Halo my friends! Greetings from Indonesia! Trust last week was a great week for you!
Warm welcome to my country transition week; left Western Australia on Tuesday, landing at Bali's International airport around 10:30 pm Tuesday evening (same time zone) after a 3.5 hour flight.
I had a little adventure to kick off my time in Indonesia. When I arrived at my hotel late Tuesday evening, I discovered I had messed up my reservation. I booked March 25 to March 29 instead of February 25 to March 1. Thank god it's low season! Rendra, the duty manager, helped me get everything sorted out with a room for the next four nights. And there was the little misadventure on the plane when I was taking my backpack out of the overhead locker. My wallet feel out of the side pocket I forgot to zip up with my cash spilling about the aisle. Like a fellow passenger said, be happy it happened on the plane, likely would have been a different story if it happened on a street in Bali.
Changing countries this time has meant changing my expectations, which I'm working through now. One adjustment is the new level of customer service offered by the Balinese people. They do everything possible to ensure your happiness. The additional plus is my hotel costs are almost 50% less along with getting breakfast as part of the stay. Using cash is much more common in Indonesia. Plenty of ATMs in the places I've visited so far. Most ATMs dispense cash without charging a fee.
What has disappeared is the convenience of the visitor centres. Everyone you meet has a deal for me accompanied with advice to watch out for scams (which they just might be doing themselves). Sorted through options is a little more complex. Another difference is traffic. There's lots of it. Very busy and very 'chaotic' if you are new to traveling in SE Asia. Trucks, cars, and scooters (so many scooters!) all vying for space on the road. Scooters traveling up the road opposite the traffic flow or perhaps coming up from behind you on the sidewalk. One last difference to highlight for now is that the neat and orderly streets and stores in NZ and Australia has given way to a myriad of small shops, holes in the wall shops, mini-marts, sidewalk kiosks and so much more. I plan to capture these differences in the weeks ahead.
May the universe bring endless blessings to you and your loved ones in the week ahead. 🙏
Now that my senses are fully activated, it's time to catch up on last week's travels.
Travel Administration
Traveling by air in a foreign country does raise questions about service and safety. Certainly on my mind as I look to book air travel within Indonesia. Skytrax is one source I use to learn more about the local airlines.
Travel Maps
Tracking this past week's travel within Western Australia starting in Geraldton, a four hour flight from Perth to Denpasar (Bali, Indonesia), ending up on Gili Trawangan (Gili T) Island off Lombok's northwest coast.
Western Australia: January 27 - February 25, 2025
Inter Country Travel: Perth to Bali Flight
Indonesia: February 25 - March 1, 2025
Geraldton
Art Gallery
The Visitor Center and Art Gallery where housed in the old Town Hall building that was built in 1905. Erin, who was working in the Art Gallery, shared how the community saved the building from being torn down in favour of a car park. She said it was probably the first and only time that the community could agree on something. Sound familiar - on getting people to agree, that is?
The art gallery was featuring award winning local photographers along with an artist's interpretation of the
Batavia tragedy (shipwreck, mutiny, truly a sad story). The photographs were stunning.
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| Batavia story retold |
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| Town Hall - side view |
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| Town Hall - looking to building's front |
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| Find a wall - paint a mural (Town Hall) |
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| Old Town Hall - street view |
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| Statue background |
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Statue symbolizing the community
coming together to save Town Hall |
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| Town Hall history |
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HMAS Sydney is known as Australia's greatest naval tragedy that happened during WWII off Western Australia's coast near Carnarvon. The HMAS Sydney encountered a German warship that was cloaked as a Dutch merchant ship. All 645 crew were lost in the battle with the German warship. Many communities along the west coast memorialize this tragedy. This is the largest memorial I visited in my travels.
The memorial is situated on one of the city's higher points overlooking the harbour. An impressive and thoughtful approach to honouring the sailors who lost their lives protecting Australia.
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| Path leading to memorial. A somber walk! |
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| Dome has 645 doves |
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| Crew members lost |
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| More info |
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| More info |
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| Marking the battle's location |
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I thought this structure captured
the essence |
While I avoid visiting museums as a general rule, I made an exception this time in my favour. Geraldton is a city of 35,000 with the most amazing museum as I tried to capture in the photos below. The museum has displays that span every possible topic that is related to the community. The displays and supporting literature are professional and well organized. It was an unexpected gift in my day.
I visited Point Moore Lighthouse in my ongoing quest to expand my lighthouse photo collection. In retrospect, I think I could have skipped this lighthouse on my itinerary. The beach across the road from the lighthouse was more interesting, except for the decaying seaweed smell.
Curiosity brought me to this coffee and sandwich shop on Geraldton's foreshore. What is a jaffle, you ask? It's a toasted sandwich like a grilled cheese sandwich or any other ingredients you'd want to put in a grilled sandwich. Jaffle is Aussie lingo; similar to a 'toastie' in New Zealand.
It's amazing (and eye opening) how shipping containers are used throughout the world for shops and stores.
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| Great place to enjoy a refreshment |
I made a return visit to Horizon on Geraldton's foreshore, the blessing was I was the only person at the time. As you may notice from the photos, the ball inverts images. I now fondly think of this piece of art as the largest crystal ball I've ever seen. The link I've provided as background on the piece of art and the drama of having to replace it recently.
Sunset - Goodbye Geraldton
I was blessed with a magnificent sunset on my last night in Geraldton.
Geraldton to Perth
My next destination was revisiting Jurien Bay for a night instead of spending the night in Perth. I had loads of flexibility to do sightseeing given my drive was only 2.5 hours. Here are a few stops I made on my way to Jurien Bay.
Here is what can happen to trees when exposed to sustained winds. I had initially made this stop as I was traveling north. I left without taking photos as I thought the tree had collapsed. Obviously I was wrong. This stop with a car park had been created for safety reasons as people were stopping on the side of the busy highway (unsafely) to take photos.
My Geraldton Visitor Center friends insisted that I stop at Ellendale Pool. Apparently, the pool itself is bottomless; wondering how one would verify that claim. Nice stop with the cliff in the background and water in foreground. What was striking about this stop was the cacophony made by all the birds. What a racket!
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Western Australia is the place to visit during
wildflower season! |
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These are noisy birds. Hope the
campers have earplugs! |
This is the largest windfarm, with 53 turbines, that I've ever seen. The turbines stretch across the horizon. This farm is in the same general area as the leaning tree so you know there has to be a steady wind to drive these turbines.
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| Windfarm facts and figures |
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| Turbine blade up close |
I was on a mission to find these 15 silhouettes honouring the ANZAC soldiers who fought in WWI. They are profiled in the travel literature I had read. I was unable to find them on my first pass through Port Denison on my way north towards Exmouth. I thought this was an intriguing memorial I'd like to experience. The silhouettes are missing from Google Maps in spite of the local visitor centre being advised to put this location on the map. I also discovered I was unauthorized to create this location on Google Maps. The memorial is also missing an information board so one can understand what these silhouettes are all about.
Jurien Bay
My last night in Western Australia was marked by this beautiful sunset over Jurien Bay.
What visit would be complete without seeing a koala? Fortunately, this national park was on my way to Perth on Tuesday morning. The boardwalk meanders through the koala compound. I was blessed one koala, a nocturnal animal, was low enough in the trees to get a reasonable photo. The koala keeper working that morning was a godsend in pointing out where to see the koalas.
Flight from Perth to Denpasar, Bali
I was blessed to return my undamaged car to Avis on Tuesday am. I took the bus to downtown Perth where I had time to say thanks/goodbye to my Visitor Centre friends, Charlotte at Anuka Chocolates (Lorissa was unavailable) and the Citadines Perth hotel team. I also bought Anuka chocolates to leave with the Visitor Centre and Citadines hotel staff.
I had a memorable parting experience at the Perth International Airport. I bought time in a generic business lounge as I had about 2.5 hours before my flight. In speaking with the woman (forgot to ask her name) serving drinks, I learned she was having her best day ever. She had left Bhutan to study in Australia a few years ago. She was expecting her five year old daughter, who she hadn't seen in person for 2.5 years, to arrive on a flight from Bhutan that evening. She was smiling from her heart. I thanked her for sharing this amazing story. The convo started because I mentioned I was having my best day ever. What I said provoked her to share her story. The world is filled with magic, my friends!
Bali
As I mentioned earlier, this is low season in Bali. There is the possibility of daily rain showers and high humidity being a given this time of year. The island gets busier in April with school break in Australia and New Zealand, then into the dry season.
I decided to park myself on Sanur beach for four nights on Bali Island. My location criteria was being in a quieter location away from the hustle and bustle of the busy beaches I had read about. I also wanted to have a balance with location given the daily traffic congestion. Happy to report that the hotel and beach location met my expectations. You may make a different choice depending on the activities you want easy access to.
Sanur beach stretches for multiple kms/miles. There is a sealed path that follows the beach meant for both people walking or riding bicycles. Each section of the beach has its own vibe depending on the type of beachfront accommodations (hotels/condos) located in the area. Lots of different places to swim in the sea. The beaches are clean with a minimal number of friendly hawkers given its low season. I had a nice chat with one woman who was selling hand fans amongst other things in her basket. All was very chill. Most hotels also have pools if that is what you prefer.
It's warm weather (highs in low 30's/90ish F) with high humidity (feels so much warmer) at this time of year. The highs and lows are within a few degrees of each other as we are now nearer the equator. Staying by the water to enjoy the breeze is a godsend. You feel the heat as soon as you walk into the city.
As I mentioned above, for a westerner, the traffic appears chaotic and is definitely congested. Very few horns are heard in all this traffic. Everybody simply changes course if someone makes an unexpected move. It all works without tempers flaring or hand gestures.
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You share the beach with fishing boats
in many locations |
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| Mount Agung |
Korté Chocolate
I was blessed to find an Indonesian chocolate shop about a 30 minute walk from my hotel. So many varieties of ingredients with dark chocolate or you can enjoy plain dark chocolate (up to 100%). It's bean to bar chocolate - chocolatier chocolate. The young woman serving me, Avu, wanted me to sample every type of chocolate. She was also very sweet. She encouraged to sit for a few minutes in the shop to rest before returning to my hotel. It was 30C+ with total humidity.
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| I bought six of the dark chocolate selection |
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Store is on the 2nd floor; entrance is
a staircase on the side of the building |
Masakan Padang
My first taste of Indonesian food, with a Sumatra flavour, was at this restaurant recommended by Knishna, who works at the hotel's front desk. He was worried about the restaurant I originally chose would leave me with Bali belly (like Montezuma's revenge in Mexico). Heeding his advice, I walked five minutes from the hotel for my dinner. I had walked by this place a couple times in the last few days without ever giving it serious consideration. Guess I was more preoccupied with avoiding the local women at the open bar next door wanting to make my acquaintance.
In a buffet like approach, you go behind the counter where the food is to select what you want to eat. All menu choices have been previously prepared. The only 'hot' items is in the one hot table. I was happy the guy serving me helped me avoid any real spicy foods.
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My meal - deep fried chicken breast,
egg plant, rice, sauces and other unknown
choices. |
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| Hot table |
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| Restaurant I dined at |
Traditional Village Tour
I decided to invest in a full day Traditional Village tour to explore parts of the island beyond the beach. I'm the guy who avoids booking tours as many of them (this one included) include stops intended to separate you from your money. The key highlight I was looking for was visiting the rice terraces. What I got was so much more. I belatedly discovered I had booked a private tour which included car, driver, water, all entrance fees, and lunch. Agung, my 25 year old driver, was full of local information which brought the places to life in a personal way. His father had been a guide for the same company I had hired. All told, I'm glad I invested in the tour as I had unexpected learnings at many of the different places we visited. I also had a chance to see a little bit of the Bali countryside outside Denpasar where all the beaches are located.
Batik Factory
I learned a little bit of about how batik clothing is made. The shop had aisles of beautiful clothing.
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| Wax is applied to design prior to dying |
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| The loom in action |
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| Designer |
Nadia's Silver
Next stop was a silver shop to learn the fine art of silversmithing. The people in the photos below where positioned next to each other in the order that the silversmithing process was followed. Apologies for forgetting the specifics at each work station.
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Remember this one
It's buffing the final product |
Bali seems to be a predominately Hindu island in a mainly Muslim country. There are temples everywhere. The link I've shared has much more info about this temple. First step in visiting is dressing appropriately. On goes the sarong and appropriate headwear. This temple was an unexpected gift as I enjoyed walking about the temple grounds with Agung describing the significance of the different temple areas.
BTW - getting your photo in a temple gate is a big Instagram thing. There is a specific temple tourists go to for this 'iconic' photo. Like I say, there are a lot of temples to get the same photo - like this temple!
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I remember every temple has this sculpture
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And I quote: 'The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is a nature reserve and temple complex in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. It is also known as the Ubud Monkey Forest. The Sanctuary is home to over 1260 long-tailed macaques, who are considered sacred by the local Balinese people'
Monkeys everywhere. It was actually kind a relief from day's heat as most of the walkways were shaded.
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| Life size Komodo Dragon statue |
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When Rendra, from the hotel saw this
photo, he tried to explain something
about a special ceremony that was
coming up. |
Here's the destination I was looking forward to visiting. I was hoping the terraces might be flooded to give me the full effect I was wanting. Nevertheless, the terraces are impressive.
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So, you can zipline, go on a swing
or ride a bike suspended between two
cables as part of your visit.
Note - there are age restrictions! |
'Mount Batur is an active and beautiful volcano, 1,717 meters (5,633 feet) high, that sits next to the biggest lake in Bali.'
My tour included lunch with a view of Mount Batur. This view made for a wonderful lunch backdrop. There are easy and more challenging hiking trails to reach the volcano's summit. Perhaps next time.
The following description of this temple is very accurate from the experience I had when visiting: 'Gunung Kawi Sebatu Temple offers a serene retreat with spring-fed pools, lush greenery, and intricate carvings, perfect for spiritual reflection and renewal in the heart of Sebatu village.'
I truly felt like I was transported to a different time and place was we walked about this temple. It was magical, my friends. Another unexpected gift in this tour. Agung mentioned he would be purified every six months. He also mentioned this temple was used for tourists; the locals would visit non-tourist oriented temples for their ceremonies.
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| Purification ceremony is held here |
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| Additional purification site |
Interesting stop at this coffee plantation. The woman giving the tour spoke rapidly and non-stop. She was going so quickly we passed by her colleagues giving the same tour. A big highlight at this plantation was
Kopi Luwak , the world most expensive coffee that involves the civet pooping out partially digested coffee beans. I skipped my chance to have a taste. On a side note - this plantation is located in the most beautiful surroundings - hence the video clip below.
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| Coffee plant |
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Another coffee plant with a ripe bean
Red means ripe |
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| Let me introduce you to a civet, a nocturnal animal |
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I was presented with this flight of coffees and teas
produced by this plantation, to sample |
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Visiting this waterfall ranks as my oddest waterfall experience to date. After paying a fee to enter the waterfall area, you walk a gauntlet of small shops and stores selling everything under the sun. At the end of the gauntlet you reach this viewing area overlooking the most underwhelming waterfalls. You can choose to walk down to the waterfalls, with a stop at the cafe at the same level of the water below the falls. This is a fully tourist maxed out waterfall experience.
Goodbye Sanur Beach
Getting to Gili T involved a one hour taxi ride from my hotel to Padang Bai harbour. I arrived in Gili T. around 12:30 pm on Saturday afternoon after a 90 minute speedboat ride - on calm seas. Gili T. is the largest of the three Gili Islands off Lombok's upper northwest coast. What's unique about Gili T. is vehicles have always been banned from the island. The main methods of transportation is horse-drawn carriage called a ‘Cidomo,’ (pronounced Chi-Doh-Moh)., bicycles and electric scooters. It's a small island - I walked around the island in 90 minutes at a relatively slow pace.
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| Cidomo |
I'm staying on the island's west side - the quieter side of the island. Lots of action on the east side where the harbour is located which is about 2 km (just over a mile) from my beach hotel.
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| View as I eat breakfast - more next week |
Travel Administration
I do get somewhat nervous about using regional airlines when traveling. Safety is my number one consideration, then it's all about the airlines service performance like how often do they cancel flights, their on time record and number of flight delays. Setting personal expectations for the impending travel experience.
Skytrax has been helpful in knowing what to expect when you reach the airport. The one airline I will need to fly with is Lion Air. Please keep me in your prayers. 🙏
Next Week
I'm spending the upcoming week on Gili T. I've become comfortable spending time on the beach and enjoying the space. I also need time to plan out my remaining time in Indonesia. The travel convenience I had for the last four months to move about in a car has disappeared. I'm catching up to my new reality.
Look forward to catching up with you next week!
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