Indonesia Tour | Sumatra to Bali

the answer to what is the difference between a Komodo Dragon and a monitor lizard is basically about 40 kilos and several hundred dollars and while a day trip to Komodo gets our thumbs down, a combined Flores and Komodo tour deserves a resounding yes!

Going off-the-beaten-track half way round the World with people you don’t know, food you’ve never tried before and what appear to be extreme weather conditions. What can possibly go wrong?

A few tips on how to get the best out of your small group tour to Southeast Asia

Solo City The official name for this central Javanese town is Surakarta, although you will commonly hear both residents and visitors using its colloquial name, Solo or Solo City. Apparently, while the original settlement was named Sala – after the Sala River, which borders the city to the east – the Dutch colonists, for reasons we can’t fathom, had problems…

Bukit Lawang The small town of Bukit Lawang is the main jumping-off point for nearby Gunung Leuser National Park. Located in north, central Sumatra, the park, along with  Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parks – forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage designated Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.,  The former alone covers an area of 8,000 square kilometres…

Lake Toba Situated in the north-central region of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Lake Toba was formed as the result of a super-eruption some 70-75,000 years ago which, (according to Wiki), is considered to have been the greatest volcanic eruption to have occurred in the last 25 million years! At some 30 kilometres at its widest point and 100 kilometres…

Prambanan Temple The spectacular, World Heritage-listed Prambanan Temple is situated in central Java’s Yogyakarta District, a short distance northeast of the eponymous provincial capital. The sanctuary originally dates to the mid-9th century, slightly later than the nearby Buddhist temple Borobudur and the adjacent Candi Sewu. It was dedicated to the god Shiva and, as far as Southeast Asian Hindu temples…

Sunrise at Mount Bromo We may well be faced with a few open jaws when our guide announces the meeting time for the sunrise at Mount Bromo trip but – we can certainly say we’ve never had any moans afterwards! You may have got up pre-dawn for sunrise at Angkor Wat or Bagan or shivered on a mountain top near…

Indonesia World Heritage Sites The vast Indonesian Archipelago is a continent-sized nation in its own right so we’re going to limit this post to areas at present covered in our scheduled tours, namely the islands of Sumatra. Java and Bali. Despite the country’s huge area, UNESCO’s Indonesia World Heritage sites list currently stands at a meagre 5 cultural and 4…

Mount Bromo Now a sunrise visit to Mount Bromo in East Java inevitably entails an early start. Very early. The reward for this short night’s sleep though is a truly unforgettable and we reckon unique experience and some truly awe-inspiring vistas (plus there’s plenty of available siesta time later in the day for the sleep-deprived). We’ve heard a few grumbles…

Indonesian food Prior to a recent Java trip, we confess to not having travelled in Indonesia for a long time and last time we did, it was to some further-flung parts of Sumatra, where frankly, the Indonesian food on offer was rather limited. Well, no offence to the friendly residents of the neighbouring island – and apologies to chefs on…

Malang’s Rainbow Village Just a few years ago Malang’s Rainbow Village, or Jodipan district, was an embarrassing eyesore for city authorities and an unsanitary, squalid slum for residents. This old favella-style quarter of crumbling houses built almost one on top of another along the banks of the Brantas River in the heart of the city was considered a lost cause…