I’ve never met people as friendly as those in Indonesia.

As I walked on the beach in Java, every person I encountered waved and said hello: a group of school girls, a young mom, a group of friends fishing.

Usually, from my experience traveling, I’ve found that in most places, people will engage when you approach their store or if they’re actively trying to sell you something. In contrast, these interactions were initiated by the locals without a clear motive other than friendliness.

Balinese people have a global reputation for friendliness; I’m happy to report that it is even better in person. Whether the cause is due to a 90% Hindu population and firm belief in the power of karma, or something else, everyone seemed to have a genuine desire to befriend you and help you as much as possible. Granted, a lot of that help eventually results in dollars being exchanged for a service, transportation, guides, etc., but hey, if you provide value, that’s something that should be paid for.

Java

Activities

• Bromo – I would recommend hiring a driver to take you on a motorbike for an early sunrise. Jeeps / packaged tours don’t give you the level of flexibility or sense of freedom that being on the back of a motorbike does.
• Ijen – Don’t go for the blue fire; do go for the massive blue sulfur lake. Bring cigarettes for the miners and air-tight goggles if you want to avoid eyes watering from the sulfur gas. There are so many tours going in the early morning that you can follow the masses just fine, but we did have to undergo a health check before the tour. They provided gas masks and talked to the people at the entrance for us as well, which you could easily navigate yourself if you’re adventurous. Here’s a video I made about my experience hiking Bromo & Ijen.
• Taman Gandrung Terakota – The origin story here is a bit interesting. There’s a photographer who wanted to preserve traditional dance and ordered 900+ terracotta statues which are placed around the garden. The site is maybe 10 years old. The entrance fee is 100k, which is kind of steep, but you get a 35k voucher at the cafe. You get to watch dance performances, participate, and walk the grounds, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I would recommend it.
• Jagir Waterfall – Great stop on the way back from Taman Gandrung Terakota, absolutely stunning.
• Boom Beach – A black sand beach, a good little hangout spot with the locals. Some very questionable Korean hotdogs and other non impressive streetfood.

Eats

• Kampoeng Osing Guest House Syariah & Resto – Okay food, above average for what I had in Indonesia. 6/10
• Cafe Lava Hostel – Average, but good Nasi Goreng. 6/10
• Rumah Makan Setia – Good food, a common stopping spot for tours driving to Ijen. 7/10
• Banyuwangi International Yacht Club – Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing (fried calamari & a chocolate milkshake), but none of it was very good. 5/10
• Es Joshua – Sweet and sour juice drink you must try!!
• Susu Jahe – Ginger milk that is so good!
• Nasi Goreng – You’re going to have this a million times across Indonesia, embrace it.

Stays

• Mentigen Homestay – The location of this homestay is unparalleled. Perfect view of Bromo & budget friendly at $18 a night. That said, it’s budget. Wifi sucked and there was no toilet paper, bane of my existance, but the room was clean and bathroom was operable.

Bali

Menjangan

Activities

• Diving – Coral Garden (insane coral), Bat Cave.

Eats

• Dapoer Chandra – Let me tell you, I ate here within the first week of my time in Indonesia, and it was one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in the month that I was there. It was the place that introduced me to Es Buah, the best fried chicken, and amazing spring rolls. My goodness…

Stays

• Maha Nusa Menjangan – Cutest individual bungalow homestays operated by this young couple who have a 4-year-old daughter. They’ve done so much to make the place nice and have taken a lot of personal financial risk to build the establishment. Would love to see their business continue to thrive. The only downside is the roosters that roam the place and are constantly making noise, and then they have some neighbors doing ceremonies often, but hey, that’s what you get when you go to Indonesia.

Lovina

Activity

• Swimming with Dolphins – It’s cool, but sometimes the dolphins don’t show up. It’s also very crowded because all the tours leave at the same time and arrive around the same time. But hey, that’s what you get for an area where dolphins show up consistently. Just be aware, you might get waterboarded when you try to “swim” with them.
• Krisna Osea Park – Definitely go here to do parasailing. It was $10 for one lap which was like 1-2 minutes. Totally worth it.

Eats

All the food I ate was so bad that I cannot even mention it… But this is also the city where I found Tombong, and some locals were trying to help me find Beluluk, but we ran out of time.

Right across the street from Warung Putu (which you should visit not because they have great food, but because a really kind old man runs it), there’s a massage place. I owe it to this lady because she sold me Tombong for a good deal – and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Indonesia, I’m sure she gives great massages.

Stays

• Mandhara Chico – This was a nice place, great air conditioning, toilet paper, balcony view overlooking rice fields, and it was literally right on the coastline of the beach.

Ahmed

Activities

• Lahangan Sweet – View point with various structures. Offers a beautiful view is a bit of a haul to get there up a sketchy dirt road + an admission fee but if you can go there on a clear day, definitely worth it.
• Diving – USAT Liberty Wreck.

Eats

• Bliss Cafe – Pretty dang good food, spring roll + grilled fish!

Stays

• Giri Homestay – Meh, curtains are sheer, in a strange location behind a gym in what feels like the middle of a parking lot but it’s clean, budget friendly, and the owner is a young couple with two kids who has taken on a big project with this homestay to create something of value which is awesome.

Ubud

Activities

• Sengeh Monkey Forrest – I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Despite being accompanied by unrequested tour guides which were trying to sell photos, we managed to explore at our own pace. There were other friendly attendants who provided valuable tips and facilitated interacting with the monkeys. Although there are territorial disputes among the monkey tribes, our overall experience was both beautiful and non-aggressive.
• White water rafting – White water rafting on the Telaga Waja river was incredibly beautiful. The river winds through deep forest walls and valleys, with a stop at a gorgeous waterfall along the way. Despite the abundance of rocks and feeling like we were going to capsize various times it was quite a thrill and beautiful experience.
• Tegalalang rice fields – The Tegalalang rice fields were immaculate and a lot of fun, although be prepared for the assault on your ears from the cicadas.
• Ubud fitness center – Good gym!

Eats

• Herb Library

Stays

• Firefly Eco Lounge – If you’re here on a Saturday, definitely join the family dinner; it’s delicious. Also, the massages at this place are top-tier. All of the accommodations are a bit closer and less numerous than I had thought they would be but I really enjoyed staying here.
• Bakmie Dua Dua – Great pork noodles.
• Warung Mangga Madu – Good Es Cempur.
• Veganlicious – Chia seed bowl, average.

Munduk

Activities

• Banyumala Waterfall

Stays

• Ekommunity farmstay & yoga – They really pitch this place on Airbnb as an oasis to get embedded in a nomad-ish community. Daily yoga by the river, near a coffee farm where you could tour and maybe even lend a helping hand. They had no yoga instructor or tours available which was quite odd. All that to say, it was still fun, camping in the beautiful forrest of Munduk but this place is overpriced and doesn’t deliver on some of the community expectations it sets.

Denpasar / Kuta

Activities

• Turtle conservatory – Pretty small but there’s no entrance fee, the staff is really informative, and you have a great view of the turtles native to Bali.
• Museum Pasifika Bali – Great collection of art in a beautiful less visited beach area. Would recommend even just going here to hang out.

Eats

• Daily Baguette Sanur – The single best salmon breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had.
• Beard Papas – Not unique to Indonesia but dang they’re good.
• Poppies Restaurant- Good pate, below average egg rolls, wonderful atmosphere dining in a garden with a pomelo tree growing above.
• Icelab Culinary Eden Dairy and Vegan Gelato Bali – The most insane passionfruit gelato I’ve ever had.

Stays

• Cassa De Sassy – This place is one of those “made for Instagram” locations but it impressed me with delivering quality at every level, not just on the superficial so that things looked good.

Lembongan

Activities

• Diving – Manta Point, easily the most memorable and enjoyable dives I’ve ever done – swimming with giant manta rays is unreal, and Crystal Bay.
• Yellow Bridge – Fun to drive across!
• Devil’s tears – I really enjoyed this viewpoint. Could have spent an hour here easily just watching the waves roll in.
• Blue Lagoon – Amazingly blue water.

Eats

• Pandan Cafe – So disappointed because I went here to feed my pandan obsession only to find that there’s not a single thing on their menu was pandan flavored but have simply adopted the name because they’re near a lot of pandan plants….

Stays

• Every place I stayed was literally terrible.

Nusa Penida

Activities

• Crystal Bay
• Pandan beach
• KlingKing beach

Eats

• Warung D’Coconut – 4/10
• Mertha Sari Resto and Bungalow – One of the best meals we had on Nusa Penida.

Stays

• Crystal Bay Beach Bungalows – Fun stay! Ideally located right next to a massage place.

Future:

• Pura Taman Pecampuhan Sala
• Gunung Kawi Tampaksiring
• Heron Bird Village
• Benyuwedang Hotspring
• Waterbom
• Bali Bird Park
• Heaven gate
• Kanto lampo waterfall
• Tanah lot temple
• Uluwatu temple (see a dance performance)
• Bsakih temple
• Karang Boma Cliff
• Krisna Oleh Oleh Bali Bypass – random but just a massive shopping mall I want to go to
• Besakih Great Temple
• Tegenungan Waterfall
• Tibumana Waterfall
• Balangan Beach
• Thomas Beach (apparently the place to learn how to surf)
• Padang Padang Beach