Welcome to Indonesia, our first Asian stopover! We have the feeling that our adventure really begins here: no more extended stops, we have to reach France in only eight months!

‍

Three weeks in Indonesia is too short, especially without a plane. The country has more than 17,000 islands, stretching over almost 2 million kilometres! Exchanges with the locals and travellers we met inspired dreams of diving in the Raja Ampat islands, discovering the authentic island of Flores, exploring the jungles and wild animals of Sumatra, having adventures in the national parks of Sulawesi, and sailing from island to island, in a sailboat, without a fixed itinerary.

‍

Even on the islands we visited, we had to make choices: we preferred to concentrate on a few areas so as not to waste too much time in transport.

‍

In three weeks, we discovered different facets of Bali, with Pemuteran, the Bukit peninsula and Ubud, the small paradise islands of Gili, and the large, densely populated island of Java.

‍

Getting around Indonesia has its challenges, particularly the underdeveloped and expensive public transport system, which takes up 40% of our budget! Ferries link the islands, but the timetable is unreliable. There are very few buses in Bali, so we had to rely on taxis, while the trains in Java were a pleasant surprise: comfortable and very punctual.

‍

An unforgettable place :

We went to the three Gili islands, which belong to Lombok: Gili Trawangan, the party island, Gili Meno, the wild island, and Gili Air: the right balance. Gili T didn't seduce us with its overflow of bars and tourist facilities. While we preferred Gili Air, Gili Meno really touched us. Gili Meno is the island that has been least affected by mass tourism, has more locals than tourists and has areas that are still deserted, despite its 15km2.

One evening, we dine with Philippe, a retired French expatriate. He describes the Gili Meno of a few years ago, with no tourist infrastructure. And yet we had the impression that it was still well preserved! Philippe tells us about the BASK project, straight from Australia. This project threatens the authenticity of the island by building around fifty small luxury homes, designed to accommodate wealthy expatriates for two months of the year and wealthy tourists for the remaining ten months. These homes include individual swimming pools, whereas the locals have little access to running water. To accommodate visitors, the BASK project also includes the construction of two heliports, one of which is at sea. You can imagine the disastrous consequences for the seabed and marine life! The island's lake has also been artificialised, and the species that used to live there have been hunted down.

The BASK project encountered almost no opposition, and the only negative comments on Google Maps were quickly deleted. 

We know that this kind of project is not exclusive to Gili Meno, and that all regions of the world are affected. But when you're directly confronted with it, in a region that you particularly appreciate for its authenticity, you realise the extent to which we're destroying all the existing natural areas, and you're outraged that such a project meets with no opposition. As travellers, we also have a responsibility: let's choose homestays or other small-scale accommodation and reject luxury hotels owned by foreign investors!

‍

‍

‍

A lovely meeting: 

‍

This time, we're going to introduce you to two lovely encounters, because it's impossible for us to choose!

We stayed in Ubud thanks to the Couchsurfing application. A retired European couple welcomed us to a small permaculture farm in the middle of the Balinese jungle. However, this place belongs to an Indonesian, Nyoman. Since Europeans are not allowed to own their own homes in Indonesia, the couple have come up with a clever idea: they are staying on Nyoman's land, and in exchange they help his family out financially. This allows Nyoman to devote himself fully to the upkeep of his land, on which he has developed a superb permaculture garden, and to send his children to university. The retired couple can build their house on this land and live there for as long as the contract is valid, and Nyoman will be able to enjoy these buildings afterwards. 

Nyoman is a very cultured, humble and dedicated man, with whom we really enjoyed talking. He started out as a taxi driver, and after inheriting the land from his father, he decided to learn the art of permaculture. He knows everything about plants, and how to cook them too. Nyoman's dream was to go to university, but he couldn't because he didn't have the money. In Indonesia, there is no state aid, and school is expensive. So he was very proud to be able to say that he had managed to send his first daughter to university! Nyoman makes do with very little, washing himself in the river and sometimes even sleeping in his compost! He also made us very welcome with coffee in the morning, portable toilets and a little wooden hut that had just been built! We have fond memories of this man and this magical place. 

‍

‍

The second memorable encounter was with an Indonesian family we met on the ferry between Jakarta and Batam, the last stop before entering Singapore. On the boat, we had our bunks next to each other. Very happy to be next to the only non-Indonesians on the boat, the members of this family used the few words of English they had learnt at school to chat with us. They live in Batam, and the Indonesian island attracts few tourists. They were quick to offer us the food they had brought on board, to let us taste the local fruit and to take photos with us. It's always surprising to see people so generous from the first exchange! This family offered to host us in their home, and we were very sad to have to decline: we usually book our accommodation at the last minute so that we can be flexible, but Singapore is a very expensive city, so this time we had booked in advance. 

‍

Indonesians are very smiling and generous people, especially when you get away from the tourist areas. We had some very nice encounters that will be hard to forget!

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

What's for dinner ?

‍

Whether you're a vegetarian or not, you can't go past tofu and tempeh in Indonesia. They're one of the key foods in Indonesian cuisine, and they're much better than in France! Indonesians eat them in all their forms. Here are a few examples, to be eaten with any dish:

• Crispy tempeh: cut into very thin slices, the tempeh is then fried in lots and lots of oil. The result is a very crispy tempeh that reminds you of chicken.
• Pepes tahu (tofu): tofu with Indonesian spices cooked in a banana leaf. You can also find pepes vegetables, pepes ayam (chicken)... Tanguy hated it, Dune loved it.
• Sweet and sour tempeh: the tempeh is cut very, very thinly, fried, then dipped in a sweet and sour sauce made with garlic, chilli, palm sugar, onion, etc.
• Tahu/tempe goreng: simply fried tofu or tempeh. But the difference with what we're used to is that Indonesians don't skimp on the amount of oil: it's scary when you see it, but it makes all the difference.

One dish we particularly liked was called Olah Olah. It's a very dense coconut milk soup, in which you can find noodles, vegetables and sometimes meat. It sounds very simple, but it's original and really delicious!

We ate Olah Olah on the Gili Islands, and had trouble finding it afterwards. It must be a dish specific to Lombok, as many Indonesians in Java had never heard of it.

Overall, Indonesian cuisine isn't the most varied, but it's impossible to go wrong when you order a dish: it's all good! The only downside is that fried food and sugar are omnipresent.

We had no trouble eating vegetarian, with all dishes consisting of rice or noodles, vegetables, and very often tofu and tempeh. Only in Java was it sometimes complicated, as chicken dominated the dishes!

‍