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Published: January 25th 2024
Where the land is stepped, there the sky is upheld… ~ Indonesian Proverb
HE SAID... I had two very small points of reference for our Indonesian adventure – surfing and vegetarian food. And to be honest, even these were relatively unknown to me. My knowledge of Indonesian surf was derived entirely from surfing magazines, and my knowledge of Indonesian food was derived entirely from a small eatery in my home town of Hobart. I knew little about the country, because I had never travelled there. This was my first trip, which somewhat defies the stereotype of the quintessential Australian tourist. Most Aussies travel to Indonesia at some point in their early adulthood. For some, it's considered a rite of passage. The proximity of exotic islands such as Bali to our northwest corner makes this coming-of-age ritual all the more appealing to twentysomethings.
So why Indonesia, and why now? The answer, I discovered, was simple. The lure of distant lands had overshadowed the beauty at my doorstep. My misguided travel motto had been as follows:
Travel far from home to experience difference; travel near to home to experience likeness. How wrong I was. As much as I love faraway lands, those closer to home can also be mysterious and enigmatic.
So, we
decided to change our approach for this trip. Rather than flying over Indonesia on our way to Southern Africa, Eastern Europe or Central Asia, we opted instead to explore two Indonesian islands – Java and Bali. Indonesia comprises around 17,000 islands, but we only had four weeks to spare, so we had to restrict our travels to Java (the heart of the nation) and Bali (the epicentre of Hinduism in the country).
There were significant differences between the islands. The main difference, from my perspective, was the impact of tourism. While parts of Java remain relatively untouched by the deep footprint of international tourism, it is difficult to make the same assessment about Bali. While life continues in a few small rural hamlets, the majority of the small island has succumbed to the economic and cultural dictates of the global tourist. And global tourists are not always amicable, respectful and empathetic. In fact, they are often quite the opposite. However, I am not going to discuss the infuriating habits of entitled tourists in this epilogue.
On the relatively short flight home from Denpasar to Hobart, I managed to scribble down a selection of highlights and lowlights that were
still vivid within my thoughts. I’ve included these below.
Highlights The following is a brief summary of the highlights of our adventure. In reality there were many more, but these were the ones I felt compelled to jot down on our return flight to Australia.
…Walking non-touristic paths in Java…
It is difficult to explain the elation of being an anomalous visitor in a foreign land. The delight of wandering through a small rural village and being the only non-local in sight. The joy of acceptance, despite looking and sounding so different to everyone around you. So many times during our travels, we have visited locations where the tourist hordes completely outnumbered the local residents. This rarely happened in Java. It was a privilege to travel through an island where we (as foreigners) were very much in the minority, yet were so warmly welcomed.
…The wild rivers and forests of Java…
Joseph Conrad’s second novel,
An Outcast of the Islands, formed part of my pre-travel research for this trip. Long out of print and difficult to source, I managed to secure a pristine hardback edition from Adelaide Booksellers. I doubt it had ever been opened. It arrived
in a matter of days, and I read it quickly. I was absolutely transfixed.
The book offers a cynical view of colonialism in 19th century Indonesia. While for the most part fictional, the villages and trading posts described in the novel are based on places Conrad visited, stories he heard, and people he met during his voyages in the Indonesian archipelago in the 1880s and early 1890s. He was an officer on the merchant steamship
Vidar.
Conrad’s highly evocative language is compelling, especially in his descriptions of rivers and forests. When he sailed through the Indonesian archipelago, the only way in and out of islands such as Java was via rivers, so without a boat you were imprisoned without bars – in much the same way as Peter Willems (the protagonist of Conrad’s novel) in the final days of his life.
“
To the river Willems turned his eyes like a captive that looks fixedly at the door of his cell. If there was any hope in the world it would come from the river, by the river. For hours together he would stand in sunlight while the sea breeze sweeping over the lonely reach fluttered his ragged garments; the keen salt breeze that made him shiver now and then under the flood of intense heat. He looked at the brown and sparkling solitude of the flowing water, of the water flowing ceaseless and free in a soft, cool murmur of ripples at his feet. The world seemed to end there. The forests of the other bank appeared unattainable, enigmatical, for ever beyond reach like the stars of heaven—and as indifferent. Above and below, the forests on his side of the river came down to the water in a serried multitude of tall, immense trees towering in a great spread of twisted boughs above the thick undergrowth; great, solid trees, looking sombre, severe, and malevolently stolid, like a giant crowd of pitiless enemies pressing round silently to witness his slow agony. He was alone, small, crushed.”
Joseph Conrad, An Outcast of the Islands
We often followed snaking rivers on our eastward journey across Java, and each time I was drawn to this haunting fragment of text from Conrad’s novel. The brown murky water; the lush tropical foliage cascading down to the river edge; the impenetrable topography. I was mesmerised by the wild rivers and forests of Java.
I imagined the spectre of Peter Willems standing forlorn on a river bank, staring franticly at our minibus as we sped by.
To my delight, we got to experience one of the island’s wild rivers during our time in West Java. Our destination was the fabled Green Canyon, a picturesque and remote gorge flanked by high cliffs on a bend in the Cijulang River. I’ll never forget it.
We sped upstream in a long wooden boat that was stabilised with outriggers and powered by a loud outboard motor. The river water was emerald green. Lush greenery crept down the surrounding hills and draped over the river bank. The thick foliage was impenetrable. We arrived at a narrowing in the river, where fast flowing water was spilling over a small ledge. We scrambled awkwardly out of the boat, struggled barefoot across the slippery ledge, used ropes to pull ourselves upstream against the strong current, then swam to a small rock (which we clung to and rested briefly).
We continued to swim upstream, this time effortlessly in the slipstream of a small eddy close to the rock face. We soon arrived at a large rock, where the river was
surging through a narrow section of the gorge. We donned life jackets and let ourselves slip into the fast-flowing current in a defiant act of submission – it was incredibly liberating. The current pushed me into the sheer cliff face, so using my feet I pushed myself to relative safety in the middle of the purling gorge. I swam back to the large rock and rested in a safe alcove, letting the surging water drag against my skin.
I was without my glasses, so my vision wasn’t clear. I wish it had been. As I looked up, light streamed down through the lush foliage high above us, and drops of water fell from the cliff face and dissolved into the water around us. The constant sound of the surging water was deafening, and the feeling of utter detachment and acute awareness was exhilarating. When it was time to leave, we slipped into the fast-flowing river and submitted completely to the powerful current, floating effortlessly back to the waiting boat. This was an incredible experience, and one I am especially grateful for. The swirling waters of the Cijulang River will linger in my memory for many, many years to come.
…The volcanoes of Java…
Shivering on an over-crowded viewing platform at 4am, we watched in awe as the craterous remains of Mount Bromo smouldered forebodingly in the faint dusky haze, while the majestic Mount Semeru (an active volcano and Java’s highest peak) coughed up smoke every so often in the far distance. The pre-dawn panorama unfurling before us was beyond amazing. We were witnessing an extraordinary volcanic landscape.
From the viewing platform we clambered into the back of a very basic four-wheel drive and trundled down to a vast desert of grey volcanic sand. We trudged on foot across the loose sand to the base of Mount Bromo’s smouldering remains, then started to ascend its dusty slopes. Steep stone steps took us to the crater rim. 250 steps in total, which made it a strenuous climb. The smell of sulphur dioxide was intense, as was the dust, so we didn’t linger. The procession of climbing and descending tourists was unrelenting. The steps were never empty.
The view from the slopes of Mount Bromo was a highlight of our Indonesian adventure. The volcanic desert surrounding us on all sides was other-worldly. Six months after our return from Indonesia,
an active volcano (Mount Marapi) erupted on the island of Sumatra. Twenty-four hikers lost their lives. Most of them were young university students on a weekend hike. The danger of ‘volcano tourism’ is ever-present. For some unknown reason, it didn’t cross our minds at the time.
…Crafting silver jewellery in Java…
On our last day in the atmospheric city of Yogyakarta, we completed a silver jewellery making course at Borobudur Silver. It was a fantastic experience. After selecting a style of ring to make, I settled at a small bench with Susilo (my assigned jeweller) in a noisy, smelly, grimy and stifling workshop. I loved every minute of it, yet I felt for Susilo. He was a perfectionist, while I was an unskilled novice. Luckily, it didn’t fluster him. He was a brilliant instructor and guided me through each intricate task (of which there were many). I felt involved in every step. At the end of the course, I had a ring that I loved, and one that will always trigger fond memories of Yogyakarta. I have worn it every day since returning to Australia. It is one of the best travel mementos I’ve acquired.
…The mountain villages
of Bali…
Far from the madding crowd in Bali’s mountainous heart, we experienced the warmest, gentlest and friendliest hospitality in isolated rural villages. In one of these remote villages, we were embraced by the local residents as if we were long lost relatives, returning to the community after years abroad. It was an incredible experience, and one we greatly appreciated. Why were we accepted so genially? It all came down to two things:
> the genuine friendliness of the village residents
> the welcoming and inclusive nature of Hinduism.
We lodged with a local family during our brief stay in Sibetan, and it was the most extraordinary homestay experience we’ve encountered on our travels to-date. By a long shot. The home-cooked food, endless sweet snacks, strong Balinese coffee, hot mandarin juice and freshly picked snakeskin fruit. The tranquil garden, cool mountain air and freedom to roam. The heady smell of incense rising from offering baskets placed in the garden. Yet more than anything else, it was the warm hearts and smiles of our hosts Ibu and Pak Dwita that made us feel so incredibly welcome.
As we wandered through the village, we passed basic huts that housed small
families. Dogs barked; pigs and chickens roamed freely; lizards slithered under fallen tree branches; cicadas drummed their message from camouflaged spots in the forest canopy.
We stopped for lunch in the peaceful leafy garden of a local resident. We settled on a wooden bench with a bamboo plate containing rice, beans, shredded coconut and fresh green ferns. A coconut shell filled with chicken and turmeric curry completed the meal. It was delicious. However, it was our next visit that trumped all else – the local distiller’s house!
We sampled four different types of arak in the friendly distiller’s garden – arak wine, arak spirit, golden arak liqueur and black arak liqueur. The golden arak liqueur was our favourite. It was like drinking an alcohol-soaked Christmas cake with cloves and cinnamon. We couldn’t help but buy a hip flask of the liqueur from the friendly distiller and his wife. We left Sibetan with happiness in our hearts.
…The male singers in Ubud…
There are times in life where you read something, see something, hear something or feel something so utterly different that it stuns you. I rarely experience ‘new’ music these days, as most of the ‘new’ music
I hear has some basis in what I’ve heard previously. However, I was completely mesmerised by a large group of male singers during a traditional Kecak chanting performance in Ubud. Their voices; their hand and body movements; their demeanour; their stamina, their harmonic power; their tight and effortless incantation. Breathtaking, extraordinary and unfamiliar. It was just so completely new to me. I absolutely loved it, and I didn’t want it to finish – which is very rare for me when it comes to traditional cultural performances.
…The food…
I wouldn’t say Indonesian food is one of my favourite cuisines, but I loved nearly every dish I sampled during our travels in Java and Bali. It’s hard to pick standouts, but the grilled fish skewers (
satay ikan) never failed to impress, and the intensely delicious chicken soup (
soto ayam) we sampled at a small roadside eatery in Purwokerto (West Java) was a highlight. However, my all-time favourite dish was
nasi campur (rice with various side dishes).
Essentially,
nasi campur is a restaurant’s tasting plate. Nearly every eatery we stopped at would have it on the menu. It’s basically a plate with steamed rice in the middle and a sample
of every dish on offer that day, all placed neatly around the rice. If I was struggling to decide what to order,
nasi campur was my safest bet, as it allowed me to taste everything on offer from the kitchen (albeit a small serve of each). It was very hard to go past. There were times when I had to consciously order a specific dish, rather than simply opt for the
nasi campur and see what arrived at the table. The tasting plate is such a great concept.
…Celebrating birthdays on holiday…
We celebrated my birthday in Sanur (Bali). Recuperating in a private villa at the end of our travels, we walked to the beach, settled at Warung Amphibia (a tiny eatery on the bustling beachfront) and ordered a grilled seafood platter. This was the eatery’s signature dish, and it was a sight to behold. A strong breeze coursed off the Badung Strait and swept across our table, while our plastic chairs sank into the soft sand at our feet. Distant islands shimmered on the horizon. The hazy panorama beyond the offshore reef was hypnotic. It was an amazing birthday meal.
Lowlights There weren’t many lowlights to our
adventure, and I certainly don’t want to dwell on them here. The following are the ones I felt compelled to jot down on the plane as we returned to Australia.
…Obnoxious foreign tourists…
I promised not to discuss the infuriating habits of entitled tourists in this epilogue, and I’ll keep to my word. Unfortunately, they insist on lugging their bloated self-importance and faux superiority across the globe. We didn’t encounter many in Java, but there were far too many in Bali.
…Obnoxious tourism operators…
Shoddy tour guides have the capacity to ruin exceptional experiences. We encountered a particularly repulsive cowboy in Pangandaran (West Java). I know it’s up to us to prevent this from occurring, but this is often much easier said than done.
…Getting sick on holiday…
Head colds, sore throats and raspy chests drag you down and sap your energy, which is the last thing you need on long travel days in tropical climates. However, it could have been a lot worse, so I’m not going to complain. I’ll take a head cold over gastro any day of the week.
…My anglicised expectations…
This isn’t really a lowlight, but I have to mention it
somewhere. I can’t believe I’m committing this to our travel blog, but here goes. I didn’t like any of the
gado gado dishes I sampled in Java or Bali. I didn’t like the real thing. I didn’t like ‘authentic’ Indonesian
gado gado (salad of raw, blanched and steamed vegetables with eggs, potato, tofu and tempeh, served with a peanut sauce dressing).
Every time I ordered it, it arrived at the table like a deconstructed salad. The
gado gado dishes I lived on during my vegetarian years in Australia were very different. Crunchy fresh salad, grilled tofu, tasty egg and sensational peanut sauce – all mixed together and topped with fresh bean sprouts and coarsely ground nuts. This is not the reality in Indonesia. Nearly every
gado gado dish I ordered arrived on a flat plastic plate (not a deep bowl) with a meagre spread of limp salad, over-boiled egg, bland tofu and a small container of peanut sauce. The tofu was never grilled, the bean sprouts were missing in action and there was no sign of ground nuts.
This was a first for me. I knew the
gado gado dishes I sampled in Java and Bali were authentic.
I also knew that many
gado gado dishes in Australia are modified for non-Indonesian palates. Yet I’d become so accustomed to the anglicised versions, I couldn’t warm to the real versions. I hankered for the ones I used to buy from Little Bali, a tiny hole-in-the-wall eatery in my home town of Hobart. The eatery is long-gone, but I remember it fondly. I would watch on as the friendly staff constructed my
gado gado from crunchy fresh ingredients. These would be tossed gently in a foil container, then smothered with bean sprouts and nuts. It was delicious, and one of the few vegetarian options available as a takeaway meal in Hobart during the 1990s. Thirty years on, I’ve discovered it was a bit of a charlatan. Does it matter? Probably not, but it does show how relative our perceptions can be.
SHE SAID... Our Indonesian trip covered the islands of Java and Bali. For a country that has around 17,000 islands, our two-island effort was a miniscule drop in the ocean (pun fully intended). 😄
Indonesia offers a free 30-day visa for Australian tourists, and while we could have extended it… it seemed like a lot
of effort for the extra week or so we needed to include the island of Lombok in this trip. As a result, we timed our holiday for just under a month; and the islands of Lombok, Flores and the Gili will have to wait for another trip.
Our trip > We travelled from west to east, along the length of Java and then in a circuit around Bali.
> Our forms of transportation included trains, boats, four-wheel drive jeeps, a public ferry, private minibuses, a local motorbike becak (me), bicycles (Andrew) and taxis.
> Our accommodation included hotels, guesthouses, bungalows, ecolodges, a homestay, and villas.
> Being tropical islands, the weather was typically hot. We had some temperature changes at higher altitudes (like on top of volcanoes), but the most notable variation in the weather was the humidity. The daily thunderstorms in west and central Java eased as we moved east.
Highlights of Java From the moment we landed in the capital city of Jakarta, I had a very strong feeling that we were going to have a fabulous trip. It was hot and muggy, we had long travel days, and I was sick for one day… but
none of that dampened my enthusiasm and joy at getting to know this beautiful island. I absolutely loved our travels through Java, and I could write volumes and volumes about what I appreciated about our Javanese experiences… but I thought a more concise method of communication would be to list what I loved most about each place we visited.
Here are my highpoints by destination in Java, and well as some overarching ones:
> The Masjid Istiqlal Mosque (the largest mosque in Southeast Asia) in
Jakarta. Non-Muslims aren’t typically allowed entry into mosques in Indonesia, so it was a treat to experience this space in a country which has an estimated 231 million Muslims. The experience was very much enhanced by the lovely volunteer Yusuf who gave us just the right amount of information and context to the architecture of the building, the religion itself, and how Islam sits in Indonesian society.
> Visiting local cottage industries in
Pangandaran. This revealed so much information about much loved local products and culture, with the wooden puppet workshop and impromptu puppet show being a particular highlight. I didn’t realise it at the time, but these experiences allowed us to understand and
get to know key elements of Javanese culture early in the trip.
> The Borobudur temple complex just outside
Yogyakarta. Not only were these ruins amazingly beautiful and incredible to explore, but it also gave me an understanding of the history of Buddhism in Indonesia. I would list Borobudur as one of the top five most beautiful ruins I’ve seen, and Yogyakarta as my favourite city in Java… and thus, it gets two points!
> Making a silver ring in
Yogyakarta. I love learning new skills, and I absolutely loved learning the art of making silver filigree in a small stiflingly hot workshop. Whenever we travel, I try to buy a small piece of local jewellery; but making my own silver filigree ring makes it a more exceptional souvenir.
> The ecolodge stay and village walk in the
Seloliman Nature Reserve. It was wonderful to be surrounded by nature (even when having a shower in our first outdoor bathroom of the trip!) and to learn about the measures being taken to combat deforestation in Indonesia. I also enjoyed being able to physically engage with, and be part of, the most ubiquitous of rural scenes in Java we’d seen for days
through train and car windows – walking through the rice fields.
> Experiencing a sunrise over a sea of volcanoes in
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. Despite the 3am start and the tourist crowds, I loved every minute of it! The vista of volcanoes revealing themselves as the sun rose and the climb to the crater rim of Mount Bromo were once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I will never forget.
> Understanding the influence of the colonial Dutch era plantations in
Kalibaru. The Dutch changed the face of Indonesia with their coffee, cocoa and rubber plantations. It was interesting to see how that legacy still exists in sizeable plantations, irrigation systems and factories.
> Travelling by
train. I absolutely love train travel, and I would say that any trips that include trains vastly improves my enjoyment of the trip. It was such a joy to travel a considerable stretch across Java in trains that were clean, comfortable and precisely on time.
> The
Javanese food. As I’d remembered from my last trip to Java, the Javanese food was very delicious. I especially enjoyed discovering
soto ayam (chicken soup) and all its regional variations. It was comfort food at its very best, and
I ordered it almost every day while travelling across Java.
Highlights of Bali I have to admit that most of what I knew about Bali was via the small tourist-ridden party and beach culture of Southern Bali. I knew there was much more to this unique island, and I was very curious to explore it. Bali is a very different beast to Java, and this was evident almost daily in the different food, unique culture and distinct landscapes. Even though we didn’t have the benefit of being in as many un-touristy places as we did in Java, for the most part, I felt our cultural immersion in Bali was still authentic and genuine.
Here are my highpoints by destination in Bali, and well as some overarching ones:
> The lowkey introduction to Balinese life and culture in
Pemuteran. Even though Andrew had to take some time out to do some work, we loved our time exploring this relatively small and welcoming coastal town. I enjoyed my first ever Balinese massage here.
> Experiencing the many faces of traditional, arty and touristy
Ubud. There were many elements of Ubud that were beautiful, but there were equally many that concerned
me. It wasn’t until we left the tourist centre that I started to fully appreciate Ubud and fall in love with it.
> The profound tranquil beauty of
Sidemen. I have to admit that my research on Sidemen had given me the impression the village was going to be full of resorts… well eco-resorts, but resorts none the less. So I was blown away by how immensely beautiful and local it felt. Yes, there were a few resorts, but they have been built with consideration, and they sit well hidden. I loved how seamlessly the natural and manmade landscapes existed in beautiful harmony.
> Our homestay in the tiny village of
Sibetan. We were blown away by the very genuine experience we had with our hosts at our homestay. It gave us a firsthand and very authentic experience of living in a small community of predominantly snakeskin fruit farmers. The generosity of our hosts, and the collaboration of the whole village to make their eco-tourism project work, was awesome to witness.
> The mind-blowing timescale of the volcanic region around
Mount Batur. We knew we’d be seeing many volcanic related landscapes on this trip. However, I had no idea how
peculiar it would feel to be physically inside an ancient volcanic crater and behold other (newer) volcanic mountains that had erupted inside the ancient crater. The Russian nesting dolls effect of the many volcanic craters was a crash course in geological timelines.
> The local vibe of
Lovina, and my somewhat brief but extremely enjoyable snorkelling experience in the waters of the West Bali National Park. The snorkelling trip itself could have been organised much better, but certain elements of it, such as the incredible beauty of the marine reserve in the national park, were fantastic.
> The rest and relaxation we enjoyed at The Pavilions Bali in
Sanur. We were at the end of our trip, and we were so happy to have such a fabulous place to chill out and celebrated Andrew’s birthday. Even though Sanur probably isn’t somewhere we’d return to, I know we’ll forever have lovely memories of our villa at The Pavilions.
> The
Balinese food. I fell absolutely in love with
nasi campur (rice with various side dishes) while in Bali. The side dishes that accompany this meal vary by region, season and even family preference. No two meals of
nasi campur were the
same, and I loved that it enabled me to taste a greater range of dishes this way.
> The
Hindu religion and its influence on the culture of Bali. In an archipelago that’s predominantly Muslim, Bali is the only island with a majority Hindu population. It was an intriguing process trying to understand this unique version of Hinduism that’s been blended with native Balinese traditions and spirituality. Many aspects of the religion also intricately influence their music, art and other aspects of everyday life. Two of these aspects that visibly stood out for me were the way in which the architecture of homes replicate the architecture of Balinese Hindu temples, and the beautiful ubiquity of
canang sari (daily morning offerings to the sprits).
Indonesian Food > I love Indonesian food, and I’ve loved it since my first trip to Indonesia in 1996! As a result, my food expectations for this trip were high – which isn’t always a good thing. But I’m happy to report that it totally lived up to my expectations, and it was also such a delight to expand my knowledge of regional dishes.
> I’ve already mentioned a couple of these dishes. However, I wanted
to repeat how much I loved my favourite dishes of:
soto ayam (chicken soup);
nasi campur (rice with various side dishes); and
sate ayam (chicken satay).
> It’s not a coincidence that I’ve listed two dishes with chicken – they do some sort of wizardry with all chicken dishes in Indonesia, and it tasted absolutely divine every single time.
> Indonesians do rich and full flavours incredibly well, and the only bland dishes we tasted were the ones pandering to the tourist palate.
> We had many delicious meals over the trip, but I wanted to mention five memorable meals:
a. A dinner of tasty
ayam goreng ancuur (smashed chicken) and
tongseng ayam (chicken curry) in the humblest of street eateries in Jakarta;
b. A lunch of scrumptious
soto ayam at a roadside restaurant in Purwokerto (a pitstop on a long travel day of trains and minibuses);
c. A delectable
bebek kare (duck curry) lunch while overlooking rice fields in a relatively plush restaurant just outside Ubud;
d. An enchanting
nasi campur dinner at Ibu Wayan’s house on the beach. With our feet in the sand, stars over our heads, and the sound of bobbing boats in the nearby surf…
we had the most atmospheric and fabulous
nasi campur with 13 delicious side dishes; and
e. Andrew’s birthday lunch of a mouthwatering grilled seafood platter at Warung Amphibia in Sanur. Of all the options shortlisted for his birthday, Andrew opted for a renowned local seafood eatery where we sat on the beach under sun umbrellas with the sea only metres away – and enjoyed an unadulterated Bali beach experience.
> I can’t talk about the Indonesian food without talking about two very Indonesian ingredients/condiments –
tempeh (cakes made from fermented soybeans) and
krupuk (rice crackers). Both are traditional Indonesian foods, and we were lucky to see the production of both in small cottage industry settings.
Tempeh is cooked in many ways, and it was a daily part of all our meals. There were times I loved it (e.g. deep fried in batter), but never when it was overly fermented and very sour.
Krupuk also accompanied almost every meal, and again I loved it when it was a plain rice cracker or only mildly flavoured with prawns etc. But sometimes it had a strong fishy smell and flavour which I shunned.
> Even though we only visited Java and Bali, we
got to experience culinary influences from many other islands too. The fusion dishes that have evolved from the Dutch era were also noticeable in some places.
> Indonesian food felt very familiar to me, not just because I’ve been before or because
gado gado (salad of raw, blanched and steamed vegetables with eggs, potato, tofu and tempeh, served with a peanut sauce dressing) had been a staple for me when I was a vegetarian… but it was most likely because Indonesian food has a shared flavour profile with some Sri Lankan food. Both countries have similar tropical weather and landscapes, both were on the spice trade route, and both were ruled by the Portuguese and then the Dutch (who brought Indonesian flavours to Sri Lanka when they moved camp). Plus, Sri Lanka has long had people of Malay heritage who introduced dishes like
achcharu (a spicy mixed veg pickle), satay, fried rice, various sweets etc.
> Indonesian food is quite scarce in Tasmania, so it looks like one of us is going to have to learn to replicate some of our favourite dishes to keep our travel food memories alive!
Indonesian Tourism > We found ourselves making comparisons with
tourism in Greece (our last overseas trip). While a holiday in Greece might sound like a very different experience to a holiday in Indonesia – there were many similarities (both good and bad): brilliant food; friendly locals; relaxed island life; rude Instagram hordes; the absurdity of flying dresses; whitewashing of the culture in pursuit of tourist dollars; and STILL dealing with colonial issues of restitution and repatriation of national and historic treasures to where they rightfully belong.
> We hear a lot of ‘Bali has changed’ talk. Most of it was bemoaning the evils of over-tourism (and rightly so in some places); but others were actually bemoaning the fact that they couldn’t do as they used to in the Bali of old (like sun bathing topless or getting away with rowdy behaviour in temples). The government has started taking a stricter stance on badly behaved tourists, and what these tourists are actually bemoaning is that they can’t flaunt their privilege over someone else’s culture anymore. They are being forced to behave respectfully in a very conservative society. Surely, if you don’t like the laws and how they live their lives, isn’t it very obvious that you just bloody well go
somewhere else?!
> As I said in our Greece blog, we again found ourselves at the forefront of the global struggle with over-tourism. Tourists are killing the very thing they are flocking there to see (and I acknowledge that we are part of this problem). There are many ills that go with over-tourism, but the two biggest and visible catastrophes are environmental (habitat loss to build tourist infrastructure etc.) and cultural (local lifestyles and needs being prioritised lower than the dollars coming in from tourism). Even though this was an issue in many places we visited, and probably was the worst in Sanur; I felt these losses the most keenly in Ubud.
> I know I blame mass-tourism for many world problems, but the buck stops (so to speak) with the governments of every country. Ultimately, they are the gatekeepers of their nations, and they have to be held responsible for overlooking their primary responsibility – their people and their lands. 😞
Random Observations While travelling I’m often faced with things that make me stop and look twice, or that stay with me for a long time afterwards. Please bear with this jumble of odd, weird or just mundane
things that caught my attention of this trip.
> I often wondered (sometimes with strong language) why the bedrooms in Indonesian accommodation facilities were so dark. Every single one we stayed in was light-challenged in some way. It was fine during the day if the room had big windows, but as soon as night descended, we could hardly see what we were doing! I had to use my phone torch on more than one occasion to find things in my pack, or to read the Lonely Planet guide!
> We tended to have very generous buffet breakfasts in Java, whereas Bali favoured an a la carte breakfast approach. However, it was an a la carte system with a twist… the majority of places required us to pre-order breakfast the night before. I never really got used to this practice.
> The areas of inland Ubud and the southern beaches of Bali that Australian tourists (and now Russians migrants) flock to, by default, paint the whole of Bali in a questionable light. I was staggered to read that these areas only cover a tenth of the island! On the plus side, that leaves a very large percentage of glorious landscapes and
interesting local culture unmolested by over-tourism. I was grateful to have experienced ‘the real’ Bali (however much I scorn ‘the real’ term).
> The Indonesian people are some of the most patient and easy-going I’ve met on my travels. They have an expression –
tidak apa-apa – which literally means ‘no problem’, but it’s used more in the context of ‘don’t stress’. Even in intense traffic jams and on some very small and narrow roads that required a lot of giving way, we saw absolutely no cases of road rage. They also seemed eternally patient when queuing or just waiting for someone to sort themselves out, and there was a beautiful sense of being ‘measured but leisurely’ when going about their day. My impatience and hustle to get things done could learn a lesson from them. 😊
Well. That’s a wrap for our Indonesian blogs. I have immensely enjoyed writing and sharing our travel experiences in Indonesia. In particular, the process of writing an epilogue solidifies my thoughts and memories. Our blogs also offer me a way to engage in one of my most enjoyable activities – re-reading them to instantly transport myself back to our travels.
In
time, reading our Indonesian blogs will bring back to life those hazy Jakarta mornings when the skyline shimmered with the rising sun… the waft of satay cooking on a woodfired grill… the green and brown of terraced rice fields stretching for kilometres… the crackling and clapping of a booming tropical thunderstorm… the 5am melodic (sometimes not) call to prayer from nearby minarets… blurry trackside villages whirring past a train window… cooling coastal breezes after a stifling hot day… the aroma of ripe tropical fruit in markets… that first delicious spoonful from a bowl of
soto ayam… the scent of a steamy and stifling forest… or being enveloped in clouds of incense smoke from morning offerings. 😊
However, well before any of those reminiscences are called on, we have another very enjoyable task – picking our next travel destination! We will see you when we set off on our next adventure, but until then…
Selamat tinggal people, and may you find beauty and kindness in all your travels.
😊
Flying ships on this trip... Qantas Airways (Hobart – Sydney);
Qantas Airways (Sydney – Jakarta);
Virgin Airlines (Denpasar – Melbourne);
Virgin Airlines (Melbourne – Hobart).
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Jasmin Baker
non-member comment
Love this
Excellent photos, but this one is fave for sure!