bandung was often called "Paris of Java". It was not until 2020 that I found out where that name came from: the many fashion shops, Mediterranean restaurants and other luxury boutiques gave Bandung a Parisian look at the beginning of the 20th century. Bandung no longer has that look, except perhaps in the famous Bragaweg, one of the best-preserved shopping streets in the world in Art Deco style.
It is a busy and modern student city, where many old buildings and houses from the colonial period have been preserved. There are architectural highlights such as the Gedung Sate, Villa Isola, the old Concordia, but also the hotels Savoy Homann and Grand Hotel Preanger take you back to the times when the planters came to enjoy their Sunday drink.

North of Bandung are the volcano Tangkuban Perahu, the mountain village of Lembang and the Dago Tea House are worth seeing. In the south you will find the Malabar tea plantation. Kawah Putih, the white crater, is also located in the south and together with Malabar is good for a full day trip. The golden crater Papandayan is more to the east and is special because of the many geysers and the golden rim at the top. The Papandayan is again good to combine in a day trip with the hot springs of Garut.
If you are on time, make sure to visit Saung Angklung Udjo in the afternoon: a dazzling performance of angklung music with dance and wayang golek performance by children from the neighborhood, accompanied and accompanied by descendants of the late Pak Udjo. He once founded a music school for the street children here, which has now grown into a beautiful stage for the children in the neighborhood. At some point you play along, despite your musical illiteracy.

Favourite restaurant

Just like in other big cities, good food is not hard to find. My favorite is Dapoer Pandan Wangi. Order the fried perch Gurame Goreng, not available in the Netherlands, with Terong Raos as a vegetable: aubergines baked in dough. You will never regret it!

Cimahi

South of Bandung is the town of Cimahi. During the Japanese occupation, the current barracks served as Jappenkamp, where my grandfather and father had been interned for several years. In Cimahi is also the honorary cemetery Leuwigajah.

Pangandaran

Pangandaran has developed from a small fishing village into a popular seaside resort. Although the main income still consists of fishing, tourism now also employs a large part of the population.

The Green Canyon is highly recommended from Pangandaran. with a motorized boat you sail up the river to the rapids. The other attraction is the National Park Penanjung. You can make a 'jungle tour' where, in addition to monkeys, deer and other game, the smaller version of the Rafflesia Padma can also be seen.

A beautiful beach is the Pasir Putih, the white beach, which is mainly frequented by local tourists on weekends. If you are sunbathing here in a bikini or bathing suit, don't be surprised if you have a lot of attention. The Indonesian population is quite squeamish and often goes into the water fully clothed.

In Pangandaran we are happy to support the projects of the Meraih Bintang Foundation . You are cordially invited to take a look here.

Favourite restaurant

When you visit the Meraih Bintang foundation you will be invited for dinner at a local Javanese fish restaurant.

If you are looking for a nice restaurant at another time, Restaurant Relax our recommendation. It is located directly opposite the Nyiur Indah II hotel and serves both European and Indonesian dishes. They also have delicious bread!

Borobudur

The Borobudur is a famous temple complex built in the 9th century. It’s situated on a small hill near Yogyakarta and surrounded by other temples and volcanoes. The complex is 47 meters high and consists of nine stacked platforms. The platforms represent the Buddhist cosmos. On the top floors there are 72 small stupas, which are built around one large central stupa, which symbolizes Nirvana.

The Borobudur is best visited during sunrise. The Sarasvati Borobudur hotel is a 1.1 kilometer walk. There are several hotels and resorts within 10 minutes, of which both small scale Rumah Dharma I and II are our favorites. For the traveler with a well-filled wallet, the Plataran Borobudur resort & spa is the ultimate choice (not to be confused with the big brother Plataran Heritage hotel, which is mainly geared towards wealthy local tourists).

Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta is the cultural center of Java, the soul of the island. It is also one of the nicest and most interesting cities in Indonesia. Partly because of the walled royal palace, Kraton, which is already a town in itself. You will find countless historical works of art and paintings. The gamelan is rehearsed daily in the morning hours, some days with dance and / or singing. The current sultan still lives on the palace complex.
The Water Palace, which can only be visited in the morning, is within walking distance.

For shopping you can visit the Marlioboro street with numerous stalls during the day and tasty food stalls in the evenings. Also visit the bird market Pasar Burung, one of the many batik galleries or go to the silver town of Kota Gede. In the evening you can attend a performance of the Ramayana ballet in the center.

Yogya surroundings

An hour from Yogyakarta is Borobudur, the world-famous Buddhist temple from the 8th and 9th centuries.
Closer is the Hindu temple Prambanan, where the Ramayana ballet is regularly performed.

Towards the coast is the town of Imogiri. Here is the final resting place of the rulers of Mataram, the Susuhunans of Surakarta, the sultans of Yogyakarta and other high Javanese nobles. The name comes from Sanskrit and means "Snow Mountain". You can decide to visit the sultans graves on the spot.

Especially on Sunday go to the beach of Parangtritis. You will be amazed how the locals enjoy the beach and get through the day taking selfies (preferably with you)!

Favourite restaurant

Yogyakarta has a lot of delicious restaurants, from murah (cheap) to mahal sekali (very expensive). The latter category includes Gadjah Wong , but the choice is huge and I believe I've never eaten such a tasty sambal goreng tempe Nice ambiance too!

If you are staying in the Prawirotaman district you should definitely visit Via Via for lunch pr dinner. Very nice atmosphere, not expensive and very tasty and you can find a lot of information about Yogya. They also give cooking classes.

The most authentic is to eat Nasi Gudeg at one of the lesehan (food stalls) at the Jalan Malioboro, a jackfruit stewed in coconut milk.

Kediri

Kediri is a typical, medium-sized East Javanese city, fully focused on daily life. It therefore has few tourist attractions. Places of interest include the Dolo waterfalls, the Surowono temple, the Puh Sarang church and the Bendung Gerak, the 150 meter long dam.
There is also an ikat industry, which is worth a visit and until a few years ago, tourists could also take a look at the huge Gudang Garam kretek factory, where hundreds of ladies manufacture the famous Indonesian clove cigarettes.

Favourite restaurant

I have not been able to discover culinary delights, but according to my guide, the pecel, a gado-gado-like dish with a delicious peanut sauce, must be extremely tasty. Street food is not eaten at the table in Kediri, but on bamboo mats on the sidewalk and in porches.

Bromo - Tosari

Bromo

The most famous volcano in Java, the Bromo, is located in the Tengger massif. Together with the craters of the Batok and Widodaren, the Brom crater is located in a sand sea of 80 square kilometers, which is surrounded by the caldera rim.
Before sunrise, numerous jeeps with tourists drive to the Pananjakan viewpoint to watch the sun rise over the Bromo from there, watch the clouds sink into the sand sea and regularly see the Semeru volcano blowing off steam.

During the high season it is very busy, but about 500 enthusiasts can shoot photos and videos in peace and quiet.

After sunrise, the jeeps drive into the sand sea, to the foot of the Bromo crater and you walk another fifteen minutes through the sand sea (you can also rent a horse) to climb the 300 high steps to the crater rim. Your reward awaits ..

Your reward...

Kalibaru

Kalibaru is most of the time your last stop on Java before you take the ferry to Bali. It’s a little village in the mountains close to the Raung Volcano near the Kawa Ijen plateau. The village is surrounded by plantations and it’s very pleasant to stay there.
You can make a trip with a Dokar (a small horse drawn carriage) or visit one of the plantations.

Sukamade

Sukamade is a fisher and plantation village at the south coast of East Java. It’s in the middle of the Meru Betiri natural park and only accessible by jeep.
The biggest attraction of Sukamade is the turtle centre. Almost every day giant turtles come ashore in the evening to lay their eggs on the beach. Accompanied by local rangers you can see this happen. During the day you can see the baby turtles in the nursery and release the turtles that are strong enough on the beach.

There are two reasonable accommodations at Sukamade, of which we use Wisma Sukamade Baru the most. It is about a three-quarter drive from the turtle center and is cleaner and better cared for than the Sukamade Mess. This is located in the grounds of the turtle center and is just a 10 minute walk from the beach. Both accommodations have cold running water and a simple western toilet.

Pemuteran

Pemuteran is a small fishing village in the northwest of Bali, at the Bali-zee.
It’s situated at the edge of the West-Bali National Park very close to the beautiful seagardens of Menjangan island, one of the most fabulous diving spots in Indonesia.
In the village Pemuteran itself is not much to do. But almost every hotel offer plenty of facilities to fulfil your wishes.
Pemuteran is a perfect place to relax a couple of days after a tiring Java trip.

Favourite restaurant

According to Vera, the tahu and tempeh goreng with saté and gado gado are delicious!

Warung Makan Nengah

What to see

Diving or snorkeling at Nusa Menjangan is the must-do in Pemuteran. Book at your reception a day in advance and you will be taken by boat to the island of Nusa Menjangan. We bet you will meet Nemo and some turtles?
Hiking in the National Park west Bali. Not the breathtaking tropical rainforest of Sumatra or Kalimantan, but you will always encounter some strange birds, monkeys, deer and pigs.
Dolphin spotting at Lovina. You don't have to stay in Lovina for the dolphins. Almost all hotels offer a dolphin excursion. You leave around 5 in the morning by car to Lovina and go there on the boat to the dolphins.
Turtle Hatchery Project. Within walking distance, between the Taman Sari an Adi Assri resort is the turtle center, where the eggs wait in a kind of hatchery for the young sea turtles to hatch. They are protected there for the first few weeks of their lives, until they are large enough to be released on the beach and choose the full sea.

Menjangan

Nusa Menjangan

Nusa Menjangan is een klein eilandje in het noordwesten van Bali. Het behoort tot het nationaal park west Bali en je moet ook niet raar opkijken wanneer je grote edelherten op het strand ziet staan.

Seminyak

Seminyak - Bali

From the seaside resorts Tuban, Kuta, Legian and Seminyak is Seminyak the most northern one.
Beach and hotels are much more spacious overhere and it’s much less crowded. There are many nice hotels and many private bungalows.

Favourite restaurant

In addition to the many trendy restaurants, there are also some good traditional Balinese. Made's Warung is one of the best known. On Thursday there is live acoustic music and on the other days from half past seven traditional Balinese dance.

Denpasar

Denpasar is the busy capital of Bali.
Besides some museums and the market there aren’t many tourist attractions in the capital, though you can do some great shopping for cheap prices.