Indonesia

Yogyakarta & Jakarta, Indonesia

Originally, I had planned to travel over land from Bali to Yogyakarta with stops at a couple places to climb volcanos. Since I had troubles climbing Mount Batur, I canceled all pans to climb any mountains or volcanoes in Indonesia. This bummed me out a bit, but travel is always changing and evolving as I go. The humidity hot the best of me and I just wasn’t ready to spend a bunch of money on a climb I was not conditioned for. So, to save some time and money I decided to fly because it was so cheap to do so.

Yogyakarta

Getting to my hostel, The Packer Lodge, was really easy. I took the bus from the airport and then a took short walk before arriving. The hostel was really nice and worth the few extra bucks I could have saved by staying at another place. There is nothing like a clean atmosphere and sleeping experience when staying at a hostel. Hostel living can be a challenge for some people because there is never any consistency. That night I met a pretty cool Turkish girl and got a little insight on some places she had already been to. Nothing like having good conversation with a fellow traveler. Way better than the internet or a book and potentially someone I could meet up with again the next time head to Turkey.

I woke up early to catch a 5 am tour to the Buddhist Borobudur Temple and the Hindu Prambanan Temple compound. Both sights were pretty cool and they honestly were the main reasons for me to come to Indonesia in the first place. I love my temples and old stuff!

Borobudur Temple

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Prambanan Temple Compound

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One full day was enough for me in Yogyakarta, so I booked a flight out in the afternoon to Jakarta. That morning before the flight, I was able to make a quick stop at Plataran Tamansari (aka. The Water Castle).

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Jakarta

I got into Jakarta in the evening and decided to try ordering an UberMotor from the airport to my hostel. The trip that would have cost me about $30+ by car with a whole lot of time stuck in traffic was signifigantly reduced by taking the motorbike option. Cost me less than $5 and was not stuck in any major traffic jams, despite the whole way basically being a traffic jam. When I got to The Packer Lodge, I felt the same clean and comfortable atmosphere like I did at the place in Yogyakarta.

The main things I needed to do in Jakarta was see the National Monument and go to the Hard Rock Café to get my shot glass and guitar pin. I decided to Uber to all my locations, which ended up costing me only about $5 total and allowed me to see a lot of the city from the back of a motorbike.

My first stop was the National Monument. I walked around the area taking some pictures and opted out of going up the tower because of a ton of middle school class groups filling up the cue.

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From here I ordered an Uber and made a stop at the Jakarta Cathedral.

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After the Cathedral I Uber’d to the Hard Rock Café and then back to the hostel where I took it easy the rest of the day. One of the things I am finding about traveling alone is that it has become lonely. When I first started traveling abroad nine years ago, it was before smart phones. People would gather in the lobby area and drink beers and talk about their experiences, cultures, etc. Now, most people just stay in their beds and glue themselves to their devices. Nobody seems to seek out connections with people anymore. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still do meet amazing people and enjoy beers into the night on occasion, but they just don’t happen as often as they used to. It got me thinking that these days, if you want to feel the company of another, you almost have to travel with someone.

My next stop will be in Brunei, with a layover in Kuala Lumpur. Looking forward to adding another country to my visited list!

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Bali, Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia

My trip to Bali was long. From Korea with a layover in Kuala Lumpur and then to Bali, I think it came to be around 10 hours. Total travel time was perhaps 20 hours, when I include stepping out of my apartment and making my way to the hostel I booked. When I did finally arrive, it was pretty late and there was really nothing to do but check in, grab a beer, and go to sleep here in Ubad. Ubad is where I spent the whole time while in Bali.

Day 1

I had taken an International Marketing class for my MBA about a year before this trip. Myself and one other student from UW-Whitewater were paired with a group of students taking a similar course in Cologne, Germany. We were required to work together on a paper about Black Tea. A week or so before this trip I was able to host two of the girls from the German group of that class at my place in Korea. I gave them a place to crash and took them out for a Korean BBQ. Here in Bali, I was able to meet up with my team partner, Sandra, for breakfast. It was great that the timing had worked out and we got to meet each other in person. One of the things I enjoy most about my international travel life is reconnecting with people I have met and shared moments with in this little life journey.

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After breakfast, Sandra was nice enough to give me a lift down to the Monkey Forest in Ubad. Since she has lived in Indonesia the last five months, she has been a wealth of information and suggestions that have been an enormous help for me.

At the Monkey Forest, I had a fun stroll around the park and I got some nice pictures of monkeys and statues that littered the place. After I made my loop I decided to make the 4.5 km walk to the Elephant Caves.

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Getting to the Elephant Caves wasn’t that bad. I like walking instead of taking transport because it gives me the opportunity to hear, smell, and see many of the things that are missed if flying by in a car. There were three other travelers also walking on the other side of the road heading in the same direction. We bonded at the entrance and grabbed an Uber back to the hostel. Fortunately they were staying on the same road as I. That night we grabbed dinner together and had a few drinks. We planned to split a tour around Ubad the next day.

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Day 2

Today we started our tour at 9:30 am and stopped at a painting school and traditional clothing store before getting to a waterfall. I didn’t swim, but the other three did and we enjoyed hanging out for a bit. From there, we then went to a place that made coffee from poop. After the taste testing, we stopped by some rice terraces and headed back to the hostel. I was hoping to hit up the Hard Rock Café today, but traffic was a little insane at this time and I decided to shower up and go to bed early because my tour starts at 2am in the morning to climb Mt Batur.

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Day 3

Today is the day I climb Mount Batur. I did go to bed a little earlier so I could get up for the 2 am pick-up. The climb ended up being more taxing on me than I ever would have expected. I’m usually the person ahead of the pack, but the humidity and perhaps elevation kicked my butt. I did not make it to the summit, but I still had a good time. I had originally planned to take on a number of mountain treks on this trip, but may need to adjust my plans. If I come to Bali again, I intend to prepare myself and take on some treks I won’t be able to do this time. The scenery was beautiful regardless!

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My Epic Journey- Tom's Travel Journal

Traveling the World One Location at a Time

Gina Gorny

Traveling the World One Location at a Time