Seoul, Java, Bali
Spring 2018. We landed in Seoul and headed to our hotel (Four Seasons). Checked in and got some rest. We went to the hot tub/sauna/steam area which was really impressive. Spouse inadvertently got a traditional Korean scrub. Location was conveniently close to walk through Gyeongbokgung and then over to Changdeokgung. In between we strolled through Bukchon Hanok village between them which is very scenic/traditional (minus the tourists of course). We ate at Mingles, one night which was quite good but a bit of a trek from our hotel. Wandered around the shopping district to see what the fuss was about K -beauty wise. Ate at a more casual place the other night. The hidden bar at the hotel was nice.
We connected onwards to Jakarta from here (which is actually cheaper than flying Vancouver to Seoul). We stayed at the airport hotel in Jakarta as didn’t want to experience the traffic. Next morning, we flew on to Yogyakarta. Here we were picked up by hotel staff, and had a short tour of Prambanan Temple. Afterwards checked into Amanjiwo. Although older property it has aged very well and has to be one of the most exceptional hotels we’ve ever stayed at. Perfect service and hospitality, good food, beautiful rooms overlooking a rice field with Borobudar, in the distances surrounded by mist shrouded volcanoes. We took a visit to the temple which was surprisingly not crowded. We then did a hike to an overlook of the valley and visited a couple smaller villages along the way. From here we flew to Surabaya, then got picked up by our tour guide Tegu Mulyadi(highly recommended), for the next few days. First stop was Mt Bromo. We stayed in a reasonable hotel (Jiwa Jawa) on the mountains after a long drive up the mountains. Very early start the next day for a sunrise hike. Afterwards we visited the crater of the volcano. From here there was a train ride to the east side of Java, Ketabang. We stayed at bit north at Bangspring Breeze. A pleasant small hotel with good food and a nice room + pool. Got a couples massage from two masseuse who spoke no English, interesting time. The outdoor washrooms had my spouse on high alert for geckos. We had another very early morning visiting Mt Ijen volcano. It is known for its highly acidic and colorful crater lake, and the blue flame sulphur mining (which we didn’t venture down into).
The next day we took the ferry across to Bali, and drove to Ubud. We spent a fair bit of time in our hotel, really nice complex with a great entrance along the river (Mandapa). We took a sightseeing tour to see the temples, and rice fields in their vintage VW which was really nice (but need to book in advance almost missed this, same with restaurants). Ubud itself seemed a bit overrun with tourism unfortunately, but we were expecting this.
From here we flew to Sydney, spent a few days visiting with friends and flew home direct across the pacific.
Would highly recommend Java and Amanjiwo while visiting Indonesia, a bit more off the beaten path then Bali where some people spend their whole time. Next time hope to see the Orangutans and visit Papua, so many fascinating islands to see.
