Our Big Neighbour, Indonesia

March - April 2024

Australians don't know enough about Indonesia. I certainly don't. So when our Indonesian/ Australian friend Budi said he was doing research in Makassar, I jumped at the chance to go. I also plan to see Bali with my sister Carol who often goes there. Read more

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Traveler Our Big Neighbour, Indonesia
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- Mar 15, 2024, 1:05pm
- ☀️ 31 °C
- Altitude: 17 m
- Indonesia Bali Tubangerya Ngurah Rai International Airport -8.742618, 115.1668168°44’33” S 115°10’1” E
Day 1
I've Been to Bali, too!
March 15 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
I'm 65. An Aussie. A man from Cronulla. And I haven't been to Bali! What have I been doing?
Well, I'm setting out to correct that, guided by my ex-surfie chick sister Carol who's been coming to Bali for 47 years while I was her daggy brother studying and working at home.
So soon I'll be able to say
"I've been to Bali, too".Read more
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Traveler Our Big Neighbour, Indonesia
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- Mar 15, 2024, 1:31pm
- ⛅ 31 °C
- Altitude: 9 m
- Indonesia Bali Legian Legian Beach -8.697008, 115.1643538°41’49” S 115°9’52” E
Day 1
Welcome to Bali, Welcome to Paradise!
March 15 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Not!
Kuta is the iconic Bali destination but it's turned into a complete disaster.
Straight off the plane Carol took me to Kuta and Legian beaches. Bumper to Bumper traffic through narrow lanes lined with pubs and bars. When we got there, Kuta beach had been washed away in heavy rains and was just a rocky retaining wall littered with rubbish. Not Paradise!
Carol first came here in 1977 when there was nothing here except pristine beach. Since then it's been overbuilt, over promoted and overdone. It has lost the beauty of Bali and the Balinese.
The truth is I've avoided Bali because I didn't want to be seen as part of that drunken Aussie scene.Read more
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Traveler Our Big Neighbour, Indonesia
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- Mar 15, 2024, 3:57pm
- ⛅ 31 °C
- Altitude: 9 m
- Indonesia Bali Legian Legian Beach -8.697008, 115.1643538°41’49” S 115°9’52” E
Day 1
Bali Bombing
March 15 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
While I hate the drunken scene in Kuta, the Bali Bombings were an abomination.
The Islamic Fundamentalists wanted to destroy Western Decadence but they weren't from Bali and also had no respect for the Balinese. Many Balinese were killed too.
Thankfully they have been stopped from doing it again.Read more
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- Mar 15, 2024, 4:00pm
- ⛅ 31 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Indonesia Bali Legian Pantai Legian -8.707176, 115.1693838°42’26” S 115°10’10” E
Day 1
Flat out in Bali
March 15 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
In Kuta and Legian there's a massage parlour about every 10 metres willing to give you a "happy ending".
Carol took me past those to her traditional healer /masseur Wayan for a treatment.
Very strong massage but it loosened up my neck, shoulders and hips very well. So I was much more flexible and relaxed, once I'd recovered.
So it was a different sort of happy ending.Read more
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- Mar 15, 2024, 7:20pm
- ☁️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Indonesia Bali Banjar Pengastian Sindhu Beach -8.685287, 115.2601638°41’7” S 115°15’37” E
Day 1
Nasi Goreng rules!
March 15 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Indonesians love their food and I love Indonesian food . First meal in Indonesia was at a warrung (cafe) that Carol has been coming to for 15 years. Nasi Goreng and Beef Rendang, just $7.
Enak (delicious)

That night we went to dinner at a nearby Night Market in Sanur which was mostly for locals
Basically, food carts of different local foods.
Satay, meatballs, gado gado, matabuk (like a pide), fresh fruit juices, lots of sweets and Nasi Goreng, of course.
With omelette just $3.
Freshly made and enak bunyak (very delicious).Read more
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- Mar 15, 2024, 9:00pm
- ☁️ 28 °C
- Altitude: 11 m
- Indonesia Bali Banjar Pengastian Sindhu Beach -8.686483, 115.2624488°41’11” S 115°15’45” E
Day 1
1 Million just doesn't buy much any more
March 15 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
A million Rupiah!
Tell'em they're dreaming.
Oh!
it's only $100 Australian dollar (AUD) as 1 Australian dollar is worth 10,000 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)
It's very confusing.
But prices here are much cheaper so $100 will still buy you a lot more here than it would in Australia.
Top class accommodation could cost IDR 1 Million a night whereas you'd probably pay AUD$500 a night in Australia.
But for most things prices are usually in the 10s or 100s of thousands which seem expensive but aren't really.
45,000 IDR is only AUD $4.50 but my brain wants to think it's AUD $45. It's quite difficult to automatically divide by 10,000.
But then shops often advertise things as 45k, meaning 45 thousand Rupiah. So again my brain automatically goes to AUD$45 not $4.50 and I have to adjust my brain.
This picture helps but I need it affixed to my glasses so I can see it every time I shop.Read more
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- Mar 16, 2024, 11:46am
- ☁️ 33 °C
- Altitude: 143 m
- Indonesia Bali Banjar Gambang Tukad Sayan -8.541478, 115.1725568°32’29” S 115°10’21” E
Day 2
Temples of Bali
March 16 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C
Most of Indonesia was Hindu at one stage. But then Islam spread through the archipelago and Bali was the only place to resist it. So it has a unique Hindu culture which the Balinese take very seriously.
Every household has a shrine, every village has a temple and special places have very sacred temples.
Taman Ayun Temple was built to worship the ancestral spirits of the kings of Mengwi. There are 9 pagodas surrounded by a moat represent the 9 major temples of Bali in the middle of a sea of milk.
This Temple is part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage listing for Bali's culture. For more info go to https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1194Read more
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- Mar 16, 2024, 12:34pm
- ☁️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 666 m
- Indonesia Bali Banjar Jatiluwih Kangin -8.370208, 115.1311758°22’13” S 115°7’52” E
Day 2
Escape to the Country
March 16 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
I've now seen the madness of Denpasar so Carol organises a car and driver to show me traditional Balinese life in the country.
This means lots of rice fields (and temples).
We went to Jatiluwih Rice Terrace which is also included in a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage listing for the cultural practices of Bali. The rice farmers here are paid to use traditional methods to keep it as it is and tourists come and pay to take pictures.
More details (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1194)
Afterwards we went down a narrow forest path to have lunch, (with Nasi Goreng of course) at a warrung overlooking more rice terraces. We could even see a farmer plowing the rice paddies with oxen. You can't get any more traditional than that.Read more
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- Mar 16, 2024, 2:10pm
- ☁️ 25 °C
- Altitude: 1,262 m
- Indonesia Bali Banjar Kembangmerta -8.263291, 115.1655968°15’48” S 115°9’56” E
Day 2
Is it a temple or an amusement park?
March 16 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Ulun Danu Beratan is a very sacred temple on the shore of a beautiful volcanic crater lake and included UNESCO World Cultural Heritage listing for Bali's culture. It's so sacred, visitors can't even go into the temples even though you pay an entrance fee. And the classic pagoda was being repaired.
But then it has crazy statues, swan paddle boats, love heart swan seat, playgrounds, a puzzle park, restaurants, cafes and an ice cream shop and more to attract people. It worked as it was packed.
I understand that temples need to raise money to maintain the buildings. They all charge entrance fees but this was a bit over the top.Read more
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- Mar 17, 2024, 9:39am
- ☀️ 30 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
- Indonesia Bali Banjar Sanur Tanjung Serangan -8.707382, 115.2627428°42’27” S 115°15’46” E
Day 3
The quieter side of Denpasar
March 17 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
We're staying at the Swastika Guest House in Sanur on the eastern side of Denpasar.
Kuta and Legian are on the western side which has good waves. That's why they were originally popular with surfies. Sanur has few waves so it's not as developed. Which is good.
In the 70s it was fishing village like most of the east coast villages.
Today, being Sunday, the Balinese have the day off and like most people enjoy relaxing by the beach or riding bikes along the foreshore, etc.
There's a turtle hatchery on the main beach to save the sea turtles. They raise the turtles to a good size then release them to increase their chances of survival in the wild.Read more
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