LR
Travel Report
Whirlwind Tour of Indonesia ©Susan Campbell
An Introduction to Bali & Beyond
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ix islands in seven days? It’s ludicrous to try and cover so much the first time you go to Indonesia, and I don’t recommend it. But as guests of the Indonesian government, our mission was to discover what an interesting region there is beyond Bali – in a very short time. To give you an idea of what lies beyond Bali, consider that the Republic of Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world, with some 250 million people spread over 1,919,440 square kilometers of an archipelago that consists of 17,508 islands – 6,000 of which are inhabited. And though Indonesia currently has the largest Muslim population in the world, there are some 300 ethnic groups, 742 different languages, and many other religions as well. So even after ten flights, countless miles by car, van, trucks, boats and even cidomo (horse and cart), we barely scratched the surface. But we sure did learn a lot. No matter where we went, I did get a sense of the people, and I found them among the friendliest and most welcoming on the
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planet. Even when we made mistakes with local customs (do your homework, there are many), crucified the local language, or were flabbergasted by the money exchange (I had to withdraw half a million rupiahs at an ATM to obtain a mere $50 American), they were always patient, smiling, generous and extremely polite – even when they didn’t understand a word I was saying. I was also impressed with Bali’s new Denpasar International Airport. Opened in August 2013, it’s a massive multi-level recreation of their famous temple style offset by ultra-modern mirrored-glass, concrete and steel, and surrounded by beautiful Zen gardens. It’s delightful. But after a quick dinner at a local Chinese restaurant on arrival (after our 36hour journey), a short sleep, and a brief but delicious breakfast buffet at our first host, the pleasing Kuta Paradiso Hotel, I wasn’t ready to see it again so soon. But we were on a mission. So back we went early morning to board a regional jet to explore the neighboring island of Lombok. SUSAN CAMPBELL Twitter: @suectravel