Indonesia Vacation
 

After reading Ma Dalton's Thailand/Phillippines thread, I started looking at Thailand for a vacation. I came back to read the thread more and saw DWB's comments regarding Bangkok. We could go to Phuket, but the hubby wants to see Bangkok at least for a day or two, but I don't want to go if there is any turmoil.

I kept reading the recommendation of Indonesia and I think we'll do it and I want to know where to stay in Bali. I was looking at Candi Dasa or Seminyak.

I don't like touristy places but still like to have enough stuff to do around there. Port areas for cruises drive me nuts. We like to absorb the local culture, find pizza places, drink with the locals, etc.

Any suggestions?

Stay out of kuta if you don't like tourist places.

We went to the north side for most of the time, great accommodations and way less tourists. Rent a car and go round, Bali is small. Stay a couple of days at one spot and move on ;)))

Ps for the real Indonesia go to Lombok or java

Yeah, Kuta, Despensar is out. Pretty much near an airport = not my style.

if security is the reason you are choosing Bali, you might want to reconsider :2 cents:

http://news.overseas.com.au/9231864.html

Yeah, while that kind of stuff sucks and does happen it doesn't worry me like political turmoil does, especially in a foreign country. Could be ignorance on my part, but for whatever reason it just doesn't bother me as much.

ok , understand what you saying :thumbsup

political protests can be a scary thing , but most of it is against the gov , not against foreigners .. so you should be ok in Thailand

i have now settled for renting a house in Nai Harn or Rawai/Phuket - incl. a 2-3 day stay in Bangkok. Just putting everything together right now :)

Nice, take lots of pics. :)

There are a lot of places over there we'd like to visit, we'll get to Thailand one day.

We have two boys, ages 5 & 6, so getting away for long durations isn't easy; we do vacations while they spend a month at my parents house in the summer. Hopefully when they are out of my house we can do it right, spend a month or two in Australia then a few in New Zealand and so on ... .

Are you sure you wanna go to Bali? My friend's just come back to Thailand from Bali and was very happy about it. She spent 2 months on Bali and told me it's too overpriced for such a mess. I would go to Thailand. You can spend a few days in Bangkok and then go to Samui or Phuket.

Oh! And when I was doing Thailand research, the area we were gonna stay was Nai Harn.

This is a villa we were considering: http://www.siamrealestate.com/detail...illas-naiharn/

And I have to thank that guy who posted that - big help in finding a place to stay.

not sure how your flight would go but we did a short 3 day stop in Hong Kong on our way back. Definitely something to consider since HK is awesome ;))

Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country full of extremists. People there are very pushy, utilizing pressure tactics against foreigners in efforts to trick you into buying useless junk from them. Staring foreigners down is a common practise so anywhere you go you will feel out of place. It is cheap, though.

Neighboring Malaysia is also predominantly Muslim, however they are moderate Muslims with sizeable Buddhist (from China) and Hindu (from India) population. Unlike Indonesia, they are not as pushy and don't stare foreigners down, however it is more expensive to stay there. Too many people smoke and it is too dirty there too.

Thailand is a country where human life is worth a few hundred dollars. Along with some of the worst traffic situation in the world, it's a pretty shaky country, but some of the countryside is decent. Phuket is unreasonably overpriced, though. From accommodation, though food, drinks, entertainment, massage, tours, etc - everything is overinflated to no avail. You can get the same, but better and for the better price in Pattaya. Also, Phuket hookers are mostly ladyboys (some difficult to tell), they are few and far between and ask for way too much money. Not worth your time IMO.

While I'd love to - just can't do it with work and such. Like I said, someday we'll do it right and spend some serious time over there. I have a feeling this will be one of many trips out that way.

Funny been in all 3 countries and if you get out of the regular tourist crap its far from what you describe above ;)

back off :mad: that's on my list too!!

and yes, that website is very helpful, i am already in negotiations :winkwink:

i am no specialist, but i don't think Pattaya is a place i want to visit. :2 cents:

Hehe, you first then.

As for Bali being overpriced and blah - I read a lot of reviews and can pick through the ones that relate to me. ie: if someone says they ate at Hard Rock or Planet Hollywood, they are immediately disqualified for a "good" review for me. Anyways, I didn't read too much negativity for the areas we are looking at, nor did the prices seem bad. $20 per person for ziplining - shit, we have paid $90 pp every time we have done it.

I understand that you don't want to go into turmoil territory. Good luck finding the vacation you want. Try to find the most reliable source of information that you trust.

wow don't order a hot dog you may get more than you can chew.

I agree, Kuta is nice for some shopping or drinking a beer in the Hard Rock bar but full of tourists.

If you consider to go to Bali and you want to be among the locals you might want to check out www.homebalihome.com which is from my friend. He built that house and knows all about the island.

Its in the Jimbaran area, full with nice restaurants at the beach.

Seminyak is super relaxed and with by renting a scooter or car you can explore all the nice areas/beaches in Bali.

Don't let people make your crazy about extreme muslim stuff in Bali because the island it self is Hindu and the locals don't like how the extreme muslims have damaged their lives and tourism.

Even the normal muslims in Indonesia take a distance of the extreme stuff because they bring their religion a bad name.

The more east you will go in Indonesia the more Christian it will be. I'm myself from the island Timur which is is Catholic / Christian and the only muslims there are imported by the governments trans-migration policies.

Cheers my Indo brother :thumbsup

Good info and thanks for the link. Checking it out - I definitely want to do the day cooking class thing, would love for a person to take me around to all the markets explaining what the fuck I'm eating.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._2801334_n.jpg

:warning:warning:warning

What is wrong with eating a nice burger at the Hard Rock ? Do you expect people to eat local stuff every day ?

Expats who would have a lot of knowledge on the local scene are the typical person you would meet there anyways ? So I dont get that remark :2 cents:

I can eat at the Hard Rock anywhere and I have before - it's overpriced burgers.

I'd rather find a shack on the side of the road and have something local.

Example, Cheeseburgers in Paradise (Jimmy Buffet Restaurant) in Maui v. Cheeseburgers in America's Paradise - local to St. Croix. I'll take the later for half the price and better the taste.

I get what you are saying, but eating local every day for a month is not going to happen :2 cents:


after a while most people will be craving for something they know and are used to ,

I've only been to Bali once, but I thought Ubud was great, and from your description, sounds like it might be what you're looking for. Great place to just walk the streets, check things out at your own pace, loads of great restaurants & pubs around, loads of artisan shops if you're into that, etc. Everyone was extremely friendly, meeting locals was no problem, and not once did I get the feeling someone was trying to scam or rip me off.

Oh agreed, we'd only be going eight days. I also like to cook too, which is normally why we get a villa or something with a kitchen.

Thailand

Yes, right now the "yellow shirt" protesters are there. The last two times they came out, they were able to get the Prime Minster removed. One of the reasons they are there is a land dispute over Cambodia, who just TODAY sentenced one of the Thai politicians to 8 years in prison for spying. This may or may not cause the shit to hit the fan. There is also talks of the yellow shirts joining with the red shirts to topple the government.

Bangkok is safe for now, but it was the yellow shirts who seized the airport a few years back and closed it down.

If you come to Bangkok, I will give you my phone number and you can call me at a moments notice in the shit hits the van. I'll make sure you're safe and will assist you on getting out of the country if you need.


Indonesia

Avoid Despensar and Kuta.

The rest of Bali is AMAZING. Very cool to rent scooters and drive around the island along the coast, but for sure cutting in to see Ubud. It's safe with some of the most stunning scenery you'll ever see, especially if you go right now while the rice fields are all green. If you wait until they are empty, Indo loses a lot of it's natural beauty as the green is gone.

Lots of Indonesia is amazing. I may end up living there one of these days.


Hit me up on ICQ if you want to chat. If you can better tell me what you want to do, I can give you some good ideas about the best places to go in Asia.

Do you surf?

OK.... 8 days.

Scrap the bike ride around Bali.

2 days in Bangkok.
5 - 6 days in Indonesia.

What do you like to do? Trek, hike, relax on beach, learn about culture, surf, rock climb, raft, party until dawn, scuba.... and will you be with kids?

thats close but wrong animal

Thanks, you hit the nail on the head with my reasoning for Bangkok. I'm not worried about anything happening to me, I don't want the turmoil to hinder my visit by airports shutting down, buildings being closed, etc.

Will do DWB, thanks for the help.

No but on the list of things to do - surf class for a morning. Have to at least try it, I'm sure I'll suck.

Indonesia rocks.....avoid touristic ghettos, just like in Thailand and you will see truly beauty...

but you probably don't have time for that... :)...So...Bali is also ok...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubud

http://wikitravel.org/en/East_Bali

http://wikitravel.org/en/Lombok

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pai,_Thailand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Mai

Lots of cool places, just need to what is an ideal vacation for you.

LOL, kids - that's no vacation!

I don't like tours or really give a shit too much about the culture. We like to keep active - ziplining, out on the water, we'll try the rafting too. I can't scuba b/c I have epilepsy or I'd be all over that. Some downtime on the beach is nice but it can get boring.

Party until dawn - maybe one night, I'm getting old. I prefer to just sit at the local bar and stumble home. :)

I looked at Ubud and would probably stay there if it were closer to the beach. I want to see some ocean as a view, not the rice fields. However, we'll definitely spend some time there.

Let me give you a scenario of how we spend our nights on vaca ... this is in Maui.

I asked where do the locals drink and this guy pointed me in the direction of this bar out in the open area downstairs of a business complex where all the locals go to drink after work. So I sit next to this guy Glenn and we start chatting about this box and possible weed being in it. Next thing I know we are drinking with this guy at several bars, he takes us to his apartment to smoke and then we end up in the ocean at 3a.

Two nights later we are sitting at this make-shift bar outside our B&B - (oh yeah, that's the other thing, I don't do hotels) and this guy Talin has a guitar and we start chatting. Next thing I know we are in our rental Jeep driving to his GF's apartment where we smoke out, drink some and then have their neighbors come over who happen to be moving to Vancouver the next day where they all jammed out on their guitars and harmonica. It was odd but definitely fun and not the normal tourist thing.

In St. Croix at the local bar we were drinking and I met some great people. Two happen to be chefs at a hotel there, really nice hotel. So the next night they invited us for dinner and made us a completely special meal for the two of us. Was the best seafood soup Chris ever ate and the Reese's chocolate thing was to die for.


Manager's meeting ... be back in an hour. :)

Jimbaran is pretty quiet comparing to Kuta, my friends lived there and had no complains.
Also consider Kintamani - Gunung Batur area.
There is a big lake near the volcano, but sea is pretty far away.
They have a few hotels there.

Bali is small enough that you can easily visit a few places.

A few days in Ubud (some amazing rafting there), a few days in Sanur, go stay up in the Volcano for a night or two, or go all out and take a couple days to see the Komodo Dragons on another island. Borobudur is amazing to see, it is in Yogakarta, not Bali, but worth a flight for a couple of nights.

Indonesia is just full of amazing things to see. You're not limited to Bali.

Check out the Hard Rock Resort in Bali.

You'll have a good time there. That's a nice area.

When are you coming?

probably between early April and early May - 4 weeks is the goal incl. a few days in Bangkok

It's gonna be warm that time of year.

what would you suggest? wouldn't want rain either

I want to go to bali bad. The long flight just puts me off.

Surfing is amazing. You will have a blast. Be sure to take lessons.
You wont suck haha

Well, March to May is the hot season, and in May you'll probably get rain.

April should be dry, but warm. May can be a pretty wet month sometimes. If possible, I would avoid May and get here as soon as you can. Early May really can be a coin toss with rain, but it's generally one of the wettest months for Phuket.

I can say that Thailand (as has much of the world) has had some crazy weather patterns the past 2 years, so regardless of what *should* happen with the weather, anything is possible.

not inspired at all. I'd chose old school Italian town on Adriatic, like Pescara or Alba Adriatica.