How friendly Balinese people are! It seems that Hindu religion shares good principles.
Security was never an issue. The biggest hassle was to be approached by many locals every time we arrived to a harbour, to sell us their hostel and transport. It was good for developing negotiating skills though, not easy task with this guys.
Some Muslim regions like north of Sumatra or south of Lembongan, are not so friendly. Girls should be covered and look down. Loudspeaker praying at 5 am is a bit invasive as well; maybe that’s why Bali is the most visited island…
Bali’s beaches aren’t as impressive as expected. Actually, the place is too touristic and only the southern coast is nice with white sand, all the rest of the island has volcanic sand or stones beaches (good for diving though). It’s more a surfer paradise than a honey moon paradise.
Gili Islands is the paradise everyone is looking for. Still quite rustic, no cars/motorbikes, just bicycles and horses. Beautiful beaches, colourful snorkelling, some surfing and welcoming people.
If you want to go extreme Mentawais might be the place. Waves for pro riders and isolation are a good challenge.
Indo language is pretty basic, which helps to learn some indo phrases and show interest and respect towards the locals.
The culture is quite basic as well. It’s definitely not a civilized country from the western point of view. Islands, ocean and sunny days don’t push you too much to study and work… It’s important to notice that no culture or civilization doesn’t mean no values. Generosity and cordiality is bigger in the most rustic place where basic values remain untouched.
There’re so many places we didn’t visit. Many people said eastern Indo is beautiful, Flores was highly recommended among many other islands that one wants to explore… But well, things should keep rolling and we’re thankful for what we had.
TERIMAKASI INDONESIA!
And TERIMAKASI Lucas and Sol, it was beutifull to travel with you with UB40 rithms!
