Readme before you journey
We travel from 28th Feb to 6th March 2018, a week that is so worthwhile!
To search for the breath of the earth at the volcano and to Bali, the paradise island for travelers and to Nusa Penida Island where the world is stunned for her beauty
Indonesia houses 139 volcanoes. It is one of the 10 countries that has the most volcanoes in the world.
Here is our itinerary:
DAY 1 Travel from Thailand to Surabaya (accommodation near Bromo)
DAY 2 Penanjakan Selamat Datang Viewpoint - King Kong Hill Viewpoint- Bromo Volcano - Savanna Field - Madakaripura Waterfall
DAY 3 Kawah Ijen Volcano - Bali
DAY 4 Nusa Penida Island - Broken Beach Pasih Mentioning - Angel's Billabong Beach - Kelingking Beach
DAY 5 Hidden Canyon Beji Guwang - Tegenungan Waterfall - Blue Lagoon Beach
DAY 6 Ubud Morning Market - Tegalang Rice Terrace - Gunung Kawi Temple - Tirta Empul Temple - Tanah Lot Temple
DAY 7 Going back home
I brought an exchange money of 10,000 THB (4,242,800 IDR) with me.
The flight to Indonesia is 2,896 THB and the return trip is 2,559 THB, the total fare is 5,455 THB.
Here is our plan for travel:
Now that we have 4 million IDR, let's go explore "Indonesia"!!!
We start our journey on the morning of 28th Feb at 7.00 a.m. and reach Malaysia at 11.00 a.m. Then we wait there about 3 hours before reaching Surabaya at 5 p.m. ish.
We then take a small van for 10 people where we hired it. We booked the tour in advance and gave them itinerary of where we wanted to go.
They pick us from the airport and give us the service from 28th Feb to 2nd of March.
They drop us to Bali and to our accommodation as well.
They also prepare a jeep to Bromo, a mask at Kawah Ijen, and all the entrance fees for us during these 3 days.
It is 1,600,000 IDR / 3,760 THB for 3 days and 2 nights, this include everything as well as the petrol.
Contact: Bromo zigzag Transportation & Tour
Line ID: bromozigzag
I highly recommend this tour because it's really good. The car is great, the AC is cold, we can also plan for our own trip, and the price is very reasonable too.
Now we are at Surabaya Airport already.
After the immigration, we had the KFC in front of the airport. I have to say that it's quite disappointing. It's nothing like what we see in the photo, there's only few proportion of rice and chicken and the soft drink is also not fully filled. The staff also didn't care for its customers.
Then, we are on the road for another 4 hours and we reach our room at 11 p.m. ish.
We stay at Bromo Otix Guest House (75,000 IDR / 178 THB per night).
It is an AC room with warm water. There's 2 more rooms downstairs which offers 3 beds and 2 beds. Each room comes with a living room and a bathroom.
#here is a plug used in Indonesia, please do not forget to bring an adapter.
The room is so super bright and apologize for the messy stuff.
We start to walk at 3 a.m. in order to go to Penanjakan Selamat Datang Viewpoint to enjoy the panoramic sunrise view.
The weather is quite.........cold.
The sea of clouds is so beautiful.
Here is the gang and the white color behind us is a sea of mist.
At 6 a.m. we start to walk down in order to go to another viewpoint. I have to say that it'd be a great miss if you miss King Kong Hill Viewpoint. The volcano afar with a beautiful shape and being the highest is an active Semeru Volcano at the altitude 3,676 meters. Below it is Bromo Volcano.
After that, there's another beautiful viewpoint. #this tour will be a bit here and there ^^
Bromo Volcano sits at the altitude of 2,392 meters. It used to explode but now stays quiet.
Bromo has been exploded for 3 times during the past 3 decades.
The latest one was in June 2004.
Seeing this stairs making us feel quite discouraged
Walking down from the Bromo....This scene is so beautiful too.
Let’s continue to Sawanna field which offers quite a unique beauty. This field is not far from Bromo so it takes about 15-20 minutes only from here.
The weather is so super nice.
No doubt, now we are starving because nothing was going down to our stomach since 3 a.m. till now which is already 10 a.m. I just understand how it feel to be so busy travelling that has no time for food… We then go back to our room to pack and continue on. My friends are having instant noodles while I try some kind of noodle from a motorcycle’s vendor
After having this food, it’s like I’m been poisoned that I’m so sleepy that my eyes almost cannot open. But, oh well, our plan for today is not yet finished.
Then, we head to “Madakaripura Waterfall" which takes another hour on road. Here is where unexpected thing happens. I can’t stop vomiting. I’m not sure whether it’s because of this super curvy road or what. I’m vomiting so much that a bag is not enough….Once I reach the waterfall, I have no energy to walk but laying down to rest for about 3-4 hours. In between, I still keep vomiting that my friends have to tear down their raincoats to make a bag for me…..it’s really bad.
I really cannot eat anything…whatever I eat, it’s all out.
I’m not sure now whether it’s because of that bowl of noodle?
Finally, I decided to go see a doctor. The doctor then look at my fever and pressure before giving me some medicine and letting me go home, haha. Well, this looks just like Thai hospital.
I was giving Paracetamol tablets and vomiting drug. The doctor says probably due to insufficient rest……
Now I can only pray……...that my energy is back in time for climbing Kawah Ijen Volcano.
#Madakaripura Waterfall is where several waterfalls are met. The water is fallen from the 200 meters high mountains towards small stream below. There, we would see many small and big stones. We must walk through the water and climb up these stones in order to see this big waterfall.
And tonight we sleep in the car because it’d take about 6 hours from here to Kawah Ijen. We reach the volcano around midnight….. The elevation of Kawah Ijen Volcano is 2,380 meters.
The most outstanding thing about this volcano is the blue lava.
I feel much better. The Indonesian medicine is really effective, haha. That my heart is already there, nothing can stop me.
Do not waste time on the weak.
It’s time to start the hike. Let’s wash our faces and brush our teeth and start to walk.
Here is the starting point……the tour guide will give a face mask for everyone.
There’re quite a lot of people here. Now it’s 2 a.m. Rickshaw pullers are available for those who cannot walk. The price is reduced as we go further. It starts at 800,000 IDR and gets cheaper, then it’s only 100,000 IDR on the way back.
For me, I walk up and down. Not that I’m very strong…… but I have no money, haha.
Looking at my bad condition, the tour guide keeps checking on me to see if I’m still ok. Wow, he really takes good care of us.
We reach the peak at 3 a.m. to wait to see the blue fire. It is so beautiful, this blue lava. It is so different and like nothing I’ve ever seen, I’m so excited…..If you can’t imagine, you can go to turn on the gas on a stove, it looks just like that, haha.
Why this lava turns into blue?
That is because the underground lava is burning a concentrated sulfur above the ground with a high temperature that the blue frame is created.
When the sky starts to open, her beauty is much more stunning……This photo was taken at 5 a.m.
They also carry it for sale. Each kg is 1,000 IDR / 3 THB. Some can carry up to 100 kg / 300 THB a day.
We start to walk down at 6-7 a.m. because if we wait longer than that, the sulfur will get much stronger too…….
Then, we continue to the Ketapang Harbour East Java Pier in order to go to Bali at the port Gilimanuk Harbour - Ferry Port.
It takes about an hour and a half to the pier and then about 15-20 minutes on the ferry. The ferry fare is about 16-18 THB.
This ferry transports vehicles, things, and people.
Here we are, on the Bali side already.
After that, we take a 4 hours bus to downtown Bali. It’s so unfortunate that it’s so hot in the bus that I almost cannot breathe. It’s so different from the morning drive…OMG!!! And soon it’s raining.
Tonight, we are staying at White Villa Hostel Ubud (41,400 IDR / 98 THB).
It is not so far from downtown with a great view. There’s a rice field view in front of our hostel. 10 people fit a room.
Now, I’m so tired that after taking shower and having dinner, I immediately pass out into the bed.
The morning atmosphere in front of our hostel
From the hostel, we go to the pier with the Uber which costs each of us about 31,000 IDR / 73 THB.
Once you are at the pier, look for the white building on the left.
The round trip ticket is 400,000 IDR / 940 THB. The travel time is 1.30 hours.
There’re 2 ways to roam around Nusa Penida Island:
1. Hire a 5 seats car, each costs120,000 IDR / 282 THB
2. Rent a motorbike, each bike is 100,000 IDR / 235 THB for 2 people so each is 118 THB
#our hired car is really…..bad….I don’t know what he’s rushing for. He drives really fast with low quality of service and only stop very short for each stop.
If you guys get to come here, try to see different van as it gets really tired if you get the same service like ours.
The recommended beach that we must not miss is Kelingking Beach. It’s so steep walking down.
On the way back, I saw a western guy fainted on the stairs too.
Here is another recommended beach, Broken Beach Pasih Mentioning.
This is Angel's Billabong Beach.
And that’s it for today as our return time is 4.30 p.m.
Now we are quite exhausted……again, we take the Uber back to our hostel.
Tonight we stay at Bedplus Back Packer. Each night is 70,000 IDR /165 THB.
The room is great and very clean. There’s kitchen and living room for us to use. The water in the bathroom is not so strong though. It is located at the heart of Ubud. There’s lots of restaurants, pubs, bars, and things selling alongside the street at night.
After food, I take shower and immediately jump into bed.
...................................................................
The next morning, we just have something easy like instant noodle, haha.
Today we hired a 10 seats van. It is 700,000 IDR / 9 people. So it is about 84,000 IDR each (as we are using it overtime).
If we use it over 10 hours, the charge is 70,000 IDR per hour / 165 THB. When divided by all, it’s not that much.
The first destination is Hidden Canyon Beji Guwang.
The entrance fee is 40,000 IDR / 94 THB each and the 2 tour guides fee is 200,000 IDR, when divided by 7 people, it is 30,000 IDR each (the other 2 do not want to get wet, haha).
The fun starts at the entrance where you have to walk against the tide. The water ranges from our knee to our waist and certain area is as high as our chest…. We must slowly climb inside and we must cross a stream too. This tide could easily take away a 70 kg weight person. It’s so beautiful going through all this. I think it’s feeling like Lam Khlong Ngu National Park in Thailand.
Very fun, you certainly don’t want to miss it!
We spend about 2 hours here… And on the way back, we can take different route.
The second destination for today is Tegenungan Waterfall. The entrance fee is 15,000 IDR / 36 THB.
It is the most popular waterfall among the tourists as it’s not far from Sukhawadee Market and Ubud town.
We need to walk down along the stairs about 10-15 minutes. There’re lots of shops along the road toward the waterfall and I got two pairs of Bali pants. I negotiated the price from 300,000 IDR to only 70,000 IDR. #you must negotiate a price down to at least a double time in Bali.
And our third stop is Blue Lagoon Beach.
It is about 36 km. away and takes about an hour drive. Here, we can fully enjoy the water. That we are already wet, let’s enjoy it to the moon and back.
I enjoy it too much that I forgot to take photos. The water is so super clear. There’s a diving area too. The beach is quite peaceful.
Now our energy is all gone so we simply take the ride back to our hostel.
Tonight we stay at Bali Backpacker (40,000 IDR / 94THB).
We have dinner in front of this hotel before taking the Uber to walk around downtown.
Zzz it’s bed time now!
Here is our last day in Bali. We start by roaming the morning market in Ubud but I have to say that everything is so super expensive.
If not urgent, do not stop here. I’ll guide you where you could stop for shopping and then we have our breakfast here.
Today, we rent a hired car again and they will also drop us at the airport. The fare is 910,000 IDR / 9 people.
#here is the dress for morning market walk.
Fruits are similar to what we have in Thailand.
There’re many weaving work here and tons of handmade crafts.
Now, almost half day is gone….Our next destination is Tegallalang Rice Terrace. The entrance fee is 15,000IDR / 36 THB.
Here is another famous beautiful viewpoint of Bali.
Let’s continue to our holy fountain temple. But we went to the wrong one, so instead, we go to Gunung Kawi temple first. But it’s alright, it’s only 5 km away, haha. This is because our driver took us to the wrong temple and we paid 15,000 IDR/ 36 THB for the entrance fee too.
Although we got here by mistake, I have to say that this temple is so beautiful. We must walk down quite a bit as the temple is located at the heart of the valley which is beautifully carved.
What make me really mad is this Bali pants. It is only 20,000 IDR here without any negotiation and I got it for 70,000 IDR.
Now we are going for Tirtha Empul Temple.
The entrance fee is 15,000 IDR / 36 THB. And finally we come to the right temple, haha. Before entering, we must wear a long traditional Sarong again even though we already wear long pants or long skirt. It goes without exception that everyone must wear this Sarong on top of it.
Changing clothes area…donations are most welcomed here.
After getting out of the temple for a while, my friend suddenly thought about the passport and reckoned that she forgot it at yesterday’s hostel. It’s like something triggering her to think about her passport now. After she said that we must return to that hostel, it is less than 3 minutes when the driver turn left and the hostel is right there on the right. It’s like we come here with Doraemon’s door. And then we got the passport back right away. Oh wow, so magical!!!
The exit from the temple is so lively with many shops along the way and some of the shop sellers could speak Thai too. We could buy clothes, souvenirs, decorations for houses, etc. They are so many of them here and very cheap. Shop sellers are very kind, they give us discount like giving out for free…..I highly recommend this place for souvenir shopping.
This lot is very funny and shop sellers speak Thai and no cheating too, so cool…
From here, we would go to the offshore temple which is 41 km away and would take like 2 hours.
We reach here when the sun is almost gone from the horizon and we almost didn’t get to take any photos
The entrance fee to Tanah Lot Temple is 60,000 IDR / 141 THB which is quite expensive.
This photo might not be able to reflect the actual scene as it’s already dark when we reach there.
Now it’s finally the end of our trip. We plan it so tight that we almost didn’t get to eat….then we will fly back to Thailand tonight at 1 a.m.
We fly from Ngurah Rai International Airport to Donmeang International Airport.
The van send us off at Bali airport. We would see this kind of road all around Bali, it’s so beautiful.
Hotel signs on the street can immediately tell us that we are in Bali.
The restaurant sign that you may not find elsewhere in the world……From afar, I thought it’s a gambling place.
In fact, it’s an a la carte restaurant, the photo can tell exactly of what it is, haha. I really like it.
At the airport, now we have to see if we are overloading our bags, haha.
I think I must come back to Bali again. Oh my, I’m just falling so deep in love with this place.
How much do we have to prepare for a 6 days trip in Indonesia?
Here is a detailed summary of all expenses #excluding souvenir, haha
Thanks to our photographers for this trip:
#P’Kit #P’Jeng #Mint#Pla #Gam #Snow
Mint Septidkhao
Thursday, March 29, 2018 9:28 AM
