Traveljunkieindonesia.com – This is Travel Junkie Indonesia image, big name visuals, not for your Mormon consumption. So is this ad some viral thing? Travel Junkie Indonesia, denies any responsibility and that spelling mistake, but seriously this sort of production would cost quite a bit so perhaps it is viral by Travel Junkie Indonesia. The boy with stars in his eyes. Indonesia is a Mysterioin to me.
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Omah Plawa Guest House is located in the heart of Seminyak, a 10-minute drive from Double 6 Beach and Cocoon Beach Club. Stylish rooms overlook the garden and come with an en suite bathroom. Each is fitted with a CD and DVD player. Select rooms feature an outdoor shower. Massage services are available upon request.
Omah Plawa Guest House is a 15-minute drive from Kuta Beach and Ku De Ta. Ngurah Rai International Airport is a 25-minute drive away. Car rental, laundry and ironing services are available. Free Wi-Fi is provided throughout the hotel.
image courtesy of @r_djangkaru
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Travel like an Editor in Chief (Riyanni Djangkaru) for Divemag Indonesia.
The getaway: Alor or anywhere with my son.
Getting there: Googling it, you’ll find the way hahahahha!
In her suitcase: Good coffee, iPad, sunblock, sun glass, in line skate, bikini, and kids coloring books for my son.
Romantic Sunset at Togean Islands (Photograph courtesy of bora_horza)
Romantic Togeans
Assuming you have a romantic partner with whom to experience all that Togean Islands has to offer, Togeans can be one of the most romantic places on the planet. The diversity of opportunities for romance is unparalleled anywhere in the world. Blissful beaches, plentiful coral and a place to live the life of a lotus eater, the Togean Islands fit the bill. This archipelago of beautiful coral and volcanic isles in the middle of Teluk Tomini is a riot of blue, gold and green.
Take a Romantic Walk on the Beach
“Love long walks on the beach” has become the cliche of the personal ad and online dating profile for the simple reason that almost everyone loves long walks on the beach and finds walking on the beach romantic, even if you’re the kind of person who would rather walk on the paved beach path than get your feet sandy. This one should almost be a given for any couple visiting Togeans.
Courtesy CiscaDV
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Travel like a Head of Public Relations (Francisca Prandayani) for Da Vinci Indonesia.
The getaway: Beijing, China.
Getting there: Direct flights from Jakarta to China (Beijing Capital International Airport) ; or transit in Hong Kong (this is because I love to take airport pictures – oh and I am not included in the pictures by the way, dont worry about ‘narcism’, just the interior and the ambience… )
In her suitcase: My travel size skincare, LBD’s (Little Black Dress) – this is essential ! Gets you through for party, casual day, and formal; trench coat (nice for sunny and winter and look good on pictures too!), party shoes to dance the night away, flat shoes for the comfort sightseeing trip (I hate sneakers, I believe they should be only for the gym), pencil skirts that goes with my boots, my jeans and scarfs, several crisp white shirts and my bikini (I love to swim).
Leisure activities: Anything goes, from dining to clubbing, visiting the most popular tourist attraction (what you read in in-flight magazines! *LOL*) ; but for me the most important place to visit is always The National Museum.
Pasola war festival in Sumba Island (Photograph courtesy of Nihiwatu.com)
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – A riotous tournament between two teams of spear-wielding, ikat-clad horsemen, the Pasola has to be one of the most extravagant, and bloodiest, harvest festivals in the world.
Riders risk life and limb as they aim wooden spears at each other during a Pasola war festival in Sumba Island, Indonesia. Pasola is a traditional Sumba ritual sport held in the belief it will ensure a good harvest.
Held annually in February and March, it takes the form of a ritual battle – not so much a quarrel between opposing forces as a need for human blood to be spilt to keep the spirits happy and bring a good harvest.
Cooking courses (Photograph courtesy by Balifoods)
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – How to cook like a local in Bali. If you want to learn some local kitchen tricks, Ubud in Bali has a number of cooking schools ready to take you through the finer points of curry creation and sate sizzling. If you have a favourite dish, they’ll teach you to make that, too.
At creative cuisine pioneer Janet De Neefe at the Casa Luna Cooking School casalunabali.com. The half-day courses (300,000Rp) are held five days a week at the Honeymoon Guesthouse and are highly recommended. They cover ingredients, cooking techniques and the cultural background of the Balinese kitchen. Excellent gourmet tours are also held on the weekend (450,000Rp).
Another option is the Balinese cooking courses held by Bumbu Bali balifoods.com; long-time resident and cookbook author Heinz von Holzen runs a cooking school from his excellent South Bali restaurant. Classes start at US$75 (price without market visit).
Happy Green Travels!
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Manggis or Mangosteens (Photograph courtesy of mttsndrs)
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Indonesia fruits is amazingly delicious. You should try at least once within your lifetime. It’s worth making a trip to Indonesia just to sample the tropical fruits.
Manggis (mangosteen)
Small purple fruit with white fleshy segments and fantastic flavour.
Salak
recognisable by its brown ‘snakeskin’ covering. Peel it off to reveal segments that resemble something between an apple and a walnut.
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – If you have the urge to ascend spectacular peaks, watch the sun rise through the haze of steaming craters and peer into the earth’s bubbling core, you’ve come to the right place. Indonesia is the destination for volcano enthusiasts. This is thanks to the fact that it lies on a significant segment of the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where two large crustal plates (the Indian Ocean and western Pacific) are forced under the massive Eurasian plate, where they melt at approximately 100km beneath the surface. Some of the magma rises and erupts to form the string of volcanic islands across Indonesia. Indonesia’s volcanoes do erupt, sometimes with shocking consequences.
So here, Top 13 Amazing Volcanoes in Indonesia:
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Unfortunately, Indonesia has become a destination for foreigners seeking to sexually exploit local children. A range of socio-economic factors render many children and young people vulnerable to such abuse and some individuals prey upon this vulnerability.
The sexual abuse and exploitation of children has serious, life-long and even life-threatening consequences for the victims. Strong laws exist in Indonesia to prosecute offenders and many countries also have extraterritorial legislation which allows nationals to be prosecuted in their own country for these intolerable crimes.
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Environmental issues often seem to be alien in Indonesia, and Indonesians are wont to say to Europeans: ‘We are a poor country that needs to exploit our natural resources. How can you tell us not to cut down our forests when you have already cut down all your own?’ That said, Indonesia has a growing environmental awareness and environmental laws, even if they are poorly enforced.
You can lecture all you like and even report violations to the local authorities, but the best you can hope for is to avoid adding to environmental degradation.
Hikers should follow the maxim that is posted in every Indonesian national park: ‘take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints’. Minimise disposable waste and take it with you, even if the trails are already littered. Avoid buying goods with excess packaging – go for food wrapped in banana leaf rather than polystyrene. Re-use water bottles – many hotels let you refill bottles with air putih (drinking water).
Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Just across the Selat Dampak from Batam, the island of Bintan is twice as large and a mirror opposite. Where Batam is creation of imported worker, Bintan has a local community of ethnic Hakka and Indo-Malays. On the west coast, Tanjung Pinang is a busy provincial city, while the high-end resorts in the north of the island around Lagoi do beach escapes right. For the working stiffs from Singapore, there are the more rustic beaches on eastern end of the island around Pantai Trikora for affordable weekend escapes.
Although Bintan is under influence of Singapore prices, it is a smidge cheaper, so the last bits in your wallet won’t evaporate as quickly as in the metropolis. So here, Best Places to Visit Bintan Island.
Pantai Trikora
Bintan’s east coast is lined with rustic beaches and simple wooden bungalows. The main beach is Pantai Trikora, which is pretty enough at high tide but turns into miles of mud flats at low tide. The beaches to the north around Malangrupai have more consistent surf and turf. Regardless though, the area is relatively deserted: just you, the ocean and a few napping dogs. A group of small islands off Pantai Trikora are well worth visiting and there is good snorkelling outside the monsoon season (November to March).
Senggarang
A fascinating village sits just across the harbour from Tanjung Pinang. The star attraction is an old Chinese temple, now suspended in the roots of a huge banyan that has grown up through it. The temple is to the left of the pier, where boats from Tanjung Pinang dock. Half a kilometre along the waterfront, Vihara Darma Sasana, a complex of three temples, all said to be more than a century old, occupy a large courtyard facing the sea. Boats to Senggarang (10,000Rp) leave from Pejantan II wharf.