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Indonesia 2024
  • Oliver Hall

Indonesia 2024

A 29-day adventure by Oliver Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 10, 2024
    Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    First stop off

    Jun 10–12, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    - First stop off of the entire trip after a long flight where Anas slept on Ollie's shoulder the whole way
    - Somehow ended up in 'Little India' which stank of curry
    - Proceeded to try out the new drone. Said drone 'fucked off' and never came back
    - After much deliberation, we learnt from our mistake and bought another one...if we lose this one I'm going to cry
    - Broke into the paddocks above the Singapore F1 track and got some amazing drone shots
    - Learnt pretty quickly that Singapore is brutally humid and that aircon is the best thing ever invented.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler
    1

    Dog food

    Jun 13–14, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    - Dog food for dinner
    - Nasi goreng for breakfast
    - Lost on the way home had to take the backalleys with a small detour
    - BOUGHT MOPEDS!!!
    - Walked around ciwidey - I am an alien
    - Drove from bandung to RancabaliRead more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Nearly bought a 3rd drone

    Jun 14–15, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    - Nasi goreng for breakfast - AMAZING
    - Attempted to tie bags for the first time with moderate success
    - Headed south to look at Kawah Putih, fog disappointed us
    - Got scammed buying strawberries for 30,000 RP, saw the same for 5,000 down the road...
    - Headed back through Ciwidey, then south through sunrise point Cukul and climbed to the top. Climbed ongoing construction site for a much needed drone shot, sound chaps
    - Thunderstorm hit while on the road. My waterproof jacket was not as waterproof as I thought. Bright green ponchos came in clutch 👌
    - Took the drone out with 20% battery, nearly fell down the cliff, so we sacrificed a finger to catch it midair.
    - Took google Maps' recommendation along a track of large rocks up a mountain. Suspension was tested thoroughly alongside my willpower to live
    - Stopped for petrol when it went dark, ended up staying in the owners house
    - Quick trip to buy the entiretly of the sweet selection in indonesia, £9 with face wash and pantine. Took anas's bike and discussed kidnapping a small child in front of his mother.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler
    1

    Faceplant

    Jun 15–16, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    - Woke up to find the doritoes had be ransacked by ants and carried across the wall into a hole next to where we were sleeping. Whoops
    - The apartment was infested with ants and cockroaches, with an entire ecosystem along the wall. The bed resembled a sesaw where anas would lie down and I got shot up half a foot. I guess you get what you paid for. (£0)
    - Headed south towards the sea along the worst roads imaginable.
    - Started to rain, we put on our bright green ponchos in preparation- immediately stopped raining...great
    - Ollie fell off his moped going round a left turn. Small injuries with greater mental embarrassment.
    - Took the wrong turn at the crossroads and ended up in a stunning village in the middle of nowhere. Begged the locals for a bin, but no-one understood. All the villagers came out to stare at us and thought our empty strawberry packet was an offering. The local english teacher came and took us to her house and made us lunch which was amazing.
    - Continued south with the villagers until we found the main road to the beach.
    - Followed the road along the coastline for a few hours and ended up in Pagandaran in a waterside shack!
    - Currently listening to a man wail from a speaker attempting to practise call to prayer. He's going to have to count his blessings as I'm about to beat him to death very slowly if he doesn't shut up soon.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Endless wailing

    Jun 16–17, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌫 14 °C

    - Woke up to roosters roosting very loudly
    - Had breakfast sitting on a wooden pontoon over the lake at our accommodation. I now have the urge to build something similar over the pond at home...
    - Started our journey from parangaran to Dieng Plateau on the mopeds
    - Drove through the mountains along silkly smooth roads with amazing views
    - Took the drone out for shoots, footage coming soon!
    - Stopped off at an alfa mart for pot noodles, croissants and ice cream.
    - Started to get dark as we drove higher up into the mountains towards dieng Plateau. Got incredibly cold towards the end
    - Stopped off at a plastic fire to warm up, very green
    - Reached our destination for the night basically frozen.
    - Got wayy too much fried chicken from Rocket Chicken and spent all the remaining money we have, worth it 👌
    - Found out that our accomodation is next to the local mosque. Listened to wailing for 4 hours straight....    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Sleep deprivation

    Jun 17–18, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    - Couldn't get to sleep until 12am because of the mosque that was conveniently located inside our hotel room.
    - Got woken up AGAIN at 5am for 30 mins with additional wailing
    - Got woken up AGAIN AGAIN at 8am with MORE wailing.... I contemplated cutting the speaker wires
    - Got woken up AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN at 10am and decide to call it quits so got out of bed. Water from the tap didn't work and the electricity was on strike. Nice
    - We were both sleep deprived and in pretty crap moods, so I took us to Sikunir Hill vantage point. The views were incredible and most importantly we couldn't hear the mosque, which was a blessing.
    - Also went to Arjuna complex to see the Hindu temple reminents.
    - Still traumatised by last night's events we had a short day and headed to Borobudur where Ollie picked out the best hotel known to man.
    - Had the best shower ever and finally got our clothes washed at the laundry, in the hotel.
    - We ate at a beautiful buffet restaurant next to a pond filled with koi karp, whereby we used the rice crackers as bait to bring them to the surface. I contemplated grabbing a fish and eating it as they cleared all the food by the time I went back for seconds 🙃.
    - Went back to the hotel and found 2 horses in the back. One kept trying to bite anas which was hilarious and the other was sweet. We also found a truck with the keys in the ignition, we jumped in and tried to highjack it but the battery was flat so we couldn't take it for a spin. It would have been funny seeing the receptionists' face when we drove out with HER truck. I wonder what Indonesian jail looks like?    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Please wait from the west

    Jun 18–19, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    - Woke up and went downstairs for a mediocre buffet. The only redeemable option was noodles, which ollie mixed with rice 🤢 we then decided to grab croissants from nearby shop instead, ollie eating more as usual.
    - We drove to Borobudur Temple and after a brief pep talk from Anas, vaulted the fence to circumvent the ridiculous entry fees, just to get caught immediately. We acted confused and was directed to the front to get tickets, and had our drone taken until we left. Ollie being a coward refused a second attempt at sneaking in.
    - The temple was cool but we were too hot. After circling the temple 3 times looking for the way to the ticket booth, we took back the drone and headed back to the bikes. After 20 minutes of contemplation to get a drone shot despite the prohibition laws, we decided to play it safe and moved on.
    - We then drove back to the hotel to pick up our clean clothes and sat under an AC unit for half an hour to cool off
    - We then drove to Yogyakarta and stopped off at a local cafe. Food was great and staff agreed for us to leave our bags while we explore the city. We visited the markets and found the city to be vibrant and quirky.
    - Just as we were about to set off for Malang, we had the sudden urge to swim, so had the cafe employee call many hotels to find a pool that was open till late, and booked a 4 star hotel room in the city for hefty 26 quid. Sheesh. We mucked around in the pool then hit the streets looking for dinner. We got distracted, then everything closed, so we settled for a measly burger king. In retrospect, we are both glad we stayed a little longer.
    - Came across the glorious nig mac
    - Said sama sama (you're welcome) to everyone as a greeting and found it hilarious all day
    - Found a souvenir shop and bought ice cream. Please wait from the west and proceed north to the counter.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Hitting the road

    Jun 19–20, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    - Set an alarm for 7am in preparation for a long day of driving. Woke up a few minutes later at 11am and decided we probably should get a move on.
    - Stopped off at Alfa mart for breakfast supplies and hit the road.
    - 4 hours in anas' bike lost all power, conveniently outside a yamaha dealership. Had it happened anywhere else along the 8hr drive we would have been stuffed.
    - We grabbed lunch whilst the mechanics worked on the bike, they managed to fix the problem, replace spark plugs, change oil and change the break pads all for the hefty price of £9 including labour.
    - Continued driving into the night and finished 20 minutes from Malang. We are very impressed by how much distance we covered today.
    - Finally we went to forage for food in the local town. Stopped by a street food shop that makes amazing Nasi Goreng. We each ordered 2 plates and tea. Ollie accidentally ate a chilli and died for 5 minutes whilst the owner ran down the road to buy water. Anas was slandering ollie and now has just done the same thing. What a moron    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Dune Slip and slide

    Jun 20–21, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    - Woke up late after the long drive from yesterday, we both slept amazingly
    - Went to alfamart again for breakfast supplies. Discovered the cheese pastry, which they microwaved in the plastic wrapping....healthy. This may be the go-to breakfast
    - Began our drive towards Bromo national park and we promised ourselves a more relaxing day (this was not the case)
    - As we started to climb through the mountains we stopped off at a waterfall which was pretty amazing and then found a restaurant overlooking the mountain range. The views were amazing and we got some killer drone shots.
    - We drove on and immediately discovered that there was an enty fee into the national park, which we were short on cash for. The closest ATM was 30 minutes away ffs.
    - After a lot of consideration anas found a backdoor route that connected up just behind the entrance. We drove down in and discovered it was a dirt track along the side of a cliff about half a meter wide. One wrong slip and it's game over. We concluded this was a terrible idea and turned back for an ATM.
    - After driving to the nearest town, we got the cash and returned to the gate, paid the fee and carried on.
    - It got really cold as we were driving and ollie ran over a cat, which ran away after so I presume it's just a minor flesh wound.
    - We travelled south and discovered the main road was a desert of slipperly black ash. We were on the verge of freezing to death and in the midst of a mountain range in pitch black darkness with no one around for miles. All we could see was shadows of mountains and the stars. With ollies moped lights failing, anas took the lead as we drifted the sands on mopeds with no traction whatsoever. The realisation hit us that we had 5 more kilometres of this with no alternative route. We got stuck several times, and nearly fell off many more while some of the locals barrelled past us on mountain tires and 2 passengers.
    - Finally made it to the village and started asking the locals if we could make it onto the mountain for sunrise as it was closed off for 4 days. We have decided to climb anyway...    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Mission Impossible - Sumitting Mt Bromo

    Jun 21–22, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    - Got woken up 3 times by the alarm in which we snoozed all of them. Finally decided to get out of bed at 3am to climb Mt Bromo against all warnings.
    - Drove to the hotel in the closest village to Mt Bromo to look for discreet parking. We snuck past the main ticket barrier and parked the bikes.
    - Started our decent to the volcanic ash grounds surrounding the mountains. Descent was slippery and dark.
    - Once we got to flat ground, it was time to head towards the mountain without being seen. Looking over our shoulders, we took the routes furthest away from apparent motorbike or Jeep lights from patroll staff. We couldn't use torches otherwise we would be discovered.
    - We snuck past base camp and on several occasions had to jump into rock crevasses to hide from oncoming bikes.
    - Tensions were high and we finally reached the base of the mountain unseen. When locals would walk past, we covered our faces and heads in the hopes we wouldn't be spoken to. We made our adrenaline-rushed way to the peak of the mountain in pitch black darkness and saw the huge crater looming below us. We start to make our way round the crater and get suffocated by the giant cloud of sulfur gas from the volcano. Anas had an asthma attack and descended back to the middle of mountain. Had he forgot his pump, he'd be stuffed. After we recovered, we found a spot at the top of the crater clear of gas fumes, and the realisation that we had snuck onto the summit of a forbidden volcano set in.
    - We stayed up on the peak for a few hours where we took drone shots and met a French guy who had done the same thing as us. We watched some absolute nutjobs walk partially down into the crater for the festival where locals were throwing food into the volcano as sacrifice.
    - After staying for a while we headed down into the ash flats. It was surreal seeing the area we had snuck through open up and not have to worry about being caught. We got many looks from locals as tourists weren't allowed in this area.
    - We got back to our apartment at 10 and slept for a few hours as the adrenaline of the day had started to wear off.
    - We drove up to seruni point where we were planning to go before instead of Mt Bromo. Was amazing but I am very glad we were on Bromo for sunrise.
    - Finally we drove to a nearby waterfall, it was closed and the drone didn't work so we ended up driving north to Probollingo which is definitely crap.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Bike troubles

    Jun 22–23, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌫 15 °C

    - Woke up late from our hotel after catching some much needed sleep after Bromo
    - Began our drive towards Ijen in preparation for the climb the following sunrise.
    - We planned to arrive early to rest, BUT SOMEONES BIKE BROKE DOWN...AGAIN.
    - We initially tried to solider on with a stuttering engine, until progress became painfully slow.
    - Plan B was to have one of us push the other with their foot on the foot peg. This was tedious and didn't really work uphill.
    - Plan C worked temporarily but turned out to be an awful idea. We tied both bikes together with rope and made it a few miles before concluding this was a terrible idea after a tragic accident around a bend.
    - After patching up injuries, a local came over and brought anas' bike back to life. We then managed to plod our way to Mt Ijen, arriving quite late in the evening.
    - We stopped off for dinner in what looked like someone's house and ordered 2 bowls of noodles. After inhaling it, we requested a refill, and then requested another. Out of shame we didn't get anymore and instead decided to buy snacks from the nearby shop. We ate so much they had to drive to the shops to restock.
    - The only affordable accomodation in the area was an absolute shithole, with no shower or proper running water. The only way to get water was to pull a peg out of the wall that was plugging the flow. Anas couldn't figure out how to take it out, someone came over to do it and got drenched, while anas couldn't stop laughing. Stupidly the plug in our room only worked when the light was turned on so we charged nothing.
    - After hiring headtorches and gas masks, we were then informed that we need a medical form to show we were fit to climb. The nearest clinic was 10km away, though awful roads and it was already 9pm.
    - We made the journey with one of them leading the way and some random uncle tagging along on the back of anas' bike. We still have no clue why he came as he contributed nothing...
    - The 'medical examination' took an hour of our time and consisted only of a blood pressure check.
    - Upon arriving home we fell asleep at midnight, getting around 2 hours of sleep before climbing.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler
    1

    The quest for blue flames

    Jun 23–24, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    - We woke up for 2.30am, or rather ollie did and anas refused to get out of bed. After a lot of persuasion in the form of verbal and physical abuse, anas decided to get up.
    - We began the climb and immediately realised how many tourists there were along the single track road.
    - On the way we saw sherpas offering to push lazy people up in glorified wheelbarrows for the small price of 1.5 million a pop. For the more hefty folk, multiple sherpas were required, the fat fucks.
    - We stopped off at a shop halfway up the mountain to buy water and chocolate. Anas ended up buying sugary water which was tasted like tree sap.
    - Continuing on with our hard climb, we were slowed down by the number of tourists bumbling along the path. Most were wearing trainers, and mostly out of breath on a small incline...
    - One we reached the top we began descending towards the crater to see the blue flames at night. The sheer number of people made it incredibly slow to decend, so we missed sunrise at the top.
    - Once we reached the bottom , we rushed back up to the peak for some epic drone shots.
    - The descent back down the mountain was wet, slippy and miserable, but we had a chat with the locals to pass the time.
    - We arrived back home, napped for a few hours to recharge and the drove to Ketapang ferry port.
    - After some lovely fried chicken, we bought our tickets for a whopping £2 each and headed to the port.
    - It was like the hunger games, with the number of bikes racing to get on the ferry. After an hour of waiting in standstill queues, we finally boarded and only arrived to Bali at 10pm.
    - Both of us half asleep we drove an hour away to a hotel in Jembrana which in contrast to last night accomodation is built for humans.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Immediately left bali

    Jun 25–26, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    - Woke up late after a long commute using the ferry and driving to our accomodation
    - We initially booked 2 nights in the south of bali, until anas' sudden burst of wisdom led to us impulsively ditching the second night and booking a ferry to Nusa Lebongan
    - As we had some time before the 5pm ferry, we went to the beach, which was rammed. We swam and took the drone out and headed back for showers.
    - We then drove like maniacs to the ferry a and reduced the 1hr travel time by 10 minutes by bombing it down the toll road even with being held up by a 5 minute argument at the toll booth
    - Arriving with 30 minutes to spare we picked up our tickets and boarded the speed boat.
    - After arriving at our destination, we discovered that we had to wade to shore carrying our bags and not falling over. A man was there to meet up and deliver us our moped for the 2 days.
    - As our AirBnB accomodation hadn't been confirmed we headed to the nearest beach restaurant and has fresh fish for dinner which was amazing.
    - Finally we crashed at our accomodation early as Ollie had to wake up early to go diving the next day!    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    MANTA RAYS

    Jun 26–27, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    - Ollie woke up early at 7am to get ready for diving. Headed to the dive centre for 7.30am to get briefed whilst anas the lazy twat slept in to 11am
    - We were going to Manta and Crystal bay for the 1st and 2nd dives.
    - Got in the speedboat and travelled for 40 minutes along beautiful vertical coastline.
    - At the first dive site we got prepared and dove in. After 5 minutes we immediately were surrounded by manta rays! There were around 8-10 of varying sizes and one mother that was pregnant. The wingspan ranged from 2-4 meters and they were so graceful in the water. Lots of videos to come!
    - After this we drove to the next dive site, crystal point, where we were surrounded by hundreds of fish of varying species. Notable sightings included; Mauray eel, frog fish, seahorses, lobsters and a baby turtle!
    - After completing both our dives we headed back to the dive shop.
    - As ollie managed to convince anas to join in diving, he had to complete a pool date starting at 2pm. This was very funny to watch from Ollies perspective 🤣
    - Anas took a while getting used to breathing underwater with the scuba kit, but figured it out and completed his training with basic skills.
    - After completing this and preparing for the next diving day, we drove to a nearby beach bar at the south West of the island. The views were spectacular and in our famished state we both ate 2 mains each.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    First Arab underwater

    Jun 27–28, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    - We both woke up early to drive to the dive centre to prepare for the 2 dives today! Anas was still slightly anxious about what to expect from the experience
    - We arrived at 7.45 and Anas used his puffer outside the dive centre, so to hide it from the instructor otherwise pepe would have killed him.
    - We assembled our gear, jumped on the boat and drove to the first dive site which was Manta Point like yesterday.
    - Anas was hesitant when entering the water, but after falling backwards relatively gracefully he soon adapted to the ocean.
    - We descended below the boat and after 5 minutes of acclimatisation to understand breathing we reached the bottom.
    - Then Mantas emerged! There were around 8 rays varying in size, with a noticeable pregnant manta who was huge. Ollie got some insane shots and is well on his way for deep sea photographer of the year.
    - The best shot was when a manta flew over his head (0.25m away) and he blew bubbles on its belly.
    - After gawking at mantas for 50 minutes we ascended to the surface and got back on the dive boat
    - Anas immediately started to feel sick and began heaving over the side of the boat... classy. He was fine after 20 minutes of very rocky sailing
    - The next dive site was Mangrove Point. This was a reef where fish are born and develop, so hopes were high. As the area had a strong current flowing north, we would start the dive south and be picked up further up the island.
    - We started the dive and were swept along beautiful coral reefs with an abundance of fish in every direction. This was also an amazing moment to practise buoyancy in the water, whereby you inflate and deflate your BCD (Bouynacy control device) so that you can 'hover' horizontally.
    - Anas was surprisingly good at this and picked it up quickly. Ollie spent his time practising getting super close to the coral with this technique and definitely didn't crash a few times.
    - We outlasted all the other divers (45 minutes underwater) and regrouped on the boat.
    - After a short drive back we finished at the dive shop! Anas paid for the entire thing as he was deeply in debt with ollie.
    - After grabbing the drone we drove to devils tear on the west coast of the island (squrity cliffs). They were rather wet. Anas is still complaining about spending £1.25 each on this activity...what a moron
    - We finally drove to sunset point, ate our bodies worth in food (except for anas who has his meal messed up twice) and attempted to plan the rest of the trip with moderate success.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Ass coffee

    Jun 28–29, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    - Woke up super early as we had the ferry at 8.15 going back to bali. Packed all our stuff and took the speedboat back.
    - When we picked up our bikes in bali we realised 2 key details: Ollies ignition had fallen out so now his bike was reliant on a small spring to start. Secondly anas' front tyre needed replacing as it had deflated due to a slash.
    - We therefore found a garage around the corner and paid the hefty £3 for a new tyre. Whilst they got to work we ate way too many pancakes at nearby cafe.
    - After the work was complete we drove south to benoa to look for the ferry to Lombok. We then realised that the ferry didn't go from here and instead another port an hour away north.
    - We bought out tickets for the ferry and were stopped by a rouge police man on the way through who insisted that we need international driving licences to use our bikes. As anas' had an online picture he was fine, but Ollie did not so he fined him 200,000 Rupiah, which definitely did not go into his pocket.
    - We boarded the ferry and we're immediately swarmed by small women adamant to sell their food. Anas in his infinite wisdom opted for the unfiltered coffee which in his words tasted of 'ass water' They couldn't even understand his explaining that coffee should be filtered.
    - After fending off the rest of indonesia offering up food, we settled down and watched films for 5 hours before arriving in lombok.
    - We drove to our accomdation on the south West coast and crashed for the night.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    The inevitable death of anas' bike

    Jun 29–30, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    - Slept in a room with ac that was on strike. I was hot last night that it was warmer inside our room that outside.
    - Woke up to a beautiful ocean view with a private swimming pool just next to the sea.
    - Went down for breakfast and got a inclusive breakfast and then paid for an extra breakfast after as we were feeling peckish.
    - We got told to check out as we were 30 minutes over the Check Out time after a dip in the pool. Whoops
    - Drove 15 minutes down the coast and paid 2 men £20 to take us on a boat to 3 nearby islands, the first of which we went snorkeling nearby. At the second, we were made fried noodles by a man in a wooden shack on the completely barren island. And the 3rd island was so tiny it was a 10 minute walk around the whole thing. Here we spent 1.5 hours just mucking around in the sea and being oddly amused with rocks we found on the floor, while the 2 men waited on the island waiting for us to finish being children.
    - After this we headed back, nearly lost out prop to a buoy and drove back to our hotel to collect our bags.
    - We began heading to Kuta at which halfway through the journey anas' bike gave up and grinded to a halt.
    - The locals came our to help. Long story short we ended up in their house eating rice and chicken, whilst bidding each other for the sale of Anas' bike for hours. After all this wasted time the cheeky guys offered us £75 for the bike after which it miraculously came back to life again, so we ploughed on to Kuta.
    - Somehow we made it to the hotel, then went out for 2nd dinner, and they caused a flight between a gay couple.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    The death of Ollie's bike

    Jun 30–Jul 1, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    - Woke up and immediately looked for food as usual. Went to a lovely cafe and got 2 breakfasts each.
    - We then checked on the surf place in Kuta and they said come back at 4pm for lessons. We therefore walked around a bit, got a drink and did not a lot.
    - We came back for surfing and hopped in a jeep with no rear seats. With us we're 2 instructors and a supposed 17 year old who looked 11.
    - We took the jeep to the surf site and were showed how to get up on the surf board. Upon entering the water we completely forgot this information and repeatedly faceplanted for the first hour.
    - After this we started to get the hang of it and felt pretty good until the alleged 17 year old showed us up.
    - After surfing we had an obscene amount of noodles at the beach front. We then headed back for a small snack of 2 pancakes each.
    - As we had to catch the ferry the next morning we began our drive to Mataram.
    - All was brilliant until it wasn't .
    - Around 20 minutes into the journey, and on the last 20km stretch of our epic 1600km road trip, Ollie had a slight technical issue whereby the engine internally exploded. This was characterised by the intense rattling of the metal components inside his internal combustion chamber. Upon describing the sounds to Anas and trying to start the bike, he conclusively determined, in his words, "it was fucked". Wonderful...
    After making it across the entirety of the country along every terrain imaginable, it gave in just before the finish line. However, technically, the man who we bought it from was still correct, that it would in fact make it to lombok. In retrospect, he did not promise that it would make it through lombok. Of the two bikes, we were sure that Anas' would be the one to go first. How the tabled had turned
    - Within minutes, locals pulled up to check up on us, and decided quite quickly that we'd donate the fallen soldier to the couple that stopped for us. We handed over the keys and insurance documents. We then explained that Anas will drive his bike to Mataram and sell it there, to which they responded with their wishes to buy it right there and then. We agreed on a price of 4M rupiah, and pretended it was suffering no power issues whatsoever... He gave us cash and we both hopped into his friends car, who drove us to our accomodation in Mataram.
    - After arriving to our "reserved" accomodation, we were told by the bellend at the front that they had no space despite our reservation. After a brief argument, we then crossed the road and found other accommodation to spend the night.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    The quest for the 'promised land'

    Jul 1–2, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    - Woke up
    - Took a shit
    - Got out of bed
    - After that hefty ordeal, Ollie ordered a grab and we went to the ferry port.
    - Took the ferry which was awful. Somehow it was hotter and sweatier than the slow public ferry.
    - Once we arrived in Bali the company we booked with notified us that the 2 hour journey would take 3.5 hrs by shuttle bus, meaning we would miss our flight. We therefore opted to go via taxi, the driver of which was a monumental lunatic, breaking every traffic law in the books to get us to the airport in time, whatever the cost. Notable offences included running of red lights, nearly murdering a few pedestrians, cutting up other cars, and tailgating so hard that we could have washed cars in front while on the move. All of which resulted in a substantial saving in journey time, cutting our eta by a whopping grand total of zero minutes.
    - After we arrived, we rushedly ran through the airport, and after an emergency urinary pit stop, made our way through seemingly the most laid-back security check.
    - While boarding the first flight, the pilot stuck his head out the window to notify which country this plane was going to, after which half the passengers disembarked. It turns out that the passengers in indonesian airports are just trusted to choose which plane they get on once you get on the runway tarmac. How on earth this happened is still beyond us.
    - 2 flights later, the second of which was delayed, we finally arrived at midnight in Manado, the promise lands. A 10 minute walk led us to the hotel Emma was staying in and greeted her there. It was then we all universally acknowledged that Manado.... was in fact a monumental shithole.
    - We settled in for an early night (3am) excited to explore the beautiful city of Manado.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Manado is the new Bandung

    Jul 2–3, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    - All 3 of us woke up late after a tiring previous day of travel.
    - Anas headed straight out to track down a car rental company, none of which were in the place Google maps said they would be. In fact it was so far off, that Anas used a local on a moped to search the city for a car rental company, until he stumbled on a man in a shed. After he got paid some sheckles, he brought the minivan over to the hotel to pick up the mandem. It became apparent quite quickly, that sulawesi is a barren land with little infrastructure, with nothing more than shoddy shacks dotted around the area. As a white man never before spotted in these shit lands, Oliver got a lot of attention from the locals.
    - We headed west in the car towards the volcanic region, which is when the torrential and bipolar downpour began. After spending 2 hours on a quest to find any food clear of cholera, the realisation universally set in, that Manado really is a shithole. We even resorted to asking locals on the street to make us food, as the smelly shacks dotted along the dire streets were either shut, infested with diseases, or smelt like diarrhoea.
    - Eventually, we gave up and headed into an indomaret to grab some snacks and headed towards the mountains. Miraculously, we stumbled upon a cafe that looked suspiciously nice considering the barren lands surrounding it. We went in for lunch, which ollie and anas both thoroughly enjoyed, while emma with her stale chicken and nasty avocado coffee, wasn't having the best of times. After Emma dropped a log in the cafe, we continued on our drive.
    - Following ollies awful directions, we made it to the top of a volcano. However, the fog and rain made it hard to see much. Emma in her great wisdom thought white trousers and casual trainers would suffice.
    - Still in physical shock at how awful and barren Manado is, we began our drive to the northeast coast of the northern tip of sulawesi where we found accomodation to stay. A wasp entered the car at which point we all became feral.
    - After emma broke our bed, we headed back out to a food spot at the beach, at which ollie got violated by an old indonesian woman running the food stall.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    Silver Needle in a Haystack

    Jul 3–4, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    - Woke up early at 10.30, to find that emma had been up since 6.30 this morning and was very tired.
    - Went down for a hearty breakfast of 4 pancakes each, a huge bowl of nasi goreng and papaya. Emma fed the chicken it's children.
    - We then packed up and drove to the nature reserve to be greeted by our tour guide who in hindsight we did not need. However Feliz did mange to find big bottomed monkeys and koalas.
    -We then drove on and found a local beach and 'swam'. Emma also like a div dropped her silver bracelet in the ocean and anas the saviour found it like a true lifeguard he was destined to be.
    - We drove down south in quest of food. We found greasy chicken with awful chips, anas suggested we buy a cake which turned out to be stale beyond belief and we settled on a small woman at the side of the road who actually knew how to cook.    Read more

  • Oliver HallIndonesia 2024Traveler

    The Logfish

    Jul 3–7, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    - Everyday Ollie work up at 7.30 for breakfast, in preparation for diving, followed by the others 10 minutes before the boat left.
    - Anas was completing his open water licence, so was on a separate boat except for the final day. Ollie and Emma dove together for the entire time.
    - Key highlights from diving included: Turtle city (hundreds of turtles), white and black tip reef sharks, crocodile fish, moray eel, butterfly fish and trigger fish.
    - On the afternoon of the first dive day we all slept in and they went for a walk and drinks at a beach bar.
    - 2nd day afternoon we rented a boat and went snorkeling at Silsden island, where we saw turtles and watched the sunset which was amazing.
    - The final afternoon, Emma and I tried to rent a moped but ended up playing pool waiting for the rain to stop. Anas took Djion scooter and we travelled to the west coast of the island to watch the sunset. We nearly crashed multiple times whilst skidding around along mud roads but just about made it.
    - We met Flores, Floor and Carlos were all hilarious.    Read more

    Trip end
    July 8, 2024
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