Job Discussion Forums

[beefer]

tanya, before i so rudely went and got your thread locked, i asked what your accom budget was ... i ask only because if you do go to puncak and are willing to splurge a bit, there are a few out of the way places that are really, really sweet.......very pricey, but if you are willing/ able to spend a fair bit more there a couple of places that really are the lap of luxury.

sorry again for getting your thread locked.

[beefer]

i forgot to include in the last post...

is there really no other people on this forum that have accom. suggestions for puncak? i assumed that with so many different places there people would have a lot to input.
or any other place in west java?

thats all....

[ezekiel]

Sorry I can't help with 'weekend travel ideas' for Java as I live in Medan, Sumatera. It's a good thread anyway so keep it up and if anyone needs some ideas for this region I will be happy to help out.

Just a suggestion..maybe it should be The "Real" Weekend Travel Ideas...so many companies at the moment seem to be peddling The "Real" This and The "Real" That
I quite like it and am going to start using it more often in daily speech;
so..as a tribute, this The "REAL" Ezekiel, getting ready to go to My "REAL" School; but first I need A "REAL" Good S.S & S. !!

adios

[tanyakenapa]

Hi,

ummm before I forget, I had a look on the net for the "evergreen" place you mentioned earlier and coudlnt find anything.. .do you have an address or phone number for the place? The only info I found was that one of the Villas is for sale at 225 thousand USD and with one photo only. on a real estate website.

Budget, anywhere around 500 thousand is about an average price for me (for accomodation) however I have paid 1 million for two people at some places. So if something costs around 1 million rupiah and I think its worth it, I'll definitely pay for it Its nice to splurge on things every now and then.

Today I just paid for my trip to Sepa Island (May 12th) which cost 2 million (2 ppl) but that includes everything, such as boat transport, accomodation and all meals And its for my birthday so I dont mind paying the price

So now Im looking for something on the upcomping long weekend At least at my office they are giving us friday the 18th of May off as well


Thanks for all your suggestions so far

As for Medan... I hope to get up there one day.... and visit the Toba area.

Next year I'll be planning my honeymoon, but I think we will head to either Bali (kinda bored with it) or Ambon where my fiancee is from...have seen some photos and some of the beaches and islands up that way are amazing!! Hopefully Ambon stays safe !!!

[guruengerish]

The name "Evergreen" rang a bell. A friend and I stayed there for a weekend years ago. Quite a pleasant place. On the left of the road to the park, within walking distance of the gates if it's the same place. There are plenty of mini-buses running up and down this road from the main highway.

The walk into the park is pleasant enough, but due to the rather strange disposal habts of the locals when camping, the campsite is a real mess, and the biggest rats I've ever seen, running around the area.

But weekends the whole area is so crowded!

[beefer]

i think you are mistaking it for a different place. evergreen is located about 4-5 kms past the turnoff to the wildlife park ( on the left hand side of the main highway). can't comment on the huge rats but with the amount of elephant poop churned out in a day by the park, i can see them getting pretty plump....that is ofcourse if rats eat elephant poop, which, now that i think about it, they probably don't

does anyone know if rats eat elephant poop?

sorry tanya, i looked at home for a number to the place, and although i have 10 pairs of stolen flip-flops from there, i do not have a number

[Chester]

We had many super / romantic weekends at carita. its just past anyer. lippo cariat on the beach is excellent, and you can negotiate a good price. we started at 500,000 per night and got them down to 280,000. including buffet breakfast. great warungs with seafood. fabulous sunsets drom the beach and balcony.
zip over to anak krakatau and see a living growning volcano. fabulous snorkelling.

lippo carita has the best lagoon pool.
and the beach is sand, as opposed to anyer rocks.

reminds me of some places in thailand I enjoyed, very excellent

[Chester]

oh, and honeymoon?
i am sure your spouse knows lots of great places.
we went to lombok.

also awesome for volcano, beaches, snorkelling.
so many fantastic places in indo for vacations.

best prices are for locals, so if your partner is indonesian, stay out of it.
prices are double for foreigners, as you know.

[tanyakenapa]

Thanks for the replies

Lippo Carita sounds cool, I'll look it up on the net

Yeh my hubby to be is Indonesian so he can do the bargaining at most places, although Im fluent in Bahasa, so I dont let them put the prices up too much

[adrian de la touche]

i reckon now with a little forward planning and just a little luck one could make it to the banda islands for a long weekend ,very long..well ok a week, straight from jakarta. there were 2 flights a week to and from ambon....you might have to overnight(ambon) on the way there but the return is do-able in a day.dont believe your first response from merpati, theyre very cagey [.....pun?] see if you can phone the agent in bandaneira as well as ambon...they have different ideas.
as to honeymoon, well,i had the very same idea myself,the islands of south eastern maluku are stunning.but tricky to get to.the undersea life is straight out of the blue planet,these are the places mister cousteau would be in paroxysms about;the underwater scenery around lombok and bali are very average in comparison[just my opinion-sorry]. if you got the cash, get on a live aboard boat and cruise; the bandas are one of the jewels of indonesia, also the area known as raja empat near sorong is downright jawdroppingly very totally amazingbangeeeet.
check the lease isles to the east of ambon,also the kai isles; they will have a new 'international' airport very soon, and apparently the pope will be coming to visit on his world tour.... there is a perfect deserted white beach with a very nice rentable villa at ohoililir on kei kecil honeymoontastic.
all the best

[tanyakenapa]

Oh yeh....Ive heard and seen a few pics of Raja ampat... its amazing!!! it would be a dream to get there.

We both love the water and the beach... I guess its the Aussie in me...and the Ambonese in him, being brought up in the islands!!! Both beach bums

I have researched a few cruises with the traditional boats and there are a couple run by expats as well. But some of the prices are a little to high...but everything is included (except alcohol and plane flights to meeting point such as Ambon or Makassar)... I think one per person was about 12 million..and the other company was not much different. They are planning to sail the moluccas and raja ampat next year...

We get married in March, but I think we will be waiting to have the honeymoon in June July when the weather is much better!! And my boss wont give me time off anyway... !!! So have to wait till the term break!!!

[guruengerish]

...happened to me on my first visit to the Banda Islands.

When my flight from Makassar landed at Ambon, I was confronted by some guy in casual clothes, who said one word; "Passport!". I agreed with him, and moved on; he was not amused, and again "Passport!". So I asked him politely in my best Indonesian if there was a 'please' in that sentence, and what exactly was he wanting. Oddly enough, he wanted to see my passport. Then of course, what was I doing etc etc. This was in the days before terrorism, but there were problems stirring in Ambon.

Having convinced himself that I was not going to be a problem, and I was heading for Banda, he let me go with a warning not to attempt to enter West Papua, which seemed a long way from Ambon.

I went to Banda by boat, and not wishing to return this way, I booked a flight and arrived back in Ambon a few days later, to be met by this same guy. He did a double take, and asked where I'd been. For some reason I got mixed up with names, and told him 'dari Pulau Buru". This of course was a prison island at the time, and he went a funny colour before I corrected myself and told him I was wrong, 'it was Ambon'.

But, reminiscing aside, Banda Neirea was indeed magic, and although I tired of nutmeg jam and fish with every meal, it was fascintating, especially exploring around the old Dutch ruins, and knowing those places were built hundreds of years ago. A good book is "Nutmeg Island", which goes into the history in fine detail, and leaves one in no doubt where corruption got a foothold in this country.

Well worth a few days there.

[pauleslteacher1]

Some great ideas on this post, of which I am going to try...

Has anyone been to the Gili Islands off Lombok?

When I lived in Medan I used to go to Lake Toba at least once a month... Beautiful place and very affordable...

[tanyakenapa]

Hi,

yeh, I kinda cant wait to make it up Ambon way. I was supposed to go there waaaayyy back in 1991 with my parents, for xmas and new years, but apparently all the hotels were booked out so we went to Toraja and Menado instead.

One of the main reasons I want to go to Ambon is to check out the Australian War Cemetary which is located there. I dont have any relatives who fought in the wars, but military history always fasinates me and I would love to just pay my respects.

Another place I want to visit in my lifetime is Gallipoli in Turkey, and visit ANZAC cove, where the aussie troops first landed on the shores and so many were killed. Another story which always fasinates me is KOKODA TRACK in PNG... I know I'll never get there, but at least I read up on it

Sorry went waayyy off topic there. My partner hasnt been back to Ambon since the riots etc happened. Their house was burnt down to the ground. He told me the story of just sitting around at home, then someone starts screaming that the "mob" is coming and everything happened and dissapeared within about 20mins. They were lucky to flee to a relatives house (who is a member of government over there) and were safe. Now his family live in Jogja, where his mum is from. And they had to re-start their lives from scratch.

[guruengerish]

I'm back again! Istn't it nice to have such positive discussions, and no nastiness etc.

Yup, my eight years in Indonesia sounds like one big holiday, but I did my level best to get as far from the cities as I could on weekends or Christmas breaks.

I had a couple of pleasant stays at Gili Trawangan, and wow, the difference a few years made. From beach shacks to flash hotels and restuarants in no time at all. Plenty to eat and good quality; cheap accomodation further down the beach. I think I paid Rp30,000 a night about four years back, eggs and toast breakfast for free.

There is a shortage of fresh water, but if you wander along the beach track to the water filtration plant, you can have a nice fresh water shower for Rp20,000; the salt showers tend to feel a bit tacky after a few days.

Caution! Do not let anyone touch your backpacks/suitcases while waiting for the ferry from Lombok back to Bali. The lads will take these down to the ferry for you, and then demand lots of money. There are serious arguments on every trip because of tourists being ripped off.

Next time I go, I'll definitely book well ahead and fly from Yogya direct to Lombok, as the ferry is usually over crowded, hot and takes forever.

Useless info: some Jakarta person by the name of Tommy S 'owns' all the land behind the beach front, and it will be interesting to see what happens there.