Finally returned after 15 nights away on a family holiday of a lifetime. What a beautiful place and what happy friendly and humble people. If anyone considers going my one big tip would be to hire a driver to visit the multitude of beautiful places this country has to offer. My highlights- White water rafting Feeding and having a mudbath with and cleaning elephants . Seeing the sunrise from the top of a mountain/volcano. Visiting the sacred monkey forest followed by having a coffee in the company of a couple of pet luwaks. Visiting a turtle sanctuary run by volunteers seeing turtles being born and releasing them back into their natural environment. Making loads of new friends Walking into a glass door!
Here's a photo of sunrise from the top of Mount Batur. Climb started at 3am.in pitch black apart from the occasional battery torches.
Also other highlights The rice fields The Bali swing The waterfalls The hot springs The temples and royal palace
To be fair, I'd drink it but only if I was certain it was ethically sourced, some of those intensive civet farms are not cool...
I stayed in Ubud and Sanur and did not encounter many of them to be honest. It seems many favour the West coast areas of Kuta and.Semenyak (better surfing conditions)
We had 2 days in Nusa Dua and the place was littered with Aussies and Russians. Ubud was very different and apart from 2 main roads, was very peaceful. Lombok and Yogyakarta totally different again. We've been mulling over hols for next year and Indonesia did get mentioned. The Gili Islands look beautiful (though some suggestions they are a bit backpackerish). I'd love to go to Komodo Island and there are plenty of more remote places as you venture along the islands. Looking like Cambodia may come first...that or an arctic trip to hopefully see the northern lights.
