We thankfully didn't miss the plane after going to the wrong airport and the guy who took us there was just getting extra money and not robbing us so all was well! Jakarta was strange because there was absolutely nothing to do and the backpacker area was just one street and that seemed to be it. We expected more from a big city, but there was a Starbucks so we were happy for a while! We just caught up on emails there and planned everywhere we were going to go in Indonesia. Getting from island to Island proved to be quite expensive.
We flew to Bali and stayed in a place called Sanur which was more for older people as it was quite quiet with nice restaurants. There was a fantastic pub called the Cat and Fiddle which did steak and ale pie and pickled onions! It was brill!
We hired a car and decided to go from the bottom of the island to the north to see what was up there. We didn't realise how big Bali actually was and it ended up taking us a whole day and we didn't get back until about 8pm (still in time for steak pie!). We stopped on the way at a monkey temple where they jump on you wanting food but it was actually really fun.
The next day we went to another temple south of the island which was on the edge of a cliff. The views were great but we got there too late so we missed all the authentic dancing that happens just before sunset.
After Bali we got a public ferry to Lombok another island. We paid a guy at the ferry office for our ticket and some guys carried our bags to the boat without asking. That usually means its part of the service, but no they demanded money when we go to the ferry. I got really angry at the point and told them no, at which point they gathered around trying to intimidate us. Alistair gave them the equivilent of about 70p and then they asked for more. We both just said "no it's either that or nothing" so they took it and left. We read in the guide afterwards things like that occur all the time and only let them carry your bag if you are prepared to pay for it. They get you by just not saying anything and they are really nice and wait for you and ask where you want to sit etc. We're very tight now though and won't give away money for nothing!!
On Lombok we stayed at a beach resort called Sengiggi. It was ok apart from as Indonesia is a muslim state, there are a lot of mosques around. Two of which were either side of our hostel and at 5:30am, the wailing is not appreciated! The beach was really nice and i got a massage on the sand for around £2 which was a bargain. We went there for sunset every night before tea which was beautiful apart from the sellers that kept coming over to sell sarongs. Whilst on Lombok we decided to challenge ourselves and do a volcano trek. It was a full day trek and you camped at the top. It sounded really good so we signed up and packed what we thought we would need.
The first day we set off full of energy and started the uphill climb. After literally 10 mins i had to stop whilst the group carried on. It got really embarrassing as they kept waiting for me but i expressed numerous times that they should carry on because i was slow. I'm not actually slow, just horrendously unfit! After a while they got the hint and left us behind. Alistair carried my bag for me and i just concentrated on counting steps (bearing in mind this was constantly uphill before you start judging me!) and i didn't think i'd make it to the first quarter! Halfway up when we stopped for lunch we set off after 10 mins to give us a 30 min head start and no lie, every single person overtook us! There were people in their 60's with full walking attire (including sticks) and the couple infront of us had a woman who was rather large and they were storming ahead!
We were in the forest for three quarters of the way and we were walking through the clouds which got a bit hard to breathe with the altitude. Alistair was so sweaty he could wring his shirt out so i took the bag back. For the last quarter which was the steepest bit i got a burst of energy and felt better. Alistair on the other hand was severely dehydrated and kept going dizzy and collapsing. It was really worrying because the last quarter was out of the forest and in direct sunlight and we had no water left. The ground was also dust and gravel so your feet couldn't grip hold of anything. We had to stop about every 10 steps and we were really struggling as it was literally a vertical climb at some parts. The guide got worried and came back for us with water and biscuits and said we were almost there.
We could see the campsite which gave us a push and after 9 hours we made it! We trekked on to the top which was the most amazing sight we had ever seen. In the crater of the volcano was a huge lake, which had a rock in the middle which was shooting lava out! It was fantastic and the near death experience was definitely worth seeing and active volcano. We camped there at night which was freezing and you could hear the eruption growling in the distance. Alistair still didn't feel well and couldn't eat anything but we thought he would be ok after a sleep (he was sick during the night).
The next day we set off down the volcano and all these tall swedes were overtaking us (i swear it's the long legs!) so we were trying to keep pace. We got down in a few hours and headed back to Sengiggi where we recovered, although didn't sleep a lot due to the mosque callings throughout the day. At one point Alistair had alot of blood in his wee which freaked us out but it turned out it was severe dehydration and he had to have rehydration sachets. He was ok again the day after.
When we had recovered, we went to the Gili Islands which are three small islands off the coast of Lombok. We stayed on Gili Air which was like paradise but everywhere was full. We had to stay in a homestay, which is basically a room in someone's house. It was really basic and there was the tradional washing facility which is a tub filled with water and you have to scoop it out and pour it on yourself, which would've been fine if it wasn't salt water. My hair has never been so frizzy! It was a really cool place because there was no electricity some nights due to power cuts so the whole island was dark apart from candles. You could walk around the island in about an hour and there were no cars, just horse and carts. It was a lovely place and the snorkelling there was brilliant. We didn't even need to do any diving because there was that much marine life, it was like we were really deep. Every night we sat at a restaurant on the beach and had seafood. Alistair spent about £6 a night on massive barbequed fish (2Kg's) that had been caught that day. The restaurant had lanterns and cushions and it was really cozy especially hearing the sea and looking and the stars.
We took a day trip to the biggest island for an ATM, but it was full of backpackers and really modernised which is what these islands don't need. They were so nice because they were so basic, it was like being on a tropical island, where everything is made of bamboo and all the roads are sand. It's a shame we didn't get more pictures of the place!
After prising ourselves away from the Gilis, we went back to Lombok for our final time boo! and then caught the ferry back to Bali. We stayed in the backpacker area this time and it was definitely more upbeat. The only problem was that the aussies were on holiday there and were so brash and loud, i'd say even more brash than Americans! They had no respect for the people or culture and it got a bit much when we wanted a quiet, reserved British evening! ha ha.
I got ill in Bali though and had a tummy bug for about 8 days. Didn't feel up to doing anything so spent the whole week feeling sorry for myself whilst Alistair fetched supplies.
By this time in Indonesia we had lost our guidebook and was not sure where to head next. We decided to take the plunge and catch a flight to Sulawesi which is the horseshoe island next to Borneo. We flew to a place called Makassar which was a complete dive, but it was ok as we were flying north to Manado to do some diving which was supposed to have one of the best dive sites in the world. When we got there, we researched how to get to the island of Bunaken for the diving. It turns out it was really expensive, and one night on the island cost £30, in a home stay with no electricity or hot water! Also the diving was £50 each for just two dives which meant if we had stayed a few days we would have spent a couple of hundred pounds. We had to make the decision to fly back to Bali, so all that money getting here was wasted. We were also planning on going to Borneo, but that would have turned out to have been too expensive as well.
Before we left Sulawesi, we got into an argument with a tuk tuk driver as he drove us 20 seconds down the road and then pulled over and demanded more money. Obviously we declined and got out, to which he was following us up the street, harrassing every taxi driver that tried to pick us up. We managed to get in one and it turns out that the driver was after money for the 20 second drive that he had taken us! I wound down the window and told him no and that we weren't going to be ripped off by him etc etc (even though he couldn't speak any English!) and then wound my window back up again, feeling proud of myself! In this time Alistair saw him getting out of his car and making slashing gestures across his face at me! Our driver obviously saw it too and gave him the money because we wouldn't and then quickly drove off......whoops! We gave him the money back and then got out of there and flew to Bali asap, as the guy knew which hotel we were staying in, and didn't want him coming back for revenge!
From Bali we left Indonesia and flew back to Bangkok. We hated being there without Alistair's family and everytime we saw something it reminded us of them......"oh Laura would love that........oh remember when Dean said that ha ha.....etc". We tried to find Cabbages and Condoms again to reminisce, but we were on the other side of the city (not in the posh hotel sniff!) so we couldn't find it. We just stayed for a few days to top up our wardrobe and then left to go to South America via Spain to see Alistair's mum Jill.
We had a really good time in Spain for a few days and Jill cooked us lovely home cooked food that we had been craving like roast dinner yum yum!